#Preventing an attack by attacking first should technically be considered self defense

[lord-of-snrland]

Self defense lol

#Preventing an attack by attacking first should technically be considered self defense #thing I doodled #my dumbfucks

[filmnoirsbian]

re: ur tags on the zombie genre, have u seen in the flesh? its from like ten years ago i think (and ive only rewatched it once since so it might have aged poorly) but i rlly liked how simply setting the story post-finding the cure to the zombie status forces the show to reckon with the morality of the genre

Yes!! I watched it years ago and that show is actually what made me start to reconsider the way that we approach death/killing in the zombie genre. I think often in zombie media (and post apocalyptic stories in general), writers depend on the "humans are the real monsters" trope for their gray morality lessons. (Night of the Living Dead did this first and, in my opinion, it remains the best) In films and tv shows like The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, and even lighthearted zombie media like iZombie and Little Monsters, other human beings are often worse than the zombies, either using the apocalypse as an excuse to commit atrocities, or simply getting others killed through their own selfishness. In those cases, the atrocities are (usually) committed against other human beings, which is what makes them unjust. (Stories like iZombie, Z Nation, Warm Bodies etc are obviously framed a little differently since the protagonists are not always human themselves) In (most of) the zombie genre, you can get away with doing anything to zombies, because they are no longer human. You can kill and maim them in increasingly fun and gory ways. Zombies are monsters in the basest sense of the word, and it's us or them. Even if a zombie isn't outright attacking you, killing it will prevent it from attacking you or others in the future, so technically it's always self defense. Even stories that make the zombie(s) sympathetic like iZombie, Warm Bodies, In the Flesh and Z Nation all involve trying to treat or cure the zombies in question, and bring them back onto the human side. That's what makes them sympathetic. Their zombieism is a virus, and it isn't their fault that they're sick, and they want to get better. I do think that approach to zombies is really interesting, but I'd be more interested to see an approach in which zombies, while dangerous, yes, like any large predator, and technically dead, are treated the way most of us treat the dead. Namely, with respect and recognition that this was once a living person who loved and was loved. Once again I think Z Nation had the most interesting attempt at this, in that zombies became the natural state of evolution in an unnatural world and cohabitation became instinctive just as all animals learn to cohabitate when forced, though I don't think they really analyzed and planned it out all that well. Historically, zombies have represented everything from our fear of pestilence, to oppression and prejudice, to systemic violence, to fear of racial integration, to capitalism, to lack of agency, and the obvious blanket fear of death. But I think it would be interesting to read/watch a zombie story in which the zombies aren't the fear or downfall of humanity, but instead an opportunity to view our society as it is now from the outside and consider what parts of it we'd want to keep. That's the question I think all apocalyptic/post apocalyptic stories should inspire.

#asks #dead letters #they exist to be damaged

[flickeringart]

Virgo Sun and Moon Combinations

Planets represent different energetic principals in the life of an individual – the signs show what filter these energies express through.

Having an inner planet (or luminary) in the sign of Virgo gives the personality a shrewd, analytical quality. No matter what other placements the person has, the methodical and adaptive nature is going to come through.

To simplify;

The Sun represents individuation, ideal self-expression and conscious self-actualization.

The Moon represents instinct, emotional nature and personal needs.

Virgo Sun – Aquarius Moon

This person’s path of individuation involves coming to understand the components of physical life as intimately as possible. This means that a sense of self is found through in depth observation of what works and doesn’t work in terms of handling everyday life. A lot of emphasis should be put on following the empirical trail of cause and effect, but not to establish a deterministic view that life is fundamentally working like a wound up toy and that there’s no free will. The person should seek to understand life in order to work with it in order to gain a sense of autonomy. Emphasis should be put on attempting to do the right thing in terms of carrying out behavior. The emotional temperament is quite level, not too dramatic unless it is to prove a point or initiate change. The instinct is to understand one’s own needs on an intellectual level and relate to them as abstractions, as phenomena of the human condition. There’s likely a strong urge for independence and self-possession in this person. Being dominated and disrespected would be the worst, especially since there’s an idealistic streak to the temperament. Behaving in a way that fails to indicate that certain essential humanitarian values are in place makes this person’s skin crawl. The person needs space in relationships more than anything – being burdened by too much confusion or chaos doesn’t work well. Some people are comfortable with intensely personal experiences, which is not the case for this person. There has to be space around everything that is experienced, a kind of detachment from the up close and personal. One could probably navigate any terrain as long as one wasn’t “in it” completely. Change is always felt to be possible to this individual. The mind or the “soul” has to be held in the greatest esteem as to not let it be tainted by the limited and temporary. Although the temperament is idealistic, the path of selfhood is more concerned with the realistic. It’s concerned with the resources and conscious cultivation of health on a practical level. In many ways, this combo lends itself well to living in alignment with convictions while remaining open to reconsidering and redoing things in order to improve well-being. The fixed temperament stabilizes the personality while there’s a continuous striving to become more nuanced and flexible as part of the individuation process. Overall, there’s the potential to be of true service in the world, and to show an ethical and liberal disposition. One should be cautious of the tendency to become obsessed with perfection in oneself and other people to the point of detriment. It’s good to have high standards but they shouldn’t become a burden.

Virgo Sun – Taurus Moon

The person would strive to develop the observational and analytical faculties throughout life while being temperamentally suited for the long-term grind. A stable and functional base of material safety is sought first and foremost to meet the personal needs. As it relates to individuation, there’s more of an emphasis on curiosity and processing information rather than merely settling into a comfortable life. The person would find a sense of selfhood through caring about organizing and structuring things and to make it work practically. Usually there’s a lot of reassessing and adjusting that is going to be part of the person’s life path. The intellect is supposed to be sharpened and put to use as to facilitate a smooth process of living. The emotional nature is quite compatible with what the definition of the ideal self, which makes it so that there’s not tug between potential and innate temperament. The overall personality is earth based, which comes with all the positive qualities of practicality, duty, good work ethic, patience, stability and serenity. On the flip side, there are the negative qualities of stagnancy, blind stubbornness and avoidance of change. The more the person self-actualizes, the more flexibility and adaptability is going to show. The innate temperament is quite fixed and reliable in that the person will instinctually gravitate toward what’s familiar and constant. Too much unpredictability and uncertainty makes the person worried and anxious. The person needs to know that he or she owns things permanently and be reassured that some things aren’t going to alter with time. There’s a need for permanence that has to be considered and met. Physical comfort is extremely important and should not be overlooked. Fortunately, this is also part of what it means to be stepping into one’s identity. To organize the physical components of one’s life situation and to make them work in harmony as to secure overall health and well-being. It’s important to not fall into the trap of micro managing everything and cultivating a sound judgment on what is worth obsessing about and what is not. With a double earth combo it’s advisable to not become too dogmatic and fixated on ritual. It’s easier said than done, because it’s true that the routines that we stick to can make or break us, get us to where we want or in the opposite direction. It’s good to attempt to take a more broad perspective and detach from the outcome enough to not be blinded by the fear of not doing things right. Life has it’s own invisible intelligence and not everything depends on us being on top of things in order to prevent disaster.

Virgo Sun – Scorpio Moon

The person strives to be self-reliant, methodical and reasonable. The person is set on a path of self-sufficiency and a path of acquiring skillsets that are useful. The person should strive to anchor his or her life in service – being receptive to what any given situation calls for in terms of adjustment. That which can be done should be done in this person’s opinion - it should be done with humility and genuine desire to be of assistance. Virgo Suns are people who strive to better themselves, to facilitate and make way for the optimal expression of life. This requires openness and discernment as well as good observational ability. In combo with a Scorpio Moon, the personality is set up for laser sharp focus. The emotional nature is intensely linked to the person’s individual self; everything that is felt is taken personally. The person is quick to spot threat and very careful to let people in. Vulnerability is guarded carefully. One might be prone to quickly be triggered into defense mode and as a result, attack or isolate in order to cope. The person is probably afraid of their own ability to feel and afraid of other people’s ignorance and lack of awareness. There’s usually a lot of pent up anger, or more accurately – rage. There’s not much that this person forgets because there’s the experience of being permanently damaged by things. Emotions are given enormous importance and are not just something one goes through. It is who one is on an innate, instinctual level. For this reason it becomes very important to this type of individual to control emotions because they are so intense and fearful. This can become a vicious cycle because the more rigid and controlling one becomes, the more the emotions are suppressed and allowed to fester. The analytical Virgo identity might try to rationally deal with the inexplicable intensity, trying to make sense of things intellectually. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t because the conscious mind can only brush the surface of what is going on most of the time. However, with this combo it seems like practical skills will have to be developed in order to navigate the emotional climate. The person may go through daily deaths and rebirths; feelings of being in control and out of control yet there’s probably a deep need to transcend all of it. There could be a lot of dabbing in the mysteries of life, the underpinnings of reality. This combo likely produces a reserved individual that has a strong magnetism and shrewd judgment. The person would strive to look put together and impeccable – strive to have an eye for the details and technicalities of things. No doubt the person would come off as intimidating because of the secretive and intense vibe, not to mention the proclivity to be critical and realistic. There would also be the impression of strength and efficiency on the more positive end of the bargain.

Virgo Sun – Leo Moon

The practical busybody is combined with an open display of emotion. This combo could be a person who is concerned with making things work practically while needing to get recognition and attention for it. These signs together present a bit of a paradox because Virgo is the humble servant and Leo is the divine child. The person strives to be of service – to be someone who is self-possessed and willing to be put to use in the world to serve. The personal temperament on the other hand is dramatic and big – one wants to be treated as someone special, someone who is talented and worthy of admiration. The person might experience a disharmony within relative to these distinctly different pulls if one hasn’t worked out a way to make room for them both yet. If the need for appreciation isn’t met, the person might turn sulky, bitter and resentful. There might be an attempt to create drama or inflate the emotional experiences in order to make people take notice of the inner experiences. Leo Moon can be the epitome of a drama queen, as it tends to blow things up in order to enhance a sense of significance. However, the Virgo ideal is not on board with any of the drama and disarray. A solar Virgo wants to actualize qualities of proper conduct and proper living. This usually doesn’t include exaggeration or unnecessary demonstrations of one’s worth. In Virgo’s mind people should know their worth, not resort to “shameful” self-expression and self-centeredness. One’s worth is shown through diligence and intelligence in the way one handles life. There’s more of a respectful approach to Virgo, although the person might slip-up in moments of stress and become overly critical of the environment and of other people. In general the person has high standards and could turn sour if other people get more love (attention) and rewards for their work and efforts. The person can’t stand not being given their due – even if one probably claims that “it doesn’t matter”. The key is, of course, to not focus so much on others and focus in on one’s own uniqueness and talents. One doesn’t have to prove or compare oneself to other’s so called “success” - it never really works. It’s wise to hone in on what makes one feel strong and important, on what generates confidence and steer one’s thoughts and actions in that direction. The path of self-actualization is to develop useful skills in order to serve life and to serve the self. The lunar needs will benefit greatly from the confidence boost of “being good at something” which might lead to less friction felt on an emotional level. Acquiring skills will make the person feel worthwhile and of value to others and the self.

Virgo Sun – Libra Moon

The orderly and detail oriented ideal self is combined with a relationship- oriented temperament. This combo is the definition of “perfection” or “pleasantness” because the person is preoccupied with other people and creating social harmony while striving to be humble and put-together. The person probably has an exceptionally likable air. There’s probably an innocence that is unmistakable that stems from a need for harmony and an ideal of orderliness. On a temperamental level, the person needs to be liked and will do anything to gain other people’s approval. This is not done by down right agreeing with everything other people think - it’s done through skillful diplomacy, of defending an ideal of fairness at all costs. Friction is unbearable to this person and there’s always an attempt to make it go away by adjusting and modifying. There’s sensitivity to roughness because the person craves the light and easy more than anything. Overall the personality is very unsuited for coarse and “less than civilized” behavior. The person is set on perfection when it comes to planning, processing and relating to other people. The sensitivity to imbalance can be both a blessing and a gift. On the one hand it can make others feel judged, on the other hand it can make them feel respected and protected. There’s always a tendency with the Libra Moon to not take sides but to always side with the idea of the ideal and attempt to adjust things accordingly. The Virgo Sun doesn’t operate from an ideal but from the standpoint of what could facilitate everyday life and lead to optimal and well-rounded health. Virgo works from a standpoint of examining life and taking action according to what is practically needed in the present. The person would appreciate neat simplicity. Everything that is done should have a purpose, ideally. However, the instinctual needs might occasionally push toward indulging in pleasure for pleasure’s sake. It might not be the most practical and healthy choice that is made from this space, but there’s little risk of over doing it since it all stays within what is considered to be “right” according to a certain standard of pleasantness. Moderation would be the unconscious program this person is running on. It is accomplished by constantly checking the self to evaluate what is working and not working. The person’s ultimate fulfillment lies is adapting and adjusting to evolve and become better through trial and error.

Virgo Sun – Capricorn Moon

The process of individuation is characterized by constant improvement, of adjusting and modifying components of physical life in order for it to be purposeful. The innate temperament is concentrated, serious and restricted. There’s probably difficult for this person to let emotions flow freely without attempting to keep them in place. There’s fear of sensation getting out of hand and hindering one’s ability to keep up with one’s ambition. There’s an innate need to achieve and accomplish something tangible that will meet one’s needs but it seems to require effort and temporary deprivation. The concept of “work” is ingrained in the person. Nothing is free of charge. One can’t expect to get any true fulfillment through luck– that’s just not how the world works. One has to organize and limit the self in the right way in order to yield concrete results. Safety, comfort and satisfaction are not gained through letting things be. The base line is always misery and disorder but one can work upwardly to reach heights of joy. If anything, this kind of person has the potential for making something happen in the world of form through deliberate strategy. The Virgo Sun seeks to be of service to be genuinely helpful in terms of work while the Capricorn Moon provides an innate work ethic and a patience to see things through when the going gets rough. That being said there’s always a risk for depriving oneself too much with a Cap Moon. A lot of guilt and fear can lie at the core of motivation, making the work more destructive than constructive to the person. It’s very important to not let the concern of failure dominate one’s whole existence, although it’s easier said than done with this combo. Self-care and self-acceptance play a big role in living a happy life – without a dose of ease along the long road of life the goal won’t be worth it. With this combo there’s the proclivity for judging and critiquing excessively to the point of it becoming depressing to the self and to others. It’s not always helpful to jump in and be the fixer of everything - sometimes things don’t have to be forced, they can be trusted to work themselves out. Being busy isn’t always the most productive; sometimes space is needed to receive some clarity on how to proceed. Taking action and going to work on something is what this person is going to excel at. Assessing what a situation needs and providing it will feel wonderful because it’s in alignment with one’s ideal self. Although the emotional temperament is strained and austere, it’s deeply invested in doing what is “right” and not being too demonstrative about it.

Virgo Sun – Cancer Moon

This combo reflects a gentle and humble person that is instinctively caring and keen to be of service. There’s going to be something pure and innocent about the person, which is not to imply that one exudes weakness, merely that one is self-possessed and sensitive. The person likes to be someone who can look after him or herself, but at the same time craves to be cared for by another person. There might be a strong need for close personal relationships with a simultaneous striving to rely on one’s own capability and discernment. On the one hand, the person would like to rationally observe and think and reach conclusions on his or her own – to take action according to the gathering of facts. On the other hand there’s a tendency to come off as needy and moody, to let complaining and whining take over. A Cancer Moon is a tricky one, because it has a direction and an agenda but it won’t pursue its needs upfront. It pursues closeness through displaying sensitivity and vulnerability and appealing to people’s sympathy – not necessarily in a clingy way though. A Cancer Moon usually offers understanding and emotional support in return for being listened to. They don’t tend to judge people for feeling, but they certainly condemn that which is harsh and attacking. Instinctively, the person is defensive rather than assertive. The Virgo Sun would help to keep the person keep occupied with something concrete instead of staying stuck in protection mode. The solar Virgo always seeks solutions and answers; they aim to be resourceful and effective. More than likely the person would develop great skills to deal with overwhelm and mood swings through organizing the daily life in the right way – managing diet or routine in order to remedy the worst of it. The person would likely have an air of being “a good and decent person” without any frills or excesses. Cutting to the point of what is important and avoiding the unnecessary makes for a good life. It’s the little things that matter; the day-to-day living that is treasured the most. Being able to enjoy the ordinary is what this person does the best. Truly, the person just want to be caring and of the utmost use when it comes to their own and other people’s well being. There’s great potential for intuitively sensing what others are experiencing emotionally which blends well with the desire to be of service. This person is not only concerned with the physical but with the emotional as well – the soul has to be fed first and foremost.

Virgo Sun – Aries Moon

The ideal self is methodical and practical while the instinctual self is impulsive and assertive. There’s a lot of energy to this person that needs an outlet. There’s a thrill that’s experienced through projecting and extending energy outwardly. What this person needs is very simple, to be protruding and uncompromisingly expressive. Usually one gets away with it because it is done in such a genuine and uncalculated manner that it won’t produce long term grudges in other people. The person is very direct and forceful temperamentally, but it’s not sprung out of festering emotion. One moves on and forgets quite quickly even though things can get heated in the moment. The ideal self, as represented by the Virgo Sun, is however not entirely compatible with the instinctual Aries mode. Virgo is quietly observing and getting things done in order to purposefully put things in order. It’s deliberate and thoughtful in action and method. Nothing is left to chance because life is too important to not take seriously. There are too many components and factors that are necessary to make up a good life – the devil is in the details. The Aries temperament can unfortunately function counter to the Virgo ideal, causing a great deal of tension and frustration within the person. Instinctually, the person is not humble and doesn’t like taking advice or asking for help. One just wants to express for the sake of expressing – it doesn’t have to be perfect or profound in anyway. Emotionally the person just wants to be allowed to be direct and honest without having to modify behavior. To have to mold oneself to a social or societal standard is a nuisance because it denies the spirit within to be what it wants to be at any given moment. This combo would indicate a person who is impulsive and competitive in nature but strives to be meticulous and careful. It could become a little confusing, not only to the person in question but to others as well. On the one hand there’s a modest and analytical self that seeks to have everything in order, on the other there’s the need for letting out the force of energy because one has so much of it. When there’s too much energy that wants out it is usually a risk of being too quick or hasty as to ruin whatever one is working on. Fortunately the Virgo Sun might provide the necessary influence to take a step back and carefully assess how things should be done to produce the best results. One might have to keep in mind that physical life requires some precision not only force.

Virgo Sun – Gemini Moon

This combo makes for a mentally active and busy individual. There’s always something going on with this person, there’s restlessness and sensitivity to the environment. The person lives through the intellect – it is one’s primary tool of operating. It’s great for interacting and communicating, learning and acquiring skills but it can also be a burden. If there’s too much stimulation and an overload of information that has to be processed the person doesn’t cope well. Mental fatigue is the single biggest risk for this person. It’s very difficult to stop the mind from constantly running. The person needs to be stimulated and becomes bored if the mind is not fed “quality food” on a daily basis. The person strives to be of service, to put acquired skills to practical use. The person is probably highly esteemed because of one’s casual yet methodical approach to life. Somehow this person would always land with their feet on the ground no matter how chaotic things get. The personal process of individuation involves being resourceful and useful. Whatever the occupation and life situation, the person should hone in on the analytical and processing skills. This would be the most fulfilling, no matter the circumstance. On an instinctual level there’s less of an emphasis of putting one’s skills to use and more of an emphasis on being stimulated. In a nutshell the person simply needs to talk and write and communicate without any serious regard of the outcome. Temperamentally, the person is better suited for creative endeavors than mere methodical and systematical ones. Temperamentally, there’s a need to use the mind and freely conceptualize of things. The personal ideal however, is more deliberate and critical. The person should strive to develop a more grounded approach that is not too eccentric and fanciful. The mundane and ordinary is what stands as the ideal. Cultivating humility and a good work ethic would prove rewarding. Since both the Sun and Moon are mutable, the overall personality would be open to adapting to new situations – there’s a desire to progress and evolve with this combo. Rearranging and reinventing would be appealing. The person is very skilled at taking what’s in front of them and making it work somehow. There’s both a creative-intuitive streak and a detail-protocol- obsessive streak that can be found in this individual. There’s a bit of friction between these two modes of approaching life, but it can serve to stimulate action.

(Buy products with my art)

Virgo Sun – Virgo Moon

This person is a Virgo through and through in terms of personal ideal and temperament. Daily routine and self-sufficiency would not only be what is sought as an ideal but what is deeply needed for this person to feel safe and emotionally fulfilled. There would be an urge to exude capability and intelligence, a need to be on top of everything that has to be done to secure the order of physical components. This is a person that can be trusted with making sure that nothing has been overlooked or missed in the process of organizing or putting together something important. On the downside, the meticulous and detail-oriented disposition can result in the person being tightly wound and stressed. The most important thing is to keep things simple and to the point, which of course requires a whole lot of sorting through the irrelevant details of life to get to the important bits. There’s no end to the process of discerning and adjusting. Other people might be extremely appreciative of the honest and humble quest for order and correctness, but they would not be as appreciative of the critical and nit-picky tendencies. Virgos are very observant and nothing escapes their scrutinizing eyes. This would not only be intimidating to others but it could become a burden to the person in question as well. The act of judging and labeling in order to make sense of things makes for a tense atmosphere with no room for mistakes. The person should take care as to not intellectualize and analyze everything because it leaves no room for freedom of movement and spontaneity. The desire to have everything be perfect is not always beneficial because it allows for no relaxation and trust in life. Having to monitor and control everything only leads to more and more problems to manage. Some things are out of one’s control and one can’t be efficient to the point of nothing ever going wrong. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s not worth trying. With this combo there will be a perfectionistic tendency present whether one likes it or not. The person would be well suited to work with something that requires refined skills and a sharp intellect. One would do well with things that can’t be left to chance, that depends on accurate observation and alertness. In relationships there might be shyness and reservation – one would prefer to talk about things that one is familiar with, that falls under one’s domain of expertise. Treading into unfamiliar territory often makes the person uneasy and insecure.

Virgo Sun – Pisces Moon

This is an interesting combo because Virgo and Pisces are opposite signs. The person’s path of individuation leans in the direction of developing skills and methods for handling physical life in a proper way while the instinctual nature is ethereal and diffuse. Emotions are constantly fluctuating and gripping the person from out of nowhere. There’s intimacy with the transient, which conjures up feelings of sorrow and being robbed of the beauty the world has to offer. Yet it is in the frailty that beauty is revealed and it touches this person deeply. Although the person feels the most like the ideal self when there’s efficiency and order present in their life, on a temperamental level there’s a longing for oneness that can border on destructiveness. There would be a strong tendency to romanticize life, to be consumed by fantasy rather in the cold and unglamorous reality of the physical. There’s a polarity conflict between the personal ideal and the personal temperament. The ideal involves practicality, usefulness and moderation while the innate nature is soft, boundless, bittersweet and resigned. The process of individuation does not accommodate for the emotional nature, which makes it so that the person has to consciously make room for both without forgetting about one or the other. It might be easy to project one or the other onto the people in one’s life because the polarity is too difficult to contain within oneself. The person might not like being described as soft-hearted even though it would probably be an accurate description. Capable, self-possessed and skillful would be traits that the person would like to be associated with. Intellectual, analytical and shrewd would be traits that resonate well with the ideal self that wants to be actualized. The person would likely be very sensitive but unwilling to openly show it or admit to feeling any powerful emotional reactions. With this combo it’s particularly important to not try to control or criticize unruly emotions too harshly because it will only enhance the inner disharmony. What can be done however is to deliberately make room for creativity and free flowing activity as to emotionally purge and process everything that is going on. Health is not only about routine, diet or exercise – it’s about being present and open to feeling life unconditionally without any attempt to fix things or put them in order. For this person it’s important to allow emotion to have a free outlet – preferably through some creative medium. Whether it’s art, music or poetry something else, there’s enormous richness that is waiting to be channeled.

