#usually i find tornadoes strangely awe inspiring

[spinejackel]

What are dead man walking tornadoes? :O

it’s a multi-vortex tornado. i dont remember the tribe it originates from (i think it was cherokee), but there’s a native american legend…? saying? that goes “if you see a man in a tornado, you are about to die.”

the most infamous shot of a dead man walking tornado hit jarrell, texas in 1997

it did so much damage to the town it caused the scale that tornados are measured by, the fijita scale, undergo revisions, and it made anchoring buildings in the tornado alley region pretty much mandatory. (it took the entire town off the map. only those who had taken shelter outside of the town or in underground bunkers survived.)

two more examples of dead man walking tornadoes looking like a person are a tornado from 2011 that hit cullman, alabama

and a tornado from 1975 that hit xenia, ohio

edit: it has been brought to my attention that the native american “legend” part of this post was a rumor spread by a documentary.

i have been asked to remove it, but i believe in letting my errors stand because i’m not perfect. i make mistakes

[blzzrdstryr]

Prize of war

Yandere!Morax x water deity!reader

Wordcount: 1459

CW: Yandere, violence, confinement, sexual harassment

The archon war is at its peak, when an oceanid, Periboea, brings sudden news to you - the deaths of Guizhong and sealing of Osial. The former produces nothing but a sly smirk - the Dust Goddess, despite her kindness and wisdom was still a formidable opponent, another competitor for the title of the Seven.

The latter, however, makes you both frown and sigh in relief - the Vortex Lord was your ally, a needed help to fight and defy Morax of Guili plains, yet he also was a future enemy - the grounds of your so called alliance were shaky, unreliable, ready to change at any moment like dark waters you both command.

Now, with him sealed away you don’t have to worry, you don’t have to worry about Osial turning against you, you have to worry about facing the Lord of Rock alone instead.

“Out”, you dismiss Periboea, sensing the forming headache. What should you do? What should you do? With the Guizhong out of the picture it would be easier for both you and Osial to finally overpower Morax and take over the plains if it wasn’t for him being sealed away.

You stay motionless and deep thought for a while, thousands of possibilities appearing in your mind - none of them a clear solution, a path to absolute victory. Suddenly water spirits visit your abode, bowing in both fear and deep respect - Morax has made a new step in this bloody version of xiangqi. You stand up then, gritting your teeth and taking your weapon - war never waits.

With no reckless but also insanely strong and fast Osial by your side, Morax’s power shines in a new light - his presence is felt everywhere, despite his figure still being unseen. You call to the power of the seas, sending wave after wave to look for your enemy, until a voice booms nearby.

Ah.

That’s why you couldn’t see him.

Morax looks pitifully small and weak in his human form - with a razor sharp talons and long serpentine body replaced by the soft mortal flesh he doesn’t inspire usual awe or terror, yet you keep your guard up. He stands on the shore, surrounded by his lackey adepti near some strange machine.

Guizhong was working on that ballista, you realize, focusing your eyes a bit longer.

“[First]”, Morax says, his usually calm voice now gravelly and dead - Guizhong’s passing must have been hard on him.

“Morax”, you reply, understanding his intention - it’s the last battle then.

You start to fight - adepti lunge at you, while their lord stays on the ground, fiddling with the ballista. You keep an eye on him, while carefully evading the blows from his lackeys - they might be lesser creatures, but even a snake can kill a lion, so you keep a distance, slowly but surely approaching the sandy shore.

“Now”, Morax yells, to his adepti, not you. You quickly turn in his direction, alarmed of what he might do next, only to see a bright glowing bolt shooting your way. The time freezes, as you scramble away and somehow you succeed, projectile grazing only a side of you.

“Huh”, you whimper, seeing how the nearby waters turn red from your blood - oh, Morax will pay for that. You will make him pay for that.

“Oceanids!”, you command your servants, voice travelling through the entirety of the seas: “rip Morax’s loyal dogs to shreds”, a thousand of voices echo your war cry, water spirits finally emerging from the blue deeps.

