#if the Power Rangers are here then they’ve probably got some kind of ancient alliance with the Lantern Corps

[dragonofthedepths]

Cohabitation (a.k.a.. a List of Places Superman is Not Allowed to Go) 20.2.23

DC, Danny Phantom, Miraculous Ladybug, Megamind.

France is the big one.

Paris specifically, but all of France largely decided better safe than sorry, and stands in solidarity with her capital.

There is probably a small missive somewhere from Paris asking the Justice League for help when their supervillain first raised his head, the kind the JL got all the time and had thankfully ignored. Sent to them back before anyone really comprehended what might happen if someone who could turn normal civilians into supervillains with just some negative emotions got his hands on trained and practiced supers, and appropriately decided solving this would be best left to the miraculous team already working on it.

So the whole Justice League is banned from France, but especially Superman. Superman is somewhat known for being weak to magic and mind control, and the last thing anyone wants is to fight a magically mind controlled Superman with enough additional power on top of his own to make a whole extra super.

Another one is Metro City.

No-one is banned from Metro City, technically. It’s just understood that Metro City has one superhero, and one supervillain, and anyone else trying to insert themselves into things will be booted out quickly, fiercely, and with much prejudice by one of the two.

The JL might even be able to go there on vacation if they wanted to, so long as they stayed off the clock, but no-one really wants to find out.

It’s also understood that Metro City’s hero is like Superman if he was a millionaire with no weaknesses and speed to rival the Flash’s, and his villain can -regardless of never winning- somehow keep up with him. So if they want to be left alone to their city and their weirdly co-dependent relationship, then that is probably best for everyone.

Then there’s Amity Park.

Superman is actually the only hero banned from Amity Park, on pure account of almost every entity there having possession/mind control as a basic part of their power set.

Other than that, Amity Park wasn’t exactly ignored by the Justice League, it’s just that they were a small town with a specific problem, and their local hero -Danny Phantom- had it well in hand.

In fact Danny had it so well handled that eventually he became the Ghost King. A new High King of the Infinite Realms is a spammer in the works no matter how you look at it, and Danny’s beginning to poke his head out of his town to see what the rest of the world is doing.

Day (630/100) in my #∞daysofwriting @the-wip-project 20th of Feb

[inventors-fair]

In a New Light: Flavor Copy Winners ~

It was a harrowing choice this week, and some of the runners-up are basically going to be me gushing; quite frankly, a lot of this week is me gushing, but this isn’t about that. This is about congratulations to @helloijustreadyourpost, @hypexion, and @wolkemesser for winning this week’s contest!

@helloijustreadyourpost​ — Single Out

Looking at Turntimber Ranger, the connection is obvious: the metaphorical lone wolf dies, and duh, they’re never alone. Here, I sense something amiss on Innistrad. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for werewolves, but the fact that this spell is black really speaks to the atrocity of this act, y’know? Innistrad’s black mana isn’t virtuous or definitive. It’s an act of malice, done not for the greater good but for the act itself. This card mechanically is an immensely powerful card in the vein of Deadly Alliance, ish, but there’s no super-comparable common. It’s not the most pushed, and that’s okay, because it’s still quite powerful!

And it’s sad. That’s the thing, how did the lone wolf get here? Was it of its own volition? I assume no; it’s been herded or singled through some other means. In terms of gameplay feel, perhaps your opponent is on the ropes and they’ve topdecked their last creature. Too bad—that last line of defense is no more. Or you’ve returned another creature and left one alone. Down the hatch. Even with two or more, the extra mana to single out that target makes this name (fantastic, BTW) and this ability show the extra effort, to get this “monster” corralled, and it’s just kinda cruel. That’s the point, isn’t it? It’s not overtly cruel, but it’s this twisted, furious beast realizing that it’s been chosen. I like that from a storytelling standpoint as it relates to gameplay. Easy to kill the last of a kind.

~

@hypexion​ — Eternal Sentry

I had never heard of Ancient Spider before, and I’m surprised it’s never been reprinted somewhere. I mean, it would be uncommon at best these days, but all the same. In the original flavor text, it’s kind of funny even without being necessarily groundbreaking or laugh-out-loud funny. It’s just kind of there, in this abandoned place where it grew up. Maybe it ate the king? Probably not, but it’s old. This card, though. I think this is one of my favorite cards where every part just speaks to something greater in a simple way.

It’s a construct, so, presumably it was made to be a sentry. It’s non-aggressive, but it’s strong, and that’s what allows it to do its job. And it’s also a knight, conscripted to guard a kingdom—a kingdom which is no more. With a king, also no more. It can’t feel loss. It can’t feel sorrow. It remains there, as the last remaining guardian of this place, watching for what? Nobody will invade these ruins any longer. Its original purpose, for which it was built and placed and given knighthood, has become useless. And yet it lives. It outlives. Discovering it here, I mean, I’m almost reminded of Ozymandias in a way. Obviously there’s deeper things to that poem and this card is about changing previously written context, but the overwhelming solitude is so well put-together. I could really go on about this card, but I’ll just end with the fact that it stuck with me as soon as I saw it in a way that more complicated story-based cards from Magic haven’t. Bravo.

~

@wolkemesser​ — Spectre of Courage

Wow, there are a lot of different Bog Wraiths out there. But those creepy ghosts got nothin’ on this card. I think that this is probably, of our three winners, the one that has more overall mechanical strength than story-strength, but the context is worth it and the card is really damn good, so what else can I say? It’s got a spot here. I’ll get the mechanical quibble out of the way: the “and” in “attacking and blocking” should be “or” because, while your intent might be to have it be on either side, the adjectives look at each creature, determines its action, then notes that total number; the wording right now makes it look like the creature has to be both attacking AND blocking at the same time in order to count towards X. It’s a weird game thing, and you shouldn’t feel bad about that, and honestly I can’t find exact precedent so take that with a grain of salt.

But the spectre’s power on the battlefield is felt in a way that’s sensible, stoic, solid, and turns the creepy flavor text into something that’s comforting and traditional! It’s still a little scary, and having it flash in makes it a little dramatic, but it’s the drama that results in gameplay that’s really, really strong. There’s the fact that this is a draft bomb, which is awesome, and the fact that it’s a defensive turnabout that really helps and complicates combat in a way that feels white without overwhelming things. Definitely combat-heavy, and a good twist on where these “soldiers” are and what they’re doing interacting with this spirit. Yeah, all makes sense! I’d like to play with this card and work around it in a healthy environment. Good jorb.

Runner-up coming soon, commentary to follow!

— @abelzumi​