Virgo Sun – Sagittarius Moon

This person has a life path of managing mundane life and perfecting methods of living while the temperamental nature is individualistic and spontaneous. This obviously presents a conflict because the path of self-actualization requires concentration and the temperament is too boisterous and freedom hungry to be bothered with tasks that require detailed knowledge. The person needs to live in a big way, on the wings of faith, yet would find that one keeps returning to the theme of living humbly and responsibly. The person would love to learn, experience the world and live without another thought of tomorrow because this is the need that sits at the core of the personal emotions. Freedom is very important; in the sense that one must feel that one has free will. This means that chores and strenuous labor must be done because one has willingly taken it on and not because someone else has demanded it. Being tied down is the worst experience. Variety is essential to this person’s well-being. If it’s withheld, there’s nothing that prevents the person from leaving the situation or stop caring about it all together. There’s a casualness and boldness to the emotional nature that will have varying effect on others. Some will appreciate the simplicity of it; some will resent the insensitivity that it entails. The Virgo ideal would temper the boldness of the Sagittarian instinct slightly because one would consciously prefer to be seen as humble and modest in expression. However, sometimes reactivity will get the best of the person and the Virgo ideal is thrown out the window. When there’s not too much emotional charge and pressure and one has space to consciously choose how to be, the Virgo qualities are going to front more easily. There’s a general proclivity for studying and learning with this combo. From the Virgo end it stems from a desire to be helpful and of service in honor of life, from the Sagittarian end it stems from a spiritual quest to understand and explore the totality of the universal self. Ultimately, the enthusiasm and inspiration that is innate to the person is fueling the ideal of dealing with physical life effectively and with confidence. The tension created between the two signs stimulates action and dynamic activity. The person is controlled and outgoing, careful and impulsive. Life is taken seriously, but it’s also just an opportunity to have fun. It would be important to make sure to not restrict the more adventurous streak of the personality too much, otherwise it might come out with force due to excessive repression. It’s much better to make room for the more instinctual needs before they make room for themselves. Certain needs, if ignored for too long, will operate unconsciously and steer life “off course”.

#astrology #virgo sun #sun and moon combos #sun and moon combinations #aries moon #taurus moon #gemini moon #cancer moon #leo moon #virgo moon #libra moon #scorpio moon #sagittarius moon #capricorn moon #aquarius moon #pisces moon #moon signs in astrology #moon signs #earth sun #earth moon #water moon #fire moon #air moon #virgo #virgosbelike #zodiac signs #signs of the zodiac #virgo astrology #sun sign #mercury

[zettabita]

RIVALS: Thunder

Rivals Master List

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a masaki ichijou x fem reader fic

Genre: action, romance Warnings: none! Word count: 2.6k+

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“Shiba-san, I think I’m going to throw up.” 

You clutch the shoulder of Tatsuya Shiba, First High’s best technician and the one currently servicing your CAD. With a mildly concerned look, he steadies you and walks you to the stage riser. 

Around you, students hustle to and fro, working on computers, tinkering with CADs, and typing hastily on tablets—other technicians for First High. You see, it was the 2095 Nine Schools Magic Competition, and you, a bright-eyed magician hailing from a distant country, was chosen by your First High teachers and upperclassmen to represent the school for Ice Pillar Break. Not much surprise there—even amongst the Blooms students, you were considered one of the best: you learned ridiculously fast, your casting speed rivals that of Miyuki Shiba’s, and, although it wasn’t known to many, your Psion count was very, very high, making for a good starting set of talents for the flashy event. To top it off, you worked hard to keep your place in the prestigious school (one time, you had to explain to your Japanese classmates how and why you, a foreigner, topped the exam for Modern Japanese class). Unfortunately, though, your technical skills weren’t anything to write home about; you could barely calibrate a CAD to save your life. Well, that’s why you had Tatsuya with you.

“You’ll be fine. (L/N)-san. You just need to take your time.” Tatsuya reassures in his usual monotone voice. He pauses, as if thinking what to say, before adding, “Just don’t draw attention to your casting.”

Welp. Aside from the fact that it was your first match of the tournament, you were also horribly unlucky in that your opponent, Suzuki Mutsuba of Third High School, is the current shoo-in to champion Ice Pillar Break for the Newcomer’s Division. Her casting speed and aggressive tactics made her an extremely difficult opponent as she would be able to destroy the ice pillars quickly before you could even cast an offensive spell.

To overcome this, you and Tatsuya had agreed on using your speciality in Ancient Magic which would give you great burst damage and some stealth. It would, however, take a lot of time to cast, and so you had to constantly run a modern counter magic sequence to prevent getting slaughtered in the first couple of seconds while preparing for your Ancient Magic spell. The thought made you want to hurl your breakfast on Tatsuya’s shiny black shoes. 

“Thanks.” You smile weakly at him. “Well, if I lose today, at least I look cute.” Tatsuya, who, as expected, barely reacted, giving you a small smile. Well, it was true. Saegusa-senpai had insisted that the Ice Pillar Break event had also become a mini-fashion show in recent years, so she and some of the other female upperclassmen took a lot of pleasure in dressing you up. You wore a modernized version of your country’s traditional garb (“I absolutely insist! You’ll be a standout,” Saegusa-senpai exclaimed one time after a meeting, imploring you to send for traditional clothes), your face in light makeup, and your hair in a bun. You knew that with your outfit, you’d surely be a standout amongst the sea of competitors in kimono and hakama. 

To prevent yourself from throwing up, you had let go of Tatsuya and preoccupied yourself with fiddling with the stitching on your top, when a disembodied voice booms over the speakers in the holding room. “Mutsuba Suzuki, Third High School, versus (L/N) (F/N), First High School!”

You take a deep breath. You look back to your weeks of training: the tingle of electricity prickling your skin, the feeling of power dancing at the ends of your fingertips, the mental exhaustion from practicing deadly magic for hours on end. You remember the day you first boarded the plane for Japan at the behest of your government, scared that you wouldn’t make it in the suffocatingly competitive atmosphere of First High. You breathe in this moment now: you, who has made it this far and who will make it even further. Suddenly, you don’t feel like throwing up anymore.

“Go on and show them.” Tatsuya hands you your device, slender and silver, and your talisman, a pair of black gloves with a red inscription on the palm. You look into his blue eyes and see absolute certainty. In you, perhaps? There was no time to contemplate, so you take the device and put on the gloves, shooting him an eager grin as the platform begins to rise. “Yes, yes.”

You emerge into the light, your chin held high.

-------

“Oi, Masaki, it’s the foreigner girl!”

“Mm.” Masaki Ichijou, scion of the Ichijou clan and freshman ace of Third High School, looks up from his device to George and then to you at the center of the stadium. You were something of a spectacle at this year’s Nine Magic High Schools Competition, because foreigners were so rare at magic high schools, much less at a contest of Japan’s best up-and-coming magicians.

You emerge from the riser, your stance self-assured. Judging from the large screen flashing yours and Mutsuba-san’s faces, Masaki thought you were pretty, yes, but not in that demure Japanese way. Your wide eyes were intense and serious but a little restless and some strands of your (H/C) hair loose from your bun were fluttering in the wind. You were wearing some sort of unique outfit; probably from your home country, Masaki notes, and a pair of gloves. He eyes the CAD in your hand. General-type. General-type CADs can hold a lot of Activation Sequences, but it’s taxing for the caster. You using one meant you have some skill. 

“Ooh. General-type CAD. Still, she doesn’t look particularly tough.” George pulls out his phone and starts typing furiously. “Do you think I should still have the others take stats?”

Masaki was certain you weren’t a lightweight: after all, your home country sent you to First for a reason, and First sent you to this competition. First High is not a school to be taken lightly. He nodded. “Yes. Just to be sure.”

Still, as good as you may be, Mutsuba-san was probably better, Masaki thought. “But I don’t think she can win against Mutsuba-san,” He adds. “She tied with me in practice once or twice, you know.” 

George nods slightly. “Yes. Her control and cast speed are above average. And her specialty really is suited for this—“

The siren sounds, cutting off George and shushing the crowd. It’s time. After two counts, a screeching noise fills the air, and the match between First High and Third High begins. 

On the far right, Mutsuba-san, dressed in a pink kimono, outstretches a gun-shaped CAD and begins her offense. Masaki knows what it is from his practice matches with her: Phonon Maser, an A-rank spell. A bright beam bursts forth from the barrel of her CAD and vaporizes one of your pillars. Masaki’s eyes dash to the left of the field. You wince a little, your left hand gripping your CAD tighter and your right hand tucked behind your back, but you quickly resume your steady gaze and continue casting. A sequence forms over your pillars and a dull light begins to pulse over your own ice field. Soon, Mutsuba-san’s Phonon Maser only makes dents. 

“Data Fortification.” George makes a yawning motion. “Effective, but boring.” 

“Hey! I use Data Fortification.” Masaki says indignantly. “And her defense is decent.”

Third’s best engineer regards his friend dryly. “Mm. But it’s not your only spell. Miss First here isn’t even attempting an offense.” He gestures to the field. He was right. You were holding your CAD high over the ice field, as if commanding them to stay frozen—and they did for the most part, receiving Mutsuba-san’s onslaught of lasers relatively well. Still, Masaki thought, you weren’t making any moves to destroy Mutsuba-san’s pillars. 

“Yeah. As good as she is at defending herself, it’s useless if she doesn’t attack.” George nods in reply. 

A few more seconds of the standoff between you and your opponent pass. The young Ichijou takes a quick glance around. George looked like he was getting more bored with each passing second, and he wasn’t the only one losing interest. Many other Third students in the stand who waited eagerly for you a couple of seconds ago now whisper impatiently amongst themselves, bored and unimpressed by the seemingly one-sided battle. To Masaki’s right field of view, the First High students in their stand shift uncomfortably in their seats, visibly worried about the outcome of the match. It seemed that even they didn’t know what was going on. 

Masaki fixes his attention back on you who still kept up with your ironclad defense. Why did First High even bother to send someone who won’t attack, Masaki wonders. He tries searching your face, your figure, your magic for any indication of anxiety, uncertainty, or whatever one was supposed to feel whenever they were about to lose a match. With your steady gaze, (E/C) eyes fixed on the field before you, your defense magic constant in its impenetrability, you seemed too calm for someone about to lose, Masaki observes. And then it hit him. 

“It’s not calmness.” He murmurs.

“What?” George gazes at Masaki quizzically. With all their years of friendship, George has pretty much gotten used to his best friend’s mutterings, especially during training—he’s heard I have to get this perfectly or I need to adjust the hydrostatic pressure far too many times in simulations—and even learned to take some of them seriously. He’s written them off as telltale marks of a genius (because he himself does the same things when he’s zoning out in his lab).  

“She’s waiting for something.” It’s not calmness, Masaki thought. It was something more predatory. Staring at your face on the megascreen, he realizes that you, in all your non-aggression, were fighting back a smile. 

Prompted by Masaki’s fixation, George studies your figure with the I-discovered-a-new-Cardinal-Code look on his face, the look he uses when scrutinizing a research article or examining Akane’s new outfit (It’s a well-known fact that they like each other. Masaki long ago conceded to the fact that his live-in best friend and his younger sister Akane are practically dating.) As George looks over you, his eyes widen. “Look at her right hand.” 

“Huh.” Masaki studies your right arm tucked away behind your back, away from everyone’s attention. Your hand, covered by your glove with the red seal on the palm, was making some sort of small, rapid fingering motion, like you were weaving a thread or plucking multiple strings on an instrument. It was so slight and so seemingly random that even the announcers and Mutsuba-san did not even recognize. 

Masaki raises an eyebrow. “That’s Ancient Magic, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah. Her glove is the talisman.” George leans back in his seat and crosses his arms, as if waiting for something to unfold. As he did, he glances up at the sky. He then grips Masaki’s shoulder tightly.

The young Ichijou tries to slap his best friend’s hand off. “Hey, you’re going to ruin my uniform.” 

George didn’t seem to hear him. His gaze, now bewildered, was fixated on the sky. “By Kami-sama...” He whispers. 

Masaki glances up with him. The sky was dark, much darker than it was minutes ago. Clouds seemed to form quickly, almost too quickly, overhead. George‘s grip on Masaki’s shoulder tightened. “Masaki, don’t watch the field, she’s casting a—“

Before he could finish his sentence, you whip out your right hand and snap your finger. A streak of pure white floods everyone’s vision and a deafening clap thunders overhead. The stadium erupts in surprised yelps from the audience. The light soon disappears, revealing you standing there on your podium, gloved right hand outstretched and a wide grin spread over your face. 

Masaki hastily surveys the field, rubbing his eyes from the sudden flash of lightning. Half of Mutsuba-san’s pillars had exploded, boiling hot water sizzling on the grass around the ice field. The other half were melted to varying degrees. The ground underneath what used to be the center pillar, where the light struck, was scorched. 

“Well, well.” He clicks his tongue in amazement. “Thunder Cloud.” 

George’s red eyes widened. “That’s…that’s the A-class Ancient Magic that copies the natural lightning generation process...” 

“Yes.” Masaki let out a sigh. He’s seen the spell before when his father worked with foreign magicians from the tropical southern regions of the Asian Union, but he’s never seen them do the little motions you did. “Father used to know a few who could cast it. They literally create cumulonimbus clouds and separate the electrons in such a way to make the lightning strike an exact point. It takes a lot of Psions but it’s highly lethal. To cast it while casting a modern spell...”

George started typing on his phone furiously. “That’s next-level. Gotta have the team take note of this.” Masaki could only nod in reply. “Now that’s why First sent her.”

Mutsuba-san looked shocked that she only had half her pillars left within a fraction of a second and scrambled to cast a defensive spell, to no avail. You had already snapped your finger again, causing a large Sequence to form in the sky, and lightning strikes the pillars, this time stronger, brighter, and hotter than the last. 

The pair manage to just avert their eyes in time. There were deafeaning cheers on the right side of the stadium—probably First audience—and then they were drowned out by a crack of thunder like a whip. When the light cleared, there was nothing left of Mutsuba-san’s pillars, just the scorched ground upon which they once stood and steam rising from her side of the field. All ice and water had been vaporized.

The siren screeched loudly. “The match goes to (L/N) (F/N) of First High School!” 

The stadium erupts in cheers, except for the pair’s stand, which consisted of Third students. Third High sat in stunned silence. No one had expected that you would defeat Mutsuba Suzuki, a member of the Ten Master Clans and a favorite to win the Newcomers’ Division for Ice Pillar Break in a complete wipeout. And in such a rapid and unexpected way, too.

George clicks his tongue in amazement. “Now, that’s one way to get everyone’s attention.”

“And the Clans’ attention, too.” Masaki says in a soft voice.

George glances at him and raises an eyebrow, a playful smile on his face. “Could it be that the great and super-single Ichijou Masaki is expressing his interest?”

Masaki glares at him incredulously and rolls his eyes. “Yes, George, I am extremely interested in this girl whom I’ve never met and whose background I have no idea about. What I’m saying is that defeating a member of the Master Clans is—“

The star engineer lets out a small chuckle. “Yes, yes, I know what you mean. Still…you never know, right?” 

Masaki exhales loudly through his nose. “I know a lot of things, George.” He takes a quick glance back at the megascreen, which shows you practically beaming as you wave at the First High crowd, as if you didn’t just cast very taxing and very deadly magic seconds ago. ‘(L/N) (F/N)’, it says on the screen. He thinks of you, you in the moment, smiling with the thunder. He tries to speak your name in his head, pronouncing the individual syllables the way he’s heard people speak names of your descent, seeing how each sound would fit in his mouth. At the back of his mind, he thinks it fits well, but he keeps this information to himself.

George didn’t seem to notice his best friend’s thoughts wandering. “Uh-huh. Well, I should go check on Mutsuba-san’s hardware. Catch you later.” He moves towards the exit with the leaving crowd but pauses at a notification from his phone. He scans it, eyes widening for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past couple of minutes. 

”What is it?” Masaki asks, just barely having snapped out of his reverie of you.

George turns to him, a wicked grin on his face. “Just got word from the team. She’s going to sub for Monolith Code.”

-------------------------

Next: Spark I

#mahouka #ichijou masaki #masaki ichijou #masaki ichijo #shiba tatsuya #tatsuya shiba #mahouka koukou no rettousei #irregular at magic high school #irregular

[therainroguefanfiction]

🔥 ℝise Ⱥbove I̾t ◈ Chapter 036 [Hero Law]

📑 Table of Contents | ◂Backward

Word Count: 2,840

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〈“There are ten million souls who are feeling like you. And ten million more who are finding the truth. Then it feels like you’re right where you belong, when ten million voices are one.” Shaman’s Harvest, “Ten Million Voices”〉

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“Mwah~! I healed you enough that you should be able to walk, but be careful,” Gran told Izuku softly, who was breathing heavily and looked exhausted.

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” His green eyes fell on his scarred right hand.

“That’s what you get for overusing your quirk in a short time frame.” She scolded him. “Consider your crooked right hand as a warning from now on. And just so you know, I will not heal injuries like these anymore.” She sent a stern look to Toshi. “You must find a new way for him to use his power. There has to be an option that’s not so self-destructive.”

I glanced at Toshi before clearing my throat. “Come on, Zuku.” I helped him off the bed, keeping my arm across his back as he limped out of the room. Toshi followed, walking on his other side.

“A new way of using your quirk…” Toshi mused.

“Hey, All Might.”

“Huh?”

“Remember when you told me why you came to U.A. in the first place? To find a worthy successor to inherit One for All…”

“Yeah.”

Izuku stopped walking, his back to us. “I put everything I had into the sports festival… but still, there were other competitors who fought for the victory harder than I did. So… maybe…” He sounds so sad, so broken. My heart squeezed painfully as I pulled him closer to me.

“You’re thinking it might be better for someone else to be my successor. Yes?”

“…yes.”

“You speak the truth. This place is full of incredible potential heroes. One for All is a crystallization of power, it bolsters quirks. For example, if young Todoroki were to inherit it, the strength added to his own quirk would probably make him an unbeatable superhero.”

I glared at the blonde. That may be true but damn, don’t kick ’em when he’s down, bro. And I thought I was bad at fucking comforting people, jeez.

“Then…”

“But you know, I was quirkless, too, as a kid.”

His eyes widened and he turned around to face him. “Quirkless? Seriously?”

Toshi smiled. “Back then, it wasn’t as rare of a thing, but it was still out of the ordinary. Even though I didn’t have a power of my own, I had someone who believed in my potential. My master gave me One for All and raised me to become a hero.”

“You never told me that!”

“It’s not my fault you never asked,” he shrugged. “Which is honestly surprising!”

I scoffed, sending him a grin. “That’s such a childish response.”

“I just can’t believe the number one hero was quirkless…”

“It’s true. When we first met, I saw a little bit of the old me in you, but kid, you’ve gone beyond my expectations time and time again. One day, you’re gonna do incredible things with One for All. That’s something I truly believe.”

Tears filled his eyes, voice strangled as he tried to hold them back. “I’ll do my best…”

I chuckled, pulling him into my arms, careful of the wounds he had. “I trust Toshi a hundred percent. He believed in you enough to choose you to inherit his power, Zuku, that’s not a decision he would take lightly. Of course, it ain’t gonna be easy, it never is. You’re gonna face a lot of setbacks with that over-powered quirk within you, but you gotta remember that you’re not fighting alone. We’ve got your back and we both believe in you, so have some faith in yourself, kid.”

He nodded and I felt my neck grow wet. I chuckled, running my hand through his hair.

Toshi smiled at me, nodding his head in thanks. “Anyway, the sports festival isn’t over yet. Get out there, you don’t want to miss the end.”

“Right,” Zuku pulled away, wiping at his eyes. “Your next match is up soon, right, Jen?”

“Yeah, about that…” I sweatdropped, scratching my cheek. “I was disqualified from going forward.” They both stared at me for a moment, processing the information, before their eyes grew wide.

“D-Disqualified?!”

“What did you do, young Jen?!”

“That brat Monoma from 1-B was talkin’ shit about our class. I warned him to shut up but he kept running his mouth so I shut it for him. I guess he ran and told on me and I was forced to forfeit my next match.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t remove you entirely!” Toshi sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his head. “I can’t believe you did that…”

“Really?” I raised a brow and he sweatdropped.

“You’re right, I can definitely believe it…”

I chuckled, glancing at Zuku. “Katsuki’s gonna be so~ pissed when he finds out.”

Zuku gave me a nervous smile. “Definitely…”

“Anyway, let’s get back. The others are probably dying of worry over you, kiddo.” I ruffled his hair and he nodded, heading down the hall.

“Jen.”

I paused, glancing back at Toshi with a raised brow.

“Did they say that it was Monoma that turned you in?”

“No?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Stay out of trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

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When we finally made it back to the arena, the match between Kiri and Bakugo was underway. We stopped by the railing at the top of one of the seating areas, not wanting to miss the match.

“Kirishima and Kacchan,” Zuku mused. “So that would mean Ashido and Tokoyami finished their match already…”

I patted his head. “You can always watch the video when you get home.”

“I know,” he pouted. “But it’s not the same as seeing it live.”

“Bakugo is having a heck of a time dodging Kirishima’s fierce attacks!”

“Woah, Kacchan’s on the defensive? I guess Kirishima’s quirk seems simple on the surface, but it’s still effective.”

“Midoriya!” Iida came up from the hallway behind us, his smile dropping a bit when he saw me. “Winchester.”

I grunted, turning back to the match. I leaned over, resting my arms on the railing.

He cleared his throat. “I take it that your surgery must have gone well. I’m glad!”

“Yeah, thank you. Is Ingenium excited that you made it so far? He must be so proud of his little brother.”

“Hm, I’m not sure. I tried calling him earlier, but he was working.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“No, it’s for the best. To be quite frank, I’m worried that he might be disappointed that I lost.” He glanced at me again, which I ignored.

“Waha! Bakugo is countering again! But what’s this?! It seems to be working this time!”

Waha? Is Mic channeling his inner Waluigi? I hummed, propping my cheek against my palm. “Looks like Kiri’s finally running out of stamina,”

“The finishing blow!” Bakugo yelled. “Die!!”

I sighed deeply, hanging my head. That dumbass. The audience is already on the fence about how villainous he may be, he shouldn’t be making it worse.

“Kirishima has been knocked out! Bakugo is the winner!” Midnight announced.

“With that vicious knockout, Bakugo advances to the fourth round! Ladies and gentlemen, our final four! Wait, what? There are only three students on the screen!”

Midnight raised her voice. “Due to a… technicality, Jen Winchester will not be participating in round four! Todoroki automatically advances!”

“A technicality?! Who could have predicted this upset, folks?!”

“I did,” Aizawa grunted, making me sweatdrop. “Idiot.”

Thanks for the comforting words, Dadzawa. Means a lot, bro.

Iida’s brow furrowed. “A technicality?”

I sent him a blank look. “I punched a kid from class B.”

He straightened his back, an annoyed look on his face. “Why would you do something like that? You and Bakugo are always acting so selfishly! How do you think that makes class A look?!”

“Hah?” I stood up straight. He only had about half-an-inch on me height-wise. “News flash, elite, I don’t live my life around other people. I don’t base my choices on your sensitive ass feelings. You don’t like how I act? Tough shit. No skin off my bones, bro.”