With the loch folk on the surface, the tides of battle turn against your opponents, as you shift your look on the Morax again - he feeds ballista his energy, hastening the next shot - you won’t have it. Focusing hydro energy is easy, forming your own water mimic is even easier.

You send the replica of a great leviathan to Morax’s direction, the volume of water splatters everywhere upon crushing on the shore, breaking Guizhong’s last masterpiece. This prompts Morax to finally face off you, with his spear in hand and fierce amber eyes burning brighter than any star.

“You will pay for that”, he whispers, the dragon evident in each syllable.

“We’ll see”, you taunt, finally taking out your weapon. Your battle looks like a dance, with your moves fluid and flexible, yet fast and unstoppable, like a river flowing in the spring. A laugh escapes your lips, the thrill of the battle getting into your head, so you don’t notice his lackeys disappearing from the battlefield.

“Now”, Morax says again, looking past you.

A blindingly bright bolt flies into your direction - you haven’t destroyed the ballista completely - there's not enough time to dodge.

It goes right through you.

You scream.

Everything fades to black.

***

You wake up in the unfamiliar room, clothed in the unfamiliar clothes and surrounded by unfamiliar things. You can’t sense the call of Celestia, meaning that you’re either outside the Teyvat or in someone’s pocket dimension. This is bad. You almost jerk, but you can't - a burst of pain explodes in your solar plexus upon the slightest of movements.

With a shaking hand you touch your midriff, feel a hastily sewn hole and then you come to a horrifying realization - you can't feel your hydro. A distressed noise escapes you as you caress the injury, a lack of elemental core crushing you better than any humiliation or defeat.

Consumed by your grief for the lost powers, you miss the moments someone enters the room. It’s Morax again - he looks vastly different now, with all hints of his usual bloodlust and cold fury gone, he resembles a kind and wise dragon from the fairy tales human parents tell to their children.

“[First]”, he starts, taking one slow step after another, careful not to scare or enrage you: “I am happy you’re finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for a while now”.

You look at him with angry, accusing eyes, all of your grievances temporarily forgotten: “I can’t believe you did it, I thought you were an honourable person”, he lightly tilts his head, feigning ignorance: “You ripped out my core! I bet you were enjoying every second of it, you sick bastard!”.

“None of that”, he deflects your insults: “your core was destroyed by the ballista, not me. The last projectile went through you and subsequently your core”.

“Well”, you rise from the bed, despite the agonizing pain: “you stole me too! Ballista has nothing to do with this!”

“It’s either that or the eternal seal”, he adopts the patronizing tone and you want to kill him just for that: “with your core gone, I doubt you will restore even a fraction of your power, so sealing you away will be a waste”.

“A waste”, you repeat, remembering that Morax is not only a god of martial arts, but also business and commerce: “What is there to waste? I have no power now, no reason to live”

He wordlessly comes to you after this phrase, his hand touching the bandaged torso, before his amber eyes glance at you momentarily. You know that look, have seen it during the countless battles - cold, calculating and thoroughly fixated - a shiver goes through you.

“I am the one who defeated you”, he finally says, so quietly that even you with your superhuman hearing have to strain your ears: “You belong to me now, I can give you a new reason for living, I can make you accept and embrace it”.

You look at his eyes and the hand he laid upon the injury, fear caused by his words alone paralyzing your whole being. A whole tornado of thoughts appeared in your mind, each one of them anxious, nervous and unsettling.

“You should have expected this”, Morax mutters, noticing the dread that clings to you: “your insufferable taunts and your little tricks, you wanted to be my first thought in the morning and the last in the night, you have succeeded”.

A warm hand cups your face, and you can’t find any comfort in it, as strong fingers pry open your lips. He forcefully kisses you, his tongue invading your mouth, as you desperately battle the panic. Finally you take control of your body back and quickly shut your teeth together, biting him, tasting a coppery blood”.

He leans back, still collected, despite the blood escaping past his lips: “I should have expected this”, he says more to himself than to you and then he shifts his eyes back to you: “Still, I have a lot of time to tame a wild sea beast like you”.

