#we'll see if it goes anywhere but they seem cool

[army-of-bee-assassins]

today was orientation for my grad program, and then there was a party at a professor's house this evening for all the slp students (1st and 2nd years) and it all went pretty well tbh!! i was worried it would be overwhelming and i'd stand in a corner on my phone talking to no one like i usually do in social gatherings but i actually managed to talk to people and they were mostly pretty cool!

[ac-liveblogs]

Munchen Bastard vs Manshine City: The Finale

This panel is inexplicably hilarious to me. Isagi reflects so calmly on that batshit match like he and Kaiser were being completely normal and reasonable. That was an average match. Nothing to see or comment on there.

Is it still a technical foul if the one you're assaulting is on your own team? Anyway.

...god, I want to see what Blue Lock TV has to say about that one. You know it's wild when Nagi and Reo go full uh... Nagi and Reo, and they're still not the biggest trainwreck ('most interesting') of a duo on the field.

Ego talking about Nagi's goal as a one-hit wonder is interesting, because I think he's right that Nagi will never be able to replicate it. Nagi could barely keep that same energy going for the match he was already in, let alone another one. Nagi, whose only real faults read as 'just less experienced than everyone else', seems to finally be getting a real flaw he'll have to work on - motivation. Which is interesting, right, given his motivation is supposed to be getting the world cup with Reo - but that's not a big enough driver to keep him really going? Episode Nagi's reframing of events seems mildly contradictory in that way. Guess we'll see how it goes.

Suddenly, Yukimiya. You know a guy is screwed when he starts saying shit like "god never gives you more than you can handle!" He can pretend he's gonna be a player all he wants, I don't think he's coming back in any major capacity.

Oh yeah, speaking of Isagi blasting past people regardless of their sad backstories, Sae is inevitably going to be Isagi's midfielder later, right? Because screw Rin, right? That's awesome, I can't wait.

I don't know much about soccer, but as a 'playmaker' who is very good at strategic passing, would Isagi be better off as a midfielder like Sae? Is that a criminal thing to say. I'm sorry. Isagi's just really bad at actually scoring goals lately. Maybe he should refocus. Since he apparently thinks he doesn't need any special moves to get one over on Kaiser, he might want to build the skillset he definitely already has. (amazed at Isagi's hyper-confident bullshit).

Kaiser just like. Ruined a goal. For his own teammate. Is that legal? Should it be illegal? Obviously this shit can only happen in Blue Lock but is it REALLY something sponsors are gonna like like. 'oh yeah that's a good team player that guy he'll work really well in a team', REALLY?

I guess teams only seem to consist of like max. four relevant people at any one time so what does it matter... the author only sometimes remembers Chigiri and Kunigami are around... particularly insulting for Kunigami all things considered.

Actually, it'd be so cool if Kira reappears after Wild Card as a final joker card boss or something. I'd love that. Please do that. I'll be sad if that doesn't happen now.

Just once, I want to see these jackasses go up against a really competent goalie. I want Kaiser Impact stopped dead. Just once. Please.

For real though, it does make their soccer feel pretty 'incomplete' that other players like that aren't really accounted for. These guys don't feel like they're training to go up against really competent defense or anything. Maybe the author just doesn't think it exists. I don't know.

Backstory: I played soccer for two years in primary school, and the first year I was defense. Our forwards were so competent the ball very rarely came anywhere near us, so I didn't have to be good or anything. It's not like I could do much if it did. So my soccer experience is entirely consistent with Blue Lock, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! Why are these pro athletes on the same level as me at age 10!

Ness is so funny. I want to see his Kaiser stan account's deranged blogging of the entire Blue Lock experience.

I love that Isagi thought so hard he passed out. "Metavision" is so funny.

One, why is Noa's bedroom some sci-fi alien ship. Two, why was Isagi taken THERE when he passed out. Did Ego just like. Not fund an infirmary? Is that where Blue Lock cut costs? I'd buy it.

Noa's just watching his team burn with a completely impassive face. Man he does not give a SHIT, I bet he's loving Kaiser getting assaulted by some random high schooler.

The idea that Ego ever actually played soccer is bonkers to me. Like, it makes perfect sense. But I don't buy it. Seeing that guy in soccer shorts will actually make my brain melt out my ears.

But of course Blue Lock, designed to attract/produce guys that are not even remotely normal about each other, was founded by a guy that is also not normal about another dude. Phenomenal stuff.

Bastard Munchen's sponsors watching Isagi and Kaiser brutalise each other on the field like "yeah we want that all the time actually"

I expected Shidou to rank much higher given his U-20 showing. How is he so much lower than Rin? Does Rin just knock him unconscious before every match?

If I were told I had the same worth as Ness I think I'd kill myself.

LET'S GO BAROUUUUUU

[pocketramblr]

AU! Inko having a sugar baby arrangement with Giran that accidently resulted in Izuku. Izuku has no idea who his father is, and Giran doesn't find out he has a son until later when the League captures Izuku instead of Bakugo.

oh good the antidote to Nao in Situations... Giran Simping!

1- I think Inko kept the sugar baby arrangement up with several others since, runs an OF, wrote some steamy novels under her OF name, that sort of thing. got an little online boutique she's started more recently with her designs for plus size clothes and underthings. Izuku is generally aware of his mother's career and is fine with it, and is also fine with Inko working to keep most of it out of his sight. just another one of those potentially awkward things they're accustomed to but don't talk about. like his mysterious father. or his seeming lack of a quirk.

2- seeming, as he lacks the toe-joint that says he's quirkless for sure, but nothing obvious has ever shown up. he's smart, but not unnaturally so. none of the mental quirk tests led anywhere. he isn't officially recorded as quirkless, but he assumes that by now he's got to be. Huh anyway weird that he is able to specifically remember instances of quirk use with perfect clarity because he's interested in it, able to analyze what he saw even if it was only once, and also, the weird ofa memory stuff- but we'll get to that

3- so izuku's got a fairly normal life, gets bullied, sludge villain, etc etc etc. And then he gets OfA. and then UA gets attacked. And then UA throws a sports festival anyway. and then he gets brainwashed. And then he sees weird ghostly figures behind All Might! But All Might says he's seen them before too, and they can't interact. just glimpses of the people who used to wield the quirk. Izuku's seen them earlier than he did, probably either the quirk being stronger or an effect of brainwashing. Ok, cool, normal. Iida tries to kill a serial killer, less normal. The next night, Izuku has a vivid dream of scolding some child named Kotaro for drawing on his teacher's desk in permanent marker. not normal at all. He has no idea where it came from. but it keeps happening. Strange dreams- not every night, maybe a few times a month, but each time vivid and unlike anyone he knows. It isn't until he's patching up a shirt in a dream, when a man opens the door and says "Bruce! We got a lead on All For One- and his brother!" that he realizes what he might be seeing. Nervously, he brings it up to All Might, who agrees it sounds like flashes of the past users he can see, but not interact with. after all, the dreams just play out as memories with him unable to change anything. But its probably just because of how strong OfA is now, with Izuku's practice charging it up more! "It's a wonderful sign, young Midoriya, and I hope you have good memory dreams tonight. You're going to the mall with all your classmates tomorrow, right? and camp is next week! Who knows what you'll pull out of that quirk next, incredible."

4- the mall... happens. And so does camp... and Dabi ends up with Izuku instead. Shigaraki complains loudly about not getting the one on the take list. Dabi complains loudly about how he didn't see Shigaraki doing any work on that mission. Izuku- well he doesn't complain, but he does ask pretty loudly why Kacchan was on the list, and Shigaraki goes "oh, friend of yours? i guess we can keep you alive long enough to lure him here." and Izuku has just enough preservation to point out he's pretty sure that won't happen. He does, however, end up chained to a chair, still in horrible pain due to his broken bones, listening to Shigaraki on the phone asking some guy for intel on him and Kacchan.

5- About an hour later, a guy walks in with a file of papers and shoves the top one at Shigaraki. Shigraki reads the paper. Looks at the new guy. reads the paper again. Looks at Izuku. Decays the paper. Tells the new guy he's got ten minutes, and orders everyone out. Izuku notes that Kurogiri is still there. New guy, who smells like cigarettes when he gets close to Izuku, stares at him. Izuku isn't sure what he's looking for, but he glares back. New guy huffs. "Well, you're certainly Inko's, at least." That gets a reaction from Izuku. Shoulders tense. Eyebrows narrow. "How do you know my mom?" "Well, kid, I'm an intel broker. That give you any ideas?" "My mom wouldn't go to a crook like you for information." He's right. "Right. Now come on, be smart kid. If we weren't meeting on account of my job, then...?" Izuku blinks. His mother's? but- no. Absolutely not. "Mhm. If i can remember my old password to get into this account i can show you the old messages we had... dated about seventeen years ago. You're just sixteen now, aren't ya?" New guy, who Izuku strongly hopes is lying, fiddles with his phone, typing something. "And I trust Inko to be professional, loyal. So there's an eighty percent chance, at least." "Eighty percent chance of what?" "What's your quirk, kid?" It takes Izuku too long to say "Superpower." New guy laughs. "Now if I knew Inko well, and I did, then 'superpower' is not the name she would have given the name of a quirk that powered her toddler's bones... but you didn't have that quirk back then. What's your real quirk, not the one you just got this year?" Izuku is pretty sure that Shigaraki's teacher is AfO. He knows about OFA, obviously, though Shigaraki doesn't. This guy may or may not. So instead of answering, he just shrugs. "Let me guess. You didn't have one, or, something about remembering? Maybe forgetting? Attracting memories, that'd be a fun combo, hah. Or, quirkless, like I was before, you know... we each found an in." Izuku tries to glare again, but... well, the memories in ofa are a new thing... and quirks can have strange activators... "Ah! Here we go!" New guy, who Izuku would rather not think of as 'eighty percent chance of being his father', moves around the chair and angles his phone down in front of Izuku so he can see the screen. Instead of old messages, there's a notepad. He scrolls slowly so Izuku can read. The writing on it says "look. we both know AfO wants your quirk. But he isn't going to try and get it until Shigaraki's done with you, so play along, maybe some info here and there to 'lure' the bakugou kid to you. even odds the heroes get here first and you're fine. if they don't, i can get afo to spare your life. not your quirk, but he'll let me keep my son. you can't fight out of here, i'm the only out. but you can't tell anyone about this deal. Not the heroes, not the other villains. got it?" Izuku stares at the note. "Do you get it, kid?" The broker asks, quietly. Izuku is pretty sure he's going to fight a way out anyway, but for now... "Got it." "Good." The broker stands up and walks back in front of him, "Izuku, right? Open up." Izuku starts to ask why and gets a cotton swab in his mouth for it, then before he can bite on it to break it it's out again, tucked into a bag then a pocket. "What was that for?" He snaps. "Well, gotta make sure, right? eighty percent isn't one hundred." "And if i'm not?" "Then Inko will owe me one hell of a favor." "... And if I am?" "Then you will." The broker shrugs, turns to go. "Wait-" Izuku starts, then isn't sure where to keep going. The broker looks at him. "What's your name?" The broker laughs a little. "Ah, good question. What'd Inko call me?" Izuku tries to remember. She didn't usually, but he thinks there was one time when it was someone else asking... "Hisashi?" "Hisashi." The broker repeats. "Ah, see, that's poetic! Much more the kind of name Inko would come up with. She's a great writer, you know." Izuku glares so hard that the broker who's definitely not actually named Hisashi makes his way out of the room without another word.