“You’re so rude and disrespectful! How did you even get into this school? From what I’ve seen, you have zero drive to even be a hero!” His fists clenched. “All of us are working so hard to become heroes, even Bakugo, though I don’t approve of his actions, but you clearly don’t care. You’re taking up a valuable spot that someone else could be using! Not only that but during the USJ incident, that villain knew your name. No one hardly knows anything about you!”

“I-Iida, Jen, please calm down.” Zuku looked between the two of us, swallowing nervously.

I grinned, taking a step closer. “And just who the fuck are you to decide that, hmm? We’re on the same fucking level here. You’re not above me or anyone else for that matter. Why I’m here is my business, not yours. How I act is my fucking business, not yours. And my motivations? You guessed it, my business, not yours. So get fucked, prep, and get the fuck out my face before you end up like Monoma.”

“Guys, please…”

I hummed, glancing at him. “Zuku, go sit with the rest of the class. I need some space.”

“O-Okay…”

I sent Iida one last grin before walking away, my shoulder bumping his as I did so. God, that fucker gets on my last fucking nerve. He always knows just what buttons to press to get me riled up. I shoulda punched his ass harder when I had the fucking chance. With a sigh, I headed for the side door, passing the guard that had been posted there to prevent people from getting inside. The door opened up to a small grassy area.

I leaned back against the tree, sliding down until my ass hit the ground, my head lent back to stare at the azure sky through the gaps in the leaves. A small part of me couldn’t help but wonder if Iida is right to some degree. Do I deserve to be here? Am I ruining the chance for some other kid that dreams of being a hero? Being a hero doesn’t interest me at all. I wonder, if the class knew that, would they change their view of me? Their opinion is already pretty fucked when it comes to me. It’s not like I came here of my own free will, ya know. I was forced to come to this school, but…

I don’t regret coming here. Even if these kids hate me, I’ve developed a soft spot for them. More than anything, I just want them to be happy and safe. I guess… in a way… my dream is to see them achieve their dreams. When I first came here, I never planned on caring for any of them, but now that I do, I don’t want them to end up like Gramps.

I held my hand out, watching the flames dance across my palm. I molded and shaped them until they formed a red robin, tilting its head curiously. Iida’s right, I don’t want to be a hero, but I still have something that drives me. I’ll use this power within me to protect class A and make life easier for Toshi and Aizawa.

My stomach started to growl angrily and I huffed, pulling myself to my feet. I walked around the outside of the stadium until I came to the front where the food stalls were. Most of the customers were inside watching the matches, so the entrance was nearly deserted. I headed straight for the taco stand, but Ojin was gone and a little sign had been taped to the front that simply read ‘closed :)’. My head fell down onto the wood. Goddamn it, I guess I’m not getting my third helping of tacos today. What a cruel fucking world this is.

My stomach growled again. Yeah, I fucking heard you the first fucking time, take a pill. My eyes scanned the other food stalls. Most of them were empty, the owners having packed up and returned home since the festival would soon end, or inside the building watching the last of the matches. I spotted the Woodsman patrolling nearby and headed toward him. “Oi.”

He turned around. “Oh, hello! Shimatsu-san asked me to tell you thanks if I saw you again.”

“Thanks? For what?”

He pointed to my head. Oh right, I forgot about the headband. I had put it back on after the cavalry battle ended. “After the first half of the festival, his stand got a lot of attention from customers because of your advertisement. He sold out of product fairly quick.”

I grinned. “Ho~ Looks like I did somethin’ useful today. By the way, I wanted to thank you for finding Riku’s brother.”

He nodded and it felt as if he were smiling, but I couldn’t be sure with the mask covering his mouth. “Of course, that’s part of a hero’s job. I caught some of your match against Iida. You’re pretty strong, but you lack resolve.”

I groaned, throwing my head back. “Yeah, I fucking know.”

He patted my shoulder. “It was obvious to me that you were holding back quite a bit. I’m not sure if it’s because you lack something driving you forward, or if there’s an underlying issue that prevented you from using your strength at its full potential but don’t lose heart. Tell me, why do you desire to be a hero?”

“I don’t,” I responded blankly. His eyes widened in surprise. “You don’t have to say it, I know it’s weird as fuck and I don’t belong at U.A., but it don’t matter. I’ll become stronger and I’ll protect my family. I don’t need the title of hero to do that, right?”

He shook his head. “If you didn’t belong here, you wouldn’t be here. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re still young. And you’re not wrong, you don’t have to have the title of hero to protect the people you love, but it can complicate things.”

“How so?” I raised a brow and he seemed confused for a moment.

“You don’t know about hero laws?”

Uhh… I scratched my cheek, closing my eyes as I wracked my brain. Hero laws… didn’t Toshi teach a class about that? Or was it Cementoss…

“She’s totally not gonna make it as a pro if she can’t even remember the hero laws,” came an annoying female voice, popping a ball of Takoyaki into her mouth.

“Mt. Lady, I’m trying to cheer her up!” He scolded.

“Hmph, no point in lying to her, Kamui.”

“I wasn’t lying!”

“Listen kid,” she pointed the empty toothpick at my face. “It doesn’t matter why you want to be a hero, all that matters is that you have some sort of reason! You may not like the title of hero, but if you want to use that quirk of yours, you don’t have a choice.”

I scowled. “Okay fine, let’s say I was absent for that class. Gimme a TL;DR for the laws.”

“TL;DR?” She tilted her head, her finger on her chin. “What in the world is that?”

I clicked my tongue. “I knew you were old.”

“What did you just say you brat?! I’ll have you know I’m only twenty-two!”

“Sure you are.”

“Why you -”

Kamui sighed, resting his hand over his face. “Basically, quirks can not be used by any non-licensed hero, unless used for self-defense purposes, but this is quite a blurred line and most times, you can get into trouble even if it is self-defense. Because of this, it’s impossible to protect people without becoming a hero unless you choose to break the law and become a vigilante, which I highly encourage you not do.”

“A vigilante, huh?” I hummed, holding my chin. “So like Batman.”

“Batman? Who is that?” Mt. Lady questioned. “And do not call me old again!”

Kamui panicked, waving his hands frantically. “Forget I said anything! Vigilante’s are as bad as villains!” He sighed deeply. “Tell me, Winchester, what is it you want right now?”

“A taco.”

“Not to eat! What do you want out of being here at U.A.?”

“To get stronger.”

“For what purpose?”

“To protect the people I love.”

He nodded, grabbing both of my shoulders. “Then that is your drive for becoming a hero. You may not like the title or everything that comes along with the job, but it’s the best way to ensure the safety of those you hold dear.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“You’ll be a great hero one day, Winchester.”

“Not a vigilante?”

“No!”

“Fine~” I grinned. “Thanks for the advice, bro.”

“Yeah, she’s not cute at all.” Mt. Lady commented. “You’ll get so much farther if you flaunt what you got, girl.”

The two of us just looked at her blankly as she approached a Yakitori stand and started to flirt with the owner to get free food.

“Winchester?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be a hero like her, please.”

“Not a fucking chance in hell.”

“And Winchester?”

“Yup.”

“Is there really a vigilante named Batman?”

“Fictional character.”

Kamui let out a sigh of relief.

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[jess-the-vampire]

Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 35

Previous / Next Star was quick to shout at the commission, pointing fingers at them. "You have no business bringing that up in here!!", The queen sounded furious, "My daughter was only trying to defend someone, of course the magic turned green! When someone you care about is in a life threatening situation against someone else, that would naturally trigger a lot of anger directed towards the attacker! The magic becomes green and more violent, you cannot just take from that that my daughter had those kind of intentions! It can't always be controlled!". "Wait Star, you never mentioned sky did use magic like that to us.", Marco turned their head to their best friend, the blonde sweating, "If it's really not such a big deal and can happen without any intentions to cause that kinda harm....why have you not addressed it before now?". The makeshift courtroom sprang into loud chatter on the subject and Judas quickly took hold of sky's arm, he didn't like where this was going, and his quickly tried to defuse it. "Hold on, this has nothing to do with the trial at hand, this is a trial focused entirely on angel himself! This has nothing to do with his accusation of treason!". "No, but the princess herself is friends with the accused and we have reason to believe she knows more then she's letting on-".

