#that they plan on giving the rangers when they discover their identities

[morninkim]

Rise of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers - Bulk & Skull

Co-founders of the Power Rangers Fan Club and proud owners of a ClikClak account with a whopping 78 followers (and counting!), R4ngerN3T, meet Farkas "Bulk" Bulkmeier and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch!

Bulk is on the football team with Jason and Zack, and has always wanted to be a superhero since he was a kid. He's a bit abrasive and hard to get along with at first. He's also very loud and outspoken, not afraid to put those he thinks deserve it in their face. Though underneath his obnoxious tough guy exterior is a passionate and driven young man who is determined to uncover the identities of the Power Rangers with the help of his boyfriend, Skull.

Skull's a little more mellow than Bulk, but only barely. He's not the brightest, mostly down to his problems staying focused on schoolwork, and relies on Bulk to help him out with studying (which is about as successful as it sounds). Though the one thing that immediately gets him excited and fixated is a new Ranger sighting, to which he'll pull out his phone and start bugging anyone and everyone with questions about it.

Together they started a ClikClak account to start documenting their search for the Power Rangers' identities, mostly to go viral when they eventually succeed (maybe, but probably not). They keep the page active with blurry photos, conspiracy theories about the Rangers and the monsters they fight, and dubious interviews from people around town. Despite some... precarious sources and stories, it's surprisingly good journalism.

#rotmmpr #mmpr #power rangers #farkas bulkmeier #eugene skullovitch #bulk and skull #nothing big complicated for these guys looks-wise! a lot of the updating and reimagining is in characterisation and their place in the stor #all i knew is i wanted to give skull a mullet and bulk a mohawk somehow #i imagine they'd have different hairstyles depending on the day or if they've got a special interview coming up #i also wanted their theme colours to be purple and orange to reference their ranger forms from the comics #+ i thought it'd look good next to the others (even though richie and curtis' colors are.. also orange and purple lmao) #made them boyfriends for funsies and also partly bc i realised rise is lacking in mlm rep outside of ernie and ernie - whoops! #they'd still mostly be comic relief in the show but there'd be CONSIDERABLY less “haha funnie fat guy” style comedy #and more just them being obnoxious and one-track trying to find the rangers' identities #also i mentioned it a bit ago but they fully carry aroudn certificates of gratitude to the rangers that they made in skull's uncle's garage #that they plan on giving the rangers when they discover their identities #spoilers: they do in the finale and make the choice not to out them on the internet as part of thanking them

[frasier-crane-style]

Watching Snyder League

-Diana literally vaporizes a guy armed with nothing but an assault rifle.

-Also, these have gotta be like the dumbest terrorists. Their plan:

A. Send multiple armed gunmen to take hostages.

B. Stall for time

C. Set off a suitcase bomb on a one minute countdown (why not just set it off immediately? It's In The Script)

You have a suitcase bomb--just park a car somewhere, set the timer, leave it in the trunk, and walk away. You can kill as many people as you want without losing any of your own guys.

-Superman's scream sends out five separate shockwaves. Which makes me think the guy's milking it, personally.

- I'm amused that both SOP for the Amazons is having, like, fifty people standing around guarding the Mother Box. AND that they don't ramp up security after it wakes up.

- And there's this system of burying the Mother Box.  Which 1. seems like the only way to get there in the first place is to teleport in. What good is this system against a teleporter?

2. It takes six guards to suicide themselves by knocking down pillars, which seems like--in five thousand years, you couldn't come up with something where you just pull a level from twenty feet away?

This is the problem with the Amazons. They're all women, so none of them go into STEM fields.

- It's also real weird that this Bruce Wayne doesn't even try to hide that he's Batman. He just walks right up to Aquaman and goes "hey, Bruce Wayne, I'm also Batman." And remember, he's getting the Justice League together entirely based on a hunch. At least in Josstice League, there were Parademons all up in Gotham.

- And should I even bother to ask why Darkseid's people can't just bring three new Mother Boxes to Earth? Are those the only three? If so, you'd think they'd try to get them back sooner. Like, A LOT sooner.

- Okay, this was supposed to come out one year before Infinity War, but still, it was pretty obvious what Marvel was doing with Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. They had to know they were inviting comparisons.

-I love the implication, tho, that Darkseid just lost track of the Mother Boxes and just... no one realized they were back on Earth. And they have Parademons that can specifically sniff out the Mother Boxes. 

-And if Superman dying was such a momentous occasion that it woke up a Mother Box, why not the Old Gods dying? Why not Ares dying? Wouldn't that have left Earth just as undefended?

-I have no idea why any of this is happening a couple years after Superman debuted and then died and not in, like, 1446.

-Are the Mother Boxes like finicky computers? Do you need to turn them off and on again? When Superman showed up, did they shut down for real, and then he died, so they came back on for real? Is it like a Windows 95 thing, where you can't JUST turn the computer off, you have to go to the start menu and press Shutdown and then wait for it to close up shop?

-It’s so weird that this is supposed to be a Dark, Mature Adaptation For Adults! And it doesn’t have the same basic logic you’d get from an episode of Power Rangers. 

-So. Much. Daddy issues.

-Please stop letting Ezra Miller improv.

-They cast like the gayest man in America to play the one guy with a love interest.

-Diana: "I lost someone I loved once." Well, twice, but who's counting?

-All those reshoots and they couldn't get Amber Heard to knock off the British accent?

-Why is Desaad, of all people, Darkseid’s dragon? Is it just because they were rifling through all the Fourth World saga to find the few guys with scary names instead of Granny Goodness or Virman Vundabar?

- And they really play up Darkseid appearing to Steppenwolf, but we've not only already seen him in the big flashback, we saw him get his ass kicked by Zeus of all people.

- And the whole thing where Steppenwolf is part of Darkseid's 'family' really isn't helping the Thanos-Nebula-Gamora comparison.

-It's weird to introduce Darkseid as the guy who was already beaten once. Wouldn't it make more sense that Steppenwulf was the guy who lost, and that allowed Darkseid to take over, and now he's trying to redeem himself for his defeat? Or that Darkseid was never defeated at all, but someone stole the Anti-Life Equation from him and hid it on Earth? Something. Instead, it’s literally just randomly burnt into the crust of the Earth, Darkseid discovers it, then forgets all about it for reasons the movie doesn’t get into despite being four damn hours long.

-It’s only the central plot, whatever, forget about it.

- Pretty sure Kal eye-lasered a couple Army guys to death after he was resurrected, not that he ever gives a shit.

-Third big reveal of Darkseid. Come on, you've shown him three times now. We've heard him talk.

-And this does the same thing as Josstice League with Superman being more powerful than the rest of the JLA put together. Here, he even no-sells Steppenwolf's axe. He just lets it hit him and it doesn’t do shit. So Doomsday could kill him, but Steppenwolf can't even scratch him. And yet Wonder Woman seems pretty evenly matched with both, if not outclassed by Steppenwolf.

-Barry Allen spends the whole climax running in a circle. And he fails at it! Dude's really retarded when he doesn't have Team STAR Labs cheering him on.

-He also casually travels back in time to undo his side getting a Game Over, which makes you wonder how any conflict in this universe can ever have any stakes. Say what you will about Endgame, but at least they explain why time travel can’t solve every problem they ever have.

-Hell, the Mother Boxes can bring people back to life. The example used is literally “it can turn smoke back into a house.” Why not bring Joe Morton back to life? He did a good job in T2, c’mon.

-Speaking of, according to TV Tropes, Ray Fisher got to come up with his own backstory for Cyborg (”I don't praise Chris Terrio and Zack Snyder for simply putting me in Justice League. I praise them for EMPOWERING me (a black man with no film credits to his name) with a seat at the creative table and input on the framing of the Stones before there was even a script!”), which makes it kinda hilarious that this movie’s characterization of Cyborg is that he’s a genius sports hero who also loves helping out the underprivileged.

-AND his big conflict with his dad is that Silas Stone was never there for him, as literally represented by there being an empty seat next to his mom at Vic’s big sportsball game. So apparently the black experience is indistinguishable from Austin Powers In Goldmember. Who knew?

-What else? It's weird that the narrative tries to put some importance in Martha Kent, but then in her big scene with Lois, she's really Martian Manhunter (not kidding) and when Superman is resurrected, he hears encouraging words ONLY from Jor-El and Jonathan. All she really contributes to the story is hugging Superman after he comes back.

-Also, Batman spends a lot of time in the climax shooting people with a rifle. They're bug people and it's, like, a Halo rifle, but still. You can tell Snyder's just chomping at the bit to have Batman carry around a Colt Commando.

-They give no shits about secret identities in this, so why do they still bother with putting a shitty distortion effect on Batfleck's voice? He has a pretty good Batman voice outside the suit, but once he puts it on, he starts sounding like he's giving a blowjob to Daft Punk.

-One of the movie’s, like, four cliffhangers is Lex Luthor telling Deathstroke about Batman’s secret identity, because Deathstroke has a private vendetta against Batman and is out to get him. Of all the Bat rogues who are solely motivated by taking out Batman--why choose Deathstroke, the guy that’s just a mercenary for hire, to characterize as simply hating Batman? (They also imply Batman took out Deathstroke’s eye and THAT’S the big feud between him and--guys. C’mon. This was really supposed to be a whole movie of Deathstroke getting revenge for his eye?)

- The movie ends with them making Wayne Manor the JLA headquarters--God, just tell me if secret identities matter or not.

-Did we really need two ‘beyond the impossible’ scenes back to back, one for Cyborg and one for the Flash?

-Oh, it’s not Arkham Asylum, it’s ‘Arkham Home For The Emotionally Troubled.’ Was this supposed to be one of those Arrowverse things where they call it Starling City for a while, only to rebrand it Star City because that’s somehow better than just calling it Star City in the first place?

- "[Snyder] also said that the reason Darkseid lost track of which world the Mother Boxes were left on was because he was gravely injured and their forces sent limping away, and upon returning to Apokolips had to fight a civil war for the throne (possibly the event hinted where Steppenwolf betrayed him), wherein their records were lost." Imagine having a movie four hours long and not explaining the fucking backstory.

[higuchimon]

[information]

I decided since my old 2021 Resolutions post was so horrifically out of date, that I should write a new pinned post. I recommend reading this for information about me.

First: no more writing resolutions. I'll write what I can, when I an.

Second: I am non-binary/agender. Pronouns are they/them, though I responded to she/her so long that I am not bothered by them. I'm also asexual & aromantic.

Third: I am nearly fifty. My fandoms of choice are, in no given order, are: Power Rangers (MMPR-PRLR, with occasional dips into later ones), Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Xros Wars/Hunters, Digimon Applimonsters, Digimon NEXT, YGO DM, YGO GX, YGO 5Ds, YGO Zexal, YGO Arc-V, YGO VRAINS, YGO Sevens, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boubeiu Love & Love Love, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boubei Happy Kiss, Kingdom Hearts, Pokemon, and Trollhunters. Digimon tri & Digimon Kizuna I might take small bits from but am not overly fond of them. Nothing more needs to be said on that front. YGO GX is the blood in my veins. I am unlikely to writee any given game for Pokemon.

Fourth: I have a large backlog of prompts for fics, both submitted by others and taken up for myself. If you wish to send in a prompt, the inbox is always open but it may take time for me to get to it, depending on my mood and what the prompt sparks. Please check "higuchimon prompts" for lists of prompts.

I warned you. All right. Here we go. You'll see some concepts and preferences pop up repeatedly. Tread with caution.

Digimon Adventure 02

Non-epilogue compliant: fics where the epilogue (and now that they exist, Tri and Kizuna) isn't going to happen. Non-canon ships (most often Ken x Daisuke & Taichi x Yamat0) abound. Fics seldom related to one another unless otherwise noted.

Loss, Gain, & Other Heartaches: A new enemy brainwashes a lot of human Chosen and their partners, after destroying the original twelve's patners, leading to the Digimon's data being merged with the Chosen's.

Division of Destiny: What if Vamdemon turned Sora into a vampire and from there defeated the Chosen? Well, he ended up turning Taichi, Jou, & Mimi into vampires as well, while imprisoning Hikari and giving Yamato, Takeru, and Koushiro to Piemon and the Dark Masters as slaves. A pesky rebellion formed of Daisuke, Iori, Miyako, Ken, Osamu, and various other charactes tries to fight them. Firm ships are currently just Ken x Daisuke.

When Blood Crosses: Oh, one of my favorites and probably my oldest AU altogether. What if humans and Digimon could have children together? And what if they did already? Seven out of twelve of the Chosen are part Digimon - or more. This is a full-blown multiverse. Stories don't always relate to one another, but the basic concepts tend to be the same. Ships can vary but for the most part are Taichi x Yamato, Jou x Koushiro, Mimi x Sora, Hikari x Miyako, Ken x Daisuke, and Takeru x Iori. Not averse to Piemon x Takeru, either.

Quiet Interlude: Little fluffy pieces featuring Taichi x Yamato in an establihsed relationship during 02 and beyond.

Adaptions: I don't have much written here but I have Such Plans. It will involve Things Happening to Taichi (in season 1) and Daisuke (season 2). It will probably end with Taichi x Yamato and Ken x Daisuke.

Take To The Skies: In this world, some people have wings and can fly. Daisuke is a Flier. The Digimon Kaiser thinks that makes him the perfect pet. But he will need training, of course. Kaiser x Daisuke. Other stories might involve the others who have wings.

