#gonna cool it on the lore for now and hold onto the more interesting bits a while longer

[kate-les-bridge-stewart]

I'm back on my ultrakill bullshit again :)

This time I'm gonna elaborate a bit on the lore behind this au

Warning there will be some spoilers for ultrakill lol

So basically the ultrakill and DW universes are separate but obviously we know the doctor can travel between them anyways

13 had heard some very odd signals coming from the ultrakill verse

She couldnt trace an exact location on the signal, just that it was coming from that universe

As for the message itself, it was even more bizarre.

It was a jumbled unintelligible mess of symbols and otherworldly sounds, with barely audible words scattered throughout

The only phrase she was able to dicifer was a strange man screaming "LORD PLEASE HELP US" (this was from one of the high concil members when gabriel was busy gutting their asses like fish)

Naturally 13 was very concerned so she went to visit the universe and was greeted with, well, a completely dead earth.

She kept trying to trace the signal which was pointing to an entirely separate dimension in this universe, that being hell

At some point she unknowingly got redirected to a signature being broadcast from V1

She did some searching thru the layers and eventually found v1 who had been running around for a while and started looking pretty tired.

Turned out they had killed everything on that layer but got lost for so long they started running low on power

Also I decided they would be completely mute meaning they couldnt communicate with anyone whatsoever, including the doctor (except other machines)

13 was super fascinated by v1 so she took them into the tardis to get to know them and also help them out

The way 13 learned about v1 was... interesting.

She asked "what fuel do you use? You look pretty low there"

V1 pointed at a puddle of something amidst the grass which 13 soon realised was blood

"Blood?" She asked with growing nervousness in her voice

V1 nods without emotion before walking over to the puddle and trying to rub some of it on their arms. They then hold out one arm to show 13 as the blood seeps into their porous chassis

Of course 13 is feeling some very strong conflicting emotions right now. First of all WHY THE FUCK IS THEIR FUEL SOURCE BLOOD????? Second of all, HOLY CRAP THAT IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE HOW DO THEY DO THAT??????

After a while of 13 doing some sleuthing for info about this universe she learns v1 is one of a series of sentient super weapons who got loose and destroyed planet earth. V1 was running thru hell in search of fresh blood to stay alive

Side note one of the ways she got this info was plugging v1 into the tardis where they projected their memory bank onto a screen for her to see

Now I know what you're wondering, "why the hell did v1 not try to kill 13?"

Because the doctor was from an entirely different universe and also a complex alien they initially didnt actually recognize the doctor as a living creature, or anything at all.

Basically they were so confused at what 13 is that the thought of killing her never entered their head

When 13 realized v1 was kind of a ticking timebomb she immediately whipped up some synthetic blood from the tardis so v1 wouldnt try to use hers the next time they got "thirsty"

As for why shed willingly keep a violent superweapon on her tardis? She thinks they're super cool and wants to get to know them

She also sees them as an opportunity to turn something made to destroy into a force for good. Kinda like what 12 did with Rusty the good dalek :D

I'm gonna continue this in another post. Trust me, the brainrot ain't going away any time soon.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S5 Ep 21: Joey Takes A Snack at that Cray Sauce

Hey guys! The 17 yo cat with kidney disease I was out of town watching lived to see another week (she was a very good girl). Which means now I can get back to the good stuff. This episode is brought to you by the colors red and orange, and I hope you like this color, and I hope you like this after effects they CGId onto this volcano.

Anyways, they first have to do this familiar ledge fall, because, it’s Yugioh, and if there’s a bunch of lava, Tristan wants

in

that.

And then Joey decides...hey you know what? I’m gonna jet. And...it’s not the first time he’s pulled a wild card and been unpredictable, I mean none of us can really forget that time he decided to get murdered by Mai instead of going in a straight line towards the end boss last season, but this time it was kind of funny how it was hastily composed.

And off he goes, folks.

As he left, Tristan was like “Ya dummy!” and Tea was like “nono, we gotta encourage him--run Joey! You can do it! See? Now he’s gone.” and it’s like...Tea is either trying to kill Joey with her support or honestly thinks that’s good support and I can’t fully tell which she is.

(read more under the cut)

It’s at this point that Grandpa has the gall to say “Did any of you happen to catch the lore? I fell asleep during that part.” Just like my Dad when we watch any movie as a family.

Meanwhile, maybe 100 ft away from them, Joey is in mortal peril but it’s Joey, so he’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.

In fact, this episode seems like it would have been a better arc if it stretched out more episodes because the Joey neglect happens so quickly and out of nowhere that it’s...less organic than your average children’s show. Honestly it’s kind of funny how fast the fall of Joey Wheeler happens this episode. And I think it could have been a fun interesting time if it was handled better but youknow...it’s crammed into one single episode and you’ll se what happens.

As Yugi ruminates a cool thing that would have been really interesting this season--like running into more rando’s from other periods of time than just Alexander--Tea looks across the lava highway and was like “found it.”

Back at the dragon situation, Joey starts opening his heart to this dragon and it’s like...did they originally intend for Seto Kaiba to be here? Because I guess Joey uses Red Eyes a lot, but I also skip a lot of the card games, so when I think “who likes the dragon card?” Joey is not the first one I think of.

That and like he got over his Atlantis dragon card like hella fast, right? Like totally already over that?

And also if you thought Joey would pull out his other dragon to try and communicate or get a hold of this dragon like...nah.

Back at the fort, these guys decided to ditch Joey to get to this sword at the top of a volcano to solve the riddle, and what follows is some weird ass canon.

As I’m pulling up my Google Doc with my deathcount on it, Tristan decides this is the time he won’t freakin die and turn into a robot monkey for 15 episodes.

And he makes a huge ass green dragon. You’d think this MASSIVE dragon would do more in this episode, but nah. Although he pulls out Massive Dragon, it’s like kind of worthless, so he mostly puts it back in his pocket.

And then Tea pulls this elf chick out and it’s freakin hilarious because look at her giant elf.

Like Tea is not a small person! Are Yugioh monsters all 12 ft tall???

Yugi is also all ham about fusing with his dude now. It knocked him out a couple episodes ago, but Yugi is so keen on destroying his body that he’s back in clown town. And like...took his Grandpa for a ride, I guess, although I’m pretty sure Summoned Skull has wings.

Course, Summoned Skulls insides are his outsides...and I dunno if you’d want Summoned Skull to give you a big hug and carry you around. Summoned Skull just seems like he’s sticky.

And, once they make it to the top of the volcano where the plot sword lives, we first have to visit this plot twist of the century.

YEAH.

OUT OF NOWHERE.

THIS EPISODE IS NOT LONG.

Aaaaaaand now Joey is going to try and kill everyone here. I did not skip anything, PS, Joey dipped off-screen.

PS, everyone’s reaction to “I will kill you!” was a whole lot of rolling their eyes at first being like “Joey, stawp.”

So, now that Joey’s randomly possessed by this dragon, we get a peek into what Joey’s brain zone looks like. It’s a whole lot of nothing in between his ears.

Consistent to S1 actually, when we had a bit of a Joey Brain Zone moment. It was a blank void there, too.

So apparently Joey decided, back when he was confessing his love to Red Eyes Black Dragon, that he would jump on it’s back to calm it down--and it just...fused with him. So...now he’s a dragon.

Sure, I guess. I mean...there’s really no limit on what a Duel monster can’t do, so I’ll allow it.

The team tries to just say “ah screw it” and pull up this sword themselves (you can kind of see it in this shot) and the sword just slurps into the dirt even more out of spite. Seeing that there’s a bit of a time limit, Grandpa pulls this one out of his back pocket.

Yo, Grandpa’s not even possessed. Hey, remember that time that Grandpa nearly died giving Arthur Hawkins the last of his water back in Egypt? Remember that?

Like uh, you can definitely tell this was made by a different team that may not have gotten that cue card. It may have been lost in the mail. Either way, kind of a hilarious heel turn on Grandpa’s personality here, although it does make logical sense to save most of the kids from sacrificing one kid. It’s just...that kid is Joey...so...that’s like his adopted Grandson, right?

So Yugi does something very on brand for Yugi and invades a brain.

And like...obviously Yami and Yugi would say no to this. They would never do this. Not after all the dozens and dozens of times they have sacrificed the world and everything for their best friends.

But...maybe just this one time we can kill Joey? As a treat?

So uh...Yami hella vaporizes Joey with his new powers. Luckily, Joey Wheeler has Shaggy Doo energy and just...he survives it for some reason. I don’t know why he isn’t dead, maybe because the dragon made him stronger? Eh, don’t do the math (on any part of this episode).

So Joey gets up and is like “I know the answer to the riddle!” As the sword kinda melts into the volcano and Gramps is like “Well we’re dead, actually, so no one cares!”

And Joey’s like “Look!” and he hops onto the back of the Red Eyes Black dragon and reveals this random thing:

Because it turns out, that the dragon was the real problem and not this volcano with a sword in it.

Which youknow...could have been cool if this episode wasn’t so many insane plot points so quickly. Kind of a lot of episode here. This episode could have been a whole season of a show.

Like how long was Joey Possessed by Marik in S2? Like 5 or 6 episodes? And you can see how much more successful it was at selling the story although it was a lot of the same themes and ideas. Pacing is important.

And then Joey passes out from the suit juice.

Which is when we get one more Alexander cameo, just kinda watching them leave and onto the next arc of their little journey.

They sure did put a lot of eyeliner on Alexander the great, and, being real...he may have actually been wearing a hell ton of dope eyeliner when he was alive, so this could be historically accurate, for all we know. Those old marble statues used to be painted, after all. Maybe they had dope Yugioh eyeliner down to his cheekbones? One can wish.

And like if you ever get the time--seeing what those marble statues looked like with paint on it is so freakin goofy and fun, I love it. I love that for 600 years we thought those marble statues were supposed to be naked and white but it’s like, nah man--this guy’s just wearing a skin tight breast plate and when you paint it, it’s so garish it’s like a freakin clown outfit.

But anyway, that’s all for now! Hope y’all have a good weekend, and as always, here’s a link to read these in chrono order, if you just got here!

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[tedturneriscrazy]

🎶Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door🎵

I wonder if anything will happen in this episode.🙂

(I say as if I didn't watch the episode twice before going to bed and writing this post)

I don't think I'll ever not be amused by the way Hooty just...does things with his face

Seems like he found a thesaurus at some point

Okay so it's canonically spelled "Hootsifer," good to know

Also, this is really all we get of Lilith, huh?

His little hoot/coo at Lilith's letter❤❤❤

To borrow a meme format: If I had a nickel for every time Alex Hirsch was involved in a show where one of the characters was experiencing pubescent voice cracks, I'd have two nickels, which isn't very much but it's weird that it happened twice

Eda's face🤣

As much as this bit is played for laughs, Eda's clearly still shaken by what happened last episode

Jeez, Luz, priorities /j

Pictured: Hooty

The way King talks about being pelleted implies this is something Hooty does on the regular

Hooty's plan to help King is literally a Buzzfeed quiz? Okay then

Betcha never expected lore from Hooty, eh?

"DO NOT INTERRUPT"

Officially a "type of worm"

The dance being a grievous insult wasn't exactly from nowhere, but still funny nonetheless

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING COCCOON

Tiny Nose playing Switch definitely seems to be drawing from Dana's real life experiences

Wait, Hooty and Tiny Nose are friends?

Well shit, turns out she could use magic this whole time. Guess her going Super Saiyan wasn't just the power glyph.

I am extremely skeptical of your medical credentials, TN

I have so many questions about the methodology they used for the blood test(s)

I think Hooty may have misinterpreted what King was looking for

I'm still amazed at how King has had, and continues to have, moments in the show with some of the greatest emotional weight

Ooh, sound powers!

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CRUMBLE!!!"

It just occurred to me that that segment consisted mostly of Alex Hirsch talking to himself

Hello not-at-all obvious setup

Today I learned that Hooty is the baker of the house. Maybe he'd critique Amity's fairy pie.

Aaaaand there's the sleep inducing

Oh shit

In hindsight the Owl Beast being part of a dream sequence is rather obvious

Wow, Eda, tell us how you really feel about the Owl Beast

Oh we're just gonna ride aboard the Trauma Express today, huh?

Oh, I guess Lilith did make an appearance, after all

Damn, Gwen, not even looking

Oh shit dad issues

Sandy Cohen?! (To anyone who gets that reference, hi. How are your 30s treating you?)

Well, I know who Peter Gallagher voices now, anyway

Oh dear...

(Also, bright flashing lights triggering the curse? There's an epilepsy allegory in here somwhere)

Blood and eye injury? Gotta stretch that Y7 rating

Now we have some context for that look on Eda's face when Lilith mentioned their dad: good old fashioned guilt!

I desparately want to make a "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" joke, but I'm better than that

New memory! Raine!

Oh no...

I get the feeling I'll hate this part, too

They were exes!😢 Guess the fandom called that one

The reasoning for them being exes is understandable, all too real, and goddamn heartbreaking

That said, the fact they never stopped loving each other🥺😢😭

I do hope we can see Raine again under less...traumatic circumstances. Maybe that wedding that was mentioned?

Oh shit, are we getting into the Owl Beast's memories?!?! What a tweest!

Bet nobody expected Cloaked Moonface to show up in the frickin Hooty episode

(Also, holy shit I briefly forgot this was the Hooty episode)

Who is this mysterious cloaked figure? And why are they so tall and long?

So the curse was a sealed beast this whole time. Damn.

And it was just picked up as beach junk to sell as a trinket. So much for it being connected to Belos. (Not that people will stop trying to do so)

Who had "experiencing sympathy for the Owl Beast" on their Bingo cards for this episode? Yeah, me neither.

And here we have the necessary Eda coming to terms with her curse segment. More accurately, Eda and the curse coming to terms with each other.

Goddamnit why does it have to be cute

"It's like sandpaper" IT'S LIKE A CAT I FUCKING CAN'T

Insert Steamed Hams reference here to kill the mood

New transformation!

Oh no she's hot!

No, Hooty, you made it surprisingly much, much better!

She might have a problem pushing people away and holding onto guilt, but Eda always knows that she looks damn good

Oh right, Luz having girl problems. Fuck, so much is happening in this episode!

"Cotton-candy-haired Goddess" LUZ! 🤣

Attuned to other people's emotions = being a fucking creeper

Oh Luz, what happened to you back home?

Also, 99.999% certain Amity would love your cheesiness

That's...rather morbid, Hooty

So much lore development, including the fact the Owl House has a basement

Classic inanimate object silhouette fakeout gag. Subversion in 3...2...1...

There it is!

I can't imagine being pelleted is a fun experience.

Honestly I have so many questions about how Hooty got Amity there in the first place, but I'm not so sure I actually want to know the answers to any of them...

Cue much panicking

Wow, I'm really getting some Into the Bunker flashbacks

Oh this is gonna be amazing isn't it

I commend Luz for not actually dropping dead of embarrassment

Seriously, how can Hooty set all this up so fast yet not hold a pen?!?!?!

Poor Luz, she thinks this is destroying her chances

Meanwhile Amity is just "Oh, Titan, is this actually happening?!"

The way she's fixing her hair!❤

Goddamnit Luz let this play out, she's so clearly into this!

"Again?!" Okay who do I have to kill?

Luz is luzing it

Nooooooo....

JUST TALK FOR FUCK'S SAKE (aka how like 95% of issues in literally any plot could be solved)

Noooo Amity's so heartbroken right now💔

This isn't what either of them wanted!

To be fair, Hooty, Luz had a part in this too. Not that she can be blamed entirely. Poor thing clearly had some awful experiences back home...

Now Hooty is McFucking losing it

Why did I think he was gonna say "Looks like I'm gonna have to JUMP!" I think I've watched too much Homestar Runner (jk there's no such thing)

Those pulsating organs are still gross

Eda swooping in to save her son (No, really, he actually is now)

I'll say things get weird when Hooty gets upset!

Yes, King! Save them with your voice powers!

Damn that is some romantic lighting, and Luz is enjoying the eye candy (cotton candy, if you will)

Luz's reaction to Harpy!Eda is the family-friendly summation of how the fandom has reacted.

Hooty really just tearing up the landscape in remorse

Mother-daughter moment about love life!

I appreciate not just Eda's encouragement but her actually asking Luz what she wanted

God, Eda is best mom

Also, OH FUCK IS THIS HAPPENING?!

OH SHIT

THESE ADORABLY AWKWARD NERDS❤💜💙

"I'm not as cool as you think" could be interpreted as self-deprecating, but here it seems...oddly reassuring?

The way Luz eloquently says how she wants Amity in her future...beautiful❤

Luz making some good faces

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

YOU CUTE DORKS I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

THERE IT IS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

LOOK HOW HAPPY SHE IS

WE WERE LOSING OUR SHIT OVER A PECK ON THE CHEEK THREE WEEKS AGO AND NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE HOLY FUCK

Awkwardness is still there, but that's to be expected

BET Y'ALL DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TRAILER SHOT TO BE IN THE HOOTY EPISODE HUH

THE WAY LUZ RUBS AMITY'S HAND😭😭😭😭😭

(And yeah, it's gonna still be scary, but only because it promises to be so wonderful)

Let's give it up for Hootsifer, goddamn!

