#meanwhile heros are chasing this toddler

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 135

Jack and Maddie accidentally de-age Danny. Of course toddler Danny doesn’t have good control of his powers. Cue reveal.

Danny bolts.

This could be good parents. Could be bad parents.

Cujo decides Danny must be protected. So he takes position of guard dog. Danny just roaming city streets with a green giant dog. Multiple hero’s report the meta child with flying dog.

And the armed RV chasing said toddler.

[tabl3]

timeline of the beginning of the ef rewrite + book 1

for the peeps that either need a refresher or get overwhelmed by my 40+ book elite force rewrite (fair), I'm going to break down a rough tl of the events. we're starting with the pre-rewrite, and the first book of the series (which you can read on ao3 under tabs-alt :) )

March, 2016 Mission Creek, California - Tasha Davenport (44) announces to her family that she is expecting a baby girl

June, 2016 - across the country in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, supervillain Bridget Hunslet’s (38) reign of Terror is ended with the combined effort of dozens of superheroes

Mid-August, 2016 - Oliver Hunslet (16) and Skylar Diaz (near-17) leave their high school at the end of the school day, freshly in their junior year. They wave goodbye to their friends: Jordan (17),  Gus (16), and Stephanie (16), before Skylar attempts to reignite conversation with her unusually quiet companion. A black limousine pulls up in the drop-off zone, with a familiar face at the wheel. He rolls down the window and offers them a proposition. Twenty minutes later, Kazimieras Andris (16) hears a knock on his family home's door. He struggles forward to answer it, having a fussy baby in his arms and two toddlers clinging to his legs- the reason he was absent from school that day. Mr. Donald Davenport (47) stands in the doorway, flanked by Skylar and Oliver on either side. A new team, he offers. Use his technology to take down Mr. Terror's empire. A chance to be a hero

September 1st, 2016 - Leo Dooley-Davenport celebrates his 16th birthday in the lab with his older siblings: Adam Davenport (19), Bree Davenport (near-18), and Chase Davenport (17). After a few hours, they're scattered around, talking about their recent big victory. Their father, Donald, comes down and introduces a new mission that starts the next day. The siblings excitedly discuss preparations, before they're interrupted. Two for the new mission, and two to stay at the academy. They're going to be separated. As they're left to decide amongst themselves, Chase chooses to leave first. He sees the heartbreak on their faces, but understands that Leo has truly come into himself on the island, and this new mission needs a leader. There's silence for a beat. Bree volunteers next. She whacks Chase on the shoulder, proclaiming that she needs to keep him out of trouble. A long hug, many tears, and a sleepless night of packing followed. Adam doesn't say a word.

September 2, 2016 - Bree and Chase arrive at Davenport Towers, Centium City, Rhode Island. Donald leads them to the balcony. They reintroduce themselves to Skylar, Kaz, and Oliver, before Donald gives them all a brief tour of the penthouse. He leaves them be after. Once the two groups finish sizing each other up, Chase instructs them to follow him to Mission Command, their headquarters under the building with a network of tunnels under Centium City. He makes his distrust of Kaz and Oliver’s powers known, citing that they have no training and the idea of a “magic space rock” is ridiculous. He also points out that he’s the leader, because his father told them so, meaning they have to listen to him. This causes a minuscule amount of friction between him and Oliver and Skylar. Meanwhile, Bree and Kaz have a budding friendship, because she enjoys the fact that he annoys her brother. That night as they settle in, Oliver comments on how creepy Chase’s capsule is. Kaz only says it looks uncomfortable.

September 3rd, 2016 - Skylar comes downstairs early in the morning to work out. She’s surprised to find Chase already awake and ready for the day. He points to the donuts he picked up. Once the rest of the team comes down, Oliver begins pressing about their objective. Bree and Skylar both remind him that it will take time to achieve. This angers him, causing him to slam his hand down, breaking off a piece of the counter with his new strength. Kaz and Skylar are surprised to see him outburst like that. After he quietly sits down, Skylar begins suggesting routes to take. Chase immediately cuts her off, suggesting that her plans are ridiculous. Before they break out in a proper argument, Kaz and Bree divert it.

September 4th, 2016 - Kaz and Oliver are experiencing body pain, chalking it up to bad takeout. Skylar is using the boys’ bathroom to get ready, complaining about Bree hogging theirs. While they talk, Skylar points out how little Chase has in his portion of the room. She picks up a picture frame off the desk, one of his family. They identify Adam, Leo, and Donald, before figuring that the heavily pregnant woman who resembles Leo is his mother and Donald’s wife. There’s another man featured, one that looks strikingly similar to Adam, Bree, and Chase- one they’ve never seen before. Kaz decides to find out who he is, flipping open Chase’s laptop and hacking through his lock. Oliver is cautious about it, while Skylar is intrigued. The laptop shuts, and the frame flies away. Chase is standing in the doorway. He tells them they can ask instead of snooping. Kaz asks who “Raggedy Andy” is. Amused, Chase replies that it’s Douglas Davenport, Donald’s younger brother. He then informs them that it’s training time. When they complain about not eating breakfast yet, he counters by telling them they should spend less time breaking boundaries to have time to eat.

In the training room, Chase stands below with the other two boys. The girls watch from above as he begins instructing them. He tells Kaz to demonstrate his flying abilities. Kaz does so, and Oliver feels a pang of jealousy because he hasn’t been able to activate his powers on command. Chase then tells Kaz to demonstrate his pyrokinesis. Kaz does so. It keeps going after Chase tells him to stop, enveloping panicking Kaz and the bottom part of the room. Chase backs Oliver into a corner, putting up a shield around them. He yells at Kaz to stop. Kaz replies that he can’t. Skylar prepares to jump down to help. Bree is faster. She lands on the floor, siphoning the flames away with wind generated by her speed. Kaz is kneeling on the ground, shaken. Skylar makes it down, running to him. Bree begins yelling at Kaz for endangering Chase’s life, despite the fact that the siblings have barely spoken to each other since arriving at the tower. Skylar argues back that Kaz is new, and can’t control himself yet. Chase tells the two boys to follow him outside. Skylar stops them on their way out, telling them that she won’t tolerate it if Chase speaks badly to them. Her argument continues with Bree afterward, while Chase, juxtaposing what the boys thought, warmly assures them that he’s there to help them, and understands that it can be scary. 

September 5th, 2016 - Skylar finds Chase downstairs in the early morning again. He’s organizing colored blocks on a holo screen on their kitchen island. She inquires what it is. He replies that it’s to be the boys’ training regiment. Skylar vetoes it, saying it’s too much. Chase retorts that Kaz has too much power that he can’t control, and Oliver has nothing to control, making them a liability. This continues the friction between them. That afternoon, mostly Kaz and Bree’s doing, the team goes out to a sandwich shop. After that, they play laser tag, then go grocery shopping- where a gaggle of preteen girls show up for Chase and Bree’s autographs. While in the midst of this, an alert sounds off. An active robbery in the shopping plaza. The team runs to a small antique store, where a band of thieves are holding the owner at gunpoint. As Chase begins giving an order, Bree and Skylar run right past him, engaging with the criminals. Chase, annoyed, tells the other boys to not use their powers, as it's a cardinal rule to never use deadly force on humans, before joining the fight, leaving Kaz and Oliver completely unsure of what to do. The three heroes that can fight get in each other’s way, because they’re in a tiny space and not at all fighting together, which is added to by Kaz particularly being an obstacle. After a failing fight, Oliver trips, knocking everyone over into a pile. The thieves get away, the store is destroyed, and the young girls that followed them take a picture. 

Later that afternoon, Chase receives a phone call from Donald. He tries to assure him that they took care of the damages, but his father is furious about the terrible debut of his new team spreading across social media and news networks. Chase tries to explain, but only receives scathing words about how Donald never should have trusted him to lead, and that he’d better fix this mess. After he hangs up, Chase turns his anger on the team that’s gathered on the couch, pointing out everything they did wrong. Skylar laughs at him, telling him to do some reflection because he didn’t take any blame in his rant. Chase goes down to Mission Command, while Kaz tells Skylar to knock it off.

Oliver continues trying to activate his powers on command. Bree thinks about calling her family, before zipping off as she’s been doing to enjoy her new freedom. Skylar pores over ancient Calderan archives that her adoptive father Horace Diaz (3,045) transcribed from Hapax the Elder in a quest to retrieve her powers. 

Meanwhile, Kaz finds Chase working down in Mission Command. Chase tries to get him to leave. He thinks it works, until he hears crunches. Kaz is still there, staring intently while eating potato chips. Chase is purely confused as to why. Kaz says he finds whatever Chase is working on interesting. That perplexes Chase more, because even the more tech-savvy members of his family have never taken an interest. It’s the wormhole generator from Mighty Med that he’s trying to put into a more functional design. He teases Kaz that it’ll be another one to break. Kaz then threatens him that he’s going to touch his expensive equipment with his greasy fingers.

Hours go by, and Chase is surprised to look up and still see Kaz there. After a brief chat, Chase recalls the small crush he had developed on Kaz after waking up in Mighty Med and seeing who saved his life. This causes him to not pay attention, shocking himself on his machine. Kaz rushes over to help him, causing Chase to fumble away harder. They leave together after, with Chase tripping over the hyperlift’s threshold after Kaz compliments him. 

Once back upstairs, Chase makes eye contact with Skylar. He feels nauseous, saying that he’s going out to get air. He finds himself at a library/cafe, browsing the shelves. He collides with someone, knocking both of them over. A girl, a very pretty girl, accepts the hand to help her back up. They go back to themselves after, before their fingers brush on the spine of Frankenstein. They talk about this before exchanging names, with Chase heavily struggling to form the two words. She laughs anyway, and doesn’t care that he’s bionic or famous. That’s refreshing to Chase. She informs him that he’s taking her on a coffee date. Reese (16) takes his hand and leads him away.

[izukurtus]

Me liking Bk ≠ me excusing the abuse he did.

I find Bk to be an interesting character because quite frankly he has no filter and is extremely controversial. You have people hating and loving him and then there's just me in between them. I don't particularly hate or love him and I think that he has done bad things that his redemption arc hasn't handled sufficiently. A prime example of this is his apology. It was so half assed and meaningless.

Which is why I think that it could have been much better if we saw him monologue on his past self and how toxic he was. I want to see him making an active effort to change and I've only seen that on one occasion. His sacrifice was cool and all and I won't brush that off just because it came out of nowhere but we can't ignore the fact that it did.

I don't love Bk and I definitely am not his biggest supporter. But I do like him and what he represents. You can't say that he didn't change just like you can't say that he isn't an asshole. He represents a good antagonist at its finest and a realistic teenager. And if you can't tell, 90% of teenagers are shit heads. They can be good at times similar to Bk but most of the time they're not the best.

And guess what? That's normal and natural behavior. Now I'm not about to blame it all on puberty because that definitely isn't the issue. But I refuse to let you tell me to my face that puberty didn't play a part in how Bk acted. We see as Bk matures he gets better. More serious and caring towards his classmates and most importantly Dk. He deliberately fought for them and protected them and Dk.

Now let's move onto Dk's feelings concerning Bk.

Dk loves Bk without a doubt. He does not blame him at all and genuinely enjoys engaging in conversation with him. He's happy that the relationship between him and Bk has improved and enables him to be able to spend more time with his precious Kacchan. He believes that Bk has changed and desperately wants to be his friend. But there's also another thing about his behavior and feelings towards Bk that is worth mentioning.

Me personally, I believe that Dk holds onto this false image of Bk in his mind. The symbol of victory, confidence, and power. His own hero. And this is both toxic and endearing. Deep down Dk is still the little boy he once was and so is Bk, or at least in his mind.

He holds onto the boy Kt once was instead of the man Bk is today. The boy Kt was, as you guessed it held on a pedestal and who believed he was the greatest and made OTHERS believe he was the greatest as well. To him, Bk is still "the greatest" and what happens when Bk, who is Dk's hero gets knocked off of the pedestal that Dk has placed him on? And I think this is the true reason that he was so mad when he saw Bk's vulnerability both physically and mentally and why he "snapped." Because he had to come head to head with the fact that Bk is in fact NOT the greatest.

Which is why it makes sense that he was so surprised during DvK2 when Bk vented to him. Because he never really considered that BK was "weak" and that he needed to be saved after the river scene when BK started bullying him. Because before that scene we have no proof that Bk bullied him, we only have proof that he bullied him after that occurrence. Because of the bullying he endured he came to the conclusion that Bk was the strongest and the greatest, that it was impossible for him to be weak.

Dk's dream has not changed in the slightest. He still wants to be a symbol of peace, like he wanted to as a toddler. Meanwhile, Bk has changed and vastly. Dk is still chasing Bk despite the fact that Bk isn't running from him anymore. Because he's not REALLY chasing Bk. He's chasing Kacchan.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 13, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Distractions) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

This Fucking Turtle

The rock that Wei Wuxian and Wen Chao are standing on starts to move, because of course it does. It’s a tortoise shell, sort of. There are some problems with this ostensible tortoise. 

