#so its nice that i can use more alternatives after his power boost

[amuelia]

Thought of this meme template redraw because of this team combo I love to use in Pokemon Masters

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Sygna Suit Cynthia

Apparently, it has taken this long for SS Cynthia to be a good idea for me to pull for.  I think she ran once before and I couldn’t for some reason, but nothing stopping me now!  Anyway, SS Cynthia’s an old unit by now, but with grid expansions, there’s a good chance for something nice in the future.  But does she need that boost, or is she doing alright?

General Overview “Alright” is probably the best we can say.

The main problem is being a Dragon.  There are tons of Dragon-type damage dealers, and for some reason, SS Cynthia is one of them.  Granted, this has worked out recently, as it being Fighting type would be devastating if it couldn’t access Fighting Zone from her new Aura Sygna Suit.  Speaking of, why does Cynthia have three sygna suits?  Shouldn’t think just be “Anni Cynthia?”  I don’t get it.

Kommo-o has two major drawbacks in my mind.  One is that its main attack debuffs defense every use.  This is painful, especially in Gauntlet where mixed offenses can be a thing.  With no way to avoid this, it’s...rough.  The other is the requirement for paralysis to kick off multipliers.  Which (1) is restrictive, and (2) aren’t even that good.  20% move and 50% sync, oooooh, look at Numbers McGee over here.

SS Cynthia really focuses on one of two grid builds: pure power, or High Five.  With natural High Five, and access to another on her grid, Cynthia’s able to gradually boost everything, which most importantly recovers that lost defense every time she syncs.  It’s...honestly a more clever strategy than I initially gave it credit for, but it does suffer from diminishing returns.  There’s also the option for Adrenaline 1.  With Head Start 1 naturally, and Adrenaline 1 on grid, Cynthia’s in a position to fast-ramp twice.  Not a great position, but a position.

Overall I think she’s serviceable if clumsy.  Offensive stats are strong, but bulk and speed let her down without support, or double High Five with her taking each sync.  Her self-setup technically exists, but her ability to boost crit rate requires her to be low HP, and X items on strikers are notoriously inefficient.  Still, there’s been worse.  Like Lance.  Who can’t buff shit.

Team 1: SS Cynthia, SS Brendan, SS Steven Okay, hear me out, Hoenn fans.  SS Brendan can provide nearly max offensive benefits to SS Cynthia in two turns, with Cynthia only needing one X Sp Atk to cap offenses.  How, you ask?  SS Steven’s Speed Forme Deoxys, which cuts sync countdown by 2.  With Cynthia’s Head Start, now you have -3, saving a full turn.  But wait!  SS Brendan can also pick up Adrenaline on his grid, and SS Steven can use Double Team after first sync for another -3.  If you quad queue successfully, you’ve also saved a turn on second sync.  If you didn’t, don’t worry, Cynthia’s trainer move also cuts a minimum of 1 sync cooldown, so you got it anyway.  So you sync first with SS Brendan to mega evolve, capping crit for the team and giving, ideally, double sync buff, then sync with Cynthia to get the stat party rolling.  In the interim, you have SS Cynthia and Brendan both spamming Dragonbreath for paralysis chances.  Once successful, Cynthia can then go nuts with Clanging Scales, while Brendan debuffs special defense for maximum damage.  Steven helps by maybe getting a flinch in or something, who knows.

Team 2: SS Cynthia, SC Jasmine, C!Elesa/P!Serena/Erika If you’re picking up SC Jasmine this month, which you should if you haven’t, she’s an ideal partner to SS Cynthia as well.  Not just for the buffs, though they are nice, but because of Safety Net.  SS Cynthia cutting her own defense, as well as having less than ideal bulk for when crits happen, means she can be threatened pretty hard by AoE moves in Gauntlet.  Safety Net blocks those attempts and keeps her alive.  C!Elesa or P!Serena are options to immediately spread paralysis, which kicks off multipliers and frees up some energy on the grid for Cynthia.  If you don’t have them, Erika’s a fine alternative to hit paralysis and potentially debuff special defense.

Team 3: SS Cynthia, Lucas, SC Lillie Lucas has Dragon Zone, which is the big multiplier I’ve been ignoring here.  SS Brendan likely does better overall, but I put SC Lillie here to remind you that she can paralyze foes that attack her.  That’s a thing she can do.  Which can save Cynthia a lot of time and stress.

Team 4: SS Cynthia, MU Torchic/Drake, Erika/Support Clefable Okay so maybe you don’t have any of that stuff.  Maybe you just have mostly F2P tools.  This could work, maybe.  MU Torchic can cover for Cynthia’s buffing needs, while Erika supplies the paralysis.  It’s a much less efficient option, but the core of her needs is present.

As an alternative, Drake has Team Sharp Entry on his grid, and can give up the defense buffs for Hostile Environment.  Focus on inflicting paralysis and buffing first, with Cynthia hopefully taking a bit of damage, and getting +2 crit on her trainer move.  Support Clefable gets Let’s Brainstorm for +1 special attack/speed, an ideal combo for Cynthia, and has a Potion to help keep the party alive.  And look, this is a situation where Drake’s actually better than Marley for once!  Because Cynthia specifically needs paralysis.  That is what you are good for, sir, and you’re giving up one of your defense boosts’ MPR for it.  Good day.

Final Thoughts I think what interests me about SS Cynthia is that, looking at her ability to salvage an F2P roster, she’s really not doing so hot.  She doesn’t synergize particularly well with most options, in large part because DeNA refuses to give us a good F2P Sp Atk/crit buffer.  But with other modern meta tools?  SS Cynthia feels like she’s got some impressive possibilities.  The SS Brendan/Speed Form SS Steven combo in particular seems like it’d be a ton of fun.

But I definitely don’t think she’s anything necessary.  Dragon damage is really common, up there with Psychic, Fire, Grass, and Water.  You probably have Dragon damage dealers who get the job done already, what with Cyrus and Zinniquaza.  So I wouldn’t say definitely go for her, but she’s not a bad consolation prize if you’re going for one of the other two.

[goosetrainer]

Mari's Tera Raid Guides #16 - Swampert

Heh, at least its ability is useless. You're NOT bringing Explosion to tera raids, right?!

Bellibolt works but Bronzong is mighty fine too!

Bellibolt lv.100

Tera type: Electric

Ability: Electromorphosis

Item: Magnet

IVs: max HP, defense, special attack, special defense

EVs: 252 sp.atk., the rest spread between defenses (max defense or half defense/half HP work best)

Moveset:

-Parabolic Charge (egg move)

-Acid Spray (TM)

-Electric Terrain (level up)

-Mud-Slap (move reminder) / Reflect (TM)

Usage:

Quite an easy opponent, Swampert doesn't have stat boosting moves, no debuffing save for the secondary effect (not guaranteed) from Muddy Water and Liquidation. Yawn is not as annoying as Sing. Only one stat&status reset for each side.

Bellibolt however has a weakness to Earthquake, so an Intimidate NPC (Arcanine, Staraptor, Tauros) will go a long way!

This fish will nullify all his negative stat modifications at 75% life left, so we have time to use the usual Acid Sprays to charge the tera orb + drop his defenses to the minimum. You will need to hit 4 times, because after a couple of turns Swampert steals one unit of charge; if you brought Mud Slap, you can use that as your first move (will help you survive the first phase), followed by 3 Acid Sprays. It's easy to go KO in this part, but it's ok! And, actually, it brings the benefit of resetting the eventual accuracy drop from the scripted Muddy Water at the start.

Then, terastallize (if you have enough HP left, just about more than what an Earthquake would take - if not, try to heal with a cheer first) and use Parabolic Charge. It should bring you back to full HP, and possibly trigger the opponent's stat reset.

When that's done, we gotta bring Swampert's special defenses back down, but it's not advisable to do it all at the same time, you're gonna die again. Alternate 1 Acid Spray and 1 Parabolic Charge instead. At 60% time left there's gonna be a Yawn, but only on one of the four partecipants to the battle: if it hit someone else go ahead and ignore it, if it was used on your Bellibolt take note of how many HP you got left. If you're at full life you can use Electric Terrain to neutralize Yawn and boost your offensive power all at once. If not, use Parabolic Charge instead and allow Bellibolt to fall asleep, and only then use a healing cheer to wake it up.

When Swampert's sp.def. is minimized again (so, 3 Acid Sprays after the reset, meaning 6-7 Acid Spray PP used up in total) just keep attacking with Parabolic Charge. It's gonna be close but I've seen worse.

As for Reflect: I didn't really find a point in which it needed to be up, but I think it would be nice to have at the start of the battle, especially when there's nothing with Intimidate to keep Swampert's attack down. I wouldn't waste a turn on it in the post-reset phase though, it's probably better to keep yourself healed with the Acid Spray-Parabolic Charge combo instead.

TL;DR: 1 Mud-Slap + 3 Acid Sprays OR 4 Acid Sprays (might faint, it's ok); terastallize, Parabolic Charge until Swampert's stat&status reset. Alternate Acid Spray and Parabolic Charge x3 times (Acid Spray first); if Yawn is used on you, either use Electric Terrain (if your HP bar is full) or keep going with whatever you were doing and wake up e/ healing cheer after you fell asleep. More Parabolic Charges until KO if needed

Pros:

-look it's always the same pokemon. I'm gonna nickname mine 'Passepartout'

Cons:

-the KO at the start may be scary

-not guaranteed to work at the first try

-----

Bronzong lv.100

Tera type: Psychic

Ability: Levitate

Item: Leftovers

IVs: max HP, defense, special attack, special defense

EVs: 252 special attack, 252 HP, 4 defense

Moveset:

-Stored Power (TM)

-Iron Defense (level up)

-Calm Mind (TM)

-Safeguard (level up)

Usage:

This is basically the Cinderace-Raid-Slowbro, revisited. Same strategy, different font.

It works like this: Stored Power becomes esponentially stronger each time one of your statistics is raised. The stat-raising moves in this set all boost two stages each. Bronzong, as long as it has Levitate, is immune to all of Swampert's moves except the water-type ones.

There are two issues: Leftovers wastes time, and the stat reset on you that happens at 80% time left. We're gonna mitigate both by waiting idle ✌️ just do nothing until your stats gets reset.

This means we don't have much time to do our magic, so get to work. Start with Iron Defense, then 2 Calm Minds, then repeat everything twice more (Iron Defense - Calm Mind - C.M. - I.D. - C.M. - C.M. - I.D. - C.M. - C.M.). This way your defenses will go up while the Leftovers do their thing and keep you healthy, but if that's still not enough do use one healing cheer, you don't wanna go KO after all that work!

Keep an eye open every time you get attacked with Liquidation: it has a chance to drop your defense by one stage. If it happened just once you can let it be, but if it happened twice use one extra Iron Defense. You want to be at +5 or +6 defense (check with Y, out of the move selector menu, and select Bronzong. You should see 5-6 green upwards arrows next to defense, and 6 next to special attack and special defense each).

Also keep your eyes peeled for Yawn. If you're the target, and you can survive one more hit, use Safeguard to neutralize it, but you can also wait to fall asleep and wake up with the healing cheer.

When you're done setting up, you can start using Stored Power. Can't terastallize yet, and we couldn't use it at the start of the battle because it would have spelt certain death (we DO need those boosted defenses) and eaten up even more time. Now you just gotta attack relentlessly, Stored Power will deal a bunch of damage even out of terastal and with Swampert's shield up, but eventually you will be able to Terastallize and that will do even MORE it's so satisfying.

At this point you should be out of danger, but do be ready to throw another healing cheer in if your HP are looking too few - criticals happen.

TL;DR: wait and do nothing until player's stats reset; alternate 1 Iron Defense and 2 Calm Mind for 3 times in a row (total 3 Iron Defenses and 6 Calm Minds), be ready to use Safeguard or Heal Up cheer if Yawn hits you. Use more Iron Defense(s) if Swampert lowered your defense more than once with Liquidation. Then 3x Stored Power, terastallize, more Stored Powers until the end (heal with cheer as needed)

Pros:

-another common pokemon, common ability, tera type same as one of the native types of the line

-not supposed to go KO, and very good at not dying

Cons:

-needs a lot of turns

-Leftovers is a time sink

-the fact that it doesn't faint means that any accuracy drop from Muddy Water (used twice) will stay for the whole battle. It only affects Stored Power, but it's annoying (and if you're unlucky, it may make you run out of time and fail)

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

~*~

Hi! First of all, thank you so much for running this blog, It's become one of three reasons why I haven't yet committed arson (I jest but the Feeling is true). [Hee, hee, hee.] I have a rec for you! It's called "wholesome life usurp immediately" by comfect on ao3 and it's. So good. It's unfinished but the author updates it literally every other day if not faster! It's a lovely fic, I hope you enjoy it. 🌻

Wholesome Life Usurp Immediately

by Comfect (T, 55k, yunmeng sibs, qingli, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: Wen Qing examines Jiang Yanli at Cloud Recesses and has a cure for her poor cultivation.

Now there are Three Prides of Yunmeng.

Everything kind of fixes itself from there.

~*~

hello mojo!! I would really like to recommend standing still (but we keep going) by lwjromantics!! it's really good!!

standing still (but we keep going)

by lwjromantics (justfantaestic) (T, 5k, wangxian)

Summary: Lan Wangji supposed that if having to take care of little A-Yuan and Mo Xuanyu and having to look at the reminders of Wei Ying in their habits and mannerisms was punishment for his actions, he would willingly take it and flay his own back open.

— There are children in the Burial Mounds.

~*~

hii mojo! I just read this cute fic and I loved it so I wanted to rec it :) 

Word Up, Talk the Talk

by Larryissocute (G, 2k, wangxian)

Summary:  It wouldn’t have been a problem (it really wouldn’t) if they weren’t best friends. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what good deeds he did in his past life to be blessed with Lan Wangji as a friend nor does he know what evil things he did to be cursed with being only a friend to Lan Wangji.

Or the one where Wei Wuxian kisses Lan Wangji and then runs away.

~*~

Hey! Love your account — and proud of you for taking the hiatus you needed.  [Lol - it was really nice!]  Idk if you take fic recommendations, but I'd love to rec Roots by ardenrabbit. Fantastic characterization, I really love it!

Roots

by ardenrabbit (E, 46k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  After Wei Wuxian's duel with Jiang Cheng, he finds that stab wounds aren't so trivial when he doesn't have a core to heal them. He wakes to find Lan Zhan in the Burial Mounds with him, already beloved by the Wens and making himself at home. When Lan Zhan tells him that he wants to stay and offers more help than Wei Wuxian knows how to accept, he fears that it's only too good to be true.

Lan Wangji knows that Wei Ying is doing the right thing, and he couldn't live with himself if he let him do it alone. For everything Wei Ying has sacrificed, Lan Wangji is determined to give something back to him.

Hanguang-Jun has turned his back on the clans to join the Yiling Wens and their demonic cultivator leader, and every clan has a different opinion on the matter.

~*~

Hello! I wanted to rec a fic on ao3 called "Restoration" by jelenedra. It's complete, an alternate universe of the sunshot campaign told nonlinearly. It has strong fairy tale and fae elements, with a touch of mystery. Bit of a fix it. Some delightful one liners, and the final ending imagery is just LOVELY. The fic deserves much more love. There's also some YilingWei, wwx not raised by Jiang, and sentient Burial Mounds elements. Enchanting read that keeps you enthralled and curious and intrigued.

Restoration

by jelenedra (M, 85k, wangxian)

Summary:  They say he was thrown into Luanzang Gang by the man who killed his parents; they say that he is an immortal cultivator who had been in a deep trance until the Wen sect disturbed his rest and incurred his wrath; they say that he is the fierce corpse of a cultivator who had somehow regained his mind and his spiritual powers.

When Lan Wangji sees him for the first time, he understands why people talk.

Meng Yao wants safety. Xue Yang wants vengeance. The Sunshot Campaign wants victory. Yiling Laozu provides, for a price.

~*~

I usually read all your recommendations. Thanks for gathering all good recs of wangxian. I am in love with every single story your recommend especially the favorites. [I’m so glad!]  I just wanted to suggest a fic i came across while searching for phoenix!wwx. Its a new story I think as author has published it today. The first chapter was very interesting that i thought ill recommend it you and know your opinion. The legendary phoenix and his dragon -Devipriya and Hidden Path to Love by ShadowTenshiV

Hidden Path to Love

by ShadowTenshiV (G, 78k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wei Ying is a servant working at the Gusu Lan castle. One day he enters through a secret passage way connected to the library where he meets a Lan for the first time. He may have left quite an impression, gaining the other´s attention and slowly becoming friends. They would like to become something more, but a servant can´t be with a prince, but maybe his secret can change that.

~*~

hello mojo! i was wondering if I could make a fic rec? it’s called “and the calm is deep where the quiet waters flow” by izanyas. it used to be on ao3 but the author has since moved it to eir own website and has started posting updates there. i was wondering if this could also act as a signal boost bc some old readers on ao3 might not have known that it is now on another website.   Author's been through a tough time so I think it deserves a lot more love.

For new readers, please mind the warnings in the prologue and the beginning of each chapter! it’s omegaverse and a very heavy read as it deals with (possible spoiler) off-screen rape that results in an unwanted pregnancy, as well as secondary gender oppression which runs deep, but for people who can bear it the writing, worldbuilding, and emotions are truly spectacular.

and the calm is deep where the quiet waters flow

by izanyas (E, 270k, wangxian, WIP, link is to WordPress rather than AO3)

Summary: Cangse Sanren was the first of her kind to become a cultivator. Talented, passionate, free-spirited, she bested everything that ever came her way until the very end.

Jiang Fengmian refuses to see her son deprived of that same freedom.

~*~

Hello Mojo! I dunno if this's been recced before, but here's another ficrec for you? It's complete, on ao3, "The Third Young Master of Qishan Wen" by KouriArashi. It's 'if wwx was raised by dafan wen, but gets recognized as 3rd heir due to his skill' scenario. Some really nice banter and characterization. Wwx and lz get together before the sunshot campaign. Story follows the live action but diverges into au, and does some cool callbacks to original canon. Love Meng Yao in this!  [Oh, I know KouriArashi from my last fandom, I love her works!]