He leans in again, his hand forcing your mouth open with a renewed strength: “Water can take any shape, [First], and I’ll guide you to the shape I want you to be, my prize of war”

[anonthenullifier]

I have a quote prompt, actually it’s from the first issue of the 1985 Vision and the Scarlet Witch Comic. “The Scarlet Witch is never helpless”

I love this quote! My mind went through so many options that were all really different. Hopefully you enjoy the one I settled on!

——

The cave smells of sulphur and the air is swamp-like, her hair bunching into curls with each additional minute in the humidity. “Hey, Vizh,” Wanda keeps her voice low, as calm as possible, hoping the only attention she rouses is Vision’s and not the transdimensional lava demon clomping back and forth across the cavern. Neither of them stir so she tries again, a touch louder, “Vision.” Under normal circumstances she would reach out not only to his mind but also send a tendril of scarlet to dance along his jaw, except said demon has apparently been studying them, devising vices to limit the use of their powers. Without the freedom of her hands, she finds it hard to channel her powers with enough finesse to only alert Vision, leaving her able only to feel the outermost furling of his thoughts. This is not enough for her to determine that Vision is okay, especially in his current state, his body suspended so that it is leaning forward, arms uncomfortably hoisted behind him to eliminate the chance he can turn his head and sear away the chains with the Mindstone. It reminds her of the nightmare that was aerial battle yoga with Natasha. Wanda tries to nudge his mind while defaulting to conversation in the hope he’ll respond. “I don’t know about you, but my arms are tired.”

Without even opening his eyes, he provides an autopiloted insight to her discomfort, “That would be due to the gravitational field of this planet being almost three times that of Earth.” Two seconds is all it takes before his mind seems to catch up to his surroundings, voice trembling with realization as he raises his head to look at her, “Wanda...when did you get captured?”

Time is meaningless down here, mainly because she can’t access her handheld device to determine how long it’s truly been. “Maybe half an hour ago?” This shouldn't be the point of conversation, however, her own capture not accidental by any means, but she can’t risk alerting their captor to that. “How are you holding up?”

“Rather uncomfortably, as you can no doubt observe.” If his response were a wine, she’d be puckering. At least his spirits are still intact enough to be sardonic. “Are you unharmed?”

His swing from sarcasm to unfettered anxiety dictates she give more than a nonchalant I’m fine. Unlike him, she is in a pretty basic prisoner-in-an-evil-lair position—ankles shackled to the stone wall and shoulders screaming at being suspended by the metal glove encasing both her hands. Even if she’s been here a couple hours less than him, all blood has already drained from her hands and forearms causing pins and needles to colonize under her skin. “Other than my arms, I’m not hurt.” Relief sags his body as much as the restraints allow, maybe a millimeter, but it’s enough, along with his shaky breath out, to convey his ever present concern for her over himself. It’s why she redirects to the real concern here: him. “I assume your powers aren’t working?” The chains attached to Vision’s wrists and ankles jangle morosely as he demonstrates phasing for her. The second his body flickers it is consumed by an electrical shock that sizzles along the edges of the vibranium. She finds herself wincing just so someone acknowledges how agonizing it looks. “You could have just said yes.”

The resounding clink of metal this time is due to his attempt at a shrug, “I felt it pertinent to test the efficacy of the power destabilizer in case it had malfunctioned.”

“Looked like you were trying to win the pitiful award.”

His breathy, contained snort very briefly eradicates the twinge she’s developed in her lower back. “I presume you are either a fellow victim or,” hope enters his question with a little vocal uptick, “here to enact a daring rescue?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Good...good,” they lapse into a moment of silence, “and that plan is?”

The plan was for her to get captured, as it’s the only known way into the deepest cavern and then either wait for the others to find a way to infiltrate (not even Strange’s portals capable of getting in) or she has to identify a weakness from within. It’s not a great plan but it’s what they have to work with since she refused to go another minute not knowing if Vision was okay. “Um, still finalizing it.”

“Ah, well, looking forward to it then.” If anyone else was down here with him they would likely have overlooked the subtle undercurrent of sass, assuming he was just being anticipatory, but she knows every rise and fall of his voice, every carefully planned cadence and right now he is being an ass. A very handsome ass, but an ass nonetheless.