Return of Old Enemies: Takeru is captured by two strange Digimon and collared so he can't speak. That's only the beginning of what's going on.

Fragmented Memory: Kaiser x Daisuke. Kaiser has wiped Daisuke's memory and convinced him that they're together. The other Chosen are not happy about this.

Broken Bonds: A soulmate AU featuring Piemon x Takeru. This is also a breeds AU. Piemon murders Patamon and takes Takeru.

Fight To Remember: Kaiser has lost his memory. So has Daisuke. Together, they need to learn who they were, who they are, and who they're going to be. Ken x Daisuke, obviously.

Services Rendeed: Daisuke gets poisoned and the cure lies within territory controlled by the Kaiser. The only way to save him is for the Kaiser to do it. His price - Daisuke himself. To be his until he gets bored with Daisuke. Sadly, the Kaiser isn't easily bored. Ken x Daisuke.

Stirring Shadows: Ken had a very naughty dream about being the Kaiser again and wanting to dominate Daisuke instead of the Digital World. Now, it was just a dream - right? Ken x Daisuke, older.

Scars of Victory: The Digimon Kaiser defeated the Chosen and took Daisuke as his trophy. For seven years he's ruled over the Digital World unopposed, having blocked the older Chosen from entering the Digital World. Now the barriers have dropped - and revenge is best served cold. Ken x Daisuke, brainwashing, off-screen death.

Course of Events: Set in a breeds AU: Vamdemon notices something unusual about Daisuke when he's in line to meet Tailmon and sends him to Piemon, who discovers who and what he is. How interesting. No current ships.

Walking The Edge: The Chosen have fought the Kaiser for years without knowing his true identity. Daisuke has also been dating Ichijouji Ken for years. So when the Kaiser finally reveals who he is - well, Daisuke has a choice to make. And the Kaiser will only allow one.

Dark Brotherhood: breeds AU. Ken, as Kaiser, has discovered that his half-brother is Yamato. Or rather, Anbumon. An alliance is offered. Ships: Yamato x Taichi & Ken x Daisuke.

Danger Zone: The Kaiser is very annoyed at Daisuke's continued existence as his enemy. So he decides to change where Daisuke's allegiance lies. Kaiser x Daisuke.

Hidden Truths: Miyako-centered breeds AU, also involving Jou and his dark side Fuseiimon. No ships centered, but light indicationss of Ken x Daisuke, Jou x Koushiro, and Taichi x Yamato.

Errors of Love: Aged up AU. Daisuke is dating the Kaiser. This is probably a very terrible mistake. KEn x Daisuke.

Magical Educations In Love: Magical school AU. Established ships: Ken x Daisuke, with possible Ken x Daisuke x Takeru.

Shadowed Soul: Piemon x Vamdemon x Takeru. is it love or just sex? Takeru wishes he knew. It's also a soulmate AU.

Melody of the Heart: A world of magic and magical creatures. Loosely a mirror of my breeds verse (and I do mean loosely). Established ships: Taichi x Yamato, Ken x Daisuke, Jou x Koushiro, Mimi x Sora. Others to come.

What He Wants: M rated/non-con, Kaiser x Daisuke. That's pretty much all there is to it. Just a couple of drabbles now but I'll expand it later.

Game of Life: breeds AU. The Kaiser's noticed something about some of the Chosen and wants to know what's going on. Undecided ships.

Bitter Bargains: The Chosen have fought the Kaiser for years. He's shown a rough attachment to Daisuke - kidnapping him on a regular basis. Then one day, Daisuke wakes up to find the Kaiser in his bedroom. Oh, dear. Non-con Kaiser x Daisuke.

Sanguine Bindings: Aged up AU - and Ken's a vampire, who mind-controlled Daisuke from episode 2 onward. Brainwashing/mind control/non-graphic non-con.

Purpose of Existence: Kaiser found out about Daisuke being a very special breed and claimed him for his own. Daisuke doesn't like this but something isn't right - he listens, whether he wants to or not. Aged up/breeds AU. Ken x Daisuke.

Buds and Blossoms: A romance between Hikari and Mimi. That's about it.

No Good Decisions: Daisuke accidently eats something he shouldn't have in the Digital World. It wouldn't be so bad - if the Kaiser hadn't found him and determined that someone needed to watch him. Ken x Daisuke.

Blood Of His Blood: Breed AU. Piemon wants to live again and will ensure that he does, through his oldest son.

For All Time: Taichi's been in an accident and Yamato's not sure when he will wake up. Taichi x Yamato.

Heart of Demon, Soul of Angel: AU where Taichi is an angel and Yamato is a demon. At least it starts off that way. A lot is going to change. Established ships: Taichi x Yamato & Ken x Daisuke.

Bonds & Bondage: Kaiser goes ahead and Rings V-mon. This affects Daisuke, unexpectedly. Now what will the Chosen do? Ken x Daisuke.

Fireblood: Breeds/Firestarter/Healer AU. Vamdemon bites Yamato and awakens his dark side - not good for anyone at all. Taichi x Yamato.

Flaming Ivy: The 02 Chosen are Healers and Firestarters and are working out what that means for them. Ken x Daisuke.

Digimon Tamers

Fair Wings: Some of the Tamers have wings, including Juri, Kenta, and Ruki. Adventunres and romance thereof. Established relationship: Juri x Takato.

Digimon Frontier

Consequences of Games: Just a set of fluffy post-canon fanfics featuring the Chosen playing games and what happens after the games. Firm ships include Kouji x Kouichi and Junpei x Izumi.

Heirs Apparent: Lucemon's spirit escaped confinement and was able to have an encounter with Kimura Tomoki, siring twin boys.

Godslave: So, Lucemon is the God-King of the world, ruling humans and Digimon alike. What he wants, he gets. And now he wants Kouji.

Tales of WInd and Water: Stories that cicle around Ranamon and Izumi.

Reflections of Dark Shadows: An AU where Kouji doesn't have a twin. What he does have is a reflection - and the reflection doesn't like his boyfriend. Established Takuya x Kouji, one-sided Kouichi x Kouji.

The Wind-child: A fantasy AU where Izumi is the daughter of AncientIrismon and has many adventures.

Yu-Gi-Oh Xros Wars/Hunters

Not Telling All: Yuu is a vampire with a taste for Tagiru. Tagiru doesn't know - at least not yet.

Hunting The Great Game: A rewrite of Xros Wars/Hunters. Set three years instead of one after the Xros Wars. Taiki finds himself back in the Digital World and that's where it all begins.

Digimon NEXT

Knight Tales: Fantasy AU. Kahara Shou's village is slaughtered and burned down and he's the only survivor. Taken in by Barbamon, he becomes the Demon Lord's devoted Knight.

Yu-Gi-Oh DM

Pleasures of Shadows: Yami no Malik has been revived as an incubus.

Crimeland: An AU where there are three Kaiba brothers (Seto, Seth, and Mokuba) and - many other differences I haven't gotten to writing yet. Only set 'ship is Seto x Kisara.

Uncertain Choices: A modern day AU, with Atemu and Yuugi as twin brothers. Only set ship right now is Atemu x Mahaado. If I ever finish the sequel I have in mind, I will add Seto x Yuugi.

Ways of Magic: a magical AU. Seto and Mokuba are dragons. Pegasus is a sorcerer. Mai is a pirate queen. Otogi is a djinn. A few scattered set pairings such as Otogi x Bakura Ryou.

Heart of Magic: a magical AU. This one involves a magical school where various characters are students or teachers. Established ships: Atemu x Mahaado.

Gifts of Power: A Superhero AU. A large chunk of people have powers. Established relationship: Isis x Mana.

Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Reversal AU: In canon, Juudai has the poewr of the Gentle Darkness. Here, in a world very like Dark World but with differences (such as a sun), he has the power of the Destructive Darkness - and he is pure evil, enjoys it, and has the overall goal of destroying all of creation. A small, plucky rebellion stands against him. Do they stand a chance? Time will tell. Be warned: non-consensual Juudai x Johan, as well as someone becoming a vampire, and many other twisted plot points. I love this AU.

Stronger Than Water: We don't know much about Johan's past. So what if he actually grew up in Dark World, as Brron's adopted son? And was sent to kill Juudai? Firm ships are Yubel x Juudai and maybe Yubel x Juudai x Johan. I havevn't gotten far enough to be sure.

Hell's Ice: What if Ryou were the one taken by Kagemaru and Amnael instead of Fubuki? Well, add in some elemental affinities and we have the Hell Kaiser of Ice - one of the Seven Stars. No set ships othe than Yubel x Juudai, though I am debating a few.

Itch To Scratch: Juudai and Yubel are demons. Johan's an angel - or he thinks he is, anyway. What he really is, he'll find out eventually. Firm ship is Yubel x Juudai x Johan.

Bridges: So, in this series, Juudai's power is that of the Light of Creation. Johan has the Gentle Darkness - and Juudai has been possessed by the Light of Ruin for seven thousand years.

Dead Weight: It's the zombie apocalypse! Ahhh! No set in stone ships yet.

King's Champion: When a late-night break-in goes very wrong, Yubel ends up taking Juudai to Dark World for his own safety. He ends up being raised by Brron. But taking him away from Earth has consequence, both good and bad. Yubel x Juudai. Not ruling out Yubel x Juudai x Johan in the future.

Shadow Demons: Juudai: King of Hell, with Yubel and Johan as his Consorts. Ryou, a demon prince. Fujiwara Yuusuke, a shadow mage with Honest as his guardian angel. Fubuki as an angel of love. Asuka slays evil vampires. And much, much more. Established ships: Ryou x Yuusuke and Yubel x Juudai x Johan.

Echoes: Rewrites of different parts of GX. Currently only the Haou arc, but others to come. Established ships: technically none but eventually Yubel x Juudai.

In The Shadows of the Fae: Juudai is the King of the Fae with Yubel and Johan as consorts, and Shou as his servant. A delicious AU that I enjoy. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan.

In Chains: Fantasy AU. Brron is gifted Shou as a slave, and Shou has to deal with that. Not easy. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan & Edo x Ryou x Saiou.

In Any World: A series of non-connected Yubel x Juudai AUs. Each is a one-shot and is in a different AU.

Past and Future: Yubel shows Juudai events that happened in their past lives together, as they forge a new future with one another. Yubel x Juudai.

Sky Stories: A lot of people have wings. Juudai didn't - until he fused with Yubel. Ryou has rusted metal wings - until Edo takes care of them. ANd many more stories. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai x Johan.

To Accept Fate's Will: A soulmate AU. Established ships: Yubel x Juudai, Edo x Saiou x Ryou. O'Brien x Sea God's Priestess.

Hole In Your Heart: Not fighting means that Shou's in danger. Especially when he gets captured and sold to one of Haou's servants. As if his third year wasn't already going downhill. No actual ships that I know of (probable future Yubel x Juudai)

In Space, In Light: Juudai sent Yubel into space to be healed by the Gentle Darkness. In canon, it failed. Here, it worked. Uh-oh. Yubel x Juudai.

Paladin's Quest: post ending series. Ryou dies of heart failure and is reborn as a duel spirit without his memories of his past. But that's going to change, because what he did in Dark World cannot be forgotten.

In Darkness We Find FIre: An AU of my own devising, that I call Healer/Firestarter. Healers can heal & communicate/grow plants, and Firestarters bun things. There are a lot more details than that but this tale is a retelling of canon through that lens. Established ship: Yubel x Juudai.

Politics of Ages: Asuka is a vampire queen with two consorts: Manjoume and Ryou. Lots of vampiric politics.

Infinite Love: A magical AU with soulmates. Features Ryou x Yuusuke, Camula x Ruthven (OC), and Edo x Saiou.

King's Knights: Post-canon series. Juudai offers Ryou, Fubuki, and Yuusuke as his Knights. But that's just the beginning. Johan has his own tale to tell.

Passion's Flight: Soul-wings universe. Established asexual/aromantic Asuka. Future Yubel x Juudai.

Prisoner of the Black Tower: Johan is trapped in a black tower by someone called Haou. He doesn't know who that is. And he wants to leave.

Apprentices: A mild alternate timeline, where Kyle and Nero from season 3 meet and become friends - while in Haou's dungeon.

World of Fusion: Brron fused all the dimensions and the world that results is so very different. Now Brron also has three sons: Juudai, Johan, and Rune (the Johan lookalike from season 3). Also, Ryou is a vampire. Established relationships: Yubel x Juudai.

Fate's Heart: Multiple tales of Yubel and Juudai as soulmates.

Power of Earth: Healer/Firestarter AU, featuring Jim and O'Brien.

Family Flowers: Healer/Firestarter AU, featuring Rick and Cobra.

Red Zinnias: Healer/FIrestarter AU, featuring Saiou and Edo

Destructive Flames: A merging of the Firestater/Healer AU and the Reversal AU. It's even less fun than the usual REvers - well, for values of fun.

Spirit Friends: People become friends with Duel Spirits aren't in their decks. Such as Wolf for Juudai and SQuall for Amon.

Bonds of Kinship: Exploring the relationship between Johan and the lookalike - his twin brother.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

Order of the Outcasts: A fantasy AU loosely inspired by AD&D. The Order of the Outcasts is the Barians. Yuuma is a powerful healing mage and Astral is his fae companion. Much fun to be had! Co-written with SilvorMoon.

Committed To Her: Kotori is Queen Merag's slave, and devotedly loves her. Merag would like to return it, but it's not that easy. Obviously, a Merag x Kotori story, and an AU.