Let'a also appreciate just how fucking funny it is that Lumity becomes official in the Hooty episode

Fus ro WEH!

Hooty actually saying "Luz's new GF" out loud...

In just about any other show the love interests getting together would be a climax/culmination of the entire plot. Here? It's actually used to advance the plot, and that is brilliant!

Dana Terrace and the crew really just knocking it out of the park again and again, huh

"They're adorable, and deserve all the happiness!" Well said, Hootsifer. Well said.

Probably for the best they had Hooty promise that. As much as what happened/progressed, there was a lot of property damage.

OH SHIT ONCE AGAIN

King's dad/relative! And he's voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson!

GODDAMNIT HOOTY

Wow. Just...wow. This episode.

King has voice powers! Harpy!Eda! Lumity are girlfriends for real!!!!

How do you pack so much into a single episode?! And so expertly?!

I had my suspicions before, but this confirms it: The Owl House is the greatest show of all time.

And we have two episodes left until the hiatus! And 11 episodes in the season after that! What are we in for?!?!?!

I, for one, can't wait to find out!

[cardboard-aliens]

Seeing people trying to say nice things about Infinite “Well the gunplay in Infinite was the best of the series!!” like b r u h no it wasn’t. BioShock has never had good gunplay, if that’s what you’re looking for you will 100% be disappointed with this series. It will always be clunky at best. If you want good gunplay go play a borderlands game- playing just BL1 is vastly more engaging combat than any BioShock game, especially Infinite, and BL2 is even better.  

The BioShock series was always about being atmospheric and building a setting and the shooting was just kind of there- it was never refined or something to cite as a virtue of the series, beyond plasmids being cool conceptually (mechanically they kind of flop- but eh its about the vibe in BioShock) 

Infinite’s WHOLE goal was to become more mainstream so they could appeal to the widest audience. Meaning the gameplay became more generic. Like it does not stand out at all, and a lot of the things to remember about it are bad. Like now instead of having a gun wheel you only hold two guns at a time, and you loot better guns from your enemies! Nothing wrong with that, lots of games do that (like borderlands) But then they made a horrible upgrade system which does not harmonize at all with this new weapon system.

You’re constantly rotating out guns, and you never have control of what weapons you’ll have because you’ll always be looting to get new guns (or desperately holding onto one to get that #achievement) so upgrading weapons is pointless because you don’t know when you’ll see that gun again- if ever. you spent money on the starting pistol??? You wasted money because end game you’re not gonna see that gun again. And you don’t have tons of money floating around to be wasting.

Losing money when you die is very dumb in Infinite. You have such finite funds you’re almost constantly trying to save up for a new Vigor upgrade (if you actually use more than one) and when you lose that bit of money it keeps you from being able to keep up in combat- Now you may think “But hey you cited Borderlands as a better game for combat, but you lose money when you die there too!!” 1) There is no upgrade system in borderlands tied to spending cash to make guns better 2) You rarely buy weapons anyways, you’d get better guns from loot and most of the time you’re just restocking on ammo or health 3) There is so much money in Borderlands that the money you lose when dying is inconsequential. You’re likely to make it all back in a fight or two and then some.

The upgrade system in Infinite is solely there because “BioShock games have weapons upgrades! We better add them to Infinite to make sure people know this is a BioShock game!” and the same logic applies to Vigors. They exist to fill the plasmid hole in the gameplay- and can get that, but the Vigors are LAME- I used birds almost exclusively and rarely had any problems. You could argue this is a problem all three BioShock games share (In BS1 and BS1 you will always have electrobolt on hand- it is too useful and powerful to unequip) but at least in BS1 and BS2 plasmids were built into the lore- and interesting and fundamental part of the story of the games (and like I’ve said, these games were about story and atmosphere. So maybe they’re not the best refined gaming experiences, but it was all at least interesting). In Infinite they’re just... there. They’re not explored or explained to help flesh out the city and build the world (instead BaS makes this worse- but that’s for another day). 

“but the skyhook was cool and unique!!!!” it could have been yeah- but when did you use it while fighting? It very quickly becomes just a way to reposition yourself and serves as a melee attack. I tired to use that thing as offensively as I could, because banana slamming your enemies to death was the most satisfying part of the combat. But there was rarely a time where you could glide -> shoot -> slam -> shoot -> glide -> repeat. The skyhook was just to pick where you wanted to stand for your shoot out. Not to be where the combat happens.

Tears weren’t any better. They were advertised as ways to help spice up the gameplay and help players have their own unique experiences, but they’re static just like the rest of the gameplay. You’ll have like three options usually between “physical cover” “an ‘ally’ for suppressive fire” or “first aid”. If they’re feeling spicy they might let you open up an extra place to use the sky hook to reposition. Never once do you do something cool with the tears in combat. 

There is nothing good about Infinite’s gameplay. Anything it does you kind of like can be found done better in a different game. And said game will probably have a better story with better characters- meaning there is really nothing to gain by playing Infinite unless you really like the look of “sky city”. But like just go play Paper Mario at that point. The single level of WrestleMania in the sky is better than Infinite (OR once again BORDERLANDS- which has a flying city). 

[teruthecreator]

THS IS A ROBBERY 🔫YOUR ROLESWAP LORE!!! HAND IT OVER 🤲if u want 2 :)

just took my melatonin bc i have to wake up at 4:30 AM to drive 16 hours to my mother’s so i’m sorry if this becomes derailed but uh. here’s the roleswap lore! or, at least, everything i’ve decided (along with matthew and corinne bc the three of us tagteamed on it) 

gonna chuck it all under a readmore bc this is going to get long

so first off, just gonna run out in front and say i have no idea how this fits into graduation plot. i haven’t gotten that in plot consideration, given their character differences in comparison to their canonical selves. so, for the most part, it’s a lot of background establishment and character traits. but i do have a few plot bits that i’ve figured out bc i thought it was cool. why such a long preamble? i don’t know. help me

fitzroy maplecourt: 

first off, he’s not called sir!!! because he doesn’t go to knight school! 

my idea for his backstory is that the way he decides to grapple with his identity crisis/imposter syndrome (which he definitely Still has) is that instead of becoming a grander, larger than life version of himself. he just. goes the opposite.

not necessarily becoming a degenerate (bc he just smokes pot and that’s not bad he’s just vibing)??? but more just like. leaning into the laid-back nature of life that one might pick up from a lifetime in rural country. 

he goes to a liberal arts school a ways away and just decides to bum around and take life not seriously. he develops a pretty large group of acquaintances being a hippie stoner; he doesn’t really pursue a degree either. i think if he picked up any major it was probably like. an art major or an english but he basically fails most of his classes bc he doesn’t care! 

unlike his canonical counterpart, fitzroy doesn’t mind being called nicknames!! ones i think he has the most are fitz or roy, but basically you could call him anything and he’ll respond. that is because, instead of clinging to the concept of his identity bc it’s the only thing he feels he has, his identity is nebulous!! he doesn’t understand it and it scares him too much to be concrete, so he just lets people decide shit about him for him. 

his personal philosophy is more about floating through life and letting people assume shit about him than having a solid personality and backstory that people understand and recognize. it is a more dissociative way of having an identity crisis! how fun! he also barely talks about his past, and what he does talk about are cherrypicked points of his past that fit his narrative of being a casual down-to-earth hippie

 the moment that this all changes is when order decides to pop in and grant him powers!!!! wahoo!!!! here’s how that happens: 

he’s baked out of his fucking gourd in his dorm room, in the spring semester of his junior year. he’s alone (which is rare) and he’s maybe a little sad, but he decides to just ignore it. he looks at his table and laughs. “hehe, what if this table just. blew up?” he says to himself. it isn’t that funny, but he laughs. then he lays his hand on the table. 

the table blows up.

after that, he has magic!!! 

i’m going to go into detail a little bit later about how fitzroy’s magic manifests in the roleswap universe, but i wanna get through the backstory first. basically, he gets really freaked out after his magic comes to him because it is So New and Wow What and What The Fuck.

he realizes that this new addition to his character Completely changes how people who know him would perceive him (as a bum stoner chill guy), and he can no longer have control of his narrative with this magic business. so he drops out!

well, he actually just transfers. to a school far, far away where people will never know who he was and he can rebuild his narrative with this magic incorporated into it. he chooses wiggenstaff’s because he figures the school would have more of a knowledge of magic than his libarts school, which would mean he could understand why the fuck weed gave him magic (sidenote: it wasn’t weed, obvs, but he thinks this so for a while he doesn’t smoke!) 

he is now the chill hippie of wiggenstaff’s!!! most people like him because his personality is fairly easy to digest; some people think he shouldn’t be there, but he is! he starts out as a sidekick and he would’ve honestly been fine with that forever, but then he’s suddenly thrust into the hero track!!! wow!!!! i will also explain this with the magic. 

but yeah!! that’s fitzroy, for the most part. now we’ll move onto the other boy

argonaut keene:

he actually prefers if people call him argonaut, but he’s less likely to correct people than canon fitzroy Or canon argo. he’s a tad bit shyer in this universe!

argo’s backstory pretty much follows the same idea of his canonical background, but with some key differences that shape him into the character he is in the present! 

basically he still grows up on shebrie’s ship, surrounded by crewmates and the salty sea air. but his fascination with the sea doesn’t manifest into this swashbuckling lifestyle that he has in canon. 

what fascinates him more is the ship itself. how it functions, how water wears down wood, how directional currents can affect navigation. basically, he becomes invested in the sciences part of sealife more than the pirateering. he has special interests in marine biology, but his heart remains in nautical engineering. figuring out ways to make the ship run better, faster, and more efficiently consumes his childhood thoughts!

shebrie encourages her son’s craving for knowledge with tomes and books from all over the world about anything related to engineering and nautical things. he’s homeschooled, basically, but he becomes rather intelligent within a few short years! 

and then, well....shebrie dies. yeah we aren’t escaping that finality, sorry folks. that part of canon Still Applies.

after shebrie’s death (coughMURDERcough), argo is. traumatized! and he makes the decision to almost entirely sever himself from his life on the sea. it’s all too painful to look back upon--the times he spent studying with his mother in the captain’s quarters, rattling off dolphin facts as they sailed onward, dreaming of turning gears as the ship gently rocked him to sleep--and so he just decides to throw the whole thing out!

he can’t ignore his lifetime of education, though, so he continues to pursue it. with the remainder of money his mother left behind, he enrolls himself in a boarding school of science and technology, with plans to continue study in Only engineering. no more nautical Anything on his roster.

eventually, when he is old enough and graduates high school, he roams around...trying to figure out what to do. he doesn’t have enough money for college, so he can’t continue his scholarly efforts yet. he works around, job-to-job, city-to-city, and just notices how...delayed everything feels. like society is suffering under this slow pace towards innovation. 

and that’s when he decides his next course of action. if he were to discover the root of some problem and engineer a solution, he would be famous! he would gain notoriety and praise and--and all the things his mother had as a captain. but he would have it on his own, separate from his mother, and separate from his past. 

he figures out his next course of action: attend a school that will give his prestigious enough marks to be accepted onto a research team, find a problem, solve it, help the world, maybe earn a little bit of that credit and respect that would make him feel like he was doing his mother proud. 

the thing i want to emphasize here is that argo’s take on helping the world comes from that morality that canon fitzroy has. canon fitzroy wanted to be a knight because he wanted to fairly and justly instill ideas of “good” and “bad” onto the world. roleswap argo has a similar moral sense, but instead of establishing rules he wants to fix the “bad” and make it “good” in a technological/scientific sense.

the only school argo can think of that can get him that kind of notoriety is wiggenstaff’s. getting onto the HOG board would mean he’d have access to countless resources and be respected by a large audience, which would give him the opportunity to make change happen. even if he’s only a sidekick On Paper, what matters is that the diploma would give him the ability to Apply to the HOG. so he drafts a carefully worded letter for a scholarship and achieves a full-ride!!! epic 

like fitzroy’s magic, i’m going to break down argo’s relation to the unbroken chain after i get through backstory stuff. but trust me, I’ve Thought Of It

argo sort of blends into the background at wiggenstaff’s. or, he would, if his roommates/friends weren’t so Fucking Out There. fitzroy is enough to make him always be visible, but even the firbolg’s massive frame means eyes are always on him. which makes him nervous!! he doesn’t like the attention (as opposed to his canonical self, who revels in it for the self-esteem fuel) his insecurities manifest more in what he’s Doing rather than what he Is, mostly because his identity is barricaded by a wall of trauma repression

he’s still plenty funny and witty, just quieter. also he’s a lot Meaner than canon argo, at least to me. because if you irritate him he Will just completely shut you down with words. motherfucker doesn’t bark but he will most DEFINITELY bite

that’s their backstories, for the most part! in terms of how they interact together:

as established, they meet prior to wiggenstaff’s on a tinder date (during the grace period of argo working odd jobs and fitzroy about to be granted immense fucking power) and end up casually dating during the course of their wiggenstaff education. argo is a nervous goober and fitzroy just likes making him blush. it’s very cute.

fitzroy is still less inclined for the romantic than argo, who remains a steadfast absolute romantic internally. fitzroy still holds a lot of the self-doubt and distrust that canon fitzroy has, only it manifests in him not taking anything seriously! which means when he catches Feelings feelings he basically freaks out 

argo still falls in love really quickly, only now he’s more conflicted about it because being in love means trusting and trust means communication and communication means Oops Years Of Trauma Are Being Unloaded Uh Oh! 

now i’m going to touch on the big points that i find really interesting: fitzroy’s magic and argo’s relation to the unbroken chain

fitzroy’s magic:

chaos is not the being that grants him magic. it’s order! 

my take on what this means for what deity is on what plane of reality is that chaos is more Needed so they are the one that is physically On Nua, while Order remains in dreamscapes because they are already a constant amongst the tangible world. yes i know this directly contradicts the reasoning for why theyre Supposed to be where in canon, leave me alone i’m having fun. 

my reasoning for this switch is because chaos stands to be a contradiction to everything canon fitzroy has going on. he has a very strict, nailed-down understanding of himself and the world. everything he thinks is in black and white, bold statements, no questions, he follows rules and obeys the law. untiiiiil chaos gives him magic and shocks him out of that complacency. they lean into his inner impulses and that rage he’s kept locked deep inside. they allow for magic to Explode out of him, rather in calculated bursts or with intent. 

which is why order is more fitting for roleswap fitzroy!! because fitzroy, in this world, has less of a concrete grasp of himself and the world. he purposely lets himself be nebulous and goes with the flow. thinking of the future in real terms is not something fitzroy Does, he has no plans and that’s Fine. order seeks to give fitzroy a backbone, to put it simply. 

his magic doesn’t go impulsively out of him. it is calculated--it comes with thoughts and intentions. the reason it surprises fitzroy when the table blows up is because he didn’t think his thoughts or wants would amount into that, but that’s what order is trying to show him. that his intentions matter. that he matters and he has to Think and Focus and Be Here.

i’m still not sure if his power would manifest as lightning??? because the imagery for the lightning works perfectly for canon fitzroy because of the random power of lightning strikes. but for roleswap fitzroy it’s more like...thunder. like Purpose. thunder happens because of a reaction--it comes with intent. if differing air temperatures collide, it creates thunder. that combination is purpose + intent equating in magic. 

i think that part needs word bc like. how would one quantify thunder?? i think fire might also work really well because the idea of a controlled fire. like things have to Happen in order for fire to start, it can’t just appear like lightning can. 

order’s manipulation relies more heavily on the concept of boosting him up as a savior/hero, rather than boosting his ego and desire for power. fitzroy Has no desires in roleswap world--he’s just there. but when he gets put on the hero track, now he’s suddenly been given purpose. and order uses that to be like “wow, look at all these people who rely on you! look how important you are! don’t you want to use this magic for good?? to do good?? start a war with a demon come on pussy :-)”

OH YEAH also he becomes a hero in this universe (like in terms of tracks) because of the fact that it directly contradicts how he views himself. for canon fitzroy, it was showing him how much more he is capable of without the restrictions of morals (i.e, king fitzroy). but roleswap fitzroy doesn’t Have an image he wants to bolster! he doesn’t think he needs it and, frankly, he doesn’t care for it. the hero tracks carries with it all these stereotypes and expectations that now directly contradict his personality--thus showing him he is capable of more.

okay now for argo’s business jesus christ this post is so long and im NOT EVEN DONE WITH ALL THE POINTS I WANTED TO MENTION

argo’s relation to the unbroken chain:

so since roleswap argo has less of an association with his past (and, by extension, the memory of his mother), he is less inclined to join the mysterious cult that his mother was a part of. 

moreover, he doesn’t necessarily believe the shit he’s told??? he’s way more skeptical of jackal than canon argo is--immediately questioning why and how jackal knew his mother, and constantly trying to poke holes through his narrative.

generally speaking, if you try to talk to roleswap argo about his mother or his past, he Shuts Down. like completely. and that usually results in him snapping at you or just clamming up completely. mostly he just gets really snippy and angry because Hey Shut Up Dickhead I Don’t Want To Talk About It

a part of me still isn’t sure whether or not argo would take the unbroken chain up on their offer. but i also know that, plot wise and character arc wise, it is a necessary part of argo’s story. so i think, at most, he agrees but is extremely hesitant and might even let fitzroy on immediately once he’s given the task of digging into fitzroy’s life

also, they’re boyfriends in this universe, so how could he Really keep it a secret for that long. come on jackal, you idiot, you know they’re kissing. 

i think he’d Eventually warm up to jackal as a sort of father figure, but only after many nights of conversation and dancing around the subject of shebrie.