First, Murder Turtle a tortoise is technically a turtle don't @ me doesn't look anything like a turtle. I try really hard not to project my western mythologies onto Chinese works, but god dang this thing looks like the Loch Ness monster.

Second, its shell wobbles a bit, but there's no indication that the creature can move around the cave until much later. During an extended fight with several tasty cultivators, it stays put and just moves its head around.  

The immobility problem aside, it's not a terrible monster. After the hell dog, I'm relieved to have a normal CGI beastie where some things are done really pretty well. Its eyes and skin are particularly good.

What's not good are the teeth. When Murder Turtle closes its mouth, its long pointy upper teeth have nowhere to go, so they pierce its lower jaw and just sink in there. No wonder it's pissed off.

Its relationship with its shell is...well, let's save that for the next episode.

Irons in the Fire

Meanwhile,  Wang Lingjiao (Wen Chao's girlfriend) decides she's in the mood for barbequed MianMian, so she grabs a hot iron to burn her face.

Wei Wuxian to the rescue! He shoots three arrows at once and hits all three of his targets, in a move that he'll repeat with even more arrows at a later date.

Wang Lingjiao decides to throw the iron at MianMian, who decides not to duck, while Wei Wuxian leaps into the path of the iron and gets deeply burned on the chest through his clothing. This is absolutely definitely how time, things flying through the air, and branding irons work.

(more after the cut)

Jiang Cheng and Wen Zhuliu start fighting again. These two can't quit each other, almost like they have a date with destiny in their future.  Jiang Cheng shows off his purple bloomers while he and Wen Zhuliu try to outspin each other.

Camera operator: Why you gotta take it out on me?

Wen It’s Time To Say Goodbye

The Wens decide to dip, heading up the rock face and cutting the ropes behind them, which would be super inconvenient if several of the cultivators didn't know how to literally fly.

But they also put a bunch of rocks in the hole, while Wen Qing begs them not to do it.

Down at the bottom of the cave, everyone sits and chats, while Murder Turtle wishes it had legs so it could chase them. Oh wait, it does have legs, it just isn't ready to get out of the bath yet

Call the Waaambulance

MianMian is crying over all the nonsense the writers have put her through in this episode, and Wei Wuxian tries to cheer her up by talking to her like she's a toddler. On the plus side, he'll be a great dad for a toddler one day.

Jin Zixuan: I'm used to women crying around me, is that not typical?

Lan Wangji has got no time for cheering up crying girls, and starts heading back to the turtle bath, because he has figured out how they can escape. 

He and Wei Wuxian show off their mind reading abilities, where Lan Wangji explains absolutely nothing and Wei Wuxian perfectly understands him. See also: “Fortunately.” 

Rather than try to swim for it, the other cultivators want to hang around and wait to be rescued, or just generally feel like staying put and whining. 

Wei Wuxian takes charge through sheer force of personality, and makes Jiang Cheng go find the way out while he himself distracts Murder Turtle with fire.

Wei Wuxian can make talismans without 1. ink 2. a brush or 3. paper. He just needs his flesh and his unusually sharp incisors. He's so far ahead of everyone around him; how is a dude this talented ever going to be anyone's right hand man? He’s already on track to creating a new talisman-based school of cultivation, even if he never gets around to the whole necromancy thing.  

Swimming in the Pool, Swimming is Cool

The main group of cultivators go swimming while Wei Wuxian lights fires to keep the tortoise's attention. For some reason he just stands there when it's about to eat him...maybe he's mesmerized? Lan Wangji flings him out of harm’s way and gets his already-busted leg chomped on. 

Wei Wuxian pulls Lan Wangji to safety and tells the other cultivators to get going. Jiang Cheng doesn't want to, but Jin Zixuan convinces him.

For fans of homoerotic screen caps, this episode is a gold mine.

Murder turtle suddenly remembers he has legs, but Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji instantly find a room he can’t fit into, so they’re okay for the night.

Owie Owie Owie

Now we have an extended hurt/comfort session with our wounded heroes. Lan Wangji is bleeding, so Wei Wuxian...puts a splint made of sticks directly onto his unbandaged lacerations, and ties it with his pristine headband, which will remain pristine. Then he puts medicine on the lacerations.

This seems like a situation where the script said "broken leg" and the makeup department said "MOAR BLOOD" and nobody changed the direction to the actors. In any case, the sticks seem to help and bandages are not mentioned.

What is mentioned, of course, is the dreaded stale blood, which plagues many a c-drama hero, and has to be driven out through strong emotion. This is totally how the human circulatory system works. To be fair, there is probably a perfectly reasonable underlying concept in Chinese medicine that has been exaggerated for dramatic effect, so that every possible ailment or injury results in vomiting blood, sometimes sexily.

Wei Wuxian clears up the blood problem super quickly by offering to show Lan Wangji his dick, not to put too fine a point on it. Alas, he retracts the offer once the crisis has passed.

Once they settle down, Lan Wangji takes the opportunity to put some medicine on Wei Wuxian's burned tit, and to chide him for letting himself get injured. It's like he doesn't even know him. 

Wei Wuxian: I had no choice, because I am psychologically driven to sacrifice myself for other people at every opportunity. Get used to it, cupcake.

Wei Wuxian points out that MianMian is pretty and that it would be bad for her to have a mark on her face. Lan Wangji points out, not quite in so many words, that Wei Wuxian is pretty and now HE has a permanent mark. Before Lan Wangji ever got to see his bare chest, too.

Wei Wuxian says it's cool for men to have marks on their bodies. Preferably hickeys and rope burns, but scars are okay too. 

Lan Wangji: you're going to love my future body mods, then.

Then Wei Wuxian waxes poetic about having a pretty girl remember your heroism, and Lan Wangji gets jealous and cranky. Wei Wuxian misinterprets this, but not unreasonably, considering that Lan Wangji was putting his own body between MianMian and harm not all that long ago.

After some extended eye fucking followed by laughing and saying "no homo" for the censors, the conversation moves to a more serious place. 

Wei Wuxian engages in a little WangXian meta analysis, noting that Lan Wangji can tease him now, and is talking to him slightly more. Falling for a high-spirited, popular extrovert has been hard on Lan Wangji, but Wei Wuxian is also struggling with falling for a nearly-silent, crushingly-shy introvert. Wei Wuxian really does find Lan Wangji boring on one level, at the same time as finding him utterly compelling on other levels. 

Wei Wuxian starts to say something about the Lans and stops himself with this charming gesture. I've seen it here and there in c-dramas and I assume it's a thing in China. It's a perfect way for a hyperactive talker to say "I'm shutting up now" without using even more words to say it.

Lan Wangji finally, FINALLY tells Wei Wuxian - briefly - what happened to his home. Wei Wuxian, in one of those moments of empathy that they have more and more often as time goes on, asks about his loved ones, and forgoes any other questions.

Lan Wangji tells him that Lan Qiren is seriously injured and Lan Xichen is missing. Wei Wuxian is extremely concerned about one of these people.

When Lan Wangji falls asleep at 9pm on the button, Wei Wuxian tenderly covers him in his own robe, offering physical comfort in place of the emotional comfort Lan Wangji won’t let anybody give him. 

Then Wei Wuxian gazes at him like a lovestruck dope, before settling down beside him for the night. 

Soundtrack: Peter Gabriel, I Go Swimming

[mobius-prime]

226. Sonic the Hedgehog #158

System Reconfiguration

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

Things are looking pretty bad for ol' Eggy right now. Not only is M not responding to his commands, neither is A.D.A.M. who remains totally silent, meaning that whoever has sent the army of Metal Sonics after him (he suspects it to be Snively due to his betrayal the other issue) has hacked the systems of both of his personal assistants. Luckily, he has a contingency up his sleeve in the form of a remote control that Star-Trek-technobabbles the two back to normal. M punches some of the attacking Metal Sonics away from her "father" and they both run from the carnage. M takes Eggman to where she's stored his own Metal Sonic as well as the unconscious Shadow from before. They take a shuttle away from the place before any more robotic assassins can come after him, leaving Sonic and Rotor to handle the situation alone.

The Metal Sonics, strangely enough, seem totally uninterested in attacking Sonic and Rotor after recognizing the former as the person they're modeled after, so the two organic beings take their chance to run away, taking the same egg pod that brought them here back to Knothole. The Metal Sonics, witnessing their escape, decide not to give chase but rather to split up into several metal whirlwinds that spread out through the wilderness in search of Eggman, whom they're apparently programmed to destroy. Eggman himself, however, has safely ensconced himself in a new secure room, and as M downloads some files for him, Shadow awakens furious and confused as to where he is. Eggman immediately adopts an attitude of caring deeply about Shadow as part of his "family," given that Professor Gerald was his creator, pretending to be deeply affected by the events of the past when GUN shut down Gerald's project and killed Maria. Interestingly, he refers to Maria as his half-sister and states he was an infant when all this went down, but neither of these things are true, as Maria and he were merely cousins and Eggman wasn't even born yet when she died. I'm gonna chalk this up to Penders, yet again, simply not caring enough to familiarize himself with the canon established by the games, because Ian Flynn later "clarified" (read: retconned) that he was 100% lying here, ostensibly to make his and Shadow's "losses" seem more personal and connected to each other.

Oh come on, Shadow, don't listen to him! No matter what canon it is, he always ends up using you and trying to get in your head! Meanwhile in Knothole, Uncle Chuck calls Sonic, Rotor, and Elias down to a secret lab in a sealed-off lower portion of the castle, and explains that he and Rotor are actually somewhat responsible for what's going on here. Oh boy…

All right, Uncle Chuck, I'm gonna say this is one of your less-good plans. I can't imagine how creepy it would have been if those things had actually gone into service, and suddenly everyone had to watch their dead hero multiplied by a hundred fighting his old foe in robot form with no explanation. I mean, how surreal and upsetting would that have been for his parents and closest friends in particular, to constantly see the face of the one they so cared for copy-and-pasted onto the army of robots now coldly hunting down their foe? *shudder* Uncle Chuck at least did include a failsafe in the form of a button to shut them all down if they went berserk, but predictably, pressing this button does nothing, and one of the Metal Sonic tornadoes continues on its trajectory towards Knothole. Shadow, watching on Eggman's monitor, notices that the whirlwind is headed straight for Hope's house, but as Eggman seems more concerned with the fact that he's not the one in control of the Metal Sonics, Shadow immediately races out to intercept the swarm before it can hurt Hope, at the same time that Sonic himself does.

Oh yeah, this is another one of those weird things about Shadow in the comics versus the games - he doesn't understand the extent of his own Chaos powers. He knows he can perform Chaos Control when in possession of an emerald, but apparently doesn't know that he can use more limited forms of his powers even without one. Shadow heads inside the hut to check on Hope, and Sonic arrives on scene just in time for the majority of the Metal Sonics to head out, leaving only two behind. He begins fighting those two, who strangely no longer seem reluctant to fight him, while his parents, unaware of the danger, discuss things in their own house. Bernie is upset that they let him go off with Eggman, feeling it's their job to protect him as their parents, but Jules disagrees, thinking that Sonic by now has more than enough experience in battle to justify letting him do whatever he feels is necessary in the war, pointing out that when they last knew him before being roboticized he was merely a toddler, but he's all grown up now. Suddenly Knothole's alarm system begins wailing, and they both head outside to see the Metal Sonic whirlwind coming straight for two terrified children, whom Jules grabs out of the way in time. The entire populace begins filing into the castle for safety, and Elias discusses what will happen if their home falls, something Sally can't believe will happen. Sonic and Shadow, meanwhile, are still struggling with the two in Hope's house, trying to protect Rosie and Hope both from them, and when Sonic smashes one, it flies to the side and strikes Hope in the head.

I mean, a bit overkill there Shadow, but given he's still suffering from some serious trauma from Maria's death in the past, I suppose we can forgive him for it.

[dragon-stones]

Toddler Madness

Chapter Name: Too Tired for This   Part: 9 Pairing: Frostiron     Rating: T Summary: Stephen is filled in on what happened and Loki decides to be a little shit.

Find on AO3 and FF.net

Stephen sits on the couch with a cup of tea in his hands. He glances over at the unconscious man laid out on the other couch. The Sorcerer had given Tony a once over. And had not found anything that would need immediate medical attention. The Cloak of Levitation is holding Peter’s bottle of juice, while said baby is sitting on the man’s chest. It’s a strange sight to see. A once hyperactive teen had been turned into a child by magic. How unfortunate. How...uninteresting for the Sorcerer Supreme. Without a doubt, this is a simple fix. A fix even Loki can do.

Turning his gaze to the five other children in the room, Stephen sighs. And these were Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Now they're a bunch of small kids that can’t even be left alone in a room by themselves. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Much to the Sorcerer's annoyance. Or was it amusement? One can never tell with a character like Strange.