❤️The Third Young Master of the Qishan Wen

by KouriArashi (T, 139k, wangxian, my post)

Summary:  The fic where Wei Wuxian is adopted by the Dafan Mountain Wens instead of the Yunmeng Jiang.

~*~

Hi Mojo! I can count the number of times I’ve spoken on Tumblr on one hand (I’m shy heh) but I found this fic that I think you and others would really like? I’m a sucker for emotional hurt/comfort and this was just too sweet for me not to share (did I go through 20 pages of bookmarks just to make sure you don’t already have it? Maybe …) [Aww, you can do a sidebar search in the bookmarks for the author’s name.  But I hope you found other good fics by carding through the whole catalog!]  It’s “Close Your Soft Eyes” by timetoboldlygo! I also wanna say thank you for all the hard work you put into this blog! It’s a treasure beyond compare. :D [Thank you so much!]

Close Your Soft Eyes

by timetoboldlygo (G, 12k, wangxian)

Summary:  When Lan Wangji woke, the first thing he noticed was the slip of paper, folded and tucked between his index and middle fingers, not Wei Wuxian’s absence. His fingers trembled as he unfurled the paper. A donkey with a little smile beamed down at him.

-

On the nights that Wei Wuxian was gone, Lan Wangji woke to gifts on his pillow.

~*~

Hey Mojo! I love your blog it is beyond awesome! [Thank you!]  I was wondering if you would consider reading JaenysBloodcourt series "A Bond to Takes us home"? The summary is weird but I like the fics and would love to hear your opinion on LWJ POV (it's part 2). Part one is Mingxian but part two (Wangxian) reads as a standalone for the most part. Anyways, thank you for all your hard work! <3 [I’ll put it on my list!]

A Bond to Take Us Home

by JaenysBloodcourt (T, 10k, mingxian - nmj/wwx, wangxian, series in progress)

Summary:  Wei Wuxian has two soulmarks. He has two soulmates that seem to be the opposite of him. During his first life he meets both of them, loves only one and longs for the other. In his second life, the one he loved first is dead, and the one he pined after is pining after him.

These are the many tales of his soulmates and the raucous they made across the cultivation world.

Some are dark, some are light. Beware.

~*~

I forgot to send this in for Mother's Day a few weeks ago, but have you read dragongirlG's "into the light of a dark black night"? It's a short canon divergence where Mama Lan escapes the Cloud Recesses after spending one last, heartbreaking night with her sons. It's so beautiful and bittersweet! [Oh, ouch.  I just read this author’s time travelling juniors au, but hadn’t seen this one.]

into the light of a dark black night

by dragongirlG (T, 3k, Madam Lan & sons)

Summary:  The night that Wu Yuhua, formerly known as Madam Lan, plans to escape from the Cloud Recesses, she runs into an unexpected complication.

That complication comes in the form of her younger son A-Zhan running up to her door and kneeling in front of it, hushed whimpers escaping from his throat.

Wu Yuhua knows it's not the full moon, knows that it's not the one day a month she's allowed to see her children—but like hell is she going to leave her six-year-old son out there trying to stifle sobs in the snow.

She opens the door. "A-Zhan," she says, bending down and reaching out a hand. "Come in, my sweet boy."

On a snowy night in the dead of winter, Wu Yuhua, formerly known as Madam Lan, unexpectedly spends one last night with her sons before escaping from the Cloud Recesses.

~*~

Hello queen I’d like to recommend for ur follower rec posts Avatar: The Untamed Waterbender by KouriArashi. Banger of an ATLA au, def the best one I’ve seen. It’s a WIP but the author updates pretty regularly and it’s all around an A+ fic [Oh, yes, I’ve been waiting for this one to finish before I jump in.]

Avatar: The Untamed Waterbender

by KouriArashi (T, 123k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  You know the drill. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

100 years later, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli find Wei Wuxian sealed in an iceberg.

Featuring: avatar WWX, waterbending JC, firebending Wens, airbending Lans, earthbending Nies and Jins, Jiang Yanli in possession of the brain cell, et cetera.

~*~

[My ko-fi.]

[imthepunchlord]

Marinette’s Best to Least

Adrien, Alya, Nino, Kagami

I kinda miss doing these. 

OK, here’s how its going to work. People can have miraculouses that fit them best (can immediately pull them off with little to no issues), then there’s 2nd best (which is middle gruond, not ideal but doable), and then the least (struggles with most). Best can range from 1-3 depending on the individual. Those who have 3 best are pretty uncommon, and are more along the lines of miraculous prodigies, of the 5 none are actually a least fit, there are just two that are 2nd best. 

Peafowl power is essentially the canon but tweaked so it’s power is making golems exclusively through the user, no reaching out to another and doing something based on what they’re feeling. And how complex and elaborate the golem is will depend on the user (specifically if they’re capable of feeling and thinking). At the core, the golem exist to serve whatever purpose it was made for and won’t deviate from that. Also golems are not made through little feathers but by a section of the fan, one quill = one golem. You can have multiple golems but you won’t end up with much of a tool. 

So now that that’s out of the way, let’s get this latest version of Best to Least going! 

Starting with Marinette. 

Marinette at the core is a dualistic character, who can either be direct in how she handles things, or prefer to do things from the background with less attention on her and can be underhanded in her initial choices (examples seen in Refleckta, Mime, Copycat, and Anansi; to name a few). She is actually ruled by both her head and her heart, which has her rely on logic and facts that allows her act as necessary, but also makes her a huge people pleaser who will go above and beyond for others.

At the core, canon is setting her up to be a miraculous prodigy, so many of these she should get down pretty well, though some she may struggle with more than others. 

Her best are Butterfly, Fox, and Bee, who all meet how she works and she can use either of them quite well from the immediate start. As these work off her strengths, depending on what she has can shape her growth and which she would wind up leaning more towards. 

Starting with Butterfly, we can see that Marinette is good at recognizing potential in people, know their strengths and what they can pull off. Actually as we see, her first thought process when she got Tikki was to pass her on to someone she thought would be more fitting, thinking Alya would a solid hero (which she is right about). She’s also open and eager to reach out to others for help and is a big team player. This miraculous also leaves it open if she wants to be a leader or not. This does also play off her nature to assist others with their problem, and her willingness to give them a needed boost if needed, any sort of boost they may need. 

Growth wise, this would have her learn to be open more to the idea of asking for help and reaching out to others, learn that she doesn’t have to shoulder everything herself. It can also be good to help her learn to put some distance between her and issues, that sometimes people need to be given a chance to solve those problems themselves without her helping or trying to make it better.

She and Nooroo would be a very sweet pair together as both are very considerate and ruled by their heart. And this being a more emotion related miraculous, Nooroo himself would be quite good in helping Marinette deal with any emotional issues.

Fox works off her observation skills, her capability to step back and take things in and consider her options, and her able to come up with complex, elaborate plans that secures their win. It also matches her inclined moments to help from the shadows and use underhanded tactics. While she’s not an outright deceiver, she is a good manipulator and is resourceful and creative enough to work things into her favor. She can also match Fox as a risk taker, for this is a daring animal that will take risks that they believe they can win. It’s not often that she will, but she is ready to try her chances. 

In terms of growth, this miraculous would lead to her relying more on underhanded and crafty tactics, and settle herself more into a background role. She still has good leadership potential and could direct a team if required, but as this miraculous is more being a background manipulator, she’d wind up less inclined to have attention on her and rather influence situations and people subtly.  This can really help her grow in terms of resourcefulness, cunning, and how well she can work/manipulate things into her favor. 

Marinette and Trixx would actually be a solid match up, as what we see, while Trixx prioritizes duties and responsibility, they’re observant enough to pick up on their user’s feelings and can address said issues. And playing headcanons that Trixx is more morally grey, can allow Marinette to not be inclined for “the greater good” all time. There are times that Marinette is more inclined for underhanded tactics (Refleckta). And observant and sharp herself, Marinette can mentally be Trixx’s equal, and won’t be solely guided/influenced by the kwami. I see this as an equal and engaging partnership that could be fun and have some interesting conversations. 

With Bee, this works off Marinete’s strength as a leader, her capability to be direct and aggressive (when required or when she wants to be), and to be a capable teamplayer as she is fine not always being the leader and is content to be a follower (hence her largely following after Alya instead of taking the lead). And if you want to factor in symbolism and traits, of the 5, Bee matches her most. Actually outside her color coding, everything about her screams Bee: being a creator, being team oriented, leadership potential, a source of nurture, warmth, and support, being a gardener, a source of assistance, being an active multitasker and busy bee, and capability to fight back but often as a last resort/response than starting something herself. 

In terms of growth, this miraculous would have her embracing the strengths of her being more direct and involved, and can add onto this idea to restore order and happiness for others and fix problems herself. It could allow her to truly bloom into herself as a leader, multitasker, defender, and provider for those around her. 

Kwami wise its not as ideal (though everything about canon Pollen is incredibly problematic). Canon wise, Pollen would be a good source of support and encouragement, and with Marinette being engaging with her kwami and considering them more her equals/friend than a servant, can prompt Pollen to start growing mentally and emotionally. Unlike Trixx, Pollen would be more morally uptight, though I don’t see her having the same intensity as Tikki in that moral uprightness. And until Pollen grows in wisdom (which takes experience), Marinette will largely have to figure stuff out herself, which potentially could be for the best (as Tikki will voice her concerns and then rely on Marinette to figure out a solution). This is a partnership where I see Pollen having more to gain than Marinette (though she’ll have a very loyal and supportive kwami which will be nice). 

Marinette’s 2nd best choices are Turtle and Peafowl. These technically do match her and she has aspects to her character that can allow her to use them well, but they aren’t exactly matching to the entirety of who she is and there are better more immediate matches. These do however offer alternative growth potentials for her. 

With Turtle, this matches Marinette in her need to step in and assist others, take the brunt of the problem herself, matching her nature as a more direct supporter. The issue though is that Marinette is more the sort to go and address the problem than hang back as a protector for others. This can also count as a miraculous of self-protection, which can be a good thing for Marinette to learn to be more conscious for her own safety (not just physical but emotional and mental). 

Growth wise, this largely will help her learn self-care, and to put distance between herself and a problem, allowing others to handle it while she focuses on those who need immediate support. This miraculous will also strengthen her drive to be a protector and helper to those in need, but learn to pick her battles better and that she can help in other ways than directly addressing a problem. 

Of the kwamis, she and Wayzz are actually closest in similarities and would get along very well. Wayzz, like Marinette, wants to address problems quickly but smartly. He is also adaptable and observant, will pick up on personality quirks of his humans, and adjust himself to meet them so they can get along better. As such, he’d learn quickly that he can be a good source of calm for Marinette, offer up logic when her imagination runs wild with her overthinking things. He would add onto the want to involve one’s self in issues and probably both wind hovering close by if there are any issues. He may spark off a tea addiction in Marinette. 

Peafowl would work off her creativity, imagination, and ingenuity. If there is an issue, she will know just what golem to create to address said problem. This is another miraculous that leaves it open if Marinette would like to join the heat of things or not, either leaving it to her golem alone or joining her golem in a fight. Like Fox, this is also a miraculous more designed to play by the user’s own rules, and Marinette has her tendencies of playing by her rules. Biggest struggle though is that golems made serve a purpose and her creations can end up more closed off to other things around them. I can also see Marinette regarding her more complex creations as “alive” when they aren’t truly. 

In terms of growth, this miraculous could help her learn to focus on one thing at a time, while she is a skilled multitasker, Marinette does have issues of taking on more than she can chew, and this is a power that’s more about focusing on one issue at a time. She can make multiple golems, but could ultimately end up weaponless as each golem is made through a piece of her fan. 

Of the little we see of the restored Duusu, I will presume that she and Marinette would get along as we see Duusu is affectionate, chatty, and very open. She has an amiable personality that Marinette can get along with. 

Between the Cat and Ladybug, Marinette is actually good with both. She has the creativity, ingenuity, and resourcefulness for the Ladybug. For Cat, she has the reflexes, instinct, and the willingness to take risks and be direct with issues. She can pull both of them off incredibly well. And as a creator, Marinette is capable of using both, as Ladybug creates and Cat destroys, and destruction is a form of creation. But between the two, if she had to have one, I’d actually vote for her to have the Cat instead. Not only is there an appeal of a creator having destruction, as she as a creator will know how to best destroy something (for when creating, you are destroying an item’s current form) but...

...A big part of this stems from the kwamis themselves. Tikki has been good at building up Marinette’s confidence in the end and does has helped open Marinette’s eyes to alternative choices and actions. Unfortunately, she is incredibly morally upright, to a point she can be overly critical and nitpicky of Marinette and is adding onto a developing Atlas complex that Marinette is starting to have. Tikki also has issues of prioritizing others over Marinette, and pushes for Marinette to be more considerate of others and putting them before herself. Which in itself is not bad, but self care is important too. Canonly, Tikki is no longer a good kwami for Marinette to have. 

Plagg though, in terms of personality, actually would’ve been a better match for Marinette. Not only is he calmer but also more lax and lenient. When her imagination runs wild and leads to freak outs, he can calmly offer logical counterparts to it to bring her out of the anxious episode. Nor will he pile more responsibility onto her that she herself is uncertain of adding. Like Trixx, he is along the lines of morally grey and won’t discourage underhanded tactics that Marinette wants to intitially try. Plagg is a kwami that actually prefers having his humans figure stuff out, and this works in his favor as Marinette is the sort to figure stuff out on her own. He will offer the smallest call outs and she will factor it in and change tactics. Plagg also will not be prioritizing Marinette to put others before herself, she will do that on her own and he will be a reminder to consider herself as well. 

She does incredibly well with Ladybug and is a solid Cat, but between the “two most powerful”, I’d lean more Marinette having Cat instead. 

[tigerkirby215]

5e Gondar, the Bounty Hunter build (DOTA 2)

(Artwork made for Valve Software.)

And here you were thinking that I wouldn’t actually make a DOTA 2 build; that’s where you’re WRONG! While this is sort of meant as my April Fools joke build I did actually play DOTA before migrating to League. I still love all the characters and I do genuinely think the gameplay has some strengths over LoL. The community...? Well, it exists.

Regardless back when I played DOTA I mained Bounty Hunter, which is rather ironic given I fucking hate League’s counterpart Bounty Hunter of Pyke. Gondar (yes his name is Gondar) was an extremely fun stealth assassin with a very unique passive to keep tabs on enemies at all times and inflate his teammates’ wallets. And apparently they magnified that even further by allowing Bounty to steal other heroes’ gold now with Jinada? Sweet Zeus Valve calm down with the feature creep...

Regardless: happy 5 days after April Fools! Hoes mad that I’m acknowledging DOTA’s existence.

GOALS

You can't fight what you can't see - DOTA is a lot more willing to give people invisibility. Helps when you can buy a gem that lets you see all invisible enemies.

The realm's justice - Jinada, que pasa? We need to be able to do big damage to critical points that weaken our enemies in a fight.

You can run but you can't hide - Your ultimate ability will be to track people down like some sort of... person who tracks people down for money.

RACE

Back in the Warcraft days Gondar was a Goblin, so a Goblin he shall be! As a Goblin you get a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Constitution, and Nimble Escape to get half of what a Rogue can do with your Bonus Action to Disengage or Hide (but not Dash.) And you get a nice bonus to take down big bounties (big in the literal sense) with Fury of the Small, allowing you to do extra damage equal to your level to a creature that’s bigger than you once per Short or Long Rest!

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Is your refrigerator running? Well you’d better go catch it, because there’s a bounty on its head!

14; WISDOM - Wisdom is tied to tracking, and spoiler alert? We’re going to be doing a lot of tracking.

13; CONSTITUTION - We kinda don’t need anything else so may as well use that +1 from our race to get a nice boost to our HP.

12; INTELLIGENCE - Practical intelligence never hurt when tracking down gods and demons.

10; CHARISMA - You need to be able to talk to the people giving the bounties.

8; STRENGTH - You’re a small man with small knives.

BACKGROUND

Man, if only there was a background for a Bounty Hunter! We’ll be going for Urban Bounty Hunter from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide because just because the name says “urban” doesn’t mean you can’t prowl around the Radiant jungle too. You can choose your proficiencies among a small list: I opted for Insight and Stealth. You also get proficiency with two musical instruments or gaming sets: I’d maybe ask about languages instead? But honestly pick your poison.

Your feature Ear to the Ground gives you plenty of information about whatever bounty you may be tracking, as you’ve got contacts in all places to slip you information about where a giant fishman may be. “The Tidehunter becomes the hunted.”

(Artwork made for Valve Software.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

You level Shuriken first on Bounty, you go for CON saves first in D&D. Along with those CON saves you also get proficiency in two skills from the Fighter list: Acrobatics will help you survive and Survival will also help you survive! But it’s mainly useful for tracking.

As a Fighter you can choose a Fighting Style at level 1: for a quick Shuriken Toss Superior Technique will let you grab the Quick Toss maneuver as well as a d6 Superiority die to use on said maneuver. It doesn’t take a lot to push Q and click on someone. Remember that your superiority die come back after a Short Rest, as well as a long one.

Finally as a Fighter you can hold onto a Bottle to use for a bit of Second Wind, healing for a d10 plus your Fighter Level as a Bonus Action. “A prudent hunter knows when to strike.” This ability also resets after a Short or Long Rest.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters can up their APM with Action Surge, allowing them to take two actions in a turn. The Wiki says the trick of attacking people during Shadow Walk’s Fade Time is still a thing, so yeah pro tips from a League player!

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and truth be told I just want to be able to throw more shuriken, so Battle Master it is for four more Combat Superiority dice! You can also learn three more Maneuvers other than Quick Toss: Disarming Attack will let you knock an enemy’s weapon away with Heaven’s Halberd, and both Commander’s Strike and Distracting Strike are good to team up with your allies to play support. “My allies have earned their keep.”

But of course the most important feature is Student of War; no shmuck politician is going to hire you unless you have Calligrapher’s Supplies proficiency to fool a god to sign off his power to you!