+1- when Shigaraki comes back, he orders Kurogiri give him something strong enough to wipe that mental image from his mind, and then starts asking Izuku about his friend. And his friend's weaknesses. Izuku is unimpressed and he almost forgets his maybe-dad's plan- "Kacchan is really strong, he doesn't have many weaknesses, since he's so practiced with his quirk that-", but only almost, "I don't know, i scared him with a spider once. but we were like, seven. and i guess i wanted to send him a whole box of spiders after he stole my all might-"..... Shigaraki latches on to the 'wait, he stole things from you? potential for crime? i knew it' thing, Toga latches onto the spiders box thing, and so does Dabi but he does it in the opposite direction, complaining that spiders is so basic, and by the time he was seven, he had already tried to murder his baby brother. Magne then asks "wait, you tried to kill a baby? not succeeded? you failed to kill a baby?" which Dabi then responds by reminding her of her less than stellar ratio of successful kills. Compress asks for one of whatever Shigaraki is having, and swipes his' drink too. Spinner keeps trying to sneak closer to Izuku to ask him questions about Stain, and Izuku is slowly starting to feel like he might actually survive long enough to escape or be rescued before he is either turned to dust or tortured for his quirk.

[sophieinwonderland]

I wonder if there's a conflating of psychiatry and psychology happening in the beef anti-psych-pro-endo is having with you.

Like, one is a study of human cognition and behavior, the other is medical treatment of that subject.

Being anti-psych ourselves, we absolutely want to see the abolishing of psychiatry as it stands now, in favor of more durable and equitable systems of care. But the study you mused on could exist in such a world.

Idk what kind of world produces compassionate and consensual mental health support without having a robust psychology field. How does a community reduce harm unless they know what is and isn't harmful, or know what is and isn't harm? Thinking here of bigots weaponizing pseudoscience and inclusive language to promote and defend their bigotry. Or even just folks denying supports because they don't understand the need for said supports.

Maybe we're just fundamentally misunderstanding the two fields or the conversation or something. But it irks us that the anti-psych position is being anti-science.

This is a good point.

Anti-psych, as I understand, is generally short for anti-psychiatry not anti-psychology. And they seem to be pretty heavily conflating the two.

For context, I'm going to link to their own explanation of their views on psychology and psychiatry so I don't end up misconstruing anything.

I know that psychiatry is typically defined as involving medication as well as general "mental health", while psychology is more typically only things like therapy and other non-medicinal approaches to "mental health". In my opinion, however, anti-psych covers both, because both are used to harm neurodivergent people. Medication is both coercively prescribed under threat of institutionalization and withheld, and patients are not educated on the full scope of how the medication can both help and harm their bodyminds. Therapy is used to force neuroconformity - from well-known harmful examples such as ABA therapy, to lesser acknowledged examples such as CBT being used to condition patients into exhibiting "socially acceptable" thought and behavior patterns at the expense of their mental health; typically also blaming and punishing the patient when they fall short of the intended goals due to their own symptoms.

Now, maybe there can be some truth to this if we're solely discussing clinical psychology.

But psychology is a pretty broad field that goes way beyond "mental health."

There are experimental psychologists, neuropsychologists, forensic psychologists, engineering psychologists, educational psychologists, developmental psychologists, and many others.

Psychology is a massive field of study. I would even go so far as to say that most psychology ISN'T about mental health at all.

And most of the psychologists at this hypothetical school wouldn't be clinical psychologists. They would be developmental psychologists to study the development of the children in this environment.

This isn't really psychiatry, nor is it clinical psychology. It's just research. It's studying children in a unique environment with a different culture that doesn't exist anywhere else.

And I really agree with the point about pseudoscience. If you get in the way of research and prevent studies from being conducted, then that's all that you'll be left with. And if you take a position that children can't be studied because they can't possible be able to consent to the study, then that means we'll lack valuable data that can be used to help children.

Speaking of conducting psychological experiments on children, there was actually a really cool one conducted on children (with parents consent) showing they could create imaginary companions intentionally, and that those imaginary companions

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/icd.2390

And this study directly references tulpas as something to compare with in future studies.

These are cool findings that wouldn't be possible if we just decided children shouldn't be studied.

I need to do a more in-depth post on that study later.

[mybikeasmypride]

So, just gonna say right off the bat and get it out of the way, I ship Stolitz. Yes, it's problematic. But I like these characters, their interactions are fun/entertaining for me, and this is a work of fiction for adults who I'm sure are capable of telling the difference between reality and fiction.

Cool, now that we are at an understanding, feel free to continue on with this post, or don't. Spoilers ahead for the latest Helluvaboss episode, Season 2 Episode 1. Also, my thoughts will be written as they come so expect little organization.

I really enjoyed this episode, though, for as many questions as it answers, it does open a few more. The episode is broken down two three time periods: when Stolas and Blitz were kids, their first meeting as adults (or the affair), and then the present day following the events of the season 1 finale.

This latest episode did an excellent job (I feel) of re-contextualizing everything we knew about Stolas and Blitz's relationship without actually retconning anything. I myself had always wondered why Blitz was THE ONE person Stolas seemed to have an attraction for, now we know. I know some people were confused about the whole divorce issue between Stolas and Stella and I have some theories:

Following the affair, when Stella first finds out, Stolas is riding the high of being genuinely happy for the first time in many years of his life. He had a taste of true freedom. But we all know what follows that, don't we? In episode 2 of season 1, Stella is furious, throwing things and screaming so loudly it wakes up Octavia all the way across the house. The high of being with Blitz has worn off, and Stolas, having been a victim of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse reverts back to old habits and fears, cowing to his wife in order to keep up some semblance of the status quo. He spends a day with his daughter and realizes the divorce might hurt her, not to mention he still has societal expectations from his peers and family, so the divorce gets put off for Octavia's sake. It's not until Stolas feels he's lost everything, his daughter, and the love of his life, that he finally snaps and fights back against his wife and the expectations society has put on him. Damn the consequences, he finally decided to finalize the divorce.

On Octavia's end, it's vague as to whether or not she was 'aware' of her father being abused. I say that for a few reasons: One, she grew up in this household, if her mom has been doing this crap her whole life, it might just seem like a normal thing to her and her views on it may be skewed, and two, we never see Octavia at these parties her mom is always throwing, so perhaps she doesn't witness a majority of what goes on between her parents. All she knows is that her dad did something to rock the boat to where her mother has gone from her usual bitchiness to EXTREME. But even in that episode, we don't see Octavia having any sort of attachment to her mom, she's more worried about her dad leaving.

I feel this season started off great and I'm hoping for episode 2 we'll get an episode from Blitz's POV from his childhood, his fall out with his family and Fiz, and what pushed him to steal the book from Stolas.

While we have been given plenty of reason to sympathize with Stolas, I don't think it's fair to trash on Blitz. He is an imp. The lowest of the low in Hell's hierarchy. Imagine being looked down on every single day of your existence. Imagine being pawned off by your own parent (even if it is only for a day) to some rando rich family. Imagine that your best friend is more valued by your parental figure than you are. Imagine that your life has essentially been one failed venture after another and you just want to make SOMETHING of yourself. That is what we know of Blitz. He HAS to be conniving, and scheming, and stoop to some extreme lows because that's the only way he feels someone of his station has the slightest chance to get anywhere. And it's not unrealistic to have doubts about the sincerity of Stolas' feelings for him when his own dad didn't give two shits and his best friend from childhood became a “sell-out jester”. Stolas has neglect issues, Blitz has abandonment issues.

I'm okay with Stella being portrayed as a mega-bitch, this isn't HER story and some characters only need to be one thing to help service the story. She still has great character design and I am actually curious to see just how far she's planning to take things now that Stolas has thrown her out of the house. I mean, obviously, her brother is getting involved somehow, but we'll see.

Feel free to add or comment! Just try to be civil, please. :)

[blackjackkent]

This Sharran gauntlet is definitely a bit of a maze. Doing my best to cover everything and not get lost but we'll see.

My immediate plan was to go deal with that displacer beast, since the knowledge that it was there was making me nervous. :P Jumping down to the level where it was standing, though, it seems to be abruptly gone, and Karlach picked up a perception check.

Cool. Probably the one Raphael told us to look for.

Aggressive quicksave per @zenjestrr's suggestion, and down we go, fully expecting something to jump out of a wall.

Actually, before even starting down the corridor, I'm able to move the camera along, and hey, look.

There he is.

This big boy and his numerous friends are a level above us (just take my word for it; the messed up, shattered architecture around here is very confusing) and looking the other direction. I'm guessing our current path will take us underneath him and then he will drop down on us? The displacer beast appears to have moved to the far side of the room past him.

My ideal strategy here would be to jump up behind him and get the drop on him instead, but only Karlach has the jump distance necessary to make that work. So we'll see if we can get a shot on him from underneath before he notices us, I guess.

A very unscientific diagram of the situation:

After some experimenting, I was able to get the group (in a rare moment of the hide action actually working successfully in this game) to sneak to the far right side of the room without alerting anybody. This allows us to get a bit of a look around at this area, which is AWFUL.

Hector points out that there is tons of blood and gore everywhere, and this is hanging out at the far end near where the displacer beast is pacing back and forth.

Yechh.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Shadowheart, that this isn't what normally goes on in Sharran temples.

We do seem to kind of have the option of just...scurrying past the whole situation and not engaging. But I'm not overly interested in doing that, and I don't think Hector is either. He doesn't like Raphael much but the depiction of the Orthon as a crazed brute seems like it might not be off the mark and needs to be dealt with.

But if there's a way to handle this situation stealthily I don't think I know what it is. And ultimately I think Hector would like to get Orthon's side of the story before killing him outright. So I think the correct answer here might just be to step into view and see what happens.

[QUICKSAVE]

The displacer beast spots them immediately, followed at once by the orthon on the upper level, who has sighted down on them with a crossbow.

"What's this?" the devil growls in a rumbling, resonant baritone. "Fresh entertainment...but you're too fresh for this place, aren't you? There's a whiff of the surface to you..."

His eyes move from Hector to Karlach, and he smirks. "You. Tiefling. You've got the stench of the Hells about you - the stench of home. And a whiff of the surface besides. A servant of Zariel, if I'm not mistaken." His fingers flex on the handle of his crossbow. "I'd know the stench of her infernal machinery anywhere."

Karlach shifts uncomfortably at Hector's side. "What do you know of infernal machinery?" she asks.

The devil shrugs casually, the tip of the crossbow remaining perfectly steady with the movement. "Only what I can smell. And whatever engine burns within you is grinding to an inevitable explosion. Burning and fear - you reek with it."

Hector sets his jaw. How dare this creature taunt them with that terrible encroaching deadline? He has tried, so hard, not to think about it, to focus on what he and Karlach have together, now, but that mocking voice draws it back into immediate focus and the pain stabs back into him again, and with it, fury.

And yet...