“But now that I’m here, it’s kind of nice,” it’s not, it’s hot, it’s muggy, it’s dripping with molten rock and peppered with vents puffing up noxious gases, “like one of those spas with the hot stone massage.”

Vision does his best to examine the hellscape, neck only able to crane so far due to the angle of his suspension and the increased gravity, not even his attempts at lowering his density are successful in alleviating either impediment, “I would temper your excitement. The attendant,” he nods towards the demon who is currently pacing in front of an iridescent oval, “informed me they are fresh out of those little cucumber slices for your eyes.”

Without thinking, Wanda allows a single syllable laugh to escape her lips, an action that causes the horned, amorphous head of their captor to turn towards her, its eyes burning like two embers hanging on for life at the end of a campfire. Wanda quickly puts on a pathetic whimper, giving her chains a few good rattles and a pitiful, “Please let us go” and then waits until the demon has returned its attention to guarding the prismatic holding container before responding. “I’m knocking a star off their rating then.”

“That seems fair.”

Having confirmed Vision is relatively fine, Wanda lets them lapse back into silence, a recommendation from Carol to not be overly loquacious in case it stirred suspiciousness towards their still forming grand rescue plan, which is usually fine, one thing she loves about Vision is how easy it is to feel comfortable in silence, the gentle thrum of his mind a soothing, harmonious white noise. Except currently she can’t get deep enough into his thoughts to find reprieve. All she can experience is the echo of evenly spaced though labored breathing, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, and the clenching of his teeth anytime he attempts to shift his density to counteract the angle of his imprisonment. Wanda tries to tamp down the rising worry of what failure would mean, instead directing all of her own attention to feeling out the options for escape.

First she has to figure out her powers. Not only are her hands bound together in the metal glove, her fingers have been forced into fists with no room to expand. It’s uncomfortable and aggravating but also a grave misunderstanding of her abilities because sometimes finesse isn’t necessary. As controlled as she can manage, Wanda collects her powers into one concentrated ball centering in her chest, holding it steady in case she needs to utilize what Vision has lovingly deemed her supernova. No matter how impressive, however, it’s a dangerous maneuver, one she can’t risk in unstable environments, like a potentially active alien volcano. Which is why she needs to channel the man next to her and be patient. Assess everything. This would be easier if her arms didn’t feel like they were about to fall off.

“Um Wanda…”

Her Yeah? shrivels into terrified nothingness the second she raises her eyes, the lumbering form of their captor oozing over towards Vision. Behind it the shining oval and prismatic container are blindingly bright. That’s never a good sign. Neither is the way it reaches a coal colored hand towards Vision. “Don’t touch him.” There’s a snort, dismissive and loud and like a million steam engines erupting all at once If Wanda had her hands free, she’d use them to cover her ears, the world around her muffled now, even her own breaths sounding distant and unconnected from her.

The demon doesn’t listen to her, a solitary finger delicately (as delicately as a monstrous entity can) touching the Mindstone. The stone lights up in response. Based on the shock spreading across Vision’s face and rippling through his body, he is not in control of it. She has made the stone betray him before, and still lives with that guilt, still remembers the way he described it to her, the suffocating realization that he lacked control over such an integral aspect of himself. She’ll be damned to allow anyone else to make him feel it again.

“Stop!” Horrified, she watches the demon ignore her, beckoning the Mindstone energy forward in a docile beam, inching it along with malicious encouragement even as Vision thrashes against his restraints. Clearly the time for planning is over. “I said stop!”

The demon's head swings towards her and she almost screams, the crackling skin of their captor close enough for her to gaze into the smoldering eyes studying her. She imagines standing in the middle of a raging forest fire would be more comforting than the depths of hell in its pupils. “Accept your fate, little witch.” The words spoken are not the ones she hears, its voice akin to the shattering of an entire hutch of china during a tornado, a tinkling of shards as they get whisked away in the howling wind, and yet she understands it, likely some form of mental translation Dr. Strange told them existed in other beings. It’s awe-inspiring while also being a complete ass.

Wanda meets its eyes and glares. “Only if you accept your fate.”