OH YEAH. this argo doesn’t know the commodore murdered his mother! important to note! he just assumes what he was told was true, that she sailed into dangerous territory and was ambushed. 

during the tribunal bit If That Even Happens In This World, i think fitzroy actually is the one who figures it out Before argo. and once argo does, well............fuck!

OKAY last little bit, just gonna talk about some random extra parts of the world that i’ve thought of already: 

in this universe, grey takes on higglemas’s identity instead of hieronymous’s!!! this is for good reason actually

okay so basically my thought was that, instead of whatever happened in canon yadda yadda dog time, hieronymous and grey are fighting and it’s a pretty evenly matched battle. there’s a cooldown moment where hiero thinks he’s safe but grey uses sneaky backhanded tactics to try and get the drop on him. 

only higgs sees it in time and saves his brother, taking the hit himself. he collapses, extremely wounded, and hiero rushes to his aid. he’s cradling his brother’s body, trying to keep him alive, when grey approaches to deliver the final blow. 

hiero is completely crushed and defeated and basically will let grey do anything to him by this point. the only thing he begs of is to let him live long enough to save his brother.

now, grey isn’t nice. let me make that clear. grey fucking SUCKS and the reason he agrees is because he wants a Real War with hiero and he can’t get that if hiero is basically like “if you let higgs die then you might as well kill me”.

so, grey agrees, and hiero ends up saving higgs by turning him into a cat. was supposed to be a temporary solution until he could find a better spell, but he wasn’t the magic guy in the duo. eventually, grey gets tired of waiting and decides to do some other shit. like turning the school the brothers have been running into a backalley place for demons!!

he takes the form of higglemas and leaves hieronymous locked in his office as basically a mascot. he’s like the queen and grey is the parliament--grey makes all the rules, but everyone assumes it’s hiero. faux-higgs is more on the ground, changing things and making the school a place more fitting for an eventual war. he builds up the concept of heroes and villains being Real, in the hopes he can sway some mortals to his side when he’s able to open a portal to hell. 

hiero still tries to stop this from happening, but his pride and his self-image is wounded by what happened. he feels guilty and puts the blame entirely on him, instead of doing the whole cowardice route like higgs did in canon. he gets people to help him eventually, via mind control and all tht jazz. 

also in this universe, buckminster is the one who gets birdified instead of leon!! has to do with my leon/buckminster and higgs/hiero narrative parallels that i’ve thought of for far too long.

firbolg is exactly the same in this universe. it is hard to swap three people and i didn’t want to think about him. 

fitzroy doesn’t pick a grab. i think he’d rather a lizard, like a bearded dragon. he names him something stupid. like scaly. or kyle. 

uhhh yeah!!! i think that’s....everything i’ve thought of so far!! lemme know if you wanna hear my takes on any other elements in the roleswap world!!!!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Spoilers!!!! Charmed 02x04

Okay yall. I love this episode, but this one is actually my least favorite so far. I have a couple of, not concerns, but more than nitpicks, about some things this episode. Overall I'd still give it a 7/10. It was paced well and the added lore was top notch so far and cant wait for more. Anyways, again I will start with things I liked, then move on to the things I didnt, and end with some highlights.

Likes:

1. Mel! Overall Mel is a champ and even though she had big romance storylines, and they developed her character in small ways throughout the first season, I still felt we need more Mel. This episode not only did a good job if staying true to the mel that was built in season 1 but adding onto her. Mel seems to detest the idea of uselessness or at least of being powerless. Which makes sense not only as a minority and a woman but as a lesbian. She grew up not having to hide and with a mother who basically told them they were powerful strong and could do anything. Which is wonderful, but breeds that room for those types of insecurities.

2. Hacy

So actually not that much big hacy moments in comparison to previous episoded, but I love how they are the two interrogating abby and the moment they shared with the safe word.

That said I also didn't like the need for one when Macy said she would just know. Although I argue that the fact she even asked for the safe word was because she knew. Because she tells her sisters to go, trusting him, before she looks onto his eyes. Then when he leans in to touch her and orb them out, either she is put off by the over enthused smirk (he was too happy for the situation) or she wanted to get a look into his eyes. Because if you look at her facial expressions as she is looking into her eyes she seems to doubt that he is Harry and then asks for the safe word before he orbs them out.

I also think they missed a hacy opportunity when he warns Macy to be careful

Harry: she's half demon

Macy: so am I

Harry: but you are you

I'll explain further in the disliked section

4. Maggie and Jordan. Okay so I really like these two together. Hold up though. I like it as a slow developing relationship. Jordan is in a different life stage than Maggie imo. If he were single and went after her immediately or they started a romance I wouldnt like that. Him having someone and Maggie growing up and them building a solid friendship first is what I am here for. I'll talk about her powers later. What I was curious about was the ring on Jordand finger since the camera focus for a bit on his hand when he mentioned his family. I hope he doesnt come from a line of witch hunters or turns out to be some sort of creature later on. I mean on one hand that would be cool and a twist, especially if he remains the same (like doesnt change into a villian just turns out has some history) because I feel like it would be a way of doing the Galvin family history right. I mean I think that is what I enjoyed about Galvins storyline, him being able to help out because of his family history. But they didnt do much with it given the limited screen time. So if they could do something similar with Jordan and give it appropiate attention I would love it. But if they tried to use it for drama I wouldnt because it would be too much like parkerita. Let maggie grow up and have a healthy mature relationship without deception and scary families involved!

5. Dark!Harry as a Darklighter and a Hunter

So I mean we still don't know exactly what darklighters are. I mean we know that they are part of the whitelighter (one person split in half) but we dont know if the elders trained them for a specific purpose. I mean Darry got fighting skills and some resourcefulness. For to come from no where, but the fact he is after powerful beings (so far we dont know exactly why) and he has a connection with Harry is really interesting and has so many possibilities moving forward and I especially love the further similarities is draws to Macy.

Harry (unlike macy) has been split in two he has lived with this unknown part of him that differs from everything he was taught and believed about himself. Like macy this side of him appears to be "evil", although I have a feeling is probably more complicated than that since it obviously is for Macy. So harry has this "dark side". Which will be interesting if they ever have to or can merge the two.

Right now it appears that Darry has nothing to do with the Demon wars (unless you believe he and abby are working together).

Now onto dislikes:

1. Abby. Hold up y'all! I actually love this villainess. I just have some concerns about her background. And also have some thoughts about her possible future role.

So I love that she wants to bring down the patriarchy of the demon world. Her being Caine seems unnecessary, and brings up some questions.

Why didn't Parker ever mention her? He mentioned Hunter. She knew about him. So it would seem a fair assumption that Parker knew about her.

I don't mind adding lore to the previous seasons as long as they make sense. So far what they have added doesn't negate what was established last season (season 1 contradicted itself a couple of times), but with Abby as a Caine they will have to make double sure they don't add anything that would contradict season 1.

Abby as bisexual. Like I love when shows give some bisexual representation! But I am always weary when bisexuals are the villians and they are the only bisexual characters in the show. I am not bisexual, so I can't really say whether the show is doing this well or not well. It is just something I try to be considerate of and so when it happens I am always a bit nervous about it.

2. The Vera-Vaugh sisterhood (mostly on Macy's part). Okay so I am treading lightly on this topic and also would like to point out that I am coming at this from my Latina perspective. But I feel that Macy sees her place and he relationship with her sisters from the "Good Mexican" perspective. Meaning she does crave that connection to her sisters but also views herself as the other. More so she view her sisters as thinking over her as "the good half demon" and for Macy that isnt enough. It still feels like a rejection of part of her. Which in some cases is, but I think for her sisters it isnt that way at all. They dont view her as "a good half-demon" they see her as Macy and as thier sister. But I feel that since Macy, given how she grew up and the insecurities we know she has from season 1, isnt getting the memo. She now knows that her sisters actually love her and will stick with her, but she no longer is craving acceptance, she wants understanding and commonality. Which for her, her sisters cannot give her not just because they are different but because they view the situation differently.

Abby is playing to that so well. I was upset that Macy would reveal the way she got her demon side. It seems not only like a bad move as far as trusting someone you claim not to trust but also just common sense given that I would thing you wouldnt want other demons knowing how to create more demons from humans. Anyways, abby's line of having more in common with each other was pretty brilliant given the little amount of time she has spent with any of them.

I think it is possible, from the patriarchy conversation, that Abby eventually would try to recruit Macy to join her in trying to take over the demon world. That said I am not sure so far if Abby would actually like to share power with anyone. We still dont know much about her character. So her development moving forward will be interesting.

Moving back to the sisters. I think if moving forward the show would do little things to address the issue it would help not only to further build the relationship between the sisters but the power of 4. Things like the line I added between Macy and Harry would show Macy that they are seeming the situation differently. It wont allieviate What Macy is feeling or the fact she still has to figure out what exactly it means to be a half demon or if it does have meaning out side the societal implications.

3. Whitelighter lore. Don't come for me! I love the added lore. I just have some nitpicks.

Alpha. So if the first whitelighter was from Salem then how is there and Egyptian hieroglyph for a whitelighter? Unless the elders just to a hieroglyph and decided to make that one the one for whitelighter? ("Hey what's that" other elder: "I combined two hieroglyph want to use that for our new whitelighters?" First elder: hell yah!)

Okay so if these two are one person made into two and are connected. Then how connected are they? I mean I assume we will get more detail as the show progresses so I am not made about it, but the alpha is always kept near the split part. So in the beginning was it that they couldnt be too far apart or else something bad would happen? Or is it that what happens to one happens to the other. Dark!Harry tried to kill Harry so we could assume that that isnt the case because it would be a death sentence for both (unless dark!harry didnt know and just lucked out be the fact that Harry and him are now immortal because Harry's tie to the elders was severed). Lots of questions regarding what exactly dark!harry knows or doesnt know.

4. Maggie's powers. Dont get me wrong, I love the foresight and its relation to premonitions and Marisol, but it is gonna need some careful explaining. They established that witches are traced through these powers and that the sisters were stripped of them. So then what is this foresight? It cant be a part of her old powers because those were stripped. But if this is a new power can it be used to track the sisters? Or is it something else? A power but unrelated to the powers and triggered by an outside agent (not necessarily a person). Will Mel start to develop new powers as well or again is there something going on with Maggie?

Highlights:

Mel chugging like a champ!

Maggie's constant touching of Jordan when trying to trigger her new powers. Not awkward at all Mags...

The satisfied look on Darry's face when he is about to orb Macy and him out (I still cant believe the girls werent suspicious of how Harry found orbed to them when none of them called for him)

(I was gonna give credit to the gif maker and had written down who it was but lost the paper and cant remember which of the people I saved this from. So if this is your gif let me know! So I can edit and give yah the credit you deserve! Sorry about that! If I find the paper before yah recognize the gif I will edit)

Abby's recount of being attacked by Darry. I was enjoying the steaminess.

Anyways that's all on my part! Comment, send asks or message me, if y'all want to discuss something I mentioned or didnt mention about this episode or the series in general! Not looking forward the the inevitable break that will occur but cant wait for episodes 5 and 6!

[doerunners]

tiger breeze :)

How I feel about this character

Okay, anyone with eyes knows I fucking adore Tiger Breeze. She is so fun and sexy and perfect and I wish she was real so I could ask her out and marry her. My soft spot for tough girls who refuse to show weakness becomes more and more apparent with each and every passing day. I think she is arguably the most underrated of the tribe leaders- personality-wise at least. We’ve already had the discussion of how she is one of the prettiest cats in Threeclans. Tiger Breeze is so fun and dynamic and I love how the tribe’s customs and lore is used so well in favor of her character. Seeing her during the spring, watching her kick ass and take names? It makes me so happy. She is so powerful and perfect. Anyways.

Tiger Breeze has gone through So Much Fucked Up Shit and taken on so many burdens that nobody else was willing to put the effort in for. She was the only spring cat to step up and take in Hollow when all was lost, when she was being torn apart by her own tribe after losing the home she’d been born and raised in. For moons and moons and moons, she was starving, being berated, blamed, betrayed. And she still held on, still nursing Hollow as they all starved, as the leaders bickered and fought over how to proceed. She lost connection to the ancestors, she lost everything. And still she remained strong. 

Two to-bes leave, the biggest “fuck you” any cat could have given their home. And she didn’t forget. And when they returned, well fed, groomed, having found some better place than the tribe, insisting they’re the tribe’s saviors? After watching her tribemates starve, watching them flea-infested, unable to move, get hit by cars and starve to death? After she’s held on so long, stayed strong, continued to fight tooth and nail to keep the cats she’s responsible alive? They’re the heroes? She puts them in their place fast. She rewards Aspen and Spark, examples of what those traitors should have been. That’ll show em.

She leads her tribe after them. They don’t get to run away and feast endlessly, leaping into the arms of these ‘Clan cats.’ No. If they’re going to live life without a care, so is the tribe. She fights, she puts herself at risk, inserting herself amongst the leaders, not asking them, Telling Them that the territory they’ve settled on is theirs now. She claims a new home for her tribe.

So she settles in. She’s done her job. Hollow is grown up, the Tribe has a home now. She’s done her job. She can relax. And then suddenly her nieces are in her lap and they’re her problem now. Great. She’s expected to be the mom of her brother’s dead boyfriend, a role she neither wanted nor asked for. Cool.

I could go on but its 12:30 and I have class tomorrow. My point is? Tiger Breeze’s whole life is practically dedicated to cleaning up the messes of everyone else and she deserves a break.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Tiger/Kink. I really shocked you with this one, huh Maya? Anyways- hear me out. I think there’s so much potential here just because they’re both so similar to one another, and yet their morals are so different. Tiger Breeze, since birth, has been raised to be a good caretaker. She’s had this stereotype to fill with being a passive, docile, loving, empathetic kit lover, never given room to grow outside that. She was raised under the expectation that she’d be cared for, she wouldn’t need to raise a paw to feed herself or protect herself. She found salvation by rebelling and makes a point of showing herself off, reminding others around her that she is not a force to be reckoned with- she’s not a doormat and any cat who thinks otherwise will have hell to pay. However, when it comes to being a spring cat, she feels awkward, out of place, like she’s not where she’s supposed to be. She’s so focused on being tough and strong that she feels out of place in a position so vulnerable as raising children- especially in the cases of Firefly and Butterfly, where the role of “mother” has been so unceremoniously forced upon her, a role she has no desire to claim. Tiger Breeze’s tough demeanor comes from being separated from motherhood. Kinktail? From birth, she’s been raised to be a fierce and loyal warrior. Her mentor was tough and demanding, and Kinktail worked hard to prove herself a loyal FogClan warrior. She had to learn everything, taking on so many different roles as FogClan warriors are expected. Where Tribe cats take on one specific role for the good of the many, FogClan cats take on all roles for the sake of self-preservation. Kinktail has been raised under the expectation she would be facing the world relatively on her own. Kinktail embraced this, loyal FogClan warrior to a T- only raising kits because it was the expectation to give back to her clan and add to its population. But, no father in the picture, the threat of traitors, FogClan changing so drastically through her pregnancy and her time as a nursery queen? Motherhood wasn’t an obligation- it quickly morphed into her identity. Her loyalty only began to shift as something more important entered her life. Kinktail’s tough demeanor was forged from motherhood. Both of them are strong, closed off mollies well regarded for their fierce, tough attitudes, but for entirely different reasons. As a result, I think them merging, Kinktail teaching Tiger Breeze to embrace motherhood without compromising her strength and Tiger Breeze teaching Kinktail to be less unhealthily reliant on motherhood, teaching her to move on from the dark parts of motherhood that haunt Kinktail? I think there’s SO much room for growth and depth there.Tiger/Feather. Okay. If Sketch somehow manages to steal Tiger Breeze from my grubby little fingers, I think there’s potential for a fun opposites-attract type thing with these two. Feather is the embodiment of friendliness and kindness, Tiger Breeze is the embodiment of “lmao why the Fuck are you looking at me” and seeing those two personalities merge together would be hilarious

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Ok these are gonna be shorter bc I’m starting to lose steam here.

Tiger&Butterfly and Tiger&Firefly. Ugh. The complex relationship these three have? SO fun and interesting and cool to watch. I hope that someday, as Firefly and Butterfly get older, sentient enough to realize how fucked up the situation they, Tiger, and Fading all had? They gain a close relationship with her where Tiger has a soft spot for them, protects them and spoils them ever so slightly, and Firefly and Butterfly can count on their aunt Tiger Breeze to be there for advice, to yell at people who fuck with them, so on and so forth. I really wanna see how they turn out once they’re teens/adults, and Tiger gets a little more separation from responsibility over them.