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 4

How about we slow them down a bit? The Slasher feat will increase your Dexterity by 1 but also allow you to slow enemies hit by 10 feet. Additionally if you crit you cripple them, giving them disadvantage on their attacks! This only works with Slashing damage, so technically you can only slow in melee range with a Scimitar. But if your DM is cool I’d totally allow Darts that do Slashing damage to slow at range!

(”Twin Blades Assassin” set made by motenai and T_Vidotto. Made for YYF.)

LEVEL 5 - RANGER 1

First level Rangers get proficiency in one skill from the Ranger list: increase your map awareness and buy some wards for Perception. Additionally you get Deft Explorer from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, which grants you the Canny ability for two language proficiencies and Expertise in one skill of your choice. Your languages don’t matter too much but guess what? Survival is still used for tracking down bounties!

Speaking of those bounties you can mark them with not quite track thanks to Favored Foe. When you hit a foe you can choose to mark them and make them take an additional d4 once per turn for up to a minute! You need to concentrate on this effect though so you can’t just fire-and-forget like in DOTA, and can only use it a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

LEVEL 6 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get to choose a Fighting Style and you know what’s good for tossing shuriken? Thrown Weapon Fighting, letting you draw thrown weapons for free and giving you +2 damage to said thrown weapons!

But of course the main appeal of being a Ranger is the Spellcasting! You can learn two spells from the Ranger list: for a not quite stun that certainly isn’t mini Ensnaring Strike lets you throw a shuriken (or stab with your sword) to root an enemy in place. Alternatively if you want to track people super good Hunter’s Mark gives you advantage on Survival checks to track the person you marked, and also lets you do an extra d6 every time you hit the enemy!

It’s of course worth mentioning that both these spells require Concentration which means you can’t use them along with Favored Foe, but most of the Ranger spell list is Concentration.

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers get to chose their subclass, and I hope you weren’t expecting Hunter just because the character is literally called “Bounty Hunter.” No we’ll be going for the Monster Slayer subclass, because certainly you only hunt monsters who have a price on their head for a reason, right? Regardless Hunter’s Sense will let you know what an enemy’s weaknesses are just by looking at them (and perhaps peeking at their inventory) with your Action. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and regain all expended uses at the end of a Long Rest.

But what we’re mainly here for is Slayer’s Prey, for more tracking marks! As a Bonus Action you can put another mark on a foe within 60 feet to make them take an extra d6 the first time you hit them! You can only have one target marked at a time with this ability, and it ends if you take a Short or Long Rest. This stacks with both Hunter’s Mark and Favored Foe, so pick your poison to do as much as you can to your foes!

You can also learn another first level Ranger spell like Snare, to set up in advance for bounties you know are coming. You get a lot more magic too: Monster Slayer Magic provides you with the Protection from Evil and Good spell, which is helpful for hunting down demons and fiends. You can also cast Speak with Animals once per day thanks to Primal Awareness, just in case you’ve been hanging around with Enchantress.

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get another Ability Score Improvement, but we still kinda need to be able to turn invisible? Good thing Shadow Touched lets you increase your Wisdom by 1 and gives you the Invisibility spell along with one Illusion or Necromancy spell of first level.

What first level spell will we be taking you may ask? Why if only there was a spell to squeeze more gold out of your bounties. Oh wait! Distort Value from Acquisitions Incorporated, allowing you to sparkle up your bounties for more gold! You can cast both of these spells once per Long Rest without using a spell slot, and can also cast them freely with your spell slots.

(”Desperado in the Shade” set made by HeeJae.)

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 5

5th level Rangers finally get their Extra Attack. It’s about damn time to pick up some attack speed as a Martial Fighter.

You can also learn another spell like Locate Object, because sometimes items have bounties on them too. Speaking of spells Monster Slayer Magic gives you the Zone of Truth spell, and Primal Awareness gives you one casting of the spell Beast Sense, in case you want to ride along with Lifestealer.

LEVEL 10 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers get Roving from Deft Explorer, increasing their movement speed by 5 and granting them a Climbing and Swimming speed equal to their walking speed, meaning you can follow your bounties through any terrain. Additionally Favored Foe increases to a d6 of damage, so while it’s still not really comparing to Hunter’s Mark it’s still helping!

LEVEL 11 - RANGER 7

7th level Monster Slayers have a Supernatural Defense against magic and crowd control. Whenever the target marked by your Slayer’s Prey feature forces you to make a saving throw or if you try to escape their grapple, you can add a d6 to your roll.

You can also learn another second level spell like Lesser Restoration, as a Dispel is never a bad thing to have.

LEVEL 12 - RANGER 8

Striking foes from the shadows is all well and good but you haven’t got many ways to keep yourself safe. (Other than using your Bonus Action to Disengage I guess.) The Mobile feat will speed you up and let you avoid hits after cutting a foe’s heels!

(“Giant Hunter” set made by Jigglypuff.)

LEVEL 13 - RANGER 9

9th level Rangers get third level spells! This means you get:

Magic Circle from Monster Slayer Magic.

Speak With Plants from Primal Awareness.

And Revivify from the Ranger spell list (thanks Tasha’s), in case you need to help someone Buyback their respawn.

LEVEL 14 - RANGER 10

10th level Rangers are Tireless thanks to Deft Explorer. You can recover Exhaustion on a Short Rest, and can use an action to give yourself a boost of Temporary Hitpoints a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus, which resets at the end of a Long Rest.

You also get more ways to turn invisible with Nature’s Veil, which lets you turn invisible until the start of your next turn. Like Tireless you have a number of uses equal to your Proficiency bonus, which come back at the end of a Long Rest. “Unseen.”

LEVEL 15 - RANGER 11

11th level Monster Slayers carry a ministun to deal with casters. When you see a creature casting a spell or teleporting within 60 feet of you, you can use your reaction to try to foil it with Magic-User’s Nemesis. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, or its spell / TP fails and is wasted. You can only use this ability once per Short or Long Rest however, so be sure to stop the enemy from using a teleportation scroll.

Additionally you can learn another spell like Nondetection, for protection against wards.

LEVEL 16 - RANGER 12

12th level Rangers can grab another Ability Score Improvement: even though we have an uneven Wisdom score I’m still going to suggest maxing out your Dexterity first for the highest possible AC, damage, and dodging skills.

(”Hunter with No Name” set made by BigTuna, Vermillion-Wlad, and Stefco. Made for Funn1k.)

LEVEL 17 - RANGER 13

13th level Rogues can learn 4th level spells. You get Banishment from Monster Slayer Magic, but much more importantly you get Locate Creature from Primal Awareness for some proper Bounty Hunting! We’ll also be taking Locate Creature as our learnt spell at this level: one may say that it’s not the most useful spell, but if you need combat magic you can upcast Ensnaring Strike for a chain stun or Invisibility to dust up.

LEVEL 18 - RANGER 14

14th level Rogues see Favored Foe increase to a d8. Is this way too late for a feature that’s still arguably doing less than Hunter’s Mark? Perhaps, but Favored Foe still doesn’t cost your Bonus Action nor a Spell Slot.

You do also get Vanish to hide as a Bonus Action but... you could already do that. Oops.

LEVEL 19 - RANGER 15

15th level Monster Slayers are masters at 1v1ing squishy spellcasters, as you master the Slayer’s Counter. If the enemy you marked with Slayer’s Prey forces you to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction attack them! You make this attack immediately before the saving throw, and if your attack hits you automatically succeed your saving throw.

You can also learn another spell but honestly? Pick your choice. We got just about all the character-accurate spells we could need as is.

LEVEL 20 - RANGER 16

16th level Rangers get their last Ability Score Improvement and while it’s probably late to do this the Resilient feat in Wisdom will make sure the enemy has zero chance to CC you.

WHY NOT ROGUE

There's several reasons I opted for Ranger levels instead of Rogue levels. Firstly Bounty Hunter can crit targets even when not stealthed, and Jinada is described as "preparing" the next attack which is much more in-line with Hunter's Mark and Favored Foe. Gondar's code language is most likely Goblin speak as opposed to Thieves' Cant. And of course Ranger was the only way to acquire tracking spells like Hunter's Mark and Locate Creature.

But above all else there were few Rogue subclasses that fit Gondar. Soul Knife is perhaps the only one that makes sense but ironically enough the unlimited nature of the Soul Knife Psychic Blades doesn't fit. (Also long-ranged teleportation doesn't fit either.) Monster Slayer meanwhile brings the backline counterplay to Gondar and allows me to work in a lot of Bounty Hunter's utility abilities.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I didn't come here to see my enemies grow rich - You have many ways to get the upper hand both in and out of combat, with both spells and martial prowess to aid you in combat. Between invisibility, Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, or just generally tracking your enemy down you have all the tools you could need and more to get the jump on your foes.

Watch your head! - You are very strong against magic users and other enemies who force saving throws, and you didn’t even need the Mage Slayer feat! Monster Slayer is exceptionally good at giving one enemy an incredibly tough time killing you, especially if they rely on magic to do so.

Impressive technique, but not enough - A little bit of Constitution goes a long way, and a +2 to CON along with a d10 hit die will give you quite a bit of bulk in comparison to others.

CONS

A wise hunter knows patience - It takes quite a bit to set up all your marks, with several bonus actions to operate at maximum effectiveness. In fact you have an absolutely excessive amount of Bonus Actions to choose from which can make picking the right one very tricky.

My target eludes me - You also have several Concentration spells, and while your CON saves are good many of your spells are utility based you still can’t turn invisible while tracking down your bounty.

That's going to come out of my pay, isn't it? - Your Wisdom isn’t terrible but it’s not good either, and while most of your spells don’t rely on saving throws many abilities such as Hunter’s Sense and Magic-User’s Nemesis do rely on your Wisdom. I’m not saying Point Buy would be better but your Intelligence really isn’t doing much to help you.

But a good hunter knows what tool to use in any situation, and you have the tools to take out any target... for the right price, of course. Stalk your foes, strike when they least expect it, and reap the rewards for your allies. And if they're the type to complain that you're not from Runeterra simply remember that DOTA is better than League, and a LoL player can't deny.

(Comic by Nerf Now!)

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 11: In Dreams (originally posted on March 29, 2021)

AN: Hope you all packed your bags dear readers, cause we're gonna go on a real trip. One of my initial ideas for Alternate Future was with the addition as Aquamarine as a more major antagonist, we'd also have a mini-character arc about Peridot blaming herself for Steven's capture at the end of Season 4 even years later, which I felt was kind of a waste of possible character development for the little nacho. Regardless, it's time I finally see it through myself. And trust me, I'm really gonna put Peri through the wringer.

Synopsis: Steven's dream powers start acting up when he and Peridot want to watch TV.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven, Stefan

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Johnny Hawkes as Cookie Cat, Rodrigo

Marieve Hernington as Jasmine

Della Saba as Marine, Aquamarine

--

The night was dark as Steven strolled through Beach City on his way home after a long day until he heard music. Racing to the beach house, he discovered that colorful flashing lights and loud music were coming from inside the house, and that got him super excited.

"All right!" Steven gasped cheerfully. "Now that I've saved the universe, I finally get to party!" When he raced to his front window, Steven could see all his friends inside dancing the night away. Garnet, Amethyst & Pearl, Lars and the Off-Colors, Lapis, Bismuth & Peridot, Connie, even Onion was breaking it down. Before he could join the fun, however, the door and windows suddenly vanished, leaving behind an empty wooden wall. "Huh? Hey guys, let me in! This isn't funny!"

"STEVEN!" a booming voice echoed from above. When Steven looked up, he discovered that Obsidian's head was replaced with a giant Cookie Cat looking down on him with a taunting grin. "NOBODY NEEDS YOUR HELP! SO WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!"

"What?!" Steven cried before the porch opened up like a trap door under him, forcing the boy to fall through the sky screaming.

--

"STEVEN! STEVEN!"

A little voice broke Steven out of slumber and back into the real world in his bedroom. "Why do I keep having these dreams?" he mused to himself. "Are they telling me something?"

"STEVEN, OPEN UP!" the voice cried out while pounding on the door.

"Peridot?" Steven began to recognize the green Gem's nasally voice as he walked downstairs and let the former Kindergartener in.

"STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" Peridot chanted, beetling in place while holding popcorn and drinks. "Today's the big day! Did you tape the premiere?!"

"What premiere? I have no idea what you're talking about." Steven said coyly.

"But you promised me!" Peridot whined, not realizing that her half-organic friend might be joking.

"Oh, you mean the premiere of the reboot of the classic Great North teen camping drama Camp Pining Hearts that I recorded," Steven revealed as he pulled out a VHS tape. "on this very tape?"

Peridot gasped at the mere mention of the show she had awaited for so long and began squealing excitedly. "Yes, it's finally here!"

"THE RETURN OF CAMP PINING HEARTS!" the pair declared joyfully.

--

Steven and Peridot raced upstairs to watch the Camp Pining Hearts reboot when Steven realized someone was missing. "Hey, where's Lapis? I thought she was a big fan of CPH as you are."

"Oh, she declined to attend our viewing because she feels this reboot will be an abomination." Peridot answered as she sat down at the foot of Steven's bed. "You know that United Defenders of the World show? She really likes that too, and that's gotten a reboot much like Camp Pining Hearts, but she doesn't like how that is so dark and depressing because apparently, it's more adult. I mean, come on! Can't we go one minute without any intense violence or Mangolin yelling so many nasty wo-"

"What, she's not coming because one show clouds her judgment of another?" Steven rolled his eyes at Peridot's explanation while putting the tape into his VHS player. "That's a little silly. But I'm glad you were still able to come because I've been having these weird dreams lately. Like, are any of them real or-"

"That's not important Steven!" Peridot shut her fellow fan's mouth. "Now press play already you monster!"

Steven chuckled for a bit before he started the tape, and the theme song for the Camp Pining Hearts reboot began to play while two attractive young actors were credited for the roles of its leads, Jasmine and Rodrigo. Steven excitedly ate popcorn while Peridot waved a Great North flag around as the show began.

--

Fifty-two minutes later, the credits finally rolled, and Steven & Peridot were left stunned, silent, and disappointed.

"L-Lapis warned me, and I didn't listen." Peridot quivered in shock.

"W-what?" Steven added, just as horrified. "What…."

"WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?!" the pair roared in unison.

"What is with that Rodrigo guy?!" Peridot began complaining and clawing at her face. "He has no charisma! He is clearly inferior to the old cast!"

"And can we just talk about the cinematography?" Steven added just as furiously while Peridot got up and marched towards the TV.

"They changed all the characters, and I don't care about any one of them!" Peridot threw a tantrum and began venting by picking up the set & slamming it to the ground. "How could this happen to us?!" she began to cry her eyes out on the television. "Camp Pining Hearts was my escape when I first arrived on Earth, when my whole world was nothing but chaos!"

"CPH brought us all together." Steven comforted his green friend, though he was sobbing as well.

"And now, just look at this nightmare!" Peridot yelled with a hand to the TV screen when it stopped showing the Camp Pining Hearts reboot. Instead, it began playing Steven's dream from last night. "Wait, Steven, when were you ever an actor?"

"What? No, they didn't!" Steven exclaimed as the dream continued on television. "Is this my dreams?" When Steven watched himself fall from the beach house in his dream, the TV then switched back to Camp Pining Hearts. "Whoa! My dream powers must be messing with the TV signal!"

"How in the world is that even possible?!" Peridot raised an eyebrow at this revelation, but it also gave her an idea. "Wait just a second. Steven, you realize what this means?!"

"I should start wearing a tinfoil hat?" Steven asked, unaware of what the little genius had planned.

"No!" Peridot answered. "If we use your dream powers on the TV, we can make our own Camp Pining Hearts! We'll reboot the reboot!"

"Reboot the reboot?" Steven realized and excitedly stood up. "Peridot, you're a genius!"

"I know." Peridot smugly declared.

"Plus, it would be really fun to fix something small this time." Steven said before Peridot wrapped a lime-colored arm around his neck.

"This shall be the beginning of Peridot & Steven Productions!" Peridot triumphantly declared.

"Yeah!" Steven added, and then he fell from Peridot's grasp.

--

Later that day, Steven and Peridot were now standing in front of a whiteboard detailing all their plans for fixing the Camp Pining Hearts Reboot, bouncing more plans off each other in regards to shipping.

"So Peridot, you think Jasmine's endgame should be Khaz or Rodrigo?" Steven asked Peridot while looking at a web of pictures of the characters from the reboot.

"It seems the characters are trying to railroad us into a Jasrigo relationship, despite turning everyone else into complete jerks just because they don't agree with-" Peridot began, but then she started getting irritated. "Gah, these characters have no chemistry together! It's like they're being shipped just because they're the leading man and woman!"

"Just can't get into Rodrigo, eh?" Steven asked his writing partner.

"He's just so passive and quiet, it's positively irritating!" Peridot yelled. "He has none of the old cast's personalities that made them so memorable!"

"Sure he may be really quiet and soft," Steven assured Peridot. "but what if we try to do something with his social anxiety and peanut allergy despite them not being connected to the larger story, like make him a foil?"

"A foil, you say?" Peridot raised an eyebrow at Steven's idea. "Okay, I'm listening."

"I got it!" Steven declared before he sat down in front of some pencils and paper and began to draw. "I call him Stefan." He began explaining while drawing. "He's a hunky lifeguard friend with nice muscles that everyone likes and wants to hang out with. His popularity is both a blessing and a curse, yet always makes time to help his buddy Rodrigo boost his confidence." He handed his final drawing over to Peridot, which turned out to be a sketch of a more muscular Steven.

"So he's like your self-insert!" Peridot beamed at her friend's work. "I like your ideas, Stefan!"

--

As night fell, Steven got back into bed with a bowl of chili in his lap while Peridot inserted the tape into the VCR player.

"Uh, why are you eating at bedtime?" Peridot questioned Steven's choice of a bedtime meal.

"Oh, you mean my chili?" Steven replied, gesturing to the chili in his hands. "I read that eating spicy stuff before bed makes your dreams super vivid."

"I appreciate your initiative, fellow creator." Peridot grinned at Steven's idea while he continued eating his chili.

"Thanks, Peridot." Steven thanked Peridot before putting the bowl on his nightstand and tucking himself in. "Okay, good night."