Is it possible the orthon knows something that could help to save her? Hector would betray Raphael in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Karlach safe...

As if following his thoughts, the devil twitches, looks back towards Hector and wrinkles his nose up. "There's something else...almost hidden by your fear-stink. Cherries...musk...and sulphur. Raphael! I can smell him all over you. WHERE IS HE?"

"I...don't know what you mean..." Hector tries evasion, but it's useless.

"LIES," the devil bellows at once, as Hector on some level knew he would. "My nose would recognize him anywhere. That perfumed trickster swindled me - trapped me!"

There's clearly no point in being coy about this. Hector sighs. "He wants you dead," he says matter-of-factly.

"Where is he?" growls the orthon. "Spit it out. NOW!"

"Careful," Shadowheart mutters. "I'm not sure we want Raphael as an enemy."

Hector isn't either, but he also believes Raphael fully capable of lying about what is actually going on here. What he wants, more than anything, is information before making a decision, and this orthon seems like it might be marginally more likely to tell him things directly than Raphael is.

"Let's...share our experiences about Raphael," he says carefully. "Perhaps we can help each other."

The devil laughs. "Bargaining, are you? A Kara-Tur warlord once tried the same - I made him watch as I ate his concubines and young, then fashioned a codpiece from his skull." He snarls, a noise of muted frustration and rage. "You can't help. It's not just walls that keep me here. Not the traps, the dark, or the creatures it hides. Something stronger holds me. A contract. Either I fulfil the contract, die trying, or forfeit my freedom. If I leave this place now, I'll become Raphael's slave."

Hector's eyebrows lift in surprise. This...is interesting news - and not simply for reasons of the issue at hand. Astarion has said on more than one occasion in camp that he would like to work with Raphael, to make a deal that would see him freed of Cazador's ability to control him. Hector thinks it's a terrible idea, but knows arguing with Astarion is pointless - but he wonders how Astarion would feel to know that Raphael is ready to enslave and control as well, perhaps just as much as Cazador was.

But...that is an issue to consider later. For now he must decide what to do regarding that crossbow still pointing down at him.

"Show me this contract," he says, still speaking very slowly, carefully, ready to dodge aside if the devil shows signs of attacking. "Perhaps there's something you missed." That would be the ideal scenario, wouldn't it? Get the creature out of its contract, send it back to the hells, and upset Raphael's plans at the same time but without giving him room to object.

The orthon blinks, then straightens and, completely unexpectedly, begins to sing - terribly.

"Spill all the blood sworn to the night. Silence all prayers, smother each rite. Wander Shar's halls, hungry to slay. Leave no Justiciar alive to obey. Leave none to hear it; then be set free. This song is your oath. Swear, swear it to me."

Hector resists the urge to wince at the discordant notes, focusing instead on the message of the strange, winding verse.

Narrator: Well, that explains where all the Dark Justiciars went. [INSIGHT] The final lyrics linger in your mind. There is a trick buried within them - a clause that cannot be easily fulfilled.

"That's it," the demon rumbles, bringing his crossbow up again and re-aiming it at Hector's face.

"So he's responsible for all the carnage down here," Shadowheart whispers, appalled. "All those Dark Justiciars...slaughtered..."

Hector looks up at the orthon, his mind churning rapidly, trying to parse the situation and the best way out of it. "Raphael wanted you to kill Dark Justiciars?" he asks. "Why?"

"Asking why doesn't get me paid," the orthon snarls. "Hunting and killing does. Raphael mentioned something about an aasimar. Meant nothing to me. I did my part - I filled these halls with ghosts. But Raphael's playing some other game, one that involves stiffing me."

He pauses, seems to consider for a moment, then shrugs. "Anyway, enough prattle. The lyrics are clear - all who hear the song must die. He spits on the ground, cocks the crossbow back. "Time to die."

Hector backpedals at once, a hand going to his crossbow, but as he does, he babbles out desperately, [PERSUASION] "The lyrics are a trick! You've always had an audience - your followers! Get rid of them!"

Years of reading back in the monastery libraries on all manner of subjects coalesces here; he has read of devil contracts and of the legal ones of the material plane. If he can convince the devil to believe him...this has to be correct, it has to be the way out...it solves everything at once...

But that's a very big "if."

A long, strained pause. For a moment he's quite sure he's going to get a crossbow bolt in the head no matter what...and then the orthon's weapon drops and he looks perplexed. "The merregons?" He glances at the masked, imp-like creatures flanking him. "They barely have a thought to share among themselves..." Another pause. "But they do have ears." He turns towards them, snaps out an order. "Kill yourselves! Back to the hells with you!"

It's a rather extraordinary show; without hesitation, all the small creatures turn and slam their axes into each others heads, then collapse in a bloody heap. One of their axes clatters down next to Hector's feet.

The orthon roars with frustration. "Arrrghhh - I still hear it! Seems your theory is wrong!"

Hector's whole body is jittery with adrenaline, both from fear and from a sort of hysterical thrill that he spoke and the creature listened to such a bloody degree. He can feel the situation on the verge of slipping out of control...but he's almost certain his interpretation of the situation is correct, and at least there are fewer enemies on the field now. [PERSUASION] "You're not finished yet!" he points out desperately. "The displacer can hear you, can't she? Kill her!"

A very unexpected burst of grief flashes onto the orthon's face. "Kill..Nessa?" He looks towards the displacer beast at the far end of the room with deep regret.

"Stay very still, my beauty..." he whispers, and pulls the trigger on the crossbow. The shot flies true and the displacer falls without a sound.

The regret morphs into rage at once. "I STILL HEAR IT!" the demon bellows.

Hector swallows. This is it - the final point. If he's right...the orthon will no longer stalk these halls, Raphael's request will also have been fulfilled, and all of it completely in line with the contract.

[PERSUASION] "Exactly," he says. It takes every ounce of nerve in his body not to flinch away from the pure fury in the demon's face. "Kill yourself, complete the contract, and you'll be reborn in Avernus. Free!"

Surely this is right. It fits with everything he's read before about such things. Listen to me, he thinks desperately, watching the crossbow's tip waver in midair.

And then the crossbow drops. The devil stares at him, reaches to his back and pulls out a heavy steel sword from its sheathe.

"If you're wrong about this," he growls, "I'll claw my way out of Avernus and eat you alive - contract be damned."

He lifts the blade, puts it to his own heart, and thrusts it home. A spatter of bright red blood sprays across the stone floor. "Nicely played, Raphael... Bastard..." he groans out and collapses heavily off the platform into a heap on the ground.

For a long moment, Hector and his companions simply stare at the unmoving body, unable to believe that worked.

"That silver tongue of yours is dangerous," Shadowheart murmurs after a while, looking rather impressed. "Bravo. I can't believe you actually pulled that off."

----

"Me either," Hector whispers. His heart is pounding as if he's just run a marathon, and he finds that his hands are trembling as he goes to try and loot the devil's body.

He didn't really think that would work, right up until the moment that it did. All this time out in the 'real world,' he's struggled with the nuances of conversation, of handling tense situations smoothly. Here, of all places, he was utterly terrified that he would say the wrong thing, would fail, would get them all killed...

But that devil...listened to him.

He believed what he was saying, that these actions would free the orthon from its contract; it wasn't a lie, he wasn't trying to trick the creature. But nevertheless, it was a desperate attempt at best. And the fact that it worked...

He sits down heavily on the floor, puts his head in his hands, and just breathes until the shakiness starts to bleed out of him. It worked, and it's over. It worked, and it's over. One less thing to face in this darkness. All things with her strength.

All things with *my* strength.

For the first time, he realizes he truly believes it. He can do this. He can face these things and handle them, at least sometimes, even the ones that seem insurmountable. For the first time since the crash, a tiny bit of the everpresent fear ebbs away.

"You all right, Hec?" Karlach sits down next to him, leans her head gently against his. Feeling him shaking, she shifts to wrap her arm around him and, unresisting, he slumps into her side.

"I hate this place," he mutters with a hoarse, rueful laugh.

Shadowheart stands nearby, watching him thoughtfully. "You have no love for my Lady, or the others who worship her," she says quietly. "I know that. But you drove out that evil, so it will not kill any more of us."

He nods slightly, not looking up. "They don't deserve a massacre," he says hollowly. "Any more than the Selunites on the surface did."

She has no answer for that, and turns away with a troubled expression.

"Loathe as I am to interrupt our self-congratulatory snuggle session," Gale says mildly, "I think we might do well to be moving on. We've no shortage of other dangers to face before our tents show us their welcoming faces once again."

He leans over and offers a hand to Hector, helping him lever away from Karlach and back onto his feet. "But well done, my friend. Any standoff with a devil that ends with everyone still un-immolated is fine by me."

[lilredghost]

Tagged by @ragnarlothcat (hey I hope you feel better soon! I am making you soup and lending you my favourite blanket!!) and @wibzenadarksiderwithasoftheart

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

Technically 9 but it's really 8. I don't exactly count all tied up in knots as mine (more on this later)

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

82,315, excluding the fic above. I don't think I'll make it to 100k before the year is out, but it would be cool if I did

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

Just Star Wars, actually. I thought about writing fic in my last big fandom (The Witcher), but I didn't really feel motivated to write until SW. My first fic was actually DinLuke, but then I fell in love with the Prequels!

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Tank Top - This is the DinLuke one! I guess it's in the lead cause it's got a 1-year headstart on everything else, maybe

Their fragrance came from you - Sir, that's my emotional support fic! I love this one to death, seriously. I know I kinda made my brand on kinky sex fics and this is very much not that, but...

Blindfold me (I'm the only witness) - I do feel like this one kinda embodies Obikin's insanity tbh. Weird boundary-crossing sex for sure

Lace Me Up, Hold Me Tight - Subby Obi-Wan in a healthy relationship my beloved <3

You can call me baby (You can call me love) - My first Obikin fic. Near and dear to my heart. Stands the test of time, I think. It's mostly just very sweet

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, absolutely! I didn't used to, but now I try to reply to all of them, even if it's just with a few heart emojis.

A lot of the times when I read fic, I like to browse the comments to see speculation from other readers and what the author has to say about it.

Sooo I guess I reply to comments to spark conversation! I think it makes it a bit easier to ask questions / engage with the material as a reader, because they know I'll try to answer as best I can (and I do!!)

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of them!!! I don't believe in unhappy endings. Life is hard enough as it is

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean, they all have happy endings. But maybe Take Care of Me, Please? The idea of being loved and taken care of unconditionally is very appealing to me. I guess that's not surprising

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not directly on the fics themselves, but I have gotten, at this point, several anons criticising my writing and my fics here on tumblr. It's kind of exhausting because I feel like the obikin community itself seems so nice but SOMEONE is sending me these anons and it could really be anyone. It kind of makes me jump at shadows a little bit?