Fading&Tiger. Everyone knows what a soft spot I have for sibling relationships, especially ones as complex as this. I hope that, someday, when Fading gets to overcome the trauma he went through and gets a little more aware of how fucked that situation was/is, they can someday have a heart to heart and find some sort of middle ground/some respect for one another, even if it’s from a distance. 

My unpopular opinion about this character

Tiger Breeze isn’t as bad a caretaker as everyone says she is. There, I said it. Is she a perfect caretaker? Would she be on the cover of “World’s Best Moms” magazine? Absolutely not. But I also firmly believe that Tiger Breeze does what she believes is right by those in her care, and even if sometimes her view of what’s right for them is a little bit skewed, I think she does care about those she looks after and does what she thinks they’ll need to grow up strong. She’s just a bit of a believer in tough love. 

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon.

I wish Tiger Breeze would fall in love. I’ll be the first person to admit a romantic interest a. should not be necessary for a cat’s storyline, b. should not be used as a means of “fixing” or “changing a cat (especially “for the better”) but I think Tiger Breeze, in particular, would be a really fun cat to see slip up with her feelings. So much of Tiger Breeze’s character is formed around the fact that she’s independent, she’s a bad bitch, she always knows what’s best, she’s being held back by the other cats around her, so on and so forth. Constantly, to her, she’s being forced to fall to a lesser standard because other cats won’t stop latching onto her when all she wants is to be alone. And it’s for that reason I’d love to see her finally deal with her, herself, holding her back because she feels herself starting to get attached to another cat. I want to see her lose her train of thought because she saw her crush out of the corner of her eye, I want to see her up giving the gathering announcements and pause just for a split second because she saw the cat’s eyes staring up at her, their attention fully on her. I want to see her lash out and tase this cat as some half-hearted way to distance herself from them- all because she blames them for how her mind has slowly been being taken over by thoughts of them. Maybe I’m just a stupid fucking romantic but there’s nothing that I love more than seeing strong cats fall victim to their own feelings.

[simplysoriya]

The Eternal Serpent

{Chapters: Prologue, 1, 2, 3, Interlude, 4}

(Note: These events take place prior to 8.3 and the Visions of N’zoth)

Chapter 5: Stowaway

The voyage from the coast of Uldum to where the great Sea narrowed between the Townlong Steppes was a rocky one indeed. Sailing was far from smooth as choppy waters rocked the older vessel mercilessly despite the fair weather. Wind was in their favor at least, speeding up the otherwise lengthy trip. But it was far from over.

Each time the sound of footsteps creaked outside the hall to the cabin she occupied, or a pair of voices lingered too close to the door, the young monks heart skipped a beat. She stayed on the small goblin-sized cot near the corner of the swanky room as quiet as a mouse. Caution turned to fear as she rationalized that it was easier to wait it out then confront a ship full of treasure seekers that she had stolen passage from. Especially as they sought the same prize. Thoughts of what would happen if she was found plagued her mind as worst case scenarios got worse with each passing pitch from an unoccupied and nervous mind.

She was on her own now and had to rely on her own wits. As much as she wanted this adventure to be hers and only hers? There was no denying the absence of her father weighed heavily- her safety net was stunningly gone, plummeting off of the ship along with the goblin whos cabin she currently crept in. It was quieter without him, and certainly more tense without his brand of tactless humor, nor his unorthodox style of problem solving that had gotten her this far. It was sorely missed as she counted down the minutes in her solitude. But most disheartening of all was the loneliness

The small room she occupied was studied over and over as boredom grew. It was a decently sized living quarter fit for someone of station on a ship. Four walls and a bed was a step up from the rows of hammocks found in the bowels of a mid sized ship like this one. Personal keepsakes, trinkets, and paperwork littered the shelves and tables, some from plunder others of a more intimate nature. But it seemed the goblin did like his trophies and put in the time to earn them.

One bauble in particular caught her eye sitting off on the nightstand. While she tried not to touch much in the room that wasn’t hers, that one off-colored yellow rock that stood atop a stack of letters piqued her interest. Pulling the rock from its pile she inspected it further, pulling it to her face and twisting it betwixt her fingers. As she pressed against the sides of the stone immited a soft glow that seemed fit for reading. With a softer smile Soriya placed the rock within her pocket, thinking the trinket cool enough to warrant a little bit of light theft. How bad could she feel over stealing a little something from a bunch of pirates?

As her gaze set out the starboard window to watch the ship glide over the waves she found some comfort in the ocean. Watching the powerful waves dip up and down as the deep sea cared carried on at its own pace. The day ran long and the sun hung dangerously low over the horizon. 

Every now and again hurried footfalls jolted her back from a half lidded sleep, lost in the scenery despite the obvious signs of danger. She tried her best to keep vigilant knowing full well if she was discovered it would be a quick end to her journey, that same adventure she had sunk months of her life into gone with a sour end. The promise of mystery and Pandarian lore only a few hours away, but in the end, she couldn’t fight it any longer. Teal eyes resisted a few flutters before finally shutting under their own weight.

Several hours later…

The abrupt and rapid click of steel against steel caused her to pop up from her rest with haste. Heavy metal slammed into the ocean outside of her window as Soriya sat up to loom out it. Quickly surveying the unfamiliar room with a concerned and inquisitive glance the pieces slowly came together as she shook off the haze of sleep.

“I hadn’t seen em in days, at least not since we shoved off.” A man's voice piped from behind the wooden door to her cabin. 

“Me neither.” Said a second man's voice. “I heard Porky sayin’ he hasn’t seen’em since the town with all the cat people.”

“Naw, I definitely saw em. We hung out by the campfire swappin’ stories the night we got to the shore.”

Instantly those long elven ears stood at full-height as her wake up call came with an impending sense of dread. Fumbling her way out of the small cot she made a sluggish attempt toward the door, it was her every intention to be quiet… but the monk under pressure was nothing but. Frantically clinging to the door as if to hold it shut she listened in on their conversation.

“Ya hear that?”

“Yeah, someones gotta be in there.”

The voices muttered to themselves for a moment longer before the wrap of knuckles against wood. “Ey, Gits, you in there? Capt’n wants to see ya I think they’re about ta dive.”

Panic set in like a fast spreading plague. She looked left, and then right, quietly as if there were anything that could help her, only finding it to be a fool's errand. There was nothing she could do to answer their question and an imitation would surely fall flat.

“Everythin’ alright in there?” The lack of reply met with only more indistinct chatter behind the door.

A gruffle came from behind the door as a decision was made after a moment. “Somethin’ ain’t right here, we’re comin’ in.”

In her desperation it seemed that imitation was all she had. With a deep inhale to clear her mind and prepare for the role she swiftly delivered in a horrible Kezen accent, “Wait! Naw don’t come in here! I’m like… naked and stuff.”

“Who is that?!”; “Hey! You’re not the quartermaster!” The two men behind the door overlapped their surprise as the doorknob began to violently shake against its lock as shoulders came to attempt to force it open. 

Shiiiiiit… was the first thought that came to mind as her fleeting attempt failed right on its face. With a renewed determination the monk flung her arms onto the door frame to grasp onto the loose wooden lip around it. Pressing her back as hard as she could against the door behind her.

“If you don’ open this door right now we’re gonna start shootin’!”

“Okay Soriya.” She spoke in a low tone almost exclusively to herself. “Think this out. What would dad do...” As her teal eyes lifted up to the starboard window an idea began to form. If they put down anchor and were ready to dive, that had to mean they were close to where the Temple was. It had to be!

With little option and even less time Soriya pushed herself from the door and into a running start toward the window. The anchor was down and in the way of any notion of a dive, but the young monk used it to her advantage as she flung her top half out the window only to cling onto the steel chain. Using it to leverage out her legs she quickly took a large breathe before positioning her feet on the outside of the ship. With her view of the ocean unobstructed she took a series of gasping breaths before one final one as she let go of the anchor as her feet used the ship as a springboard to propel her dive into the waters below.

As she cut through the vast and cold waves of the unforgiving ocean it wasn’t fear that kept on her mind. No, instead it was a sense of pride as she traversed the dark depths downward. This was it; the end of the trail. Whatever waited for her at the bottom of the ocean, whether it was a fable or disappointment, she had come this far. Without any diving gear and limited light it would be no small feat. But she would only get one shot at this and she intended on making it count….

[mobius-prime]

65. Special - Sonic Live!

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The Last Game Cartridge Hero

Writer/Pencils: Ken Penders Colors: Karl Bollers

*deep breath* …oh boy.

So this issue is kind of infamous for being, well, terrible. At least, this first story is. Even I, usually being willing to put up with a lot of crap from Penders, think this story is just a royal mess. You'll see what I mean in a second.

Anyway, the customary intro page of this issue makes some kind of allusion to Sonic being about to enter some strange other zone that's unlike anything he's ever experienced before. Indeed, the beginning shows Sonic rushing to try to rescue Sally, who's been captured by Robotnik, only to be blasted by energy bolts from behind - which, as we all know from when this exact thing happened to Robotnik in StH#21, just means he'll be catapulted into another reality instead of killed. Which reality is that, you ask?

Ha. Haaaaaa.

Oh yeah. That's right, folks. It's one of these. Kenders actually recruited both his real life son and niece to be photographed and placed into the story of the Sonic comics as actual characters. Luckily this only lasts for this one issue, and they weren't made recurring characters or something, but like, damn. These children are grown-ass adults right now. I wonder what they think of this? What they think of their father/uncle respectively? If they cringe looking back at this, or look back on fondly as a cool thing they got to experience as kids? Side note as well, as I've mentioned before Ken had never played a Sonic game while he worked on the comics, nor did he own a Sega console. That's why, when Steve "dies" in the game the screen simply appears to turn off, and, if you look closely, he's not holding a game controller, but rather holding a regular TV remote sideways. Oh, Ken. Why this? Why?

Well, anyway, Sonic finds himself floating in a strange void seemingly unable to move or see anything, until the faces of these kids start looming in his face and talk about seeing him in the TV as they try to turn on their game. Sonic, worried they're going to try to turn off the TV and I guess strand him in there for longer, somehow reaches out and pulls them in instead.

Great going, Sonic! Now these two kids who have no superpowers of their own are stuck in a dangerous war zone with you. Indeed, this goes as well as you might expect. He and the two kids are able to breach back into Sonic's home zone, where Robotnik has captured the rest of the Freedom Fighters and is planning to launch missiles into space to create… some kind of doomsday device? It's not really explained well beyond "killer satellites," but either way, Sonic doesn't like the idea of this, and so he starts beating up the swatbots in his way. This stops briefly when Robotnik decides to take his villainy to the next level and threaten to shoot the two random innocent kids just because they happen to be with Sonic.

Of course, the swatbots aren't as fast as Sonic, which begs the question of how they even managed to blast him at the beginning of this story in the first place, and he beats the rest of them up and escapes with the kids. He takes them to the control center to shut down the missile launch, which has begun its countdown due to Sonic accidentally knocking Robotnik down onto his launch remote. Great job, buddy!

They manage to shut down the missiles, but just as they do, Robotnik, Snively, Sonic, and the two kids are all pulled into a strange beam of light. Once Sonic and the kids get their bearings, Robotnik begins gloating, since apparently, during the split second between when he entered and when Sonic entered, he contacted a bunch of alternate universe copies of himself and got them to build him a big mech suit shaped like himself. Apparently, they're in yet another strange zone, and Robotnik realizes he can conquer the whole multiverse from here, not just his own version of Mobius. At least… I think that's what he's implying. Honestly, it's so unclear and all the dialogue so scattered, it's hard to even properly tell. Anyway, Robotnik throws Sonic and the kids in a prison cell with several other… humans?

While Robotnik suddenly finds himself threatened by the other versions of himself, not content to be used for slave labor, Sonic has a chat with these people. Apparently, this isn't just any old zone - it's the kids' home zone, AKA, Earth! Now, this definitely isn't our Earth. These guys claim to be the designers of the Sonic games, but for one, they're decidedly not Japanese, and two, there's no mention of Sega at all. Apparently, the concept art for Sonic the Hedgehog in this world was created when they received strange interdimensional transmissions showing images of him, and they decided to make a game out of it. Not only that, but now these video game designers slash scientists have apparently created a weird prototype device that was responsible for sucking Sonic and co. into this world through a strange dimensional link. Yyyyyeah. Go ahead and try to make any sense out of this crap.

Well, anyway, Sonic and the kids notice Robotnik and Snively about to be vaporized by the angry other-Robotniks, and decide to step in and save them from certain death, or maybe just another instance of zone-hopping. Come on Sonic, this is what, the third or fourth time you had an opportunity to let this guy die and have all your problems be solved? How many other people have died in this war because you refuse to let Robotnik be killed by his own hubris? Of course, the swatbots and other Robotniks don’t like this, and so to save themselves, Sonic and the kids need to shut down the prototype linking them to this world. Turns out the way they do this… is through Sonic game cheat codes!

The code recited by little Steve here is actually a real code, something I'm mildly surprised about given Ken's weird disdain for the Sonic video games. It's the level select code for the original Sonic the Hedgehog game on Genesis (non-Japanese version). If you've got a Genesis and a copy of the first game, try it yourself and see. In this world, however, it's apparently the shutdown code for the swatbots, and thus everyone is saved. The game designer scientist guys use the prototype's dimensional link to send Sonic, Robotnik and Snively back to their own zone, and Sonic has a happy reunion with his friends, who have been mysteriously freed from captivity in the meantime.

Oh, boy. Someone needs to tell Kenders that the Sonic games don't actually depict Sonic from the comics. These kids aren't gonna have any idea what the Sonic they were traveling with is up to, because all they'll be doing is playing as a different, more turquoise-colored Sonic, battling some weird dude called "Eggman" and collecting seven multicolored Chaos Emeralds to save a planet that definitely isn't called Mobius. Shame.

The Substitute Freedom Fighters

Writer: Rich Koslowski Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Karl Bollers

So you may be wondering. How exactly did the Freedom Fighters even get captured in the first place, and how did they escape while Sonic and the others were stuck in the "real world"? This story is here to answer our questions! Apparently, while Sonic is just off derping around somewhere else, the others are watching Rotor create a new micro-cam that he can attach to his bandolier, working kind of like a body cam so they can review footage of battles after the fact and learn from them. Fortunately for them, some swatbots immediately show up to let them test out their new invention. Unfortunately for them, they get overwhelmed and dragged back to Robotnik.

Hey, look who it is! Larry Lynx has made his comeback, and he's noticed everyone's disappearance… as well as the ongoing live feed from Rotor's micro-cam. Realizing everyone is in danger, he rallies the first people he sees training - Cyril Eagle, and Sally's old recruits. They team up and fight their way into Robotropolis, Larry using his famous bad luck to make sure the swatbots lose every time, and they're able to eventually find the captured Freedom Fighters and liberate them. After finding Sonic as well, they head back to Knothole, where Sally forms the six of them into a new team, the Substitute Legion of Freedom Fighters, as a backup squad that can continue the fight against Robotnik if the Freedom Fighters are unable to.

This is cute, but it does bring up an interesting point. Clearly, the Freedom Fighters are not always able to win their battles, and it's dire enough that Sally's started forming backup teams. It's not said directly that it's in case the main team dies or is roboticized or something, but we know that's a very real possibility in this war. Makes you wonder how this war was even fought when they were all tiny kids, and if something like this has ever happened before…

Knuckles Quest 2

Writer: Kent Taylor Pencils/Colors: Pat Spaziante

Well, no need to worry about that. Knuckles is at it again! This time, he's found his way to a strange cottage in the forest, and is set upon by a bunch of vicious mythical creatures, most of which he names off and mentions hearing in fairy tales. It's interesting, because as far as I'm aware, none of these are real-life mythical creatures, which means we're getting a tiny bit of lore and worldbuilding regarding the kinds of mythical creatures Mobian children are told about in this world.

Anyway, Knuckles is totally confused about why he's fighting all these creatures that are supposed to not even exist, but eventually reasons that they indeed can't be real, and are magical projections. Once he announces this, they dissipate and he finds himself talking to an old fox wizard, who directs him to continue his search elsewhere. He then reveals that he used to serve the king in his youth, and that his name is…

…Merlin Prower? Any Sonic fan worth their salt knows that Tails' real name is Miles Prower and that "Tails" is just a nickname, indicating that this strange wizard may be somehow related to Tails. Hmm, wonder if we'll ever hear any more of him…?

[wonduhhwoman]

Backbone - 3 - valley of barbarians

Read on Ao3

“Aw,” Ochako whined, gently patting her face in the mirror that was hung up in a tiny village shop just outside of Fyre, “I forgot what a bitch the sun is!” Her skin was red and giving off heat. It didn’t hurt too badly now, but she knew that she’d really be feeling it tomorrow if she didn’t find someone who had a magical remedy for it. She pouted at herself in the mirror, silently scolding herself for not using the salve that Todoroki had given her.

She lived in a place where the shadows of the trees and brush protected her skin from the sunlight—once she and Tsuki had exited the thick of the trees and began their decent into the Valley of Barbarians, it had slipped her mind that she should even worry about the sun.

Glancing to her right, she saw an entire shelf of the exact potion she needed. She grinned excitedly.