“So, a package arrived and it was opened without caution. Then they were turned into children and a baby. Is that correct?” Stephen set the cup on the table and rubbed his hands. A dull ache starting to creep up.

“Yes.” Pepper nodded.

“And they call themselves ‘Earth’s mightiest Heroes’, how dumb they were.” Stephen sighs, shaking his head.

“Well, you did miss Stark swan dive.” Loki wheezed, wiping a tear from his eyes. It may have only been an hour after Tony had fainted, but Loki still found it funny to laugh about.

Stephen raised a brow. “And why did he do that?”

“Peter called him—” Pepper started to say, but is interrupted by a baby.

“Daddy!”

Peter’s whine is loud and one can easily tell that he’s not very happy about Tony being unconscious. If the little bounce and pulling at the man’s shirt is anything to tell by. The Cloak tires to gain the child’s attention. But it appears that said spiderling is not interested in interruptions. Pepper sighs and walks over to the little spider boy. Meanwhile, Loki chuckles under his breath. Stephen sighs, it seems the only mature ones are him and the CEO.

“He said it again.” Loki snorts.

“Hmmm, funny.” Stephen’s voice is dry and humorless. Why was he contacted again? Why is he dealing with this? This isn’t even his problem.

“It is!” Loki huffed, noticing the blank tone of the Sorcerer. Did this guy not know how to have fun? “The voice has it saved.”

“Voice?" Stephen hums, a brow raised again.

“That would be me, Mr. Strange.” Jarvis answers. “I’m sir’s A.I. I run the tower.”

The sudden voice of the A.I. causes Strange to jump in his seat. This causes the cloak to become aware of its master instantly. The cloak turns it’s collar to its master. In normal response, the sentient fabric would have rushed to it's master’s aid. And at this moment it is ready to aid, but it can tell that that’s not necessary. So the cloak floats near the woman holding the baby. The corners of the cloak holding the bottle of juice dutifully.

Once Strange had calmed his heart and breathing, his eyes turn to the cloak. A sigh and a wave of his hand let the magical outerwear know that he’s ok. The cloak visibility relaxing, the collar giving a small shutter. Like it’s giving a breath of relief. It then turns its attention to Peter, since the said boy is reaching an arm out to the cloth. Stephen picks up his cup of tea and sips at it while leaning into the couch.

“It’s Doctor Strange, not Mr. Strange,” Stephen says as he finishes his tea, seeming to ignore what the A.I. had said moments ago.

“Understood.” Jarvis states. Stephen nods at this.

“Tony said there’s a spell that’s been placed on the powder that came from the package.” Pepper brings the Sorcerer's attention back to the problem at hand.

“Odin took my powers away. So, I can’t reverse it.” Loki grumbles. Nice one Odin, the one time Loki needs his magic and it’s been snatched from him like a baby losing its candy.

“So, that’s why you called me?” Stephen asks, voice monotone. Though there’s a hint of amusement. So that’s why this spell wasn’t reversed sooner.

“You going to help or not?” Loki snarled. The Norse being is not in the mood to be laughed at. Though, he’ll laugh at someone else’s misery.

“Mom’s mad.” Clint snickered, hiding behind Loki’s leg.

Stephen felt an eyebrow raise. Mom? The god of mischief is called mom! The urge to laugh is strong, but the Sorcerer can keep it down. Though barely. The fact that one of the children had called Loki mom is a very funny concept. Do the others call him mom too? This may be more interesting than what Strange had first thought.

“Mom?” The corner of the male’s lips pulls up.

A hiss leaves Loki’s lips. “Say something and I’ll send you free-falling.”

Strange felt his lips pull further, a smirk forming. The cloak catches his eye and the fabric shakes its collar. Clearing the levitating outerwear is not amused like its master. A shame really, this is very entertaining to the master of the mystic arts. And it seems he’s not the only one.

“Mom’s mad now.” Clint has a large smile on his face. Seems this child likes to cause trouble.

“That’s not funny, Clint.” Steve chased Clint. Even as a child the super-soldier had that ‘don’t make me give a speech’ in his tone.

“Boys, stop.” Loki snapped.

The two kids nodded and zipped their lips. Natasha had a bored expression, the child leaned on Pepper’s leg. Meanwhile, Peter had been transferred to Loki’s arms, the baby happily nibbling on the God’s shirt. Bruce is peeking out from Loki’s leg with a curious expression. Wide brown eyes blinking at the Sorcerer. Thor is laying on an armchair, sleeping. If the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest is anything to go by.

“I agree, you’re mom.” Stephen snickered.

Loki scrunched his nose in annoyance. But this then his face light up. “Oh look at the time. I have somewhere to be.” The god smiles at Stephen. “Thanks for babysitting.”

“Hey! I didn’t—” Stephen stammered as Peter's placed into his arms and Loki bolting for the elevator. The ache in his hands now becoming painful. He isn’t able to hold things for long. Let alone a baby.

“Mr. Loki is no longer in the building, Doctor Strange,” Jarvis stated as Strange was about to get up.

The sorcerer sighs and leans back into the couch, his hands trembling in pain. Though a sigh of relief is heard as the cloak helps hold the baby spider. The sympathetic look from Pepper does help the man relax. He wouldn’t be surprised if this has happened to her. Knowing the man that Tony is, it’s very likely.

The other kids blinked and looked around. They’re confused about what had happened. When did Loki have to leave? Where did he leave too? And these strange man is there babysitter? When was all this set up? They looked at Pepper and she was shaking her head. It seems that she was not amused by what happened.

“Well, that’s great,” Stephen grumbles, slumping. He doesn’t have the time for this.

“Yeah, he’s dating me.”

All heads turn to the voice that had spoken. Tony is now sitting up on the couch he had once been laying on. The man’s hair is disheveled and his face is filled with tiredness. Stephen feels the same as Tony looks. And having a babbling baby in his ear isn’t helping the sorcerer’s train of thought. He had to study the spell on the powder and find a reverse spell. But that means he has to go to SHIELD and find where they have this package at. All Stephen wanted was to get something warm for lunch and it seems that’s too much to ask for.

“And that’s concerning.” Stephen scoffs, annoyance written on his face.

“You’ll get used to it,” Pepper says as she places her head in her hand.

“Want to take this one off of me?” Stephen motions to the baby gerbiling on him.

Tony snickers as he sees peter is drooling on the other man’s robes. At least it isn’t his shirt that has globs of baby drool on it. If one was not the wiser, Stephen could have been mistaken for the baby’s father. And the sorcerer’s tired expression did add to the image. Poor Stephen, what had Loki dragged him into?

“You look like a dad with that face.” Tony chuckles, didn’t help that the kids were nodding in agreement too.

Stephen blinked and huffed. Shaking his head, the former surgeon sighs. Why him? What did he do to have to deal with this? “Do you want my help? If you do, then please take the baby off of me.”

“Fine, fine. Spoiled sport.” Tony stood up and walked over to the other couch. Once Peter saw him the baby smiled and giggled. Holding his arms out to the older man. “Come here, Petey.”

Stephen sighed as the baby is removed from his person, his arms and hands relaxing in relief. “Thank you.”

Tony nodded, he turned to Peter and made a silly face. This made the baby giggle. “Hey, there little guy.”

Stephen sighs and leans into the cloak. He’s tired, oh so tired. Stephen had not slept in about two and a half days and last night the sanctum had been attacked. And he’s running on empty. Though the tea had cream in it, it’s not enough to hold back the pain of hunger. His stomach tightens in protest of no food.

“Sir, Doctor Strange seems to be suffering from a severe lack of sleep.” Jarvis alerted Tony to the condition of the Sorcerer.

“Yeah, Jar. I kind of had a feeling.” Tony chuckled. Of course, he’d know when someone looked like the walking dead. He, himself is a pro at it.

“Ok, wizard,” Tony says as he adjusts Peter in his arms. “Take a nap. The last thing we need is something happening to you.”

“Normally, I’d disagree with someone like you Stark.” Stephen snorted. He’ll let the wizard comment slide for now. “But this time I have too. Seeming as I’m the only one that can fix this.”

“Right!” Tony explained. “Jarvis set up a guest room.”

“Of course, Sir,” Jarvis replied.

[superthatguy62]

A look at the FFIII Manga: Desch

There is many external media of the Final Fantasy series, taking various forms. The big games like 7 or 10 got spinoff novels that expanded and some may say hurt their overall worlds, but in the case of the NES trilogy, it just got adaptations in literature form. Memory of Heroes was a light novel released sometime ago novelizing all three NES games (though only I's details and changes have been noted in english sources) and II has a well known light novel that expands and even changes in some ways, the game's story. However, Final Fantasy I and III had manga adaptations long ago with III's being released simply a year after the game and running for two. Further interesting is that Kenji Terada, the scenario writer of the first 3 games had a hand in writing it. It's interesting, especially since it's absolutely bonkers. Which, honestly looking at the OG trilogy's stories and the II novelization, is probably par for the course. (Fun fact: Terada apparently had a hand in writing Batman: Dark Tomorrow. Take that as you will). It’s a different animal from the original game and especially the remake. And to illustrate that perfectly, let's start with Desch.

(Credit to FFwiki for this image)

Desch appears in the tail-end of Volume 1, revealed to be the force causing massive birds to attack Canaan Basque.The Light Warriors fight back, but Desch succeeds in incapacitating and capturing Muuchi (the Warrior-looking dude).

While Melfi stays behind to help Kenny’s sister (?) Jenny, who took a bullet from a bunch of angry townspeople, Doug and J. Bowie chase Desch to the Kingdom of Birds (Dragon’s Peak/Mount Jenora doesn’t exist apparently) where they learn that Desch can brainwash people with his birds and did so to Muuchi when he incapacitated him.

This leads to Doug (small guy in the silly get-up) and Bowie attempting to get Muuchi back by fighting Desch.

Spoilers: It doesn’t go well. Desch is shown to have powers over birds, along with trickery such as a blowgun. Not even fighting directly helps because as soon as J Bowie engaged him in physical combat:

...Yeah.

Meanwhile, Doug finds Muuchi, but the latter is so brainwashed that he doesn’t seem to respond. Desch eventually punches Bowie off of a cliff prompting Doug to save him with a bendy stick/flail that he used as a weapon previously. Unfortunately, Desch literally kicks Doug off of the mountain, taking Bowie with him. Melfi’s white magic powers seemingly cause her to sense what happened to her allies.

Doug and Bowie do survive though, and decide to lay low for a bit. During that time, it becomes clear that Desch forces his brainwashed soldiers to attack beasts, cutting them open to allow his birds to feed on their entrails.

Later that night, Desch rounds up his minions and has them fight a giant beast. When the beast is seemingly about to crush Muuchi (he ends up leaping out of the way) Doug and Bowie spring into action, defeating the beast before fighting Desch once more.

It should be noted that, up to this point, Desch has not used magic at all (unlike the remake and later portrayals where he’s as proficient at magic as he is with a sword) although-

You can argue he doesn’t really need it.

Desch sics his brainwashed soldiers on Doug while Bowie once again confronts him. This time, Bowie hits Desch with a magic blast that can be seen from afar.

Doug is soon approached by Bowie who, in turn, leads him to Desch. Desch doesn’t attack however, and simply gestures for the boys to follow him to what is most certainly not a trap.

In any case, Melfi has been haunted by nightmares ever since Doug and Bowie fell and she decides to follow them. She eventually finds a giant, weird monster.

She also finds Muuchi, who promptly tries to kill her. She then gets attacked by the monster itself, which promptly grabs her with its tendrils.

The monster soon begins grabbing not only her, but Muuchi as well. In a last ditch effort to get Muuchi to come to his senses, Melfi slaps him silly.

It doesn’t work.

Desch is revealed to be nearby and his minions bring Doug and Bowie (who were thrown in a jail cell and, in the case of the latter, held hostage by the soldiers. While Melfi is distracted by the sight of her allies, however, Muuchi punches her into the monster’s grasp, where she is promptly absorbed by it in horrifying detail.

Bowie takes it the hardest: So distraught is he over Melfi’s apparent demise, that he taps into his Black Magic prowess and unleashes a barrage of spells at the monster tree.

  Unfortunately, Doug is barely able to warn Bowie of the spear coming at him until its too late. Thus, Bowie is speared and begins getting absorbed by the demon tree.

Things are looking bad for poor Doug...

But then, something happens. The area is buffeted by odd wind and then light particles begin falling like snow. This also has an effect on the baddies: The birds, the soldiers, even Desch himself suddenly begin attacking each other. Meanwhile, Muuchi reacts badly to the phenomenon, seeming to have a breakdown.

Desch’s henchmen then attack Muuchi and Doug. Doug holds his own, but Muuchi’s a bit too busy losing his mind. One of the soldiers grabs Muuchi, bulks up and tosses him into the tree, much like Muuchi did to Melfi.

Then, well, things get weird.