Sky felt herself panicking. No no no no NO. They were so close to getting through this whole thing and....THESE idiots were about to bring her into this as someone who ALSO may of committed treason? They weren't planning to bring out the evidence of her being at all those locations were they? Because if they did her mom would be forced to explain the reason they were there was because of her investigation and if they dove any deeper, well, the other girls would be exposed in front of all these people and what had really been going on. Get dethroned and arrested or have your magical sisters exposed and have who knows what happen to them didn't sound like solid options for Sky. "Marco, I-I just said, it's not of much importance! All Sky had done was try and defend someone who was almost killed!", Star quickly composed herself, "I-I...I didn't want to deal with it because the last time something like that happened....". Sky looked at her feet, Right, the kingdom freaked out for a bit at her, star deciding then and now to help her learn as to prevent anything worse from happening. Figures her mom wouldn't want to talk about it to save sky from any further protest from the citizens. "Star, doesn't every little detail matter in this kinda situation?". "It doesn't matter anyway, that kinda magic only happens during immense feelings of negativity or anger and as far as we're aware it did not hurt the masked thief. You cannot claim my daughter had plans to kill someone under these merits, not only did she do it out of self defense for the prince, but that magic is unpredictable and unplanned. My daughter is not trained enough to control such a thing and this is slander against her! You have no evidence!". "We have evidence...". "You have evidence you gathered when trying to prove she had a stay in this crime somehow but even if you had a point, you have no evidence she tried to kill the masked thief, it's most likely she only intended to stop them from hurting the boy before worse could happen.", Star was glaring dagger at this point, "And she's justified in that, because the person in question was clearly dangerous and could've hurt someone else if she hadn't stepped in." "Well, whose to say she was intending to kill the masked foe?". "What are you claiming here.....?". Rhombulus crossed his arms. "We're saying...what if she was the one that blasted the prince in the back instead?." Judas stood in front of his best friend, his protective instincts kicking in quickly, "I beg your pardon? WE were there? All of us, we all saw what actually happened. Sky wasn't the one who hurt angel! She stopped him from getting hurt any further! Where the heck are you-". But they raised their hand at him, he grumbled, "Yes, and all the witnesses? Friends and family of the princess, all able to easily lie in order to protect the princess. The princess was at odds with the prince for some time now, it is entirely possible she intended to hurt him to keep him quiet.". "That is NOT true!", Angel hissed, his legs growing more outstretched, "Where in the world are you pulling this nonsense from!? You're just accusing her of attacking me because you want to! The queens saw the masked being, they saw sky stop her from hurting me! How dare you ever assume sky would try to hurt me like this!?". Judas and Sky had never seen the prince so angry before, not in any of their fights, not in any of his screaming at the queen. He looked so enraged his eyes were starting to glow red. "They saw when the princess blasted at the thief, they did not see who had blasted angel the first time, all we have to go off of mainly is the testimonies. Sky herself has evidence left behind that proves she had been at every single crime scene that the enemy went to, now yes, this masked person is a thief and up to no good. But there is much reason to believe the princess is also linked to them, it's not entirely impossible for her to be working with the prince and the masked individual and a fight breaking out between them, is it?", Omni's face suddenly looked a lot more punchable to Sky. "This is still guesswork, the witnesses here all deny any of this!". "And they're all her friends are they not?". Star was silent. "We're only removing all possibilities before you can make your judgement, if sky is responsible then angel's words are put into question are they not? If he'd lie to defend the princess, who knows how much of what he stated is factual, after all, the others all appear to be close as well.". The room was talking heavily and sky didn't like the looks being thrown her way from the people in the room, judas sending a glance his parent's way to reassure to them what he said was factual. They knew this was all bunk, but not everyone did. "Hold off here, unless you have decisive proof sky was doing the things you say she was then this is nothing more then a theory. Are you seriously intending to harm her and angel over a theory? You have got to be kidding me here! These are teenagers here! Did you or did you not imprison eclipsa over incorrect assumptions, total fabrications, and only just to get her out of your way because she loved a monster?", Marco glared at hekapoo specifically, "There's a reason we knew you couldn't be in charge of this trial, stuff like THIS!". "C'mon muscles, you're being defensive, if none of this really happened it should be easy to prove right?". "That didn't stop you before...". Tom quickly calmed the queen down, though there was noticeable smoke coming from his nose. "Fine, you wanna get this outta the way so we can remove all possibilities, then so be it....if we're to make this final decision we should indeed remove any other possibilities, however, even if this idea were to prove angel and all these witnesses as unreliable, how does this tie into angel's treason? This trial is to discuss his betrayal and his role in all the incidents, not to mention what went down the day he was taken in. What does sky attacking him have to do directly with what this trial is talking about?", Tom crossed his arms, he looked ready to kill, even if he was keeping his anger contained as best he could. "It's fairly simple, the prince here is being trialed for betraying the kingdom of mewni and all the people who run it, simply put....if sky had a part to play she'd be under treason as well, that's why it ties into this, think about this....if this boy as so incompetent at doing his job, someone else must've been feeding the being this info instead shouldn't they? How else would they know so much about our systems?. This boy is clearly not capable enough to know everything the others know, but the princess is, and they had already been meetings between them thanks to their classes together. Now while fine, we are technically sorta basing this off traces of evidence of the princess being at all the scenes without really knowing for sure, this princess spends regular time with the accused, has traces at every crime scene, has shown to use this magic when she's mad at anyone, her bubble charm was even used at the scene of the spiderbite attack!". The whispers had evolved to full out discussions between the people of mewni, and sky felt her heart beat faster and her stomach twist and turn. "You have to admit, as much as it is a theory, there's a lot of coincidences going on here, there is clearly something wrong here that the prince or princess is not telling us, there is no way the princess just happened to be at all these same locations, or everyone who saw this incident just so happened to be people they were close with and would be trusted to keep things quiet. Not to mention these two royals themselves have had ongoing conflict for ages, and here they are protecting each other all buddy buddy-". "If sky hurt me you'd think I'd defend her? What's the story here, do we hate each other or not?! Sky would have to hate me to attack me wouldn't she?", Angel hissed further. "We suggest two possibilities, either sky had blasted you for trying to bail out of the deal, or you two planned this together, considering the thief had yet to lay a true finger on anyone that we've seen and witnessed, it's entirely possible you felt an injury would be necessary in order to get them captured and taken down. Now not to blast you ourselves, but you have a clear attachment to the princess, and a willingness to take all fault in your crimes of today, is it out of the question you'd be willing to take the fall for her even if she had betrayed you out of loyalty or affection?". Angel hissed further, "Sky was never involved in this, I never wanted her involved in this, Sky would never have laid a finger on me if I bailed, she has nothing to gain from working with....them....". "She does however, mewni knows her skills, they know she may never reach the peak of other queens, doesn't working with a powerful ally grant you the chance to be everything you want and more, that was why you ended up helping them correct?", the spider hissed further, "You have a clear attachment to the princess, i'd think if she did intend to hurt you i feel you wouldn't be the type to put her in danger, after all, you were clearly fine taking all the blame for what happened when you were taken in.". "It was just me, I swear, I never saw anyone else working for her.". "Then how could the thief possibly know what they did?". "I don't know! They just told me they didn't need my help anymore with those aspects, like they already knew them!". "This back and forth is getting old!", Star, stood up, her gold wings now outstretched and her six arms crossed, "Yes, it's suspicious sky has traces in all these locations, and yes, the stuff the thief knew is suspicious and understandable to worry about, but this stuff can be known by anyone within the royal famlies, someone could've even planted this against my daughter. Prince Angelus may of screwed up heavily, but my daughter wouldn't just trust someone like this for any reason, especially someone she doesn't know.". "But what if she did know them?". "Such as?". "Well, who do we know that's a powerful figure that is connected to both these children, if not you Queen Butterfly, considering you had been with us during one of the invasions...then....we may need to ask eclipsa further questions.", judas leaned over to sky, grumbling, "Because they don't know about the girls or the fact we were directly involved in this, they seem to think the reasons behind are much more sinister, we might have to pull something spectacular to keep this from escalating...". "Well, we sure ain't telling them about the girls...that's for sure...". "Definitely not, they might not have definitive proof but they do have a strong argument you're involved in this a little more then you said you were. It's hard to deny all the coincidences are too much....you being at all the locations, the page of your book, the knowledge the thief knew, the bubble charm...", Then a lightbulb went off in judas's head and before star could say anything further towards the commission, the prince stepped forward and glared towards the commission. "I'm sorry but, what's this about a bubble charm?". "Hmm?". "You mentioned something about a bubble charm, it being used on the spiderbites, and it being sky's right?", they all exchanged glances and nodded, Judas crossing his arms and raining an eyebrow at them. "Um...King and Queen Spiderbite....do you remember this being a thing?". The Slimy king and his Queen both shook their heads, "As i recall...we were all placed under a sleeping charm, I don't recall any of us ever being in...bubbles? That's simply not true.". Actually it was, but but the point being made was that no one knew about that other then judas, sky, luna, landon, nora, fae and celeste....maybe even angel. So why did the commission know about it? Based on Sky's expression, the same realization hit her as well. "Well....no.....that's not....", Rhombus seemed at a lost for words, then he quickly silenced himself. If they knew about it, they'd have to know before the teens even got there, and if that were the case they'd have to explain why they didn't help the trapped mewmans and monsters they had seen and why they weren't there when they woke up. Star exchanged looks with Marco and Tom and turned back to janna, "Guards, Arrest the high commission, we clearly can't take their word seriously on this matter....they're accusing the princess on faulty evidence and faulty information". Even Angel looked puzzled, staring at them as if they had just grown two heads. "Hold up!", Hekapoo shouted out, stopping the guards in their tracks, "Excuse what he said, he's just being silly, but you can't ignore all these odd coincidences can you? We are asking for you and the others to take this all into consideration before you make your verdict, perhaps there isn't a solid argument that the princess attempted to cause harm to either party, but there is an argument to be made she knows more about what's happening then she's letting on, being at all the crime scenes, the fact the person knows butterfly magic, you've checked most if not all your family members to see if they squealed...no results right?". "My daughter is not involved with this...". "Then what is your explanation Queen Butterfly? You can't keep denying something is wrong here! You know there's something wrong here and you fail to have a reason, if someone is indeed framing her, who? Whose framing her?". "Well maybe it's YOU!", Angel lashed out before anyone else could get a word in, "Sounds to me you're so adment to throw her under the bus as soon as you got something weird on her right? After all, were you all not at all those locations yourselves to collect evidence? You could've easily planted these things, and you know about about the queens and the kingdoms of mewni, you could know all the stuff that thing might know now. Heck, you could supply her with the crystals she used for escape!" Angel left the room speechless, he was acting far from the apologetic dork he'd been for some time and more like how he'd been when they fought, confident and angry and passionate. The attention directed towards the commission seemed to make the room extremely tense. No one seemed to be sure where to point the finger but the commission certainly seemed to be getting some glares now. "We're only simply trying to find out the truth for the safety of mewni! If the princess is truly innocent then there's no harm is there? This is only for the safety of mewni, if the princess has other intentions we should be wary of them!", Omni said, voice booming through the room. The spiderbite queen sighed from her seat, star turning to look at her, "You probably shouldn't throw them out yet, truth is it seems they lack solid proof your daughter is involved and you lack proof that counters their proof....if she really did nothing, then i suggest she takes the stand herself and explains what actually happened....we can sort this out and get back on track.". There seemed to be a mutual agreement between the other royals, sky was innocent until proven guilty. Sky stood in place and Judas approached her, offering her comfort, she hugged him as he whispered into her ear. "Something is definitely up with the commission, but we'll have to worry about that later, just see what you can do....ok? I'm here to help if possible". Sky nodded into his body before they separated, the angry spider prince leaning next to judas instead as sky took his place. This trial changing from angel's treason to sky's possible own treason. "You going to be ok angel?", he glanced over to the fuming boy, who was glaring down at the commission. "How dare they....how dare they use this to hurt her...". Guess that was a "No". "We're going to sort this out angel, promise...". He closed his eyes, "This is my fault...." "Angel, it's not your fault...they.....they were doing this way before anyone knew you were involved in this...this isn't because of you...", he reached out to clam him down by angel slapped away his hand, "If i didn't fail, this wouldn't be happening right now, it wouldn't. You can't win this fully unless you admit to the truth, the whole truth....and if you admit the truth there's no telling how much worse this could get. You...You don't have enough proof to prove Sky didn't do what they're claiming without blowing everything....". "We gotta put our heads together, if we can find a way to disprove their claims without revealing any of this we're golden, but...i'm not sure how....truth potions don't fix everything and neither does the box, even mind spying shows more how the person views it and is shaky at best....and they won't trust the testimonies of people she's friends with....we need something they can't find an excuse for, something raw that can't be tampered with whatsoever...but i'm just not...i don't know where we could get something like that from...that's asking so much.....". "Anything that involves magic can be tampered with judas...there's never a perfect answer to fixing every problem, problems will always arise....they will always find some hole in there as to how it could be faked or lied about...you'd be better off finding another approach then to find some non-existent perfect proof that'll somehow magically save the day....". The demon looked to the commission, then back to sky, Angel was right, finding some proof that would truely save sky and themselves was asking for a miracle. But maybe, they could find a different approach to saving her... "Skyler Butterfly, the high commission has accused you of both possible attempted murder and having relations or a connection with the prince and the masked thief, both through evidence and details presented by other witnesses....i'm assuming you think everything they're saying is not true right?", Sky nodded to the Underworld Queen, "Yeah, no kidding none of it is actually true, does anyone really think i'm THAT devious and have so much ill will towards these people...like that i would even rob from my own friend?". She nodded towards the prince leaning against the wall. "Do you have a reason for being at all these locations?". "Yeah, i was in the archives because mom was gonna teach me lessons.....so i kinda thought i should well, look into some of this stuff? So yeah, i went into the archives at one point....I couldn't find what I wanted cause the place was wrecked, and I went back to the castle....I really didn't get a chance to report it before those guys got there and already took those stances. So mom found out and all that, that's why I was there, didn't work out...". Sky tended to be...a bad liar, about as bad as angel. But considering her lies in the past, this one wasn't half bad, probably because it was a half lie instead of a full lie. "The Lucitor Archives?". "Judas is my friend? You don't think at some point he may of shown me around to check out the cool stuff his family owns? He shows me around, i'm good friends with their family, heck, I hang out so much in the underworld at times whose to say someone didn't walk in with some of my hair on their clothes?". And there was the weaker lie. "The vaults are heavily guarded and cleaned every week, a guard would've seen you go in there if you had." "Then someone probably walked in with my hair on them, maybe even lucy since i've been into contact with her plenty of times before", even sky herself didn't seem sure with that lie, she wasn't even sure how her hair got left behind anyway considering she had basically stopped time for a short period when she entered. If a hair fell off her head it would probably float in mid-air as a result, freeze with everything and everyone else, then again she could've missed it pretty easily too. Reading the room made it obvious her lie wasn't working for everyone either. "So...you haven't been into the vaults extremely recently?". "No, why would I?". "Ok, but how would you like to explain you being assumed to have been at the spiderbite castle?" The spiderbites shot Judas a look in his direction, "Our Daughter confessed some time ago, she let this young man in her room, supposibly to help treat his illness...his arm, she essentially....got...uncharacteristically angry towards us for never letting her speak to him sooner. Princess Butterfly here,  well she argued for her as well, I imagine since these two are so bound at the hip the princess had been in her room as well at some point...maybe leaving a mark of her own...". "Prince Lucitor was in Princess Spiderbite's...room?", there were some whispers among the group and the king of demons crossed his arms, "Judas told us this as well after the angel incident, as to explain why nora had gotten so close to them to end up with them when the prince.....y'know. Nothing more occurred then him being there to helped her with her research, and it hadn't gotten too far before her book had been stolen, losing all the research she had acquired over time and the one's from his time with her". "Was sky with them?", asked Rich Pigeon from his seat. "According to him, maybe once or twice she had been in the girl's room...". "Well then that really does make things seem grey doesn't it? Seems like there's not enough strong evidence still, the princess appears to just be incredibly unlucky the thief went everywhere she did or where someone may of left a hair.", The King and Queen of the Underworld were quick to speak before anyone had their doubts, "This is not something the kids had made up simply to cover for her, awhile back judas asked for more information on his arm, and even angel could atest to her having info on the boy's arm in her book when the thief stole it...would be a lot of effort for any cover up they didn't know they were going to do.". "So this sounds like it may all be a strange stew of coincidences, but the likelihood is still....a long shot...". Sky was starting to sweat, which probably wasn't doing her a ton of favors as someone on the stand. "But we shouldn't ignore it either...it can happen.". "Indeed.". Star huffed and crossed her arms, tapping her finger against her elbow, "I know the feelings towards my daughter being the next queen have always been...mixed, but I think it's a stretch to assume she is so evil as to do this, she's done nothing like this before, especially not against mewni itself. We need to judge sky's character just as much, angel in the past did troublesome things, his actions fit him, but has sky ever been so violent before? So untrustworthy as to betray all of mewni and the kingdoms of her own friends?". "Agreed, she'd never do something to put judas, nora, and the rest of her friends in danger...", King Kucitor closed all his eyes, "It's not like her, yes, she got angry before and produced green magic but that's never intentional from the magic user themselves, sky most likely did it from pure anger in the moment and not out of any true rage towards angel himself, only to protect her friend from being killed, therefore....it seems to me we don't have enough to convict her of anything. Seems to me if the commission wishes to put her under the lense they need better proof under their belt.". "But-". "But nothing, nothing has changed, you've charged her based on info that's not strong enough to prove anything, even still...I told you this before and yet you walked in the middle of court to convict my daughter of a crime! Guards, escort the commission out NOW!". The commission didn't even fight them, they walked out by choice, receiving glares on the way out as Sky let out a sigh of relief, was it really over now? Was she free of all charges and was Angel safe as well? It felt that way and yet- She still felt her gut wretch in pain. The Commissions's evidence was throw to the side as not strong enough, but they certainly were given enough time to cast doubt onto the people within the room, not to mention make them worry if sky was up to anything else they weren't aware of. She was barely able to look at her angry mother, despite everything she defended her to the last core, never doubting her. She felt more then inclined to thank her on that one, and to the mewni gods for not giving the commission more to use against her. "Well, I suppose the princess may leave the stand for now, any further investigation on her can be dealt with out of the court and saved for another day perhaps, now, on the matter of the prince...angelus arachford....may he return to the stand so we can give out out final feelings on him?". Sky watched Angel pass by her, even he seemed relieved as he took the stand, "Prince Angelus, it is perhaps time to give out verdict on the matter of your sentence...". "Hold on, my queen...I....before you do, can you call upon one more witness....?". The kings and queens around star looked puzzled, the accused part isn't allowed to call witnesses to the stand were they? That sounded like a recipe for disaster, was the prince trying to get himself into deeper trouble or-? "I'm sorry, but we're missing nora, the last witness who directly saw what happened, I know you have had the others come up, but nora is very important as well, she was with sky before she found where I was, I just feel like her presence is important.". "Our daughter has no need to-". "Hold on Penelope, I mean, he has a point, nora was with sky before this happened I believe, Eclipsa mentioned this before when she reported sky running off to find him, if we were to make sure of everything we kinda should have her out here and explain what she knows as well. And besides, she's been away for awhile from the rest of them on your orders, so you know she didn't pre-plan anything with the others, so if she's being honest then that confirms their story entirely.". The spiderbite queen still didn't seem too thrilled but she seemed outnumbered by those around her, looking to her husband who gave her a shurg. She seemed to have no choice. "Fine, she's in the west tower, bring her here....". - Nora was brought in with two guards behind her, her expression lifting at the sight of judas, sky and angel waiting for her. Though in fact, they seemed to feel the same way at seeing her again, she took the stand and forced herself to try and make eye contact with the Queen of Mewni though it was clear she was still having a rough time with it. She probably felt she was here for bad reasons instead of being here to help, though Star's face eased up at seeing her. "Nora?". Nora gulped, "Y-yes?". "Do you know why you were called here?". "Well I....I'm not entirely sure, Am I in trouble?". Star looked to the girl's parents and back to her, "No...not exactly, Angel called you here in fact, he feels you should testify and we should hear from you before we wrap things up. I'll be honest, hearing an Arachford have so much respect for a Spiderbite to send them here even when they may of been almost been freed is quite interesting.". Even the seated watchers had to agree with that, Judas could spot an approving glare from Globgor himself. "Oh....You....you want to hear from me what happened?". "You were with my daughter before you all arrived there...right?". "Well I.....", Nora turned to look at her friends, sky nodding and Judas smiling in reassurance to her, as she nodded towards the rulers, "I was...and Ms Eclipsa saw me as well, we went to see Eclipsa, Sky wanted her help to tracking down angel's location when we realized he was missing, she was worried about him m'am....so they used the spying spell to see if they could find him and that's how we were led there and how Eclipsa knew where we were going.". "You used the all seeing eye?". "Both of them did...together...making it strong enough to find him...". Star didn't know whether to be impressed, or worried her daughter had learned that spell and could do it now. Nora timidly turned her head, noticing all the people watching her, there was a lot of pressure currently placed on the girl's shoulders, more pressure then she was used to handling right now. Nora simply rubbed at her arms as another question was brought up, "Are you aware of Sky being involved in any......questionable activities? Any indication that she has been up to anything sinister? Any bad intentions on her part? Nora do you think sky ever had intentions to harm anyone?". She gaped at the question asked by the Jaggs Queen, just wondering exactly what had went down here, "Sky? Cause harm? Of course not, when all this happened...she was furious....furious at her, furious at angel for lying behind her back about working with the enemy....she wanted to take her down....sky wouldn't work with that thing if it was the last thing on earth. She wanted nothing more then to take her down, she wouldn't even look at angel for days....and he....he knows that...". Angel nodded, "she's.....correct.". "Sky....sky's not like that....she and judas have gotten themselves into all kinds of trouble, sky....it's not like her to betray or go this far for anything. During that party, when she used that magic and broke the chandelier...it was scary...I-I was scared....but...". She tugged on her slimely green locks, "But she'd never intend to really hurt anyone! I know she wouldn't! When all this was happening....she wanted to help me and make me feel comfortable and.....protect me...". "Princess spiderbite? Are you...crying?". "I-I'm sorry...It's just.....I haven't seen my friends in some time and I'm not hearing you guys might.....that you think....Judas and Sky are good people, they'd never do something like this....and even if sky somehow would....judas would never agree to her actions....Sky....whenever sky fought angel...well....angel told me....he never felt like they had any real malice towards each other. They never wanted to really hurt the other...they never had this....hatred...between them...sky....she cares about people....even if maybe...it's hard to mention it sometimes...". Sky could feel angel looking at her, her head turning away. "She'd never harm him or judas or me.....she's.....she's not like that...she just wants everyone safe." The Queen and King of the Spiderbites shifted at the sight of their crying daughter, they clearly wanted to go up and comfort her but the glares now headed to their direction kept them permanently at their seats despite that. Whether Nora knew it or not, she had practically stated she had been kept away from what was essentially her best friends who she seemed to care deeply for and who meant so much to her. The poeple who were quick to comfort her despite the looks though? Angel, Judas, Sky, and quickly enough sunny, galexia, and whether out of a need to or just not be a jerk.....celeste and landon. "I....I think we've heard enough for now....", Star sighed, "Whatever argument can be held against my daughter can be saved for another day if the high commission brings more evidence to support their argument, that is....if they aren't found in deeper trouble then before. I think it's time to vote on Angel's verdict....leaders of mewni?". Everyone seemed to give a collective nod, "Good, on the count of three, everyone will raise op the sign of their verdict...". "3......2......1". Angel's eyes lit up as the majority of the rulers raised the "Innocent of all charges" sigh, he seemed to have a hard time beleiving it himself. Though Star seemed relieved to finally have this mess over with, "Angel, you're freed of any major charges, however, you will be granted at least a month of community service to me and the other kingdoms once the thief has been caught and you are no longer in danger. You may not have caused any major harm intentionally, and you had good intentions, and planned to save people you cared about...but you should've been more careful....nonetheless...perhaps some service to the other kingdoms might help you and allow you time to grow...". "T-thanks....Queen Butterfly...". "In terms of your mother, i'm deciding to put a heavy amount of resources into saving her as soon as possible, the Spiderbites have been doing some research on her as of recent and testing some of their own medicine, but the Lucitors said their son is willing to offer up his garden for help, as maybe some of his plants hold ingredients for a cure and if she is revived....then the sooner the better before we lose her. You'll also be allowed a room here if you want, my daughter seems....fond of you...and I kinda can't let you go out there and well...risk being in danger...if not here i'm sure the lucitors are equally fine taking you in...for the time being...you're our best link to who this person might be and your safety will be of most importance...", The blonde might still be mixed on Angel, but watching her daughter pat him on the back with a smile after this mess of a trial seemed to convince her this was the right thing to do. Thank you...", he was about to cry. "This trial is dismissed.". - "We did it!!!", Judas pulled everyone into such a hug Sky was worried he'd crush them all, but everyone seemed more then relieved, even celeste and landon were kinda smiling. Even as judas stopped hugging everyone, that didn't stop Angel from clutching onto the demon's shirt and hugging his waist, he was still crying freely and smiling. "I'm sorry I ever doubted any of you...I-I....I was expecting the worst in there...I....you convinced them....". Sunny simply smirked, "Hey, you made it easy for us, they only convicted you with a lack of information, knowing that you had no direct play in all the heists outside of accidental stuff, and that you kinda didn't directly hurt anyone or spill anything made it easy to go easy on you...". "Yeah.....it went great...". Angel's gaze turned to Sky, realizing himself from the demon. "Princess....uh...Sky...I um...". "Look, I'll admit, i'm still kinda hurt...about the situation...ok? But...I'm really glad you're ok and we both made it out of there ok...". "Y-yeah....me too.". His face grew soft, and judas looked to sky, his face motioning to angel. Sky sighed to herself, closing her eyes before walked over and pulling angel into a hug, a tight hug, even angel hadn't seemed to expect it. He paused for a moment, not even sure what to do with his arms before they wrapped around her, his spider legs following right after. Affection like this with people who weren't his own parents was probably still something he needed to get used to a lot more, and sky didn't typically hug just anyone anyway. Though the hug lasted at least 10 seconds before sky pulled away, coughing and looking more to judas then angel. "God the commission almost gave me a heart attack when they came out there, I was so worried they had something to prove I really did something like that...really means a lot to me to have you all back me up out there somehow...get anyone off the scent. Though I kinda suspect it's possible after this someone might look deeper into things...I...didn't have a valid reason to be in your vault after all...". "It's possible, but it does prove they don't have enough to convict you of this, even if there's an argument to be made that it's a possibility....however.....I think we all got the impression we need to keep a closer eye on them....i'm getting a bad feeling here.....". The spider coughed, crossing his arms, "For the record...I...the only person I knew they had as an accomplice was Loki....though he was under influence of magic, any other were left out entirely...". "God if they're working with her...I swear...i'll end them for throwing me under the bus for their crimes...", the princess girt her teeth, "My mom is gonna have them removed entirely for this mess, they came in swinging and couldn't do anything....". Her friends around her quickly cooled her down as she sighed, tugged on her hat, "At least this part is over...for now, we can put our focus and energy into catching them and setting up a trap instead.". "A trap?", Angel raised an eyebrow, "I'm not going to be the bait...am i?". "Uh....no, we'll think of something else.....". "Kids!! You did wonderful out there!". Eclispa strolled into the the situation, an excited globgor on her shoulder, quickly jumping off to crush angel in another hug. "Good for you young man, not a lot of monsters have faced trial and made it out, in fact, 99% of them didn't. You're one lucky bug!". Angel let out a gasp as the monster let him go, "And you had the princess's support helping to boot, even if you had that you were never guaranteed to get out of the situation....I'll take this as an improvement....", his eyes gazed towards Eclipsa. "I wasn't lucky enough to really get a trial until the one I had with Star, Rhombulus was quite quick to imprison others the commission didn't like without a trial frankly...". "Oh I would know, they imprisoned me within a rage....". "Didn't you...uh.....eat a man?", Landon interjected, "I mean, I know the guy kinda sorta took away your daughter but.....eating him probably didn't help, you'd most likely be sentenced anyway for murder.". Even Globgor had to agree, "Well...yeah that's true, though the situation was quite complicated.....well...more complicated, kinda like yours.". Angel seemed about to ask why but Eclipsa interrupted, "I'll explain another time, for now, we have work to do...and well...I have to speak to sky.". She turned herself around, facing sky, "Dear....can we talk...?". "Why?", the bitterness was still clear in sky's voice, she sent her an icy glare and Eclipsa coughed and tried her best smile. "Look, Dear....I know you're mad with me...and you have every right to be mad with me...considering how much trust you put into me to not tell anyone the truth.....but please understand....your safety is important to me...I can tolerate a lot of things dear when it came to this investigation and plan, but going into the direct line of fire like that....you could've died out there...". "We could've handled it...". "Yes, you and judas can handle many things, i'm not saying none of you could do it...but....you don't know what you're up against...and...if something happened...and I knew......I'd....I'd never forgive myself. Star certainly wouldn't forgive me after the last time you almost got hurt under my care.". Sky still looked reluctant but Angel stepped forward, "I-I....Eclipsa really helped us out back there...and I...It'd mean a lot to me if she could help us finish this...". "You still exposed us to our parents...". "I know...I wasn't happy about that....but allow me to make up for it....", Eclipsa looked to someone in the distance and once glace by sky could tell her she was looking at katrina, who was busy talking to the guards who had taken the commission from the room. "We can find them, or figure out what they want...when we capture whoever this is things can swiftly go back in order....mewni is so used to dealing with armies and normal magical threats...not...sneaky thieves who are impossible to track and know our kingdoms inside and out...". "The commission-". "Oh we saw...", Globgor's expression turned grave, "It seems they have more part to play in this then we thought...". "Just....when you want to talk...you know where to find me dear...just....please...consider it.", Globgor followed Eclipsa as she gently patted Angel's head in congrats and headed on her way. More and more people were heading out already, and Nora stuck rather close to judas and sky. She didn't spot her parents though frankly that was a good thing, as Judas happily took the group to eat in the underworld for a bit, his parents following with him. Well, if eat in the underworld they meant "Eat in the royal dining room", then yes, he did get them dinner there. But it was good dinner,  roast beef server with fresh veggies, fresh buttered rolls, and served with sherbert ice cream for dessert. Angel dug into the food immediately with a smile on his face, when this was all over they had to do something about his kingdom to help with their supply of food, or at least share recipes with them if possible. It was well earned, and nice to see Angel eat without looking miserable, plus mason was finally happy to see everyone again as he wasn't allowed to go to the trial on account of his parents not wanting him involved. Sunny whispered to him to give him updates on everything happening as he took a bite of food, worrying at all the bad parts but his face shifting to one of utter relief when he heard about the results of the situation. Judas still felt bad considering mason badly seemed to wish he had been there to help them all out, though it was still nice to see his brother looking out for them and happy for their achievement. Even the King and Queen looked relieved. "Um....King Lucitor? Queen Lucitor?", Nora said meekly, the couple turning their heads and smiling at the sight of the girl, "Since you uh....knew about judas sneaking out to see me...I uh....I really hope you're not mad at him, I....I told him I wanted him to come over so I could help him, and he got worried he was pressuring me when I really did want to help and I just....please don't punish him for it he never did anything to me....he just wanted help...". "Nora....I promise....we have no intention to get on him for that...". "Y-you don't?". "We....we always knew your parents were unfair to you...there have been well...many times where at meetings we told them they should let you around more of the other kids but they disagreed...you're a delightful girl Nora and everytime we see you is wonderful . We only wish you could've been allowed to spend time with us more often, judas always seemed excited to see you.", she beamed at their compliments, "It's hard to get too mad at you or judas, your parents want to protect you....but it's obvious to everyone that how they do it is at the cost of your own happiness, and that you're almost dying to leave the castle at this point.". "You're really ok he left to see me?". "Well, sneaking out during the situation? That maybe we can be worried and mad about, but just wanting to spend time with you? Honestly, wish he told us sooner...we'd probably have helped him.", Tom snickered, "Oh god, the King and Queen would hate us for that....but...god....spending time with friends is important for anyone. During this situation we need friends and people we can rely on, and as a future leader, forming relationships with our son and other kids can only help you...". "It was mainly his-". "Arm? Yeah, we're aware....it's...we're always concerned about it too, but it shouldn't prevent him or you from being friends....we never let it stop judas and sky from being friends, and judas needed a best friend more then ever when he was seriously going through this, still does.". Marco reached out and patted her shoulder, her cold slimy hair brushing against their hand, she didn't flinch nor did she try to hide her face as they smiled at her softly, "You need him and he needs you.....and we're happy to welcome you here anytime, thanks for caring so much about him...". "O-oh...I-I....oh it's not problem, j-jude's great....I-I just....wanted to do something nice for him....", her face suddenly felt very warm and she felt herself laughing, "I was so w-worried you'd be mad we were hanging out cause my parents hated the idea...I....I....thanks....I...I...i'd love to have more moments like this.". Her gaze turning to sky, judas, angel, and the others who were eating and laughing, "I want more moments with them, from now on...". "And honestly....If i had been kept from tom and star....i probably would've done the same thing, i think it's good if you're willing to take risks because you care about your friends...getting mad over it....would kinda make me a hypocrite honestly...", Nora laughed but she seemed more then thankful, her eyes wandering to gaze at the purple demon prince and the butterfly princess as they discussed the trial and the events involve under their breath. "So angelus.....i'm sure you're more then relieved huh?", marco quickly turned his gaze to the pink monster prince who was trying to make sure his legs didn't hit anyone in the face in his seat. The prince, who had been laughing a moment ago, turned to face the royals, pulling himself together. "Well...of course, I was going to be dethroned for what happened, for awhile I was just going to accept it frankly...maybe....just live the rest of my life here or something....", his face quickly frowned before changing back into a smile, "But, you....you all actually did it....". He then transferred his gaze to the bluenette and tall demon who were playfully kicking each other under the table. "To be fair....I'll admit, in a way i almost liked the idea of not having to go back home...and stay here...with you....but maybe...it'd be good to have the best of both?", he sounded almost hopeful, "To be able to actually be the prince i want to be.....and also get to have days like this? I'd like to be able to eat...stew...and buttered rolls and....I just want more of this....". He took another bite of his food, "You guys have better food then back home honestly...er...nothing against ours it's...". "Well you're stuck here....so I suppose you'll be eating it more often since your under protection until further notice.". "How long do you think i'll be here...?". "Until they're caught, simply put.". "So.....no real idea.....". "You could be here 1 month, you could be here 10 years....though...hopefully not the latter...the sooner we catch them the better.", angel nodded as his gaze turned back to his friends, who were already working on a plan between them. It caught the King's attention as Judas quickly turned to him, "We have some ideas of what we may do to get them....but...it needs some work.". The king settled down and his gaze softnened as he looked at sunny, who was still enjoying herself. "Y'know, with this mess going down, i don't think i've properly gotten to think about the fact you're...that you're technically....". Sunny took a good look at the king, smiling and sighing to herself, "Yes and no i guess....you're technically my dad...but the daddy I have back home deals with.....different stuff, he's not exactly...like you. But....it does make me almost feel like i'm home again...". Marco's gaze even turned to celeste, who was promptly avoiding looking at them, "I guess we were eating with two new family members all along, i'm sorry to hear you're that far away from home...". "Well, I happen to think this place is like another home...", Sunny took another sip of tea as the couple smiled genlty. Then the door busted open. "THOMAS!!!". Tom almost choked on his food. "DAD!". The former king of the underworld strolled in, quick to congratulate the puzzled spider prince briefly before walking over to Tom and Marco. "I heard about the trial, did the commission really just up and attack the princesss like that ? In the middle of the trial?". He looked relieved but also incredibly mad, and Tom seemed like he was attempting to move his father to another room to talk about what happened, but Dave refused, leaving Tom no choice. "Look, star....took care of it, and Sky made it out ok, they couldn't prove she did anything and seemed to have jumped to conclusions....". "That's still not good Thomas...even if sky escaped that one, they've drawn more attention to her suspicious actions more then ever. You were able to prove it was all probably a lie but you know the meer idea of it will spread around mewni fast, with what happened to eclipsa....it's not a victory just yet. It's not a victory till we have the criminal and can find a reason why they knew the things they did....", he pinched his nose and closed his brilliant teal eyes. "I...trust you tom but...i'm worried, for the kid's sakes, they have it bad enough without these rumors spreading...". "Dad, we'll be ok, and uh...please stop sending spies to these things....you can just wait for us to speak to you...", Dave looked a little embarrassed all of a sudden, coughing into his hand and crossing his arms to get himself back in order. "I'm just concerned, I'm sorry for ruining your celebration, i know after that mess you're eager for a break but with how judas is treated by the public and sky was already seen by the public, i'm worried this victory is short-lived...". "We know....", Judas stood up from the table, "We know it's probably short lived...but....we'll manage. At least for now Sky is safe...and so is angel....that's a good enough victory for now.". His hand rested on sky's head, the girl sighing, "But it does only mean the commission might come back with something even stronger next time to convict her.....possibly, especially if she is being framed...might just go right to the arresting and ignore the trial entirely..". He let out a deep breath, hand now resting on his friend's shoulder, "it wouldn't be the first time they convicted people based on little evidence....but we won't let them go any further then this....if we can.". The former king nodded, smiling, "You've grown so much Judas....i'm proud of you. Hopefully we can repel the rumors for a bit, and keep an eye on that commission so they don't make up any more lies in order to convict anyone....I get the feeling they might be kicked off the commission officially for this though...". "Knowing Star...there's a high chance....she never wanted to fire them sooner because of the powers they possess and that letting them off on their own is not a great idea either. But if she does want them out...she kinda has to deal with who should take their place and well...what to do with them..and well...considering that i'm not sure she's willing to go through that mess till after this mess is finished.", The half demon king clutched his forehead, "The moment they spoke i was panicking....people cannot trust them....they go too much with their gut instincts and it's doing more harm then good...". "I'll speak to hekapoo personally tomorrow...", marco said, sipping their tea, "I feel like I've neglected confronting her on this for kinda a long time, but we're kinda friends so...maybe i can get her to think about it and reconsider her actions...i'll be honest Tom, I love you, but i also can't help but think the high commission is genuinely trying to help...but they're doing a poor job about it. It's easy to be very mad with them now, and i'm mad too...but i think they think they're doing what's best and failing....hard.". "Well, they did all the bad stuff they did under that idea so...yeah...you'e probably right.". "Um....sir?". The Mewman king's attention as then drawn to Nora, who shyly raised a hand up at him to get his attention. "Have you heard back from my parents? I haven't seen them since the trial?". Dave's eyes lit up at the sight of nora, immediately shaking her hand with both of his, "Ah, the princess whose looking out for my grandson! I want to thank you so hard for wanting to help him....I owe you....for years i've been trying to help him with his condition....you can't believe-". "Dad....can you answer her question, please?", Tom said, sending a smile nora's way. "Right right, sorry, got carried away there.....your parents are at butterfly castle, apparently the queens wanted to talk to them personally....i'm sure after this you'll head back there with princess skyler and we'll see what happens from there.". Nora nodded softly, "You don't have to thank me so much...i was happy to help....though I had to put it on hold to help with...angel's mom sadly...plus my notes all got stolen and i had to try and gather them all back again...". "Well, i think it's commendable how much you care about him...i owe it to help you restore what you may of lost...you need help, you need only ask...", Nora's eyes sparkled with gratitude as the former king turned back to his son and their partner, "I better get going, we can speak about this later...your mother is petting lucy right now and has a meeting with some of the guards later, we're going to call in that girl....the servant girl you mentioned was apart of jude's team?". "Fae?". Mason's ears perked up. "Yes her....she lacks a huge role in this matter but i feel like we should speak to her more on what she knows...if possible.". "Alright, just be careful with her, she's a child after all...luckily she never became involved directly despite angel's attempts but she's still young and almost being involved in something like that is bound to be scary for her.", Landon snorted into his cup, getting everyone's attention as he became red faced with embarrassment, "Actually, be more worried for yourself then her, you're more likely to get upset then she is....but she'll probably tell you that the minute you meet her anyway so...". "You were the one who met her correct?". "Y-yeah?". "I'm curious landon, judas never cleared this up with me, how did you find out she had something to do with this in the first place? With so many servants stumbling around in and out, angel could've recruited anyone, how did you find out who it was?", Marco's brown eyes were warm, and landon quickly turned away. If he answered that question, he'd have to mention his hidden spot, not to mention he'd have to bring up the page they found....after they had just proven sky innocent. Which is exactly why judas had said nothing. It seemed harmless enough to bring up, considering it could actually be stacked in their favor as evidence of sky being framed, but what if the commission would use it against them somehow? Landon was utterly silent, Celeste along with him, unsure what to do. Landon couldn't bring himself to mention this without judas and no doubt judas didn't like to speak about it for good reason. Their silence seemed to put the couple on edge a little, the demon king's face softening. "Boys...if we're going to get through this....we need you to trust us...i know you're not eager to work with us and had your reasons to not want us involved....but...you need us right now and we need you. If there's something you're not telling us, you need to say something...otherwise who knows what might happen.", Landon shut his eyes and Sky looked to judas, already knowing well what was troubling them. The purple demon shut his eyes tightly, fangs pricking his lip before sighing. This was really something he didn't want to talk about, but there didn't seem to be any choice on the matter, they were going to have to bring it up. Judas seemed to be looking for sky for consent and she granted it to him, at this point there was no point in not mentioning it, especially if they were on their side. Though he could only wonder where this would lead once he spilled the beans on the matter, especially to the poeple on the team that had yet to know. "Look it's...landon...found something, something that fae had with her, he used it to track her down, fae found it....in the spot where we confronted angel awhile back....", just talking about it made judas uncomfortable and worried, "I wasn't sure if telling you would do more harm then good...ok...I wanted to keep it between me, landon, sky, and well..celeste and fae I guess....I was worried if i said something something might....i'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean anything by it?". "Judas....what is it.....he found exactly?". "It's a page from the book of spell's.....sky's wand page exactly....". There was slight confusion around the room, though angel's face perked up. "The wand page? from a rather large book? With sky's wand drawn on it and everything?". "Yeah?". "Her pulled it out once in front of me...I saw it....you...found it?". "Wait....you didn't mention her having a picture from the book of spells to me?", Judas quickly asked, Angel looking rather embarrassed, "I'm not that familiar with the book of spells, At the time it was just a page she had with sky's wand on it, I-I didn't know anything about it untill you just mentioned it...I thought it was something they had made themselves as part of their plans or something...I never got close enough to see what was on it.". "Wait...she wrote out plans?" sky said, leaning on the table. "Well, yeah....she did....but...I never saw them, I don't even know where they might be...highly likely they burned it after all of this...", there were looks shared among those at the table, all eyes on angel, "Angel, did they tell you any plans relating to sky's wand? Maybe that's why they're trying to frame her! If they do, sky loses the wand...if she loses the wand-". Then Sunny finished it for him, "-then the wand is vulnerable, especially for the high commission-", then finished by Sky"-Then those nutcases, if they are up to bad intentions, could hand it off to her if they wanted to......but...why my wand?". "Well, your wand does have that gem....", Judas rubbed at his chin, his grandfather's brows furrowing, "Hold on...what gem?". "Sky's gemstone...it's why i was worried to say anything...her gem is rare...peers into the multiverse basically.....i was worried if it got out....people might thing it was her under that cloak and...". He silenced his tongue, knowing his grandfather had yet to know about the girl's true nature as of yet. But his parents seemed to understand well enough, "Hmm, that actually sounds like a valid theory if their intention was to get their hands on her wand, after all, directly stealing it would be sloppy and cause more problems, this would be a way of getting it without drawing attention to themselves...". "But the wand changes for the wielder doesn't it?", landon piped up, "They grab it and it immediately would transform, seems like a lot of hassle for nothing....". That was another good point actually, everyone quick to think over their theory. Dave coughed into his hand, "Well for now, we'll worry about it tomorrow, been quite the day today, i'll see you tomorrow judas, tom? I'll be talking to the girl soon, we still seem to have quite a few mysteries to solve here...". "If you find out anything about the commission...let us know..". Dave nodded, petting his grandson's hair playfully on his way out. As the door slammed behind him, tom folded his arms together, "Judas...we'll talk to you more about this tomorrow, for now, let's try to enjoy this victory on your part....prince angelus, i hope you plan to tell us every detail you can remember....anything could be crucial y'know?". The prince nodded, slightly embarrassed though his ease returned as judas offered him another roll, his face lighting up with a bite into the warm, buttery, baked good. "So where will you be staying tonight?". "I still want to be alongside my mother....until....she's hopefully well again....". "Understood.". "May I stay with him?". judas raised his hand, "I know you're being strict with everything, you have Katrina tailing me after all...but is it ok if i keep him company....? Especially since we don't know where nora will be tonight?". His parents shared a look and shared a nod, "Just for tonight....yes, you can...as long as you're guarded...alright? After this we have to check up in on Queen Star, and well...we need to speak to Jackie as well, since she went out there herself...hopefully she's alright....been a tiring time most likely...". "She's jackie, she's got this...". "You're not wrong, and that reminds me....". Marco leaned forward, their arms crossed and eyes looking towards the table, "If anyone receives a call from luna, please let us know...wherever she is i hope we find her before anything may happen....not that i don't trust her...but...i don't want anyone out there alone like this..especially not any of you...". Everyone seemed to understand and Angel shot judas a look of gratitude as they continued eating, sky coughing to get the attention of the adults, "Hey uh...one more request....I....I want melaine...to come over...I....she's not a big role...but...i think she should be here?". "Your pen pal? What for?". "Mel saw her...during the sleepover, she's not perfect but she's really good at theories and peicing things together...I think...If i properly explain everything to her...she might be able to help deduct our next moves and who to go after....and i know...she's around my age...but...she's not in any direct danger and she really thinks out of the box...i really don't want to leave her hanging.....i'd like a chance....to have her help out.". This requests seemed a little more on the fence for the couple, marco whispering in the demon's ear and tom whispering back. A few minutes later deciding on an option. "You can video her and talk to her though there, don't bring her here....yet. It can't hurt frankly...". "Thank you Queen Lucitor, it means a lot to me, i promise you won't regret this...". - "Judas....angel?". Sky creeped inside the hospital wing, in her nightgown and bat slippers, tired as all heck but pushing through it to keep herself from sleeping on the floor. A few mounds stirring among the dark room, a smile on her lips, there those two were.....hopefully she hadn't woke them. "Sky!", came one the girl hadn't expected to hear, leaving the princess a bit surprised but pleasantly so. "Nora?", sky paused at the voice, peering through the dark to spot her....just barely...but her slimy shape made her hard to not notice. The green slimly girl, smiled at the blunette through the dark, judas and angel nearby and waking up, "My parents have yet to come back to ground me so i wanted to stay here...with them, what are you doing here?". Sky's motivations became clear as she took one of the empty beds close by, "Sleepover anyone? Katrina said it was cool.....plus we might get a chance to talk...in the morning...". Judas snickered at her in his old shirt and sweatpants, "Ughh...sky....let us sleep...we really need it after today...". "Yeah I know....but...I wanted to...if that was ok?", she shifted and yawned again, groggy, "I really couldn't sleep by myself anyway, kinda paranoid honestly about something bad happening...i really could just use the company at a time like this...". Judas shared his own yawn but the sight of his best friend always seemed to lighten his spirits, and yeah, after today, he'd want to be with trusted people instead of his quiet bedroom as well if possible. "Sky....of course it's ok, please....join us tonight....but let us sleep tonight...today's been an emotional roller coaster....", Sky snickered as she laid down, "Y'know...when all this is over...i'd like to redo the sleepover thing....have all of you there...we could do dumb stuff all night.". Through the dark angel's thankful smile was clear, sky letting out a yawn and hearing the shuffled of her friends getting back to sleep for the ride that would sure be tomorrow. They got past today, but tomorrow would be it's own beast. "Thanks for looking out for me today guys...."., she whispered into the dark, angel's ears twitching at her words as everyone started getting back in their beds for some much needed rest. "We weren't gonna let them take you down like that.....", sky smiled, yawning, "Especially you uh....angel...you really went ham on them and it uh....thank you...". There was a silence coming from the spider, followed by a small "You're welcome...". Sky pulling the sheets over herself as she fell to sleep, her friends by her side.