“Excuse me!” She called over to the little lady at the front of the shop who was whittling away at a hunk of wood with a knife.

The lady turned to her with a scowl, raising a brow through long strands of white hair. She huffed impatiently when Ochako didn’t immediately continue.

“How much for the sun-potion?” Ochako inquired, pointing at the specific potion amid the variety adorning the shelves.

“Fifty onti of gold,” she barked, and then jabbed her thumb towards the outside of the tent where Tsuki was wagging his tail in excitement at the hustle and bustle of the little village, “And its twenty onti of gold to park your wolf there."

Ochako’s eye widened before her brows drew down in outrage.

“Twenty onti just to leave my wolf outside!?” She squawked, putting both her hands on her hips, “That’s ridiculous!” She wasn’t going to even think about buying the sun-potion now. She only had one-hundred onti of gold total on her—which she had wagered would have been a reasonable amount to carry around on a journey like hers!

“Every minute is another five,” The lady shrugged, turning back to her whittling and discreetly gesturing to her blow dart hanging up behind her that Ochako didn’t want to find out whether or not was laced with tranquilizer magic. Not that it really mattered—Ochako was confident in her abilities in stopping this grumpy lady from hitting her with the crude weapon. And Tsuki could take care of himself if the shopkeeper decided to aim the weapon the wolf’s way.

Ochako’s eye twitched as she unfortunately remembered that she was supposed to be gaining the favor of these stingy people. She dug through her bag for her money and counted out twenty onti of gold and slammed it on her wooden table, making sure the old lady knew how unhappy Ochako was with this entire situation. She left the shop without another word, potionless, sunburnt still and with a much lighter wallet.

She huffed as she climbed onto Tsuki’s back.

“What a hag,” Ochako complained to the wolf, tugging on his fur until he started down the road lined with all sorts of overpriced shops. Both her and Tsuki’s ears twitched as they meandered down the street and the throng of people got thicker and harder to maneuver through. There was some sort of commotion up ahead—despite the rude demeanor of literally every citizen she’d run into so far, these people at least knew how to have a good time.

Two dancers—one an exotic looking girl with pink hair and pink skin and dark eyes, and the other was a plain looking man whose quirk was apparently to eject some sort of sticky cloth from his elbows. He was using his quirk to spin the girl around gracefully—when Ochako looked closer she noticed a slimy substance that was oozing from the girls bare feet. It slicked up her path, making it easier for her to spin so rapidly and gracefully like she was actually skating around on ice and not solid stone.

It was an impressive show, despite the crowd not bothering to offer any of their money. There was nothing but a few senines in their wooden box obviously meant for tips. Ochako wondered why they even bothered to perform.

That is, until she saw a floating sack making its way through the crowd and somehow pulling out ontis of gold and silver from people’s pockets. Ochako watched with amusement as the sack slowly filled itself up. Perhaps this was the work of someone with an invisibility quirk?

Ochako smirked, clapping along with the crowd as the performing couple got to the grand finale all the while keeping an eye on the floating sack as it made its way towards her.

Tsuki snapped at thin air as the sack got close—Ochako’s ears twitched when she heard the shrill sound of a girl’s ‘eep’. The sack of money nearly fell to the ground, but it looked like the invisible girl managed to catch it at the last second. Ochako hopped off Tsuki quickly, grabbing blindly for the girl and managing to grasp her wrist before she could get away.

“Not so fast,” Ochako whispered to her, being wary of not drawing attention to the two of them now that the crowd was dispersing, “You working with those dancers?”

“Uh huh,” The invisible girl affirmed, squirming in Ochako’s hold.

“You working with anyone else?” Ochako pressed, holding more tightly to the girl’s wrist.

“What do you want?” The invisible girl deflected, never giving up on her attempts to escape.

Ochako grinned, “Some damned sun-potion.”

-----------

Ochako kept her grip tight on the invisible girl as she was lead through the alleyways of Ashton Village—she did not trust her enough to let go. Tsuki trailed behind them, comically taking up a large amount of space in the narrow passage and acting as Ochako’s shadow (and perhaps making sure that the mage wasn’t getting herself into trouble).

“You’re not going to snitch on us, right?” The invisible girl asked.

“To these pompous assholes?” Ochako shot back, “As if.”

“Then why should we help you?”

Ochako grinned, knowing full well that she could con a merchant out of a sun-potion herself—this was just more fun, not to mention that these con artists seemed to be the most tolerable citizens in town. “Think of it more as me helping you,” She said cryptically.

“Boss isn’t gonna be happy that you’re travelling with a Dragon wolf,” She said. Despite her words, she continued to guide Ochako through the alleys until they exited the narrow passages into a side street that was shrouded in shadows due to a large tree taking up the middle of the street. The tree pulled at her senses, causing her mouth to gape stupidly—but she couldn’t be blamed really, because she’s never read a magical aura from a tree before.

“It springs healing magic,” The invisible girl explained as Ochako continued to gape, “Not much, but it’s still pretty cool for a tree, huh? It would take a while to heal just your sunburn—you’d probably have to sleep at its roots all night long for it to get the job done—but the people who grew up in this part of town that are old as hell now probably won’t be dying anytime soon.”

Tsuki barked happily at the tree with a wagging tail, likely getting the same magical readings from it that Ochako was.

“Whoa,” Ochako marveled, shaking her head so that she could take in some of the other surroundings, and immediately taking note that the streets were empty save themselves and a few stray cats. She bit her lip, confused. “If that’s the case, then why isn’t this place full to the brim with people?”

The girl snorted.

“Those barbarians aren’t scared of death.”

“Ha,” Ochako chortled, unconsciously letting go of the girl’s wrist as she settled into the comfort of conversation, “Guess ya got a point. Hey. Does that mean you’re not from around here? What’s your name anyways?”

Ochako blinked, realizing her mistake. But the girl didn’t drop the sack of money and run.

“Hagakure,” The girl giggled, pulling a pair of gloves from the sack and waving at Ochako to follow her towards some of the shops adorning the cobblestone sidewalks.

Hagakure made a beeline to a shop advertising a variety of spellbooks and potion recipes. There was a display of different crystals in the window, and at the center of the display was a clear orbuculum set up on an ornate base of gold. It was a shop based off of magical lore widely established as being outlandish and unrealistic, although Ochako knew better, even found herself drooling at a few of the crystal shards hanging from what looked like finely crafted threading.

It looked like the kind of shady place that promised adventure, and at the least promised the pleasure of interacting with interesting people. Hagakure pushed the door open, leaving it ajar for Ochako to follow behind.

“Stay out here, Tsuki,” Ochako murmured to the wolf, rubbing behind his ears affectionately. Tsuki licked her face, before turning around and laying his bones down at the base of the tree. She smiled at the wolf before following Hagakure into the shop.

The smell of honeysuckle encased her like a cloud, and Ochako’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the incense burning from the shop’s counter. Hagakure stomped up to that counter and dropped the sack of gold and silver onto it before pulling back the curtain of beads to the right of the counter and disappearing through it.

Ochako hummed, stepping toward a display of animal figurines carved from stone. The selection of animals ranged from cats and dogs to elephants and bison. They were carved rather crudely, but that only made them all the more endearing to her. She picked up one of the bear figurines and smiled at the little tuft of hair carved at the base of its rear end.

“Spirit guides,” A deep voice announced from behind her, startling her, “Two bronze senines.”

Ochako jumped, the bear slipping out of her fingertips and her hip ramming into the table holding the display and jostling the whole thing. Thankfully nothing was jostled too much to break anything, but Ochako still found herself rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

She peeked open an eye at the man and found that she had to crane her neck quite a bit in order to make eye contact with him. He looked to be about her age but had deep bags underneath his eyes that reflected either an ailment or an insufficient amount of sleep. His purple hair sat on his head with chaotic order. His magic aura wasn’t weak by any means, but it certainly wasn’t all that strong. And yet something about the man had the hairs on her arms erect.

“Want one?” He inquired, reaching around her and picking up the bear figurine that she had dropped.

“I’m good, thanks,” She replied, stepping away from him.

“Hmm,” He hummed, his eyes flicking out the window, “I thought not.” He glanced back to her, eyes calculating, “You’ve already got a guide it seems—how’d a foreigner like you manage to bond with a Dragon wolf anyways?”

“With my wits,” Ochako offered, raising an eyebrow.

Her response didn’t elicit any sign of amusement from the purple haired man. Ochako wondered if she was losing her touch.

“Well,” He said, walking away from her to sit at the chair behind the counter, “You’ve got a lot of nerve parading that thing around.”

Ochako frowned in confusion.

“Why?”

He snorted, kicking his feet up on the counter lazily, “This country prides itself in a lot of things, if you haven’t noticed. They’re a bunch of entitled assholes and they claim that the Dragon wolves chose their land because of their ancestor’s fortitude—which might even be true.” He glanced up at her from behind the plumes of smoke rising from the burning incense, “They don’t take well to foreigners naming their wolves—especially since a Dragon wolf hasn’t bonded with any natives within the past thirty years.”

Ochako frowned further, “But I ran into an asshole that looked plenty bonded with a Dragon wolf earlier.”

The man raised an eyebrow, “Did you?”

Ochako nodded.

“He was the one that told me to name Tsuki in the first place!”

“Did he?” The man looked thoughtful, but after a moment he shrugged it off, “No matter the case, you’re better off hiding out in the forest or seeking out the King for clearance in his country. Hagakure told me what you wanted. If you’re looking for trouble, you’re gonna find a lot more than what you bargained for s’long as that wolf is with you.”

Ochako pouted, not liking how logical his logic was, “You wouldn’t happen to have any sun-potion, would you?”

The man shook his head.

Ochako cursed, but dug through her bag anyways for some gold.

“How much for the crystals?” She inquired, nodding towards the necklaces hung up nicely near the window.

His mouth twitched like he was fighting a smile.

“Seventy onti of gold.”

“What!?”

“I’m just kidding,” He said, really grinning now, “Twenty bronze senines.”

-----------

Ochako bought two crystals, one turquoise and one obsidian, from the man—she learned that his name was Shinsou—and left his shop pouting. Her skin was really starting to sting, although the salve that Todoroki had given her helped a little.

She walked with Tsuki back through the alleyways on higher alert too, jumping at every little thing and expecting to get arrested just for breathing and not paying the proper fine for it. Now that she thought about it, that lady from earlier probably came up with that stupid fine just in the event that if she couldn’t pay she could get Ochako arrested.

She growled in frustration.

“Stingy barbarians,” She grumbled to Tsuki, “What kind of brutes adhere themselves to an economical system like this anyways? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

Tsuki gods honest shrugged.

Ochako meandered back to the marketplace, pouting and planning on getting out of this shitty village immediately.

“You wouldn’t happen to know the fastest way to the palace?” She inquired of Tsuki. The wolf’s ears pricked up and his tail started wagging. Ochako grinned, “Then let’s get out of here.”

“Foreigner!” A nasally voice called out to her, just as she was getting ready to climb on top of Tsuki’s back. Ochako groaned, turning to the owner of the voice and snarling.

“What?” She snapped.

“Is your wolf licensed?” The blonde man asked, a sneer on his face.

Ochako placed a hand on her hip, absolutely fed up with this kingdom, “The hell you think?”

“I think that you’ve come into this country to try and make a mockery of us!” He exclaimed, “You’ve clearly ignored the proper rituals in challenging a Dragon wolf. Did you come to this land to look down on us?”

Ochako whistled, “You people sure have a lot of ego, dontcha?”

“We’re proud of our heritage!”

“Uh huh,” Ochako nodded, glancing behind the man and noticing that the village guards were beginning to close in on them no doubt because this or some other asshole snitched on her for something she didn’t even do, “Is that why you strung your last king’s head up on the highest mountain for the entire realm to see?”

The man narrowed his eyes, “Our previous king was a great conqueror so mind your tongue, foreigner!”

Ochako quirked her head at him in confusion. Izuku and Iida had made it sound like it was the country’s collective decision to execute their king and hold a tournament to determine the new one. Did they not have the whole story?

Whatever the case was, she had to scoot. The guards were only a few paces away from them.

She huffed, tapping the man’s face and making him float. While the guards were distracted with that, she climbed onto Tsuki’s back and pulled on his fur and never bothered to release the pompous blonde from her quirk. The wolf bounded forward, his sights set on the palace. Ochako laughed as they made a mess of the marketplace, reaching her hand out to one booth in particular as they passed by and snatched a sun-potion off its display and immediately downed it.

“Blegh,” Ochako coughed, tossing the empty vial over her shoulder and conveniently smacking a guard in the face with it, “That’s disgusting.”

They bounded forward towards the village’s gate—Ochako groaned, still coughing, as she saw the barricade they were barreling towards. Tsuki skidded to a stop, putting all his weight on his hind legs before spring forward down another direction. Ochako’s mind reeled as he insides rejected whatever the hell she had just ingested.

“Shit,” She groaned as more guards rounded the corner. Tsuki jumped over their heads, and it took everything Ochako had not to throw up then and there. God, what the hell was in that sun-potion? And why did it make her sick so goddamned quickly?

“M’not feeling good, Tsuki,” She muttered to the wolf, his running motions jostling her in such a way that was not helping matters, “Ugh. Stop runnin’.”

Tsuki came to a stop, guards surrounding them in seconds just as Ochako slid down her wolf’s fur and threw up all over the ground. Once the contents of her stomach were lying comfortably on the cobblestone path, she wiped the back of her mouth and smiled shakily at the guards.

“Hey boys,” She laughed nervously, “I don’t suppose we could talk this through?”

Her answer was two of them grabbing her roughly by the elbows and forcing her into chains. Which was honestly whatever. What pissed her off more than that was the way that they forced a muzzle over Tsuki’s snout and dragged his head down roughly. Even as they forced her to her knees, she was snarling in the wolf’s behalf more than her own.

She growled at the guards as they forced her face into the dirt.

-----------

They threw her and Tsuki into the back of a cargo carriage unsupervised—which made her roll her eyes. If these people are so possessive of their damned Dragon wolves then they ought to know how that it’s not exactly easy to bond with one. Not only is Tsuki capable of escaping, more capable than her that was for damned sure, but they also didn’t even know what her quirk was. At least they had the sense to confiscate her bag.

She wiggled her hands until she got all five of her fingers on the chain of her shackles. From there all she had to do was pull at her magic and use it to expand the material until it shattered around her and then do the same to the other shackle. She rubbed her wrists, glowering.

She turned to Tsuki to free him from his bonds as well.

“Well,” She said as she shattered the last of his bonds, “At least these bastards are giving us a free ride to the palace.” She slapped her face to clear the last of her nausea and groaned as it stung, “What even was that piece of ass potion? Tasted like shit and it didn’t even heal my sunburn.” Not entirely true—it actually tasted like an entire flower: petal, stem, dirt and all. But still didn’t even heal her sunburn.

Tsuki only stared at her.

Ochako giggled, reaching over and rubbing Tsuki behind the ears like the giant dog he was. He leaned into the touch, pawing at her playfully until Ochako saddled up next to him. She laughed when he butted his head against her shoulder and she leaned her weight against him in return.

“A nap wouldn’t hurt right about now, right?” She mumbled into Tsuki’s dark fur before she dozed off.

-----------

Kirishima collapsed on the ground, panting. He waved his hand at Bakugou as the King was lowering his weight into another fighting stance.

“Please,” He got out between breaths, “No more! I’m exhausted. We’ve been training for hours!”

Bakugou huffed, straightening up before falling down next to him with a roll of his eyes.

“We’ve done nothing you can’t handle,” He argued, “Aren’t you supposed to be the General of my troops, Shitty Hair?” He thrust a skin of water into the redhead’s hands and leaned back on his elbows, “Must be doing a shit job if you can’t keep up with me.”

Kirishima huffed, “That’s mean, Bakugou. You know just as well as I do how tenacious these people are.”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow, “They can’t be more tenacious than me.”

“Yeah, well,” Kirishima grumbled, just as Bakugou’s attention was taken elsewhere, “No one’s more tenacious than you.”

Bakugou said nothing in response, but Eijirou took note that his friend had tensed up and that his ears were twitching. His eyes were shut in concentration and Kirishima could see the hairs on Bakugou’s arms standing at attention.

“What’s up, bro?” He inquired, curious.

Bakugou grunted, “That damned girl. She sure made it here quick.”

“Does she really have that strong of an aura that you can tell where she is in the kingdom?” Kirishima pondered.

Bakugou rolled his eyes again, ignoring his friend’s question because the answer was blindingly obvious, “Come on, Shitty Hair.”

-----------

Ochako hadn’t even been asleep for thirty minutes when their carriage was brought to a halt and the curtains at the back were thrust open, waking her up. She squinted into the onslaught of light and her head hit the bottom of the carriage with a thud when Tsuki abruptly stood on all four legs to growl at the guards who were prepared to haul their asses into a cellar or some other shit.

“The hell?” She grumbled, eyeing up their tranquilizer blow darts warily, “Shouldn’t you have used those before you threw us in here?”

Two of the guards exchanged a glance. One elbowed the other, muttering a peeved, “I told you so.” The other guard elbowed back petulantly, saying, “Don’t listen to the captive!”