Melfi, in a weird nude spirit form, astral projects herself from... wherever she is inside the tree. We’re treated to some weird imagery (including a fetus tethered to the universe and Muuchi at various development stages of her life (baby, toddler, child, etc) along with planets surrounding a giant Melfi (all of this in her spirit form, though thankfully undetailed, mind you)).

She then awakens (?). Her spirit form grabs a sword and flies into action. Meanwhile, Doug has been overwhelmed and is about to be fed to the tree just like Melfi and his brothers were. Melfi’s spirit flies into the core of the tree and neutralizes it.

...Well, mostly.

Melfi tries her white magic, but it appears that they were too late. This is the end for poor Bowie...

Oh Bowie! *Seinfeld Theme plays as studio audience laughs*

The party finally finds the unconscious soldiers, including the man who started it all. Desch’s control over his birds is broken and the day is saved, essentially.

Then, Desch wakes up!

Oh Desch! *Seinfeld Theme plays as studio audience laughs*

But yeah, turns out, Desch was brainwashed by that monster thing and he’s actually a good guy. However, Doug’s still upset that Muuchi got lost in all of that madness and they don’t know where he is... until Doug looks down a nearby edge and discovers Muuchi lying in a pit.

By the end, the tree is no longer evil, the townsfolk are reunited with their loved ones and the Warriors of Light/The Wind have a new ally in Desch. That night on Cid’s airship, Desch tells the warriors of the Sorcerer Hein who was likely the one who corrupted the tree. The group then proceeds to head for the Living Woods, with Cid dropping them off and Desch accompanying them.

(To be continued in the Hein writeup...)

Overall, Desch is probably initially one of the most changed characters for the manga, though he gets a bit more familiar after he’s unbrainwashed. Granted, the manga came out only a year after the Famicom version and it wouldn’t be until the DS remake that Desch’s affinity for lightning magic and swords was established, but the bird thing still kinda comes out of nowhere (despite his somewhat affiliation with Dragons). On the other hand, Monk Desch is kinda interesting to see. He still seems to be an ancient though, given that seemingly mentions the Village Castle of the Ancients.

Oh, and while I forgot to scan it and I’m too lazy to right now show it, Desch’s ability to use birds isn’t limited to his evil state. He manages to call some birds to his aid during the initial battle with Hein, as ineffective as they are. Good Guy Nerf is in full effect.

Next Time: A Look at Cid Haze and Sara Altney, now that I have the first volume of the manga.

You may think the Djinn’s size there is for dramatic effect. It’s not; He actually is that big in the actual story.

This manga is weird.

[poppyknitt]

Mischievous Magicians- A JSE Egos Fanfic

Recap: Marvin has returned to the egos, however, he did so recklessly, and is spending his time in the hospital, occasionally drifting into unconsciousness as he waits for his injuries to heal. More recently, however, Jackieboyman’s son, Liam, was finally born, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Overnightwatch, and they found there was one more baby than expected, who was named Brandon. Meanwhile, Seán finished recording his video for the day, only to find that Merlin, whom is actually just a Marvin, belonging to a different universe, was sitting in his home and enjoying what little of himself he could, since, as it turns out, he has been chasing his world’s Anti, and believes that he came to our universe, looking to destroy it.

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[December 17th]

Seán ran after Merlin, who was happily bouncing around the streets of Brighton, basically showing off his “skills”, which, Seán had a feeling were just being temporarily boosted by his magic.

“Hurry up, Jackaboy! We’re gonna be la-ate!” Merlin taunted him in a sing-songy voice, a big, dopey grin plastered on his face, as Seán finally caught up to him.

“Please don’t call me that.” He wheezed, looking up at the childish magician, who was sitting on an outcropping, much like how Spiderman probably would, “Also, what the hell are we even doing?!”

Merlin’s grin dropped for a moment, as he probably had to think about it, but he smiled softly, and shrugged, making an “I dunno” noise.

Seán facepalmed, “Of course you don’t. What are you trying to do, anyways?”

“Uh... Explore Brighton..? We... don’t exactly live here in my universe...”

“... You don’t..?”

“Nope. Ours, uh, is kinda geographically different..? I-I don’t even know if we have a Brighton. You can probably pretty much forget ‘England’ as a whole.” He paused, putting on a mild poker face, “But now that I think about it, I may actually live in some kind of pocket dimension, which could explain why our Anti resorted to attacking and destroying other universes... Not very easy to destroy a pocket dimension you didn’t make..”

“... I have many questions.”

“That’s understandable.”

“... Did... Did you just... UwU..? In- In real life?!”

“Mayyyybeee...”

“For the love of god, stop making that face.”

Merlin’s dopey grin returned, “Hmmm... Nah. Don’t feel like it.”

The mischievous magic man practically leapt back into action, darting around a corner so quickly that Seán figured it would be useless to try and run after him or make him calm down.

~~

Marvin darted away from this strange world’s version of Seán, his eyes lighting up with pure childish joy as the thrill of running and jumping around Brighton like it were a playground or trampoline kicked in. He didn’t even notice that Seán had stopped following him until he finally landed himself on a lamppost, balancing exactly how Jackie had taught him. He looked around the city, his eyes wide with curiosity and wonder. His attention snapped downwards, as a familiar voice with a thick Scottish accent called to him.

“Hey, what on earth are ya doin’ up there?!” It was none other than Jackie’s friend, Oliver! Or, at least, this world’s version of him. He could tell that this Oliver hadn’t met Marvin quite yet.

“Oh, y’know. Just... Hanging around!” Merlin grinned childishly as he swung down, hanging upside-down from the lamppost now. Oliver snorted in amusement, probably not expecting him to do that.

“What’re you even dressed as?”

“Oh, this isn’t a costume, I’m just a magician.”

“Aye, okay... Guess it kinda makes sense..” He paused, “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Oliver!”

He dropped down, and stood up, “Marv- I mean Merlin.”

Oliver was obviously a bit suspicious now, but he didn’t say anything, “Aye. ‘Sa good name, lad.”

“Yours, too!”

“... You know, you kinda remind me of a good friend of mine. You don’t happen to know an Irish lad by the name of Simon, d’ya?”

“Yep! Dunno if he remembers me, though.”

“Well, that’s easily fixed, lad! I was actually on my way to see him. Why don’t ya come with me?”

“Sure thing! Sounds fun to me!”

~~

Merlin had no clue where they were now. All he could tell from this was that Jackie didn’t live with the other egos anymore in this universe. They were at a small apartment complex, waiting for someone, presumably Jackie, to answer the door.

The doorknob turned, and the door opened, revealing Jackie, whose face lit up when he saw his friend, “Oh! Oliver! I didn’t expect to see you today! ... And... uh... Who..?”

“Aye, this guy calls ‘imself Merlin. Says he was a friend of yours at one point?”

“Uh, h-hey, Simon.” He waved nervously, knowing Jackie could tell what his actual name was.

Jackie put on a smile, and let them in, “Well, no matter! Come on in, you guys.”

Merlin’s face lit up, and he practically hopped into the apartment, “Sweet!”

The three spent an hour or so laughing and having a good time, until Oliver said he had to go home, for obvious reasons he didn’t need to say.Once he left, and Jackie had closed the door behind him, the hero turned slowly to face him, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Who are you? Why do you look like him?!” His tone was... less than favorable.

“Because... I’m him..? But? From another universe..?”

“... Well, that explains the difference in temperament..”

“What?”

“... Nothing.” Jackie paused, “Why are you here, exactly?”

“... Cuz I sorta chased after my world’s Anti when he found out he could leave it..? I think he came here in his most recent expedition...”

“... That’s not good.”

“Yeah, that’s what you Seán said, too.”

“Wait, you’ve spoken to Seán? H-How long have you even been here?!”

“Uh, yeah... I’ve been here a couple of days now... Went to Seán’s place yesterday to try and cool off or something, and, uh, he found me. I didn’t realize your Seán was woken up already...” He started fidgeting nervously again.

“Ah, okay. That’s fine, i guess. Just as long as you don’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“Oh! No, no! No, I’m only here to try and help you guys fight my Anti.”

“... Why would we need help anyways?”

“.... Because my Anti isn’t your everyday anti who doesn’t give a shit if his plans are a little last minute. He spends every waking moment plotting his every move, and the only thing to keep him from it in the first place is the rare occasions where we get a new ego. On those occasions, he usually sits back a while, and watches how they act, so he can predict them better.”

“How do you fight him if he knows your every move?!”

Merlin paused, and shrugged, making a bit of a poker face, “I dunno. My jackie doesn’t usually let me fight him.”

“And... You think you can help us fight him... How?”

“Because I know his fighting style better than you. And it was an excuse to get my Jackie to let me leave.”

That last comment got a laugh from the Hero, much to Merlin’s delight.

“God, you’re so childish.” Jackie laughed, putting his hand to his face, “I can see why he’d be so protective of you.”

“Hey, don’t think you can hold me back, old man! I have magic powers!” Merlin joked, a playfully determined look on his face as he pulled a hand back, pretending to wave an imaginary wand in the air, as though he were holding only one end of a pair of nunchucks or something. He almost lost his grin when he started feeling a slight shift in the world around him, and he realized that Jackie hadn’t taken any notice of it. He had a feeling that his Anti was preparing for something big, and he almost regretted trying to befriend the egos of this world. He wanted to save them, but... What if he was already too late..? He tried not to think about it, especially because he knew this world’s jackie had kids, just like his own Jackie did.

“... You okay, Merlin..?” Jackie’s features softened as he looked at the slightly smaller ego.

“... I’m... really worried about what my Anti will do with this world... I... I really like this place... I don’t want it to be destroyed... And..! And not to mention what could happen to you and the other egos from here, if he succeeds..!” He tried his best to keep his voice from breaking. He almost flinched when he detected Jackie hugging him, not expecting that.

“Hey, it’s okay, Merlin. He’s not gonna do anything to us, I promise.” They both knew it was a lie, but neither seemed to care, as if trying to convince themselves that it was true.

~~

[December 21st]

Merlin happily bounded through the park, making sure he didn’t stray too far from Jackie and Ava, since he’d came to help them (specifically Ava) be assured that nothing bad was gonna happen to them while they were taking their new sons to the park. He slowed down a little as he picked up more of their current conversation, wanting to make sure everything was alright.

“... Brandon... powers, Jackie...”

“Shit, he does..? W-What kind?” Merlin already knew the answer to the question, as, in his universe, Liam and Brandon were born much earlier in the timeline than they were here, and were 8 years old now. Though, they hadn’t started developing powers until they were toddlers...

“Well, right now, he’s just got really abnormal strength levels... I’m worried he might accidentally hurt his brother..” Yep, that was one of them, alright. He just wished he could tell them all the funny stories he had about their sons’ powers.

“Don’t worry, Ava, we’ll make sure he doesn’t. Promise.”

Ava was still clearly worried about it, but she didn’t say anything.

Merlin decided to change the conversation, and turned around, still bouncing, as he walked backwards, “Hey! Guys! Look, a rainbow!” He pointed to the multicolored arch behind them, and both glanced in its direction. Jackie laughed as soon as he saw it, getting a confused, yet amused glance from Ava.

“What’s so funny about the rainbow?”

“I dunno, it’s just weird, i guess. Such a weird time and place to have one, you know?”

“I suppose it is.”

“It’s just raining over there, you two.. It’s not that deep.” He joked.

~~

Merlin watched from afar as Thorn cautiously tried to approach Liam’s crib, amusement written all over his face, as the little snake creature shrank back from the small hands that grasped at the air in front of it. Jackie and Ava were out on a date, and Merlin had agreed to babysitting for them, until they came back.

A sudden thud on the patio brought his attention to the glass door, and he stood, carefully walking over to it, to look out and see what it was. He was surprised to see what looked like a person around his height, lying flat on the ground, wearing... a hospital gown?

He quickly opened the door, and darted to their side, turning them over to check for injuries. He had to hold himself from reeling back a few inches when he saw who it was- Another version of him! He must’ve been this world’s Marvin. That didn’t matter, though, because this version of him was clearly in no shape to be out of the hospital just yet, and had probably snuck out with a transportation spell. Hopefully it hadn’t backfired on him, because otherwise, he’d probably have just re-damaged several of his healing injuries.

“...J..ackie..?” The other groaned.

“Nope, sorry, Jackieboy’s off on a date. Girlfriend stuff, y’know?”

“... Then who...?”

“Uh. Long story. I’ll, uh, explain once I figure out what to do about this..” After that, the shorter-haired him passed out, presumably from the pain.

~~

Marvin ran through a dense woodland he didn’t recognize, breathing heavily as he tried to outrun something he couldn’t see. Then, to his surprise and horror, the world around him was consumed by darkness, and all motion stopped.

A brief moment of nothing but darkness and silence passed, and then, his vision began flashing with images that flew by so fast, he couldn’t even really process them. Someone or something started screaming in his voice, and as he slowly walked forwards, it got louder, and the images stopped, revealing a version of himself on his knees, roughly grasping his hair between his fingers as he screamed.