It laughs, wings expanding out across the entire cavern, shaking as if it has heard a joke for the first time in eons. “You,” it bends low, the heat of its body drawing droplets of sweat along her forehead, “are helpless here.”

“You are going to regret that.” For a man who only seconds ago was fighting for his life, Vision’s gleeful taunt enlivens in her the last bit of strength she needs.

Wanda siphons his confidence into herself, unlocking the core of her power as she sets up her daring rescue at last. “You made two mistakes today.” The transdimensional demon lacks hair and any sort of eyebrows, but that doesn’t stop the distinct feeling of it raising them in disbelief. “First,” Wanda leans forward as much as the chains allow, “you kidnapped and tortured the love of my life. And second,” scarlet begins seeping through her body, crackling along her skin as she speaks, “you assumed I was helpless,” the plan was to cause as little harm as possible, the terrain unstable, the power of this demon unknown, but that’s too soft a punishment for a being that doubts her might, that thinks it can control her, that tried to take from her and think she wouldn’t fight back. Wanda makes sure the demon is looking directly at her when she invokes its fate . “The Scarlet Witch is never helpless.”

As the last word falls from her lips, she allows her powers to erupt.

Oiled hands knead up and down Wanda’s arm, applying the perfect amount of pressure to alleviate the last of her aches. There’s a lovely waft of chamomile each time she breathes in and a soothing melody of some nondescript instrumental track. Even more peaceful is the ebb and flow of Vision’s thoughts, her powers greedily deep in his mind. It’s why she’s able to smile in anticipation of his next comment.

“I agree with you.”

Wanda stays face down, far too relaxed to even think about moving, “Obviously,” a little snort comes from her left, guiding her lips up higher into victory, “what specifically?”

“I just finished the report,” only Vision would consider mission reports a comfort read, “Dr. Strange is still perturbed with your methods.”

In her mind there was no inkling of doubt their de facto mission leader was seething, mostly due to the forty minute lecture she received on excessive use of powers, but rarely does he allow it to seep into ink for everyone to read. “I think he’s jealous.”

What she expects is an airy laugh and then a gentle rebuttal, instead she is delivered a treat, “I do believe that is part of it.” Wanda apologizes to the masseuse as she props herself up to look over at Vision, tickled at the unadulterated relaxation before her. He’s engulfed in a snowy white robe while reclined in a chair, a hot towel wrapped around his head with two little cucumber slices on his eyes that look like lifeboats in the waves of the clay mask slathered on his face. When he talks it forms little cracks in the mask, “You achieved a feat he could not, anyone would experience at least a speck of jealousy.”

“Even you?”

“If I had been in his position?” the cracks splinter in six different branches as he contemplates. “Yes, even me. But,” gingerly he reaches up and lifts a cucumber, allowing her to see the swirling gear of his iris, “given I was not in his position, I, instead, am able to appreciate how very fortunate I am to be loved by such a stunningly powerful woman.” A flirty little wink is sent her way before the cucumber drops back into place.

Wanda grins, cheeks rising high enough to hurt a little, as she settles back into the massage table. After all these years that little boyish grin and wink of his urges her heart to beat a hair faster. Maybe she lied in the cavern, overstated the level of helplessness she can experience, because no matter the circumstance, she will always be helplessly in love with Vision. A fact that doesn’t weaken her, can never tame her, one instead that challenges her to understand and harness her powers even more because the universe will never stop trying to take from her, will relentlessly pursue her happiness. This she won’t stand for anymore. Whatever comes next, no matter how intimidating or powerful, she will be ready to yet again prove that the Scarlet Witch is not so easily crossed.

[hoshinokaabiivevo-blog]

A META KNIGHT’S TALE/META KNIGHT AND THE MYSTERIOUS ECLIPSE

No cover art this time! Might update this later with it.

It was pretty difficult trying to make this game work as a stand-alone, but still have the Kirby charm. That applies to both the storyline and the gameplay, for the record. Any and all criticism is encouraged! Just like with Kirby’s Inferno, this is not meant to be speculation on a future Kirby game, this is solely made for fun! If there ever is a Meta Knight spinoff, you didn’t hear it from me.