#star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #svstfoe #sky and the forces of the multiverse #janstar bby #tomco bby #tomstar bby #spiderslime #eclipsa butterfly #star butterfly #marco #marco diaz #tom the demon #tom lucitor #my art #fanfic #fanfiction

[systemamaryland-blog]

Maryland Systema

What to expect in Systema Most individuals who attend their first Russian Systema class, include preconceived ideas about what they are going to get from training.

Often individuals have the incorrect concept, in consequence from their experience in different martial arts or fight sports (as practitioners or spectators); some come with distorted or even unrealistic concepts, most likely taken from Hollywood movies.

Basically, we can divide these individuals in two groups:

Those who expect to find methods which are devastating, savage, and aggressive, strategies that brutalize the opponent and that permit them to simply defeat any adversary. They wish to be invincible!

Those that expect to find in Systema a martial artwork that develops their internal energy, chi or ki, with strategies that transcend the bodily realm and that, with no effort nor pain, enable them to simply defeat any adversary. Additionally they need to be invincible!

Sadly, both approaches are completely wrong. Some folks from the first group get dissatisfied as a result of they don’t find the bodily and emotional aggressiveness, competitiveness and savagery they consider a martial art must have.

Some folks from the second group get disillusioned because they notice that Systema requires a lot of effort, proper biomechanics, bodily ache, and emotional challenge.

Understanding Systema requires an growth of your mentality. What it is best to count on from Systema is this:

Systema is self-defense, it's not sport and not fighting. Simply put, fight sports activities and fights are ‘duels’, it means, two individuals wish to damage each other. Self-defense, then again, implies one one who wants to harm someone, and one Systema other one who doesn’t need to get hurt. This refined difference utterly modifications the dynamics of a confrontation.

Systema is integral, it isn't specialized. Martial arts specializing in a single side of fight were not created for self-protection, they're sports, and yes, they are harmful and effective in their specialty. And of course, the skills they develop could be very useful in a self-defense state of affairs (just like a ballet dancer can easily kick you in the face for self-defense, however ballet wasn´t created for self-protection). A self-defense state of affairs requires having developed abilities appropriate for any potential state of affairs: standing, on the bottom, a number of attackers, weapons, confined spaces, defending one other particular person and lots of more scenarios. Self-defense will not be specialised, that’s why Systema offers an integral strategy to it.

Systema won´t educate you a syllabus of techniques. Having a repertoire of techniques that you have to learn and repeat till “perfection” solely limits your infinite possibilities of actions to those that your syllabus allows.

What Systema aims for is an integral improvement of your abilities, it doesn't purpose for perfection, it goals for freedom; it doesn't goal for muscle reminiscence, it goals for muscle intelligence; it does not intention for learning, it goals for understanding. It doesn't purpose for limiting your skills, it goals for increasing them.

Systema shouldn't be apparent. Physical and emotional aggressiveness and violence are expressions of fear, they alert the aggressor and prepare him to confront you. Being emotionally altered diminishes your capability for judging the scenario, which lead you the fallacious decisions. Systema is just not apparent. Its purpose is facing a state of affairs in a relaxed and environment friendly method, with out presenting your self as a danger, or a threat. Do what you have to do, without extra gesticulations, without showing off, in a delicate way.

Systema hurts. Despite the fact that one has to keep a relaxed body and psyche, punches, kicks, levers, locks, etc. one have to be efficient; the physique can't be tense or rigid, it have to be relaxed, smooth, heavy and painful. Pain and physical effort are basic in Systema, as a result of they let you train your physique and psyche to know the actual physical dimension of ache (and fatigue), eliminating the emotional burden that intensifies it. It helps you understand your real limits. However this should be performed progressively, avoiding accidents that harm the physique and alter the psyche. Ache teaches, injuries destroy.

Systema does not require years of training. As any human exercise, Systema requires critical and constant coaching to develop your talents to an acceptable degree, but it doesn't require years for these skills to be useful in a self-protection situation. It´s a progressive development however doesn't take years.

Systema must be practiced for a lifetime. If Systema doesn’t require years of coaching, why it should be practiced for a lifetime? Not like different martial arts, one mustn't practice Systema all their life to achieve “technical perfection”, repeating the same actions once more and again. Very a lot quite the opposite, your Systema must change as you become older, the reason being quite simple: in case your physique and psyche change as years cross, it´s logical that your Systema should change too. What you have been capable of do at 20, your physique won’t be capable of do at 40 or 60. The only means in which your Systema can adapt to the talents in response to your age, is by constant coaching, all your life. You alter, your Systema changes with you.

Systema doesn't make you invincible. Systema means that you can develop skills to defend in an efficient and environment friendly approach, but it surely does not make you invincible. Because of this you should take into accounts that a confrontation is the final option. Preventing isn’t good or bad, it isn’t vital or unnecessary, but it's always dangerous.

[ryouverua]

Trial 5 - Clash of Sidekicks (2)

“This is the worst movie I’ve watched since ‘The Wizard of Monomi’!”

"The fact that you can admit to watching that says a lot about you.”

Investigation 1 / 2 - second half is where I put my own theories that I penned before playing the trial. 

Trial: 1

That is a PERFECTLY REASONABLE REACTION to a snuff film. All the new sprites we’re getting this chapter are so brutal, jeez... D:

... with the sole exception of hangover!Shuichi which must be protected at all costs.

Kokichi is just going over all of the important parts of this evidence and Monokuma is not about it. Well you know, Monokuma, maybe if you had given us something to work with in the Monokuma file we wouldn’t be relying on good ol’ K over here!

Anyway, it just has play, record and pause... I was wondering if it had some sort of ‘speed up’ function to explain why the press suddenly went faster at that one point but apparently not, huh. I guess if pause/play was activated by accident or purpose it would make it seem artificially fast, like the way they cut frames in animation? that would be a lot of cut frames though, hm...

Anyway, hard to know if I should be questioning this or not but wow way to come in partway through the trial and throw up like an updated autopsy report. Who do you think you are, Miles Edgeworth? >3>

Confirmation is a bitch.

Then... if I’m going to take this as is which, for now, I guess I should... then the suspect part is the act that Kaito just lay there, not moving, right? And the fact that the press went down with no problems (unless that’s why the press seemed to halt for a second)... doesn’t that mean he was already dead?

ryukishi07 is that you

Actually for that matter it could be Uchikoshi - his description of a certain 999 scene got pretty detailed. >>

RIGHT?! There was nothing for him! He ended everything! The game was over, and I’m still sure he wasn’t the mastermind! The only thing I can think of is that it was an accident as a result of Kaito getting that crossbow and attacking him right under his nose! He knows if Kaito wound up dead he’d be the obvious culprit, and he’s made it incredibly clear that not only does he wanted to win the whole game, he has the intelligence to do it! Also the fact that he brought it here in the first place seems more like he’s making a point than confessing his guilt -

So... was it someone else? Or was it illness after all, and Kokichi taking advantage of the opportunity presented to him?

... hoo boy.

“You wrote ‘Kokichi Ouma killed Kaito Momota’ on the back of the exisal, you took a selfie with the press and uploaded it onto all of your social media counts with #oops #madeamess #galaxyprinthydraulicpress -”

“Don’t you do it -”

“KOKICHI ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO PULL ANOTHER TRIAL 4 ON ME?!”

well actually I guess he’s ‘confessed’ like, 10 times to various things over many trials so who even knows anymore

Not that I think he killed Kaito, but I do wonder if he conspired with Monokuma at all to set up an ‘unknown victim’ trial and if he did, what the extent of that collaboration was. If he did, he just went out of his way to deliberately undermine Monokuma... again. There is definitely no love lost between those two, huh. 8′D

I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!!! also nice use of the word space there sob sob

I CANNOT BELIEVE -

“You don’t understand guys, I’ve played so many courtroom games and murder mystery visual novels. So many. I’m an authority on this sort of game-based killing stuff, believe you me!”

finally, a place where Shuichi and Tsumugi can coexist in peace

.... BAH BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH IT BEING KOKICHI (in the exisal, not the killer obis) IS THAT IT MESSES WITH THE WHOLE ‘MAKI WAS AN ACCOMPLICE THEORY’ and I just can’t get around the fact that she had to have been involved somehow! But other than mercy-killing Kaito, I can’t think of a reason why she would do anything to hurt him - and she certainly wouldn’t leave his body to be messed with so terribly by Kokichi!

Also, I’ve been treating her this whole time like she’s hiding Kaito actually being alive and that she’s pressing hard as Kokichi as an act but, unless my genuine-meter is off, she seems far too genuine about everything she’s said up to this point? Does she really think Kokichi is the one in the exisal, then?

damn it Junko can’t you leave v3 alone even when you’ve been dead for hundreds of years

LMAO

Oh shit he doesn’t know about Junko does he? Amazing. Wonderful. Fantastic.

Disclaimer here that I actually liked Junko as the villain of DR1 and I thought she had fantastic presence as well as a rocking’ cosplayable outfit but I really feel like she has no place here... though ugh, the fact that Monokuma exists is just something I can’t ignore, so I guess she was something that would need to be addressed down the line at some point. But not here, damn it!

SWEETCHEEKS IS SO UPSET BY THIS IT’S AMAZING!!

Shuichi is finally stepping in to the protagonist!shoes long enough to curse out Kokichi or K or whoever it is in there for breaking classic mystery protocol. 

WHY DID YOU SHOEHORN JUNKO IN AT THE LAST MINUTE DAMN IT

YES!!! GOOD!!! MY BOY IS TAKING CHARGE!!!

.... Kokichi has some sort of plan, huh. Trying to ‘trap’ us. Shuichi isn’t wrong for sure - and this is a very ‘Kokichi’ thing to do...

Man, it’s really looking more and more unlikely that Kaito is in there, huh? disregarding the fact that we literally just watched a video of him being crushed to death Shuichi is right - there definitely is method behind the madness, and that’s exactly the problem - we got a brief glimpse of Kaito (SERIOUSLY WHY DID HIS VOICE COME OUT) but everything after has been all Kokichi, not just by voice but by personality, cadence, speech... even the way he’s presenting information to us. I’m not saying Kaito isn’t smart - I know the game keeps trying to present him as dumb at some points, via Kokichi himself sometimes, but I’ve never agreed with that at all - but is he capable of mimicking Kokichi to this degree? That would require an incredible insight  on who Kokichi is as a person, and while Kaito has been incredibly perceptive on an emotional level, this is pretty next-level, right?

And other than survival, what could Kaito gain from doing this? 

yes

Shuichi it’s true and you should say it

Is it bad that I wanted a new sprite of Shuichi grabbing the platform and just, leaning forward to yell, “SERIOUSLY?!” at the top of his lungs.

togami on steroids

I’m feeling confused and lost and it’s fantastic.

If Kaito really is out of the running as the culprit, the game really seems to be pointing at Maki as an option? I don’t know how I feel about that - while it does seem to fit in a lot of ways it just... doesn’t feel right to me either? But then the only other options are Tsumugi, Himiko and K1-b0 and I really can’t imagine them being the right answer....

Kokichi is definitely not the culprit. I mean, there’s always that 1% chance I guess, but... 

And Shuichi - well, we haven’t had any indications of them pulling a second Kaede, right? I swear I’ve been paying attention this time... ;A;

Beatrice would be proud

Oh good, finally something I actually know how to deal with! The footage shows him being crushed, but that doesn’t mean it’s the time of death...

Once again, I’m so glad Shuichi is on the same wavelength as me. 8′D

Damn, it just switched to Maki standing quietly and staring daggers at us. Yikes.

Also it’s quite nice that K1-b0 can put his feelings about the press aside and stay on-point for this trial. 8′D I’m sure he’ll have a lot to say later, though - it can’t be nice to think you’re on the same level as a corpse.

oh thanks for showing us the video again, I really wanted to see that.

that acceleration is weird though! It’s really weird!!!

Wait, really?! It’s not built-in? I thought if the sensor was disabled then the press would be too!

I know Shuichi’s thinking about this from an immediate defensive tactical POV (aka Kokichi being able to protect himself), but I imagine losing control over the exisals guarding Monokuma would be a huge blow to Kokichi, too.

I do love the fact that he just casually throws in little comments to try and confuse the matter further. ‘D

Mm, Maki, you really shouldn’t be bringing something like this up. weeeeh I thought the answer was ‘Kaito’s coat’ aka the hole in it but I was wrong boo it was the bloodstain on the floor

Man it really seemed like it was lining up to match with Kokichi’s clothes...

Wait why are you bringing that up??? You’re the one fighting for Kokichi being in the exisal!

THERE’S THE HOLE IN THE COAT!!! Finally!!! I’ve been anxious to get to the crossbow and poison - oh suddenly Himiko’s getting upset. Yeah... yeah, considering the fact that she brought the crossbow, I can see why.

Wait...

Sorry, stepping back for a sec. Komaeda’s death was ruled Nanami’s fault because she technically killed him via throwing the poisoned canister, right? So if Maki applied the poison to one of the crossbow bolts Himiko delivered but never fired it herself - in fact, if Kokichi fired back in self-defense after wrestling it from Kaito in a fight - would that make Kokichi the accidental culprit? Could... that be where this is going? Or is this going to be a ‘different game, different ruling’ type situation where Maki becomes the blackened for setting things up so that someone would die? I was wondering why it would just be one, but maybe the ‘small amount of poison was used’ is the key to that - she tried to use just enough that the difference wouldn’t be obvious in order to fool Shuichi (but, well, failed in that regard).

That... could be interesting, right? Maki sends Himiko with one of the bolts being poisoned, Kaito and Kokichi struggle over the crossbow, Kokichi accidentally uses one of the poisoned ones and Kaito dies despite Kokichi’s best efforts... (antidote search? maybe? but he doesn’t find it - and Kaito is weakened from disease already, so...) So in order to attempt to survive an unwinnable trial that he tried to prevent by cancelling the game, he throws one loop after another - obscuring the body’s identity but then showing up because he had no choice anyway, but still in an exisal, taping himself crushing Kaito’s body with the clue of him being absolutely still hidden in there but then giving the video to them anyway, and then leading them to the answer that he was ‘set up’ as the killer against his best efforts?