It's probably someone I don't know, rather than someone playing nice to my face and then sending me shit behind my back, but... What if it isn't? :(

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yep yep yep. Like I said, that's where I started. I'm sure people who subscribed to me were disappointed when I started Their fragrance came from you and Obikin didn't have sex for like... 40k words

I've done a little bit of a lot of different kinks, I think. Lingerie, somno, humiliation, boot worship, lactation, daddy kink... There are a couple I really wanna do still (pet play, body swap, etc), but at the same time I kind of want to do more of the ones I've already done? So idk, we'll see where it goes

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Noooope. I'm very interested in AUs, but I'm just not interested in crossovers

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nah, I think that mostly happens to bigger authors, and I'm pretty new. I haven't noticed anything of mine anywhere else, but I also don't spend a lot of time on other fansites these days

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also no! It's a dream of mine, a little bit, but at the same time I see why no one would be particularly interested in translating anything I've written so far. No biggie

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Okay this one is mixed. I have participated in round robins in an obikin server (that's what all tied up in knots is), but there was never any real commitment to writing those things. It was just based on whoever was free and had inspiration. I've actually been thinking I'll take my name off all tied up in knots, cause I don't particularly see that going anywhere, and I feel weird taking credit for it

HOWEVER. I would love to write a collab with someone I know. I'm not sure if I'd be any good at it, but I'd try!

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

I do feel like it has to be Obikin. I'm honestly a multishipper when it comes to Obi-Wan, but I got tired of all the anti-Jedi sentiment in some of the popular pairings (which is the same problem I had with DinLuke), so now I stick mostly to Jangobi/Kenfetti and Obikin.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Disregarding the whole round robin fic, I really do hope to finish all of them. Keeping this section optimistically blank!

16.) What are your writing strengths?

Hm... this question took me longest to come up with an answer. I guess it's worldbuilding and smut (which are sort of on opposite ends of the spectrum, lol)

Worldbuilding obviously is more of a thing in longer fics, but I feel like even in smaller ones I'm able to incorporate background details that I'm dangerously fond of. For example, the super soft blanket Obi-Wan is very territorial over in You can call me baby (You can call me love) is a gift from Ahsoka. And in Your Body, Superimpose It On Me, Anakin's Padawan braid is in an ornate glass box on Obi-Wan's nightstand, and Obi-Wan takes a moment to, like, caress the designs on the box every day.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Well... I can only really write according to the mood I'm in. This was not a problem for a year or two there as I wrote shorter fics, but then I started writing Their fragrance came from you... At first, I was super depressed and so was Obi-Wan. And then the tone got lighter as I started feeling better. But then, you know, I have several chapters where the characters are supposed to be happy and light-hearted and suddenly I'm depressed again and I can't write the next chapters of my fic and then I get more upset about it because it's really important to me and it just becomes kind of a vicious cycle of feeling bad and not writing.

Maybe I need a separate sort of vent fic for when I'm upset? But again, I don't like unhappy endings. And if it has to get better at some point, then I'll have a hard time writing that unless I'm actually feeling better. If that makes sense.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Sooo I do definitely borrow words from other languages, but I always explain them first, and they're usually more like... concepts or objects that are specific to that culture. Of course the character is thinking/speaking those words in that language; there is no translation!

I've never had a reason to have whole sentences of dialogue be in different languages, but I guess if there was a fic which needed that, I wouldn't necessarily mind doing it? But the default is writing everything in english, because, yknow, the fic is in english

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Okay I WAS gonna say that I already answered this with the dinluke thing. But I do remember writing fanfiction for Dinosaur King which (thankfully) never saw the light of day...

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

I feel like, as my only longfic, that's gotta be Their fragrance came from you. I know a lot of people write it off immediately because it's a/b/o (or even because it's supposed to be alpha Obi-Wan), but to me it's got everything. Enemies to lovers. Fun side characters. Pining. Battles. Betrayal. Romance. Sex. Even anti-heteronormativity!

To me it feels very much like I set out to (overambitiously) write an epic, and somehow I'm succeeding. I'm not saying it's the best fic that's ever been written, but it's far exceeded any expectations I had for it when I started.

Bonus: What fic would you want to rewrite one day?

Not necessarily rewrite, but I do wanna do edits to Lace me up, because the first few chapters are just not up to a comfortable standard of writing for me. And I'd be okay with leaving it that way if it was a standalone, but I really like its sequel. Plus I have some ideas for other fics in that series, so it would kind of put all that up to scrutiny again if/when I post a third installment

Tagging

Some of my friends already did this one and I'm not EXACTLY sure who has/hasn't been tagged yet, but (if you want): @anakinsthot @demon----dean @fishnamedsushi @secretsolarsystem

[the-white-soul]

*When Flowey is taken onto the ambulance, he has to examine his surroundings with fascination. He's never been in an ambulance before, despite all the times he's been near to killed. Or actually killed, but those times don't count. He then looks at his mom who is sitting beside him. Flowey stretches a root to grab her hand and squeezes to distract himself.*

*Kara screaming so suddenly after whispering with Dess makes him flinch.* Yeah, paying for things has to suck. If they'll be helping you too, Kara, that means it's at least free for you, right? You're human.

(Kara) "As long as we still live anywhere but America."

(Nurse) "Okay, can we get some healing items here? *Gives Flowey a butts pie.* That should make you feel better, but it won't help with anything permanent. It'll keep you safe until you see the doctor."

(Kara) "Speaking of, is there a hospital in town?"

(Nurse) "Yes, that's not where we're going though. That hospital is only for dying monsters. We'll be going to one in London."

(Kara) "That's cool."

*The ambulance goes up to a hospital with protesters surrounding it.*

(Nurse) "Oh no, protesters."

(Kara) "Should I deal with this?"

(Nurse) "No, we prepare for these situations. *Pulls out a gun.* Don't worry, I don't shoot anyone unless necessary."

(Protesters) "Hang him, hang him..."

(Dess) "Oh, is that all they're saying about Asgore? Aren't they sweet?"

(Kara) "Hardy har."

(Nurse) "Okay, let's move. Keep your guard down, and you might be able to hide yourself." 

*Kara covers their face and keeps Flowey in their hands.*

(Kara) "Sorry if this is uncomfortable for you."

*Dess and Toriel put on a super thick coat. It's summer, but everyone just usually assumes they're just weird.*

(Toriel whispers to Flowey) "It's okay. I promise you'll be safe. I know how many kids I've told that too died, but you won't die.

*There seems to be someone who is leading the protest. He has a nametag calling himself Jack.*

(Jack) "These hospitals are letting monsters into their walls. *Faces the hospital.* Cure our ailments without monsters clogging up our hospital beds!"

*A doctor runs out*

(Doctor) "These monsters deserve treatment too!"

(Jack) "Then let them deal with their problems! Why should our taxes be used on worthless monsters?"

*Everyone in the protest cheered.*

(Nurse) "Ignore them. They seem to be distracted anyway. *Everyone gets in safely.

[sleepytyrtle]

So, after watching the recent Sams video, here are my thoughts on Earth!

I think she's sweet and has a lot to learn. I think she can definitely be a big help to Sun and Lunar in the daycare and take a lot of stress of Sun's shoulders, once he comes to accept her of course.

I'm not sure how to feel about Monty liking Earth. It was hilarious and took me so off guard when he called her mommy, not gonna lie but it was still a bit weird. It's an interesting way to take their dynamic I guess, but I kind of hope it doesn't go anywhere. I can see Monty kind of trailing after Earth for a bit in that love sick sort of daze but I just think she's too new to really get into a relationship. I just want to get to know Earth a bit more after everything is sorted and chills out. Plus, I don't particularly want to see any romantoc relationships blossom between her or anyone.

I'm far more intrigued to see how her relationship with her new brothers will work out! I'm particularly interested in the drama that's sure to ensue between her and Sun.

The whole situation with Sun might actually get worse because of her now that I think about it! Sun might start to feel threatened by her presence, feel replaced even! After all, she was made to be better than them according to their creator. Having her take his room, help in the daycare, get closer to his brothers and friends... it could possibly lead to a further spiral.

However, I think it would also be nice for the current drama to be dealt with separately from Earth and lead into a more domestic sort of drama. Like, Sun still has to work through his emotions with Earth's presence, feeling like she's taking his job from him and feeling insecure. I can see Sun taking that insecurity and acting passive aggressive towards Earth and her not understanding his attitude and trying her best to figure out why her brother dislikes her.

Whatever ends up happening, I am curious to see where it goes!

As for Moon and Lunar, I don't think we'll see as much drama flaring up between them and Earth.

I think Lunar and her will hit it off immediately and he'll just be happy to have a little sister to spend time with. Also, isn't that weird to think about? Earth was created after Lunar. Earth is the youngest now, ya'll! Lunar is an older brother!

Moon seems pretty accepting of this development if not a bit stressed. Granted, he is currently worried more about his brother which I can understand, but I think he and Earth will be friendly with each other if not a bit awkward at first.

All in all, I think Earth is pretty cool. Her design is so lovely and I'm glad we've finally met her. Probably not the best time for her arrival given everything that's going on, but, I think she'll fit in with the family just fine!

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 81

Merry Critmas guys!

Another Meta Quest promo? Oh boy ... so this one will get weird again, clearly ... a magical year, really? Yeah, the editors are indeed fucking with you, Sam. XD Ah, highlights! Lovely ...

That's right, it IS Asgard, Samuel. NOT Ass-Gard ...

"Ass-Matt?" "Cominics?" Hmmm ...

Dani Carr! Hiiiiiii!!! Always so great to see you, sweetie! :3

Matt still can't quite get past their shenanigans, can he? At least they're consistent. XD

Yeah! That's right! Fearne and Ashton are full blown SUPERHEROES now!

Sam's shirt derails the game almost IMMEDIATELY ...

Oh shit, yeah ... that's a good point actually ... ARE THEY the same people now?

Well yeah, I mean Laudna does seem a lot more upbeat now, doesn't she? That's surely a good sign.

Chetney really does want to make a wish with Nana? Oh yes, good, they're doing the best they can to talk him out of it ... oh, now it's just getting surreal ... oh boy ...

Ah yes, the ill fated topiary garden ... O.O

Fearne (to Ashton): "Shall we see if we can make some lava?" Oh gods ...

Ashton is Raging, while Fearne shoots a Scorching Ray at him? Bloody hell ...

So ... they're like RIDICULOUSLY supercharged when they're together? Oh, MORE playing around? How crazy is this gonna get?

And now Ashton is IN THE GROUND ... oh, so he can just pop up anywhere he wants? Cool ...

Fearne is a Satyr version of the Human Torch? Pretty sweet ...

Ah, so he can't actually run through plant life, only stone ... that's interesting ... what, they're going to the ruin to see how deep Ashton can go? Hmmmm ...

Well no, he really SHOULDN'T be able to actually BREATHE through rock, should he?

Phasing like Kitty Pryde? Oh, that would be cool ... oh wow, that is SO AWESOME ...

Don't wipe yourself out for days, Fearne. Not right now ...

Oh yes, Fearne is FLOATING ... Wow ... that's ALSO very handy ... running and trying to set fire to the ground at the same time ... yay, scorched track marks ... I love that ...

Now we're seeing if he can use her spell along with the hammer ... okay ...

Whoa ... DOUBLE the damage? That is EXTRA sweet ... oh, and dhe is COMPLETELY IMMUNE to fire damage now? Extra cool ...

Ashton tries to shut down the effect ... uncut diamond form? Wow ... that's weird in a really striking way ...