"Good night Steven. But remember," Peridot said as she started whispering into Steven's ear. "action-orientated storytelling."

--

"Hey Jasmine, I hear you love birds." A tanned, muscular version of Steven said flirtatiously to a cute brown-haired girl examining a bird perched in her hand.

"Sure Stefan." Jasmine giggled cutely.

"Well, a little birdie told me downstream that there's a special island somewhere 'round here." Stefan replied, leaning against a tree and giving Jasmine a wink while pointing offscreen. "I hear it's full of rare specimens."

"Did you hear that?" Jasmine gasped elatedly. "Thank you so much Stefan!" Stefan responded by giving Jasmine another wink.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo was by himself at a campsite reading an instructional book on how to date when Stefan came racing to him.

"Rodrigo, I've got terrible news!" Stefan exclaimed, catching Rodrigo's attention. "Jasmine's in danger!"

"Wait, what?!" Rodrigo did a double-take in response.

"She's headed for that island full of dangerous birds!" Stefan revealed, propping one foot on a rock and dramatically pointing to the river nearby. "But if we go downstream, we can surely save her!"

"Okay Stefan, you're the best!" Rodrigo shouted. "Let's go save Jasmine!"

The pair raced for a pair of canoes docked close to the campsite and began rowing through the river to rescue Jasmine.

"Thanks for telling me Jasmine was in trouble Stefan, you're such a great guy." Rodrigo complimented Stefan.

"You're welcome Rodrigo." Stefan replied gratefully. "You're pretty great yourself, y'know, great enough for Jasmine to like you."

"You really mean it?" Rodrigo asked eagerly.

"I can tell by the way she looks at," Stefan began, but then he started getting sidetracked by Blue Diamond with the body of a dolphin, a gargantuan pineapple with Yellow Diamond's face on it, and a pair of White Diamond's feet right next to the fruit. "you? Huh?"

"Stefan, is something the matter?" Rodrigo asked Stefan, or rather Steven, who had now replaced Stefan in the dream.

"Oh no, not again!" Steven began panicking as he started to glow pink yet again, not knowing how things ended up like this.

--

As Steven woke up in his bed, he found Peridot standing at the side of his bed, looking very excited at how the experiment went.

"Oh my stars Steven, you did it!" Peridot cheered excitedly. "You just fell asleep and started turning pink, which started happening in the dream! Here, I'll show you!" She then ran over to the TV and began playing Steven's dream again. "Our script, our story, it's on the television and it's wonderful!" she kept on praising. "Not sure what you were going for with that bizarre imagery towards the end but I'll admit, seeing Yellow Diamond's face on a pineapple made me laugh."

Amid Peridot's eagerness, however, Steven then started to get drowsy again.

"Steven, are you okay?" Peridot asked with concern.

"Sorry Peri, just feeling a little off." Steven assured her. "Maybe eating that chili wasn't a great idea."

"Yeah yeah, don't believe everything you read online and all that." Peridot japed. "We got none of the money in the world, and all the time in our hands. Hey, I've got a great idea of my own! Picture this, a mysterious young woman with a teardrop tattoo on her face arrives at the camp because she wants to kidnap Stefan for her own dark designs. But before she can succeed, Pierre from the original Camp Pining Hearts comes in to save the day!"

"Uh, okay then." Steven replied awkwardly while trying to make himself comfortable. "But you're right, let's pull off a do-over. We can try as many times as we want until we get it right."

"Less talking, more sleeping." Peridot pushed a star-shaped pillow into Steven's chest and forced him onto his mattress before pulling his eyelids down.

--

Every time Steven went to sleep, he was back to canoeing with Rodrigo to rescue Jasmine. And every time, Rodrigo was replaced in his canoes by some very unexpected characters.

The first time this happened, Rodrigo was suddenly replaced by Dogcopter, of all things. As Dogcopter flew off using the propeller on his back, Stefan reached out to the flying canine before Steven awakened with bags under his eyes.

The second time, Rodrigo's place was taken by Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. The three Gems then flew away from Stefan just like Dogcopter did, and Stefan cried out for them before Steven woke up yet again, and the bags were starting to get darker.

The third time, Rodrigo didn't disappear. Instead, he started getting more unnerved as Spinel's massive Injector was present in the background, and Stefan was suddenly replaced with Steven as a baby.

Suddenly, a young woman with a teardrop tattoo on her face, just like what Peridot had described, snatched the baby Steven from the canoe with a maniacal laugh before Pierre, who now looked like he had green-lensed glasses and triangular hair, boldly stepped in and stood up to the woman.

Steven once again woke up, his baggy eyes now at their darkest, while Peridot just sighed in defeat.

--

The next morning, Steven sat down to some cereal and milk in the kitchen when Peridot suddenly appeared with a big stack of papers in front of her. "Uh, what's all this?"

"I've concluded that a script just wasn't working!" Peridot proudly announced. "So I've decided to take a more visual approach and made a whole series of storyboards for us to use! Besides, I've seen tons of cartoons use more storyboards than scripts, for better or for worse."

"You made all of these in one night?' Steven gasped in amazement at the triangular Gem's feat while looking through the storyboards.

"Duh, I'm good at everything!" Peridot bragged. "Now please study these in preparation for tonight."

"Hey, I got a question." Steven said while putting out one of the storyboards that featured the same tattooed woman from his dream. "Who's this girl, and why does Pierre look so much like you now?"

"Uh, that's Marine, Pierre's new arch-foe!" Peridot answered, awkwardly twiddling her fingers and looking in every conceivable direction. "She is totally not based on anyone we've met before."

"Are you sure?" Steven asked suspiciously while flicking through more storyboards featuring Marine. "Cause her haircut and location of her tattoo kinda reminds me of Aq-" Suddenly, he stopped to discover a new storyboard of Stefan having a romantic moment with Jasmine. "Wait, why is Stefan kissing Jasmine?"

"It's perfect!" Peridot yelled eagerly. "Right as Rodrigo is about to save Stefan from this reverse damsel in distress situation, he discovers that Jasmine got to him first, and they're already kissing too! Imagine, Jasmine defying gender clichés to save Stefan, unaware that they're stroking the fires of Rodrigo's jealousy!"

"I can't do Rodrigo this dirty!" Steven objected to the idea. "It's not only a betrayal of the friendship we gave him and Stefan, but it's also poor romantic drama too!"

"Whoa, take it easy Steven, they're just characters. No need to become so addicted to their love lives!" Peridot tried to excuse herself. "This is a story, and a good story needs conflict!"

"No, I still don't want to do this!" Steven declared angrily, startling Peridot before she came to an understanding.

"Look Steven, I can see you're pretty worn out from last night." Peridot said sadly as she began to get up and walk away. "Let's just scrap the whole project."

"What?" Steven replied in shock.

"There's really no point in continuing if it stresses you out that much." Peridot sighed as she grabbed the door handle. "Besides, I got classes to teach at Little Homeworld anyway."

But when Peridot was close to opening the front door and leaving the house, a flash of pink convinced Steven to change his mind. "No, wait!" he exclaimed, stopping the little Gem in her tracks. "I'll do the scene."

"Really?!" Peridot turned back with a cute smile and stars in her eyes.

"Anything to make you happy." Steven replied wearily. Though he was happy that Peridot was happy, he let out a heavy sigh as he was forced to put his friends before himself yet again.

--

"Oh no, that dastardly Marine has Stefan captured!" Rodrigo cried as he quickly rowed downstream to save his dear friend. "Jasmine said she's going to help him, but I haven't heard from her since!"

But just as Rodrigo finished his sentence, he finally found Stefan and Jasmine safe from harm, while Marine was left tied up beside them.

"You won't get away with this Stefan!" Marine yelled before she noticed Rodrigo, and had another fiendish idea in the works. "Hey Rodrigo, look! Your best friend's a cheater!"

"What?!" Rodrigo exclaimed, staring straight at Stefan and Jasmine kissing passionately. "Stefan, how could you?!"

"Rodrigo, this isn't what it looks like!" Stefan cried to Rodrigo in Steven's voice, but he wasn't there. And neither were Jasmine and Marine. And right before Stefan was a very angry-looking Connie. "Connie?"

Suddenly, Connie began to grow into the size of a giant and then turned into Obsidian. Stefan meanwhile was turned back into Steven as the Connie-Obsidian hybrid raised a foot and lowered it to crush him.

--

Steven then woke up in his old room wearing his old pajamas. Just like in the real world, Peridot remained by his side watching the television, but she was eerily silent, a far cry from her usual smug and loud yet cheerful nature.

"Peridot, my dreams are going nuts!" Steven informed Peridot while getting out of bed and walking over to her. "First everyone disappeared, then Jasmine turned into Connie, and she tried to squish me which is how I ended up here!" However, Peridot said nothing and continued facing the television. "Peridot?" Steven asked as he grabbed the green Gem's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

When Steven turned Peridot to face him, her visor and gem were now filled with SMPTE color bars and her expression showed no emotion at all. Steven's old bedroom abruptly vanished, and his PJs turned into his normal clothes as he noticed Peridot emotionlessly marching towards the beach house from the dream he woke up from the previous day. "Peridot!"

"Oh, poor little Steven." A familiar bratty voice called to Steven as he chased after Peridot. From the clouds came Aquamarine, still as haughty as ever and now in possession of her wand once more. "Don't you see? It's all her fault that I kidnapped you, that you had to learn all those horrible things about your mother! And yet not once did her blatant betrayal ever come up again."

"You don't know Peridot like I do, you little twerp!" Steven yelled at Aquamarine as he gained on Peridot, who was about to open the front door. "She's changed ever since we first met. She once tried to kill me like every other Gem who's ever antagonized me, but now she's become so sweet and funny!"

"Oh please, just because you like her now doesn't mean you should completely forget about all the ways she's harmed you." Aquamarine taunted before she restrained Steven with a tractor beam, but his iron will allowed him to resist as he tried to stop Peridot.

"Please Peri, don't go in there!" Steven strained from resisting the tractor beam and reached out to Peridot. "I still really want to hang out with you!" Just then, the floor disappeared beneath Steven and Peridot just like in the earlier dream. Peridot seemingly floated in midair while Steven leaped to the edge of the porch and continued reaching out to her, as the front of the house turned into color bars as well. "We always had something to fix together! The Cluster, the Diamonds, Spinel, but I don't know how I can be anyone's friend without something to fix!"

"Why can't you just surrender already?!" Aquamarine yelled as she tried to reel Steven in like a fish. "Your suffering is all because of her, and she's felt so worthless because of you!" Unfortunately for her, the tractor beam broke and the small, flying Gem was catapulted away from the pair. "We'll meet again brat!"

"I-I just can't do it anymore!" Steven cried to Peridot, unaware of the dream version of Aquamarine's failure to catch him. "I'm just so tired, and now I'm even trying to fix something in my dreams!" He soon started to cry as he got closer to Peridot. "I'm sorry I can't do this for you! Just please don't leave me!"

Peridot remained stoic as Steven kept on grasping for her. "Don't…leave."

The dream ended just like a VHS tape being removed from a VCR before a muffled voice began calling for Steven.

--

"Steven? Steven!"

Steven was suddenly shook awake with tears in his eyes, and he discovered Peridot leaning over him crying just as much.

"I saw everything Steven, and yes, it is true!" Peridot admitted sorrowfully. "A good reason why I was using your dreams is because I never got over how you were kidnapped because of me! I was so worried the other Gems would declare me a traitor, but they never bothered to bring it up. You know what, we don't have to do this anymore!" Steven then gave her a tight hug. "I don't care about the show anymore, or Rodrigo especially! I just want what's best for you! I'm such a clod!"

"It's okay Dottie, it's okay." Steven comforted his green pal. "I kind of knew something was up when you first mentioned Marine and Pierre, but I didn't know you've bottling this up for so long."

"I know, it's so unhealthy of me." Peridot wept. "I just needed something to vent with, so that's why I wanted to spend time with you. It's okay if you don't want an excuse to hang out anymore."

"But I do want to keep hanging out." Steven assured Peridot. "With or without all this trauma. We're friends, right?"

"I guess you're right." Peridot smiled sadly.

"You still want to watch CPH together," Steven offered. "even if it's terrible?"

In response, Peridot took off her visor and began wiping some tears, shedding the mask she had kept up for her entire stay. "Of course."

--

"How could you lie to me like this Rodrigo?!" Jasmine yelled crossly at her love interest while Steven and Peridot laughed as it all went down. "I bet you just can't help being an awful person!"

"You just buried a dead body Jasmine, and you're getting mad at Rodrigo for cheating at cards?!" Peridot cackled, pounding her fist on the floor. "Some protagonist you turned out to be! Oh my stars, this show is the worst!"

"This show is the best." Steven smiled contently before the pair leaned up against each other with smiles on their faces.

--

Like I said, wasted opportunity for more Peridot development. And yes my friends, that United Defenders of the World show was a total middle finger to dark & edgy teen drama reboots of family-friendly properties with fans of all ages. It happened to Archie, it happened to Winx Club and it's even gonna happen to the Powerpuff Girls soon. But I'm getting off topic, this was a pretty fun chapter to write since I love Peridot so much and she has an incredible dynamic with Steven. Speaking of green Gems, next chapter goes into original territory once again as we finally shine a light on a corrupted Gem that's seemingly been erased from existence come Future. That's right Nephrite, come on down!

[huntsman-ash]

RWBY V8E5 LiveThoughts

And now for the last episode before the HUGE break they’re taking. Seriously, February? Damn, whats going on at RT?

It matters not. Lets see what this weeks episode has for us.

And here we see Aminety Colloseum, the place that Atlas SHOULD have weaponized the moment it rolled its way back here. Seriously look at it; floating free away from everything else...you could mount missile launchers and laser batteries and CIWS batteries on it, launch fighters from it, let dropships deploy through its base...a floating aircraft carrier of unprecidented size.

Or maybe turn it into a weapon...use its drive system to focus Dust energy into some kind of gravitational force...thats just me though.

Missed oppertunites...ah well.

You CAN see its been adjusted though, it looks less like the sports arena from its last apperance and more like a floating coms hub, with those dishes on the outside and the huge spire.

Intersetingly if you look in the upper right corner the moon is there but almost completely covered by the storm Salem summoned. Interesting.

Wait why is PEITRO out there? With like...no supports? Seems kinda dangerous to send the weak old dude out there...

...thats a bomb. A Dust bomb in pipe bomb style form but thats very much a bomb.  Yes, Penny, danger indeed.

Atmospheric orbit. Ahhh that must be the low-level orbit path that they need to ensure it doesnt loose power. The part where you coast along with almost no drag.  Like what the X-15 hit in our world, and punched through at least once.

WAIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT. Thats some kind of loader mech. THATS A FUCKING UTILITY TITAN. WHEN DID ATLAS GET ONE OF THOSE?!

Also thats a jet engine.

And Maria’s piloting it. To quote Daimon Baird; I know wha thappens when you let an angry chick loose with a power loader.

Multiple bombs...wait. Thats the mine that RWBY fought in with the Aces, the one that almost blew the fuck up. They’re... Oh. I get it now. They’re gonna use the blast to fling Amneity into upper orbit and stabalize it. Clever. Not exactly SAFE, but clever. Just hope the mine doesnt go anywhere important. Those tunnels are going to turn into firestorms.

Cute, she thinks she can stay and help. Trust me, Penny. You’re better off running.

MARIA CASUALLY DOING THE MEXICAN GRANDMOTHER THING WITH HER MECH...THE HIP HAND. MY GOD.

Oh, and his chair has gravity restraints too. They...gonna handle the impact of the launch? I mean thats literally a fuel/air bomb under them. Dust/air...

Well Maria seems alright with it.

OH GOD DAMMIT. Its Cinder isnt it? Fucking bitch...

On the positive side if she DOES hitch a ride then they get a chance to give her the ol’ “Long fall special”.  Lets see your maiden powers save you from a fall from near orbit.

Well then, she burned right through the floor. Interesting. Maiden powers or her own, who knows...I do admit seeing her ride the ship in like that is kinda cool.

The eagerness in Cinders remaining eye interest me. Also, even when using maiden powers, her dead eye emits nothing. So that whole parts just gone. 

Secondary note, I think they’re standing on the...Shade emblem? Shade is the swords I think. Vale is the axes, Atlas is the staff, Havens the lamp. Doubt it means anything.

Ahhh, okay I was gonna say, that launch was...kinda lackluster. But the blast is being used as a BOOST on top of the four existing external thrusters. Like the yellow emergency turbines on the outside of the Pillar of Autumn in the end cutscene of Halo Reach

Dust explodes in its own individual colors. The blast under them looks like a Pride festival.

Also Penny just going WHAP like that amuses me, whereas Cinder just crouches. Guess she knew what was coming.

I dont see how the blast is helping through...maybe its the pressure wave and we cant see it right.

Now THAT is a command and control table!

Based on the image I can see, the map is showing “Atlas Mantle” in the middle in green, Aminety in red to the north, and the whale as its own red marker just off to the west a bit of Atlas/Mantle. So now we know where everything is stationed.

The scales all kindsa weird tho

Ah THERES the G-force. Emeralds literally stuck to the floor.

And because Cinders an unoriginal bitch, fire swords. Im not impressed ot say the least.  On a side note that DOES mean that radiobandit was right about her powers, so theres that. I’d wager this is a combination of her semblance and the maiden abilities.

For those who follow me, Cinder’s blades here are similar in look to what Ash Vulcan can summon, minus the fire. His are more of a cooled obsidian look.  They are, however, as sharp as these are, but much less sturdy. Ex; the one that pins itself to the wall by Penny’s head would have shattered on impact, which Ash uses as a secondary ability. Because no one likes a hundred glass shards in their eyes...

OH HELL YES. Maria with the mech. Now, Cinder...TASTE METAL FIST.

RT...I salute you. Angry mother figure piloting a giant robot screaming “get away from her you bitch”. ALMOST had it. Almost.

What smacked into her though. Neo?

Yes, Neo piloting their escape craft. Interseting.

Emerald looks completely useless and confused and Neo is suddenly very much in a realization shes inside a tin can and MARIA IS OPERATING A GIANT TIN CAN OPENER

Emeralds semblance works on Maria. Interseting, so it must bypass eyes. Effect the brain specifically. Note to self for Chrys on that...