Cry of Vengeance: Vector wants revenge on Nasch for a long-ago offense, so he attacks Nasch's boyfriend Durbe. But that's not all he wants his revenge on and he has an interesting way to get it. Vampire/slight magic AU.

On Dragon's Wings: Mizael is a dragon. Vector is a prince who becomes a demon. And many other changes for a fantasy AU. Established ships are Vector x Mizael and Alit x Leo.

Inevitable Encounters: soulmate AU and how they deal with it. Established ships: Kaito x Yuuma, Durbe x Nasch, Kotoi x Merag/Rio, Vector x Mizael

Fae Whispers: Durbe x Chris. Chris is a Fae Prince who offers for Durbe to become a Fae Knight.

Different Numbers: Another soulmate AU. Features Durbe x Nasch, Vector x Mizael, V/Chris x Kaito, Gilag x Sanagi, & Alit x III/Michael x Yuuma.

Prison of the Prince: Vector wishes to keep Fae Prine Mizael as his prisoner. Mizael isn't so thrilled about that. Vecto x Mizael.

Hating Humanity: Durbe finds Nasch and Merag before the Astral Messenger arrive. Without Yuuma's influence, what will Nasch do? Durbe x Nasch.

Blurring: There are multiple ways to detect one's soulmate. Mizael has Vector's name on his right arm and Kaito's on his left - right arm is for the soulmate and left for the enemy.

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V

Beat of Wings: Some characters have wings, including Yuuya, Yuuto, Yuugo, and Yuuri. And Shun. And others. No real ships (that I know of) and Yuuri is going to have fun!

Life With A Demon: Featuring Masumi x Yuzu, Asuka x Selena, and past Selena x Masumi. Demon AU, along with other creatures of magic.

Confusing: Yuuri has captured Shun and is training him to be a warrior of Fusion. Shun would rather not - but his mind is now Yuuri's plaything.

Angels, Demons, and Deciding Factors: Angel/demon AU. Yuuri is a demon, who encounters the angel Shun in his territory. Yuuri decides that he wants this angel for his own - mostly because Shun doesn't want that, nor does Yuuto. M rated/consent issues/brainwashing.

Collars and Keeping: Yuuri captured Shun early in the war and Shun escapes the first chance he gets. But Yuuri won't let him go - and there's a horrible punishment awaiting his pet.

Fae Song: Selena x Rin x Ruri x Yuzu. Selena is a Fae Princess and the others are her servants.

Deadly Daughter: Professor Leo Akaba decides he can't trust Yuuri and thus trains Selena to be his sgent to find and captue the other gils with her face. Selena's girlfriend, Asuka, helps - only seeing what happened in the war turns her away from Fusion. Undecided ships.

Dragon and Falcon: Yuuri's a dragon & Shun's a shapeshifting falcon. Yuuri claimed Shun as a part of his hoard and his servant. And it just seems that dragon saliva does something to shapeshifters. non-con/drugged Yuuri x Shun.

Soulwings: In this AU, when soulmates meet one another (or when one's true purpose is found), wings are developed. So when Kaito and Edo cross paths... Established Kaito x Edo and alluded to Yuuri x Shun.

Strike Hard, Strike Fast: Vampire AU. Sora, Yuuri, and Dennis are vampires. Ruri and Shun are vampire hunters. So when Shun crosses their paths, Yuuri decides to take him for his own.

Opposite Ends: Yuugo is brought to Shingo as his slave. Yuugo doesn't like Shingo. Oh, they're going to have a lot of fun.

Dragonflame and Nature's Spark: A HEaler/FIrestater rewrite of Arc-V, mostly featuring Ryou and Mizael, along with Yuuri and Vector. Ship: Ryou x Mizael, Durbe x Chris, and Shou x Michael.

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS

A Model Life: Kogami Ryouken is a supermodel. You know, when he's not a cyber-terrorist.

Power Rangers

Flip Of a Coin: Tommy Oliver is Tommi Oliver here. Gender-switch from birth.

Soulborn: Soulmates from the Power Rangers. Established ship: Cassie x Phantom. Future ship: Kat x Tommy.

BKCBL

Burning Inscription: Soulmates have the most important words spoken to them by their soulmates written on their arms. On Kinshiro's: I am Battle Lover Epinard! Nonsense. Atsushi x Kinshiro.

Love of Spirits: Kinshiro is a spirit of the sun. Atsushi is a wind spirit. The others are also magical beings. Kinshiro x Atsushi.

Crossovers

Elemental Ties: YGO GX & Digimon Frontier. Juudai and Kouichi cross paths. But they're not the only ones who share elements.

Replacement Vampire: YGO GX & Digimon Adventure 02: Post his defeat in 02, Vamdemon awakens in his Perfect form again, in a new world, where he meets someone he never thought he would - a female vampire. Camula didn't think she'd ever see another vampire. He's not quite her species, but he's definitely her type. Firm ship: Camula x Vamdemon. Also, vampire Seven Star!Ryou.

Scorpion Strike: YGO GX & YGO Zexal: Ryou wakes up in the Barian World, and doesn't know his name or anything else. But he's a Barian now, so he works for the Barian World. Ryou x Mizael.

Those are all my current series. Here are the series that I have waiting in the wings:

Power Rangers

Unexpected Tales: A series of fics about ships I like: Rita x Zedd, Emily x Jason, and Tanya x Adam.

Yellow & Blue: A pair of fics involving Trini x Billy

Digimon Adventure 02

Blossoms of Death: Non epilogue compliant, where a new enemy attacks the Chosen and a lot of things happen including friendship between different Chosen and their partners.

In Our Veins: Breeds AU. Non epilogue compliant and the breeds slowly start to awaken to their powers. Known ships: Ken x Daisuke.

Far From The Tree: Breeds AU, rewrite of a very old story of mine. Starting in the Devimon arc, the Chosen begin to awaken.

Last Dark Master: Breeds AU, another rewrite of a very old story. Yamato attracts Piemon'os attention. No ships at this time.

To True Love: A series about Taichi x Yamato. Mild Ken x Daisuke also.

Heed The Call: The Kaiser discovered the breeds - especially Anbumon, the strongest of them all. Time for an alliance. Ken x Daisuke & Yamato x Taichi.

Digimon Tamers

After Tamers: Post-canon, the Tamers have even more adventures with their returned partners.

Burning Brightly: An alternate take on Ruki and Renamon meeting one another.

Yu-Gi-Oh GX

In Solitude Lies Strength: A slight divergence changes a great deal about Juudai's rule in Dark World.

Different Kind of Darkness: When Juudai encounters a vampire before his rule in Dark World begins, everything takes a dip to a deeper darkness.

After Academia: Graduating doesn't mean that their adventurs have ended. They're just different now. Yubel x Juudai.

Colors of Love: A different soulmate concept - those who have soulmates only see the colors of their soulmate's hair and eyes until they meet - at which point they see all colors, and sprout their wings. Edo x Saiou and Yubel x Juudai, with others to come.

Hi Kari Kouri E: Healer/Firestarter. Kagemaru wants a powerful Frostflame on his Seven Stars team, so sends people to recruit a six year old Marufuji Ryou. Future Yubel x Juudai and Ryou x Yuusuke.

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V

Prey and Hunters: Yuuri captures Shun and has a good old time tormenting him. Rewrite of my original "Yuuri torments Shun" story. It will have a crossover with Mythology of Love by SilvorMoon eventually.

BKCBL

Seduction of Shadows: a realm with Io being human, Akoya being a demon, and Ryuu being an angel.

Crossovers

Love Is Out Of This World: BKCBL & Digimon Adventure 02. When the Digimon Kaiser drops into the Student Council Room, things become very interesting. Ken x Daisuke, Atsushi x Kinshiro.

Ties To Magic: Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, and YGO GX. A fantasy world where anyone can meet anyone at all.

From Shadows Within: Digimon Adventure, 02, Tamers, and Frontier. A new adventure for everyone! Ships: Ken x Daisuke.

I fully expect to develop more of these in the future. Time will tell! And I will update this when or if the time comes.

#fanfic #higuchimon posts #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon tamers #digimon frontier #digimon xros wars #digimon next #ygo dm #ygo gx #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #ygo vrains #power rangers #binan koukou chikyuu bouei bu love! #crossovers

[jackdawyt]

I am beyond privileged to share my very Early Access impressions of The Waylanders, thanks to the developers at Gato Studio who gave me an early key. 

The Waylanders is a party-based RPG set in the Celtic and Medieval eras, inspired by classics like Dragon Age: Origins, Neverwinter Nights 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I’ve only played the first 10 hours of this game, and I’ve fallen for it. It’s very apparent that the developers of The Waylanders love Dragon Age. And so, to anyone who loves Dragon Age, will love The Waylanders.

I’ve played prologue and the very few early hours of the game which are in early access, meaning there’s plenty of work that needs to be done and nothing in the game is final. However, I was able to get an amazing feel for what the finished game will look like, and believe me when I say, this is the Dragon Age successor we’re all looking for.  

Character

Upon starting the game, you’re taken to a very recognizable character creator, clearly inspired by Dragon Age: Origins. You can choose between a male/female body, four races, six classes, and then an origin story based on each of those choices.  

The races in Waylanders are rather distinct, as opposed to traditional DND races like elves, humans and dwarves. Here we have the choice between human, werewolf, mourian and semi-fomorian.  

The classes are rather straight forward, each of them have unique weapons, abilities and features. As an example, Rangers have the Pets feature which allows them to have animal companions, and Sorcerers can teleport using their specific magic feature.  

You can customise your character with a few hairstyles, facial types, different skin tones, eye, hair and facial hair colours.  

You can then apply more points into your statistics based on your race and class. And the final aspect of customisation is your identity, where you choose your name, pronouns and voice.  

The voice is just for grunting noises in combat, I believe the game follows a silent protagonist so you can make up your own voice.  

After making those final decisions, you’re given a cute lore character summary, backing up each choose you’ve made for your PC. Now your adventure can begin.  

Story

The story is told through a plentiful of cutscenes and long dialogue interactions, of course, just what Dragon Age fans love. I found each of them engaging and I was hooked from the start really.  

I’ve played the prologue twice, and a few blocked out side quests that are still in very early alpha. The story starts with the Spanish Celtic tribes arriving at Ireland to meet and convey a union with their gods. However, things don’t go according to plan, as you can imagine.  

What’s fascinating about The Waylanders compared to Dragon Age for example, is that the lore is steeped in Irish and Spanish folk lore. We discover many legends like ‘The Tuatha Dé Danann’. Which means ‘the tribe of the gods’ in Old Gaelic. It’s exciting lore that actually exists in some of the real world’s sub-cultures today.

The setting of the game is based in medieval Galicia, which is in Spain. The developers are actually from Spain, the stories they’re telling throughout The Waylanders are tales each of them has grown up with.  

I won’t say much more on the main story, other than the protagonist has a mystery that reminds me of Kingdoms Of Amular Reckoning. Of course, another stellar RPG that takes pinches from Dragon Age: Origins.  

The plot seems to surround a lot of time travel themes, going forward and back in time, with many choices and consequences taking effect from your decisions.

As a whole, the writing is excellent. And that’s expected due to the fact that Chris Avellone, best known for writing Fallout: New Vegas, took the helm. Alongside with him, Ex-Telltale's Emily Grace Book who’s the fabulous Narrative Lead.  

Not to mention Mike Laidlaw aided to team with his creative vison to “create a high-level narrative and to structure the game and the story.”

And if that’s not enough, Dragon Age veteran Inon Zur composed the soundtrack of The Waylanders too, which is just beautiful.  

I want to share more about the main characters. So far, they’re compelling, even in just the first hour, I found myself latching onto each of them, with their many different personalities.

In my opinion, the dialogue holds the game up, I found myself engaging in every single conversation I could, interacting with every character. I’d say my favourite character so far is Nazhedja. Naz for short.

She’s very intriguing! Being a mourian, she’s immortal, though she composes herself as a charming and relatable individual.  

The voice cast is amazing and familiar with the likes of Simon Templeman, known for playing Loghain in Dragon Age taking the role of the Celtic Druid Amergin. Personally, as a Brit, I fell in love with hearing so many of my countries’ varying accents.

And apparently there will absolutely be romance in the game, however, it’s not in the alpha stages. But we can all look forward to that!  

Gameplay

The Waylanders gameplay centres on building up the narrative, there’s an emphasis on interactive conversations. You’ll spend a fair amount of time asking questions and getting to know each of the characters in this world, building bonds and shaping the story.  

The game has a linear feel to it, however, once the prologue is done, you can explore many of the hub areas. Very much like Dragon Age: Origins. The world is lush to explore, and the art style is fantastic. It has a cartoony feel to it.  

While exploring the stunning areas, you can switch the camera’s placement for a more isometric feel, or stick to a more third person feel, whatever suits your playstyle. This is an amazing quality of life feature, that I think other games like this need to adopt.  

There’s a huge codex, which updates frequently after conversations. It’s a wonderful touch, I spent plenty of time reading each of the characters and their backstories.  

Combat

The combat is rough around the edges and it can be hard to properly aim and target your opponents. Too often I’d cast a spell at an offensive enemy, and I’d accidently click and switch to my warrior companion who’s bashing the same enemy in the face.  

You can have up to five party companions at a time. And there are these grouped up attacks you can do as a squad called formations. You band together and attack. It works like a charm.  

The combat does feel very identical to Dragon Age: Origins, even down to the animations of fighting and how long it takes to fire a spell, or shoot an arrow from a bow.  