He feels weird? Hmmm ... oh, here we go ... back to his normal physical form? Interesting ... but the idea that he's so used to the chronic pain that he's actually RELIEVED to get it back? I really don't think I like that ...

What fresh hell have you brought with THIS week's flask, Samuel?

Fearne: "We'll just have to accept our greatness." Ashton: "I'll accept YOUR greatness." Awwwww ... :3

Oh wow ... are they FLIRTING again? I don't mind that at all ...

And Fearne goes back to normal again too ... but not ENTIRELY ... which is cool ...

IS HE going to do the wish thing? Are you sure, Chet? Oh gods, he's really doing it ...

Oh that is just so creepy ...

Name the door ... oh boy ... Artax? What? Oh boy ... Push-Pull? Sir Push-Pull? Oh boy again ...

And now it's ASKING to be named Sir Push-Pull ... ye gods ... and Morri's all right with this ... wow ...

And here she is ... unsettling as ever ... hmmmm ...

Oh, so those poor buggers tried to RENEGE on their deals? That's ... interesting ... in a really horrible way ... oh, and now he's asking ...

Is this like some kind of pocket dimension for her to make deals in?

He wants to be the most famous toy maker in the whole world ... wow ... oh, what's he going to trade? Hmmmmm ... she wants a piece of the God Eater? A piece if Predathos ... that's actually not bad ...

The Golden Threads of Fate ... so cool to see that come back ... O.O

He's keeping it to himself, playing it cool ...

The Witch In the Woods ... oh yeah, like the Monkey's Paw, that's right ...

And now they're just teasing him about it. I live this so much ... Fearne is being especially cruel about it ... yup ... XD

Allura does not want to have anything to do with this foolishness and I do not blame her at all ...

Time for bed before they have to go to the Moon ...

FCG's been cooking? H'wine rolls? What the sweet fuck is this craziness ... a Hero's Yeast? Dear gods ...

Oh, so Mister and Pate can get in on this action too? That's pretty cool ...

Yeah, the Hero's Feast is always such a cool booster thing ...

Imogen's going to try that dream thing? Oh boy ... so who's going in with her? Everybody except Chetney and Fearne ... okay ...

Yet again, Travis rolls to see if Chetney DIES IN HIS SLEEP ...

Into Imogen's dream, then ... taking the Bloody Bridge, up to Ruidus ... oh, it's all very Stargate all of a sudden ...

Ruidus, then ... here we go ... and the studio lighting changes ... I really do hate that ...

Touchdown ... okay ... eye of the storm, now ... hmmmm ...

"Bring me home." Oh boy ... Imogen gives in ... it pulls her in ... oh, this is rightly terrifying already ... this is suddenly looking like a really BAD IDEA ...

Caverns? Some kind of labyrinthine tunnel network inside the Moon ... hmmmm ...

Wait ... the others wake up ... but Imogen DOESN'T?!!! Oh fuck ...

Fuck, is she trapped? What the fuck is HAPPENING?!!!

Oh thank the gods she's back ... is she okay?

Orym tries to get a read? Another big Insight roll ... LAURA gives Liam a Whispers? Crazy ...

Laudna is worried and rightly so ... this DOES NOT feel right at all. I am suddenly EXTREMELY uncomfortable about all of this. Could this come back to bite us in a really bad way later?

Brumestone? Hmmmmm ...

Oh yes, this IS going to be a problem, clearly ...

Yes, keep an eye on her while you're sleeping please, Laudna ...

Time for bed. A Long Rest ...

Orym goes to visit Nana Morri in the night? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Oh, that is disconcerting that she can sneak up on him ...

Fuck, is he REALLY going to make a deal with her too? Come on, Wee Man ...

Well he's doing this for his friends, maybe that's going to be enough to protect him in this ... but WOULD SHE actually take him up on this? Oh fuck, she really is ... Orym, come on ...

Fuck ... he's willing to offer himself up to HER service if she sees them through? Fuck ... I hate this already ... a "caretaker"? Jeez ...

If every one of them makes it back and they see it through ... very specific terms, at least ... fuck ... at least it's very dependent on their success ... shit, snd that's it, then ...

Gods damn it, Liam O'brien, making clandestine deals with dark entities again for the sake of his friends ... how much worse than Vax is this gonna be?

Time for a break ... gods ...

Matt: "Ten years nearly, I've had to put up with you guys." XD

Morning comes ... time to go, then ...

Ah, the creepy Fey Menagerie returns ... as unsettling as ever ...

Food? Okay ... Birdie and Ollie are cooking? Well that's a relief ... a nice pleasant breakfast ... and now here's Nana ... hmmmm ...

She has something special for FCG? Hmmmm ... a weird sphere of something ... IS IT food for him? Okay, he's giving it a go ... so it's just fine silver ... and he burps ... with SCREAMS ... fucking horrifying ... LOL

Wow, so Fearne is now the hot new thing in town? That's pretty cool ...

Allura, still as creeped out by Morri as ever ... XD

So heading to meet their allies in the Hellcatch Valley ... okay, then ... so they're making the move ...

Fearne says goodbye to her parents. And they are just SO PROUD of her, aren't they? :3

Working the spell, then ... WHOOSH!!! Time all but freezes ... oh, and that was CHAOTIC ... but they're finally back in Exandria. Right on target ...

Yup, the Red Moon still dominates the sky. Lovely.

Chetney's still slow for a minute ... Laudna: "You made his voice all sexy there." XD

Wow, this is a WHOLE LOT of people who've gathered here to help fight ... and they're all pretty tense about it, too. That's just great ...

Some kind of purpose made citadel "grown" specifically for this effort? That's pretty cool ...

These all look like some pretty interesting folk ... the Council of Tal'dorei? Interesting ...

Whoa ... BIG guy ... seriously BUFF old dude ... fascinating ... the Stormlord? Interesting ...

Oh, so they've been expected? Hmmm ...

Mythtaker Qi Mandozi? Cool.

Guardian Tofor Bretoris? Okay.

EARTHBREAKER GROON?!!! FOR REAL?!!! AWESOME!!!

"Mercenaries ... we get shit done."

Oooh ... is this some kind of fancy honour guard?

Earthbreaker Groon is clearly fascinated by Imogen and Fearne, but in a strange disapproving way, kind of? Interesting ...

Percy! Hey! And Keyleth! Yay!

Ah yes ... the timey wimey weirdness of the Fey Realm ...

Ah ... your typical war briefing, then ...

Butcher Wagons? Hmmm ... so very charming ... a nice gory diversion ...

Ten to thirty minutes to infiltrate? So ... not a MASSIVE window, then ...

Ah yeah ... the Reilora ...

Percy needs a little more time ... of course he does ... but then they do need setup time ...

No witnesses? Crap ... that is NOT a good ultimatum at all ...

So there is SOME flexibility, but still ... it's disconcerting all the same ...

Oh yeah, the Ruby Vanguard disguises ...

What are they looking for? What is the intelligence they need to gather?

Fearne questions Earthbreaker Groon ... oh, here we go ... he knows they're Ruidusborn ... oh, this is a sticky thing here? Chill out, guys ...

Oh yeah, these two witches be something special ...

Groon: "You are of the Storm, are you not?" Imogen: "I AM the Storm, baby."

Of course Keyleth still has utmost faith in them all, and Orym especially. :3

Qi likes FCG because he's funny. I like that. XD

A safe word for Imogen? In case the pull becomes too much? Probably a good idea ...

Fearne: "We're just the tip, guys. Just thd tip if the spear." Ashton: "Yeah, that's the safe word."

Laudna goes to talk to Keyleth. "You're very pretty." XD

Oh yes ... Vax. That's right ... she's covering, but yeah, that's at the core of it for her ...

His energy is being used specifically to power the bridge ... yeah ...

Keyleth: "I'm sorry." Laudna: "For what?" Keyleth: "For everything." Oh man ...

Telepathic Bond? Oh yeah ... that should be helpful ...

All right ... so it's time, then ... setting up for the distraction ...

Earthbreaker Groon wants to talk to Imogen ... oh no, THE STORMLORD wants to talk to her ... that wasn't, like, foreboding at all ...

Time to go ... everybody's ready ... and it sll hoes OFF ... the Butcher Wagons are rolling ... Allura gives the nod ... cue gibberish words as Imogen uses one of the Scrolls ...

And now they're just living clouds ... lovely ...

Coasting in over the Site now, approaching the Malleus Key ...

Crazy beasts on the attack in front of the Wagons ... oh, that's pretty slick ...

Touchdown on target ... okay ... Keyleth prepares their stormy cover ... Nice ... Voice of the Tempest indeed!

Oh yeah, Kiki you are AWESOME!!!

They put on their disguises, Fearne casts Pass Without A Trace, and FCG puts a Death Ward on Imogen.

Time to head in, then ... they make their way down and into the Storm ... Orym's leading the way ... no, Fearne ... maybe the better choice in this ...

Group Stealth Check with Advantage ... yup, BOSS rolls all round ...

Oh it is all just KICKING OFF right now ...

Aaaaaaaaaaah! Reilorans! Oh boy ...

CHAOS!!! IT'S A TOTAL MESS OUT HERE!!! And now the first Wagon bursts ...

They make their way in ... and Matt calls it a night!

Oh, visual preview of what's to come? Ooooh ... yay, Battlemap! Sweet ...

We'll see next session ... in the New Year ... roll on 2024 ...

[hatecharredarch]

Like,  we  know  Toya  had  an  ice  quirk  of  some  description  as  an  extension  of  his  fire  quirk  "hidden"  in  his  body  that  didn't  "activate"  or  whatever  until  he  was  near  death  and  this  was  described  as  something  outside  of  quirk  awakening,  so  something  really  unusual,  but  like.... What  if  say Toya  and  his  quirk  were  nurtured  and  trained  the  way  it  should  have  been  ?  Instead  of  Toya  burning  nearly  to  death  on  the  Peak.      Would  Toya's  actual  quirk  awakening  result  in  something  like  "ice  fire / cold fire" ?  Or like probably better yet, some methane hydrate, aka "burning ice" type shit ? And  given  Toya's  body  was  suppose  to  handle  ice better  than traditional " fire "  would  that  have  given  him  the  perfect  quirk  for  his  body  to  handle ? 

 Like  it  feels  like  it  could  be  possible  Toya's  quirk  was  always  trying  to  develop  in  that  direction  given  the  way  his  hair  begin  to  change  colour  as  he  got  older,  his  body  began  to  develop  a  tolerance  to  "cold"  not  "hot"  and  his  fire  began  to  turn  blue.  All  these  things  happening  gradually  as  Toya  gets  older  and  stronger.  Yet,  because  his  quirk  was  deemed  "broken"  and  never  fully  developed  itself  due  to  Toya's  accident  we'll  possibly never  see  where  it  was  actually  going  and  it  just  feels  to  me  that  his  quirk  wasn't  actually  "finished"  developing,  which  I  think  its  a  neat  concept/idea.

Interesting  alternate  names  for  Toya's  "Blue  flame"  quirk:  Cremation,  Complete  Combustion  and  Cold  Fire  or  Fire  ice based  on  the  above  idea  with  the  "Burning  Ice"  and  all. I  also  just  like  it  translated  as  "Pale  Flame"  due  to  the  deathly/ghostly  connotations. 