Marvin froze at the sight, as the words being screamed slowly became more and more audible.

“No! You can’t do this! They were happy! Put them back! Let them go! They don’t deserve this-!” The longer-haired version of himself sobbed, as Anti walked into view, holding a knife, with a sickeningly sadistic, psychotic look plastered on his face. Behind the glitch flashed in the scattered bodies of the other egos, and more surprisingly, himself. The demon was laughing hysterically at the magician’s pain, each passing moment leaving him seeming to be more and more deranged, as he loomed over the broken magician before him, knife raised, and ready to kill.

Then, it all stopped, and a small, 8-year-old boy, who looked a fair bit like Jackie, appeared in front of him, his face devoid of any emotion.

“It’s too late to save them. I’m sorry. He has already won. You’re all going to become His puppets. Please, when you see him, tell Merlin to come home. I am afraid that he may not make it back. Our Anti is much more dangerous than he thinks.”

“Wait, who’s Merlin?!”

“... He’s you.”

——————————————————

Next Chapter

Hehehehehee! Yay! More Merlin development! I love it! :D (I also hit the paragraph limit. Again. Lmao)

@antis-loyal-puppet @tiny-septic-puppet @rorald-spooks @chaoticcrimsonrose @septic-dr-schneep

[inhumansforever]

Fantastic Four #2 Review

 spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

The long awaited relaunch of Marvel’s First Family continues in this second issue from the team of Dan Slott, Sara Pichelli, and Marte Gracia.  Brief recap and review following the jump.

Right from the start the story of The Fantastic Four has been one about family.  And as the years have past by this family has grown quite a bit.  What began with Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny gradually expanded to include Reed and Sue’s children, Franklin and Valeria.  Then, with the creation of the Future Foundation, a whole bunch of youngsters entered into the family… there were the two young Mutants, Artie and Leach; the super intelligent Moloids known as Tong, Mik, Korr and Turg; former Power Pack member, Alex Power; the young clone of the Wizard known as Bentley 23; a wiz kid from Wakanda named Onome, a pair of fishlings named Vil and Wi; and the kids’ android guardian, Dragon Man.   Quite the household!

Last seen, this extended family had helped to bring about the end of the Secret Wars.  With the aide of the omni-powerful Molecular Man, the entire multiverse was recreated and put back together.  Ben and Johnny were returned to 616 universe yet the others remained behind.  Franklin and Owen Reese, The Molecular Man, were creating whole new worlds and universes and the allure of discovery and adventure was too much for Reed and the others to pass up on.  So they all ventured out to explore these new realms as they were created.  

It would seem that quite a bit of time has passed since then.  What has only been a year or so for Ben and Johnny in the 616 Universe appears to have been several years for the rest of the family; and the kids all appear to be much older…  Valeria was barely more than a toddler when last seen, yet now she appears to be around 12 or so; and her brother has gone from a preadolescent to a gangly teenager…  The other kids have grown as well.  And they all seem to be having a blast.  

Yet in quieter moments, Val and Franklin admit to one another missing their old life.  They miss their uncles, Ben and Johnny.  And Valeria is growing up quite fast.  Whereas before she enjoyed nothing more than science and discovery and building death-rays, now she fines herself pinning for the sort of stuff many 14-year-olds are interested in.  In particular, she misses the dashing Arboro, the Prince Namor looking alien who had taken a shine to her…

Still, their mom and dad have essentially been offered the sense of ‘happily ever after’ that always seemed out of their grasp and neither sibling wants to infringe on that.  

The next day, Franklin is preparing to create yet another universe for them to explore when he suddenly discovers that this aspect of his powers seems to have dissipated.  Reed and Owen had expected this day to come.  Energy is finite and it was only a manner of time before Franklin’s capacity to generate matter on this scale would run its course and exhaust itself.  

A sinister presence has been watching the family from afar… waiting for this exact moment.  And now, witnessing that the ‘god-child’ has finally sent his power, she knows that it is time to strike.  

Her name is The Griever and she proclaims herself the embodiment of entropy and the inevitable death of all things.  It is her destiny to bear witness the ultimate heat death of the universe and grieve all that has been lost.  And these mortal have been doing, creating new universe and new galaxies is seen by her as an abomination of the natural order… a matter that she seeks to put right.  

It would seem that the family have dealt with such would-be threats in the past and The Molecule Man flies up to make short work of the interloper.   And it is here that the true threat this Griever entity actually represents.  She uses her powers and evaporates the Molecule Man, rendering him into raw energy quickly consumed by her giant caecilian-looking pets.  

The others can only look on in horror.  This being had just killed The Molecule Man.  Is such a thing even possible?  Reed is not going to stick around to find out.  He rushes the others back into their jump craft fleeing the planet with The Griever and her pets in hot pursuit.  

Through this chase, The Griever sets about on restoring order in accordance to her view of the universe.  She destroys the various universes and worlds that Franklin and the others had created.  One by one entire galaxies and civilizations are snuffed out and rendered back into cosmic dust and dissipated energy.   

Reed and the others can only watch on in horror as all their work is undone, barely able to comprehend the sheer magnitude of loss of life.  

Bentley 23 and Alex Powers device a plan, an appropriate beach-head where they stand the best shot of making a stand against this monster.  Fleeing to this local basically entails sacrificing countless universes that The Griever will destroy in her pursuit.  Reed is comprehending the most macabre form of arithmetic… sacrificing hundreds of world in an effort to save thousands.  Yet Bentley and Alex’s stratagem is snd and he concurs.  

Well, Valeria just isn’t having it.   Fleeing to this beach-head means bypassing the planet where the issue had begun… a planet where Val had befriended a young alien prince whom she had developed quite the crush on.  Val is not as coldly pragmatic as she had been in the past… this is a Val going through puberty; a Val who leads with her heart more than her head ands she is simply unwilling to let her friend perish.  

She takes control of the jump craft, rerouting it and ultimately scuttling it on the planet.  Prince Arboro witnesses the crash and run over to make sure Valeria is okay.  She is, they all are… but for how long?

The Griever catches up with them, easy to use her awesome powers to do away from the annoyance that the family represents.  Franklin seems to have lost his god-like powers, but he is still far from defenseless… he is still an Omega Level Mutant with powers on par with the likes of The Hulk, Silver Surfer and Thor.  He attacks The Griever, yet as powerful as Franklin may be it would appear that The Griever is even more powerful.  

She deflects Franklin’s attack and sends he careening to the ground where he lands hard, creating a crater.  It tales him a moment to recuperate and when he climbs out from this crater he is terrified to see that the entirety of The Future Foundation has been thoroughly defeated by The Griever.  

Floating above them all, The Griever laughs and mocks them.  ‘This is the fabled Fantastic Four?’ she asks, adding that she is a bit disappointed that they had put up such paltry fight.  

Reed offers a retort.  He states that this isn’t the actual Fantastic Four, this is just a group of children off on an adventure; The Griever would never stand a chance against the real Fantastic Four.  

Insulted, The Griever takes the bait.  These humans would dare to underestimate her awesome powers?  She accepts the challenge and summons forth one of her transmaterializers… some sort of device that can transport objects across the multiverse.  She changes Reed to use to bring forth his champions, his ‘real’ Fantastic Four so that she may prove her might by defeating them as thoroughly as she has all others.  

It’s a trap, for certain, but Reed appears to feel confident that it is a trap he can reconfigure to their benefit.  He and Sue work on this strange, transmaterializer device and it’s a recapitulation of the scene shown near the end of issue #1.  They activate it and, galaxies away, a large number four presents itself in the upper orbit of earth.  

This giant four is not a sign, symbol or call for help.  It is actually a kind of teleportation beam and Ben and Johnny find themselves suddenly risks away, transported across the cosmos to alongside the rest of their family.  

It’s the reunion we’ve all been looking forward to, yet there is no time for catching up… The Fantastic Four has a job to do.  

The Griever, meanwhile appears upset.  What sort of trickery has Reed Richards been up to?  Fore it turns out that Reed hasn’t beckoned just the primary members of the Fantastic Four, but every member, every hero who has ever stood in among the ranks of the FF!  

It’s an awesome sight.  This collection of heroes may or may not have what it takes to defeat a being whose powers are as substantial as those of The Griever.  But they’re certain to put up quite a fight!

And it is on this cliffhanger that this second issue comes to a close with the promise of continuation in the next installment.  

This second issue of the series very much felt like a first issue, like we are getting two first issues for the series - one focusing on Ben and Johnny back on earth, and a second focusing on Reed Sue and the kids.  Sure why not?  First issues are fun.  They’re challenging to create I imagine, but if Slott, Pachelli and the gang are up to then I say bring it on.  

The Griever is an interesting new villain.  She seems to be some lost member of the bigger tier cosmic heavies (like the Inbetweener, Grandmaster and Living Tribunal).  She certainly seems a very tough customer and, even with the enhanced forces, I’ve no idea for the Fantastic Four will ultimately triumph against her.  

Val’s finding herself having a bit of a crush on Arboro was just hilarious, especially in light of how much he reminds Sue of Prince Namor.  I guess the preverbal apple doesn’t fall to far from the tree ;3

The Molecule Man’s apparent death was both surprising and unsettling.  I understand that writing him out might be something of a necessity for the plot.  Yet it unfolded in sort of a coldblooded fashion.  It also sort of smacked of the old school trope where a story will show off how powerful a new character is by having them defeat or kill an already established super powerful character.  

All this aside, what really resonated with me in this issue is just how wild it is to see  Franklin, Val and the others all as teenagers.  I’ve known Franklin for a long time.  He’s actually a good deal older than I am, having debuted way back in 1968 in the pages of Fantastic Four Annual #6.  And he’s been stuck as a toddler for most of that time.  Seeing him and his sister as suddenly young adults is quite something.  

And also a very much welcome change.  Franklin has been the face of the future generation of the Marvel pantheon for as long as I can remember and it’s about time to see him have some more grown up adventures (all the time-displaced versions of him that have appeared here and there not withstanding).   I’m more than ready to see Franklin and Val take on a greater role in the stories in the future.  Of course doing so is likely going to necessitate a dramatic reduction in Franklin’s power-levels.  It would be hard to craft a tale with any sense of real peril if Franklin could just whisk away any threat with a wave of his hand.  And this seems to be the case as Franklin has spent the majority of his abilities, leaving him still very tough, but not god-level tough.  

That last scene is poster worthy.  So awesome to see the whole extended roster of the Fantastic Four together (along with, for some unknown reason, IceMan).  Although I was sort of disappointed not to see Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur, Ahura, Luna and Adolf Impossible among the extended FF members (then again, Reed doesn’t know yet about Lunella and he’s likely reluctant to bring more youngsters into this dangerous fray).   Will these reinforcements prove enough to put an end to the threat posed by The Griever realms to be seen…  Although I’m sure Reed has still more tricks up his sleeve and I’m very, very much looking forward to seeing what happens in issue three.

Once again Sara Pachelli and Marte Gracia outdo themselves in the art department.  This second issue isn’t as finely polished as the first, but they’re also asked to depict a huge array of different settings as well as a rather large ensemble cast.  All and all, it’s a beautiful comic to behold and the art matches the way out nature of the story just wonderfully.  

Of course recommended.  Four out of five Lockjaws!

[thesearchforspirk]

1 x 9: ‘What Are Little Girls Made Of?’ {Subtext Study}

Please read my manifesto here if you haven’t already- it better explains my beliefs as per the Kirk/Spock dynamic and what I aim to accomplish with this blog.

An episode that barely features any direct K/S reactions yet seems to say a whole lot about them in 50 minutes time, through strategic use of androids. And Lurch. 

So, Chapel’s on the bridge this time around which is a bit of a switch-up. Turns out she’s anxiously awaiting news of her fiance’s whereabouts and whether or not he’s still alive. Kirk is cautiously hopeful; reminding her that said fiance, Dr. Roger Korby, has been missing for 5 years despite several search expeditions to find him. I guess that doesn’t make her love confession to Spock in The Naked Time too terribly awkward then... yikes. Dr. Korby asks that Kirk personally come down to the surface which has ignited Spock’s suspicions, but Kirk is hesitant to refuse given Dr. Korby’s reputation for being a brilliant scientist or something. 

When Spock asks for confirmation that Chapel knows Dr. Korby’s voice beyond any shadow of a doubt (likely because of his increased concern now that Kirk’s wellbeing is on the line) she teasingly asks if he’s ever been engaged. Kirk gets a personal amusement out of his reaction. Yeah what a hilarious thought, there’s NO WAY Spock has ever been engaged hahaha.