This could be a narratively satisfying way of ending his journey with Shuichi - “Please solve this last riddle here at the very end, dearest detective. It’s been a pleasure.” nothing wrong with throwing a bit of saiouma in here at the very end, right?

Anyway while I was going off on a weird tangent Himiko created what may very well be the most terrifying non-lethal curse I’ve ever heard of in my entire life.

Gosh Himiko may actually be a worse liar than K1-b0 and that’s really saying something???

“That’s right, Himiko, I’ve got your number right down to that really, really weird quirk of yours.” no seriously why is ‘Himiko has to go to the bathroom a lot’ a thing

Also Himiko I’m pretty sure you only delivered it, so why are you freaking out so badly???

Maybe... I’m onto something with the revised theory...??? I don’t know why he would cover for anyone else???

“Guys, I spent a whole trial hammering the importance of lies and truth as the theme of the game into your skulls and you’re just chucking that out the window because I was gone for a few days? Seriously?”

It’s interesting that they’re bringing up being able to shoot Kaito from the outside because, I mean, the crossbow was found inside the hangar and I really don’t think it could have been tossed in through the window fully assembled, but I guess it’s a way to confuse the matter even further?

Oh hey, you included yourself for once!

“I  DON’T KNOW TSUMUGI, WEREN’T YOU THE ONE WHO COMMENTED ON ME BEING A TSUNDERE FOR KAITO EARLIER?! WHY WOULD I POSSIBLY BE ON EDGE?!”

Honestly though, she’s being incredibly vicious and, once again, I highly doubt it’s just because Shuichi accusing everyone, herself included. Even if Kaito is the victim...

I     S T A N D     O N     T H E     S I D E     O F     H O P E 

Kokichi chooses funny times to be helpful, huh. 8′D

YOU’RE ACTUALLY TERRIBLE AT THIS, HIMIKO

DAMN GET WRECKED HIMIKO

also LMAO Kokichi just declared Himiko the culprit

never change, kiddo

ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO TRY AND THROW MAKI ‘I MURDER PEOPLE WITH A LOOK’ HARUKAWA UNDER THE BUS RIGHT NOW

I feel like being scared should be the least of your worries right now.

You just want an Ace Attorney-style breakdown, don’t you???

AGAIN KOKICHI, PLEASE NEVER CHANGE

~one of these things is not like the other~

Also the fact that Kokichi yelling about how he’s the most suspicious being the dialogue blocking the actual right answer is kind of amazing.

“And please don’t ask him to prove it, I’m not really over the last time he printed something from his memory.”

“AND ANOTHER THING! I wouldn’t even cosplay as you if you were a fictional character!”

“NOW YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR - !”

this trial is tearing our family apart

So, uh, did Shuichi just whip out the actual crossbow case or just a spare one he grabbed from Maki’s lab -

Thank you for summing it up so succinctly, Tsumugi!

That might be the longest one yet!

I actually believe that!

LMAO

THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION IS AMAZING AND SHOULD BE WITNESSED, FULLY VOICED, IN ITS ENTIRETY

It was worth messing up for this -

k1-b0, honey, you were doing so well and I believe you I swear -

We’re starting to circle around the next big answer, methinks...

Oooh man, you shouldn’t have talked about her like that earlier, Himiko!

AAAAAAAAAAW damn it okay that is actually really cute

She sounds so sad, aaaaaah D:

Implying that you aren’t lying about anything this trial? I don’t think so -

- but with that said, how sweet of you to come to her aid like this when you could have also thrown her under the bus! You really are starting to come along, Maki!

whispers why does Tsumugi voice my thoughts so often

But of course, we can’t avoid it. Someone asked Himiko to bring the crossbow there - I never was under the illusion that it was her idea. As for who it was that asked...

Yeah, I thought so. I wonder if it was Shuichi’s talk with him that spurred him to make that request. As soon as he thought the others were going to stick their necks out for him he decided to make his own plan of action, huh...

I’m taking this random opportunity to address the fact that I adore this particular sprite of K1-b0′s which practically screams, “I am so sick of your human nonsense” or perhaps more specifically, “Kokichi, why are you the way you are -”

what is happening right now

Het-ship potential? For Kokichi Ouma? The world must be endin - ohwait

TENKO IS ROLLING IN HER GRAVE RIGHT NOW

I hate to put it in these terms, and I hope dearly that Shuichi doesn’t make the same connection as me, but does this not imply that Shuichi was catalyst leading to his close friend’s death for the second time?!

Man, I can hardly imagine the panic she was in when she saw Kaito’s sleeve amongst all that blood. She probably feels incredibly responsible, and from the point of view of someone who thinks Kokichi is the mastermind, the obvious conclusion to draw would have been, “Kaito tried to rebel against Kokichi and this is the result!” And it wouldn’t have been too hard to go to, “I’m going to punish everyone who helped him” for that matter...

Yeah, so it was definitely after Shuichi talked to Kaito. K1-b0 only caught her going into the hangar the second time though?

Why in the world would you go there by yourself with the exisals wandering around? Kaito’s voice wouldn’t be able to reach you unless you were far into the hangar, so exactly what were you thinking???

Just... why. Why.

I’m so glad I have you here, Tsumugi.

Good. 8′\

I guess we’re not addressing why Himiko decided to take a nighttime stroll into the hangar before the request made then??? O... Okay???

Man, if it turns out that Kokichi was actually able to disarm Kaito of the crossbow despite being shot twice, one time in the back, that would be pretty damn impressive.

YOU ARE A LIAR, ‘K’-WHO-IS-MOST-LIKELY-KOKICHI-BUT-COULD-STILL-MAYBE-BE-KAITO!

Wouldn’t it be funny if after all of this, Maki’s straightforward determination to hang this all up on Kokichi actually turned out to be correct? And by the time we all come around to point the finger at him, Kokichi is revealed to not be the mastermind or morally responsible despite accidentally killing Kaito and Maki ends up getting him killed like she always wanted, but at that point actually regrets it - and Kaito’s life is lost in the crossfire as well?

Oh did I say funny? I meant extremely fucked up and tragic, whoops.

I think the one thing that I can stand by until the end is the fact that Maki was responsible for the introduction of poison to this whole wild affair. The electrohammer is obvious, sure - but the poison? They’ve been dancing around that the way I thought they would have been dancing around other things this whole time. 

?!?!

Yeah, what??? You’re supposed to be acting as the moderator, aren’t you?

ET TU MONOKUMA

FORGET THE WHOLE KOKICHI AND HIMIKO THING, CAN YOU PLEASE STOP PLAYING WITH MY HEART?!

“INTERFERENCE!!!”

It’s not like he called it off or anything when he visibly took the reins of the game OH WAIT....

how dare you point out the issues I’ve been having without my consent, bear

WHAT

NO HOW DARE YOU

AGAIN?!

I’M LOSING MY DAMN MIND

FUCK YOU K I’M GOING TO START CRYING ACTUAL TEARS

That’s it I hope Rantaro steps out of the exisal at the end of the trial and just ascends to the heavens without a word -

actually if it has a voice changer could you do anyone because that could be hella interesting

“There’s a bit of a situation going on” you are the most casual guy every -

Okay so if there’s a voice changer and DR isn’t going to pull out a whopper on us with both of them hiding in the exisal somehow, Kokichi is either having a hell of a time doing some low-key satire by portraying Kaito as the most relaxed, casual dude ever who thinks he can just handwave his mistakes via pure charisma, or Kaito is doing the most goddamn amazing Kokichi impression known to mankind and is also actually the Ultimate Improv Actor. The inflection difference alone between the two of them and the completely different way they address people - ‘Kaito’ has shown up briefly so it wouldn’t be too hard for Kokichi, but ‘Kokichi’ has been here for most of the trial and responded pretty effortlessly without slipping up once!

Maki is Not Having this shit anymore.

I-I THINK YOU JUST HIT HER BERSERK BUTTON

Also if it is Kokichi in there then, uh, yeah, point proven about needing to stay in the exisal.

Damn it, both of them have a plausible reason as to why they can’t come out of the exisal!!! And yikes, I wonder if I underestimated the severity of his injury from his run in with the exisal at the end of the escape tunnel? He didn’t break his ankle or something, did he? That would explain why he would rely on a long-ranged weapon like a crossbow to fight Kokichi!

WILL DO! .....

....

oh

I... I had a brief, faint glimmer of hope but -

apparently choosing Kokichi as the answer to ‘who is the victim’ is the wrong choice

How terrifying would it be to have that gatling gun-style arm waving around behind your back while you’re forced to think on your feet... >> Shuichi, I don’t envy you for even a second.

Really???? After all that, I thought... I really thought... we were leading into a flip of the script. Is - is it official then??? Man, was I just completely wrong the whole time then?

Look Kai - uh, Kokichi, K, whoever, look. Look. I was confident. I had a whole damn chart and notes written out, and even managed to work out a decent motive to go along with it, one with enough heart to make Will H Wright proud. BUT IT WAS ALL FOR NAUGHT, APPARENTLY, BECAUSE I GUESS I FUCKED UP THIS TRIAL PRETTY BADLY FROM THE GET-GO.

It.... It’s really saying that it’s Kaito, then....??? Damn....

My heart is actually aching for Shuichi right now. I understand he’s not literally in the audience POV, staring at the exisal behind his portrait with his voice encouraging him the way it always did in the last few trials - but maybe that’s what makes it worse for him?

Rather than standing at his side, ‘Kaito’ is behind him, where he can’t see him. Shuichi can imagine him though - imagine Kaito’s voice is actually coming from him, just outside of his peripheral vision, and Kaito is just about to clap him on the back and congratulate him on another well-made deduction. After the last trial, it’s so nice to have Kaito on his side again. They had finally just made up - !

..... but.

#Kokichi Ouma #Kaito Momota #Shuichi Saihara #Maki Harukawa #Saiouma #... yeah don't ask me how saiouma ended up in this post it took me by surprise too #but hey even if it's one-sided or something I thought it was an interesting tangent/direction for the trial #Himiko Yumeno #Tsumugi Shirogane #K1-b0 #Keebo #Kiibo #Kokichi Oma #Ryou plays drv3 #drv3 spoilers #spoilers #i'm not sure if this is my longest post or not #but it sure felt hella long #had to do this one in significant chunks 8'D

[angelic-sterling]

Significance of Technology Media

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Safety of Collectibles - If you're an enthusiast, all your possessions are definitely priceless for you personally and you clearly want to make sure safety for steering clear of the issue of burglaries. Nevertheless, before you install and spend your hard-earned profit any defense process, you should think about assessing your possessions first. Now, all you have to complete is begin using RFID technology or tags to track your belongings. You can also use wireless safety camera, movement sensor viability along side invisible behind the locks.

It is very important to keep your self up-to-date as far as the engineering is concerned. You must decide to try to get your hands of the latest technology and gadgets as soon as they attack the market.

With so much of data available on line, you could sometimes knowledge information overload. However, if you prefer some computer news then you should visit tech websites regularly. They are the absolute selection in regards to scientific news. These sites are credible resources of data and you can confidence the info that is published on them. There are lots of excellent tech websites which are providing quality and educational material to the readers. The bloggers who write the sites are skilled writers.

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You will see a wide selection of info on them. Some of the most popular portions that you will see them are breaking news, latest computer trends, products and engineering evaluations etc. Even the computer products production organizations rely a whole lot on these websites to advertise their products and services and brand.

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by John Hertig on The Prepper Journal.

The news these days is full of the debate about assault rifles.  But what exactly are we talking about?

Many people claim that an “AR-15” is an “assault rifle”.  And they are about “half” correct, because there are three possible definitions of assault rifle:  the technical one, the legal one and the functional one.  They also think that “AR” stands for “assault rifle” or “automatic rifle”, but they are completely wrong on that.  It stands for “Armalite Rifle” after the company which invented them.

– Technically, an “assault rifle” is defined as “an intermediate-range, magazine-fed military weapon designed to be fired with two hands from the shoulder that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire”.  Those who don’t know what they are talking about and those who want to get rid of guns and don’t mind lying to do so, have extended this to include “or semi-automatic versions of these”.  Everyone agrees that the M-16 and the AK-47 are assault rifles.  Some people insist that the AR-15 and the semi-automatic only version of the AK-47 are also “assault rifles”.  Note that true (fully automatic) assault rifles are already very highly regulated.  None can have been manufactured for civilian use since 1986, which means the limited and dwindling supply of existing registered ones has resulted in ridiculously high prices (up to $60,000).  To get one you have to pass an extensive federal background check, pay a $200 transfer tax, and wait for many months.  And once you have one, there are restrictions on what you can do with it which do not apply to semi-automatic only firearms.

– Legal definitions are what are specified in laws which specify “assault rifles” instead of the more accurate and politically ineffective “Modern Sporting Rifles” (MSR) or the marginally accurate “assault style rifles”, and vary from Federal to State, and from State to State.  Of course, true assault rifles are already covered by the NFA (National Firearms Act of 1934), the GCA (Gun Control Act of 1968) and the FOPA (Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986), so any law about “assault rifles” only apply to the semi-automatic versions.  And these laws sometimes list specific models (such as AR-15 and AK-47) and typically (also) refer to “semi-automatic rifles which can accept a magazine removable without opening the action (or a capacity of over 10 rounds), AND have one or more ‘features’ such as a collapsible or folding stock, a thumb hole stock or pistol grip, a vertical forward grip, a bayonet lug, or a flash hider.  In other words, how it LOOKS, not how it works.  Under these laws, an AR-15 is an assault rifle, and a Mini-14 is not an assault rifle even though it does exactly the same thing; it just looks “less military” (even though it is a shrunken version of the M-14 military rifle).

Note: This is NOT an assault rifle “by definition” though the Editor would gladly take this into any combat situation against any other rifle.

– Functionally, if a person uses a rifle to assault someone, it is an assault rifle.  Even if it is a single shot, black powder, muzzle loading rifle which is considered a “curio or relic”, is not regulated and can be ordered through the mail.

So an AR-15 is not an assault rifle by the original, unpoliticized technical definition, is usually an assault rifle by the legal definition, and is very seldom is an assault rifle by the functional definition.  Oh, and guess what:  No matter how any law defines “assault rifles”, there will be a way around it.  So then all semi-autos will need to be addressed.  And after they are no longer a factor, we will find that lever action rifles and pump action rifles and revolver rifles are pretty quick firing as well.  Step by step the people will be pushed further and further into being prey for anyone who wishes to subjugate them.  Just keep this in mind while we continue to discuss “assault rifles”.

Should Assault Rifles be “Banned”?

Whenever an AR-15 or other MSR is used by some fame seeking psychopath, there is a call to “ban assault rifles”.

At first glance, it would seem that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution would prevent this.  “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”.  This was written after the United States had just rebelled against a tyrannical government to achieve freedom from the same, and was primarily intended to make sure that as a people, we would never be in a condition where we could not rebel against tyranny.

Thus, let’s dissect this.  It starts with a “justification” clause (the reason for the amendment) and ends with an “effect” clause (the purpose of the amendment).  The justification was to “ensure the security of a free (from tyranny) State (the political entity covered by the document, that is, the new United States)”  And how were they going to ensure this security?  With a “well regulated Militia”.  In those days, the militia was considered to be every able bodied white man between the ages of 18 and 45.  Under normal conditions, these people  would not be actively IN the militia, but they could be called together and trained and lead (thus well regulated) if the conditions warranted.  And the only way to practically do that was if “all” of them had their own personal arms and experience in their use.  This means arms which are at or near to the level of sophistication of those weapons likely to be used by the tyrant’s forces.  Today, the militia would include all races and probably at least some women.

Thus the “effect” clause is the most important part of the Amendment.  And the effect is a “right” and the group to whom that right applies.  The right is “to keep and bear Arms”, with Arms meaning weapons suitable for defense against a tyrant or tyrannical government.  Otherwise, the purpose of the amendment is without value.  The target group is “the people”, that is citizens of the United States.  That has been massaged to be interpreted as the subset of those people who have not proven themselves to be a danger if in possession of firearms, including released criminals and the mentally unbalanced.  If the justice system really did a reasonably effective job of rehabilitating criminals, than it seems obvious that after “paying their debt to society”, criminals would be able to restore this right, particularly those whose criminal acts were non-violent.  Under our current justice system, current restrictions on this restoration of rights can have a case about it made both ways.  As for the mentally unbalanced, they are sick and should be cured before they have ANY right which will affect the rest of society.  But without ANY valid indication of danger from a person, any restriction of gun rights appears to be prohibited (“shall not be infringed”; that is limited, undermined or encroached on).

“Arms” have always been interpreted as “personal” weapons.  I don’t imagine anyone, including the founding fathers, thought that squad or higher level weaponry (cannons in their day) would be either appropriate for individuals, or likely to be effective if used by an individual during a rebellion against tyranny.  In 1934, the violence of prohibition resulted in the first real attack on the Second Amendment, when they decided that machine guns, sawed off shotguns and rifles, and silencers were “not appropriate for civilians“.  They did not prohibit them, just regulated the heck out of them and added a ruinous tax, about half the price of a Model T car for each one transferred.  They wanted to include handguns in the law, but in the end, left them out.  Eventually, this law (NFA) was “gutted” for being unconstitutional.  Not for violating the Second Amendment, oddly enough, but the Fifth Amendment against self incrimination.  Since the weapons specified in the NFA had to be registered, and the act of registering was sometimes admission of a crime, in 1968 a new law was passed which eliminated the need for “registration”.  In fact, there was no longer ANY way to register an unregistered NFA weapon after the effective date of the GCA, making all of them which were not registered by that date, illegal.  The new law, which was approved by the court as being Constitutional, was the requirement for every transfer to go through a special class of dealers, ensuring that the new owner would be known to, and vetted by, the BATFE, the governmental agency tasked with administering federal firearms law.  To eliminate any question of self-incrimination, it was prohibited from using the information from the transfer for any criminal indictment.  With the passage of this law, any NFA weapon found in the possession of any person other than the one it was last transferred to was considered “unregistered” and resulted in $250,000 in fines and 10 years in jail for that person.

So back to the original question.  Again, we need to look at the word, “banned“, being used.  Technically, it means “prohibited, not allowed”.  This would make possession by law abiding, non-crazy people illegal, which would seem to be an easily shown violation of the Second Amendment.  Even if it could get over the hump of apparently violating the Constitution, many of these “assault rifles” are fairly high in price; often over $1000 and sometimes over $2000 or even $3000.  When you add in accessories which would become useless without the rifle, you are talking about a potentially huge hit to a person’s net worth.  Not to mention dealers and manufacturers and accessory makers and importers; an entire industry.  Taking someone’s (previously) legally owned property without just compensation would seem to be yet another Constitutional problem.  A way around this might be to “buy” them, but then you get into a mess with valuation, which is not just market value prior to the new law.  And the potential for fraud would be extreme.  There would be some people who just would not give them up, giving a healthy boost to the percentage of our population who would be criminals.

So it seems that banning assault rifles according to the actual meaning of the word “ban” would cause more problems than it could possibly solve.

  So What Other Options are There? 

There actually WAS a federal “ban” implemented.  Of course, it was not REALLY a “ban”, because every existing weapon which fell under the ban could continue to be owned and used and transferred.  The law specified “no more can be made or imported except for use by the government”.  What was the impact?  On use of these weapons in criminal acts, not much, since there were so many of them and they were not used criminally that often.  Because of the complete stop to any more being produced or available, the price went up.  The law had a “sunset” clause in it, and when the specified time period had elapsed (2004), the law was not renewed.

So one option would be a similar law which “grandfathers” in existing “assault rifles”.  This would probably be even less effective than the last one, since the popularity of these rifles has exploded and there would be a huge supply still available.  I’m sure the politicians and those who hate guns (or at least gun ownership; they don’t seem to mind hiring armed guards) will celebrate this “ban” even though once again, they misuse the term and have provided no significant effect on violence.

Another option would be to add “assault rifles” to the NFA list.  I imagine the BATFE would have to get a lot bigger to handle this.  And any minor reduction in violent crime would be wildly overshadowed by the loss of effectiveness of a militia called up without most of the people having any exposure to about the most effective personal weapon.  Also it would be a major shift in the BATFE mission, since currently they administer the NFA law; and a new law covering “assault rifles” would need to be passed and put in their mission.

Controlling People Rather Than Things

Frankly, the “best” option would be to do nothing about “assault rifles”, because despite all the rhetoric, the GUN has nothing to do with these acts of violence.  If we could just look at things clearly, we could see where really effective measures could reduce these horrible acts.  First of all, quit making “gun-free zones” which are highly attractive to psychos because they may be crazy, but they are not stupid enough to ignore that if they have the only gun, they can’t be stopped.  Next, I’d guess at least half these nut-jobs do it for the fame or to “make a statement”, and if it was illegal to publish their name or picture or any information about them except in the most general, non-identifiable and derogatory terms, the number of these incidents would plummet.

But although the guns are “innocent” of these events, gun OWNERS are not without some blame, by leaving guns where psychos can get them or by selling them to those who should not have them.  It is not a huge problem, but it does happen on occasion.  Background checks on commercial sales are fairly useful, and the current methodology is moderately effective.  But it is only as effective as the databases which are used, and these need work.  There are too many cases where people who should be in the database are not, and some cases where people who should not be in the database are (leading to false rejection).  So, “fixing” the databases should be a high priority (this does not mean adding people who are not actually a danger, such as people who have someone else do their income taxes).  There are those who claim that private sales not requiring a background check is a “loophole” to the law.  As usual, these people misuse a term for their own benefit.  A “loophole” is an UNINTENTIONAL misuse of a law.  The exception of background checks on private sales is deliberately allowed in the law, because legal ownership of something includes the ability to sell it when it is no longer wanted or if money is suddenly needed.  It is not currently possible for a private seller to do a background check, and involving a FFL is difficult and often much too expensive.  Also, the checks COULD be used for an underground registration system, and that would be a problem someday (universal registration always has led to confiscation).

That being said, I would support an “instant universal background check” to include private sales IF AND ONLY IF, 1) it could be done by a private individual for free or small fee (preferably usable as a tax credit; we would be doing this for the country, not ourselves), 2) the background check was strictly on the person attempting to buy and had no indication whatsoever what gun was being purchased, 3) that any approved buyers would have their records deleted after 30 days or other reasonable time period, and 4) that any agency which maintained any records after that time period would have every employee of that agency fined, except any employee who reported the transgression would be rewarded.  Any elected official which requested or required the agency do this, would be removed from office.

Alternatively, do away with background checks and issue a “good guy” card to those who undergo a background check, top level safety training and basic firearm operation training.  This should be affordable for all, and would be confiscated if the person was shown to be dangerous.  Then any transfer would require inspection of a current card before proceeding.  Or have both systems, with the background check done for those who don’t have the card and the card used instead of the background check (like a concealed carry permit is today) for those who have it.

Conclusions

Basically gun control has limited effectiveness in reducing violence, because the gun is merely a tool of a violent person.  The only people who are affected by gun control laws, are those who obey the law, and don’t commit acts of violence.  And the effects on those law abiding people can be quite onerous.  Any law passed will only create more victims (who no longer can be armed) and more criminals (formerly law abiding people who rebel against the new law).  When the last gun is removed from civilian hands, violence will not cease; violent people will still have knives and baseball bats and hammers and fists.  And they have ready access to items which can cause much more damage than guns.