I  mean,  as far as canon goes, fans were  calling  it  "cremation"  which is  kinda  sexy  because  it  reflects  the  damage  its  doing  to  him  but  also  kinda  has  that  undead  aesthetic  Toya  has  going  on  with  the  whole  he  should  have  been  dead  years  ago  and  the  whole  relation  to  burial  practices  /  death  /  funerals  and  that's  cool  as  fuck  for  the  goth  shit  TM.   A villain named after his quirk isn't unheard of after all -reference All for One-

 But  say  for  an  AU  like  my  vigilante  one or a Pro Hero one  where  Toya  didn't  practically  burn  to  death  on  the  peak,  thus  allowing  his  quirk  to  continue  to  naturally  develop  and  mature  with  the  rest  of  his  healthy/living  body,  the  burning  ice  idea  is  probably  what  i'm  gonna  lean  into  !   

 Like  I  mentioned  above, I  just  think  its  interesting  that  it  took  Toya's  flames  until  he  hit  puberty  to  turn  blue. Putting  that  with  the  fact  it  doesn't  seem  like  Toya's  flames  always  burned  him,  rather  it  seemed  the  flames  burning  him  didn't  start  till  he  was  around  6-7  which  seemed  to  correspond  to  his  hair  changing  colour.  It  indicates  that  Toya's  quirk  was  still  developing,  imo.       Because  like,  we  know  its  not  possible  for  anyone  to  have  two  "separate"  quirks  naturally  ( Exception  being  maybe  AFO,  since  his  natural  quirk  was  the  ability  to  steal  others  quirks ),  which  means  the  "ice  quirk"  that  was  found  inside  Toya  couldn't  be  a  separate  thing  to  his  "fire"  quirk,  it  was  just  different  to  the  split  factor  of  Shoto's  quirk,  so  the  ice  factor  inside  Toya  was  somehow  meant  to  be  "part"  of  his  quirk  and  was  always  there.   

 And  we  also  know  that  even  though  it  might  be  "uncommon"  and  that  people  usually  develop  their  quirks  anywhere  between  on  birth  to  the  age  of  five,  there  are  cases  were  its  taken  much  longer  for  a  quirk  to  develop  or  emerge,  which  is  how  Izuku  was  initially  able  to  explain  him  suddenly  having  a  quirk  at  14  when  he  didn't  have  one  before  that.  Initially, quirks not presenting until puberty was common when quirks first emerged.

We  can  probably  also  deduce  that  quirks  that  take  longer  to  emerge/develop  may  cause  issues/injuries  for  their  wielders  again  based  on  Izuku  and  the  general  reaction  to  him  and  him  suddenly  having  a  quirk.  Even  though  it  was  looked  at  as  "weird"  that  Izuku's  quirk  was  "hurting"  him  and  his  body  wasn't  yet  properly  adapted  to  handle  it,  it  wasn't  thought  of  as  something  unheard  of  or  impossible.    

Which  imo  kinda  makes  the  way  Toya  was  treated  because  of  his  quirk  even  more  unfair  and  tragic.  Like  damn,  boy  didn't  even  get  a  proper  chance  before  they  decided  he  was  defective  and  it  actually  boggles  my  brain  (  no  it  doesn't,  doctors  are  fucked  sometimes  )  that  the  quirk  doctor  Enji  and  Rei  took  Toya  to  gave  some  dumb,  psychologically  damaging  advice  like  "its  best  if  you  don't  let  him  use  his  quirk"  instead  of  explaining  that  this  kind  of  thing  isn't  completely  unheard  of  and  the  better  advice  would  be  help  nurture  and  guide  Toya  as  his  quirk  develops  ??  Like  ??  as  the  two  people  on  earth  with  the  quirks  best  suited  to  do  that.    

 Also  putting  that  with  what  we  know  of  quirks  being  considered  as  important  to  an  individual  person  as  an  organ  and  like,  literally  a  part  of  their  essence,  like  a  persons  soul  is  pretty  much  etched  into  their  quirk,  it  couldn't  be  an  ethically  sound  decision  to  decide  a  person  should  no  longer  use  their  quirk !   Hell,  we've  actually  been  going  over  the  concept  of  this  being  a  human  rights  violation  (  Destro,  the  entire  meta  human  liberation  party's  existence  )  and  the  extreme  psychological  and  emotional  distress  and  damage  suppressing  one's  quirk  can  do  (  Himiko  Toga. )     Man  the  fact  that  they  (  The  quirk  doctor  Enji  and  Rei  took  Toya  to  )  didn't  even  consider  maybe  Toya's  quirk  was  just  still  developing  and  his  body  was  still  adapting  is  bizarre. They  needed  a  second  opinion  on  that. Maybe  then  Enji  wouldn't  have  thought  the  only  thing  he  could  do  was  ignore  and  reject  Toya  to  try  and  force  him  to  give  up  /  stop  using  his  quirk. (  The  worst  possible  thing  to  have  done  in  reality. )

And  actually  the  more  I  think  about  this  the  more  plausible  it  becomes  given  that  yeah,  Toya  did  have  that  ice  quirk,  and  we  saw  with  Shoto  his  ice  was  able  to  cancel  out  and  work  with  his  fire,  he  was  even  able  to  "center"  the  two  elements  together  and  preform  moves  such  as  phosphor,  which  was  essentially  cold  fire  -  a  move  that  Toya  was  able  to  copy  even  with  his  body  in  its  damaged  /  faulty  state  * due  to  that  it  might  not  have  been  as  perfect  as  Shoto's  phosphor,  but  that  wasn't  because  Toya  wasn't  capable  of  such  a  thing.  It  seemed  to  me  that  this "fused  core"  that  Shoto  is  able  to  pull  off  with  both  his  halves  was  something  Toya  had  naturally,  without  a  coconscious  effort  to   "fuse"  his  elements,  which  is  why  Toya's  ice  was  "internal".       Consider  if  Toya,  who's  body  was  meant  for  ice,  was  able  to  activate  his  ice  quirk  and  use  it  to  protect  himself  from  his  fire,  as  well  as  possibly  influence  its  temperature,  with  the  increased  heat  no  longer  harming  him  due  to  the  protection  /  cooling  of  his  simultaneous  ice  body,  which  is  what  Shoto  was  able  to  do  just  in  a  slightly  different  manner  because  his  halves  are  separate  and  he  had  to  consciously  merge  them  to  preform  this,  while  Toya's  "ice"  was  literally  his  core,  meaning  his  ice  and  fire  could  have  worked  simultaneously  without  a  real  conscious  effort-  the  difference  being  his  internal  ice  just  hadn't  activated  yet. 

(  I  also  believe  Toya  wouldn't  be  able  to  use  his  ice  AS  ice  in  the  manner  of  protecting  it  out  of  his  body  the  way  Shoto  is.  Rather  in  my  eyes,  he'd  only  be  able  to  use  it  to  'coat'  his  body  and  protect  himself  from  his  flames/combat  the  temp  of  his  flames. )      Because  we  saw  that  Rei  and  his  siblings  were  able  to  coat  themselves  in  their  ice  quirk  to  protect  themselves  from  the  flames,  and  these  were  people  who  never  trained  that  quirk  so  we  also  know  ice  quirks  can  in  fact  be  that  powerful,  meaning  it  wouldn't  be  a  stretch  to  say  Toya  could  literally  use  that  ice  to  protect  his  body  and  that  is  possibly  what  his  ice  was  always  meant  for.  Which  ironically  and  tragically  would  make  Toya  the  "perfect"  combination  of  quirks  Enji  was  originally  after before he got Shoto who is also a "perfect" combination of quirks just in a different way.       We  could  also  say  the  reason  Toya's  ice  wasn't  "active"  yet  was  because  of  how  absolutely  OP  this  would  have  been ( enter: Quirk doomsday theory )  and  perhaps  its  fair  to  say  a  quirk  like  that  needs  longer  time  to  develop  and  adapt  to  his  body.  Because  again,  this  would  make  Toya  the  child  Enji  envisioned  and  that  child  was  one  set  to  rival  and  best  All  Might  in  sheer  power  and  adaptability.  Basically,  though,  Toya  was  going  through  a  metamorphosis  that  was  written  off  as  a  defect.      Again,  it  all  calls  back  to  Enji  saying  and  believing  that  Toya  could  have  been  staggeringly  powerful  enough  to  surpass  All  Might,  so,  imo  this  is  how  I'm  going  to  depict  Toya's  quirk  and  what  it  actually  was/could  have  been  if  he  had  the  chance  to  grow  and  develop  past  13. 

[mrstsung]

Kung lao sfw abcs

Ahhhhhh! Hat Bae time!!! It's kung lao loving hours.

(I mean i always love lao but ya know i have a shang simpin quota to meet. But outside the blog,it's always been lao lovin hours.)

Cw: none really,outside rant,maybe slight angst. Like lao is my ultimate fave character in mortal kombat period. (Plz don't be mad but lao comes before any other characters for me,even shang. Look i love shang but lao was my first,was here first,and still is best boi)

💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖⛩💖

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?): well kung lao despite seeming confident. Is quite shy. Not to say he won't make a move if pressured by friends/liu kang. "Bro make a move already,we'll be old and grey by the time you make a move with them,heck I'll have great grandchildren by that time!" . But after the ice is broken. He is the sweetest bean. He'll open doors,fetch you anything you need. And honestly regardless if this relationship goes any further. Kung lao is willing to always help you. Him baby ok? Sassy baby. But baby none the less. (Honestly me n kung would be a constant battle of "no you're cuter" "i love you more" "no,you hang up first" much to everyone's annoyance. But they also in the same are happy for Lao. )

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?): omfg besties. Granted friendship can come easy for kung but in the same vein,hard for him. He needs lots of reassurance. Plz help him. It may hit off good depends on who you are and your stances with him. But honestly kung lao is the best friend you could ever have. He is funny,loyal,has a cool hat,like fr what's not to love. (Ok im bias he's my main dude and i dont tolerate slander against hat bae) but if you don't like his "bragging" understand its not out of ego. It's a defense mechanism against the injustice his ancestors have been delt,the constant comparisons to liu kang(which dont make sense  because liu respects him as an equal and so does lao right back so none of this slander in canon makes any sense and is kinda annoying af and unnecessary. And it shows hella bias and passive aggressive hate to him) and others pressuring him for perfection to be like everyone else. Yet they also brag about shit,yet when he does it. Suddenly its a problem. Sorry this turned into a rant. My bad.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?): he's a cuddlebug. Any chance he gets with you. He hangs onto you like superglue. His fave way to cuddle is to spoon you from behind,his face in the crook of you neck. He just buries his face in you. He is afraid to let go. Because sometimes he feels if he does. He wouldn't see you again. Again it's his fears. He tries to hide them sometimes and be strong for you. But oof does he die inside when you leave him. But reassuring him,you aint going anywhere. (Srry i just love lao so much)