(just wait for Amok Time you little shits) 

Kirk and Chapel beam down to the tundra-like planet (apparently impervious to the cold as neither of them seem the slightest bit affected) and, having not seen Dr. Korby anywhere nearby, decide to head down into the cavern to see if he’s somewhere in there. Kirk contacts the Enterprise and asks Spock to beam down two expendable red shirts just in case (Spock of course not neglecting to ask if there’s been any trouble). All for the better, as one ends up falling off a ledge somehow just as Dr. Korby’s assistant, Brown, shows up and Lurch (LURCH NO!!) slinks away. 

Brown’s acting a little weird around Chapel, as it takes him a moment to recognize her. Kirk’s suspicions are being increasingly aroused but Chapel continues to seem hopeful (he’s also super beat up about his red shirt guy dying which isn’t significant to the point of this post but I just like James T Kirk so much and how much he cares about each member of his crew ok). Unfortunately the other red shirt guy gets suffocated or something by Lurch before he can give Kirk’s orders to the Enterprise. 

Brown explains that Dr. Korby’s discovered how the inhabitants of the planet moved underground as the sun dimmed and created a mechanistic type culture, which he hopes to harness and implement everywhere for some reason. When they get into the main living area a sexy lady barely wearing anything shows up and I freaking love the look Kirk gives Chapel- he’s not checking sexy lady out, he’s looking over at Chapel to see how she feels about this super hot, scantily clad woman and the fact that she’s apparently living here. “Girl, can you believe this?” Sure enough, Chapel’s like what the fuck. 

Sexy lady introduces herself, very mechanically, as Andrea. Then Dr. Korby shows up and he and Chapel have some kissy-kissy reunion times and Kirk looks so happy for them because he is perfect. Korby apologizes for Kirk’s lost crewman, Kirk assures him it wasn’t his fault, and then attempts to call his redshirt posted outside. When he doesn’t answer he makes to try the ship, but things escalate quickly when Brown points a phaser at him and says “NO COMMUNICATIONS” 

Geez, y’all aren’t really going for warm and hospitable, are you?

Dr. Korby insists, instructing Andrea to take it from him. Kirk flips her around as a sort of hostage and then does his infamous barrel roll to hide behind the desk. He then presumably attempts to stun Brown, but instead blows open and sizzles his circuits because GASP he’s a robot! Kirk also gets fucking picked up like a toddler by Lurch and thrown against a wall. So far as I can tell these are the same actors, not stunt doubles, so that means Ted Cassidy literally hoisted Shatner up and held him. HELD HIM THERE. LIKE A BABY. 

I just find that hilarious and precious. Anyway. 

Kirk does indeed contact the Enterprise- or rather, his voice does. It turns out Lurch can do excellent, spot on voice impressions so he calls the bridge and gives a pretty level-headed, standard message about the progress of the mission. 99.99999% of people would not have heard anything worth suspicion. I would guess that would even include McCoy. Of course, 99.99999% of people don’t know Kirk as well as Spock (nor are they secretly in love with him) so of course Spock notices something is off and asks as much and says he sounds tired. Very logical and unemotional of you, Spock, A++++ Vulcaning. 

Korby apologizes for being so shady but, y’know, it’s necessary. Because of reasons. Lurch does some more impressions, proving he can do ANYONE’S voice (as a voice actor I’d kill to be as good as him) and Kirk is clever enough to convince Korby to order Lurch not to disobey Chapel’s orders. Because Kirk is such a smarty pants and I love him forever and always. Anyway, Korby attempts to convince Kirk to have an open mind about things so he can help him facilitate this new android technology he’s been working on. Kirk’s not having it. He attempts to escape and is ONCE AGAIN picked up like a baby by Lurch. Whoever had the idea for this to happen not once, but twice, is a hero, honestly. 

(I’d like to thank god and also jesus) 

Meanwhile Andrea is asking Chapel some weird questions like, “How can you love Roger if you don’t trust him” and “Why does it bother you when I call him Roger?”. She seems genuinely confused, but of course Chapel is having a hard time believing that...all things considered. Korby shows up and tells Andrea to call him Dr. Korby since the alternative bothers Chapel and that’s sufficient enough. He then also explains that Andrea is an android, a computer, a machine, and Chapel shouldn’t be jealous because she’s incapable of love. Supposedly. He even has Andrea kiss and then slap Kirk, reiterating that she’s a totally logical computer incapable of feeling, that only responds to orders. 

Huh. Who else has been described in such a way time and time again? What’s more, Kirk doesn’t seem in the least bit convinced. In fact, he seems somewhat angered by this assertion. Certainly that could be because it seems wrong to talk about living things as objects, but given all the familiar descriptors that have just been used I’m going to guess that it’s more than that for him. Much more.   

As if to confirm this, Kirk challenges the assertion, that if these things only act as Korby programs them and have no feeling, then why did Brown turn a phaser on him with an order? Korby doesn’t give a direct answer, he basically just says ‘lmao let’s go give you an android twin, will that help?’ This they do (and Kirk’s laid out like a fucking snack, but I won’t waste time on a visual tour of that this time, I promise) and when it comes time to copy over his mental patterns so that android Kirk is just like real Kirk, Kirk makes a quick decision to instill his thoughts with an openly hostile opinion of Spock to be transferred over to the android. “Mind your own business, Mr. Spock,” Kirk chants. “I’m sick of your halfbreed interference, you hear?” 

While there is something to be said for that fact that no Kirk is a real Kirk if he isn’t enamored with (or at least respectful of) Spock, I think it’s also telling that Kirk knew Spock would inevitably ask concerned questions and so supplied a telling uncharacteristic answer. Perhaps there’s something else in the fact that Kirk had to be so openly hostile to convincingly mask and block any of the strong familiar feelings of affection for his First Officer. Something to think about anyway. 

Chapel sits down to lunch with Kirk, insisting that despite the moral dubiousness of Dr. Korby’s current work she knows him well enough to ensure that he hasn’t lost his mind and that they should trust him. But whoops, this Kirk is the android, so perhaps when he asked her if she’d obey his command to betray Korby he was testing the waters. He has Kirk’s intellect after all. Man, someone writing this show really liked the idea of dual Kirks didn’t they? Can’t say I blame them. 

(a decidedly tastier sandwich than The Enemy Within version, sign me the fuck up) 

The two Kirks verbally spar for a bit and Korby flatters himself that he’s made a perfect duplicate. Kirk says somewhat knowingly, with a slight grin, that there are still certain differences between them. Korby insists that if they exist they are entirely unimportant. Something tells me Korby has never come between a Vulcan and and the object of his (logical) affections before. 

Korby finally pushes his game plan on Kirk, saying he needs his starship to transport them to an Earth colony where he can begin integrating androids into society, to make the perfect immortal society without jealousy or hate or any unpleasant emotions (but also without love, Kirk argues). Not willing to be Korby’s pawn, Kirk takes him as another captive and keeps Lurch at bay as he manages to escape through the cavern. Korby orders Lurch to ‘protect’ though (how he’s protecting by chasing a guy long gone through a cavern I don’t know). 

Thankfully, Chapel orders that Lurch not hurt Kirk so when he has the chance to send him falling off a ledge, he instead has to help him up. And, yes, Kirk gets hold of a dick-shaped rock and poses for the picture that makes it into every tongue-and-cheek write up about Kirk/Spock or anything gay/Trek related so let’s just get that out of the way right now:

(har har penis joke)

Meanwhile android Kirk goes back aboard the Enterprise to get some info for Korby. Spock looks just about beside himself to see him again and bounds after him as Spock is wont to do when Jim makes a surprise appearance. Spock is understandably confused, however, as Kirk wasn’t due back for awhile, so when he pushes for clarification android Kirk busts out the whole halfbreed interference thing. Almost immediately after this he asks Spock why he looks upset, which is...rather hilarious. Spock doesn’t seem upset after that though, rather he appears justifiably suspicious, if not convinced that this is not his Kirk. 

Android Kirk then passes on possible planet settling info to Korby while real Kirk gets Andrea to kiss him again- but not the cold, mechanical kiss, this time he kisses her passionately and invokes in her feelings that confuse her (specifically with that intent). In keeping with this attempt, when Lurch comes in to attack him Kirk starts asking him difficult questions, like what happened to the ‘old ones’ and is it possible to go against his creators if they’re illogical. Kirk essentially pits Lurch’s violent need for logic against the programming given to him and discovers that Lurch can indeed kill his programmers if their orders override his need to survive. As such, he turns on Korby but Korby just kills him with the evaporation phaser or whatever it is.

Neither Kirk nor Chapel can seem to figure out why it is that Korby has such a flagrant disregard for life now, but when Kirk attempts to fight him again they learn why; HE’S AN ANDROID TOO!! He disturbingly assures Chapel he’s the same Roger inside, that he had to make this change to survive, and Chapel wonders how true that it is. 

Meanwhile android Kirk shows up again and Andrea is tasked with intercepting him. She wants to kiss him like she kissed real Kirk before but he says it is “illogical” and so she angrily zaps him away. When she comes back into the main room, however, she realizes it was android Kirk she zapped and not the real one. Kirk challenges Korby, asking him if this is the ‘perfect world’ he envisioned, of androids killing each other off without a second thought. Korby blabbers some more about being the perfect computer or whatever, showing Chapel that this absolutely isn’t him anymore, 

Andrea, however, doesn’t kill without a second thought. She kills to protect, because as she’s discovered through Kirk’s accessing, she has the capacity to love Korby and does. She insists she does but he tells her it’s impossible. She’s not human after all. When she kisses him he presses the phaser she holds between them and kills them both. Obviously, his work has been for naught. 

Spock shows up then (a little too late) with the landing party he’d planned for earlier. He, of course, asks Kirk if he’s alright first even as Chapel is sobbing right beside him. When Spock asks about the Doctor Kirk tells him, solemnly, that he was never there. 

Back on the bridge Chapel says she’ll be staying with the ship, even if her original intent for boarding one died long ago. After she leaves Kirk notices something is off about Spock and asks about it, to which Spock replies that he didn’t really appreciate the use of the term ‘halfbreed’, even if it was implemented in an android’s head for a good reason. He says Kirk has to admit it’s an unsophisticated expression. Kirk assures him he’ll keep that in mind for the next time he’s in a similar situation. Spock all but rolls his eyes but can’t seem to fight a little bit of a smile. Neither can Kirk. 

It is not insignificant that this episode deals with beings of ‘pure logic’ and the feelings each of them has repressed or justified as a means of maintaining said logic. It’s also interesting that the only being among them that could not display morality, feelings of mercy, etc, was the one who had engineered the whole thing and fancied himself more of a human than the rest of them. Lurch could feel anger, Andrea could feel love despite Korby’s insistence otherwise, Brown protected without a direct order. There’s argument to be made that android Kirk could not have felt them either, as when Andrea tried to kiss him he insisted it was ‘illogical’, but perhaps it was only real!Kirk’s effort to drive out his affections for Spock that made this so. Without those affections any Kirk copy has no heart, it would seem. Interesting.  

It’s also not incidental that Kirk is the one who correctly guesses that these supposedly emotionless, logic-driven machines were indeed capable of feeling and knew how to drive that feeling out of each of them. Who better to guess that a robotic entity who insists logic is the only thing that fuels him might be mistaken in that respect? What’s more, Kirk knew the weakness of each android and exactly how to press the right buttons to bring it out. He does this on a daily basis, after all. 

This episode also explored the depths to which Kirk and Spock know each other; Spock can correctly tell there’s something off with Kirk’s voice even when he’s down on a planet, giving a routine order, not sounding off to anyone who wouldn’t have that intrinsic knowledge and concern. Kirk used his knowledge of Spock’s emotional weaknesses to exploit the pitfalls in the android’s engineering. Even if they barely get any screentime in this episode, it’s not hard to see why all of it functions as a thinly veiled metaphor for their dynamic. 

EDIT: I often go back to my predecessor, TOS Commentary, after I’ve finished evaluating an episode just to make sure I’m not missing anything and have put everything in my own words. Something was pointed out there for this episode that I thought might be of interest to anyone reading this evaluation, and it’s something that can easily fly under the radar. In her words, “ Chapel intimates that engaged couples can always tell their lovers' voice. Later, when Android Kirk appears on the Enterprise, Spock is immediately suspicious, and Android Kirk's insult confirms his suspicion.” What’s more, Spock recognized that Lurch’s imitation was NOT Kirk’s actual voice. I found this a VERY interesting coincidence, one of those that makes you really wonder just how intentional all of this was. Bits like this make me think someone has always had it in the back of their mind. 

Hopefully I did this episode justice as that’s about all I have! Join me next time for ‘Dagger of the Mind’!