One of the developers gave me a few console commands for my stream, and I was able to see what animal pets we could have, I was very surprised with the amount of animal companions you can have. There’s even a dragon!  

Each of the classes prove to be very unique, in my two playthroughs, I played as a Sourcer and a Rogue. I loved the individual features each class provides whether it’s a passive or an actual ability, each class have dynamic ways to stand out. And of course, if you’re undecided which class to play, Waylanders is a party-based RPG, you’ll always have a companion with a different class you can switch to and play as.  

Summary

In summary, judging the early hours of The Waylanders, the game has very reminiscent systems and gameplay that anyone who’s played Dragon Age will find themselves familiar with. However, the game has proven itself to be original with its engaging story, intriguing characters and unique lore.  

Of course, the game is in its early access alpha stages, and there are plenty of bugs and things that need further improvement. But I can see the heart and passion that has gone behind this game, and that’s what I’ve grown to like about this game.  

I’d say to anyone who’s a huge fan of Dragon Age: Origins, why not go and give The Waylanders a shot. The game launches on Steam’s Early Access store on June 16th, support this game as it grows throughout development, and releases as an epic Dragon Age successor.  

#The Waylanders #The Waylanders Early Access #The Waylanders Gameplay #Studio Gato #Dragon Age #Dragon Age: Origins #RPG #New RPG #lore #early access

[warsofasoiaf]

Any progress on the Joshua Graham analysis? Any chance we could get one on Veronica Santangelo? Thanks!

Joshua Graham is an interesting figure, one that asks significant questions about redemption and fanaticism although the execution at times can be a bit stumbled. Honest Hearts as a DLC explores atonement as a central theme, and this is best seen within Graham. Graham is a man with a dual nature, some of the best and worst aspects of religion wrapped in one man as much as he is wrapped within bandages. The Burned Man, in his lifetime, committed truly atrocious acts, over and over again, as Malpais Legate of Caesar’s Legion. Was Graham always a violent fanatic willing to choose the sword over the olive branch, or did he get swept up like many others in the cult of Edward Sallow who became Caesar?

The Church of Latter-Day Saints, an American Christian revivalist sect centered around Utah, otherwise known as Mormonism, runs throughout Honest Hearts. Daniel and Joshua are from New Canaan, a prosperous trading town whose faith likens them to a distinct culture, where most in-universe actors consider them to be a distinct tribe like the other tribes in Fallout. Even the equipment of Honest Hearts pays homage. The distinct .45 Pistol is clearly an M1911A1, a famous pistol design developed by legendary firearms developer and LDS follower John Moses Browning. LDS, among other tenets, emphasizes missionary work for its members particularly for young men, and Joshua Graham was no exception. Missionary work is no stranger to the Fallout series, with tribes often promulgating their message forward from altruistic message spreading like the Followers of the Apocalypse to sinister plots like the Cathedral preaching the Unity. In theory, there is nothing wrong with this work, the Followers often help provide medical support and other useful increases of standard of living and New Canaan were famous throughout the west for charitable work and medical donations to neighboring tribes. And so, Graham from New Canaan and Sallow from the Followers, along with another Follower called Bill Calhoun. However, when the mission reached the Blackfoot tribe, something strange happened, that changed the course of Graham, Sallow, and the Wasteland itself. Captured by the Blackfoot, Sallow elected to train them in warfare, teaching tactics along with the use and maintenance of firearms. With this knowledge, Caesar turned the Blackfoot from a small tribe conducting light skirmishes and raids for pride and resources into a force practicing total war and terror tactics designed to obliterate the enemy.

“O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” -Joshua Graham

In this moment we can see Graham’s start of darkness and the first hints of the violent man that lurked beneath the mien of a compassionate missionary. Graham elected to stay with Caesar, eagerly joining to become his right-hand man, leading the Blackfoot to war, translating Caesar’s orders and giving tactical decisions that would give rise to his terrifying legend. As the Legion grew, Graham became even more brutal. Brutal training regimens. Public punishments for failure. Entire villages crucified to serve as a warning. Graham continued to rack up bloody success after bloody success, pacifying the tribes with terror and awing them into submission and forcible integration into the Legion, a process that involves physical and sexual slavery along with selective extermination of undesirables and obliteration of tribal identity. Bill Calhoun forms the contrast, as he elected to leave to return to the Followers, while the rest of the mission was massacred. That Graham continued, indulging and growing his infamy suggests that on some level the work was not unwelcome. Even into Honest Hearts Graham can be chilling with his admission that he will exterminate the White Legs, and that killing is a chore much the way cleaning the gutters is. Certainly, the violent environment of the Wasteland would mean a far more violent world than our own contemporary one, but even within the Wasteland, tribes like the Twin Mothers or Graham’s own New Canaanites emphasize community, mercy, and compassion rather than a world composed entirely of raiders and sheep. Graham, however, was not a tactician but a thug enforcing control of his army primarily through fear and submission through the totalitarian cult of Caesar. His attacks were direct but clumsy, using numbers and aggression to win his battles and relying on experienced troops such as centurions and decanii to provide battlefield leadership and identify key points on the field to achieve success. At Hoover Dam, Hanlon used the weaknesses of Graham against him, picking off the veterans he depended on for his fresher conscripts and luring his aggressive demeanor into a trap at Boulder City. Despite all of Graham’s successes, failure in the Legion was not tolerated, so despite all that he had served for Caesar, the dictator had him set on fire and tossed into the Grand Canyon.

“The fire that kept me alive was love. Their love. God’s love.” -Joshua Graham

Graham, however, survived, and this is emphasized both with the themes of the DLC and in the raw mechanics. He has maximum Endurance, his DT is a whopping 50 points, almost half again as powerful as power armor, and his AI refuses to run from any engagement. When Graham pulled himself out of the Grand Canyon, he chalks it up to a ferocious will to survive, but when he returns to New Canaan, he finds that his tribe welcomed him back with open arms, forgiving all the atrocities that he had done to the Arizona tribes. Dumbstruck, Graham retroactively believed that it was not his own will, but the love that his people had for him that kept him alive, that the fire that their love filled him with inside staved off the chill of the grave and burned hotter than the fire that Caesar drenched him with. This dousing of fire and his emergence from the Colorado River was likened to a new baptism. In Christianity, baptism is a ceremonial purification ritual to signify admission into the church, usually done at a young age for children, though the Anabaptist movement postulated that baptism should be done as an adult to signify admission into the church as an act done with conscious consideration and knowledge. To Graham, this baptism in flames was to purge him of the evil he committed as the Malpais Legate, to return him to the flock of the good tribe. Even though he may have wished to be done with his past, his past was not done with him. Caesar had discovered that Graham was alive and wished to kill him, so that not might have been said to have survived the punishment of Caesar. So one of Caesar’s frumentarii, Ulysses of the Twisted Hairs, looked to destroy the powerful city, which he did through using the White Legs’s savagery guided through tactics and equipment, much the way Caesar himself transformed the Blackfoot and attacked the other six tribes to found the Legion.

Graham though, along with fellow New Canaanite missionary Daniel, escaped the sacking of their home to settle in Zion Natural Park, settling among the Dead Horses and Sorrows and resuming duties of their mission to no great success. When the White Legs came to pursue Graham, hoping to use his body as their entry fee into the Legion, Joshua felt that it was time to take back up the pistol to defend the tribes that he had bonded with and drive the shadow of Caesar out of Zion, or so he claims. The conflict begins to boil as more White Legs enter Zion, just as Courier Six enters the canyon and finds all the gasoline spread, waiting for the match to ignite.

Graham’s split desires emphasize the duality of religion. In history, religion has been both a source for comfort and a powerful tool of warfare, and has enabled individuals to acts of great charity and cruelty. With the limited medical knowledge of the tribes and the terrifying beasts that inhabit Zion Canyon from the acid-spitting green gecko to the giant cazadors, Daniel’s medical expertise is undoubtedly welcome. The threat posed by the White Legs is real, and so Joshua’s experience in battle is actually helpful for the Dead Horses (Graham is a terrible tactician against a clever enemy like Hanlon, but he performed well among the other tribes who would presumably have far less tactical training than a Ranger like Hanlon). Yet religion has also been a force for intolerance and a justification for slaughter of the other, and in the Fallout universe, the cult of Caesar justified assimilation and obliteration just as real world religions demanded conversion or death. In real life, of course, religious followers are not all saints or hypocritical sinners, like any other group their members run the gamut. 

Graham is placed within the crucible with the war between the White Legs and the Zion tribals, and what emerges becomes the true element of who he was. If the Grand Canyon was the second baptism, Zion is the third, and perhaps the final (rule of three after all) where Graham is revealed. The conflict within Joshua Graham is resolved with the Courier in the way that most quests in the game are. As always, this is a concession to the nature of the medium; a conflict that resolves without player input ignores the interactive nature of video games, arguably the entire point of developing a game as opposed to books or film is the interactivity of the medium that only games can provide. The Courier can decide to either follow Daniel’s plan, and abandon Zion to the White Legs, or follow Joshua’s plans, and strike back, destroying their leader Salt-Upon-Wounds and ending the threat that the White Legs pose both to the tribes of Zion and to the surrounding area like the ill-fated Happy Trails caravan. 

Abandoning Zion means abandoning the war effort. Joshua supports the evacuation, but he never finds the moment of clarity that he had on his way into the Colorado. He supports the decision, if only because he cannot find the White Legs on his own, but his mission work suffers. The Dead Horses do not even have the slight understanding of the Sorrows when it comes to matters of faith. The Dead Horses end up revering the cult of Joshua Graham, not the tenets of the New Canaanite faith, and become a warrior culture.

“I want to have my revenge. Against him. Against Caesar. I want to call it my own, to make my anger God’s anger. To justify the things I’ve done.” -Joshua Graham

If the Courier elects to fight, then the player turns into Graham’s crisis of conscience. If the Courier becomes the devil, and encourages Joshua to execute Salt-Upon-Wounds, then Graham goes back to depravity, desecrating corpses the way raiders decorate their lairs with dismembered limbs. In this case, Graham truly was the monster of the Malpais Legate all along, a man strong in body but weak of will, eagerly seeking out a person who would encourage his worst actions first in Caesar and then in the Courier. He becomes a lot like Ray McCall from Call of Juarez, a man who believes that he is always upon the path of righteousness because of his continued survival and success. Clearly, if God thought he was wrong, then Graham would be stopped. If Salt-Upon-Wounds is given a fighting chance, then Graham becomes a hardline militant but refrains from the acts of terror that made him such a feared man, then he is the man that he was when he spoke with the Courier; a man who sees righteous killing as a tedious chore, something to be done but not enjoyed, and he acknowledges that the difference is significant even if its only for the benefit of the Sorrows and Dead Horses. If the Courier advises Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds though, then Graham realizes how easily he can slip back into old habits, that his righteous militancy intoxicated him and like any Fiend shooting up Jet and Psycho, he was doing it for the exhilarating high. He admits that the anger and rage was always a part of him, and he justified it through his religion as a means of absolving himself of responsibility and choice. This rationalization is all too common with plenty of people who have committed great cruelties, the deeds become acts of necessity in pursuit of a higher cause, from devastating wars of religion to extermination of undesirables to build a societal utopia. 

However, this moment of resolution, in my view, was a clumsy way of doing it. Why is Salt-Upon-Wounds held sacred in a way that the other White Legs are not? Arguably, Salt-Upon-Wounds is the most culpable, as the White Legs leader is nothing but a raider band predating on others. Similarly, the final boss battle is relegated to something easy; Joshua Graham makes the entire final sequence a cakewalk. Arguably, all stories have moments simplified like this, such is the nature of stories where protagonists’ roles are outsized in the pursuit of simplicity, but redemption arcs are often boiled down to singular moments which often reduces the redemption. There was no accounting to what he did to the victims of Caesar before the game, and that harms it overall.

Honest Hearts, as a DLC, explores themes of family and childhood going to adulthood as much as it explores the themes of atonement. If people want me to discuss that, please ask. And if someone wants a Veronica analysis, again ask.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#fallout: new vegas #character analysis

[cupcakecoterie]

@true0neutral - Hazel, half-elf cleric

@fauxfire76 - Darvin, human bard

@hyperewok1 - Remi, human paladin

Marion - Ava, human ranger

We had a couple of cases of illness (bad back for @miaaoi and some form of lurgy for @sfwarlock) and poor @noctumsolis still denied internet privileges, so the party was a bit abbreviated on Sunday, but we continued on regardless. RP be like that sometimes.

The gang made some last-minute preparations for sending the half-eladrin girl to Egref. Froseth flagged up that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to send this kid off alone to nothing but strangers, so Riswynn and Froseth went with her as kind of an honour guard. Nai also went along, probably as much to a) try to face some of his freak-out and b) ponder a few things as anything else.

One of the things Nai would have had to ponder was that Alisaie announced out of more or less nowhere that she wasn’t going to call their elven warlock ‘Nai’ anymore. She doesn’t know much elven but she knows enough to know that his first name is the bit that means “he who laments” and she has decided that she doesn’t think that lamentation should be his sole identity anymore, so she’s nicknaming him Eryn, an elven word for ‘forest’. Darvin and Hazel picked it up immediately, though with Hazel hating most things elven as much as she does, it took some verbal finagling to get her past calling him ‘Leafy’.