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[cyberkevvideo]

Throne of Night Theory Builds Part 26: Strange Sea Merchants

So THIS is the post I tried uploading last week before crap hit the fan and the computer crash, causing me to lose everything. To say it sucked would be an understatement. But we're finally here.

This particular post is very near and dear to me because it feels like a sense of vindication and I'll get into that in the next half of the post. I’m being careful how I word things, and that I don’t post too much as it karma might bite me in the backside again for being to prideful, even thought I technically have the right to. =P I’m also doing a back up and saving a draft of the article just in case. I don’t want to have to go through this a third time.

Regardless, this post has NEW ART. That’s right. It may be a week late, but it’s still here, and you’ll be able to gaze upon the awesome in just a moment. Also, two stat builds instead of one, and it’s not because there’s an animal companion.

As always, for space reasons, I’ll be cropping the encounter build.

All images shared here were done by the forever fantastic and amazingly talented Michael D. Clarke, aka SpiralMagus

I do not have a Patreon or a Kickstarter, but I do have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who are looking to support me monetarily. There is no pressure or obligation to do so.

Finally, before I get to it, I hope everyone’s staying safe right now.

EDIT: I’ve come back and cleaned it up. Even advanced the bodyguards to CR 15 from CR 13.

Back during the release of "Way of the Wicked", before I'd published anything at all, I was mystified by the adventure modules, but something always bugged that an element was missing. Why did the hyper LAWFUL GOOD government and judicial law just stop looking for the most wanted criminals of that time? These weren't petty crooks. They were high level criminals who had done heinous crimes, escaped prison, and probably murdered a league of guards in the process. And among them, might even be an infernal ogre of unknown Hellish influence. Not a single bodyguard or inquisitor apprentice went "I'm going to double check and make sure they're actually dead"? Instead, they just assume they were lost to the swamp. That always seemed odd to be, and honestly very unacceptable. So I designed three bounty hunter brothers that would go after them, including a human ranger/inquisitor, and released it on the public forum, along with my thoughts on WHY these guys had to exist. If not all three, then for sure the ranger/inquisitor. And to my surprise, people agreed. Even Gary agreed. And more surprising, they were taken for other people's games, including Gary McBride himself. The author had acknowledged my efforts, and admitted this was a worthwhile addition. For anyone who doesn't know me personally, for me to have received that kind of validation, especially from the author of something big like the "first evil campaign for Pathfinder 1e", it was an exceptionally big deal. I was had readied myself for only beratement, as that's what I was used to from writers and game masters. So when Book 2 was released, I stepped up again. It threw me off that in a world of devils and angels, and so many religious NPCs, that the PCs were limited to finding a specific black market that could get you specific items, but it could take literal months or even years to get it because most items PCs would want were illegal on the island and would have to come in from the mainland, the long way, because of one side of the island having terrible storms and a giant whirlpool. Why though? It made sense to me that a young and upcoming mercane could easily slip in and sell the PCs some wares. Considering their ability to plane shift and sell to other planes of existence, they certainly wouldn't care if the king's emblem and heraldry was plastered all over armor and weapons. Heck, introduce him in Book 1 as one of the kiosk guys when the PCs are first shopping. Just give him or her a basic hat of disguise and you're laughing. Again, that idea was met with reverence by Gary and others on the forum, and again the character was added to other games.

I bring up that long-winded story because when I realized who and what these strangers were, my jaw dropped. Everything had come back full circle. Their size, the colour of their skin, and the number of fingers on their hands. They were mercanes. My original idea that I'd put forth way back from the days of "Way of the Wicked" was made a reality here. Whether it was just a coincidence or not, it didn't matter. It felt great to see it in the flesh, so to speak. Merchant strangers from another world drifting on the open waters of the Sunless Sea, and hoping to make a buck, or come across interesting characters with wares to peddle. By this point in the story, the PCs are likely chomping at the bit to access items that they don't have to craft themselves, or get made by the myceloids, maybe the drow, or even hope to find randomly in a pile of treasure. They can literally get absolutely anything they want in exchange for gold, mithral, or gear they've been stockpiling for the past 4-5 books. Which brings up a big point. When do the PCs meet these guys? My thought is that it's likely not that far into Book 5. Probably before the aboleth city is found. There's also the possibility that they're found on the way to the end of Book 5, beginning of Book 6, but for me that's way too long. Honestly, though, the PCs have already been waiting long enough. As such, I made these guy the levels that they are. There's no way they're still the original CR 5 or even CR 6 (fighter 1).

If the PCs can afford it, the secret chest should be able to access whatever it is that they want.

THE VISITING MERCHANT ON THE SEA    (CR 15; 51,200 XP) Male mercane abjurer 11/loremaster 2 LN Large outsider (extraplanar) Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +20 DEFENSE AC 26, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+4 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural, –1 size) hp 222 (19 HD; 6d10+13d6+144) Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +18 Defensive Abilities energy absorption (33 hp/day); Resist acid 10; SR 26 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk falchion +14/+9/+2 (2d6+3/18–20) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Spell-like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +12)   3/day—dimension door, invisibility (self only)   1/day—plane shift (W-DC 18) Abjurer Spells Prepared (CL 13th; concentration +20)   7th—quickened fireball (R-DC 25), mass hold person (W-DC 24), spell turning   6th—chain lightning (R-DC 24), mass bear’s endurance, spellcrash (W-DC 25), telepathy   5th—feeblemind (R-DC 22), quickened magic missile, teleport, wall of force, wreath of blades (R-DC 24)   4th—ball lightning (R-DC 22), curse of magic negation (W-DC 23), globe of lesser invulnerability, greater flaming sphere (R-DC 23), solid fog, stoneskin   3rd—dispel magic (2), fly, haste, hold person (W-DC 20), nondetection, tongues   2nd—acid arrow, cat’s grace, communal protection from evil, create pit (R-DC 19), glitterdust (W-DC 19), resist energy, web (R-DC 19)   1st—alarm, grease, mage armor (already cast), magic missile, shield, stunning barrier (W-DC 20), touch of the sea   0 (at will)—detect poison, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic, resistance Opposition Schools illusion, necromancy TACTICS Morale Unless prevented from teleporting, the visitor will hide behind the bodyguards and teleport or plane shift them away to safety. STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 16, Con 22, Int 30, Wis 17, Cha 17 Base Atk +12; CMB +15; CMD 32 Feats Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Greater Spell Focus (abjuration), Improved Initiative, Persuasive, Quicken Spell, Scribe ScrollB, Skill Focus (Knowledge [planes]), Spell Focus (abjuration, evocation), ToughnessB Skills Acrobatics +22, Appraise +22, Bluff +22, Craft +19 (+21 with tools), Diplomacy +22, Fly +12, Handle Animal +10, Heal +20, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +20, Knowledge (engineering) +21, Knowledge (geography) +23, Knowledge (local) +18, Knowledge (planes) +30, Knowledge (religion) +22, Linguistics +18, Perception +20, Profession (merchant) +13, Sense Motive +18, Sleight of Hand +15, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +10, Swim +21, Use Magic Device +20 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Ignan, Infernal, Terran, Undercommon; telepathy 100 ft. SQ arcane bond (wand), lore +1, protective ward (7 rounds, +3 deflection, 10/day), secret (secret health), secret chest Combat Gear wand of fireball (29 charges); Other Gear masterwork falchion, mithral daggers (4), amulet of natural armor +2, belt of mighty constitution +2, cloak of resistance +2, headband of vast intelligence +4 (Acrobatics, Swim), ring of protection +3, folding boat, scroll of sending (2), masterwork artisan tools, spell component pouch, small silver mirror (worth 100 gp), granite and diamond dust (worth 500 gp), powered lead and platinum (worth 250 gp) SPECIAL ABILITIES Secret Chest (Sp) A mercane can retrieve or hide an extradimensional storage chest, as the secret chest spell (caster level 5th). The mercane does not need an expensive replica chest to use this ability; any chest will do. It can only use this ability on one chest at a time.

---------------------------------------------

MERCANE BODYGUARDS (2)    (CR 13; 25,600 XP) Mercane fighter (polearm master) 7/rogue (survivalist) 6 LN Large outsider (extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +27 DEFENSE AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 25 (+11 armor, +1 deflection, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural, –1 size) hp 219 (19 HD; 13d10+6d8+121) Fort +19, Ref +15, Will +18 Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge; SR 26 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 adamantine bardiche +25/+20/+15/+10 (2d8+13/17–20) or     +1 cold iron gauntlet +23/+18/+13/+8 (1d4+7) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks polearm training +1, sneak attack +3d6, steadfast pike +2 Spell-like Abilities (CL 9th; concentration +11)   3/day—dimension door, invisibility (self only)   1/day—plane shift (W-DC 17) Survivalist Spell-like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +8)   3/day—mending   1/day—endure elements STATISTICS Str 22, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 20, Wis 20, Cha 14 Base Atk +17; CMB +24; CMD 40 Feats Blind-FightB, Bodyguard, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Dazzling Display, Dodge, Improved Blind-Fight, Improved Critical (bardiche)B, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power AttackB, Precise StrikeB, Toughness, Weapon Focus (bardiche), Weapon Specialization (bardiche)B Skills Appraise +15, Bluff +11, Climb +14, Diplomacy +13, Intimidate +24, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13, Knowledge (planes) +16, Linguistics +12, Perception +27, Profession (merchant) +13, Sense Motive +25, Sleight of Hand +13, Spellcraft +17, Stealth +5, Survival +18, Swim +11, Use Magic Device +20; ACP –3 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Terran, Undercommon; telepathy 100 ft. SQ hardy, pole fighting –2, rogue talent (combat trick, minor magic, snap shot), secret chest Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of resist energy (fire); Other Gear +2 mithral full plate, +1 adamantine bardiche, +1 cold spiked gauntlet, amulet of natural armor +1, belt of physical might +2 (Str, Dex), cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +1, potion of extended comprehend languages (2) SPECIAL ABILITIES Secret Chest (Sp) A mercane can retrieve or hide an extradimensional storage chest, as the secret chest spell (caster level 5th). The mercane does not need an expensive replica chest to use this ability; any chest will do. It can only use this ability on one chest at a time.

#throne of night #michael clarke #Michael D. Clarke #SpiralMagus #gary mcbride #fire mountain games #drow #drow campaign #dwarf #dwarf campaign #dwarves #dark elf #adventure path #pathfinder #pathfinder 1e #pathfinder rpg #roleplaying game #dnd #D&D #dungeons & dragons #Dungeons and Dragons #d20 #ttrpg #ttrpg art #kickstarter #deviantart #deviant art #pathfinder roleplaying game #mercane #merchants

[ladyanaconda]

The Rogue Demon Pt.1

 Here I bring another Paladin Aku fic, this one based on the episode ‘The Samurai Named Jack’. I depicted the surroundings according to MEMIME’s info: if the Nameless Samurai is seen as a hero of some sort, then the city and settlements should be the opposite of the way they are shown in the canon. Instead of a chaotic dystopia, it is a near-perfect but forced utopia with little free will. Then again, it’s my interpretation.

I refer to Aku as ‘the rogue demon’ because according to the Au’s canon, that’s technically what he is. He has the mark but he doesn’t work for the Nameless Samurai, which makes him a ‘rogue’. At least until MEMIME reveals he/she calls him other way.

Enjoy, everyone!

The demon screamed in pain as a chain of blue energy went right through his chest, but he didn’t disappear. He felt a burning sensation in his chest, and suddenly he felt almost all of his former strength leaving him, he felt as if he was being crushed on the inside, as if he was being put in a diminutive space.

Forced to his knees, the demon managed to look up at his attacker, but his face was hidden behind a white, metal helmet and his body concealed in a white samurai armor.

“You belong to me now, demon.”

Aku opened his eyes, panting heavily, and realized it was only a dream. Sighing, he looked over at the noisy city, overwhelmed by the dominant white and blue colors, and the noise of the mechanical beasts and vehicles which were foreign to him. There were little traces of nature left in this city, and even the few he had seen had white metal fences, as if they wanted to keep the trees restrained. But what made him shudder in disgust were the numerous posters depicting the white Samurai whose name was still a mystery. All of them said things like ‘OBEY’, or there were wanted posters of demonic entities he had never seen before.

When did it come to this?

How far into the future had he travelled?

And to make matters worse, that magic the Samurai used on him prevented him from using his power to open another time portal.

Aku winced, touching the spot on his chest where the spectral chain had gone through him. He tried to open a portal, but the mark that chain left suddenly appeared and sent a sharp jolt of burning pain through his body. It was a restraining sort of spell that sealed his power away and prevented him from using it; he panicked at first, thinking it had rendered his powers useless, but soon he found out it only restrained his powers which affected time-space and reality.

That was a few days ago, and he spent those days testing out each of his powers to see which ones he could still use. Thankfully, his shape shifting was intact, so were his advanced senses, and he had a limited control over the material world. His laser beams were intact too, but his size had decreased considerably. He was still much more taller and stronger than a human, but he couldn’t become giant or tiny anymore, and he couldn’t control the climate.

The weird thing came when he felt his energy running out. His energy had never depleted before, not even wavered, but after his encounter with the samurai, he realized the more he used his power, the weaker he felt and the weaker it became too. It seemed this spell did more than just restrict his power. He had been getting weird sensations as well, starting with the growling belly, he had heard about it…. What did humans call it?

Hunger!

Wonderful.

He guessed he would have to look for something to eat. But judging by the ‘WANTED’ posters of him all around, he’d have to be careful.

Aku moved through the rooftops in the form of a cat, glancing around for someplace where he could get some nourishment, watching the ‘almost utopic’ city buzzing with life. It was a bit too… perfect. He could see the people seemed content, but he had seen some individuals being harassed by the ‘tamed’-he preferred the term ‘enslaved’-demons, probably they got in trouble with the Nameless Samurai. And much to his surprise, it seemed the samurai had managed to subdue races from other planets as well. Judging by this, he had come a few millennia forward in time.

Finally he spotted a decent-looking establishment down in the street, but he couldn’t walk in as a cat. Hopefully, the bounty on him still wasn’t widespread, so he still didn’t need to find a disguise to hide his identity. Aku jumped down to the ground in an alley and changed back into his real form, which had suffered changes too thanks to the Samurai’s seal.

Instead of his sleek and cloak-like body, he was left with a human-like body, and his body was shaped as if he wore a sort of Japanese armor, with the shoulder pads, and the… skirt. He guessed it was a way the Samurai had to indirectly say ‘you belong to me like a dog’, but for the time being he had nothing to complain about his newfound shape… maybe except for the legs. They felt weird to some extent.

As he walked out of the alley and towards the door of the establishment, he half-expected the people walking around to give him weird looks, but they didn’t even give him a second glance. Maybe they thought he was just another alien wandering around, it was one less thing to worry about at the very least. However, he was the one who felt a shiver when the two bulky guards outside the establishment stared at him for a few seconds, but nevertheless they said nothing as he walked in.

The smell of alcohol reached him, and he barely managed to contain a sneeze from the unpleasant smell. Surprisingly, the interior itself was pleasant, its walls were miraculously not white, but rather a shade of red that was a blessing for his eyes. The oak tables were scattered around in a specific order, and there were decorative plants strategically placed around as well.

Aku realized that most of the people inside, if he could call them people, were not humans. No, they were all extraterrestrial entities, even the waitresses going around and taking orders were not human, they looked like it but their grayish skin and three eyes gave them away. Hopefully, no one had taken notice of him yet, he hoped it would stay that way. The music was of a pleasant instrument, he recognized it as a violin, along with a bass and some other instrument he didn’t recognize.

The demon warily walked around the place, sniffing the air and trying to figure out where they kept food, not noticing the stared a particular trio of aliens were giving him. However, he did catch the sound of footsteps heavier than usual-stomps-getting louder and closer to him. He turned around just in time as a large green alien stopped in front of him, shoving him against one of the stone pillars behind him, and holding up a wanted poster of…

“Is this you?” the alien asked with a deep, growling voice and pointing at the picture of Aku in the poster.

Oh, great. Aku stared at his drawing in the paper, and noticed it was depicting him in his now-human shape.  It would be futile to try and deny it, the resemblance was clear. So he simply shrugged. “Depends on who’s asking, pal.”

“A perfect timing on your part, pal.” The green monster spat, giving the demon a toothy grin, and he was soon joined in by others of his same kind, who had unsheathed their weapons by then. “We were about to go look for you, but you saved us the trouble of searching around.”

Aku narrowed his eyes. His powers might be restricted, but he was not helpless. “Look here, fella. If you continue, you’ll force me to respond in self-defense, and once I get serious your embarrassing defeat will be inevitable.”

He was retorted with laughter or disbelief. “Please, demon! Once you have the Mark, you belong to Lord Zintaris!” the leader cackled, unsheathing his sword. “You must be pretty important to him if he’s offering so much for your head!”

“I repeat, turn around and I might consider sparing you for your insolence.”

The alien leader laughed again, before his grin turned into a scowl. “Get him.”

Aku unsheathed his claws.

At least he had found a decent punching bag.

“Forget it! I will not get in trouble with Lord Zintaris! You’re on your own, you mutts!” the lizard growled, walking away from the table where a trio of dogs-a dachshund, a boxer and a scottish terrier-sat. Said dogs wore archeologists hats and walked on their two rear legs, quite unusual for canines, but these were no ordinary canines.

“Well, I guess we can count him out.” The Scottish terrier sighed in dismay.

“What will we do now?” the bulldog added in worry. “Lord Zintaris only gave us until tomorrow to pay the tribute. We have already asked everyone here, and no one will help us.”

In contrast of his companions, the dachshund remained positive. “Surely there must be one who is willing to help us…”

A commotion in a part of the bar caught their attention, but before they glance at the way of the noise a green alien suddenly crashed against one of the nearest table, shattering it into splinters and knocking him out. The three dogs glanced at the source of the commotion, and saw quite an unusual scene in that place. A black creature was holding his own against a group of bounty hunters, sending another flying against the wall without even touching him, and a red beam coming out of his eyes, vaporizing another. The bar had grown quiet as all inside watched the fight, until it was only the leader and the black creature left. However, the black man lifted his hand, and the bounty hunter was lifted into the air. He tried to free himself from the invisible grip, only t be thrown towards the bar, shattering glasses and bottles, before being knocked out cold as well.

The dachshund’s eyes lit up at the power that black man possessed. “Him! He can help us!”

“Are you sure you want to mess with someone whom Lord Zintaris has claimed?” the Scottish terrier asked, unsure. “What if he works for him?”

“If he did, the bounty hunters wouldn’t be after him. Maybe he’s a rebel.”

“Be careful, Rothchild.”

The dachshund left his seat and started walking over to the demon. “Don’t worry, everything’s under control.”

Once the leader was out, Aku looked around at the rest of the aliens, snarling. “Anyone else?!” He received no reply, and instead the other aliens returned to their own business, but he could smell their fear. They were afraid of him. Good. He heard more footsteps, but these ones were much more light and almost quiet. However, when he looked around, he saw no one was coming closer to him, in fact, they were avoiding him.

“Excuse me, good sir!”

Aku looked down, and much to his surprise he saw a small dog with a hat, a monocle and a bowtie, walking on two legs and…

Talking.

“Good evening to you, sir!” the dog greeted cheerfully.

Astounded, Aku bend down by the waist to take a closer look. “A talking dog? Well, now I’ve seen everything!” He guessed the little guy wanted something; otherwise he wouldn’t have approached after such a spectacle. “Well, can I help you with… something, doggie?”

“Why don’t you come join me and my friends and I will explain everything?”

Aku wasn’t certain if it was a good idea, but then again, he was thirsty after having to deal with those creatures, and it felt nice to find a friendly face around. Sides, it wasn’t like these canines would be able to do anything if they tried. “Fine.”

“Splendid! Right this way!”

He felt weird about talking to a dog, but this wasn’t precisely like the mutts who had gone to his tree and peed on it, this one acted like a human. He wondered if these dogs had evolved from the old, unrational dogs, or if they were aliens that looked coincidentally like dogs, or if they had been created artificially to some extent.

A few moments later, Aku found himself sitting in a table with three talking dogs. He took advantage that the dogs were being generous, and ordered a generous amount of ‘fries’, as they were called. They were tasty, but they made him even thirstier, so he also asked for a whole jar of juice. It wasn’t everyday that someone else paid for his food. Yup, definitely these guys wanted something from him, otherwise they wouldn’t be so calm about him having devoured already five baskets of those fries. He watched in amusement as they drank from their own drinks like normal dogs did, but as long as they didn’t lick his fries, he didn’t really mind.

“Allow me to introduce ourselves.” The dachshund said in a friendly tone, and motioned to the drooling bulldog. “This is Sir Drifus Alexander, chief of excavation.” He noticed it was bothering their newfound companion. “You’re drooling again.”

“Sorry.”

Aku had an idea of what was going to happen, and shielded his fries just in time as the bulldog shook his head, sending his saliva flying in every direction. This ticked off the Scottish terrier, who growled. “Stop it! You’re getting everybody wet!”

“This fine gentleman is Sir Angus McDuffy, architect aficionado.” The dachshund motioned to the black dog. “And I am Sir Colin Bartholomew Montgomery Rothchild III!”

Aku blinked surprise at the long name, but shrugged. “Mind if I just call you Roth? I’m not good at long names.”

“Oh, sure, I have no problem with it! In fact, sounds like a good nickname!”

“So, Roth, what exactly do you need from me?” Aku went straight to the point.

“Well, you see, I think you must have noticed, but Lord Zintaris is the ruler of this place, and he tames and controls demons to maintain peace on Earth. He even opened up the planet to other worlds and constantly adds more ‘members’ to his army of supernatural entities to keep people safe, but unfortunately power has sort of gone to his head.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed…” Aku muttered, taking a sip from his jar of juice

“Indeed, and he asks for payment of tribute in exchange of special ‘favors’, but if you cannot deliver these in time he will send his minions to punish people. If one tries to disagree with his ideals, he sends his minions to you as well in order to ‘have a talk’, but not the type of talk one would like to have. And yet, people actually see him as a savior for reasons we fail to understand.”

Aku sighed internally. A self-righteous madman, just what I needed.

“Are you a demonic entity, my friend?”

“What makes you think that? The fact that I technically made a bunch of bounty hunters vaporize, float into thin air without touching them?”

“That, and the fact that you have Lord Zintaris’s mark on your chest, I’m afraid.”

He winced at the reminder. During the scuffle the mark had appeared and burned his chest when he tried to teleport one alien away-another ability added tp his ‘rendered temporally unused powers’ list-, and he guessed they had seen it. But there was something they had mentioned before…

Once you have the Mark, you belong to Lord Zintaris!

“What did they mean with me belonging to Zintaris because I had the mark?”

“That mark is the symbol of the Zintaris dynasty, the undisputed rulers of Earth. Each time Lord Zintaris claims, or rather subdues, a demonic or supernatural entity, that glowing mark appears on a certain part of their bodies to show the entity’s allegiance is to Lord Zintaris himself.” Rothchild explained. “It cannot be removed, and it gives the Emperor absolute control over the creature, some even say he can choose which power he lets his minions use.”

“You mean he… contains his minions’ powers to whatever extent he wishes?”

“Yes.”

That explained why he couldn’t use most of his power. “Well, my allegiance is only to myself.” Aku stated matter-of-factly. “And isn’t there any way to remove this mark?”

Rothchild shook his head. “I’m afraid that once the Mark is put, it will stay there. In the best of cases, I believe only Lord Zintaris will be able to remove it.”

Damn it.

“So, from which world do you originate, my friend?”

“Actually, your question should be from which era I originate from.”

“What do you mean?” Angus inquired curiously.