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?): tbh if he could retire. He would but never fully. Because of not just his self responsiblity but also his loyalty to his friends. But domestic life with lao is sweet. He's equal with chores. He cooks pretty good. His fave thing to cook is noodle soup. Despite being a monk,kung lao isn't a true vegetarian. However most of his diet is vegetarian. But on lunar new year. He treats himself to homemade beef noodle soup and char siu. Its one of the few times he lets himself indulge like that.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?): oh no baby why did you do that?! Who would break up with this bean?! What's wrong with you?!. But if you had to,he would rather it be upfront and formal. But just know this is gonna hurt him deeply. And he may not open up again to another person,at least for a long time. Like oof.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?): ok kung lao,once he has made up his mind. Once things get past awkwardness. And he feels it's safe. Mrs.kung is soon what you'll be addressed as.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?): him baby like i said. Kung lao is a very gentle lover. Not so say he cant be rough. Not to say he wont be sassy. But to his beloved,he wants you to feel safe and secure in the same as he does. Hand holding. Soft caresses. Gentle "i love yous" and reassuring forehead kisses.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?): he loves hugs. This is a good way to reassure him. Any chance he can get from you. And laos hugs are super warm and affectionate. You feel safe in his arms. His hugs feel like home.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?): you may say it first. But after that he says it shortly after. And never stops saying it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?): he can get that way a bit. But honestly he trusts you. But not to say he wont be cheeky or passive aggressive to that person trying to get on his bad side. But in all honesty despite being a bit protective of you (he has good reason to be btw) he actually does respect your space. But he's gonna go to you about it 9 outta 10 times. But don't push him plz.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?): passionate,hungry,longing,sweet but also gentle. He kisses you as if they are the last kisses you'll ever share. Besides your lips. The neck,the forehead,the hand,and a gentle cheek peck is the common. But he absolutely is over the moon for a cute kiss on the cheek or forehead. But if you kiss him right on the lips? Im not responsible for how much he goes on and on about how sexy you are to his friends.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?): he loves kids. But he wants to be in a place to be able to support them properly. But kung lao is pretty cool with children. He's the fun dad.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?): warm tender hugs. A slightly raspy, "good morning darling". Morning tea brewing,a nice breakfast. Just peaceful.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?): serene. Here with you in his arms. His twilight respite. The crickets chirping. After a nice warm meal. Reclining and enjoying each others company before dozing off to sleep. Laying there in the soft moonlight of the window peaking through. His soft breath on your neck as you both slumber. To wake again to your handsome lao in the morning.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?): ok its a tad slow but honestly if he trusts you he will slowing talk to you about his insecurities. Like i said he needs reassurance. Once he has this from you. He trusts and protects you with his life.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?): don't push him. But he despite being boastful. He is hardly quick to anger. That is something you SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR! He is very patient despite his shortcomings. And he knows how to bring the hurt. Don't push him.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?): he remembers the important things. But sometimes he needs reminders. But that isn't his fault tbh. (Kung lao adhd anyone?) But he tries. He certainly makes up for it in acts of service and gifts and being there for you. No matter how late.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?): he says when he first laid eyes on you (kung lao you flirt). But realistically,

Probably your first date. This is where he bared his soul to you. Probably something simple like a picnic under a blossom tree. Or somewhere serene that ment a lot to him.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?): very protective. But not so much so that he becomes overbearing. He knows you can manage yourself. But he still doesn't like to take chances either. He always is looking out for you. If you feel uncomfortable around someone. Talk to him,he'll speak with them to respect your boundaries. If you feel scared or anxious,hold his hand or arm. He'll wrap his around you and hold you close so you feel better. For himself,you just being there and telling him its ok is enough.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?): he tries to put as much effort as his brain will let him.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?): i honestly dunno. Probably beating himself up too much or taking on too much. Kung lao plz,take a break.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?): he takes good care of himself. But also he is humble in that area too? Honestly he isn't any more concerned than the next guy tbh. And i dont know where people get this from? I mean of course he wants to look good for you. So does everyone. So eh.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?): kinda yeah. He would be devastated if he lost you.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.): kung laos hat has a subspace magic that can store shit and well as be a filter to help him teleport. Tho he can teleport without his hat. That hat is a good pinpoint to an area. He did a hat trick once,put a bunny in there. Johnny never shuts up about it. Constantly is trying to get him to do it for him. But kung lao refuses. Because it was one time. And he doesn't like to keep live animals n creatures in his hat for long. Because he care for the fur babies. Oh he also is a happy flirty drunk. But funny enough bo-rai-cho taught him drunken style too. So he can also fake it too. But he doesn't like using it often. But he'll never say the reasons why.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?): someone cruel. Especially to animals or children. Overall he's open and tolerant of a lot of crap (probably more so then he needs to be,but eh he is a monk. Patience is a virtue) but some things are a hard no for him. Cruelty and violence outside of a tournament or when nessicary is unacceptable to him. He can try to talk you out of it. But he isn't above whooping ass either if needed.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?): kung lao can sleep almost anywhere. But he has to have his morning tea and evening tea. Other than that,he's good.

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Hope you loved this.

Again we stan one spinny boi. 🌪💖⛩🥺

[davidmariottecomics]

Too Many Conventions!

Hello! 

Turns out, I'm a liar. If you read last week's blog, I ended it with a whole little plan for the next couple of weeks, completely having forgotten that I'm about to enter the most convention heavy stretch I have all year! This is my last "free" weekend until April pretty much! 

A week from today, 2/25, I'll be at the Arizona Comic Book Arts Festival! If you're anywhere near the Phoenix area and want to see me to buy comics or bring your own to get them signed, this is the place to do it! I'll be bringing a pretty chunk of my stock, including stuff from Sonic, Godzilla, and pretty much what's left of my Transformers/Hasbro stock! Maybe this one, maybe in a couple more events like this, I'm going to be running out of Transformers vs. Terminator and Wreckers, so get 'em now while you can! Becca will be there too and you can get us both to sign our little mini-comic, Jimmy Squarefoot! We'll also be bringing copies of a zine we made explaining the issues with AI! And Becca will have a bunch of other stuff at their own table! 

There are a bunch of other really great people attending including Elizabeth Brei, Danny Djeljosevic, Mitch Gerads, Steve Rude, John Layman, Henry Barajas, Jay Fotos, Jeff Mariotte, Marcy Rockwell, John Yurcaba, Andrew MacLean, Alexis Zirrit, Meredith McClaren, James Owen, Ryan Cody, Tone Rodriguez, Cecil Castellucci, and so many more! So come on out and see us! 

Then, Becca got into WaifuExpo the following weekend, 3/3-3/5! It's going to be a cool little adult (18+) focused con in the Dallas-Fort Worth area! Becca's going to be in the artist's alley and I'm going to be there as their booth babe. I will NOT be bringing any of my stuff, only Becca is tabling (*tho if you are planning to attend and get ahold of me ahead of time, I might be able to pack a few things to give in person). Becca's working very hard on preparation and will have some exclusive stuff for adults debuting there! 

Similarly, lots of cool guests including some very notable cosplayers and voice actors and other artists! It also seems like it's going to be a very activity heavy con if that's your jam! 

It's also our first time in the DFW area, so if you have recommendations, those would be appreciated! 

Then, if everything goes right with the first two cons and I'm still feeling groovy, I am tentatively planning on going up to TFCon LA on 3/10. Again, this is health and finances permitting after two other back-to-back shows, and I am not coming as anything other than an attendee, but if you catch me at Jack Lawrence's table and want me to sign your Wreckers or Alex Milne's table and want me to sign your TF/Terminator or whatever, I'm happy to do so! 

And finally, I expect to be attending WonderCon 2023, March 24-26! Again, same deal as TFCon--my availability will depend a little bit on not having gotten sick/burned out from the other shows with only one weekend of "downtime" and I'm going mostly as an attendee, rather than tabling individually or with IDW, but this is the one con where I'll be most open for meetings. 

After that, I have to assume that I'll hibernate until the summer! And somewhere around there I'll get back to what I mistakenly proposed last week and do another "Ask Me (Almost) Anything". In the meantime, new posts are going to be coming to the blog, but they'll be a little irregular because they'll be coming in-between shows! 

Thanks for rolling with that change and hope to see you soon! 

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Honkai Impact (Video game--I managed to get the new Kiana and Mei back-to-back, so I'm pretty happy!), House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (Book), Poker Face (TV show), Romantic Killer (Anime), Warioware Inc (Video Game), The Fablemans (Movie--I cried 3 times!), Kaguya-Sama: Love is War-The First Kiss That Never Ends (Movie), Valentine's Day, Snack vs. Chef (TV show), Chainsaw Man (Manga), rearranging my desk (I had to dust the... 150 [estimate] little hunks of plastic on my desk and decided to rearrange them), Becca's first Twitch stream (more on that below)! 

New Releases this week (2/15/2023): Off week for my books

New releases next week (2/22/2023): Also an off week for my books!

Announcements: Wait, this is still a section? With all that other stuff I've already been promoting? Well... Yeah! 

Social Media - I am still primarily on Twitter because that's still where I know the most people and the format I like the best, unfortunately, but you can find me on all my socials here as I continue to try to move away from that site that is less and less functional each day! And, hey, sometimes it still works to reach people like this update on Sonic (it is good and fine and in many languages and countries). 

Aradia Beat - The past few weeks, I've been plugging this cool Magical Girl Anthology Magazine that Becca's part of! This morning, the campaign closed and they had just exceeded their second stretch goal! Thanks anyone here who contributed and if you missed out, well... you missed out! No, but give Aradia Collective a follow and they'll be able to tell ya if there'll be any other ways of getting it in the future! 

More Magical Girls - Our pals Elizabeth Brei & Danny Djeljosevic and a bunch of their friends are getting close to their goal on their Kickstarter for Sweet Little Resistance, which you should check out! And you can tell them you're psyched for it at AZCAF! 

Becca is a busy beean - Somewhere in all this con prep and the many shows we're attending, Becca's also managing regular Patreon updates (and this month, any new sign-ups will have their first pledge go to The Brown Building here in San Diego). They're also open for commissions. And they're now streaming Wednesdays & Saturdays (including tonight, but not when we'll be at shows) on Twitch! I'll usually be there too, moderating the chat and making jokes, playing the soundboard or whatever. You can check out their first stream playing Heartbreak High on their page now! I think the plan is Wednesdays will be games and Saturdays will be art, so come check it out and hang! 

Legislative Tracking - Legislators are doubling down on attempting to pass anti-trans bills. Fortunately, some of them are not managing to move forward. Unfortunately, the bad guys keep trying. Here is a legislative tracker for you to keep an eye on and hopefully if anything is happening locally to you (and on the federal level), you're able to reach out to your reps and can tell them to knock that shit off. 

Pic of the Week: A very dumb little promo I made for all of our upcoming stuff (or... well, a lot of it) to the theme of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, in theaters now! (NOTE: Made when Aradia Beat was still funding, it's over now, sorry!)