STORY

It’s an average peaceful day in Dreamland, and Captain Vul is overseeing the Meta-Knights’ training. They’re all doing pretty well, except for Sailor Dee, who just can’t seem to get a hang of his bow and arrow. Vul is most proud of Meta Knight himself, however, and lauds him when he shuttle-loops a training dummy into stuffing. This exercise is interrupted when a strange meteor crashes down about a mile away, and Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight go off to scope it out.

Upon further inspection, they see that it appears to be a small escape pod of some sort, and there’s a person covered in stars inside of it. Without warning, he bursts from it and lunges at Meta Knight, thrusting a nodachi at his face. They clash for quite some time until Sword and Blade take over, and the other Meta-Knights sans Sailor dogpile on as well. As Meta Knight catches his breath, a small fairy then exits the pod, dazed and weak. She shakes it off, and gasps at the sight before her.

The man manages to break through the barrage of attacks and tries again to strike Meta Knight, but their blades clash and they struggle to maintain their own ground. The fairy girl then yanks the guy away by his ponytail and shows him a picture of a certain spherical hero. It’s actually Kirby, but due to the picture having no color (or any other identification, WTF, Tara?), he believes it to be Meta Knight.

They apologize for attacking and explain themselves. Orion comes from the planet of Aurora Cosmos, which is currently under attack by a mysterious moon-like structure known as the Eclipse Castle. Being the gentlemen that they are (and a little sheepish for attacking an innocent guy), they agree to help him and lead him to the Halberd. Sailor Dee finally hits the target dead on, and Tara cheers him as Axe and Mace guide him into the ship.

Upon reaching Orion’s planet, they can safely affirm that the massive crescent moon-shaped object above the shimmering green planet probably isn’t supposed to be there. I mean, usually, it’s a bad thing when half of the planet’s coated in a gross blackish tar. Landing on the planet proves difficult as well, being that they’re attacked by shapeshifting beasts (which Tara refers to as Morphix) and nearly crash.  

Unfettered, the band of knights marches on through the land, slaying these freakish creatures and saving the natives from a gooey torment. But, something seems to be off about Orion. Even for the Meta-Knights, he seems a bit too aloof and unattached, only focusing on the mission at hand and refusing to take a load off.

This reaches a head when after defeating a massive Morphix that begins ripping the place to shreds, Orion does something obscenely reckless. He nonchalantly leaps off of a cliff, and Meta Knight dives after him, catching him and flying him to safety. When they land, the poor guy is in a state of utter bewilderment at what just happened. Apparently, Orion should be able to fly, and is pretty shocked at his sudden inability.

Later, when the crew is roasting marshmallows around a fire, he stands alone and ponders what could be happening. Much to his horror, the answer is made clear when he sees that the stars on his arms are disappearing. He quickly yanks his arm guards over the now-blank spots to hide them as Meta Knight approaches.

Meta Knight can tell something’s wrong but doesn’t pry; instead silently reassuring him that he’ll be fine if they stick together. They hear a scream of terror and turn to see that Tara’s marshmallow has caught fire, and she’s flying around in a tizzy trying to put it out. Sailor Dee helps her out by chucking it into a pond, which gets everyone to laugh and finally unwind.

Once all the countries of the planet are nice and monsterless, the knights turn their attention to the Eclipse Castle. Something goes horribly wrong when they bring the Halberd to the surface. Not only are they immediately grounded by black spires and crash land, Orion suddenly yells out and collapses, the stars from his body rapidly dissolving. The crew rushes over to him and a tearful Tara reveals that they haven’t been exactly honest with them. 

Many years ago, Orion’s people were cursed by a vengeful and chaotic mage named Pitch Shadow, who threatened to destroy their planet if they did not submit to his will and give him their magical power. Orion knew that going after him alone would mean certain demise, but he didn’t care as long as his planet was safe. It was only with Tara’s urging that he changed his mind and decided to seek out allies.