WHY did Neo take Ruby’s form when shes fighting Maria? On that Maria seems very happy to brawl on the ground now. Old habits die hard, I guess.

Additional math note; “broadcasting range” is, by this numerical, 543.523 of...whatever Remnant uses as units. On Earth, the edge of outerspace is almost exactly 100 km, or 62 miles, straight up. So going by that measurement... (Doing the math here hang on)...1 km is equal to 5.43 of Remnants distance units. Lets just say 5.5. Assuming Remnants edge is the same (but everything we’ve seen so far hints that it is, or at least very close)

Alternatively, since we heard klicks used in V4, but miles used in After The Fall, we can assume this is one of those, meaning that either broadcast altitude on Remnant is ABSURDLY HIGH, because 500km is literally 5 times the edge of space on earth, and 540 miles is ALMOST 9 TIMES AS HIGH. Either way Im pretty sure this is the first measurement of Remnants units we’ve seen.

Alternatively alternatively, judging by the arrows we see, these might be required velocity to maintain orbit, which MAY make a bit more sense but it doesnt really fit. Low orbital velocity on earth for example is 17,000 KPH. Even with the math above, theres still a TITANIC difference.

And now we see the numvers going down again because CINDER BURNED A HOLE IN THROUGH ONE OF THE STABALIZERS. Bitch.

Again on th e weaponizing the colleseum; look at all this empty space. They didnt even remove it from when it was a consorse for the festival. You could put SO MANY weapon emplacements...the landing pads are still there!

Oh so now Cinders a Dawnblade from RWBY is she.

And exploding arrows too. Alright then, sure, why not.

Not sure what the point of this little bit was, aside from Penny trying to draw Cinder off and Cinder going back because...evil? Bait for Penny? Who knows. 

Oh yeah, Marias having a GOOD time. Also, Neos face when she gets kicked in it; “NO, NOT THE SANDEL!”

Also the disrespect from Maria. Yes. Suck it, Neo.

Also theres some timeskippage, as there is NOT a 2 minute gap between when we see the clock the first time and when we see it now. I dont think, anyway. Im sure theres math to be done but it serves the purpose its suppose to, for tension.

Uhhhh...Cinder, please. Your Salem’s most bottom of bitches right now. She favors Hazel and Tyrian over you.

Did Cinder really just try for a does not compute moment. Or is she just out of ideas.

Cinder stealing the maiden powers reminds me of the Grip of the Devourer perk from the Necromatic Grips in Destiny 2. Mainly the green energy flowing. I know thats Pennys aura stuff but it does remind me.

Ahhh they got a plan with Emerald then. Interesting. Also Neo taking advantage of a distraction sounds like her. 

And Penny ONESHOTS Neo. Lets be real here, without aura? She’d be LIQUID. Or maybe ash. Not sure how Penny’s funnels (THEYRE STILL FUCKING FUNNELS DAMMIT) works.

Annnnddd you forgot shes a robot and sees aura didn’t you.  Again, without aura, she’d be dead. Actually, she might legit be dead considering that scream. That sounds like the noise someone makes as their organs are fried by high intensity radiation. Not too mention the MASSIVE BURN MARK on the back wall there.

Either way; GET FUCKED BITCH.

Very dramatic, Emerald, but really, come on. Penny has lasers. You would get maybe one more shot (from a weapon that has, at best from my viewpoint) a caliber equal to MAYBE a 9mm pistol. That stuff doesnt have the penetration power required.

If Penny wasn’t nice and more interested in saving Peitro...you’d be dead. Ripped asunder and Cinder made even worse. 

A pity, really, Penny has a heart. But...hey. Real girl.

I feed upon Emeralds tears though. Mmm. Simpy.

What the HELL is hitting them. Grimm?

Oh boy here we go, more of this. Like...bruh. Just set down for a bit. Always gotta be dramatic dont ya

Aww. Touching. But pointless in the grand scheme of things.

Interesting note but she puts her gloved hand on his cheek, not the one with the glove burned off. For what thats worth again.

Holy shit, that map wasnt lying. That whale’s almost as big as Atlas is from this angle. Mind you, might just be a trick of the location but it would make sense if they were afraid of a Grimm THAT GOD DAMN BIG. I was just seeing it as like, about the size of a normal sperm whale, maybe as big as the Leviathan from the series of the same name, but even that was barely 150 feet long. This things HUGE.

Nope. Pretty sure its about the same size as Atlas is long.

Also the Moon seems smaller from this angle oddly enough.

Wait is she gonna superman this fucking thing?

Okay yes, the numbers were based on distance not velocity, as Penny is pushing the stadium UP, rather than accelerating it in proper stance.

The noises she makes...huh. Glad my sister didnt walk in on those. Sounds...not like someone straining.

Hey look, its clumsy shitface McGee. HES NOT DEAD!

Note about the message; whos the chick with the eye patch next to the faunus in the back left of Ruby.

Im going to assume the first place we see the message played is the Mistral Black Market. Seems fitting for how it is, and the design matches Havens ascetic. 

OH MY GOD THE LITTLE EARED FAUNUS GIRL IN THE HOLE. OH NO. SHES TOO CUTE.

Also in that same shot we see the old Karen from two episodes ago, a mouse girl, Fiona’s mole uncle, and someone new I think. Plus the huge eared girls mom who has a fox tail. And also one of the thirsty moms and her kid maybe?

Hey, Sun and Neptune! Out in the middle of nowhere in Vacuo. So this is the first time we’ve seen it in the show. 

And Ilia’s still alive too!

Hey and Goodwytch too. No voice, of course...she got fired ages ago.

Also hey, so this is where Ironwoods been. I love how Hare turns it off before Ruby finishes. 

I will note that technically Ruby’s not wrong. Ironwood cant be trusted. But then, he couldnt before because (gestures to Atlas’s pathetic, scraggy SOFT “military” instead of THE CHAD FORCES OF...uh...) (Rapid sounds of shuffling papers and files labeled “UNSC” “Coalition of Ordered Governments” “SRPA” “GAR” and “Yukon Confederacy” fly off the table)

Several others. Yes. Lets go with that. (Accidentally bumps paper labeled “Vanguard” off the desk)

Watts is back out I see too. 

Wait wait wait. Penny’s blades operate via chips...part of her, sure. So WHY does she need wires on them? AGAIN. WHY ARE THEY WIRE FUNNELS AND NOT SEPERATE ONES.

Interestingly the inside of the one Watts has resembles a Scroll...did Peitro commender that technology?

No focusing system for the laser. No chamber for acceleration or direction. Odd.

Salem looks oddly glad for this. Probably cause she thinks this is going to spread more fear. 

And Ruby gets to the heart of the deal. You dont beat something that cant be killed. You capture it. Hurt it. BREAK IT. A sentient being can only take so much punishment before it shatters into madness and controllable fragments. You just. Need. To. Hit. It. HARD. ENOUGH. 

Additionally Ruby’s got a point there too. Salem played the shadows until this moment when everything was going her way. So...whats she afraid of.

Annnnddd thats all it takes to hijack Penny? Seriously.

Fuckin god damn useless Atlas bullshit fucking...(LONG SUFFERING SIGH OF A TECH NERD)

Hey theres Taiyang. Where’s Raven?

Wait hold on a second. She catches fire literally two seconds after she falls? You gotta fall a bit more than that for shit to start happening. WHAT THE FUCK IS REMNANTS ATMOSPHERE?! Or is it just dramatic...

Also as a small note the way the coms between her and Peitro cut off like that is accurate to reentry; during the hottest part of a splashdown, a space craft creates such a huge trail of energy behind it, rattling and burning its way down, it creates a blackout with its own passage. So based on the massive Apollo style reentry fire cone shes already putting out shes most likely going to be out of coms until she slows down orrrrrr craters into Remnants surface with the force of a meteor. 

And no. I dont think shes dead. The fact that, DESPITE being surrounded by the kind of fireball that worked its way into the fueltank of the space shuttle Discovery and blew it and its crew to bits on reentry, she was still intact...shes probably going to be fine.

Hacked, certainly, but fine. It takes more than that to finish her. Besides now that shes hacked, she has to fight Ruby. We all want that right?

Ahh good to see Winter in full armor now. Or...close to it. Im sure some of its a support rig for her injuries but I like to think this is the start of Atlas’s Specialist Weaponization Program.

Ironwood makes a good call here. Same thought process as mine.

Salutes in this world are the same as ours. Interesting. Must change that for the HKs

Annnndd of course Watts steals the busted Scroll because IRONWOOD IS A FUCKING DUMBASS

...um.

Im...not even going to COMMENT on what the FUCK this thing is that Jaunes detachment found. 

Also why is there A TREE in the tundra?

Oh, caustic. Interesting.

Mmmm. (Pause. Fingers to lips)

Thats your plan, Salem? To literally leak liquid Grimm into Mantle.

More silence.

Ladies and gentlemen...Salem is, officially, THE WORST VILLAN. OF ALL TIME.

The level of incompetence and stupidity I have seen here today completely obliterates the LAST person to hold that title, President Snow from the Hunger Games.

The amount of unnececary back door work and seecret plotting here astounds me. Shes doing this because she can, Im SURE of it. Theres no other reason.

Unless...she kows in a straight out fight, she’d have Ironwoods metal arm up to her colon in seconds. Which I wouldnt be surprised about.

Either way uh...thats it. Thats the end of the episode. 

Nice fight, at least.

See you all in Febuary!

EDIT: NOT FEBUARY, the break is a few more episodes after this

[jjungkooksthighs]

BTS BE ALBUM REVIEW

So, I have seen reviews on albums done before and I wanted to get my thoughts out somewhere. This little thing came into being because of that!

First off, I would definitely recommend BE for those who are struggling. It is a good source of comfort, for sure, if you are going through a rough time and I can understand how others would love this album as I have already seen. I think the boys put in work for this one and it definitely shows! I’m especially proud of Kook for his directing skills in the MV. It was very well done and I am so glad he seemed to have had a good time doing that as he stated in the Global Press Conference yesterday!

BE is a very interesting album in terms of the styles of the songs with three of the eight being retro-themed (Dynamite, Telepathy and Dis-ease) with the other three being slower and more melancholy (Life Goes On, Blue and Grey and Fly To My Room). Personally, I liked 7 better than this one, but that is just my opinion! I have seen lots of other people on Tumblr commenting their favorite songs off BE amongst other loving praises that I’ve come across and I think that is wonderful.

For me, though, I will say that Life Goes On definitely caught me off guard as I wasn’t expecting that style of song at all. Despite that, the fact that my bias directed this MV was something very unique that I really enjoyed seeing. If words would embody this song, I would choose succor’s solace as the epitome of this track. It is relief rolled into audio and it is such a gift to have a song like this in the hard times that we have been attacked with. It is soft yet firm in its tone and both balance each other very well to coalesce into a very comforting song. 

 This is certainly a song that you’d listen to on the way home from work after a long day or while you’re in the midst of studying, doing schoolwork or even at home working on assignments or tasks for your job. It is also something you’d listen to when you feel like the problems and struggles you face are just too much and need to be reminded that, per the song’s title, life continues on and that we must push forward to enjoy the little things and the big. I liked this track the most, I think. I myself am facing some things in my life right now and the core message of this song resonated deeply with me. To that end, this track is every bit the comfort song they intended it to be and this song, along with Spring Day, sit at the same table for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Fly To My Room’s mellow beat is something that I think would be a great listen at night after the trials and woes of the day and it was interesting to see sope/vmin in the same track and how those two subunits meshed together to create something entirely new and unseen before.

Blue and Grey... this one sounded familiar to me and it took me all but two seconds to realize where I had heard it before. This is the same song that Taehyung teased in Bon Voyage when he was sitting in the canoe out on the lake. The song sounded so very different in this rendition and I was very surprised to see this song in the album when I had originally thought it would be in Tae’s mixtape! 

This is definitely a song you listen to in the rain and when the sun has been masked by the clouds in the sky. It is also a song you’d listen to once the sun has set and you walk outside just to have some fresh air and reminisce either about the past or to think on the stresses of your present. I think this track has the power to ease both and that is a powerful thing, indeed.

Telepathy I really liked! I think the upbeat form of this one definitely was a nice break from the slow beat of the first three songs on the album and, because this one is BTS’s love letter to ARMY, I think that is a very special thing that we as their fans should cherish in their thought towards us during the times that have befallen us and taken from us (and them) their ability to see us beyond a screen. I think the flow of the song is perfect and the flux of the voices of the members works very well for the positive energy they are trying to instill in it. From beginning of this song, when I heard it, I knew I was going to like it. It had a starry, celestial vibe to it and for some reason, when I hear it, I think of shooting stars that fly through the night sky. 

True to that image, this is a song you’d listen to when you’re with friends to recall the bonds you make with those closest to you (and those farthest from you) no matter where in the world they are. This is a song you’d also listen to to PARTY PARTY, YEAH! (I’m sorry, but ever since I heard that from Kook, it has been living in my mind rent free) In any case, this is a nice song to uplift you and would also be good to put on after a bad day so that you can look back on all the good things life despite the bad. That message is a very strong one, indeed, so that definitely makes this song a favorited one for me.

As an English major at my university, the title of Dis-ease was interesting as someone that often studies semantics and semiotics in language and literature. It was intriguing to see that they chose to deconstruct the word of disease and split it into its alternative form to convey an entirely new meaning from what one might assume the word means at first glance. While they could have chosen to name the song DISEASE, which is a word associated with sickness, illness or an ailing, afflicted health condition that most link with weakness and feebleness, BTS decided to utilize a play on words and use an older version of the word that now has two different meanings linked with it, I found it fascinating that they named the song what they did, for dis-ease was often used in the past to denote a lack of ease or absence of relief in an individual.

 It was only later that the word was changed once individuals started tagging health related conditions with actual infections or maladies when viruses and mental illnesses began to gain a name for themselves in the colonizing world. Ironically enough, the word dis-ease is now used by medical practitioners in healing environments for individuals that are on the road to eudemonia or betterment of themselves and the word is purposefully used to endow awareness of compromised health on a singular cause or root.

I don’t think I need to explain why that is significant in the scheme of the situation that our world has come to, but I shall say it anyway: this is meaningful in that BTS decides to fight back and combat the negativity that would threaten to swallow them (and those who listen and internalize the lyrics of the song for themselves and thusly feel the message they are trying to give to us) to instead grapple and wrestle with it by loudly bringing attention to it rather than allowing it to silently consume and germinate within them. This, for me, was very empowering to hear and is one of the many reasons why I appreciate this song in particular amongst the lyrics that target and attack the “diseases” that would try to take from us our wellbeing. The track is a battle cry to keep fighting and that, in it of itself, is a very powerful thing that strikes very deep within me. The bridge at the end with Kook and Jimin, by the way… literal EARGASM, MA’AM. Anyway, this is a song that you’d listen to in the morning to get yourself hype for the day. It is something you’d put on in the desire to boost your spirits if they are low and honestly could be listened to in any situation.

Lastly, we have Stay. This subunit of NamKookJin was certainly a pleasant surprise to me! Kook’s involvement in writing this track doesn’t go unnoticed in the emotion that is present in his voice (amongst Joon and Jin, of course), but there’s also something about this song that goes straight for the heartstrings in the pledge of continued loyalty that is subliminal in its subtlety. I adored this song and this track’s EDM style was a wonderful finale of the album in its summation that there are low points in life (as the first few tracks suggest) and that there are high points and life. I think that through this song, the three boys who sang in it were wonderful in their energy that was so vibrant.

 It was wonderful to hear the three of them meld together in a unit that also was unlike what we have heard before. I know the song must have meant a lot to the three of them because Joon is Kook’s role model as he has stated many times and to sing with one’s idol would certainly be a powerful thing, indeed. The fact that Jin was in it too much have had so much meaning for Kook since Jin is like a brother to him and took care of him (and honestly, he still does, let’s be real) when he was younger.

The song’s lyrics themselves reach out to the ARMY that Jungkook said the song was meant for in his, Joon’s and Jin’s efforts to remind us that, as their fans, they hope that we will always remain with them and that they know the times are going to change for the better. I enjoyed this song very much and it would definitely be a song you’d listen to be reminded of the love that BTS has for you and that despite everything, you will always have a place with them even if you feel lost in the world around you. I think a situation you’d put this on would be when you are need just that extra bit of confidence to get you through an anxiety inducing time whether it be a test for school or even a meeting for work.

With all of this in mind, my favorite songs are as follows: Dis-ease, Telepathy, Stay and Life Goes On. It is hard to pick a favorite among those four, but those were my most liked tracks for sure!

Overall, I think the album definitely is one meant to soothe the soul and the boys have succeeded in that without fail. It is clear that the boys worked hard on this and their efforts were not vain! This is an album that I think we all needed to close out a tough year and it took me some to get all my thoughts together, but now that I have listened to the whole album once again, I’m liking it more with each time I hear it. It is always amazing to me how BTS continues to do what no one else does: letting their genuine feelings shine through their music that inspires light in so many. I am proud of each and every one of them and they deserve some hard earned rest after their efforts!

[johnrossbowie]

LEAVING TWITTER

I wrote this earlier in the fall, before the election, after dissolving my Twitter account. I wasn’t sure where to put it (“try up your ass!” – someone, I’m sure) and then I remembered I have a tumblr I never use. Anyway, here tis.

How do you shame someone who thinks Trumps’ half-baked policies and quarter-baked messaging put him in the pantheon of great Presidents? How do you shame someone so lacking in introspection that they will call Obama arrogant while praising Trump’s decisiveness and yet at the same time vehemently deny that they’re racist? How do you shame someone for whom that racism is endearing and maybe long overdue?

You don’t. It’s silly to think otherwise.

Twitter is an addiction of mine, and true to form, my dependence on it grew more serious after I quit drinking in 2010. At first it was a chance to mouth off, make jokes both stupid and erudite and occasionally stick my foot in my mouth (I owe New Yorker writer Tad Friend an apology. He knows why, or (God willing) he’s forgotten. Either way. Sorry.) I blew off steam, steam that was accumulating without booze to dampen the flames. Not always constructive venting, but I also met new friends, and connected with people whose work I’ve admired for literal decades and ended up seeing plays with Lin-Manuel Miranda and hanging backstage with Jane Wiedlin after a Go-Go’s show and exchanging sober thoughts with Mike Doughty. When my mom passed in 2018, a lot of people reached out to tell me they were thinking of me. This was nice. For a while, Twitter was a huge help when I needed it.