[the-firebird69]

Short guy deadlifts 765 pounds

It's a code and it means I see it in a Madonna was on before he thought I saw Madonna's body and he checked into it he's not saying which way it is but he does know what you're saying. It seems that the laundromat is where a bunch of stupid things happen and these people won't cool off they won't stop doing things to you they won't leave me alone and they're going around bothering everyone the max are doing it too and they're obscene and everything getting a negative attention and they're getting cut down and they're getting smaller fast results of their attitude and approach and they say it's their plan so good for them they're going to get ruined and wrecked

Hera

Zues

Olympus

I'll tell you what my rear end looks very odd in this and most people can't see it now a lot of women like it I thought it was funny I went down there and checked and I tried to see if it was her I couldn't tell Mr Riva Lord couldn't tell and what he was saying is I think it's Becca but I don't think it's her body and that's what I thought too you can tell who these damn people are and I do think it was someone else's body someone wanted but it was very disturbing it's disturbing to him and he knows that the empire is doing it and also having it done I don't care but I do and I'm going to have to stop them and they have a whole bunch of clones of our friend here and this is going to be horrible we sort of know what people do and yeah he wants them to commit crimes and they don't make it anywhere that's what they're saying and it's true that's what our friend is saying but they're saying it too and they need the bodies in case this is going to be awful

Ken

Jesus Christ Max you got to slow down it's gross he's pretty way to his s*** right in his face I would be surprised if half of you are dead tonight is so gross

Mac Daddy

He's not saying it as an enemy he's saying it as a person of your race and you're obscene in your responses and you're obscene in your actions and you're quite ridiculous like these retarded people are I don't know if you realize it the time is running out on the stupid piss actions in the pissy attitude other people have Harmony and they have bombs an armament you don't have to have a huge fleet that goes away in seconds like these empire fleets it's it's just starting disgusting if if he gets his ships up first he's going to wipe out half the empire fleet before you stop him and you're just like these retards oh we should have used the death stars

Zues Hera

You know what we can't stand this everyone's criticizing us he said it's doing the last stupid s*** I guess we're encouraging them we'll probably going to get hurt but we can't stand it people have to stop doing it what we're saying to do in front of our plan

Macs

Hahaha please please it's ridiculous already

Hera Zues my husband won't stop laughing now we know what we're doing they're constantly preparing and you just lose idiots yeah we see how things are going yeah we know about it yeah thanks

Olympus

[canmom]

in physics, is there much/any support for the notion that time as it exists in our universe is comparable to frames of animation?

omg cool question, just grab my two big interests and mash em up :3! so the answer is like... "maybe sorta", in relation to the "Planck time" and "chronon".

which is to say, there may be a smallest possible time interval below which (quantum something something), but the universe wouldn't be 'updated' at the same time all at once like a timestep in a computer simulation. relativity makes the concept of 'the same time' kind of tricky. but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

so, in physics, we model the universe with equations like the Schrödinger equation, which says "this is how the quantum wavefunction evolves" or "this is how electric and magnetic fields interact with charge". and these equations usually have some special numbers in them that are like, the basic parameters of the universe, which say for example how strong gravity and electromagnetism are, how fast light goes, that kinda thing.

these constants may be given by a more "fundamental" theory. for example, the speed of sound depends on the elastic properties of its medium, so you could theoretically work it out using the underlying model of electromagnetism, lattice vibrations etc. but some of these constants we have no way to calculate based on something else, we have to do an experiment.

now, theoretically, we have two approaches here:

we can do an experiment to measure them relative to something we do know, like a particular metal bar, and say that is the "metre". so we can say, the speed of light appears to travel 299792.4562±0.0011 metres long (the best measurement in 1972)

alternatively, we can define our measurement system based on the constant. so now instead of the metre being a metal bar, a metre is exactly 1/299792.458 of the distance light travels in a second. now the uncertainty is in the precise length of the metre.

the latter may seem weird and counterintuitive, but it's considered more rigorous, since the speed of light is available to anyone anywhere, and keeping a metal bar an exact length turns out to be surprisingly difficult. (along the way, the metre was defined based on radiation.) the SI has since done their best to define all the units using this kind of "explicit constant", the last one being the kilogram, which stopped being a lump of metal in Paris a few years ago.

anyway, that's all a little tangential... the point is, when you do this sort of definition, it's natural to say, well that fraction feels a little arbitrary, right? what if we measured everything in, say, the length light goes in a second? but wait, the second is also very arbitrary (a certain number of exact caesium transitions). can we come up with a unit system where all the important fundamental constants end up with the value 1?

this is already a pretty standard thing in certain areas of physics. in relativity, it's common to say we'll measure space and time with the same unit (treating them as having the same dimension) so the speed of light is exactly 1, a system which we call "natural units". this may sound weird but the maths is just fine. this has interesting consequences, like energy and mass now have the same dimension (which is why you might often see physicists discussing masses of particles in energy units like electron-volts), and speed is dimensionless, but it's fine! however, we still have to have some unit of space or time to use as the basis of our measurement system.

so what if we took it further, and set more constants to 1, eliminating all dimensions? in other words, measuring everything against products of the fundamental constants? to make this work, we need to choose a suitable set of fundamental constants. this is where we go into Planck units. the idea dates all the way back to 1899, when Max Planck proposed doing it based the following four constants...

the speed of light in a vacuum, c, (which is the fastest speed that anything can go relative to any observer in special relativity)

the gravitational constant, G, (measures the strength of gravity)

the reduced Planck constant, ħ, (used throughout quantum mechanics)

the Boltzmann constant, kB (used in thermodynamics pretty much any time temperature is relevant)

to this we could also add electromagnetism by adding the electric constant (aka vacuum permittivity), ε0.

to make a Planck unit, you basically shove these together until they have the right dimensions. for example, say we want to measure energy which has dimensions [mass][distance]/[time]^2. well, the Planck constant has dimensions [mass][distance]/[time], the gravitational constant has dimensions [distance]^3/([mass][time]^2]). the speed of light has dimension [distance]/[time]. so if you mash then together as sqrt(ħc^5/G) you get units of energy. which turns out to be about 2×10^9J in SI units, which is a huge amount of energy.

the thing about Planck units is that they tend to be either really big or really small. of interest to this post is the Planck time, sqrt(ħG/c^5), which comes out as about 5.3×10^-44 seconds. this is basically unimaginably brief. written out in positional notation it's 0.00 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 0053 seconds. we apparently have not yet been able to measure time to within an uncertainty of less than 10^-19 seconds, and while someone has an idea of an experiment that could detect effects as brief as 10^-33 seconds, this is still way way slower than the Planck time.

so we can define a really small time, but why is this important? well, physics has - for most of the last century - been struggling with a puzzle of "quantum gravity". tl:dr is we have an amazing theory of small things called quantum field theory that has made some truly amazingly accurate predictions; we have an amazing theory of gravity called general relativity that has also made some truly amazingly accurate predictions; if you try to combine the two, it starts throwing out infinities and getting really logically confused.

so, physicists believe, there must be a more fundamental theory of 'quantum gravity', to which general relativity and the standard model of quantum field theory are just approximations, just like newtonian mechanics is an approximation of relativity that works well at small speeds. this theory is nicknamed the 'theory of everything'.

unfortunately, despite decades of trying and some really abstruse mathematical apparatus, nobody has figured out anything that looks like the answer. sure, there's ideas, most (in)famously string theory, but there's nothing which has shown the predictive power we demand of a good physical theory.

why is this relevant to time, and the Planck time especially? well, the 'Planck scale' is considered to be where our existing theories break down - it's where gravitational and quantum effects are on about the same scale. it's thought that to understand physics at times as brief and distances as short as the Planck scale, we'll need that new theory of quantum gravity.

but we might not have to go down that far. apparently one of the mathematical ideas that physicists have been trying on is that time might be 'quantised', i.e. coming in discrete steps like animation frames. the name given to this step is a 'chronon', although i don't know if you could exactly call it a particle despite the name.

some sources, including that article, seem to speak of the Planck time as the "smallest possible time interval" between two events. but I'm not really sure why this is said - and it's covered in citation neededs so it seems a little dubious.

unfortunately, QFT and especially quantum gravity is way above where i got to when i mental illnessed out of undergraduate physics, so i can't really explain why a chronon would be a useful concept or why the Planck time might be thought to be the smallest time. in the Schrödinger equation, in special and general relativity, and indeed in classical Newtonian physics, time is fully continuous - but this might be an approximation!

if there is a chronon, it's going to play in interesting ways with the relativity of simultaneity and quantum collapse and all that. like it seems you could very easily find a reference frame where events that are simultaneous in one frame are half a chronon apart in another. but the relationship between relativity and quantum interpretations is a subject i am not really able to address when I'm this sleepy lol.

the tl;dr answer is then in any case: "maaaaaybe, but if it is, the 'framerate' is most likely so unimaginably high that it is unlikely we will ever be able to catch a jump between frames". i sure feel for god's inbetweeners lmao

[xserpx]

Character Opinion Bingo: Prince Haaaaaaans

They are so cool looking - one of my favourite character designs across all of Disney. That floofy red hair is delightful, and he looks so disarming but he isn't particularly "coded" as anything the way Disney characters usually are. It works so well with the ways his character changes over the course of the movie.

Everyone but me is wrong about them <3 - Um yeah sorry but he and Anna are meant to be and he is Anna's villain, not Elsa's.

Wasted potential - F1 would have been so much more interesting and ground breaking if Anna had ended up with Hans at the end. If her choices were prioritised over that of Kristoff, the trolls, Olaf, and everyone else who made her feel like her own dreams were foolish. Anna didn't need to learn anything in that movie but everyone else around her did, and with the twist ending they sacrificed not only Hans's potential but Anna's as well.

They're like a blorbo to me - I got into Hornblower and the whole Age of Sail fandom because I was researching sailing through hurricanes for a fic about Admiral Hans. This bastard is a life changer.

They're deeper than they seem - all the spin off Frozen material that goes into Hans's past shows that his home life is shitty, which is a throw away line in the movie but begs for closer inspection. The fact that the movie made such a big deal about frozen hearts and not understanding love and yet ultimately cast Hans as the villain undermines the whole message. Hans is the person who needed that true love's kiss to thaw his frozen heart.

They got done DIRTY by the fans - and also by Disney merchandise, who refuse to include him anywhere. He's such a good character and had one of the most memorable twists in animated movie history and yet he's all but forgotten by most people. Ridiculous.

Didn't get enough screen time - I would have hated to see him involved in F2, thank god that awful writing never touched him, but F2 set up so much potential for more Hans and it kills me that we'll never get it. He lingered over that movie like a delicious scent. Literally its best feature was that Hans was so present despite getting only a split second of screen time (if you count an ice statue as screen time).

They work better as part of a dynamic - I like Hansanna, what can I say? The sunshine and moon dynamic theu have going on is great, because while Anna is clearly the sunshine and Hans clearly the moon, they both have huge potential to swap roles as well and learn more about themselves and each other in the process. I also would like to see more of his relationship with Sitron, and also with Kai & Gerda.

They've never done anything wrong in their life <33 - His plan to kill Anna was stupid and didn't make any sense, and so I disregard it, but killing Elsa actually was a logical choice considering the circumstances and how much Hans didn't know. He was more supportive of Anna when she decided to run after Elsa than Kristoff was, and I think that instant trust that she could make her own choices was fantastic. Also handing the blankets out to the citizens of Arendelle was so good that Kristoff copied it basically word for word, which just goes to show how much of a hero Hans is.