The following morning, after the promised breakfast of ice drake liver and frost onions, they sent little half-eladrin Molly Cathay through Hazel’s home-door along with her elf / dwarf / dragonborn honour guard. Riswynn has the sending stone so she can ask for updates but they’ve agreed to have Riswynn’s druid friend send them back through the big tree that gives the Cedargrove town of Suntree its name when it’s deemed safe and appropriate to do so. Twilly sent back baked goods and more preserves.

The remainder of the Cupcake Coterie got underway with new horse and some supplies. Unfortunately, because of all the snow, they went slower than they would have liked, and ran low on supplies when they reached the barony of Cedargrove. They found evidence of a lot of traffic on the roads in Cedargrove, most of it military - people in armour, carts, and warhorses. This worried some people. Still, at least they started making better time because the roads were clear.

They came across an inn that seemed to cater to the local woodcutters and decided to grab some dinner there, as a way of making their supplies last a little longer. They went in posing as travelling entertainers and made themselves moderately popular before dinner was served.

Unfortunately, they discovered the food shortages in Cedargrove (due to Goldendale’s rebellion and the incident involving an ancient white dragon trashing Grey’s Inn, which are the source of Baronsvere’s produce and livestock respectively) in an unfortunate manner: it took some doing, because bad perception rolls, but they found that the meat in the meat pies they were served was dog. Specifically, the hounds that three of the woodcutters had brought in. Alisaie announced loudly what was in their meat pies, and Hazel prevented the innkeeper from leaving by effectively sitting on him until the woodcutters came and beat the living crap out of him. Then Hazel put the poor innkeeper to bed, checking to make sure he wouldn’t actually die, and checked the kitchen. Finding some food, she and Alisaie whipped up something that wasn’t made of dog.

At around the point where dessert was being made, five Crownsguard walked in. Thankfully, they rolled shit Insight and between Actor feat, Disguise Self and knowing when to keep their mouths shut, they managed not to draw attention to themselves and left the inn without getting funny looks. The woodcutters fed them a few cues that they actually took to heart - and thus they figured out that bards and entertainers are frowned on by the Crownsguard (and thus probably the ruler) because a dispirited populace is easier to control.

Basically, things are kind of grim in Cedargrove at the moment. Obviously Things will be Done about this. I dunno how this is going to change people’s plans, or even if it will, but I assume nothing with these guys.

#cupcake coterie #full session #Write-up #Youtube Vid

[bitch-is-for-okay]

i’ve tried rereading this animorphs book so many times in order to have solid feedback for you guys, but i’m so sick of it and i cant even say WHY

so instead i’m gonna sum it up real quick based on what i remember. wish me luck.

>rachel traumatizes a carnie because the circus kept mistreating elephants, and rachel has a Thing for elephants. pretty sure she’s the real reason barnam and bailey went out of business.

>leo and tobias stalked the yeerbooks into a gap fitting room and discovered a yerk base. everyone is stunned by leo’s initiative.

>predictably, they make a half-assed plan and storm the yeck base again.

>they all get licked up by an alien, but god (who is an alien) stops time to pontificate about earth’s many pleasures, and then offers to take them away to a special alien zoo where they and a few other eligible bachelors and bachelorettes will mate to preserve the human race.

>”hell no” basically

>god’s like “k seeya later lmk if u change ur minds” and then poof, they’re back to being vored

>luckily they manage to escape

>they’re seen by a lot of people though?? specifically a lot of people saw them morph?? which is a big deal because sun visor three is under the impression that they’re andalites and doesn’t know their secret identities?? so shouldn’t they be terrified they’re gonna be nabbed at school??

>i guess god retconned this when he left tho idk

>a little while later the power rangers are understandably upset and hopeless. i mean, they are just a bunch of kids facing off against an entire warlike alien species. tbh i’d be basking in that god alien’s zoo planet rn if it were me

>god shows up again tho and sends them into a future, where rachel meets future yeek rachel. she is (again, understandably) horrified.

>but then she has a revelation!!!

>god doesn’t want them to give up!!!

>god was loopholing his way thru arbitrary alien rules to give them an upper hand!!

>they figure out some important shit in the future dream and go back to their time to Fuck Shit Up.

>yerts are still majorly in the advantage, but i guess we’re cool with it now because they took a hit. yay.

#animorphs #live blog #idk i reread the whole book like three times #idk if im bored with the series or i just wasnt focusing properly #(big side effect of mental illnesses is the sudden inability to read books for whatever reason) #(it hits me frequently and i hate it) #(i love this series and liveblogging but sometimes it feels like a chore) #(i think i just needed to get over this hump tho so wish me luck)

[ryuutchi]

Dearest Yulegoat [Mirrored Yuletide Letter] 

[General]

To start with, if you're writing fic for me, I love you. I'm going to be happy just to be able to share my fandom love with someone. You'll notice I throw a lot of ideas out-- feel free to take one, take many, take none. I know how hard it can be to settle on an idea once the assignments come in. So I'm offering a bunch of options that I will enjoy. None of these suggestions are hard and fast requirements. They're here to give you an idea of what's going on in my head and what my preferences look like. My current blog is ryuutchi, over on Tumblr. I can't promise it will be helpful, but in the interest of helping with the stalking process, feel free to check me out over there. I like: Plot, adventures, banter and dry humor, happy endings, over the top AUs (steampunk, noir, organized crime, rum-runners, harems...), casual physical intimacy, emotional interdependency, bad decisions and poor coping mechanisms, hurt/comfort and whump-with-comfort, loyalty and morality confusion, worldbuilding, identity porn, questionable healthy attachments, seeking out physical affection, accidentally caught feelings,  power-play, porn, gen, slash, femslash, het, any rating you feel comfortable with (for violence and/or sex), bittersweet things that are heavy on the sweet, Happily Ever After/Happily For Now endings I don't like: Deathfic, gratuitous angst, character-bashing, introspective character pieces, five times fics, mommy/daddy kink, A/B/O universes, contemporary social issues as the main focus/issuefic, sad or hopeless endings. (Also the standard DNWs: scat, watersports, necro, mpreg, homophobia, transphobia, etc) No Game No Life - Kamiya Yuu: Sora, Shiro The Series: They are both NEETs and Hikikomoris… but on the internet, the genius gamer siblings Sora and Shiro are known as the undefeatable “__” (blank). Sora and Shiro’s talents and skills are so abnormally good they are considered as urban legend.  One day, they are challenged by the god of games to chess and are victorious. As a result, the god summons them to Disboard, a reality which revolves around games. Intent on maintaining their reputation as the undefeated gamers, Sora and Shiro plan to conquer the sixteen ruling species and to usurp the god of games... NGNL is a series of light novels, of which 6 have been translated (PDFs can be found here, or bought legally at any online bookstore). The No Game No Life anime can be found on Crunchyroll here. Request: The fact that Shiro and Sora literally cannot be separated from each other is one of the dynamics that I like about the series. I really enjoy codependent siblings as a Thing. So I would be happy if you played with that dynamic. Plotty gen for this series would be great-- it's always fun when one of them is much better than the other or they have to separate and execute plans while relying solely on the intuition of what their sibling will do. Alternately, someone kidnapping Sora and Shiro having to play a game to get him back while they both battle their inability to get anything done alone... I'd love background on them, where they tried to separate or were forced to separate and failed to function, or where one or the other tried to interact with other people (maybe a gamer who tracked them down) but were either terrible at it, the other one quietly sabotaged the budding relationship,  or the third person got way too freaked out by the way Sora and Shiro act around each other. Future fic would also be great-- King/Queen Blank or even the Gods Blank, after they've beaten Tet. What does that look like? What kind of world are they making for themselves and each other? I ship them, but do not expect other people to, so if you want to write shippy fic (with aged up Shiro!!!) for them, I will be surprised but happy. I will happily admit to wanting kinky sex games. Extra Details: For reference, I've read through volume 8 of the light novel, watched the anime and the movie. I am not precious about spoilers for this series, so feel free to use later information. I know this series isn't everyone's cup of tea, with the sheer amount of fanservice and Sora's utterly otaku personality and the pseudo-incest thing with the 12 year old. Personally, as is probably obvious from the request, I'm less interested in the fanservicey characters, and much more about the dynamics of Shiro and Sora's relationship. I love the way they know exactly what the other is capable of and trust each other completely and whole-heartedly. Whether you write something small and domestic or big and plotty, for me the core of NGNL is that they love, care and respect each other in a way that is beautiful but also extremely unhealthy. If you want to go the shippy route, again, Shiro needs to be aged up appropriately-- it's always been interesting to me that Sora understands that it is inappropriate to sexualize his underage adopted sister, while Shiro goes out of her way to help sexualize other women for Sora's entertainment. There's a part of me that wonders if she's planning ahead for when she is old enough to be an "appropriate" (in age, if nothing else) sexual partner and is trying to get Sora to lose his virginity ahead of time. selector infected WIXOSS: Aoi Akira, Igarashi Rumi | UlithThe Series: WIXOSS is a popular trading card game in which players battle against each other with fighters known as LRIGs, using cards to support them. Certain LRIGs are able to communicate with their owners, and the girls chosen to wield them are known as "Selectors". Selectors are given the chance to have any wish granted by winning battles against other Selectors, but should they lose three times, their wish will be reversed into a curse instead. The main series, selector infected WIXOSS, follows a girl named Ruko Kominato, who becomes a Selector after receiving an LRIG that she names Tama. As she and various other Selectors battle it out for the sake of their wish, Ruko finds herself drawn into the dark, sinister world of WIXOSS, discovering that, win or lose, there is always a price to pay. The anime can be found on Funimation here Request: So, you know how in my "general likes" I said I don't like "gratuitous angst"? In this fandom, there is no such thing as "gratuitous". Darkfic is absolutely welcome here. The thing I am most interested in here is the manipulative, awful relationship that Akira has with Ulith-as-Iona. Like, I love them all, and for some reason in this fandom, that comes out to "please break them". Exploring their adult lives and how their relationships and the Wixoss game affected them in the future would be amazing. What else happened to them? What are their careers like? What are their home lives like? Are they... living together? Does some sort of magic continue to be a theme in their lives? Feel free to write in-universe plot or no-powers universe, or some horrible Madoka or Yurikuma Arashi  or other magical girl thing, where they can all be horribly manipulative lesbians together because that's magical and wonderful. OTOH, if you want to write codependent-but-vaguely-functional adult Akira and Iona/Ulith being horrible assholes and having adventures of some sort (magic, detectives, idk) that is ALSO A+. I mean, I like happy endings, and if you can come up with something heartwarming (or "heartwarming") I'm not going to complain. Extra Details: Evil lesbians are Problematic, I know. But Akira was one of my favorite characters from the word go and (if you're paying attention to my fandoms as a whole) I really really like codependent or unhealthy relationships. I love her love/hate relationship with Iona and with Ulith, and the way those two characters sort of get mixed up for Akira specifically. If you want to play with Iona and Ulith's personalities and interactions as well, that would also be pretty fun. I'm also down for other types of AUs, like they have to get their shit together and track down someone who is killing Selectors, or they become selectors as adults and not girls. I know they're young, but given that this is a super-fucking dark canon, I am totally cool with dubiously consensual sex either on or off-screen. FANDOM: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers | Ronin Warriors (Shuu Rei Fuan | Kento Rei Fang, Mouri Shin | Cye Mouri) The Series: Ronin Warriors, known in Japan as Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (lit. "Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers"), is a Japanese anime series and manga adaptation created by Hajime Yatate. It's the story of five teenage boys, given mystical armor to protect the world from the evil Arago. 1000 years ago, Arago nearly succeeded in taking over the human world when Kaosu managed to defeat him. Although Arago's soul is banished to the demon world, his armor is left intact. Kaosu divided the armor into nine separate armor suits. Each armor will choose its bearer, and together they will fight Arago. At least that was the original intent... Although Arago manages to corrupt four sets of the armor, the last five remain safe. It's a bit like Power Rangers, only grounded in more serious traditional Japanese cultural trappings. Being created in the 80s, the art style is a little wonky, but it's an enjoyable thriller and is somewhat more focused and serious than a lot of sentai shows. The anime can be found on Crunchyroll here Request: I love Shuu/Shin with Shin being snarktastic and Shuu being smug and solid and dependable. I used to frequent the Minkland archive back when this fandom still kinda existed, and was forever disappointed that the skinny pretty boys got tons and tons of fic and Shuu was just sort of there in the background. (If you used to read Mink and Jink's fic, I will be so happy I could cry if I got that sort of cracked-out porny fic with Shuu, okay. Due to that formative influence, if you want to GO FOR THE AU, GO FOR IT WITH GUSTO. I've always wanted nanshoku/samurai AU. Or, you know, hooker fic, or dark!troopers fic, or harem fic or something like that. I also like found-family fic, gen-ish mysteries and adventures-- more fighting Massive Cosmic Evil, and curtainfic. Futurefic is also awesome, where they get on with their lives, maybe together or maybe trying to keep their friendships intact when there's no massive Cosmic Evil to keep them close. Extra Details: If you used to read Mink and Jink's fic, I will be so happy I could cry if I got that sort of cracked-out porny, possibly AU fic with Shuu, okay Fics I especially enjoyed from that archive: The Grand One The Clit Club Chronicles The Harem Vinyl Wagashi Cherry Zima Threesome Theater of Magic Due to that formative influence, if you want to GO FOR THE AU, GO FOR IT WITH GUSTO. I've always wanted nanshoku/samurai AU (see this image). Or, you know, hooker fic, or dark!troopers fic, or harem fic or something like that. My usual ships are Shin/Shuu, Shin/Ryo, Touma/Seiji and Ryo/Nasuti. But I multiship and am willing to run with anything-- I'm a Sex With All Teammates sort of person, so fivesomes and alternate pairings are not a problem for me. Dragon Prince Trilogy - Melanie Rawn: Ianthe of Princemarch, Sioned of River Run The Series: To blatantly steal someone else's review on Amazon: "Melanie Rawn created a world and a people that gives everything you could possibly want in a fantasy world. It gives love, hate, peace, war, magic, royalty, commoners, children to take over the next generation and best of all; dragons." I want to say "if this wasn't the matched fandom you should go out and read them right the fuck now', because I have read these books So Many Times.  They're high fantasy novels about politics and the prince of a desert and magical people who communicate via sunlight and can conjure fire. AND DRAGONS. Also a lot of interpersonal and romantic maneuverings. It's a high fantasy politics and romance romp of somewhere ~550 pages. If that sounds interesting to you, pretty much every used bookstore I have ever been to has at least one copy of these books. I think they spawn on bookshelves or something. The books are also available in ebook form here (Kindle) and here (Nook) for 3 bucks. Please read them. (TW for rape in the first book) The Request: I love everything this series chooses to be. It's fun and cheesy and fantasy, which the best thing in the world. I've always thought that Ianthe had a serious hate-crush on Sioned and part of the reason she was so vicious and fucked up was that whole "you must marry a guy and expand the empire or your useless" thing when maybe she didn't want to do that. Ianthe's always been one of my favorite characters because she's brilliant and ruthless and clearly takes joy in clever plans that go well. Of course, being the villain in a cheesy fantasy, she got no depth whatsoever, aside from that whole sexually liberated, taking male consorts thing (which is AWESOME, okay.) Sioned is also awesome and brilliant and kick ass. Her hesitance in the first book while she decided what she really wanted to do was pretty great, as was the fact that she promptly made friends with Tobin and pretty much every character not designated "villain". It seems like up through Ianthe's death, they're playing a game of brinkmanship. (Which isn't to say I don't like Sioned and Rohan together. They're bookTP and totally awesome.) As for prompts, I normally prefer plotty fic to introspection. I feel like the whole sunrunner thing lends itself well to espionage, so political thriller, or murder mysteries or something would be great. If you want to do plot-what-plot involving these two-- either sex or just the sort of dancing around/pigtail pulling that would be great. Threesomes with Rohan-- also acceptable! Hell, if you want to do an AU where they end up together instead of Sioned marrying Rohan-- or alternately, an AU end to the trilogy, where Ianthe never died in the fire and ends up taking over as High Princess and making the Desert monarchs' lives hell and discovering her powers. Or something where she knew about her powers all along. Or Sioned, I don't know, realizing she kind of did think Ianthe was attractive. I also really enjoy Pandsala, but I didn't find her dynamic with Sioned and Rohan quite as engaging, even though she also did some bad-ass stuff in the long run. Her weird push and pull backstabby, politicized sisterly thing was interesting, though. Extra Details: Okay, like I said, I think this series is the cheesiest fantasy series in the WORLD and in a lot of ways it's one of my first nostalgia fandoms. If you haven't read them, they are kind of ridiculously long (Like, GRR Martin-long), but they're quick reads despite that and rather less depressing than a lot of high fantasy. It's silly in the way that "adult fantasy" that takes itself way too seriously can be. A lot of the main protagonists actively enjoy each others' company and that's as much integral to the book as the politics and dragon-slaying. That said, I kinda asked for a semi-serious plotty story. But if you want to run with the "it's cheesy fantasy" and want to write about Ianthe rescuing princesses or Sioned running away to be a knight and abducting Ianthe away from her toxic father, or something silly, I say get down with your nerd self and run with it. I've only read parts of the second trilogy, and the second generation aren't really very interesting to me. If you want to write future-fic, I would prefer that it continues to focus on the original generation (no matter how much I love Andry, Pol just seems like kind of a jerk).