I used to hate going to parties and really hated dancing and mingling, but a couple of drinks would fix that. Point is, for a while, booze was a huge help, too.

But my engagement with Twitter changed, and I started calling people my ‘friends’ even though I’d never once met them or even heard their voices. These weren’t even penpals, these were people whose jokes or stances I enjoyed, so with Arthurian benevolence I clicked on a little heart icon, liked their tweet, and assumed therefore that we had signed some sort of blood oath.

We had not. I got glib, and cheap, and a little lazy. And then to make matters much worse, Trump came along and extended his reach with the medium.

There was a while there where I thought I could be a sort of voice for the voiceless, and I thought I was doing that. I tried very hard to only contribute things that I felt were not being said – It wasn’t accomplishing anything to notice “Haha Trump looks like he’s bullshitting his way through an oral report” – such things were self-evident. I tried to point out very specific inconsistencies in his policies, like the Muslim ban meant to curb terrorism that still favored the country that brought forth 13 of the 9/11 hijackers. Like his full-throated cries against media bias performed while he suckled at Roger Ailes’ wrinkly teat.  Like his fondness for evangelical votes that coincided with a scriptural knowledge that lagged far behind mine, even though I’m a lapsed Episcopalian, and there is no one less religiously observant than a lapsed Episcopalian. But that eventually gave way to unleashing ad hominem attacks against his higher profile supporters, who I felt weren’t being questioned enough, who I felt were in turn being fawned over by theirdim supporters. If you’re one of these guys, and you think I’m talking about you, you’re probably right, but don’t mistake this for an apology. You suck, and you support someone who sucks, and your idolatry is hurting our country and its standing in the world. Fuck you entirely, but that’s not the point. The point is that me screaming into the toilet of Twitter helps no one – it doesn’t help a family stuck at the border because they’re trying to secure a better life for their kids. It doesn’t help a poor teenager who can’t get an abortion because the party of ‘small government’ has squeezed their tiny jurisdiction into her uterus. It doesn’t help the coal miner who’s staking all his hopes on a dying industry and a President’s empty promises to resurrect it. I was born in New York City, and I currently live in Los Angeles. Those are the only two places I’ve ever lived, if you don’t count the 4 years I spent in Ithaca[1]. So, yes, I live in a liberal bubble, and while I’ve driven across the country a couple of times and did a few weeks in a touring band and am as crushed as any heartlander about the demise of Waffle House, you have me dead to rights if you call me a coastal elitist. And with that in mind, I offer few surprises. A guy who grew up in the theater district and was vehemently opposed to same-sex marriage or felt you should own an AR-15? THAT would be newsworthy. I am not newsworthy. I can preach to the choir, I can confirm people’s biases, but I will likely not sway anyone who is eager to dismiss a Native New Yorker who lives in Hollywood. I grew up in the New York of the 1970s, and that part of my identity did shape my politics. My mom’s boss was gay and the Son of Sam posed a realistic threat. As such, gays are job creators[2] and guns are used for homicide much more often than they are used for self-defense[3]. I have found this to be generally true over the years, and there’s even data to back it up.

“But Mr. Bowie,” you might say, though I insist you call me John - “those studies are conducted by elitist institutions and those institutions suck!” And again, I am not going to reason with people who will dismiss anything that doesn’t fit their limited world view as elitist or, God Help Us, fake news. But the studies above are peer-reviewed, convincing, and there are more where those came from.

“But John,” you might say, and I am soothed that we’re one a first name basis - “Can’t you just stay on Twitter for the jokes?” Ugh. A) apparently not and B) the jokes are few and far between, and I am 100% part of that problem.

I have stuff to offer, but Twitter is not the place from which to offer it.

After years of academically understanding that Twitter is not the real world, Super Tuesday 2020 made the abstract pretty fucking concrete. If you had looked at my feed on the Monday beforehand – my feed which is admittedly curated towards the left, but not monolithic (Hi, Rich Lowry!) – you’d have felt that a solid Bernie surge was imminent, but also that your candidate was going surprise her more vocal critics. When the Biden sweep swept, when Bernie was diminished and when Warren was defeated, I realized that Twitter is not only not the real world, it’s almost some sort of Phillip K. Dickian alternate timeline, untethered to anything we’re actually experiencing in our day to day life. This is both good news and bad news – one, we’re not heading towards a utopia of single payer health care and the eradication of American medical debt any time soon, but two, we’re also not being increasingly governed by diaper-clad jungen like Charlie Kirk. Clouds and their linings. Leaving Twitter may look like ceding ground to the assclowns but get this – the ground. Is not. There.

It’s just air.

There are tangible things I can do with my time - volunteer with a local organization called Food On Foot, who provide food and job training for people experiencing homelessness here in my adopted Los Angeles. I can give money to candidates and causes I support, and I can occasionally even drop by social media to boost a project or an issue and then vanish, like a sort of Caucasian Zorro who doesn’t read his mentions. I can also model good behavior for my kids (ages 10 and 13) who don’t need to see their father glued to his phone, arguing about Trumps incompetence with Constitutional scholars who have a misspelled Bible verse in their bio (three s’ in Ecclesiastes, folks).

So farewell Twitter. I’ll miss a lot of you. Perhaps not as badly as I miss Simon Maloy and Roger Ebert and Harris Wittels and others whose deaths created an unfillable void on the platform. But I won’t miss the yelling, and the lionization of poor grammar, and anonymous trolls telling my Jewish friends that they were gonna leave the country “via chimney.” I will not miss people who think Trump is a stable genius calling me a “fucktard.” I will not miss transphobia or cancelling but I will miss hashtag games, particularly my stellar work during #mypunkmusical (Probably should have quit after that surge, I was on fire that night, real blaze of glory stuff I mean, Christ, Sunday in the Park with the Germs? Husker Du I Hear A Waltz? Fiddler on the Roof (keeping an eye out for the cops)? These are Pulitzer contenders.). Twitter makes me feel lousy, even when I’m right, and I’m often right. There’s just no point in barking bumperstickers at each other, and there are people who are speaking truth to power and doing a cleaner job of it – Aaron Rupar, Steven Pasquale, Louise Mensch, Imani Gandy and Ijeoma Oluo to name five solid mostly politically based accounts (Yes, Pasquale is a Broadway tenor. He’s also a tenacious lefty with good points and research and a dreamy voice. You think you’re straight and then you hear him sing anything from Bridges of Madison County and you want him to spoon you.). You’re probably already following those mentioned, but on the off chance you’re not, get to it. You’ll thank me, but you won’t be able to unless you actually have my email.

_______

[1] And Jesus, that’s worse – Ithaca is such a lefty enclave that they had an actual socialist mayor FOR WHOM I VOTED while I was there. And not socialist the way some people think all Democrats are socialist – I mean Ben Nichols actually ran on the socialist ticket and was re-elected twice for a total of six years.

[2] The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, “America’s LGBT Economy” Jan 20th, 2017

[3] The Violence Policy Institute, Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self Defense Gun Use, July 2019.

[raziakhatunblr]

Mass Healing Word 5e- Aid for all Heal FAQ

Mass Healing Word 5e is the best quality game. Many people Playing this game. I hope you are must be satisfied to play this game. Play Now

What is the Mass Healing word in dnd 5e?

Mass Healing Word 5e:

As you call out words of restoration, up to six animals of your choice, which you can see within range, recover Hit Points equal to 1d4 + your Spellcasting Skill modifier. This spell does not affect Undead or Constructs.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell utilizing a spell slot of 4th or higher, the Healing raises by 1d4 for every slot degree over 3rd.

What are the attributes of 5e Mass Healing Word?

Three evocation

Casting Time: 1 bonus action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

Classes: Cleric

How do you compare prayer of healing 5e vs. mass cure wounds?

You can’t use Prayer of Healing in combat, while Mass Healing Word 5e can stop a total party kill if several party members hit 0 HP. The main distinction other than hit points treated is that prayer of Healing has a 10 minute casting time. In comparison, the mass recovery word has a bonus activity casting time.  Play Now

5e Aid vs. Mass Healing Word

Pretty self-explanatory from the title. The Aid 5e spell, in the 3rd level, is a flat +10 current and max hp boost.

I typically have many things happening at once, so long as I’ve had the time to establish how I perform clerics. Suppose I am the storm, which I usually am. In that case, I will have telephone lightning heading (or gust of breeze when we are inside ). And worrying about sacrificing my focus on the throw beacon takes away from what I view as my primary purpose, which is crowd control.

For those times, I am not a tempest cleric. Spirit guardians are my go-to for massive CC; throw into a religious weapon for right action, along with my presence in battle, is felt reasonably hard. I can not stress my celebration is rolling low on a d4, potentially only curing six wellness.

The only real downside I can see to picking Aid 5e over Mass Healing Word 5e is that you can aim half as many folks with it. However, the maximum hp growth lasts for 8 hours, requiring no concentration. It is a watered-down version of mass treatment wounds considering 10hp is the average for a 1st level cast of treatment wounds—15hp at 4th level, 20hp at 5th, etc.

Ideas? I play clerics a whole lot but have only recently gotten on board the Assist train.

5e Blessed healer and Mass Healing Word 5e   Play Now

You will get the Healing for your personality just once with each throw of Mass Healing Word. The wording in 5e is quite explicit:

When you throw a 1st degree or more significant spell, which restores hit points into a monster other than you, you regain hit points equal to 2 + the spell’s level.

What are the 12 best healing spells in dnd 5e?

The list of spells that can cure is very narrow. In reality, I hardly had enough to create this record! However, I rated these 12 spells together with all the following criteria in mind:

That not only contains how many hit points you return but also the number of goals you may choose to heal with this. If two spells can heal for 1d8; however, one has six goals, it is a pretty clear winner usually.

Spells that spend higher spell slots means that you’re generally losing out on other, more significant spells. If you’re able only to throw a single 8th level spell every day, is this recovery charm worth it versus a weaker spell in a higher slot?

Some recovery charms grant additional bonuses, such as treating diseases, regenerating limbs, or giving temporary hit points. All of these factors matter when some spells only heal.

12 best dnd Healing spells:

Healing Word

Everybody's very first healing charm! As a 1st level spell, it won’t be winning any awards anytime soon. However, it does its job nicely. 1d4 plus your Spellcasting Modifier adds another d4 of Healing. Every single spell slot beyond the 1st is fairly on-par for most charms this early in the match. It gets outclassed as the character grows into more advanced magic.

Mass Healing Word 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p.258. One of the first party-wide Healing spells available to Clerics (and only Clerics), Volume Recovery Word doesn’t offer much with only 1d4+ Spellcasting Modifier for up to six goals. And as a 3rd level spell, it’s a pretty hard sell to utilize this over other choices at this level.

Healing Spirit 5e

Source: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything p. 157. A fantastic addition from Xanathar, Healing Spirit, lets you make a tiny moving spirit that heals creatures that pass through it. Or start their turn in precisely the same spot as it for 1d6. It is a flexible spell that lasts for a full moment with concentration. And since it’s a bonus action, you can still cast a cantrip as your routine actions. If you’ve got a Druid or Ranger in your party, it will not hurt to pick up this spell when available.

Cure Wounds 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p.230.Remember that time we dissed Healing Word? Cure Wounds is a spell of the same level and may double the Healing (1d8 vs. 1d4). Cure

Wounds 5e’ downside is a Touch spell, meaning the caster can’t be quite distant from his celebration. That is not too terrible of a drawback, though, since this spell is available to beefier courses, for example, Paladins, Rangers, and Druids, who are more inclined to be on the front line. That allows your Bards and Clerics to hang back and save their charm slots for more excellent choices.

Prayer of Healing 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p.267.Prayer of Healing is one of the first “big” healing spells. Clerics have access to, as another level spell. It is a pretty great heal (out of combat that’s ) that allows you to cure up to six targets for 2d8+your modifier. Plus, as you spend spell slots over the 2nd level, you get an additional d8, allowing the charms to scale pretty well into the subsequent levels. One of the big draws against it’s the very long cast time. Ten minutes makes it unusable in combat. 

Aura of Vitality 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p. 216. This little number provides two of the crucial criteria for a good healing spell: Range, as well as foliage. Any target within 30 feet can find a 2d6 heal as a bonus action, which means a lot since this is a Paladin-only spell. You may have to keep concentration for the duration of the spell (which, let’s be fair, should be relatively straightforward as a Paladin). However, the flexibility and power of the spell are pretty excellent.

Hero’s Feast 5e

Another weird spell is a healing spell, Hero’s Feast. It allows you to summon a making of delicious food for your party that takes an hour to complete. (twelve individuals signifies your DM is most likely yelling after every session). After that hour passes, all participants get 2d10 temporary hit points and heal the same quantity. Hero’s Feast 5e is not a spell you will ever cast in combat (it takes ten minutes to throw it, not to mention that the hour-long Feast). Nonetheless, it offers a beautiful enthusiast to your party before some huge dramatic fight.

 Vampiric Touch 5e

A draining lifestyle does heal you. So this charm makes a list on technicality! Once you connect with this, you get to cope with 3d6 damage and cure for half that sum. Plus, you can make this action over and above for a full minute if it’s possible to maintain concentration in the melee range. The biggest drawback of the Vampiric touch 5e spell is that the range.

Power Word Heal 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p. 266. The most powerful healing spell that D&D offers, Power Word Heal, enables you to heal a target for maximum hit points. And of course, it also removes charmed, frightened, paralyzed, or stunned conditions from the target. So it is pretty rare that this charm helps in any campaign.

Heal 5e

A single target has to cure 70 hit points with no rolls required, only the 6th level spell slot invested in throwing it. As a bonus, it also ends blindness, deafness, and any diseases affecting the goal. It is hard to argue with results like these.

Mass Cure Wounds 5e

The midfield alternative for curing your party, Volume Heal Wounds, provides a reasonably good cure (3d8+ Spellcasting Modifier) for up to six goals, with no casting time! It’s an excellent spell for Bards, Clerics, and Druids that can cast 5th level spells. No casting period, no expensive components, a relatively wide range, and a moderate heel make this among the most significant Healing spells out there.

Regenerate 5e

Source: Player’s Handbook, p.271.In my opinion, the most potent healing spell available in 5th Edition needs to be this one. Regenerate not only enables you to cure for 4d8+15. But the goal also regrows or re-attaches any limbs which were severed (not counting heads, that is an entirely different spell).

On top of this sizable up-front heal, the goal also heals ten hit points every minute. It is for an hour-long duration, for another 60 points healed on top of the initial roll. Bards, Clerics, and Druids have access to this Seventh-degree spell, so any party should get this in time.  Play Now

What is Mass Heal 5e?

A flood of Repairing energy flows from you into hurt creatures around you. You reestablish up to 700 Strike Points, divided as you choose among any number of animals you can see within range. Creatures healed by this spell will also be cured of all Diseases and some other Effect, making them Blinded or Deafened. This charm has no Effect on Undead or Constructs.

What are the attributes of Mass Heal 5e?

The attributes of 5e Mass heal are as follows:

9 TH evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V S

Duration: Instantaneous

Classes: Cleric

A flood of healing energy flows out of you into hurt creatures around you. The creature healed by this spell gets cured of all diseases and any impact that makes them blinded or deafened.

What is Scroll of Mass Healing Word 5e?

Detect Magic Aura

When you see a magical thing while the Detect Magic spell is active, you’ll see certain auras based on the colleges of magic at work from the merchandise. To get a “Scroll of Mass Healing Word 5e,” auras include:

Evocation

It is an ebb and continuous flow of opposing blues and oranges

Scroll of Mass Healing Word 5e:

Attributes of 

Uncommon

Rarity: Very 

Scroll

Type: 

Sanity Category: 

Mainly Consumables

Page Number: 

Aura of Vitality 5e vs. Mass Healing Word 5e

Mass Healing Word is just better than Healing Word if more than 1 PC is down concurrently. That is pretty dire. Depending on your DM and the experience, it’s probably more likely one of those PCs is lifeless. It seems like you need to have run away two rounds ago.

Multiple party members moving down at the same round is rare. Aov has far more curative power over time than MHW (you’re able to keep bonus action-ing it on individuals after the battle ends).

I’d go Aura of Vitality 100% every time.

Cure Wounds is also a bard spell, so if you’ve got that and two go down precisely the same round, you could always Heal Wounds one and AoV another. You’ll lose your principal actions, unlike MHW, however, in that rare situation. It’s well worth it, and also, for the other 99% of adventuring, AoV will give you a lot more bang for your healing buck.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Roxanne

I cannot believe that the first sync pair to get an EX after the common grid war was Roxanne.  You know.  The best common.  It’s legitimately hilarious.  I really like Roxanne, she’s one of my favorites, so we’re going to go over her a bit more in-depth for her EX.  Not that a ton has changed, but enough that it’s worth discussing.

General Overview Roxanne is a common blessed with one of the best traits of any unit in the game, and a horrific flaw that constantly holds her back.

Roxanne’s strength is well known: trainer move buffs Special Attack and Speed at the same time.  This is exceptionally powerful, and a trait nothing else shares.  While Roxanne has no potential to cap crit, the further we get into the game, the more offensive units tend to cap crit by themselves anyway.  Which has only improved Roxanne’s abilities.  Add to it that she can have Barricade Buddies on her trainer move, and shifts into X Def All, Roxanne covers four stats reliably.  Wide Guard is also quite powerful, blocking an AoE hit for either late-game CS, or against Sure Crits in Gauntlet stages.  Even at one use, its utility is significant.

Roxanne’s weakness is her pathetic bulk.  Which is weird, because the defensive stats are quite respectable.  It’s her HP that’s sad.  Really sad.  At 20/20, she hits 294 in both defensive stats, but only 524HP.  That is staggeringly low.  With no recovery options, Roxanne tends to get run over pretty easily.  Endurance helps her survive in CS against offensive parameters.  In Gauntlet, she can take weaker hits more reliably, but not for too long.  In every scenario, Roxanne’s emphasis is on quick clears.  If her allies don’t have the power to clean up shop, Roxanne’s team is likely to fail.