Ochako lifted her hips from the floor of the carriage as they were distracted, making a bridge of her body and using her abdomen and arm strength to rock back and then spring forward. Her body careened through the small space between the two guards’ heads and she smacked the blow darts out of their grasp just as they were registering what exactly was happening. Tsuki followed her loyally, tackling one guard to the ground as he went.

Ochako landed behind them, bending at her hips to ease the impact on her legs and throwing an arm forward to keep her balance. She only had a second to take in her surroundings—this place looked more like a war garrison than it did a palace, only with better landscaping—before she was pivoting out of the way of a striking sword.

Something sunk into the back of her leg, and she hissed as she reached down to pull a tranq dart from her calve. Her fingers glowed as she activated her magic to pull out the effected blood before it could spread to the rest of her. She’d be amazed if she managed to get it all, but it at least dulled the numbness.

She stabbed the offending dart into the neck of an attacking soldier, satisfaction rolling off her in waves as he blacked out and hit the ground. Tsuki promptly took down the soldier who had managed to hit Ochako with the dart in the first place.

“Shit,” Ochako murmured, staggering forward as she really began to feel the magic from the dart take its toll on her, “I can’t catch a break, huh? Gods, what is with this country?”

Tsuki whined at her. Thinking that the wolf was offering her an arm of support, Ochako placed her hand at the top of his head.

There weren’t many soldiers left in the courtyard, but Ochako could sense that more were on their way. And those were just the ones with a magical aura that were strong enough for her to read—who knew how many there actually were?

She groaned as she was able to pinpoint that one particularly large magical force was also closing in, albeit a little father along. Her hand shifted on Tsuki’s head as she readjusted her weight, and all at once she could feel the Dragon wolf’s magic flowing through her again—overwhelming her. And as if an invisible barrier were being thrust out of their very beings, the guards and even the damned carriage were tossed away from them. Ochako saw the pulsing of magic through groggy eyes. It was as if Tsuki’s possessive gaze was physically warding off their enemies.

Ochako removed her hand from Tsuki, and the pulsating magic dissipated.

“She doesn’t know how to wield the beast!” A soldier shouted, his ornate armor indicating to her that he was probably the asshole in charge here.

She couldn’t hold back her snort at his statement—it felt a lot more like the beast had just been wielding her and certainly not the other way around.

“She makes a mockery of our ancestors!” He continued, raising his spear to the sky. The other soldiers bellowed out their affirmation, sneers decorated their faces like war paint. “Break their bond!” The man declared resolutely, only to be followed up with war cries from his fellow soldiers.

Ochako, who didn’t really want to find out what breaking their bond would entail, had already been reaching out with her magic to summon her bag from where it was hidden away in the front of the ruined carriage and grabbed the damned thing as it zipped back to her. She pulled out a potion blindly, praying to every god she knew of that it was one of her force fields. She crushed it in her hands and breathed out a sigh of relief when the translucent hexagons began to wrap around her and Tsuki—barricading them away from these assholes just as more of them arrived.

The ringleader smirked at her as he squatted down and reached for the earth. Her eyes widened as she realized too late that she had no idea what his quirk was—but if he was looking at her that confidently like he was about to feed her to wolves, then it couldn’t spell out good things for her.

“Enough.”

The command rang through the courtyard, causing the soldiers circled around her to stop in their tracks. Even the ringleader stopped—although Ochako could see that he was gritting his teeth like it took everything he had to listen to this voice. His arm was still outstretched to the earth, even as he glanced over his shoulder to eye up this newcomer. Ochako eyes never strayed from that outstretched hand, not trusting this man to hold back despite someone of apparent authority ordering him to do so.

“What’s the meaning of this, Captain?” The new man said, striding over to the ringleader with confident steps.

The Captain’s effervescent glare turned back to her, and she couldn’t quite comprehend where the authentic hate that was shining in his eyes was stemming from. What had happened to this people to make them like this?

“My King,” The Captain grit out, begrudgingly standing to his full height before bending at the waist in respect.

Ochako’s eyes boggled. Her gaze ripped away from the Captain to land on the King.

“Aw, shit,” She groaned, cursing her luck.

It was the asshole from earlier—from the forest. That had been Bakugou Katsuki, King of the Barbarians. God—she had told him to piss off.

And he was still shirtless.

Based on the smirk that was adorning his face, even as he kept his eyes on the Captain, Ochako could tell that he was reveling in her plight. She resisted the urge to throw up her middle finger at the man; it would fulfill a prideful desire, sure, but it probably wouldn’t help her much in her quest in gaining his trust.

“Well?” Bakugou prodded when he received no answer from the Captain.

“This woman has made a charade of our customs,” He ground out, pointing at Ochako accusingly, “She is bonded to one of our protectors and has obviously ignored the proper rituals required to—”

“Tell me, Shindou,” Bakugou interrupted, stepping around the man so that he could fix his red eyes on Ochako’s brown ones, “You’ve gone through the proper rituals to face a Dragon wolf…how many times?”

The man—Shindou—looked like he wanted nothing more than to stab Bakugou while the blonde’s back was turned to him.

“…Four.”

“Four times,” Bakugou humored, his voice drenched in sickly sweet sarcasm, “And…how many times has a Dragon wolf challenged you?” He turned back to Shindou with a raised eyebrow, clearly unafraid of the Captain’s rage boiling over. “Well?” Bakugou pressed, kicking the man in the shins to get his attention, “Answer the question, dipshit.”

“Zero, you asshole.”

Bakugou’s responding grin was manic.

“Is that anyway to speak to your King?” He questioned, cocky. The muscles sitting on top of his scapulae rolled underneath his skin as he clenched his hands into tight fists, “Should I remind you that I whooped your ass in the tournament for that title?” He opened one fist so that his palm was cupped upward and Ochako could only barely see the way it was lit up like it was threatening to explode.

It looked like Shindou was quite literally biting his tongue.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, lowering his hands and shooing him away with the wave of his hand.

“Leave us,” He ordered to the room, “I’m handling this.”

Ochako watched the courtyard empty itself of soldiers, and the grogginess induced from the blow dart that she had somehow ignored until this point began to catch up with her. She slid to the ground and leant against Tsuki with a groan.

“What’s your name, mage?” Bakugou inquired, stepping towards her enchanted barrier and regarding it with interest.

“Uraraka Ochako,” She rumbled, glaring up at him.

He hummed, “You guard the land east of Brasko?”

She perked up, eyebrows pulling together in confusion, “Have you heard of me?”

Bakugou rolled his eyes, “Obviously.”

Ochako couldn’t help but preen a little.

“Wipe that smile off your face,” Bakugou barked, “You look like shit—and how did you manage to get captured by my soldiers, anyway?” Ochako’s smile only widened—she could hear the underlying compliment disguised as an insult. He was surprised to find her cornered after having seen her display of strength.

She groaned dramatically, slapping a hand to her face as if to remind herself that she was still sunburnt, “All I’ve wanted since stepping foot into this valley is a damned sun-potion.”

“No shit,” He remarked, eyeing up her burnt skin.

“Well that was the biggest error in my life,” She continued, her fingers slipping into Tsuki’s soft black fur.

“Don’t tell me you drank it.” His tone was incredulous—like he respected her before but now he just thought she was a flaming idiot.

“Uh,” She coughed, “No? Ha, that would be…stupid of me!”

“You drank it.” Bakugou determined, crossing his arms over his stupid bare chest, "Then these bastards got you while you were down." He stared at her for a moment, probably debating whether or not he should kick her out of his country for her stupidity. Then, to her shock, he snorted. “Kirishima!” He barked, seemingly to no one. Not even a moment later, a red head was rounding the corner and marching towards them.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” He teased.

“Fuckin’,” Bakugou growled, “Quit it with the stupid titles.” He jabbed his thumb towards Ochako, “Get this idiot to the baths to deal with her shitty sunburn.”

“N’please get this meanie a shirt,” Ochako slurred, the numbing magic finally making it to her head.

Kirishima laughed, “Yes, ma’am!” The redhead’s arms hardened like a rock before he swung a fist at her force field and shattered it around her.

“N’ don’t take me ta’tha baths ‘til I wake up,” She grumbled as the man lifted her into his arms, “Fuckin’ pervs.”

[hacks-and-heroes]

Hacks and Heroes #3

For those who are unaware of it, Dishonored is a series of first person action stealth games developed by Arkane Studios. It is well known for its Victorian-style setting, and its intricate and Lovecraft style lore. Dishonored is one of my favorite game series to come out in the last couple of years. If nothing else, the art and design of the series as a whole is breathtaking and unique. One particular special thing is its “Whalepunk” technology; big, bulky wrought iron devices and ships, powered by the oil of speared and skewered whales. All of this and the way it captures magic and gods makes for an enthralling setting.

So how do you translate all of this to tabletop games. Dishonored hasn’t been fully hacked by anyone that I have ever seen online, not for lack of people asking about it. I suppose as a whole it isn’t a complex setting to convert. Most games you play will have the pieces, they may just need a bit of rearranging. I’m gonna start by talking about general ideas that apply to all games, and then delve into a few specific games.

World Building

Firstly, as mentioned Dishonored is of a subgenre of Steampunk, Whalepunk. Truly the only thing in the subgenre is Dishonored itself but the point stands. So what defines Whalepunk? Well like Steampunk it is all about technology tinged with magic. Everything in Dishonored is bulky and harsh like the whaling ships that enable the technology. There are also a lot of Tesla-like devices that are apart of Dishonored’s world. The Wall of Light and Arc Pylon are two whale oil powered devices that produce electricity in a way that would make Tesla very proud. Other important things about the technology of Dishonored’s setting is the use of a railway-like system, with carts and boxes on elevated rails that loop through the cities.

Let’s talk about some of the themes of the story telling in Dishonored. The main games hold a lot of themes about family, royalty and responsibility. As well, the subjects of political discourse and poverty are also made apparent in the world building. It helps when our main characters, particularly of Dishonored 2 when you play the Empress Emily, are they themselves royalty. In the DLC and spin-off games, more is put towards themes of loyalty, survival, and revenge. The first novel also has the classic theme of being unable to change the past.

So now I’ll get into the specifics of making a Dishonored game.

Magic

Magic is complex in the Dishonored world. All magical ability stems from The Void. The Void is another world. The mirror to the tangible. Inhabited by giant floating leviathans and ancient otherwordly beings. There are several ways to receive magical ability in the world of Dishonored. The most prime and prominent answer is to receive the Mark of the Outsider. A godlike being who roams The Void, the Outside may bless anyone of his choosing with a mark on the back of their hand, that grants them various powers, unique to them. If you were to wish a character to have an array of magical powers in a Dishonored game, this would be the easiest way of doing so. That being said, the powers tend to be limited and do not go beyond five or six powers (and a small array of supplemental powers). As well, the bearers of the mark tend to not be mages themselves, often being rogues and warriors who use the powers to add to their repertoire. For example, a Pathfinder “Magus” class may be an example of someone such as Daud or Corvo. However, this isn’t a perfect example, and a better way to portray this in a game with classes would be to allow character class of choice, and offer the powers in a separate way such as Feats or Abilities.

Another way to gain powers in the world of Dishonored is to have them bestowed upon you by the bearer of the Mark. Some holders of the Mark can share their abilities with underlings, giving them access to some or all of their powers. This is how it is in the case of Daud and Delilah Copperspoon. While this is more apparent in Daud’s assassins, whose powers are more clear cut, the Brigmore Witches seem a bit more uncertain. Their powers are different from Delilah in a number of ways and manifest differently from witch to witch. That being said, I’d say there is something to be said of Witch Magic that is certainly aided by the Outsider’s influence. In a game, I’d offer up Witch magic as its own entity that could be aided by Shared Power. Once more in a class system I’d offer Feats like the Mark, but with the caveat that the power can be lost if the giver dies, retracts, or loses their own abilities.

One more source of magical power lies in the Dishonored world. That is Bone Charms and Whalebone Runes. Runes in the games have always been away of improving your abilities, so in an RPG terms, these could possibly be conduits that aid your growth through perhaps ritual. The bone charms are a more interesting tale. There have been several characters who used bone charms to great effect. In the video game, they aided your current powers or gave you small buffs and abilities. However other characters, such as the gang leader Paolo made use of several bone charms and a powerful artifact that gave him Mark-like powers. The character Zhukov from the first Dishonored novel has several powers granted to him through the use of corroded bone charms and a magical dagger. These powers began to take a toll on him in their own right, however he is one of the most powerful people in the series at large. From a gameplay point of view, Bone Charms should range from weak magical items that provide small buffs and bonuses to powerful items that can bestow new powers themselves onto the wielder. As well, they should be able to be combined with other magical artifacts for even greater effect.

A small aside about religious power in the Dishonored universe. While the Abbey of the Everyman is vehemently against the Void and any kind of dark art is met with execution, they themselves make use of some Void magic. To begin they have in their control special Music Boxes that play a song that nullifies all powers in the area. There is also the point of the Oracular Order, a group of women within the Abbey suspected to have powers that allow them to make “prophetic visions”. They seem to be more in line with real world monks, highly educated, trained in battle, and viciously cunning rather than truly magical. However, one may say that through the use of hallucinogens and possibly magical substances, their powers become truer.

Equipment

Much of Dishonored’s base technology is in line with real world tech of the late 1800s to early 1900s. The second game sees the advent of an internal plumbing system throughout the cities. As well, city lighting is through the use of street lamps, and news is pumped through a mix of hanging metal speakers and newsprint.

When it comes to personal equipment available to your party, there is a series of options for sure. Firearms lie pretty much in the realms of pistols, though it is not hard to imagine rifles or blunderbusses existing as well. They are primarily wooden-hafted weapons, functioning like flintlocks and wheelocks. Emily’s pistol from the second game appears at later upgrades to become more of a break-action revolver deal. From a gameplay perspective, these weapons have a one shot magazine without upgrades, and require an action to reload. They also have a small spread when fired, hitting a small five foot cone with shrapnel (half damage to even just 1 damage). Other options for ranged weapons include crossbows (the protagonists all use intricate rotating hand crossbows, or similar wristbows). There’s also several options for grenades, special ammunition, and devices for distraction. The tallboys of first Dishonored game also a type of compound bow, making them an option available to your party as well.

As far as melee weapons go, the games show primarily sword usage. Each faction tends to have a unique weapon. As with the pistol, I believe this primarily for simplicity and design standards. In RPG form, it is within reason to see weapons such as axes and spears, though spears will be more rare, as they became in real life.

Other weapons include several forms of landmines, including the infamous springrazor. Essentially a short range landmine filled with spring loaded razorwire. There are no real options for vehicles besides personal boats (such as Amanda’s boat in the sequel) and if characters are nobles, a personal railcar, though there’s not much one can do with the railcar besides traveling around the cities specific pathways. One could possibly also obtain some of the Tallboy armor, which is a strange mix of armor plating and massive stilted legs. Most modern miscellaneous items should be available within reason. Things such as internet and tv are clearly out, but gramophones and cameras aren’t.

Things such as Walls of Light and Arc Pylons should be treated as traps and obstacles. The arc pylons function within a certain range, and automatically attack a single target in range with a high damage electrical arc. The wall of light is only passable by those attuned to the wall or if the wall is disabled. Those that pass through should either take a high amount of damage, or just to make a safe to be instantly killed. Regardless, if a person survives a wall of light (never seen in the game, but there’s room for cool things like that) they should come out maimed and horrificly damaged.

Specific Game Conversions

So I’ve talked about the ideas that are pertinent to game run in Dishonored’s world. So let’s now talk about what you have to do in specific games to replicate that feeling.

Dungeons and Dragons 5e/Pathfinder

So converting settings to class-based systems like these two can be complicated for a number of reasons. Such as the fact that in Dishonored as a whole, there are numerous characters who have magical powers who would definitely not fit into the roles of Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Bard, etc. So how do we remedy this. Well as mentioned earlier, feats are a possible remedy to these issues. In Pathfinder something like the Drow Magic feat progression offered to Drow players is possibly option, with steadily gaining more magical powers as time goes on.

For example:

Outsider’s Mark

Prerequisites: 5th level or higher, Iron Will, must be contacted by the Outsider and bestowed this power

Effect: Allows the use of Dimension Door and one other 4th or lower Spell of choice up to 3/day.

Some players may be opposed to this though, as this robs them of feats they may feel fits their character better. In Pathfinder this is a completely understandable as feats are a major piece of what makes up your character. Now since feats in 5e are optional, this is a more viable option, if your players meet said prerequisites. You can always decide to give these feats and abilities for free as the story progresses, as long as you are okay with your players having an edge against other characters. That’s really all you can do in these particular systems without being restrictive. If you want, you could also just give the Marked players a choice of spells from their mark and they have a certain number of uses, like other casters. Since the Mark tends be based on the strength of the wielder, Wisdom or Charisma wouldn’t be too off.

One more thing of mention for D&D/Pathfinder; the options for classes should be restricted to primarily martial classes unless under specific circumstances. I could see a point made for things such as Warlocks and Bards for the for former, and a handful of the latters. However, direct magic users, such as clerics, druids, paladins, sorcerers, and wizards should be kept to a very limited number to preserve the setting.