[halloweenfor]

TV / Movie Costumes - Toddler Optimus Prime Rescue Bot Costume

Theme Halloween Costumes

Transformers Costumes

Your child is already a little hero. Just the other day he stopped the dog from eating some chocolate that fell to the floor. Well, maybe it was because he wanted to eat it first, but still–he saved the dog. We can’t help but draw similarities; that’s exactly what Optimus Prime would have done in that situation. Honestly, it’s not like we draw Optimus Prime similarities to everything all day long–side note: we do actually do this–but that was a real hero move by your littlest one.And with that in mind, we think it’s time for you to embrace your kiddo’s true identity and get him this Toddler Optimus Prime Rescue Bot Costume, perfect for embracing the leadership and goodness that shines from your child. Sure, he may not be able to transform into a truck and chase down any dangerous Decepticons, but that’s OK–he’ll grow into that responsibility. Right now, you just need to set him up with a friend dressed up in a Bumblebee costume and you can start putting together an adorable team of toddler Autobots that will be ready for action at a moment’s notice–well, at least as long as it’s after nap time.Not that your kid needs it, but this costume also comes with soft-sculpted fiberfill in the chest and shoulders, helping show off that muscular look. Meanwhile, the entire outfit has all-over printed details which recreate Optimus Prime and includes a headpiece that covers the head and upper face. Stuffed horns on sides of the headpiece complete your kid’s transformation into the original leader of the Autobots; now let him go and keep peace and order in the household!

See Details & Get More Deals at: Best Halloween Costumes 2019 :: Shop

[dorothydelgadillo]

The Website 6: Key Characteristics of the Perfect Inbound Website

It's safe to say that most - if not all - businesses want a website that brings them perfectly packaged, highly qualified inbound leads. That is the most common goal we hear from our clients here at IMPACT, and why so many marketers pour hours of time and thousands of dollars into their websites.

So how do we achieve this goal? I’ll tell you, but first a quick story.

Last year as my son’s second birthday approached, I remember freaking out just a bit about what to do for his birthday party.

I have proudly attended many a toddler birthday party, and I think everyone has seen the ridiculously amazing pinterest birthday party ideas out there (all the moms out there know what I’m talking about). The over-the-top, no-way-is-it-DIY, must-cost-thousands-of-dollars type of parties have apparently coined a real term called “pinterest stress”.

Meanwhile, I fail just trying to glue two popsicle sticks together.

So, needless to say, I was stressing just a little bit about what to do for his birthday. Then a realization struck! My son was turning TWO. He could care less about decorations and party themes. His favorite things were sugar, rolling in mud, chasing our chickens, and playing “dinosaur” with his friends.

So I stopped everything. I gave myself a virtual slap in the face and reminded myself that his birthday party was for HIM and not for anyone else.

I made a perfect toddler party, and NONE of it was pinterest-worthy, but my son thought it was the most perfect day in existence. I made banana bread instead of cake, we dug holes in the backyard, the kids held monster truck toy races, and the adults drank mimosas (because let’s face it, some of the party is for the adults 😉😏).

Ok, so why am I talking about toddler parties?

It’s simple really.

As businesses, we suffer from the exact same problem when it comes to our websites. We have a really hard time getting over our pride and remembering that our websites aren’t for US, they are for OUR CUSTOMERS.

I was spending all of my energy focusing on how I could make everyone else think I was a great mom by throwing a picture-perfect party when I should have simply been focusing on how I could throw the perfect party for my son so HE thought I was a great mom.

There is a huge difference between those two goals.

Similarly, the way to build the perfect inbound website that generates the results you want is to stop focusing on your own ego and start thinking about who our website is really for.

There are 6 key drivers that make a great inbound website and will take your marketing results to the next level.

1. Sales Driven

If you've been thinking that your website is a marketing tool, I've got news for you: you're wrong. You need to shift your mindset and think of your website as a sales tool.

Your website is your best salesperson. It is available 24/7, it never asks for a raise, and it is always collecting data on your most qualified customers for you. Really, what else could you ask for from a sales rep?

Now, if you start to think of your website this way, you need to ask yourself one question. Have you really invested everything you should into it?

The best ways to ensure that your website can become a conversion machine are to ensure your sales team views the website as the most valuable resource they have and your website visitors have very easy ways of self identifying as prospects.

To make your website a valuable sales tool, all you have to do is answer the questions that your reps answer in the sales process on the site itself. Then, tell your sales people about it.

Here is an example of the Sales Content Directory that our Director of Web & Interactive Content, Liz Murphy, keeps updated for our sales team on a weekly basis. It gives them a one-stop shop to search for helpful resources to send to prospects.

If your sales team isn't using your website every day, you have failed to create the perfect inbound website.

2. Customer Driven

There are lots of ways you can make your website more friendly for your customers that you might not be doing right now, but you should be obsessing over how to make your website more customer friendly on a daily basis.

Did you know that 70% of the buying decision is typically made by a consumer before they ever speak to a sales rep or go to purchase a product? This means most of the purchase process is totally out of your direct control.

Nonetheless, there ARE ways to guide that first 70% of the conversation.

The number one reason people choose to buy - from any business - is based on trust. So not only do you have to make sure your prospects trust you before they will buy, but you have to figure out how to build that trust during the 70% of the buying process that happens before you even talk to them.

Whew, that is a lot to ask of your website!

Luckily, there are a few simple rules that you can follow to do just that.

Focus on Providing Value: Every page and every word on your website should be there because it provides value to your audience. Your website visitors don’t want a bunch of fluff. Give them real value and educate them in exchange for the time they’ve spent reading the words on your page. Providing value is the first step in building the trust you need oh so badly.

Answer their Questions: Answer the REAL questions your audience has. Don’t shy away from the topics that most businesses are afraid to talk about like pricing or your competitors. Really focus on making sure you are thinking like a customer and answer every question you know they will ask you in the sales process. And here’s the most important part: make sure you answer it honestly. You can’t build trust based on lies.

Use Video: People don’t buy from businesses, they buy from people. Video is the number one way to build trust with your audience and humanize your brand. In today’s environment, incorporating video on your website is table stakes if you want to see measurable, lasting results. There are 7 types of videos that every website must have: 80% videos, bio videos for your team, product or service videos, landing page videos, customer journey videos, videos about the claims you make as a brand, and a video that details who you are not a good fit for (yes, seriously).

Make the Customer the Hero: As one of my favorite country songs so aptly reminds us, our website visitors want us to talk about them, not ourselves. Use “you” statements in your content rather than “us” or “we” statements as often as possible. Customers want to see themselves in your website, not you.

3. Search Driven

The next group you need to be really chummy with are search engines. They are the ones who bring the customers to your website. Luckily it is really easy to be friends with them because they have the same goal as you: providing value to your customer.

To get Google and the other search engines to send lots and lots of visitors to your website, focus on providing value. (Good thing we already covered all that up in the previous section.)

With that taken care of, there are some ways that you can now structure the value you provide in order to help Google more easily understand who they should be sending your way.

You are already doing a great job of writing valuable, educational content for your audience, right? Now all you have to do is make sure you are using the right keywords and organizing your content into clusters, grouped by topic area, to help Google understand where your expertise lies.

Learn more about how to do this exceptionally well from, keyword research to content execution, with our comprehensive guide.

Some of the other factors that Google looks at in order to determine how much value your website is providing are:

User Engagement: Google looks really closely at how your current visitors are interacting with your website as a strong indicator of how happy other visitors they send your way will be. It does this using metrics like Time on Site and Page Depth. The idea is that if people are spending a lot of time on your website and navigating through multiple pages, they are likely finding lots of valuable content and are happy with their experience.

Content Freshness: The frequency with which your website is updated is also a big factor in Google’s ranking. The idea here is that newer content is most likely more relevant to potential visitors than older content, and the longer you’ve been regularly producing content, the more likely it is that you are a valuable source of information. Thus, having a good balance of a domain that has been around for a while and plenty of regularly updated, fresh content is the perfect mix.

And, lastly, Google really cares that your users are having a positive experience with your website regardless of what device (mobile, desktop, etc.) they are visiting from. In order to ensure that Google knows your visitors will be happy, there are some Technical SEO basics you should focus on:

Website Load Speed: Google cares a lot about how fast your website loads because it knows that users are impatient and will get frustrated by things that take too long. As a result, it is less likely to send traffic your way if your website takes too long to give them information. You can test your website using www.webpagetest.org to see how quickly your site loads. Ideally, it should be under 2 seconds.

Mobile First and Responsive Design: More and more users are visiting websites from mobile devices, so Google has been cracking down hard on websites that have poor mobile user experiences. Make sure your user experience is flawless on any device to steer clear of problems here.

Site Security: SSL certificates are no longer negotiable. Not only do website visitors expect them at this point, Google will seriously ding you for not having one. So just get one, please.

4. Experience Driven

This characteristic goes hand-in-hand with being customer friendly, but it deserves it’s own category because it is so important. Treat users that come to your website like you would customers in a store.

I know when I go to a store with my toddler in tow (maybe to buy birthday party supplies), I want to be able to find what I need as fast as possible, and with as little effort as possible.

Your website visitors want the same thing.

Make it as easy as possible for them to find the thing they want with the least amount of effort on their part.

Make sure the entire experience is built to delight them from start to finish. The design of the website should speak to what they like (again, not what you like). My toddler’s design aesthetic is very different than my grandmother’s. Anything I’d design for them would be wildly different from each other, and wildly different than what I personally like.

To provide the simplest experience and avoid overwhelming your visitors, make sure your website is free of clutter and doesn’t provide them with too many options at any one moment. Create an experience that is familiar to them while finding small, pointed ways to inject uniqueness where it makes sense.

A good goal to keep in mind is to structure your site in a way that requires the user to make the least number of clicks to get to their goal. Then, structure and design your menus and individual pages to that end.

5. Conversion Driven

If you're like most businesses, the end goal of your website is probably to drive revenue. To do that, it has to support a solid conversion rate of anonymous visitors into known contacts.

What is better than having our customers tell us they want to buy instead of us having to try and convince them? Nothing is better. That is the holy grail of website results. So how do we get it?

A self selection tool is the best way to help your website visitors feel like they are getting a customized experience, and it allows them to do all the work for you.

Tools that allow users to customize options, select features that fit their needs, or even do all of the qualification your sales team needs without the help of an actual sales person are the best way to do this. Done right, your customer is happy because they got exactly what they wanted, and your sales team is happy because they don’t have to do any work to close a deal anymore!

If you want to see a great example of what I'm talking about, check out the Wix.com website. It has one of the better self configuration tools we've seen (and it's pretty fun to play with!).

Every page of your website should have a goal to move customers to their logical next step in their journey with you. If you haven't mapped out your next step conversion goal for every page of your website, you are leaving that conversion up to chance.

Another way you can improve your ability to convert is to make it insanely easy for your users to convert. The harder it is for your users to contact you (e.g. the more clicks they have to make to get there) and the longer it takes for you to contact them back, the more leads you will lose.

So take the effort and the waiting out of the equation with great tools like Live Chat and Messenger Bots. This allows your user to get right to speaking with a person the moment they are ready. Now who doesn't love that?

6. Marketer Driven

Ok, we are finally ready to talk about you instead of your customer.

Given everything we’ve already said about how your website is for your customer and not for you, there is one small caveat we have to talk about.

If your website is a hassle to update, maintain or change, how often are you going to do it? Be really honest, now.

Probably almost never, right?

So, for your website to do all the great things we talked about above, it should be really easy and user friendly to maintain so that you will actually maintain it.

What do I mean by this? The backend of your website should be intuitive and flexible, allowing for easy page creation, content updates and structure changes. The best way to do this is by building your website on a content management system (CMS).

Some of the most common CMSs that are reasonably priced and allow for the flexibility mentioned above are:

HubSpot CMS

WordPress

WooCommerce

Shopify

The most beautiful, custom coded website in the world that never gets updated with new content will never provide you the results you want. Instead, find the right place on the spectrum from super custom to super flexible to ensure you will update your website regularly and produce content consistently.

Final Thoughts

Your website is the face your company shows the world. Make sure it represents what your customers want to see, allows them to find what they want quickly and easily, and provides them so much value that they can’t help but trust you.

Do all these things, and I promise, your website will provide you results.

For one day, my son thought I was greatest mom in the world when I threw him the perfect party. Allow your website to give that feeling to your customers and they will keep coming back for more.