House of M - New X-Men: Academy X: Any The Series: I'm surprised it took me so long to nominate and request this fandom. I love New X-Men and was GUTTED when Decimation forced them into killing off so many of the characters. If you've never read it, New X-Men: Academy X was an X-Man title in the mid-00's, focusing on entirely new students at Xavier's Academy, being taught by the more established characters. Some of the New X-Men have managed to escape and become general Marvel characters in their own rights (David Alleyne, for example), but for the most part, they were just teenagers at school who rarely got caught up in larger plots. 616 New X-Men were about teenagers fighting, and coming to grips with the fact that they're being raised and taught to go sacrifice themselves for a Greater Goal. They're all wonderfully, horribly traumatized teenagers with powers. The plots were fleshed out and realistic, and when they weren't they were still interesting or fun. This request isn't technically for that. It's for the House of M megacrossover from 2009. Wanda Maximoff, mutant reality shifter and sometimes-crazy-lady, decided that mutants should run the world. SO THEY DID. And suddenly the lives of our young students become very different. Half of them after still "New Mutants", working towards peace, and the others are "Hellions", SHIELD trainees in a violently anti-homo-sapien state system. I've always felt that House of M as a narrative concept has been dismissed too easily by Marvel fans, because there are so many pieces of worldbuilding left unbuilt. I'm most interested in seeing it from the eyes of younger participants who are being trained or have been trained for their places. What does that world look like? New X-Men: Academy X can be found online here: https://viewcomics.me/comic/new-x-men-2004. The House of M crossover runs for issues 16-19. The Request: There's a lot here to play with because the authors never really got to play in either the Academy X OR the House of M sandboxes long enough to do all of their ideas justice. So I'm going to lay out some of the stuff I liked most about NXM in general and HoM in particular. The nom is for HoM, but I think HoM is most interesting in conversation with the standard 616 universe, alongside having the fun YA action stuff and the complicated interpersonal relationships. For example: in 616 Josh joined the Reavers and pretended not to be a mutant until he was confronted with Laurie nearly dying. I can imagine a bunch of different scenarios for House of M that would lead to where we see Josh and Laurie in the HoM comics (Laurie undercover with the New Mutants, and Josh working as an interrogator alongside Kevin). Laurie's introversion in 616 juxtaposed against her brazen treachery and clear control over her skills in HoM. HoM shows Kevin in a full decontamination suit, but we know in 616 that his ability is blocked by wearing synthetic fibers (I imagined this to be a interrogator scare tactic, but it could be any number of other things). Kevin and Josh's relationship in 616 is fraught, especially with Josh's previous experiences with anti-mutant activists and the fact that Kevin killed his father when his powers manifested. But they seemed to work together well in HoM. And speaking of Kevin-- how did his powers manifesting actually pan out in a universe where mutants aren't seen as a threat? I have to wonder whether there's some concept of "acceptable casualties" because some peoples' powers clearly manifest first in dangerous situations. Alternatively: Fluffy Josh/Kevin with a backdrop of torture, murder and state violence. I ship mostly Josh/Kevin because rivals-to-lovers and boy-who-kills-anything-he-touches/boy-who-cannot-be-killed is Great For Me. I also love the abuse of powers and manipulation involved in being interrogators/torturers(/murderers?) for the House of Magneto. They work together, they hurt people together, but maybe they also... smooch? THAT SAID! Adding Laurie to that ship is always a great way to fuck up and destabilize them! Especially in HoM, where we know she's already keeping secrets and can and WILL use her pheromones to fuck with people. And David! OH, DAVID. The only real New Mutant in this request. Does he have previous relationships with Josh and/or Kevin? I don't mind David/Noriko, but I also ship David with Kevin and Josh, and also Tommy and Teddy from Young Avengers, if you feel like exploring other parts of the HoM world. I have never considered David/Laurie before, but if you want to give it a whirl, I'm down. As for David-- His responses to state violence (as evidenced by the Hellions and SHIELD) are clearly different from the rest of the requested characters, and it would be interesting to explore David and his experience of this universe. Are his powers still restrained the same way? I know he supposedly dies at the end of the HoM mini-arc, but we never see them die, so feel free to write David managing to crawl off and plan to take down everything and everyone. A specific DNW for this fandom is Josh/Rahne. I don't mind the relationship having existed and impacting the characters, but only as a past relationship.

Extra Details:

SENSORY DETAILS. When it comes to magic and meta powers-- especially ones that aren't battle-oriented-- is what they feel like. What does it MEAN for David to be able to know anything someone else knows? What does the emptiness and fullness of it do to him? Josh's powers are all tactile and his body actively changes after trauma (in 616, first by turning him gold, then by creating black spots on his skin after he kills someone for the first time). Does his power always alter him, but usually in unnoticeable ways? What can he know and feel from a touch? Same for Kevin-- does withering sate a hunger, or make him feel worse? What would it feel like if he touched Josh? And Laurie... I'd love both her thought-process and the sensory details of what she's doing. Can she smell her own pheromones? Do they ever affect her? What does she feel like when she's manipulating people so subtly that they barely notice a passing smell? If you want to bring in other 616 knowledge and see what it looks like in HoM, that's cool. So is bringing in other HoM storylines. There's a throw-away line in Luke Cage's HoM crossover that the Runaways are known as an organized crime group. Cage himself runs a resistence cell (and given the end of the NXM crossover, David seems like he'd be willing to throw in with that lot). Young Avengers, the other New X-Men who weren't given much screentime in the HoM crossover-- I'd love any of that. Young Justice (Comics): Match, Tim Drake

The Series: Comics are confusing! This request is for the late-90s version of Young Justice by Peter David, which consisted of Robin, Impulse, Superboy, Arrowette, Secret, and Wonder Girl, along with others. It's very much a young-heroes-trying-to-make-their-way. Unlike the newer show, this Young Justice tended to be left on their own without much of a guiding hand. It was a very 90s comic, with very 90s fashion and a lot of nod-nod-wink-wink in-jokes. I love it because it's a series that always wore its humor on its sleeve. It's an affectionate look at young superheroes, and allowed them to react to teen problems alongside the more standard superhero tropes. There's the possibility for angst and darkness (and once they graduated to Teen Titans especially, that came up more), but they were allowed to be both hurt and upset AND fun and cheerful. The comics weren't available collected until last year (it took them TWENTY YEARS JFC), and it's well-worth buying from your local retailer, but you can also find them online here. The character I'm requesting first appeared in Superboy's solo series (starting in issue #35), which can be found here and again in the first volume of Young Justice: Sins of Youth. The Request: SO! I have always loved Match in the original YJ and Superboy comics, and the writers gave him really short shrift. We have a clone of Kon, who is as smart, if not smarter, can pretend to be Kon for extended periods of time— but every time he tries, people get hurt or die. I’ve always wondered how Tim felt that he literally couldn’t tell his best friend from an imposter. And then Match went and ran off and disappeared and no one ever seemed to consider what he was doing, after thousands of his/Kon’s siblings/clones were murdered essentially in front of him and the Agenda fell apart. (I’m not entirely surprised that Kon didn’t pay attention to all of those clones of him dying, but think about it from the standpoint of someone for whom those were supposed to be an army of his siblings. What a way to get survivor’s guilt.) Did Match go to Lex? It doesn’t seem like it, but given that as Kon’s clone, he’s technically Lex’s son too, it’s a possibility. Or alternately! He got himself out of the superhero game and did something else! What was it? I’d also love for a story about him wanting to be a super and have that family that Kon and Clark have, but being shut out of that world because he’s a “villain”. Or him getting that family after so long. Or him showing up at the Kents’ place because “fuck it, if Kon can have this, so can I” and it goes… well or poorly, depending on you. Or him finding his own family in a place that is separate from the who superhero thing, and Kon or Tim or Clark stumbling on him. Or Lex trying to use him— whether or not it works is up to you, although I’d love for it to touch on Match’s need to be part of something larger— after all, he was built and trained to be the vanguard for an army that was summarily murdered in front of him. Tim's refusal to even vaguely hint about his real identity during this time is fun too-- we have two boys who are both hiding their identities in different ways. It makes me wonder if Tim COULD have figured Match out, if the Sins of the Youth plotline didn't happen or was delayed somehow, because he seems to have all of the pieces of information. Or maybe Match-as-Kon was the only person Tim revealed part of his real name too, and has to deal with the ramifications of trust. Actually, Tim and the Issues Of Trust is the YA novel that I'd love to see Tim and Match (and Kon and the rest of YJ) star in. Bring back Mr Sarcastic (PLEASE bring back Mr Sarcastic) and Alvin Draper. Bring back the way that Tim hides by burrowing under identities and performances, and collects information on everyone he knows. I love detective stories and, out of all the Bats, Tim has always struck me as one of the best actual detectives, rather than crime-fighters. So Tim getting lost in a mystery will always make me happy. There's also something interesting about a group of young teens fighting for their own autonomy and identity. At this point in Tim's story, I think he was still thinking of the Robin thing as almost an extracurricular, and probably grappling with how hard it is on him physically, as well as mentally. So, I guess struggling for a coherent snse of self and agency are really interesting touchstones in this fandom. ALSO, MY DEEPLY HELD RARE PAIR FROM THE 90s: Tim/Match! See above, re: Match being present for Identity Crisis instead of Kon. I’d love Match to be trying to follow Kon’s footsteps re: Cassie, and being way more into Tim, which leads to Tim being confused and into Kon. Also any of the above prompts can include Tim (maybe Tim tries to help cushion a meeting between Match and Kon or Clark! Or maybe he just ends up Match’s sugar daddy. I’m down.) Although this request is ripe for dubious identity weirdness with Match pretending to be Kon, I'd really prefer that you focus on Match getting to be his own person, even if there's some pretending-to-be-Kon in there. Extra Details: This has been a lowkey love of mine for literally decades. My absolute favorite gift of all time was original pages from one of the Superboy issues where Match appears for the first time. And as I've grown older, my love for this rare, obscure character has deepened. Also, as I've grown older, I've begun to want more adult!Match, or growing up!Match just because the idea of growing up in the margins of superhero culture after everything that happened to him is really interesting. He was straight-up groomed and brainwashed, and then the Agenda was gone, so how did he cope? What is he doing now? What kind of adult does he make? This request is specifically for the mid-90s comic, so feel free to stick to that. But if you read the 2010-era Teen Titans and want to explore some later story choices-- like Match becoming Bizarro-like, Slade making him part of Titans East, or his fear that Jericho would hurt the Titans in his body, or save Match from Superboy-Prime, I'm not going to complain. (Personal headcanon time: I think Slade was trying to mind control Match with the same stuff he used on Rose, and it caused the Bizarro-like symptoms). I also love Elseworlds and mirror!verse stuff too. As I've said elsewhere in the letter, I really prefer Happily Ever After/Happily For Now stuff, and I prefer my bittersweet fics heavy on the sweetness. Please give Match the love and affection he's always deserved. But also, please feel free to make both Match and Tim HURT first.