“Before I got the… Mark, one of my powers was to create time portals, I used one to escape a Samurai who was about to kill me. I apparently travelled farther than I intended if dogs can act like humans in this era.” He noticed the dogs’ expressions had turned serious. “What?”

“What do you mean?” the three asked simultaneously.

“… Well, from the time I come from, dogs walked in four legs, and they didn’t talk. They just barked and peed on trees.” He explained, still resented at that little detail.

Drifus exclaimed. “Astounding!”

“You see? The myths were true!” Rothchild exclaimed happily.

Angus stated. “Impossible! It would mean he would be thousand of years old!”

Aku didn’t like what he was implying. “For your information, I’m on the prime of youth!” Thousands of years… Hell, how much time had passed from that point in time in which he opened the portal?! “Besides, it wasn’t my intention to let the samurai conquer the universe, I was just trying to save myself from being killed by his blade!”

“See? Just like the legends!” Rothchild seemed beyond excited.

“Would you mind telling me what you’re talking about? In case you forgot, I’m new in this era.”

“Some old tales speak about one demon who managed to escape from the First Zintaris’s Sacred Blade. Some say he went into another dimension, or escaped to other world-“

“Or another time.” Aku finished. “And now thanks to this Samurai’s damn mark, I can’t even go back in time to fix this whole mess!

“I’m so glad we agree on that point!” Rothchild continued. “Which actually brings us back to our problem. You see, we are archeologists trying to dig up the remains of our ancestors to find out more about our past. It was only a few years ago that we discovered that our ancestors walked upon their legs and their arms!”

“I could tell you all the things your ‘ancestors’ did if I wasn’t on a hurry to go back to my own time.” Aku commented.  

Drifus spoke next. “Well, one day, during our excavation we stumbled upon rare jewels.”

“Aye.” Angus continued. “Lord Zintaris uses these jewels to strengthen his magic and control over his minions.”

“So he has claimed our excavation site, turning into a mine, and he has us dig up those jewels, giving us no time to continue with the excavation of our glorious past.” Rothchild finished sadly, and then leaned in closer to the demon. “Which is why we need you!”

He knew they wanted something. “Let me guess, you want me to free your excavation site from this Zintaris guy so you can continue digging the bones of your grandfathers, right?”

“Please, my friend! We’re desperate!”

Aku considered it. He didn’t have anything to lose, and besides if it meant he could do something to annoy the Nameless Samurai-Zintaris was only his family name, he didn’t know his actual name-then he was into it. “Fine. I’ll help you.”

The dogs’ faces lit up. “Splendid!” said Rothchild, standing up. “Well, we’re off then!”

Aku left his seat as well, contently quenched, and followed the three dogs towards the door of the bar, but then the dachshund topped, prompting him and his companions to stop. “What’s wrong now, Rothie?”

“My dearest apologies, kind sir.” Rothchild stated. “But we never got your name.”

The demon chuckled evilly. “I’m the Deliverer of Darkness! The Shogun of Sorrow! The Master of Masters! The Immortal Aku!” then he gave the dogs a playful stare. “But you may only call me ‘Aku’ for short.”

She recognized him from the moment he walked in, and tipped off the bounty hunters who were casually there, but they stood no match against the demon. Lord Zintaris would not be pleased that the creature was getting away once more, but this time at least she had a clue as to where he was heading. She announced she would take a break before heading out of the bar, and down the streets, passing by propaganda from Lord Zindaris, often depicting his masked face, and wanted posters of demons he had failed to catch, the most prominent ones being the posters that depicted Aku.

The Zindaris palace was open to anyone who wished to have an audience with Lord Zindaris himself. Instead of humans, the palace was guarded by demons clad in blue-green, all of them bearing the Zindaris mark on their right breasts, their eyes glowing an eerie blue.

When she entered the throne room, which was futuristically decorated in the manner of an ancient Japanese palace, everything was painted in shades of white and blue. The Emperor himself sat on his blue marble throne, clad in his armor, his face unseen, he radiated a great aura of authority and power. He stared at the group of newly-arrived aliens in front of him.

“My Lord, we are the Vadaquas from the Mosconian Galaxy.” Their leader spoke. “Our water planet has been pillaged, all the oceans that were once our home are gone. We have searched long to find a planet with oceans rich enough to sustain out people, and your world is out last hope for survival.”

Lord Zintaris remained silent for a few moments, before speaking. “I know of your plight, Vadaquian. You will be allowed to inhabit the oceans of this world, you shall be under the protection of my krakens and no harm shall ever come to you. In return, I only ask that you build a statue in my likeness to rise from the depths of the ocean.”

Whispers of hope came from the group of Vadaquians, and their leader nodded eagerly. “O-Of course, M-My Lord! T-Thank you very much, it will be a tribute worth of your greatness!”

Zintaris nodded approvingly. “You may leave now to settle in your new home.”

As the Vadaquians left in delight, another figure clad in a black hooded robe approached. “My Lord and Master, I have great news for you.”

“What news do you bring me?”

“Aku the Rogue Demon is in his way to your mine with the Canines, he has vowed to liberate the dogs from your protection.”

Zintaris’s face looked expressionless on the surface, but in reality there was a satisfied smirk underneath his helmet. He rose from his throne, taking his hands behind his back. “As long as he has the Mark, I can choose which powers of his to repress, he is not such a serious threat with most of his energy restrained. But it appears he has yet to learn who is the master. And I will be more than pleased to show him.” He glanced at one of his guards. “Unleash the bugs and send them to the Canine mines. Capture Aku alive and bring him before me, then kill the dogs. They are no longer under my protection, and must be eradicated to be made an example of.”

The demon nodded. “Yes, My Lord.” Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Aku would make a good addition to his demon army, he would make sure of it.

#samurai jack #samurai jack aku #Aku #paladin aku #one-shot #fanfic #memime #paladin aku au #samurai jack season 1 #dog archeologists #rothchild

[terabitweb]

Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Doug Olenick

Irony can be a cruel teacher.

In 2017, an admin at Deloitte disabled multi-factor authentication on their own account, opening a path to a major breach; quite an embarrassment for a Big Four cybersecurity consultancy. Then, there’s the BAE Systems survey of senior managers in which 40 percent confessed they didn’t really understand their own cybersecurity protocols. Any wonder why C-level executives are prime targets of cybercriminals?

Yes, the single greatest asset of most companies, its people, can be its greatest weakness, too. And as cybersecurity pros know, we’re at a particularly vulnerable point in history.

We’ve all heard the predictions of 3.5 million unfilled jobs in cybersecurity by 2021. It’s unsettling, but worse is the lack of support for developing skilled and qualified personnel, as well as the continuing education necessary for keeping dream employees from becoming security nightmares.

While massive investments continue to be made in infosec products and services – projected by Gartner to hit $124 billion in 2019 – cybersecurity’s people problem can actually be mitigated for far less money. From the boardroom to IT labs, in cubicles and in front of job candidates, a focus on promoting a learning culture that reaches all levels provides a great return on investment.

Best of all, reducing cyber incidents through education and training is achievable and will enable your organization to avoid the devastating slipups caused by unsophisticated attacks as well as the more sophisticated ones, both particularly important considering the high profile publicity around damaging data breaches and attacks. That said, the following can help CISOs and IT leaders cultivate the right security environment in their organizations.

Getting support, setting a tone

Creating a learning culture starts at the top. That means CISOs must have the full buy-in of the C-suite and board of directors, both financially and as a company-wide mandate.

Last year a Ponemon Institute study identified more than 20 factors that decrease or increase the financial toll of a data breach. The third most effective method – bested only by encryption and an incident response team – is training. Yet, according to ESG analysts, nearly two-thirds of organizations aren’t providing the training needed to keep up with business and IT risks.

With this in mind, the benefits of education need to be communicated to decision-makers and funds must be earmarked for training initiatives and tools. Once they’re aware of the extent of cyberattacks and the potential impact on your business, their accountability has risen and you’re halfway there.

Communicating in their language will close the gap. That means tying a stronger security posture through training to the bottom line, including messaging that covers such things as decreased regulatory exposure, increased uptime and productivity, reduced IT costs, and improved customer retention. Additionally, support these benefits with reporting they’ll understand and data that provide financial justification. 

Further, a CISO should have the green light to set the tone that security is a priority and active participation is required by everyone throughout the company. And as the security evangelist, all related communications should come from the CISO’s office.

Be the hub of activity and generate awareness with regular internal communications. For instance, has there been an attack in the news that easily could have been prevented? Is there a new report on the cost of breaches?

These are teachable moments – pass along the information in brief and put it into an educational context.

Teach them and reach them

A report by infosec company Shred-it, noted employee negligence continues to be the biggest cyber risk to business, making education and cyber awareness essential for all employees. IT teams will need to lead organizations in cyber preparedness and ensure all employees are knowledgeable and understand best security practices. Their deep level of understanding and knowledge of the security issues from an awareness and technical aspect is essential to combat the inevitable breach. Nothing sticks like a hands-on experience, and luckily virtual IT labs provides this type of solution. With virtual IT labs, you enable IT teams to practice required defensive tasks and techniques by experiencing an attack in a safe, realistic environment.

Choosing the right hands-on training solution, however, is critical to achieving success. A good cloud-based virtual IT labs solution can scale to accommodate any size group and future company growth, while eliminating costs such as instructor and learner travel and labor-intensive deployment.

The solution also needs to spin up realistic, hands-on training environments quickly and support multiple learning scenarios. For example, it should support self-paced modules, which allow employees to complete training when and where it’s most convenient as well as real-time instructor-led trainings, which are useful for dealing with complex issues and new threats. Your virtual IT labs should support both scenarios.

Supporting IT

When it comes to helping IT teams, there are specific features you’ll want to have in your virtual IT lab that can increase the effectiveness of complex trainings. For instance, enterprises have increasingly been turning to multi-step classes, in which instructors lead students between environments. Being able to easily move from level to level logically, and without interruption, increases comprehension, but it also avoids the overhead and bureaucracy involved in creating and conducting multiple classes. 

Another popular feature is the ability for instructors to view what participants are doing in real-time, and barge in and help them when necessary. Immediate monitoring enables an instructor to recognize when students need help.

Furthermore, consider allowing your IT employees to participate in technical certification programs, which are often carried out via a training lab solution, giving them the opportunity to learn best practices and increase their knowledge retention by learning by doing. This shows an employee you’re invested in their career development, helping to retain talent, increase staff motivation and deepen the skill level on your IT bench.

Learning to grow

Enterprises will continue to grapple with cybersecurity issues and a talent shortage for the foreseeable future. However, with initiatives that educate and create a learning culture, they can reduce risks across the board and increase capabilities in key areas.

It’s a process that needs to begin the moment an employee begins. Those enterprises that fully grasp the importance of such education – and invest in the tools needed to provide it – will be a better position to confront the security challenges of today and tomorrow.

The post Lessons learned: Can education solve cybersecurity’s “people” problem? appeared first on SC Media.

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Go to Source Author: Doug Olenick Lessons learned: Can education solve cybersecurity’s “people” problem? Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Doug Olenick Irony can be a cruel teacher. In 2017, an admin…

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[neptunecreek]

Don’t Let Encrypted Messaging Become a Hollow Promise

Why do we care about encryption? Why was it a big deal, at least in theory, when Mark Zuckerberg announced earlier this year that Facebook would move to end-to-end encryption on all three of its messaging platforms? We don’t just support encryption for its own sake. We fight for it because encryption is one of the most powerful tools individuals have for maintaining their digital privacy and security in an increasingly insecure world.

And although encryption may be the backbone, it’s important to recognize that protecting digital security and privacy encompasses much more; it’s also about additional technical features and policy choices that support the privacy and security goals that encryption enables.

But as we careen from one attack on encryption after another by governments from Australia to India to Singapore to Kazakhstan, we risk losing sight of this bigger picture. Even if encryption advocates could “win” this seemingly forever crypto war, it would be a hollow victory if it came at the expense of broader security. Some efforts—a recent proposal from Germany comes to mind—are as hamfisted as ever, attempting to give government the power to demand the plaintext of any encrypted message. But others, like the GCHQ’s “Ghost” proposal, purport to give governments the ability to listen in on end-to-end encrypted communications without “weakening encryption or defeating the end-to-end nature of the service.” And, relevant to Facebook’s announcement, we’ve seen suggestions that providers could still find ways of filtering or blocking certain content, even when it is encrypted with a key the provider doesn’t hold.

So, as governments and others try to find ways to surveil and moderate private messages, it leads us to ask: What policy choices are incompatible with secure messaging? We know that the answer has to be more than “don’t break encryption,” because, well, GCHQ already has a comeback to that one. Even when a policy choice technically maintains the mathematical components of end-to-end encryption, it can still violate the expectations users associate with secure communication.

So our answer, in short, is: a secure messenger should guarantee that no one but you and your intended recipients can read your messages or otherwise analyze their contents to infer what you are talking about. Any time a messaging app has to add “unless...” to that guarantee, whether in response to legislation or internal policy decisions, it’s a sign that messenger is delivering compromised security to its users.

EFF considers the following signs that a messenger is not delivering end-to-end encryption: client-side scanning, law enforcement “ghosts,” and unencrypted backups. In each of these cases, your messages remain between you and your intended recipient, unless...

Client-side scanning

Your messages stay between you and your recipient....unless you send something that matches up to a database of problematic content.

End-to-end encryption is meant to protect your messages from any outside party, including network eavesdroppers, law enforcement, and the messaging company itself. But the company could determine the contents of certain end-to-end encrypted messages if it implemented a technique called client-side scanning.

Sometimes called “endpoint filtering” or “local processing,” this privacy-invasive proposal works like this: every time you send a message, software that comes with your messaging app first checks it against a database of “hashes,” or unique digital fingerprints, usually of images or videos. If it finds a match, it may refuse to send your message, notify the recipient, or even forward it to a third party, possibly without your knowledge.

Hash-matching is already a common practice among email services, hosting providers, social networks, and other large services that allow users to upload and share their own content. One widely used tool is PhotoDNA, created by Microsoft to detect child exploitation images. It allows providers to automatically detect and prevent this content from being uploaded to their networks and to report it to law enforcement. But because services like PhotoDNA run on company servers, they cannot be used with an end-to-end encrypted messaging service, leading to the proposal that providers of these services should do this scanning “client-side,” on the device itself.

The prevention of child exploitation imagery might seem to be a uniquely strong case for client-side scanning on end-to-end encrypted services. But it’s safe to predict that once messaging platforms introduce this capability, it will likely be used to filter a wide range of other content. Indeed, we’ve already seen a proposal that Whatsapp create “an updatable list of rumors and fact-checks” that would be downloaded to each phone and compared to messages to “warn users before they share known misinformation.” We can expect to see similar attempts to screen end-to-end messaging for “extremist” content and copyright infringement. There are good reasons to be wary of this sort of filtering of speech when it is done on public social media sites, but using it in the context of encrypted messaging is a much more extreme step, fully undermining users’ ability to carry out a private conversation.

Because all of the scanning and comparison takes place on your device, rather than in the cloud, advocates of this technique argue that it does not break end-to-end encryption: your message still travels between its two “ends”—you and your recipient—fully encrypted. But it’s simply not end-to-end encryption if a company’s software is sitting on one of the “ends” silently looking over your shoulder and pre-filtering all the messages you send.

Messengers can make the choice to implement client-side scanning. However, if they do, they violate the user expectations associated with end-to-end encryption, and cannot claim to be offering it.

Law enforcement “ghosts”

Your messages stay between you and your recipient...unless law enforcement compels a company to add a silent onlooker to your conversation.

Another proposed tweak to encrypted messaging is the GCHQ’s “Ghost” proposal, which its authors describe like this:

It’s relatively easy for a service provider to silently add a law enforcement participant to a group chat or call. The service provider usually controls the identity system and so really decides who’s who and which devices are involved—they’re usually involved in introducing the parties to a chat or call. You end up with everything still being end-to-end encrypted, but there’s an extra ‘end’ on this particular communication. This sort of solution seems to be no more intrusive than the virtual crocodile clips that our democratically elected representatives and judiciary authorize today in traditional voice intercept solutions and certainly doesn’t give any government power they shouldn’t have.

But as EFF has written before, this requires the provider to lie to its customers, actively suppressing any notification or UX feature that allow users to verify who is participating in a conversation. Encryption without this kind of notification simply does not meet the bar for security.

Unencrypted backups by default

Your messages stay between you and your recipient......unless you back up your messages.

Messaging apps will often give users the option to back up their messages, so that conversations can be recovered if a phone is lost or destroyed. Mobile operating systems iOS and Android offer similar options to back up one’s entire phone. If conversation history from a “secure” messenger is backed up to the cloud unencrypted (or encrypted in a way that allows the company running the backup to access message contents), then the messenger might as well not have been end-to-end encrypted to begin with.

Instead, a messenger can choose to encrypt the backups under a key kept on the user’s device or a password that only the users know, or it can choose to not encrypt the backups. If a messenger chooses not to encrypt backups, then they should be off by default and users should have an opportunity to understand the implications of turning them on.

For example, WhatsApp provides a mechanism to back messages up to the cloud. In order to back messages up in a way that makes them restorable without a passphrase in the future, these backups need to be stored unencrypted at rest. Upon first install, WhatsApp prompts you to choose how often you wish to backup your messages: daily, weekly, monthly, or never.  In EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense, we advise users to never back up their WhatsApp messages to the cloud, since that would deliver unencrypted copies of your message log to the cloud provider. In order for your communications to be truly secure, any contact you chat with must do the same.

Continuing the fight

In the 1990s, we had to fight hard in the courts, and in software, to defend the right to use encryption strong enough to protect online communications; in the 2000s, we watched mass government and corporate surveillance undermine everything online that was not defended by that encryption, deployed end-to-end. But there will always be attempts to find a weakness in those protections. And right now, that weakness lies in our acceptance of surveillance in our devices. We see that in attempts to implement client-side scanning, mandate deceptive user interfaces, or leak plaintext from our devices and apps. Keeping everyone’s communications safe means making sure we don’t hand over control of our devices to companies, governments, or other third parties.

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BackToNormal Windows, VR Activity.

OK. Following those first handful of weak hrs where I was actually dissatisfied at what does it cost? of an MMORPG Guild Wars 2 is - as recorded in our cumulative log - I've given that located that I carry out, in reality, possess one more MMORPG in me. This game bented open my genre tiredness like an abundant male presented with a low-cost seafood, and has commenced slurping the spare time coming from my reticent shell. The complication is Tesla is going to perhaps more than the 200,000 lorry limit prior to Style 3s are in development in late 2017 (which assumes a remarkable on-time delivery through Tesla ). Also, you could now export your thoughts map as an OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) documents-- a typical outline-application layout-- making it feasible to tweak your summary in systems like OmniGroup's OmniOutliner () then bring in that back in to MindManager. Instances could be derived from considering just how home loans are provided-- just how competition could factor into this procedure.

The outcoming file is basically a synopsis from the message off your thoughts map. Yet we do possess an extraordinary capacity to learn brand-new skill-sets and also end up being specialists in activities that seem to be undoable. This creates this possible to make use of OpenMind as a repository, much like plans like DevonThink ( ), for all the files as well as reports associated with your mind map. There is actually additionally the components to consider: games consoles have become a lot more complicated. In one research our experts found that for Bostonians, personal complete satisfaction (exactly how happy you feel with your own self) was actually linked to education and learning as well as finances and also area. All of it seems straightforward enough, however there's a lot extra the psychology from taste can easily show our team concerning just what our company like to eat. We should come to be considerably less concentrated on incorporating truths to Freebase, DBpedia as well as the other publically accessible ontologies, as well as so much more paid attention to weighting the sides between the facts that our experts are actually adding. Another irony that enters your mind is actually the fact that technology need to create our lives easier as well as automate things for our team a lot that this is actually expected to increase our productivity as well as enhance our quality of life. The Papers interface offers a tidy, easy-to-use process for browsing, arranging, downloading and install, and also analysis PDF short articles. Empire Rush series, Steven Jackson's Enchantment video games, the Battleheart activities, Oceanhorn, Carcassone was actually something like $8 when I bought that, the TRY video games, the Oddity activities, Spirit Falchion, Implosion ... I could possibly happen. And there are actually a lot of games far minimal well-known compared to Mario, which began outside of mobile and after that went successfully quality listed here, Bastion and Implosion enter your mind. To learn how to do so is actually to learn how to far better control your mind as well as notions and so discover your life to a lot wealthier in meaning. Core particulars: A scientist whose feedback to severe worry is actually panic attack-induced spells of brutality. This's your project to offer people enough area to grow without dispute, resolve problems when they perform occur, encourage your employee to execute at their ideal and also specified the society where they ultimately manage their coworkers and also workers. The longer a person is dead, the much more insane as well as unpredictable they come to be when they're brought back. It's a truth that none of our aides are actually indigenous British sound speakers - and that is actually penalty - yet they could be naturally informed in culture via substantial communication with customers. Just what is actually more, the Big Pharma/Big Biotech cartels know all this as well as they have done two major points to undermine this natural defense off the fungus attack that is actually cancer cells. Developing psychologists coming from Scenario Western Book University who administered the research study located that these actions seem to become driven through a shortage from awareness as well as problem for others. While Valve has actually clearly welcomed an even more scientific method to playtesting, Arrington doesn't yearn for the procedure to end up being as well scientific. http://loveforhealth.info includes centering your interest on the breath, or on physical experiences, and taking your focus back to that concentration each time your mind lose that. Brian, you appear to have taken many somewhat random simple facts which may be essentially true (or not) and also attached all of them wrongly. Need to mention I am actually struggling a little bit of with the thought of not focusing on Monday and the effects this may eat my project. If you thought that the 9.7-inch apple ipad Pro was also little and that the 12.9-inch version was actually as well significant, soon you could possess yet another dimension to pick from that can be a far better match. Ergonomics employs several specialties in its own research from humans and their atmospheres, consisting of anthropometry, biomechanics, technical engineering, industrial design, industrial design, information concept, physiology, kinesiology and also psychology. http://loveforhealth.info/dep-va-min-mang-chan-voi-kem-valgorect-xem-xet-va-danh-gia/ is a scientific psychologist and attorney residing as well as exercising in Sausalito, California. Closed betas, even using Apple's brand new Test Air travel circulation methods are limited to 1,000 individuals. Nonetheless, even when the MIND diet regimen was actually only reasonably followed, that still lowered the threat of Alzheimer's by 35 per-cent, while moderate faithfulness to the additional 2 diet plans seemed to possess only imperceptible preventive advantages. I was actually normally a satisfied person, able to deal with everyday stress and anxiety and issues like a together human. As you walk through the levels in activity your electrical powers end up being more powerful and also more powerful. I don't mind f2p by itself, as there are f2p done accurately, and also f2p performed wrongly. I downloaded this application because I was actually looking for methods to grab tips on my brand-new iPhone 3GS, and also I routinely utilize MindJet MindManager on the Mac computer and Microsoft window PC to create ideas and other conceptualizing activities (view Imran's evaluation of the pc application ). My major demand for on-the-go mind mapping was that I failed to intend to possess lug along a legal pad, or maybe a Moleskine note pad, so MindJet for apple iphone seemed like a good selection. There's been a surge from info to assist its own use in areas varying off service to learning to psychological science. They showed me a factor from CBT, leisure treatment, stretches as well as taught me strategies of problem management, a lot from that really isn't even that clear to me anymore as it has simply become part of my life. While similar game music shows have been actually formerly conducted in Asia and Europe, this notes the first primary North United States symphonic functionality exclusively composed of computer game compositions.