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/characteristics-of-the-perfect-inbound-website

[glorioustravelerwasteland-blog]

The Sims 3 Passions Gameplay Recap

That doesn't recognize concerning this amazing life simulation video game. I don't covet the developers of simulation video games along the lines of RollerCoaster Mogul, SimCity, or The Sims. In this simulation game, you'll be placed in the Mayor's chair as you regulate whatever in the community. While there is no eventual purpose to the video game, states of failure do exist in The Sims. There is a brand-new globe Appaloosa Plains. The video game happens in the digital globe as well as allows you develop and also tailor your personality utilizing various accessories to look unique amongst thousands of individuals. You can put it in the backyard outside your home seeing to it that you don't obstruct the entryway of your house. In playing the Sims FreePlay, you can develop partnerships with fellow Sims. A 2nd themed mission collection, 'Super Young child Trick Goal,' will certainly launch in The Sims FreePlay on August 13. These quests will see kids having fun with their fictional friends on an adventure as a very hero. In the Sims FreePlay game gamer will certainly get some tasks for their SIMS. Employ a cabin or campsite as well as go search for Insects, accumulate plants to develop remedies with the Herbalism ability, capture some new important fish or get chased after by a bear. Obtain the Sims on the fast track of life. Likewise having the tendency to your Sims requires isn't a significant balancing act because it's unlikely that points will certainly get so crucial that points end up being uncontrollable. Installment of custom material for The Sims 3 is covered thoroughly here, and in connected pages. http://simsfreeplayguide.com/ Download The Sims FreePlay Hack Tool.exe from the link supplied below this page. I believe the amount of 3D graphics being made use of is just one of the factors why The Sims: FreePlay is restricted to Windows Phone 8 devices with 1GB of RAM. One location only has one rack of high style. Brilliant visuals bring your Sim's house to life. Note that demolishing your house will entirely remove that residence as well as all of its things. Nonetheless, the Sims 4 is far more light-weight so if your COMPUTER is ordinary, it will certainly run a lot better on it. Often it gets a little bit extra challenging, however typically it's something like play chess. You could continuously play as long as you such as. Meanwhile, toddlers that desire end up being physician at some point will certainly play pretend and method on teddy bears. Just keep trying them, it could be frustrating yet it will ultimately work. With any luck once it releases around the world a person will find out a simpler remedy. These flash video games focus on searching for someone you like and after that persuading them to take place a day with you. , if you send them away alone they'll return after the workday is complete (just like Occupations).. The video game starts at the birth of movie theater and also gradually moves on in time, providing gamers better modern technology while also moving the sort of flick that the public intend to see. However for gamers that are invested, there is the chance to purchase the points you have to progress forward in the video game. There are none regulations. Due to the fact that you need Working and also complimentary Cheat tool for your video game, you are there. As soon as on Sixam (Alien Planet) the goals are changed to fraternizing the tiny crowd of aliens that have actually established an inviting event for your Sim with music, designs, and also drinks. Things packs are typically light on the gameplay, yet showcase brand-new things, hair and apparel styles for Sims. Below is LINK for Sims FreePlay Hack No Study! Ways to earn the Simoleon, LP and SP in Sims FreePlay? Check out Beautiful Game Worlds: Explore the stunning, worlds of The Sims 4 complete of rich communities of Sims and interesting places to visit. The Tribez you hold all the cards! Stand on it, then undergo the door it opens up. Description ----------- MorcuCorp is looking for solidified travelers for a few operations below in Egyupt. Determining a documents's kind is best done by taking a look at the data expansion; the component of the data name after the last "dot". As you have spent the whole day monitoring their progression, leveling them to a point where their happiness degrees have skyrocketed, what do you do when the documents chooses not to be conserved? Bladder - The fastest means, if the bladder bar has actually gone entirely down, is to have the Sim pee on themselves, but regular toilet just takes 15 seconds, costly bathroom takes 5 secs.

[dorothydelgadillo]

5 Characteristics of the Perfect Inbound Website

It's safe to say that most - if not all - businesses want a website that brings them perfectly packaged, highly qualified inbound leads. That is the most common goal we hear from our clients here at IMPACT, and why so many marketers pour hours of time and thousands of dollars into their websites.

So how do we achieve this goal? I’ll tell you, but first a quick story.

Last year as my son’s second birthday approached, I remember freaking out just a bit about what to do for his birthday party.

I have proudly attended many a toddler birthday party, and I think everyone has seen the ridiculously amazing pinterest birthday party ideas out there (all the moms out there know what I’m talking about). The over-the-top, no-way-is-it-DIY, must-cost-thousands-of-dollars type of parties have apparently coined a real term called “pinterest stress”.

Meanwhile, I fail just trying to glue two popsicle sticks together.

So, needless to say, I was stressing just a little bit about what to do for his birthday. Then a realization struck! My son was turning TWO. He could care less about decorations and party themes. His favorite things were sugar, rolling in mud, chasing our chickens, and playing “dinosaur” with his friends.

So I stopped everything. I gave myself a virtual slap in the face and reminded myself that his birthday party was for HIM and not for anyone else.

I made a perfect toddler party, and NONE of it was pinterest-worthy, but my son thought it was the most perfect day in existence. I made banana bread instead of cake, we dug holes in the backyard, the kids held monster truck toy races, and the adults drank mimosas (because let’s face it, some of the party is for the adults 😉😏).

Ok, so why am I talking about toddler parties?

It’s simple really.

As businesses, we suffer from the exact same problem when it comes to our websites. We have a really hard time getting over our pride and remembering that our websites aren’t for US, they are for OUR CUSTOMERS.

I was spending all of my energy focusing on how I could make everyone else think I was a great mom by throwing a picture-perfect party when I should have simply been focusing on how I could throw the perfect party for my son so HE thought I was a great mom.

There is a huge difference between those two goals.

Similarly, the way to build the perfect inbound website that generates the results you want is to stop focusing on your own ego and start thinking about who our website is really for.

There are 5 key characteristics to a great inbound website that will take your marketing results to the next level.

1. Customer Friendly

Duh, right? Isn’t this what I just said?

There are lots of ways you can make your website more friendly for your customers that you might not be doing right now, but you should be obsessing over how to make your website more customer friendly on a daily basis.

Did you know that 70% of the buying decision is typically made by a consumer before they ever speak to a sales rep or go to purchase a product? This means most of the purchase process is totally out of your direct control.

Nonetheless, there ARE ways to guide that first 70% of the conversation.

The number one reason people choose to buy - from any business - is based on trust. So not only do you have to make sure your prospects trust you before they will buy, but you have to figure out how to build that trust during the 70% of the buying process that happens before you even talk to them.

Whew, that is a lot to ask of your website!

Luckily, there are a few simple rules that you can follow to do just that.

Focus on Providing Value: Every page and every word on your website should be there because it provides value to your audience. Your website visitors don’t want a bunch of fluff. Give them real value and educate them in exchange for the time they’ve spent reading the words on your page. Providing value is the first step in building the trust you need oh so badly.

Answer their Questions: Answer the REAL questions your audience has. Don’t shy away from the topics that most businesses are afraid to talk about like pricing or your competitors. Really focus on making sure you are thinking like a customer and answer every question you know they will ask you in the sales process. And here’s the most important part: make sure you answer it honestly. You can’t build trust based on lies.

Use Video: People don’t buy from businesses, they buy from people. Video is the number one way to build trust with your audience and humanize your brand. In today’s environment, incorporating video on your website is table stakes if you want to see measurable, lasting results. There are 7 types of videos that every website must have: 80% videos, bio videos for your team, product or service videos, landing page videos, customer journey videos, videos about the claims you make as a brand, and a video that details who you are not a good fit for (yes, seriously).

Make the Customer the Hero: As one of my favorite country songs so aptly reminds us, our website visitors want us to talk about them, not ourselves. Use “you” statements in your content rather than “us” or “we” statements as often as possible. Customers want to see themselves in your website, not you.

2. Searcher (and Search Engine) Friendly

The next group you need to be really chummy with are search engines. They are the ones who bring the customers to your website. Luckily it is really easy to be friends with them because they have the same goal as you: providing value to your customer.

To get Google and the other search engines to send lots and lots of visitors to your website, focus on providing value. (Good thing we already covered all that up in the previous section.)

With that taken care of, there are some ways that you can now structure the value you provide in order to help Google more easily understand who they should be sending your way.

You are already doing a great job of writing valuable, educational content for your audience, right? Now all you have to do is make sure you are using the right keywords and organizing your content into clusters, grouped by topic area, to help Google understand where your expertise lies.

Learn more about how to do this exceptionally well from, keyword research to content execution, with our comprehensive guide.

Some of the other factors that Google looks at in order to determine how much value your website is providing are:

User Engagement: Google looks really closely at how your current visitors are interacting with your website as a strong indicator of how happy other visitors they send your way will be. It does this using metrics like Time on Site and Page Depth. The idea is that if people are spending a lot of time on your website and navigating through multiple pages, they are likely finding lots of valuable content and are happy with their experience.

Content Freshness: The frequency with which your website is updated is also a big factor in Google’s ranking. The idea here is that newer content is most likely more relevant to potential visitors than older content, and the longer you’ve been regularly producing content, the more likely it is that you are a valuable source of information. Thus, having a good balance of a domain that has been around for a while and plenty of regularly updated, fresh content is the perfect mix.

And, lastly, Google really cares that your users are having a positive experience with your website regardless of what device (mobile, desktop, etc.) they are visiting from. In order to ensure that Google knows your visitors will be happy, there are some Technical SEO basics you should focus on:

Website Load Speed: Google cares a lot about how fast your website loads because it knows that users are impatient and will get frustrated by things that take too long. As a result, it is less likely to send traffic your way if your website takes too long to give them information. You can test your website using www.webpagetest.org to see how quickly your site loads. Ideally, it should be under 2 seconds.

Mobile First and Responsive Design: More and more users are visiting websites from mobile devices, so Google has been cracking down hard on websites that have poor mobile user experiences. Make sure your user experience is flawless on any device to steer clear of problems here.

Site Security: SSL certificates are no longer negotiable. Not only do website visitors expect them at this point, Google will seriously ding you for not having one. So just get one, please.

3. Experience Friendly

This characteristic goes hand-in-hand with being customer friendly, but it deserves it’s own category because it is so important. Treat users that come to your website like you would customers in a store.

I know when I go to a store with my toddler in tow (maybe to buy birthday party supplies), I want to be able to find what I need as fast as possible, and with as little effort as possible.

Your website visitors want the same thing.

Make it as easy as possible for them to find the thing they want with the least amount of effort on their part.

Make sure the entire experience is built to delight them from start to finish. The design of the website should speak to what they like (again, not what you like). My toddler’s design aesthetic is very different than my grandmother’s. Anything I’d design for them would be wildly different from each other, and wildly different than what I personally like.

To provide the simplest experience and avoid overwhelming your visitors, make sure your website is free of clutter and doesn’t provide the them with too many options at any one moment. Create an experience that is familiar to them while finding small, pointed ways to inject uniqueness where it makes sense.

A good goal to keep in mind is to structure your site in a way that requires the user to make the least number of clicks to get to their goal. Then, structure and design your menus and individual pages to that end.

4. Conversion Friendly

If you're like most businesses, the end goal of your website is probably to drive revenue. To do that, it has to support a solid conversion rate of anonymous visitors into known contacts.

The best ways to ensure that your website can become a conversion machine are to ensure your sales team views the website as the most valuable resource they have and your website visitors have very easy ways of self identifying as prospects.

To make your website a valuable sales tool, all you have to do is answer the questions that your reps answer in the sales process on the site itself.

Oh wait, we already did this in the “providing value” stuff we talked about earlier! You’ve already covered this one - now, just make sure your sales team knows where to find it all.

Here is an example of the Sales Content Directory that our Content Manager, Liz Murphy, keeps updated for our sales team on a weekly basis. It gives them a one-stop shop to search for helpful resources to send to prospects.

What is better than having our customers tell us they want to buy instead of us having to try and convince them? Nothing is better. That is the holy grail of website results. So how do we get it?

A self selection tool is the best way to help your website visitors feel like they are getting a customized experience, and it allows them to do all the work for you.

Tools that allow users to customize options, select features that fit their needs, or even do all of the qualification your sales team needs without the help of an actual sales person are the best way to do this. Done right, your customer is happy because they got exactly what they wanted, and your sales team is happy because they don’t have to do any work to close a deal anymore!

If you want to see a great example of what I'm talking about, check out the Wix.com website. It has one of the better self configuration tools we've seen (and it's pretty fun to play with!).

5. Marketer Friendly

Ok, we are finally ready to talk about you instead of your customer.

Given everything we’ve already said about how your website is for your customer and not for you, there is one small caveat we have to talk about.

If your website is a hassle to update, maintain or change, how often are you going to do it? Be really honest, now.

Probably almost never, right?

So, for your website to do all the great things we talked about above, it should be really easy and user friendly to maintain so that you will actually maintain it.

What do I mean by this? The backend of your website should be intuitive and flexible, allowing for easy page creation, content updates and structure changes. The best way to do this is by building your website on a content management system (CMS).

Some of the most common CMSs that are reasonably priced and allow for the flexibility mentioned above are:

HubSpot CMS

WordPress

WooCommerce

Shopify

The most beautiful, custom coded website in the world that never gets updated with new content will never provide you the results you want. Instead, find the right place on the spectrum from super custom to super flexible to ensure you will update your website regularly and produce content consistently.

Final Thoughts

Your website is the face your company shows the world. Make sure it represents what your customers want to see, allows them to find what they want quickly and easily, and provides them so much value that they can’t help but trust you.

Do all these things, and I promise, your website will provide you results.

For one day, my son thought I was greatest mom in the world when I threw him the perfect party. Allow your website to give that feeling to your customers and they will keep coming back for more.

from Web Developers World https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/5-characteristics-of-the-perfect-inbound-website