#yuletide #dear yuletide author #no game no life #selector infected wixoss #wixoss #yoroiden samurai troopers #dragon prince #young justice #new xmen

[chojin-cu-chulain]

Power Rangers Thunder Summary

Once again there are spoilers Story: Lord Zedd is back having survived his last battle with the Rangers, and assuming physical form again. He banishes Rita for her failure, and takes control of their forces with new Z-Putties, and new monsters created by infusing random Earth objects with dark magic. His first act is to destroy the Dinozords then hold the Rangers hostage in the Dark Dimension where he recreates the Green Candle, and creates new Red, Black, Blue, Yellow, and Pink candles to drain the Rangers powers, and place them in the dark power crystal. Then he kidnaps Bulk, Skull, and their friends Rocko, Cindy, and Laurie, and brainwashes them to be his evil Dark Rangers using new Ranger powers created by the dark power crystal, and piloting the Dark Zords new Zords created from the remains of the Dinozords. Now the Rangers must save Bulk, and the others, and use the power of thunder to turn Zedd's evil powers, and Zords into the good Thunder Ranger powers, and Zords, and stop Zedd's new super monsters. And what of Zordon's own master who brings a prophecy that yet another Ranger will inherit Zordon's own Ranger powers to help the Rangers defeat Zedd, and his minions. Rangers: Jason Scott Ranger Form: Red Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Swords Zord: Dragon Age: 17 Bio: Jason is still practicing martial arts, and playing on Angel Grove high's sports team, he starts volunteering at helping young children with sports, and martial arts, and starts practicing with Ryan when he shows up. Zack Taylor Ranger Form: Green Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Mace Zord: Lion Age: 17 Bio: Zack is still the cool kid of the gang. He is finally going out with Angela which often forces him to hang out with her little brother Phill, and while they initially don't get along they put aside their differences for Angela, and later helps Millenia when she returns, He later starts hanging out with Rocky when he shows up. Billy Cranston Ranger Form: Blue Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Nunchucks Zord: Unicorn Age: 17 Bio: Billy is still the resident nerd of the team but is a lot more confident, and is still dating Margret which has gotten him involved in helping her in art, and with her, and Kim's Angel Scout troop. He also starts hanging out with Adam when he shows up. Trini Kwan Ranger Form: Yellow Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Whip Zord: Griffin Age: 17 Bio: Trini is still helping with various clubs, and charities in Angel Grove. She is now dating a boy named Richie who is working at the Ernie's, and later starts hanging out with Aisha when she shows up. Kimberly Hart Ranger Form: Pink Thunder Ranger Weapon: Thunder Spear Zord: Phoenix Age: 17 Bio: Kimberly is still the most popular girl at school, and is still practicing gymnastics. She also volunteers to help Margret with her Angel Scout troop, and starts hanging out with Aisha when she shows up. Ryan Steele Ranger Form: White Thunder Ranger Weapon: Saba Zord: Tiger Age: 16 Bio: A new kid who moves from Stone Canyon to Angel Grove. He befriends the Rangers, and starts practicing with Jason. He starts having visions of becoming a Ranger himself which are realized when he finds Zordon's old weapon Saba, and inherits his previous powers as the White Ranger to fight Zedd's new monsters. Allies Zordon of Eltar Age: 30,000,000(looks 60) Bio: The Ranger's mentor he helps them convert Zedd's evil Dark Ranger powers, and Zords into the good Thunder Ranger powers, and Zords when his own mentor Bookalah returns he reveals that he was once a Ranger himself in his younger days, and accepts Ryan as the heir to his powers. Alpha 5 Age: 10,000,000(acts 12) Bio: Zordon, and the Rangers' robotic companion he still runs the command center for them. His friendship with the Rangers, and their friends inspires him to try to experience life outside the command center but this sometimes puts him into danger from Zedd, and his minions. Rocky DeSantos Age: 16 Bio: One of Ryan's best friends from Stone Canyon he and their friends Adam, and Aisha are kidnapped by Zedd but rescued by the Rangers at the cost of learning their real identities. He is fun loving, and loves to eat, and starts hanging out with Zack Adam Park Age: 16 Bio: Another one of Ryan's friends from Stone Canyon who is also kidnapped by Zedd, and learns the Rangers identities. Like Billy he is initially shy, but later gains confidence from hanging out with Billy, and practicing martial arts with the others Aisha Campbell Age: 16 Bio: Like Rocky, and Adam she is one of Ryan's friends from Stone Canyon who learns the Ranger's identities after being rescued from Zedd. Like Kimberly she loves fashion, and she loves animals like Trini which leads to the three of them hanging out. Bookala Age: Unknown Bio: Zordon's own mentor he comes to Earth to inform that he has restored Zordon's previous Ranger powers, and to give the Rangers Saba, and the Thunder Daggers, and later gives them the Power Cannon, and Tor the Shuttle Zord Millenia Age: 30,000,000 Bio: A kind, and powerful sorceress she returns from the mystical forest to help the Rangers fight Rita when she returns. Being trapped on the Island of Illusion for millions of years makes her tempted to get revenge on Rita but the Rangers help her make the right choice. Villains Lord Zedd Age: 10,000,000(looks 40) Bio: Zedd has survived his previous battle with the Rangers, and returns assuming physical form. He uses his dark magic to create new Z-Putties, and new monsters by infusing random objects with dark magic. He later has Squatt, and Baboo bring back Thrax, and when Rita returns he falls in love with her again. Goldar Age: Unknown Bio: Zedd's strongest minion he still fights the Rangers alongside Scorpina though he sometimes takes time to help her raise their son Glork though that hasn't lessened his ruthlessness or power, and is still a force to be reckoned with Scorpina Age: Unknown Bio: Goldar's wife, and his other most powerful minion. Like him she has to take time to raise their son Glork but is still a powerful adversary who can give the Rangers a run for their money. Finster Age: Unknown Bio: Once Zedd, and Rita's monster maker he is now reduced to focusing his energy on making Z-Putties for Zedd now that Zedd makes his own monsters, and is starting to feel obsolete around the palace. Squatt, and Baboo Age: Unknown Bio: Zedd's bumbling henchmen they accidentally discover the gate to the Underworld which allows Zedd to resurrect Thrax again. Thrax Age: 10,000,000(looks 10) Bio: Zedd, and Rita's son he is resurrected again by Squat, and Baboo around the time Ryan becomes the White Ranger after Zedd discovers the gat to the Underworld. Still as nasty as ever he enjoys treating the Rangers as his personal playthings to destroy. Rita Repulsa Age: 10,000,000(looks 30) Bio: An evil, and powerful sorceress, and the wife of Zedd, and the mother of Thrax she is banished by Zedd for her repeated failures to destroy the Rangers, and Earth. She later returns rejuvenating herself, and uses a potion to get Zedd to fall for her again Mondo the Magnificent Age: 10,000,000(looks 40) Bio: An old ally of Rita, and Zedd's from when they first turned evil. He is strong, and powerful but overplays his strength, and intelligence which leads him to his plans being undone by the Rangers. Changes: The Rangers switch over to the Dairanger suits when they get the Thunderzords. Lord Zedd is Shaddam from Dairanger but his actual suit from the show is used as a power armor he wears to fight the Rangers in American footage. Thrax, and Rita return as Akomaru, and Galra respectfully. Bookala is more of a recurring ally, and takes a position similar to Grandmaster Yufang from Dairanger Kujaku is adapted as a new form for Millenia The Mutiny, Green No More, and Missing Green are merged into a single 2 or 3 part episode that has Pipe Brain as the monster with Tube Monster being an upgraded form of Pipe Brain for the Megazord fight. Ryan Steele is the White Ranger in reference to how Brad Hawkins was originally going to be the White Ranger before they brought back Tommy Rocky, Adam, and Aisha don't replace Jason, Zack, and Trini because I liked it when they were friends of the Rangers who knew their identities, and I want to save them being rangers for Zeo. Bulk, and Skull's friends Rocko, and Cindy are based on a nameless girl character who showed up in Teamwork, and Food Fight who I thought could be an "evil" Kimberly, and a nameless guy character from Food Fight who I thought could be an "evil" Zack. Laurie is based on the actual Dark Yellow from Power Rangers since I thought there should be an "evil" Trini. Mondo The Magnificent who was a one time monster from Power Rangers based on Shadam is adapted into the American version of Zydo though he would still be voiced by Mike Reynolds, and he shows up around the time Rita comes back. Like in Dino for Zyuranger monsters that were good or became good in Dairanger are also good or become good. There will be chapters/episodes for unused Dairanger monsters. Certain episodes will be split into two episodes, or changed around. For instance Two for One is split into two episodes a Billy focus episode where Pursehead is the monster, and a Kimblery, and Ryan focus one where Lipsyncher is the monster. The Power Rangers version of Bird Cage Vagabond is the monster of Blue Ranger Gone bad because his Dairanger episode was a Tenma Ranger focus episode, and Vase can have a different episode. All the various time travel, and alternate dimension episodes are condensed into my version of The Wedding, and all the Dairanger monsters from them will have their own stand alone episodes. There will be a season finale based on Dairanger's finale about Lord Zedd getting his hands on a magic crystal based on the Great Earth Shaking Jewel to give himself, and Serpentera unlimited power. The Cotpotros are adapted as the Z-Putties because I wanted to adapt them, and I didn't like the actual Z-Putties because I thought their weakness of getting hit by a Z on the chest was kind of dumb. 

#Power Rangers #fanfiction

[jarienn972]

Only a Little Superstitious - Chapter 19

Slowly trying to get caught up and update a few of my WIPs.  I posted this most recent chapter on both FF.net and AO3 yesterday, but I didn’t have time to upload to Tumblr until tonight.

This chapter picks up a few minutes after Killian and Emma escape from the hospital before Kronk could locate them but now questions remain about whether this was their best decision and if they’re still staying ahead of the surprisingly resourceful Nehemiah Kronk.

From the beginning: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18

Despite Emma's suggestion that a motel would be the best place for them to hide out for the night, Grandmother Bending Willow would hear nothing of it, insisting that Emma and the still ailing Killian return to her home. Emma wisely came to the realization that it was pointless to argue with the elder woman and graciously accepted the offer, secretly thankful for the assistance Grandmother could provide to Killian as well. The pirate dozed most of the way to the mobile home park while Emma kept an anxious watch behind them, worried Kronk might be right on their tail. Thankfully, as Carlos made the last turn into the trailer park, there was no one following.

Once they arrived at Grandmother's house, it was no easy feat to get Killian from the vehicle into the home, especially since this time, he could barely stand by himself, let alone walk. Carlos and Joseph finally agreed that the easiest way would be to shift Killian from the SUV seat into the wheelchair that Tim had allowed them to borrow, then lift chair and all through the doorway - which they knew from the challenges the paramedics had encountered with the gurney a few days ago was going to be a rather tight fit. It was an awkward process for Carlos and Joseph and a jarring ordeal for Killian, but somehow, they managed to get the wounded man inside and settled into Grandmother's recliner. She had her living room all prepared with pillows, sheets, and blankets waiting so they wouldn't have to struggle trying to get all the way back to the guest bedroom. An additional stack of bedding graced the sofa as well so Emma could remain close to Killian without them both fighting the narrow confines of the bedroom either.

Emma didn't even know why she'd been surprised to discover the huge pot of soup simmering on the stove for lunch. All she knew was that it smelled amazing and she was beyond grateful. However horrible the circumstances had been that had brought them to Arizona, Emma would be forever thankful for the gracious twist of fate that had introduced these amazing people into their lives.

Grandmother kept the lunch conversation light, sensing Emma's tension as the younger woman seemed distant. Emma kept a watchful eye on Killian as she ate her soup, his shaky hand losing some of the broth as he brought the spoon to his mouth. He was already frustrated enough with his own condition that she tried to allow him this dignity of feeding himself - even if he only managed a few spoonfuls before pushing the bowl away and dropping the spoon onto the tray resting across his lap. He hadn't really eaten much in the past few days (with the exception of a few sips of broth the previous evening and two or three bites of something resembling runny oatmeal that morning) so no one had really expected Killian to have much of an appetite.