For Pathfinder, there is plenty already around to represent the setting of Dishonored. You may have to come up with some miscellaneous items, but not stuff that’ll have much bearing. For 5e, I highly recommend the Steampunk Compendium and the Urban Arcana Modern Magic Subclasses. Both fit fairly well, give equipment examples and a possible class, the gunslinger.

Savage Worlds

So Savage Worlds is pretty easily one of the best games for hacks and conversions. Not just Dishonored. I have seen hacks for Savage Worlds from Star Wars to Weird War to Conan of all things. So if you are looking for something to do Dishonored in, Savage Worlds is quite good.

So about players and building characters. Giving your players the Outsider’s Mark, or another form of magic, all they need is the Arcane Background edge. From there they will have to take the power edges to gain new powers and points. Any of the Arcane Background edges fit the setting really, even weird science could be put towards characters like Jindosh or Sokolov, but that may be a bit much. However using powers in Dishonored is almost always a force of will scenario, I highly recommend making them Spirit based. With the rate that characters gain powers using power edges, you may think that may too slow for your game. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to either throw your characters extra powers or advance them a little faster to compensate.

From there it’s just about getting gear and equipment right. The core book does have some stuff that will work. However, if you’re unable to due with those, both The Widening Gyre and Rippers have a mix of settings that you can pull from to build. Rippers especially will have a lot setting appropriate miscellaneous items to pick from.

Aaaaaandd…

Those are the best systems I can think to run a Dishonored based games. That being said, there are a plethora of other systems that can do the job but I did not list for the reasons that will follow!

Point-Buy Games

Both Mutants and Masterminds and GURPS could run this game. I’m not kidding when I say Mutants and Masterminds has been made to run weird. Seriously take a trip over to the Ronin Army forums and look under the pages for characters made using that system. Literally made characters from sitcoms. My sole advice for M&M is that you keep the PL a little higher for your players. This way they will have a reasonable amount of points and limits for their powers.

On GURPS I can’t say terribly much. I’m sure there are plenty of Steampunk settings for GURPS given its age, so you should have no problem hunting stuff down for it.

Story-based Games

So this is anything along the lines of FATE. Very minimal dice rolling, primarily a talkative situation, and self-described abilities and skills. For anyone who prefers a more story heavy game, and isn’t a big fan of the mechanics of other RPGs, check these out.

-

And that’s where I’ll wrap it for the week! Let me know what you all thought, send me your feedback. I know this is a lot talking and there aren’t really any hard conversions from myself this week. If would like to see actual statistical conversions of things from Dishonored or other settings, let me know and I’ll post some stuff up. Now with this, I bid you adieu. Next week we’ll be taking exchanging our Whalepunk aesthetic for an art deco dieselpunk and travel beneath the waves to a world of...Rapture.

[calliecat93]

ST:TNG Season 6 Finale/Season 7 Premiere Watchthrough

Descent: Well folks… this is the final finale/premiere two-parter of the series. So let’s go ahead and hop to it.

Part One: The Enterprise encounters the Borg once more… but they are acting differently. Namely, they are acting emotionally and individually. They even have names/use singular pronouns when referring to themselves. That’s crazy enough but to make it worst, Data is also having sudden emotional bursts. Yeah, folks, we’re getting a follow-up to I, Borg. There’s a 50/50 chance that the show will follow up on something so I am very glad to see the Borg plot continuing~! And holy Hell folks… this was wild. The Borg plot is enough o get me interested especially without the question of if the changes are happening due to Hugh? Which Starfleet makes it very clear that if those conditions happen again, he is to initiate his original ‘destroy the Borg’ plan from I, Borg no matter what his morality says. Data is struggling with re-provoking the anger he felt and I like how Troi told him that emotions are not inherently positive or negative, it’s the actions we take when we feel them that determine if they’re good or bad. That is so true… although it gets horrifying when Data admits to feeling pleasure when he killed a Borg. Then a Borg they captured manipulates him into betraying his friends to feel again… just holy shit. Like when Data says that he’d be willing to kill Geordi to feel again, just… I’m positive that something funky is going on, but still. That was just chilling. It only gets worst when we find out who the true villain of the piece is. After over two seasons of waiting… Lore has returned. Yeah, the tension is massive compared to Time’s Arrow and even Redemption. We have the Borg. We have Lore. We have everything happening with Data. If I was watching this weekly when it was airing, this certainly would have made me stay tuned for the next part. Speaking of, can P2 bring us a satisfying conclusion? We shall soon see. 4.5/5.

Part Two: Things could NOT be worst for our heroes if they tried. Picard, Geordi, and Troi have been captured, Crusher’s been left to captain the Enterprise and forced to flee by the Borg, Riker and Worf are left on their own with no aid, and Data has betrayed his friends and joined Lore. As it turns out, Lore is essentially using the Emotion Chip to drug/brainwash Data with emotions and is planning to take over the Federation an kill ‘inferior beings’ with Data at his side. I’ll go into my thoughts on this part of Data’s plot in the Overall. Again, this was intense. There is a Hell of a lot going on. We even get Hugh back! Again, more on him and what his return with his newfound individuality caused in the Overall, but it’s so nice to see him again~! It honestly gets hard to watch like with Chain of Command, though not quite as hard to stomach. Data slowly killing/almost lebotimizing Geordi and with Geordi’s VISOR taken from him on top of it… Lore, I felt bad for you in Brothers but after this? After what you did to your own brother? F*** you! There are a lot of really cool moments like Crusher being a badass Acting Captain and everything regarding Data and Lore’s final standoff once Data’s come to his senses. I also loved Taitt, both cute and intelligent~! I assume that this is the end for Lore consideirng that this is the final season, and… I kinda wish that it was a bit more epic or he’d gotten at least one more appearance prior to this to truy build-up to it. Though him corrupting a group of vulnerable Borgs is certianly a good endgame direciton for a villain like him, it just needed a bit more build-up to be just a bit more impactful. Still this was one hell of an episode and a perfectly good way to end this chapter of Data’s saga… sort of, but again Overall. I was still happy with it and as a second part/series premiere, it worked perfectly. 4.5/5.

Overall: So how does the episode stack up when judged together? Holy Hell, it was intense. There is so much happening. We find out what happened with Hugh and the Collective when he was sent back. Essentially, chaos happened. They don’t ignore the consequences of what the choice would cause and Hugh is certainly unhappy that the crew allowed it though he does still care about Geordi and their friendship which saved the day in the end. But these events left the remaining Borg of that Cube vulnerable for Lore to swoop in and sway them to his side save a few like Hugh. He was always an emotional manipulator, but getting the Borg under his command? Just… damn. Then we have Data’s plot. So… I’ve made my feelings on Data’s emotions clear. In hat he has them, he just expresses them differently than the ‘norm’. So it’s always been frustrating when it seems that the show can’t decide if Data has emotions or not. But the one constant is that at the very least, Data doesn’t believe that he does. He felt anger very intensely, and it worries him. This, the drugging/brainwashing caused by Lore, and his eternal struggle to become more human left him prime and vulnerable to be manipulated and corrupted like he was. Lore purposefully feeding him his negative emotions, turning off what is essentially his conscious… as I said above, this made me thoroughly detest Lore. Again Iw ish his end was a bit more epic, but as sad as it had to be for Data, Lore was dangerous, manipulative, and at this point a genocidal monster. Did he mean his final words expressing that he loves his brother? Maybe it’s true to some extent, but even then Lore has proven a manipulative person who will only harm Data. Data reactivated/reassembled him all the way back in S1 because he was his brother… ut, in the end, there was no chance of Lore redeeming himself or being forgiven. Data deactivated him once more, and that is how Lore will remain forever. As for the emotional ship… I’m gonna save it for whenever I get to Generations for now. I’m not inherently against the idea of Data holding onto it even though IDT he needs it, but… let’s just say that I’m gonna have words cause I know how this will go, but I wanna be fair and save it for the correct time and place.

If I was going to rank all the finale/premiere two-parters it would be The Best of Both Worlds first, then Descent, then Redemption, and finally Time’s Arrow. The last one was fun, but pretty low stakes and tame compared to the others. Redemption has a strong first half, but the second half just kinda fizzled out. IDT I need to explain why The Best of Both Worlds is the best, getting the tension, drama, caracter develpment, and thrill exactly right and working perfeclty as both a finale/premiere and as an whole episode. Descent lacks the epicness despite Part 1 doing a good job in setting it up, but Part 2 just couldn’t quite match it. But it does succeed in everything else. It’s exciting, it’s dramatic, it has character development, and it serves it’s purposes both spitu-up and put together well. It was hard to see Data put through this, especially towards Geordi. i eman Hell in P1 he tried to get Geordi to remove a Holodeck safety when re-creating the fight even though it could kill him with Geordi understandably disturbed by such a request. But as a sucker for thesekinds of plots, it was done well. In the end, second place is a pretty good place to end up. 4.5/5.

And thus, that concludes Season 6 and begins the seventh and final season of TNG. Yep folks, only 25 episodes left to go. After three months, even longer if you count me starting in Spring and then stopping for several months after finishing S1, the end is near. I’ll muse more in the upcoming Top 5 Best/Worst list, which will be up sometime tomorrow morning once I have it queued. But if all goes well. by this time next week aside from the films, TNG will at last be finished. But that’s for then, for now time to work on wrapping S6 up~!

[themanicgalaxy]

SPN 4X14 Sex and Violence

I love watching this in Quiet and Dark with my sister in the same room because we're in the middle of "Nowhere"

hey look thematic

listen Bad Reaction to vaccine, so silently watching it is the way to go

I love the game of "which of these is gonna be the bloody bloody way of Death in the beginning

these fuckers r NOT making it

he just fucking....goes apeshit on his wife

I do not like

the title gives me bad vibes

also lol remember the two episodes ago plot I don't

heh before Gen and Jared were married, her last name's still Cortese

gank his wife wheee

boy the subtitles are just...in the worst place possible

huh not possession

he was hiding purchases from his wife?

a stripper...whee

"you pay enough, anyone will be anything" boy I like that line, and u can tell whoever wrote it liked it too

like you can tell when an author REALLY likes a line, and wanted it In There

like it Looks like a pat on the back, yknow?

So like...making men believe they deserve death is like...objectively bad. But if the lesson is "this was Never your fault, it was the Woman"...that's also bad

doctor, interesting , and I missed the explanation other than she has another job

heh she doesn't trust him

aw the flirting

AGENT MURDOCK

Dean u just got hardcore rejected oof

I love how Sam gives her hangover advice, that's fun

...does it end up being the doctor

...siren...OH MY GOD SIREN WAIT NO I FIGURED IT OUT SIREN

Let me have this

...gratuitous....stripper scene

hey they're named after Disney princesses

Also worth noting Jensen Ackles's eyebags are always just a Bit more prominent than Sam's, is it cuz Sam is protagonist boi?

to mention: writers like Dean more, but Sam is main character thing

HA SIREN I KNEW IT let me have this

ODYSEEY NAME DROP NO THAT DOESN'T HURT ME

the singing Dean says welcome to the jungle and cherry pie and yes both good songs

...what you want most wuhoh

Belle

takes care of his mom, huh

well I mean predictably that is a very pretty lady

the pan to the jesus and the mom is....

OH GOD THE SIREN TRUEFORM IS OH GOD

boy that's fucked

no please don't tell me he kills his mom because of this

ah she plants the seed, but what is benefit? what is?benefit?

jeez his poor mother, that's so fucked

does she leave? do they not remember her?

oho the phone thing

boy Dean's gotta have a Thing with phones at this point

ha he figures out it's Ruby boy that didn't take long

woman he was closest to oop

BOBBYYYYYYY

huh manchurian candidate, second Manly thing to mention it

ah war movie ok that makes sense

it's the Actual FBI uh oh

Stiles and Murdock are references to "Route 66" heh

BOBBYYY IS THE ONE THAT THEY MESS UP THE FBI WITH AND HE'S COOKING I LOVE BOBBY SO MUCH

HIS LIKE 700 phones, all labeled I LOVE BOBBY

Lone Wolves

"no complaining about the tunes" pfftttttt

...if this is the siren...I...

if this is Dean's siren

and he just met Castiel

what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck

I- they're bonding about music...I-

WHAT DID THEY THINK WOULD BE READ INTO THIS

ok so Sam's flirting with Doctor Lady

something something she split up from her husband

ok tuning out the weird makeup thing, tuning out, tune Out

yadayada sex scene OH SHE HAS THE WEIRD FLOWER OOOP

ah the hyacinths

guys please I don't have time to google the references today

Dean don't shame your brother for being a monsterfucker

why are both of you so angry all the time

I really hate that "I'm with you on this one" is like...the only thing this guy had to hear, Dean please get therapy

aHAHAHA THE REVEAL HIS FACE AHAHAHAH

AHAHAAH WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN

"you can't trust your brother" ope

lookI understand the basic idea of they needed the brother confrontation, but...but they...they accidentally queer coded Dean...I..how

I gave him a little brother

look I get that w*nc*esties might like this episode, but it's...it's also someone who emotionally connects with him and Sam's not that it's [gunshot]

at least they FINALLY talk about their feelings, and it took a literal double mind whammy

he just watches things explode

"you're holding me back" oh god "I'm a better hunter than you are" ah boy

Sam did you go to Literal Hell for forty years did you??

ah jeez Sam you validated like All of his Issues

BOBBY! BOBBYBOBBY! FUCK YEAH

and then they Never Talk About it Again

the fucking beers at the end of the episode

HE GIVES THEM SODA GOD I LOVE BOBBY

Dean's wearing the jacket again oh god

Bobby: listen we all take L's, it's fine guys

Sam+Dean: we're going to take this personally

god fuckingDAMN YOU BOTH JUST FUCKING COMMUNICATE FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIVES

ok well. Wrap up:

1. Bobby. I love Bobby. We got more world building into how he runs his life, and other than the like. Metric Ton of research he does, he has the labeled phones(for hunters to use as a resource), comes snaps the boys out of it(and gives them soda to make them drink responsibly, that was fucking adorable), and tries to reassure them that it'll be ok. I love him, he's so good, best Dad, GoodGOOD!

2. Dean. Look I get the whole thing was "He wants someone who he can trust by his side, and that should be his brother" but based on Siren Lore, Siren's are romantic(even if the connection they're trying to break isn't)(and they set this up with the goddamn mother). And..siren presents to Dean as a man. Like maybe it would have gone for Sam, but I don't think it would have worked because Dean wants connection(and apparently with a man??) and it's also the same season they introduce Cas, and he's in the next episode and-

I think this was unintentional. I think here, in this case, they did it on accident to try and force a brother confrontation. But BOY did it BACKFIRE how are we supposed to READ THAT??

3. Sam Protagonist but Dean tho. Ok so I feel like I can kinda tell that(at least now) that the writers figure out that Dean's more fun to write with. Not just stories, but he gets to say the cool lines, he gets to make the references more. Basically, he's whatever the writers are projecting onto him. Dean's Made of projection, and it makes him complex. But Sam's the main protagonist(and I have this whole thing about how you can see Dean's eyebags every now and then, Sam's are invisible, and Castiel's are Super Prominent, and like maybe I'm reading into this too much but) and they have to write stuff for him to do and just. Damn.

4. their Sad Boi issues. Look. They have a point? I think Sam ends up shaking into a better hunter than Dean(or at least that's his trajectory) but that's because Dean never really wanted this in the first place, and never got to be-

I'm getting off topic here. The point is that Sam has more Power than Dean, and Dean just wants his family to stay together and to trust them. And like. Idk it was messed up and they REFUSE TO TALK ABOUT IT

I feel like maybe it's because Family Confrontations didn't go well before(thanks John) but just..guys just because you talk about it doesn't mean people will hate you what the fuck.

idk

[revchainsaw]

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Wow! I can't believe I'm about to review a mainstream Disney release of all things on this blog. Eh! I make the rules and this thing is close enough to a high fantasy/martial arts film and who knows I may give a crack at Disney's Cruella later if the film strikes me the right way.

The Message

Set in the fictional land of Kumandra, Raya exists in a world where dragon lore is at the center of everything. Kumandra is a prosperous land that exists around a dragon shaped sea, and the different Kumandran tribes that live there are named after the part of the dragon they inhabit. Fang, Tail, etc, etc. It's no wonder that the Dragons are so revered in these cultures, as the prosperity that the world is now experiencing is due to the great sacrifice where the dragons gave their lives to create a magic jewel that keeps a horrible race of sprits called the Druun at bay.

The jewel is protected by the Heart tribe, particularly the lineage of the Heart chieftain. Raya is the heir to this immense responsibility. Her father the current guardian of the jewel is an idealistic sort and believes that the Kumandran people can be united, however the other tribes have their own interests and biases, even about the Heart people who they believe are using the power of the jewel to unfairly benefit themselves. Raya is an apt disciple of her fathers ideals but unfortunately this leads to her falling for a ploy by the people of Fang to steal the Jewel, when she 'befreinds' the Fang Princess Namaari.

A battle ensues over the jewel that ends up shattering the macguffin of power, and releasing the Druun back into Kumandra. The Druun now unleashed upon the world begin to create a ruin. Transfroming anyone they come into contact with into stone. Raya's father saves her before being petrified himself.