This is where the EX comes in handy.  Support EX grants double sync bonus, doubling all damage for the match.  Roxanne loves having this, as it partners especially well with high DPS units.  This includes general move damage, but as I’m learning with more options available, Max Moves are notable as well for a delete button on center when necessary.  That said, allies have to be able to reliably cap their own crit rate, which means someone like Leon, whose self-setup is butt, will not be particularly helpful.

Another quick note on Roxanne: low HP or offenses can be played around with careful teambuilding, thanks to Theme Skills.  The main one to always note is your type, which gives Roxanne a whole +60.  A Tech pair can also grant +24, which does put her above 600HP.  Add in gear, and she’s starting to look a bit more respectable.  Thing is, Roxanne’s in a rough position, because there’s only two Rock-type damage dealers that operate on special.  One of them is a mega evolution, the other can’t cap crit.  So offensive partners are rarely in her own type.  Thankfully, for Gauntlet purposes at least, Roxanne has received a wonderful tool in Lodge Steven, who can debuff special defense while kicking off three of her theme skills at once.  This is a really nice partnership that...unfortunately doesn’t work for offensive Steven because he can’t cap his crit.  Thanks, DeNA!

Team 1: Roxanne, May/Lodge Steven, Archie I feel like I would be remiss not to mention the OG.  Archie, once the god-king of the meta, was considered such because of Roxanne in particular.  Hoenn Pride gave a ton of extra firepower behind his attacks, and Roxanne was capable of boosting his needed special attack, and his gauge control through speed.  May is the original connection, thanks to her own ability to abuse Rain and kick off Archie theme skills, though Lodge Steven (or even Lodge May) are alternatives that give full Hoenn Pride benefits.  The reason this team is so relevant is that Roxanne’s EX is ideal for Archie.  Archie’s sync sucks, it has very little in its favor, but his move damage is tremendous.  Getting double damage buffs from Roxanne is pure upside for him.

Team 2: Roxanne, Giovanni/Ghetsis/Cyrus, Erika/Thorton/Winona Roxanne is notable for how well she synergizes with some of the big names in F2P: Giovanni, Ghetsis, and Cyrus.  All of them are pretty reliable at getting to capped crit now, but either need full offense support otherwise (Giovanni), have horrendous gauge issues (Ghetsis), or would really like to not shred their own HP to cap offenses (Cyrus).  Erika is a solution for Giovanni; her Energy Ball On a Roll helps set up his multipliers.  Thorton helps with anyone who needs flinch, but notably has the ability to ensure hits, which offsets Ghetsis’ otherwise sad accuracy.  Cyrus has Winona for Rain, which is the most notable outcome.  Roxanne, as expressed, loves fast clears, and Cyrus’ Hydro Pump with an EX Support behind it is For Real.

Team 3: Roxanne, Anni Raihan, P!Dawn/Classic Blue/Lance Roxanne has healing in Sandstorm on her grid.  It’s the only other spread that’s useful for her than the default.  Anni Raihan provides Sandstorm best of anyone.  Raihan is a successful sync nuker in his own right, and not a bad call for non-EX Roxanne, since he can pick up Sharp Entry to cap his crit.  P!Dawn is a safe option to debuff special defense for him.  If you’re aiming more for Roxanne to supplement, Classic Blue and Lance are great picks, because they operate on Hyper Beam DPS, and Raihan provides Moves Up Next each use of Sandstorm, in addition to what Roxanne can stack.

Team 4: Roxanne, Lysandre, Anni Skyla/Erika Lysandre is a fun option to talk about on a few levels.  On one, we have his trainer move with the boosted sync cooldown.  With any Head Start ally, he's saving a full turn on sync, and Roxanne's EX is fairly nice for his otherwise weaker DPS.  Anni Skyla rounds out a good CS core, thanks to her Zone.  On the other, we have Gauntlet, where this is likely overkill, but the two of them become effectively immortal, as Roxanne caps Lysandre's defenses and non-crit offenses, allowing him to just drain away forever.  In that scenario, you might want to aim for something weaker.  I'm referencing Erika, who supplies Paralysis and some special defense debuffs, which are solid general tools for Lysandre to make use of.

Team 5: Roxanne, Bede, Diantha/Valerie So you didn't pull SS Wally.  It happens.  Another comp I've liked using is Bede/Diantha.  Bede saves Diantha a lot of grief, thanks to his attacks debuffing special attack by 2 stages.  Both of them can also cap their own crit rate, which makes Roxanne a great pick for offenses, but also for their otherwise pitiful speed.  It's really nice for Diantha's high gauge cost.  If using Diantha, Diantha should sync.  She gains way too much power from it to let Roxanne take the first shot.  However I'd like to talk about Bede offense.  Roxanne's EX sync means double damage, including Max Moves.  Which can be pulled out at any point.   Bede now has the ability to spam Dazzling Gleam, which Valerie complements with Disarming Voice, slowly tearing down the sides with debuffs.  Bede can throw out the Max Move whenever to delete center, and if successfully held until late in the match, his own sync will provide another denial, if the sides aren't taken out by the AoE move spam.

Team 6: Roxanne, Lodge Steven, Classic Blue Did you know you can off-type with this?  Lodge Steven has Sharp Entry and Staggering 2, which means Blue’s own Sharp Entry and Dire Hit All+ caps both offensive options’ crit rate in one use.  Roxanne is then able to buff literally every stat they could need, including special defense via grid for Steven’s Brute Wits sync.  Steven fishes for flinches, which hit the entire enemy party, and Classic Blue can spam Hyper Beam due to low gauge cost and maxed out team speed.  They’re surprisingly consistent.

Final Thoughts Roxanne is one of my favorites, and if nothing else, I'm glad she gets to be one of the best common units in the game.  She's absurd.  The buffing kit is just stellar, and frankly one of her most outrageous selling points.  While there are some severe limitations, Roxanne does well enough at her role to still have a place in the game.  The EX is really just overdoing it, in some regards.  But it's great that she got it

[jjungkooksthighs]

1st: I enjoyed the album. Top 3 are Stay, Dis-ease and Telepathy 💃🏽I'll be honest, I liked the MV for Life Goes On but there was something going on with the bass 🧐 plays fine on spotify tho. I know there's people out there that are really struggling during these times and the songs hit harder personally for them while other people weren't expecting the style Life Goes On brings. Its an album for the fans and not my 1st choice if I was trying recruit new people lol Hope I made sense XD💜

 You made sense! I totally feel this. I am a dedicated and very loyal fan myself as someone that has been following them since their debut in 2013, so I have supported them for a very long time and will continue to do so for the many years yet to come.

However, if I had someone I was trying to introduce BTS to, I think I would show them the previous work of BTS like Love Yourself: Tear or Wings, for example. Maybe after that, I would bring this album to their attention, but I would definitely recommend BE for those who are struggling. It is a good source of comfort, for sure, if you are going through a rough time and I can understand how others would love this album as I have already seen. I think the boys put in work for this one and it definitely shows! I’m especially proud of Kook for his directing skills in the MV. It was very well done and I am so glad he seemed to have had a good time doing that as he stated in the Global Press Conference yesterday!

BE is a very interesting album in terms of the styles of the songs with three of the eight being retro-themed (Dynamite, Telepathy and Dis-ease) with the other three being slower and more melancholy (Life Goes On, Blue and Grey and Fly To My Room). Personally, I liked 7 better than this one, but that is just my opinion! I have seen lots of other people on Tumblr commenting their favorite songs off BE amongst other loving praises that I’ve come across and I think that is wonderful. 

For me, though, I will say that Life Goes On definitely caught me off guard as I wasn’t expecting that style of song at all. Despite that, the fact that my bias directed this MV was something very unique that I really enjoyed seeing. If words would embody this song, I would choose succor’s solace as the epitome of this track. It is relief rolled into audio and it is such a gift to have a song like this in the hard times that we have been attacked with. This is certainly a song that you’d listen to on the way home from work after a long day or while you’re in the midst of studying, doing schoolwork or even at home working on assignments or tasks for your job. It is also something you’d listen to when you feel like the problems and struggles you face are just too much and need to be reminded that, per the song’s title, life continues on and that we must push forward to enjoy the little things and the big. I liked this track the most, I think. I myself am facing some things in my life right now and the core message of this song resonated deeply with me. To that end, this track is every bit the comfort song they intended it to be and this song, along with Spring Day, sit at the same table for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Fly To My Room’s mellow beat is something that I think would be a great listen at night after the trials and woes of the day and it was interesting to see sope/vmin in the same track and how those two subunits meshed together to create something entirely new and unseen before. 

Blue and Grey... this one sounded familiar to me and it took me all but two seconds to realize where I had heard it before. This is the same song that Taehyung teased in Bon Voyage when he was sitting in the canoe out on the lake. The song sounded so very different in this rendition and I was very surprised to see this song in the album when I had originally thought it would be in Tae’s mixtape! This is definitely a song you listen to in the rain and when the sun has been masked by the clouds in the sky. It is also a song you’d listen to once the sun has set and you walk outside just to have some fresh air and reminisce either about the past or to think on the stresses of your present. I think this track has the power to ease both and that is a powerful thing, indeed.

Telepathy I really liked! I think the upbeat form of this one definitely was a nice break from the slow beat of the first three songs on the album and, because this one is BTS’s love letter to ARMY, I think that is a very special thing that we as their fans should cherish in their thought towards us during the times that have befallen us and taken from us (and them) their ability to see us beyond a screen. I think the flow of the song is perfect and the flux of the voices of the members works very well for the positive energy they are trying to instill in it. From beginning of this song, when I heard it, I knew I was going to like it. It had a starry, celestial vibe to it and for some reason, when I hear it, I think of shooting stars that fly through the night sky. True to that image, this is a song you’d listen to when you’re with friends to recall the bonds you make with those closest to you (and those farthest from you) no matter where in the world they are. This is a song you’d also listen to to PARTY PARTY, YEAH! (I’m sorry, but ever since I heard that from Kook, it has been living in my mind rent free) In any case, this is a nice song to uplift you and would also be good to put on after a bad day so that you can look back on all the good things life despite the bad. That message is a very strong one, indeed, so that definitely makes this song a favorited one for me.

As an English major at my university, the title of Dis-ease was interesting as someone that often studies semantics and semiotics in language and literature. It was intriguing to see that they chose to deconstruct the word of disease and split it into its alternative form to convey an entirely new meaning from what one might assume the word means at first glance. While they could have chosen to name the song DISEASE, which is a word associated with sickness, illness or an ailing, afflicted health condition that most link with weakness and feebleness, BTS decided to utilize a play on words and use an older version of the word that now has two different meanings linked with it, I found it fascinating that they named the song what they did, for dis-ease was often used in the past to denote a lack of ease or absence of relief in an individual. It was only later that the word was changed once individuals started tagging health related conditions with actual infections or maladies when viruses and mental illnesses began to gain a name for themselves in the colonizing world. Ironically enough, the word dis-ease is now used by medical practitioners in healing environments for individuals that are on the road to eudemonia or betterment of themselves and the word is purposefully used to endow awareness of compromised health on a singular cause or root.

I don’t think I need to explain why that is significant in the scheme of the situation that our world has come to, but I shall say it anyway: this is meaningful in that BTS decides to fight back and combat the negativity that would threaten to swallow them (and those who listen and internalize the lyrics of the song for themselves and thusly feel the message they are trying to give to us) to instead grapple and wrestle with it by loudly bringing attention to it rather than allowing it to silently consume and germinate within them. This, for me, was very empowering to hear and is one of the many reasons why I appreciate this song in particular amongst the lyrics that target and attack the “diseases” that would try to take from us our wellbeing. The track is a battle cry to keep fighting and that, in it of itself, is a very powerful thing that strikes very deep within me. The bridge at the end with Kook and Jimin, by the way… literal EARGASM, MA’AM. Anyway, this is a song that you’d listen to in the morning to get yourself hype for the day. It is something you’d put on in the desire to boost your spirits if they are low and honestly could be listened to in any situation.

Lastly, we have Stay. This subunit of NamKookJin was certainly a pleasant surprise to me! Kook’s involvement in this track doesn’t go unnoticed in the emotion that is present in his voice (amongst Joon and Jin, of course), but there’s also something about this song that goes straight for the heartstrings in the pledge of continued loyalty that is subliminal in its subtlety. I adored this song and this track’s EDM style was a wonderful finale of the album in its summation that there are low points in life (as the first few tracks suggest) and that there are high points and life. I think that through this song, the three boys who sang in it were wonderful in their energy that was so vibrant. It was wonderful to hear the three of them meld together in a unit that also was unlike what we have heard before. I know the song must have meant a lot to the three of them because Joon is Kook’s role model as he has stated many times and to sing with one’s idol would certainly be a powerful thing, indeed. The fact that Jin was in it too much have had so much meaning for Kook since Jin is like a brother to him and took care of him (and honestly, he still does, let’s be real) when he was younger. 

The song’s lyrics themselves reach out to the ARMY that Jungkook said the song was meant for in his, Joon’s and Jin’s efforts to remind us that, as their fans, they hope that we will always remain with them and that they know the times are going to change for the better. I enjoyed this song very much and it would definitely be a song you’d listen to be reminded of the love that BTS has for you and that despite everything, you will always have a place with them even if you feel lost in the world around you. I think a situation you’d put this on would be when you are need just that extra bit of confidence to get you through an anxiety inducing time whether it be a test for school or even a meeting for work.

With all of this in mind, my favorite songs are as follows: Dis-ease, Telepathy, Stay and Life Goes On. It is hard to pick a favorite among those four, but those were my most liked tracks for sure!

Overall, I think the album definitely is one meant to soothe the soul and the boys have succeeded in that without fail. It is clear that the boys worked hard on this and their efforts were not vain! This is an album that I think we all needed to close out a tough year and it took me some to get all my thoughts together, but now that I have listened to the whole album once again, I’m liking it more with each time I hear it. It is always amazing to me how BTS continues to do what no one else does: letting their genuine feelings shine through their music that inspires light in so many. I am proud of each and every one of them and they deserve some hard earned rest after their efforts!

[vaulthunter426]

Borderlands 3 | What we know...

Just because I’m not sure the best way to present this information, prepare for a long list of new features in Borderlands 3 with my comments because.... well this is my blog. I will not be discussing the two Vault Hunters we’ve seen gameplay of in terms of their action skills and skill trees.

Quality of Life improvements!

Borderlands has aged quite well, BL2 more than BL1 but we can go back to games almost a decade (and actually a decade) old and they still feel great and are tons of fun. After taking about a year hiatus from all Borderlands games, I came back after the Mask of Mayhem trailer and I found myself trying to roll or slide out of the way of charging enemies and merely crouched in front of them. After so long of this, I knew what I wanted out of Borderlands 3...

Sliding, Grappling, Ground Slams - A feature that I was hoping for beyond almost anything else were movement upgrades and boy we got them. The sliding adds a whole new dynamic to fighting a mob of enemies and the grappling opens up a plethora of verticality options. Be sure to be looking up high for hidden chests! The ground slams seem to be an upgraded, more visually appealing version of the ground slams from TPS. Zane cocks back an arm with a Digi-claw before slamming his fist to the ground while Amara leaps into the air slamming both fists to the ground (not to be confused with her Action Skill).

Vending Machines - Instead of manually purchasing each ammo type by spamming our select key on them, we can now purchase the max amount of ammo by pressing a key as we approach the machine, without ever entering the UI.

“Claim Lost Loot” - A new “vending machine” in Sanctuary III collects all the loot we didn’t pick up and store them until we access the machine. Once we activate it, all the loot comes spilling out onto the ground in front of us for us to check out and make sure we didn’t miss anything. No more lost Legendaries!

Sanctuary III is the first hub in the Borderlands franchise that features a unique room for our Vault Hunters! Our room will be tailored to the Vault Hunter of our choice with possible customization options. The wall holds a number of “mounts” where we can showcase our favorite guns as well as a couple spots for a relic, shield, and grenade mod.

Loot Instancing and Level Scaling - Is your buddy ten levels ahead of you? No problem! If you join the game of a friend who is a higher or lower level than you, your damage output will scale accordingly so no one is over or underleveled! Along with this will be loot drops. If you open a chest to a blue and purple rarity pistol, they will be at your level and ready to loot. Your friend will also see a blue and purple rarity pistol, but different manufactures and at their own level. You both can take both pistols from the same chest. All of these options have a toggle feature if you preferred the previous games style.

Claptrap as a General of the Crimson Raiders - It’s nice to know that the Crimson Raiders are continuing on after the death of Roland, but their priorities may be a bit askew if Claptrap is a general... then again maybe his title holds no responsibilities... all about the ego boost.

Lilith as Commander of the Crimson Raiders - Not all that surprising although I was speculating that maybe she had ditched our friends to deal with some of that pent up anger post-Jack. It seems like she has been broadcasting across the galaxy searching for new Vault Hunters, and maybe even “broadcasting” directly into Siren’s minds as a comment by Amara upon meeting Lilith went something like “Oh so you’re the voice in my head.” Sounds like our Guardian Angel...

Marcus - I have no doubt Marcus will be buying and selling us guns, but we do see that in person he will be our go to for SDU’s. This go around the currency used is money opposed to Eridium, similar to our BL1 days.

Moxxi - She still has her bar, this time with four different slot machines, possibly activated by a unique currency each, or rewarding different pools of loot.

Tannis - “Tannis’ Lab + Infirmary” read the sign pointing us toward our old friend, which leaves a noticeable lack of Dr. Zed on Sanctuary III. Was he a fatality of the ill fate that befell Sanctuary 2? Or is he on Pandora?

Ellie - Ellie takes position as our lead engineer / car provider for Borderlands 3, as we no longer have our dear friend Scooter with us (nice decal of him on the outside of the ship though).