Orion is true and fully dead. Furious, Meta Knight leaps through the portal to destroy him, the hesitant crew following suit. Inside the Midnight Castle, they find a massive crystal ball chained to the ground with thick glowing chains. Upon breaking it open, they realize their horrible mistake, as it turns out that the chains were what was giving it it’s energy.

Now fully freed, Pitch begins to siphon all the life out of the planet. They’ve got to turn around to the Halberd and use its cannons to shatter the chains before pummeling him into a pulp once more. With the mage blasted into oblivion, the Eclipse Castle itself starts falling to pieces, and they bolt out of there as fast as they can.

The Halberd continues its journey back down to Aurora Cosmos, while both Meta Knight and Tara sadly gaze upon Orion’s body in the sick bay. Meta Knight turns to leave, but something catches his eye outside the window; a vast collection of golden stars has appeared where the Eclipse Castle used to be, and they’re heading right towards the ship.

As they fill the interior, the markings on Orion’s body reappear, and he awakens. Tara is overjoyed, fluttering around him, and cheering as Meta Knight stares in shock. Overcome by emotion, Meta Knight rushes over to him and embraces him, Orion taking it in stride as he pats Meta’s head.

Triumphant, the knights and Orion land to a cheering crowd. Orion’s wings reappear, to which he responds to by challenging Meta Knight to a race. But as the two take off and dart around the city, it becomes less of a competition and more of the two simply having fun! 

GAMEPLAY

Each member has their own personal move set and stats, which can be paired up with another knight to create exclusive moves (and to help with puzzles)

However, they all share one move; they plant their weapon in the ground and clutch onto it, preventing them from being blown away or sucked up by enemies. (ha-ha, wow, that’s dark)

By defeating enemies with combos, you fill up a meter called “boost points”. This gives you the ability to call on Tara so that she can give you extra help with a quick nuzzle or a beam of light from her horn.

These powers include temporary invincibility, stronger attacks, more health, or heightened speed.

Pieces of armor can also show up in hidden crates across various levels, all randomized.

You can mix and match different caps, armor, and weapons, but there are exclusive sets that can permanently boost your stats if completed.

There’s a daily roulette wheel (à la Miitopia) that can give you brand new armor, more boost points, or Maxim Tomatoes.

The game’s map operates the same way that Amazing Mirror’s does, with an open world you can freely move around to which level you’d like and replay them at your leisure. They’re connected all by a central hub in the Halberd, which has a training room and an armory that you can enter at any time.

There’s a boss at the end of every level, not just the worlds! Admittedly, they’re still about the same difficulty as midbosses.

LEVELS

Sable Shores

Tornado Terrace

Energy Expo

Lachrymose Loch

Lit Landing

Ablaze Alcove

Roaring Reaches

Eclipse Castle

Tara’s Dialogue (hub)

(answers to "Greetings.")

You're so cool, Meta Knight! I know you can save us! I-I-I mean, help us.

(post-game) I knew you could do it! Thank you so much for all your aid.

(answers to "Let me see the armory.")

Want to see what armors you've got?

(50% or higher completion) It's getting pretty packed in there! Watch your head!

(100% completion) Brings back memories, doesn't it?

(answer to "I want to try the roulette.")

It's time to play some roulette!

(answers to "What do you think of the crew?")

Captain Vul is astounding! But he's so tall, it scares me a little bit.

Sword Knight is great! His helmet looks like a yummy loaf of bread!

Blade Knight is so brave! He looks up to you a lot, you know.

Mace Knight is so funny! That guy always knows how to cheer me up!

Javelin Knight is very smart! I've never met a robot before!

Axe Knight is so loyal! You two remind me of Orion and me!

Trident Knight is pretty mysterious! But he's good fun!

Sailor Waddle Dee is so cute! ...um, that's all I have to say.

Orion is awe-inspiring! He's my best friend in the whole world!

(answers to "Do you have any advice?")

Have you tried out the training room? It never hurts to brush up on your skills!

Some knights mesh better than others. Try out a bunch of teams and see which works for you!

You should smile more! ...oh, that's not what you meant, is it?

(answers to "Thank you. Goodbye.")

Bye-bye!

It's been a long journey so far. Why not take a rest?