As we fast forward Raya has become a cynical adult bent on finding the last dragon of legend in hopes that she can defeat the Druun, and return the world to the way it was, abandoning her hopes that the Kumandran tribes can ever be united. It should come as no suprise then that Raya does in fact discover the Last Dragon, Sisu. Sisu is a fun loving, comedic, and hyper energetic creatuer with a love for humanity and trusting nature that is at odds with Raya's trauma and cynicism, it also doesn't help that her special power is "swimming".

As they journey across the Dragon shaped land of Kumandra, they gain friends and face foes. Raya holding onto her hurt and refusing to trust the other peoples they meet enough to think that maybe Sisu is a Sacred being who is important to their cultures as well. It is this lack of trust that eventually leads to tragedy for Raya.

At this point I'm going to uncharacteristically avoid spoilers. Raya is left with the fall out of her distrust and must either turn to her survivor nature and endure this world the way it is, or put her trust in those that have wronged her and bravely and boldly take a leap of faithful expectation that a better world is possible. It's a Disney movie, so I'm sure you know where this goes, but I'm not going to give you the specifics. It's pretty sweet and powerful.

The Benediction

Best Creature Design: Tuk Tuk: Available at Target

I can't lie. I work on the road and I have to use the bathroom all over town if I need to. My secret for finding the cleanest place to go is to generally avoid gas stations and rest areas when I can help it and to hit up grocery stores and book stores etc. as often as possible. My favorite is a local target, the bathrooms are generally less in demand than a gas station, much cleaner, AND at target they usually have a starbucks so I can also grab some joe. All that said, I have seen these absolutely massive Tuk Tuk toys in the toy section and I'm going to buy them for all the kids that I know. I just think he's a fun creature. Im not a big enough fan of Raya to justify having this basketball sized toy in my collection, but I think that kids will love having a giant armadillo bear monster to pal around with.

Best Character: Dragon's Heart

Sisu is an endearing figure and her offbeat but kind nature reminds me exactly of my favorite kind of people to meet in the wild. It's hard to be a lover and not a fighter. It's hard to be so understanding. It is an archetype that we see all over any media with a semi-spiritual message and I don't think we've seen it with quite the comedic edge as Sisu. Aang from Avatar comes close, but his light hearted attitude is certainly on par with Sisu, his comedic sensibilities are decidedly less "on". It also kind of says something that I forget that I'm talking about a dragon here.

Worst Aspect: Rayatar the Last Water Dragon

Alright, this might be a hot take but. Avatar: The Last Air Bender did it better. I can't call it parallel thinking as Raya came out almost a decade after Avatar. The two are playing off of very basic heroes journey style narratives that have existed in human story telling for longer than either show so it's completely unfair to claim that Raya was "ripping off" Avatar, BUT it's also a bit naïve to think that Disney wasn't banking on familiarity to move some product. Disney usually goes after public domain properties and fairy tales we are all vaguely familiar with and that's no accident. There's a clear pattern that people gravitate toward the familiar, it's why franchises won't just die. It's why they can repackage all their animated films into mediocre live action form and sell you the exact same movie over and over again. Even if the plot of Raya didn't have similarities to Avatar, which it does, the marketing certainly was attempting to banking on the beloved animated series.

When Raya was first coming out i saw a lot of people claiming that the fashions and character designs were copying Avatar and guys, that's kind of racist. Both shows are creating fantasy worlds with heavy influences from East and South Asian cultures. There's going to be some things that to a white American eye look pretty homogenous, although I'm sure with a little education are in fact very distinct. So as far as the "look", my only gripe is with the Logo.

Now, all that said. If you do want a show where an American animation company created a lore heavy fantasy world that draws heavy inspiration from Asian history and folklore, where a group of special spiritual individuals were wiped out but one remains and is the only hope of uniting a world populated by nations of people with very basic easy to remember names like "fire, and fang, and heart, and earth", where the chosen one is a goofy pacifist who uses the power of love and spiritual values to pull an impossible victory out of their butt at the last minute, but it still makes you cry and want to be a better person, then I have good news for you. You're spoiled for choice, I'm not gonna say Raya "copied" Avatar, BUT ... Avatar did do that particular story better. It may be a bit unfair, as Avatar had three seasons to do so and Raya had like an hour and a half.

Best Weapon: Shifty Sword

I just like Ranma's sword. I'm gonna use this category when I see an extra cool weapon. Oh man! When I review Flying Guillotine am I really going to have to talk about how bad ass the flying gullotine is?

Rayas weapons is actually not a sword at all but is called the Jade Dragon Keris. A Keris is an asymetrical indonesian dagger, and no it doesn't turn into a whip like in the movie, but it is cool that hers does that. The animators really do some creative things with that.

Summary

Raya is unfortunately shaping up to be one of Disney's forgettable features. I think that's a shame as it's stronger in my opinion than many of the recent films that have come out. But as is the case when Disney does a lot of it's more 'action/adventure' films, audiences seem to largely ignore them. Here's to you Treasure Planet. The good news is those movies do have the most passionate and interesting fans. The appeal is more focused than it is broad, and that's okay. As pointed out above, don't expect Raya to give you anything new, but if this is your kind of story then I'm sure you'll be happy to add it to your collection. There's room enough for lots of these.

Overall Grade: C

[taz-writes]

10 Questions Tag Game

@micastarsandmirrors tagged me on my main blog for this, but I’m posting it here because it seemed more appropriate. :>

1. Which author(s) inspires you the most?

Oof, hard question! Recently I’ve been really inspired by Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series--I love how he deconstructs fantasy as a genre. Guards! Guards! is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. 

2. Someone from a different world asks you, “Show me the song of your people” which earth song would you play for them?

Madeon’s Pop Culture. It’s such a genius reimagining of SO many other songs, and it encapsulates modern pop musical culture in a way that’s really fantastic. I love it. It’s not actually my favorite song, but as an example to an alien of what Earth music is, it’s a pretty good case study. 

3. How did you get the idea for your current WIP?

Feilan is drawn from the mythology of a recess game I used to play with my friends in elementary school. My friends and I would team up and LARP as our super cool powerful fairy avatars and fight the annoying boys from the classroom next door evil! As we grew up, the lore of Fairyland grew darker and more complicated, and I borrowed bits and pieces of dozens of other stories to glue them to my self insert and my friends’. We grew out of the game, but the paracosm we’d created stuck with me. Around sixth grade, I started putting those old recess games into writing! 

4. Which of your characters is a lover not a fighter and which is a fighter not a lover?

Honestly, most of my characters are both! Feilan is an action story and the majority of the cast is prepared to throw down at any time. I think Lavender is the lover-not-a-fighter. She’s a healer, after all, and she prefers to avoid conflict. The fighter is definitely Amalie. 

5. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what do you listen to?

Sometimes! It depends on my mood, and what kind of scene I’m trying to write. Usually, I prefer instrumental music. I have a class at school where the homework is just listening to a few hours of classical music, so I’ll do that a lot while I write. Otherwise... video game music is the way to go. Undertale has a freaking amazing soundtrack. Also, I’m still quite fond of the Homestuck music albums.... They have a lot of great songs for setting a mood. 

6. What’s the best way to piss off your main OC?

Tell her she’s not good enough to be worthy of something. Bonus points if you imply her opinions don’t matter, or bring up her birth status. That’ll get her riled up in half a second flat. 

7. What inspired you to write your current WIP(S)?

Oh boy here we go, here’s the novel. Feilan’s backstory is long and very emotional.

When I was growing up, I could never find stories to read that actually gave me what I wanted. I was raised on that early-2000s strand of Girl Power(tm) that was really obsessed with characters who are girls fighting the patriarchy and everyone cares that they’re girls because there’s clearly nothing more important about their characters........ Either that or they were just straight up annoying. I adored Winx Club but every time the girls went shopping another piece of me died. I had a well-established Not Like Other Girls complex but at the same time reading characters who thought like that was really annoying? There were a lot of things I hated in the stories I read growing up: inescapable love interests, tiny sparkly boring fairies, the anti-sue genre of Plain Modest Protagonists who aren’t allowed to be powerful or even aware that they could be, female characters who can’t do anything without reminding us that they’re girls and girls can’t normally do this but I can and look how special that is!!, the inevitable Girl Media Shopping Montage... et cetera. 

I didn’t want that. I wanted Lord of the Rings, but with girls, and maybe a cute boy!Galadriel. I wanted a story where girls being heroes wasn’t a big deal, or even worth questioning. I couldn’t find those things, so I decided I’d make my own, drawn out of my shameless childhood power fantasies. Feilan is an aggressive defiance of pretty much all the tropes in the last paragraph. I’ve stuck to it so doggedly because even now, I still have trouble finding stories with the kinds of characters I want to read about. I’ve always been super invested in stories about characters who are Like Me, who are girls with feminine and masculine interests, who have ADHD but are still smart anyways, who are short and built strong instead of slender. I used to refuse to watch cartoons unless there was at least one blonde girl that I could latch onto who wasn’t a stereotype Popular Girl. More recently, I want to see characters who are bi like me, where nobody makes a big deal out of it. I don’t even like romance stories, I don’t understand why it has to matter if X likes girls and boys! Just let her do that and get her girlfriend and get back to saving the world! And I fucking hate stories that pretend to be progressive by driving in over and over again how X character is a girl, X character is so gay--the ultimate result is just reminding me that I’m weird somehow. By... being a person, I guess. I hate those narratives so much but especially in mainstream YA, they’re practically inevitable? 

So I wanted to write Feilan so I could have the story I wanted to read but never found, about characters who are like me and dealing with my problems and my strengths and my fears. And I’ve kept writing it because I still want that, and I want Feilan to be that story for other people too, because I don’t think I’m alone here. It’s also a major outlet for my emotions. 

This is a long answer, but I think it’s pretty clear why. :)

8. What is the last book/series you finished reading?

The last book I read was an English translation of Ghost Opera by Mercedes Roffe, which I read for a class I’m taking right now in the art of translation. It’s very far away from my usual fantasy genre, but I really enjoyed it! If you like neat artsy poetry, give it a look sometime, especially if you speak Spanish and can experience it in the original language. 

9. What finally made you say, “Wow! I really like writing, I’m gonna keep doing this”?

When I was in fourth grade I won a local writing contest with a cute little poem about nature, and I got to go to a book fair event and read it out loud in a fancy auditorium, and I was SO UNBELIEVABLY STOKED. My mom was really proud of me, too. A couple people complimented the poem to me afterwards and it made my year. I decided that I wanted to win again the next year, and started taking poetry more seriously. 

10. What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Rereading my work. It’s so incredible to me sometimes, because I can and will cry over events in my own story, and I get so happy reading over the triumphs of my own OCs that I wrote out with my own hands and there’s something so beautiful and powerful about seeing these ideas that I created in my brain grow wings and fly. I cried a lot, when I printed out the first draft of Feilan’s book 1 and held it in my hands. That’s mine! I did that! I did all of that, and now I can hold it and see it and show people! 

I’m now tagging @pumapauus @greenhousewriting @jaidynwrites @hklunethewriter and anyone else who’s interested to answer these 10 questions, then write your own and pass it on! Feel free to ignore if you don’t have the time :) Anyone else who sees this and is interested, you’re welcome to answer too and say I tagged you!

1. What does your workspace look like? Do you have a designated ‘writing area’? 

2. Do you prefer to write solo heroes or ensemble casts? 

3. Which of your characters reminds you the most of yourself?

4. What’s one trait your main OC has that you wish you had, too?

5. Have you changed or removed any major elements of your current WIP since its original draft/concept? What was the biggest change, and why did you make it? 

6. If you had to give your main WIP a theme song, what would it be?

7. What’s your favorite non-writing-related hobby?

8. What are some of your favorite books? 

9. What’s your favorite trope to read and/or write? What’s your least favorite? 

10. What do you love most about your own work and why? 

[jcmorgenstern]

3x05

Okay to make up for last week....I really liked this episode? I felt it sobered up a bit from last week, in that things are getting more serious with Lilith and they tightened some stuff up with Jace’s presumed “mental illness” (not to be confused with his real, actual mental health stuff that ahem. has yet to be addressed), and did some really cool stuff with Clary this episode (as well as keeping up the good work on the Simon & Jordan front).

First off, Clary and Ithuriel. I won’t lie, killing off Ithuriel was a pretty ballsy move, and I have to give the WR kudos for going there. The bits of lore around it that we got were really nice, and the VFX for Lilith was actually really fucking cool (even if the heart thing was a bit cheesy). But most of all I was most excited about the return of Cleophas!! and the discussion of what’s happened to her and a bit of insight on how that’s affected Luke. It was a great touch and established some more of his character outside of the whole....Ollie thing. And bringing in the farm was a brilliant touch. And Clary herself really did shine a bit, which is nice. I really loved this bit of the episode, it was very unexpected in a great way.

Speaking of Lilith...I really do love Anna Hopkins in this role. There is a touch more of the babyspeak that drove me crazy with Heidi, but honestly it’s carried off much better and is, at least so far, not quite as egregious. The scene with Magnus was especially chilling: it also works because we know how powerful she is and how little she cares about the characters we care about, and the fact that she actively wishes them harm. There is...Some Stuff I’ll get to at the end but for now....really loved her, and especially Anna’s performance.

Jace was actually pretty fantastic in this episode, writing wise, and also in terms of the acting from Dom. He was the right mix of determined and scared, and I think a lot of that nervous energy informed him going around poking into Simon’s life--but ultimately helping Simon out. His repeated assertions that he’s only doing this for Clary were at first a bit obnoxious but definitely started to ring more false as the episode progressed, again due to some pretty great delivery from Dom. Also the conversation with Alec was much better....paced than the previous one, or maybe it was just me, either way it hit emotionally in a way the other one didn’t for me, so I was a fan.

Alec and Magnus....honestly, even if the drama does feel a bit manufactured....the writers did sort of nail all the right notes on this episode. Though I do stand by my opinion that Alec’s actions are more reprehensible than others seem to think, it makes sense that his longstanding insecurities would lead him down this path, especially during emotional turmoil. Though I do think even though his feelings and fears are understandable, he is still ultimately responsible for his actions and understanding that his thoughts and fears are not ultimately reality. (This also supports my pet theory that Alec has very anxious traits, but shhhh). So while I am actually sympathetic, he is being a massive ass and after all this is over owes Magnus a pretty big apology.

That being said, I do think Magnus’ tendency to brush things off in the same tone he would use to offer Alec a drink isn’t helping, and that if he and Alec could come to the understanding that it would help Alec a lot if he explicitly said “I’d rather not talk about this right now” or “this makes me feel xyz for xyz reasons.” I do feel that lost in a sea of insecurities and worries Alec struggles to feel confident in his interpretation of what Magnus says or how he really feels, and part of growing in their relationship will have to include Magnus feeling more secure and comfortable to speak his mind rather than maintaining a “façade” of being unflappable. Magnus seems to truly dislike showing what he may feel as weakness, and I’m guessing Asmodeus may have something to do with that, but he tends to be very avoidant when expressing less positive emotions, and hopefully will become more comfortable showing Alec the less “bubbly” and positive side of himself, leading to more...honest and frank communication. Overall? Pretty good for manufactured relationship drama.

Sidenote: the scene with Underhill was a bit overdone, but it was very sweet and a good addition. I look forward to seeing more of him. Does he know anything about who he replaced?

Now onto the thing that bothers me. I’d been avoiding talking about this mostly because it felt a bit...overdramatic but with this episode and the episode promo really seemed to confirm some of the stuff that had been bothering me so...the whole Lilith thing. There is a LOT of uncomfortable sexual overtones to the way she interacts with Jace, which...your mileage may vary on this but. I find it very uncomfortable how they’ve chosen to go about it. For me, this started with the slap in 3x04, which I’d commented on disliking. Even her drugging Jace’s drink could sort of be shrugged off as like, generic creepy or like, within the realms of vague good taste. But uhhhhhh??? In the 3x06 promo?? Why in the name of fuck is she interested in him sexually that’s???? totally unnecessary??? Listen, I’m totally ok with Lilith being generically sexual, that’s. sort of partly her thing but. if this is gonna be some weird “female sexuality is evil” obsession with Jace...Count Me The Fuck Out. And if it leads to a fucking Lilith/Jonathan Oedipus complex im fucking. SPITTING yall hear me. They wouldn’t do that shit with Azazel or (I’m willing to bet) Asmodeus so why in FUCK do they feel the need to shove that unnecessary bullshit on Lilith?? Yall know why. I’m so tired of the Female Sexuality Is Wrong and Unnatural and the Evil Bad Womens Are Mothers But Also Sexy Is Wrong And Bad and I am NOT here for it please let this trope DIE. I’m sorry for getting so worked up about it but like. that’s totally chill and whatnot to explore thoughtfully in fic, but this show usually has the tastefulness and subtlety of a fucking freight train going sideways through downtown Toronto and I am All Kinds Of fucking Done. Like. I’ll hold off ultimate judgement until the next episode but WHY GOD why have you abandoned us

tldr this episode was great but you just cant trust this show you just cant