Unlockable Vehicles - It looks like we will unlock vehicles as we progress through the story, similar to the Bandit Technical in BL2, but there seems to be World Event / Side Missions that allow us to come across unique vehicles parked across the maps that we can get in and return to a Catch-A-Ride station so that they are available to use any time we like! This means if your vehicle blows up before you can get it registered, you may be out of luck!

Alternate Firing Mode- Initially inthough a couple of gun manufacturers would have alternate firing modes but it almost seemed like every gun during the gameplay reveal had an alternate firing mode.

Hyperion Shields- I’ve been wondering how the shields would work for the Hyperion weapon and it looks like they are ADS activated.

Unique Dialog for our Vault Hunters - A feature introduced during some of the DLC for BL2, as well as through the entirety of TPS was character dialog unique to each Vault Hunter. It is most definitely returning for BL3 and I couldn’t be happier.

Unique Looting for our Vault Hunters? - When Amara opened a chest (really a repurposed car trunk) she punched it open in a similar fashion to Kratos in God of War. Although punching a chest open definitely seems like Amara’s style, I wouldn’t say the same for the other Vault Hunters which makes me wonder if certain chests will have unique opening animations for each VH.

Location: Ascension Bluff - This was the location title card that was on the projection screen after got the initial reveal demo which makes me wonder if the Children of the Vault Propaganda center(?) is on a map called Ascension Bluff. I could be wrong in thinking that, however I’m pretty positive that all of that was on Pandora.

Location: Meridian Metroplex - Some interesting reveals about the city we’ve seen from the trailers! The Meridian Metroplex is on Promethea, and has become an Atlas controlled city. For some this is great, for others not so much. Maliwan seems to be attacking the city with their new ally...

Locations: So far we have Pandora and Promethea listed as worlds we can visit but I believe it was Paul Sage also confirmed an Asteroid(?) map that will feature low-gravity similar to (but not quite the same as) TPS.

Tyreen + Troy Calypso / The Calypso Twins- These two are fucking Borderlands equivalent douche twitch streamers. They’ve leveraged this position (or vice - versa?) into being Cult Leaders for the Children of the Vault.

They have broadcast stations scattered around the galaxy that we can destroy / turn off as a world event style challenge.

Tyreen is a Siren who can leech the life and power out of other living beings. Being a Siren, she’s convinced her followers that she is their God - Queen. Troy is merely piggy-backing off the fact that she has all the influence, or it seems that way to me.

Tyreen has streamed her ability of sucking the life out of beings to her many followers, and to the Vault Hunters who she calls her most loyal follower yet.

What’s a cult without its followers? Instead of our typical “Bandit” enemies, it seems like the main enemy faction of that caliber has been rebranded to Fanatics.

Tyreen has struck a deal with the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions for Maliwan, a guy named Katagawa (some dweeb who hates / envies / is jealous of Rhys, but also makes sense why he wants control of Atlas) and so mobs of both the Maliwan Assault Troopers and the Fanatics will be fighting you at the same time.

Randy Pitchford has let on that Tyreen is using the bandits, and probably her Maliwan allies, as a tool to find the Vaults so that she can gain the power of the Vault Monsters.

Zer0 has left the Crimson Raiders and is working with / for Rhys under the Atlas corporation, at least while the money and weapons are good.

Crimson Lance became the Crimson Raiders after Atlas fell and they joined Roland’s cause in Sanctuary. Now that Atlas is being ran by CEO Rhys, they are called Atlas Soldiers.

New Element : Radiation - Irradiated enemies will take damage and are also more susceptible to other damage types. An irradiated enemy can spread the effect to other enemies surrounding them. Upon death, an irradiated enemy will reach critical mass and explode.

Barrels - Elemental variety barrels can now be melee’d to launch at enemies before shooting them and causing them to explode.

Pipelines -Certain pipelines can be shot to cause radiation spills, or oil slicks that can then be ignited to cause an AOE of damage.

Enemies / Mini Bosses - There will be more mini bosses in Borderlands 3, and the weapons they use against you can be dropped so that you can use that gun on future enemies.

NPC - Certain NPC’s will assist you on missions, like Lorelei and Zer0, and then can also be downed. You can revive NPC’s and they can also revive you.

Paul Sage (Gearbox Developer?) - Paul made the comment about the low-grav environments as well as stating that if you “beeline through the story” it will take around 30 hours. Upon questioning if the guns in the reveal were better than what we will find (because of the basically non-existant recoil) he stated that in the past they’ve worked there way up to really good guns in terms of level progression, but this time they wanted to know if they could “start good, and make it fucking awesome.” So yeah. Guns are gonna be fucking awesome.

And that wraps it up! A nice guide to catch you up on things you’ve missed or to remind you of some things you’ve forgotten. I make no claim to have covered everything we’ve seen, but these were some things that I took note of. Feel free to add your own bits and pieces I missed in the replies! Borderlands 3 looks amazing, happy hunting.

- VaultHunter426

[crystalelemental]

Legendary Gauntlet Teams - Tapu Bulu

Tapu Bulu has shown up, and now we can finally assess what it does, and how to plan around it, in case it shows up in Gauntlet!

General Overview Tapu Bulu is Flying and Poison weak, alternating Flying on bars 1 and 3, and Poison on bar 2.  The other major gimmick of the fight is Grassy Terrain.  Bulu sets Grassy Terrain on entry, and again on sync, giving it a power boost to its Grass-type moves, and healing per action.  It can be hit with disruption effects like flinch, but increases resistance by 2 stages until it's immune.  If you take out the HP bar before it recovers, it does not build resistance.

In bar 1, Bulu has Offensive Defense 4, which gives it a 50% chance to raise its defense by 1.  Many Flying-type damage dealers are special, so this isn't too bad.  At the halfway mark, it gets Accuracy +2, and Reflect, and switches attacks to more of a specially offensive set.

Bar 2 starts with critical hit next, but seems to get nothing at the halfway point.  It removed paralysis when I had that up, but outside of potentially clearing status (which didn't increase resistance), it doesn't seem to give anything.

Bar 3 starts with +3 attack, and now it throws in Wood Hammer as a move, which is really strong damage.  It also picked up Trip Up 4.  Which...I'm sorry, just kinda seems useless?  At the halfway point, it gets +3 attack again, and +1 evasion.

By and large, the strategy is a DPS race.  Bulu will buff its physical defense steadily throughout the opening act, and if you can’t keep the pressure up, it’ll outlast you through sheer recovery.  There are no tricks here.  Just damage and healing via Grassy Terrain.

Useful Units and Combos Blue seems highly optimized for this fight.  Self-buffs his accuracy, fantastic Flying-type damage, he's hard to stop here.

Dawn is the supreme defensive tank.  Buffs defense, debuffs his attack per hit, benefits from Grassy Terrain.  She's fantastic.  Other defensive buffers are good here too.  Jasmine's good, Skyla's fantastic, Hop's good.

Alternate Terrain setters are an option, but because it sets on entry per phase and on sync, you're at a severe disadvantage.

Realistically, anyone who can debuff speed or cause flinch will be effective here, because the fewer actions you let it take under Grassy Terrain, the less it recovers over time.  Sophocles is a good one to note in the F2P bin, having flinch and speed drops in one move.

The best thing you can do for yourself though is debuff his attack.  He has no means of buffing it back up until bar 3, so anyone can work.  And I mean literally anyone.  Mina dunks on this clown.  Mina.

Teambuilding Team 1: BP Erika/Lucy, Leaf/Skyla, Janine/Ghetsis While a bit reliant on Leaf, this is superficial, as it could just as easily be Skyla. Double Potion MPR, flinch on a one-gauge, buffing of defense and speed is the main benefit.  Janine drops its speed and offenses, allowing it to take few actions under terrain, and dealing minimal damage.  Toxic and Trap don't deal a ton overall, but to my astonishment, Janine...actually deals numbers on sync, especially through phase 2.  She hit like 28k after some Leaf sync buffs in phase 1, which is way more than I expected.  She'll be solid with a grid.  But if you want to save Janine for elsewhere, Ghetsis is the best offense debuffer, and can deal respectable sync damage himself.

Team 2: Blue, Dawn, Erika&Vileplume/Rosa Blue is strongly anti-Bulu on offense, while Dawn is supremely anti-Bulu on defense.  She siphons out its attack, buffs everyone's defense, and has her own pretty strong Grass-type moves to throw out.  The decision between Erika or Rosa is largely based on team comps and who else is on Gauntlet.  Erika debuffs special defense nicely, while Rosa finishes the special attack buffing and keeps gauge control.

Team 3: Plumeria, Jasmine, Kiawe Plumeria is a solid special attack buffer, who really just needs crit, while Jasmine is a great frontline tank who can heal on sync as needed.

Team 4: Lyra, SS Erika, BP Morty SS Erika is absurd on this fight.  Like, imagine having your kit built around sun power-ups, giving you the full 50% bonus to stuff for having sun, and then you get Grassy Terrain bonus on top of it.  If your frontline tank can take hits, like Morty can, you just set up with Lyra and let the Sun/Terrain combo work its magic as Erika fires off like 8-11k damage per attack.

Team 5: Koga, Hop, Roxanne While a little bizarre, Hop and Roxanne can cap physical defense, keeping the team alive long-term.  Hop provides healing, and Koga has a lot of good Poison-type damage on sync, making him pretty good for this.  Roxanne helps boost special attack, although cannot do so to cap.  Up to preference, or to an alternative in your barracks.

Team 6: Sycamore, Mina, BP Surge You know how Sycamore is unkillable generally?  What if the opponent set a field effect that massively increased his main damage source that also heals him?  Sleep tight, pupper.  Mina reduces attack, Surge provides crit and defense buffs, as well as attack, and basically gets them all operating at max efficiency.  Hopefully Bulu isn't in a Gauntlet that needs Surge elsewhere, but any crit buffer could do the same.

Final Thoughts Bulu can be difficult, but for dumb reasons.  Defense boosting makes it hard to take him down thanks to his constant healing, but special attackers have very little trouble with the guy.  Grassy Terrain can make his attacks threatening, but the base damage is pretty low until Wood Hammer comes out.  As a result, he's scary, but less so than he may initially seem.

I feel like Bulu is one of the easier fights for Gauntlet.  Very straight-forward, and as a result, very low demand for anyone in particular.  BP Surge is pulled in several directions what with status and crit needs, but Bulu just kinda takes whoever's left, and has Flying and Poison weaknesses for types not often seen.  I didn't even talk about some of the less impressive options out there, that can almost definitely work against it with proper support. Also Sycamore is a win button, moreso than any other time he's a win button.  So this will be a great stage to farm cookies out of.

[rosalind-of-arden]

Sword and Pen Reread, chapter 7

Santi chapter!!!

Ephemera: More evidence of early Obscurists. Heron worked with “Pharaoh’s priests and magicians” on the Poseidon automaton.

Santi is overwhelmed with his new responsibilities, but he’s engaging in some very sensible self-care by taking a coffee break and getting some alone time. He seems to like sitting alone at the top of the Serapeum, having a view of everything going on and space to think.

This practice of taking a break by himself also fits in with Santi’s pattern of walking away when he gets mad at Wolfe. Being alone helps Santi stay calm.

Also, between this and hanging out on the roof of the Spanish embassy, I think we can definitely say Santi likes high places, at the very least for purposes of surveying battlefields, but quite possibly in general.

The one thing that would make Santi’s break better? Come on, we all know what. “He missed Wolfe’s bright, sharp presence.” But he knows obsessing over Wolfe would be a distraction, so he just gives himself a moment to send good wishes Wolfe’s way. Compare this to how tense he was when separated from Wolfe in Smoke and Iron; Wolfe isn’t really any safer now, but knowing Wolfe is free and they both have some control over the situation makes a big difference.

Here’s another indication of what normal looks like for Wolfe and Santi. They split up and work separately, and they trust each other to stay safe and get things done. The obsessive worry over Wolfe’s safety in earlier books was a reaction to the threat posed by the Artifex/Archivist and a response to trauma. Two factors moving Santi back to normal here. First, Wolfe’s lecture in Smoke and Iron. Second, the balance of power has changed. They aren’t trapped in the corrupt Library system anymore, they’re leading the new Library. That makes it easier for Santi to keep the paranoia in check.

I am amused that while Santi and Khalila are both attracted to men, only Khalila spent time observing the hotness of the Poseidon automaton. Santi is too busy being impressed by its size and destructive capabilities.

Here’s Santi’s strategic mind at work. As soon as he’d done going “holy fuck that thing’s huge”, he’s thinking through the enemy’s attack options and hauling ass to get defense strategies in place.

They have an Obscurist on duty in the strategy room. Is this normal, like the ones in the Translation chambers? Or something new?

Obscurist in the strategy room is young and female. No name given. I’m headcanoning that it’s Sybilla, rescued from solitary confinement/suicide watch/whatever by Morgan when she and Eskander took over the Iron Tower, and nobody can stop me.

Botha gets Santi’s company. Nice little friendship moment there, both of them respecting each other’s leadership abilities. Must remember Botha when developing Santi’s various friendships.

Nofret Alamasi, now ranked Senior Captain, is Santi’s new assistant. Roughly a month ago, she was newly assigned to the Iron Tower and making threats to keep Morgan in line. Interesting character to explore more. Some things to consider: How well do she and Santi know each other? How loyal was she to the ex-Archivist? Did she get this position because of rank, particular skills that would be useful, or some other factor? Does Santi have her there because he trusts her? Or because he doesn’t trust her and wants her where he can see her?

Some rivalries to play with in fics: Spain vs Portugal, England vs Wales, Turkey vs India.

What is Dario doing now, anyway? Santi doesn’t expect him to be happy about being summoned. Everyone else has some kind of assigned duty to work on, but with the ambassadors gone, Dario has no work to do.

Santi does not want to tell Alamasi about the Greek fire facility problem.

Obscurists are playing a key role in defense. They seem to be operating systems like the Serapeum’s shutters along with the automata.

Santi hasn’t lost his sense of humor: “Alamasi, if I’m burned alive, then all this becomes your problem.”

Impact of Philadelphia: Santi knows he would hesitate to use Greek fire against a city.

Santi is also reluctant to use his other weapons of mass destruction. He orders a warning shot with the Ray of Apollo first, then attempts negotiation.

Alexandria has very good plans for dealing with firebombing.

Santi, recognizing the Library’s stagnation: “We rely on past accomplishments far too much. Must do something about that.”

Tense Santi, not handling waiting well: Alamasi, do we have any messages yet? How about now? Check with Eskander. Anything from Wolfe? (Is that a touch of trauma-fueled paranoia raising its head? Probably.)

On the subject of Dario, “Santi quite liked the arrogant little ass.” Sin fuel right here. Also, how much does Dario have in common with young Wolfe? Does Santi have a type? I think so. He even thinks about Wolfe right after thinking about how fond he is of Dario.

Dario’s idea of “plain” clothes: he’s only wearing red velvet, no jewels or lace. He has a pretty engraved dagger. Because of fucking course he does.

This whole conversation with Dario is very strategic. I think @eli-wray had a good point that Santi was trying to give Dario a chance to be open and upfront, then turned up the pressure when Dario pushed back with evasion. Santi knows what he has to do to draw Dario out, and he doesn’t hesitate to keep up the pressure until he has confirmation of Dario’s loyalty and Dario’s agreement to go along with the plan.

More strategy: getting agreement from Dario before actually saying what the plan is. There’s quite a bit going into making Dario feel important, even powerful here. He’s brought in under armed escort. His loyalty is questioned. All of that says “you are a threat.” Then Santi turns it around and says he needs Dario’s help. New message: “you are dangerous and we need you on our side.” That’s actually quite the ego boost for Dario, and that prompts Dario to agree to helping. Because of course Dario wants to be needed.

“I need something that comes to you as naturally as breathing. [...] Betrayal.” A couple things going on here. First, is this at least a little emotionally motivated, because it really hasn’t been all that long since Dario betrayed the pack twice in a row? Yes, I think so. Santi, as we know, can hold a grudge. But it’s also strategic. He just challenged Dario to not betray him. By betraying Spain, yes, but Dario just said his real loyalty is to the Library. Betraying Santi would prove that Dario is exactly what Santi accused him of being, so there’s extra motivation there for Dario to stay on Santi’s side. (Note that this is Santi’s perspective - as we’ll see later, Dario interprets this a bit differently.)

In short, we’re seeing the people skills that got Santi so many allies here. He knows how to read people, figure out what makes them tick, and use that to get people on his side. Good leadership or manipulation? Both? Read that as you will.

One more point: how is Santi so good at getting past a person’s defenses to find out what they’re really thinking? 20+ years with Wolfe. There really isn’t that much difference between Wolfe’s prickly defenses and Dario’s sparkly defenses, when you think about it.

Santi is not a tea person. Guessing this is matcha they’re drinking since it’s pale green.

Santi is very anxious about his plan with Dario. He’s worried about Murasaki’s reaction and Khalila’s for very different reasons. He’s worried about Dario. I suspect he very much does not want Murasaki to fire him and order an attack on the facility if she finds out the Spanish have seized it before Santi’s forces take it back.

Murasaki reminds Santi of Wolfe. Dario reminds Santi of Wolfe (even if he’s not admitting that to himself). Santi is not good at avoiding thinking about Wolfe.

Awkward moment for Santi as he realizes just how far he’s gotten from the Library party line on things like smuggling and printing.

“He’d cheerfully knock Callum Brightwell flat any day of the week.” Sorry, Santi. Wolfe beats you to it.

Santi also has Troll working as his assistant. He assigns his own company to the Lighthouse to guard the Ray of Apollo. He likes having people he trusts in key positions - possibly evidence he does trust Alamasi.

I’m taking this comment from Santi that he’s known about the journals for a long time as a lie intended to make him look like he knew more than he did - the moment of surprise with Wolfe in Ink and Bone seemed too genuine.

Getting huge “the kid would be embarrassed to see the parents having a romantic moment” vibes from Santi opting not to have Troll tell Wolfe to be careful.

Also, though, here’s the outcome of that conversation in Smoke and Iron. Wolfe asked Santi to back off on the protectiveness. And Santi is doing just that. He’s worried, but he respects Wolfe’s choices.

Staunch Catholic Santi prays to Isis for his male pagan partner’s safety. Damn do I ever love the way this alternate world works.