After lunch, Grandmother insisted that everyone give Killian some peace and quiet and allow him some rest. So, while she stacked the lunch dishes in the sink to wash later, Emma got her husband comfortable, draping one of the brightly colored wool blankets over his legs and giving him a quick, almost chaste kiss on the lips. Killian returned a faint, exhausted smile as he closed his eyes, sleep ready to overtake him any moment.

Before they were allowed to begin discussing the day's events and plotting the next step, Grandmother ushered Emma and Carlos out of the house, intending to inspect Killian's bandages without an audience and without disrupting him. Of course, that wasn't her only motivation as she hovered above her patient.

"There is no need to keep secrets," Grandmother stated as she pressed the back of her hand to Killian's forehead, noting the warmth of his skin. "Does Emma know that the fever and tremors are returning?" She tapped a bony index finger against his hand.

"I've not said anything, but I would assume she suspects it," Killian replied. "I didn't wish to worry her more than necessary but had she asked, I would have blamed the fever on the stress of relocating from the hospital room and the tremors would easily be explained with the same."

"The symptoms may be manageable now, but you should be honest," she chided him. "For now – sleep. When you wake, should you need it, I'll prepare something for the pain - and then you should tell your wife that the potion is wearing off. We will have to keep a close watch on your symptoms, but I will remain hopeful that the progress will be slower this time."

"Aye – this time…," Killian grumbled, although the grin that crossed his face as he tried hard not to chuckle betrayed him. He winced at the discomfort in his chest from the tiny guffaw that escaped.

Grandmother's dark eyes smiled back at him, but she was all business. "Rest," she ordered. "I'll be nearby should you need assistance."

Outside of the cozy, yellow mobile home, Emma took a minuscule sip from a bottle of water as she and Carlos strolled down Grandmother's street to the park's picnic area at the end of the cul-de-sac. She stepped up on the bench and levered herself up to sit on the table top while Carlos chose to remain standing, although he leaned his weight against the light pole. While the picnic area was out in the open, it was rarely utilized so it offered some semblance of privacy, allowing them to speak freely without fear of prying eyes.

"Okay," Emma began, absentmindedly tapping her boot heel against the withering pine bench. "Now that we can discuss this, you said earlier that you found the cavern with the portal symbol?"

"I sure did," Carlos replied with a smile. "Look – I took some photos of the glyphs on the cave walls." He pulled his phone out of his pant pocket and opened up the device's photo gallery. "They're not exactly perfect because of the light in there, but here – you can see that swirly one and it looks exactly like the one on the dagger's handle…"

Emma swiped through the photographs in the phone's memory, eyes wide with hope now that they could definitively match the symbols. This cavern had to be the spot where they could activate the portal. "So, I guess my next questions should be – where exactly is this cave and how do we get to it?"

"It's up in the Superstition Mountains, on the northwestern edge of Lost Dutchman State Park," Carlos replied as he fished a rolled paper tube out of his jacket's interior pocket. "It's just a few miles from that way station where I found the two of you."

"That was some pretty rough terrain," Emma recalled.

"I'm not gonna lie, it is," Carlos responded as he unfurled a detailed map of the Tonto National Forest across the top of the picnic table. Emma shifted her position to get a better look at the image, recognizing it as being nearly identical to the one she'd seen on the desk in the tiny Ranger way station cabin. Carlos stabbed his index finger onto an area that was near the center of the map. "This is where the way station is located…" He then tapped his finger on the map again to indicate another place. "This here is where the cavern is located," he explained as he then drew his fingertip along a dotted line that indicated the border of the state park. "This area here encompasses Lost Dutchman State Park so as you can see, the cave is in a fairly desolate, remote location."

His finger slid across the map's surface about an inch and a half to a thin, dark line that Emma assumed indicated a road. "This is the service road that heads into that part of the park. We can take it to here…" He traced the road with his fingertip to a spot where it intersected a faint dashed line. "This is as far as we can go by car. We'll have to hike the rest of the way and it's about two and a half miles. I made it from the road to the cave in about an hour, but obviously, it won't be as easy with your husband in tow."

"Yeah, I don't imagine that the trail is gonna be wheelchair accessible…," she deadpanned, still unsure of that aspect of their plan.

"I have something we can use for transport, but no matter what, it will still slow us down and obviously, we're under a time crunch here."

Emma sighed as she leaned forward, resting her elbows atop her knees as her hands cupped her jaw. "We've got one day left in the Blood Moon window – assuming that timeline can be believed. Plus, the potion is gonna start wearing off soon – if it hasn't already… We don't know how long it might be until Killian is completely incapacitated again."

"I know, but we're going to have to wait until first light," Carlos said, much to Emma's chagrin, but he continued with his reasoning. "By the time we'd get supplies together and get up there, it would be getting dark when we reached the cave. I don't want to be up there in the dark."

"Me either," Emma reluctantly agreed. "This trek is going to be difficult enough as it is, but you're sure you have a way for us to safely transport Killian?"

"Yes, I'm sure, but we're also going to have to watch the weather. There's a cold front moving in overnight that's supposed to spawn scattered thunderstorms and I can say for a fact that they're far more likely to flare up over those mountains than here in the Valley. Rain and the mud it would create would definitely hamper our progress, and if we do get thunderstorms, it probably won't be safe to go out there at all. Grandmother would tell you that no Navajo wants to take any chances with lightning."

"Well, there's one advantage to the possibility of thunderstorms – they possess an abundance of magical energy that I can draw from. I'll need every bit I can muster to repair that dagger and to then open up the portal with it. I just hope that Grandmother was right when she said that those mountains contain remnants of hidden magic too."

"I've never had reason to doubt her," Carlos chuckled. "If she says there's magic up there, it's there."

"Alright, then let's start getting a list together of what we'll need for tomorrow."

With one brief call to directory assistance, Nehemiah Kronk had a contact phone number for the National Park Service local field office in Scottsdale as well as a street address. He pondered his options for a few minutes, finally deciding that his best first approach would be to call the office. Certainly, they would have some way of forwarding a call or at least a method to leave a message for Ranger C. Littlecreek.

Dialing the number, Kronk silently cursed the automated answering system as he never knew which combination of prompts would lead him to an actual human – assuming any really did. Most of the prompts sounded like redirects to pre-recorded, informational blurbs such as park hours, rules, and regulations. But, after suffering through the lengthy messages, he at last heard a prompt asking him to press the 9 button if he needed additional assistance. Perhaps this would get him in contact with an actual person.

"Parks Service, Scottsdale office," came the woman's voice on the other end of the phone line. "How may I direct your call?"

"Ah, hello Miss," Kronk pretended to stumble with his words as he replied to the female voice. "I'm really hoping you might be able to provide a little help… I was out hiking a few days ago out at Lost Dutchman Park and had a bit of an accident... Ranger Littlecreek was such a huge assistance to me and I wanted to give proper thanks."

"Well, Ranger Littlecreek isn't in the office, but if you'd like, I'll be happy to connect you to his voicemail. If he's within range of a tower, the call connects to his cell phone, otherwise it will go straight to his voicemail."

"That would be lovely. Thank you so much!" Kronk replied, trying to keep his fake tone sounding pleasant and gracious as he was now one giant step closer to locating the Sheriff and the pirate.

"I hate to repeat myself here, but are you absolutely certain that there's a way to get Killian up to that cavern?" Emma asked as she stared at Carlos' map, trying to imagine the terrain they were to encounter tomorrow. When they'd been so unceremoniously dropped out of the portal, Killian had at least been able to walk.

"Trust me – I've got that covered," Carlos assured her. "It won't be graceful, and it probably won't be very comfortable, but it'll do the job."

"I suppose you're the wilderness expert around here, so I guess I'll have to believe that."

"I promise you, it's less of a stretch than me believing that Captain Hook is actually sleeping in Grandmother's recliner," he retorted.

"Touché," Emma laughed, preparing to ask another question when Carlos' phone began to ring, its blaring musical ringtone catching them both by surprise. He yanked the phone out of his pocket to silence it, glancing at the display screen as he did.

"It's a forwarded call from the field office," he explained as he squelched the sound. "Don't recognize the caller though. I'll let it roll to voicemail."

"No, it's okay," Emma replied. "It's probably important if they're forwarding it to you on your day off."

"Okay, okay... Excuse me a moment then…," he apologized as he took a few steps away from the picnic table while answering the call. "Ranger Littlecreek here. What can I do for you?"

"Ranger Littlecreek," a deep, masculine voice repeated his name in his ear. "I believe you may be able to assist me…" There was a momentary pause before the voice continued. "Where is Sheriff Emma?"

Stunned at the mention of Emma's name, Carlos fell silent before asking for clarification. "Sheriff Emma? Who is this?"

"My name is Nehemiah Kronk. If you know the Sheriff as well as I believe you do, you should already know who I am."

"Unfortunately, I do," Carlos growled, now taking a defensive posture while his brain tried to process how Kronk might have learned his identity and phone number. "What the hell do you want?"

"I want to know where the Sheriff is. Since she had a package delivered to your address, I'm well aware that you are in contact with her and I need to speak to her."

"And what makes you think that I'll give you that information?" Carlos asked, his raised voice garnering Emma's attention. "As a sworn officer of the law, I'll be damned if I'll give you any information about the Sheriff's whereabouts!"

At the loudly mentioned title Sheriff, Emma realized who Carlos was speaking to. She had no inkling as to how Kronk had managed to get Carlos' number, but this was her battle. "Give me the phone," she ordered as Carlos vehemently shook his head No. "Please – just give me the phone. I know it's Kronk." Carlos frowned as he begrudgingly relinquished the phone to Emma, passing the device to her with a look that seemed to warn her against talking to this man, but Carlos also wasn't about to argue with her either.

"Hello, Kronk," Emma greeted him, trying to disguise the trace of fear in her voice with irritation. "What the hell do you want? I know you've been looking all over greater Phoenix for us, but this city has gotten a bit bigger than it was in your time…"

"So, you know who I really am?" Kronk responded, unfazed that Emma would have learned of his history. "Then you should know that you have something I need, Sheriff." His tone clearly mocked her irritability. "I intend to track you down to recover my property."

"Good luck with that," she scoffed. "If you had any idea where we were, you wouldn't be wasting your time calling. I don't know what you want from us, but we'll be long gone from here long before you find us…"

"I just want to get home, too," Kronk insisted. "And you have something I need to do that."

"The dagger won't help you travel back in time," she stated as Carlos' ears perked up with mention of the weapon. Did Kronk know that the dagger had been in the package somehow?

"Do you really think that's what I want to do?" Kronk laughed into her ear. "Why would I want to go back to that backward time? And the dagger itself is useless right now - which is why I left it back in your quaint little town. Unless it's whole, it isn't any good to either of us."

Kronk's words had the cogs churning inside her mind. They'd already established that it had to have been the dagger – specifically Killian's blood activating the dagger's magic – that opened the portal. Kronk had left it behind intentionally because it was broken. And it was broken because the tip snapped off when it struck Killian's spine. In an instant, it all fit - Kronk was after the missing piece of the blade and there was no way in hell she was going to hand it over.

"You still have no idea where to find us," she responded as she at last was able to put the missing piece of motive into place.

"I may not know your exact location, but I know who you are with, so it's only a matter of time until I find you both," Kronk insisted, exuding more confidence than he really should've had.

"Goodbye, Kronk," she spat as she disconnected the call, her hand trembling as she returned the phone to its owner.

"You okay?" Carlos asked her, fully understanding her unease with the call and of course, the caller.

"You think there's any chance that he knows where we are?" she wondered.

"That's pretty unlikely," Carlos assured her. "It was a forwarded call from the field office so he doesn't actually have my cell phone number and no one there is going to give out my personal information like that number or my address. Even if he happened to stumble upon it, he's not going to learn anything about Grandmother, so you're safe here. There are only a handful of people who know we're here and I trust every single one of them."

"Alright – you've made me feel a little better," she replied with a ghost of a smile on her lips. "But honestly, I would feel a whole lot better right now if we got out of the open."

"I'm sure he has absolutely no idea where to find you," he insisted, hoping to convince her that they were safe. "It's probably far more dangerous to risk Grandmother's wrath if we wake your husband too soon." He'd meant that statement to lighten the mood, but he couldn't say that he was any less concerned about the situation himself. He almost wanted to suggest making the trek up to the mountain tonight, but thankfully, common sense prevailed as he knew they still had preparations to make. He was determined to see his friends make it home, but they had to do this the right way, and at the moment, getting Grandmother's counsel was a necessity.

Tagging my story followers @killian-whump and @hookaroo for the latest chapter and yes, ladies, there will be more whump coming very soon!

#cs ff #cs fan fiction #cs fan fic #captain swan ff #only a little superstitious

[choate88sivertsen-blog]

Secret Benefits Of Utilizing A Lift Table.

Serena Styles is a Colorado-based writer that specializes in food, health and wellness as well as fitness. In addition to a month-to-month charge, health clubs normally bill an extra initiation charge. To take control of a health club you need to lower its stature to absolutely no by defeating its inhabitants. A nice idea, however in method - at the very least when I tried it years ago - equally as you come to organize a lift you begin bothering with the opportunity that your potential participant will certainly be a mass killer or something. Some gyms currently use workout machines that will remind you of your most recent lifting weight when you get in a personalized code. With a soft frown Diona thought of just exactly how rich the Dranias' were, awkward with the degree of riches she was seeing. Require time to discover the benefits and drawbacks of every type of Interlocking Rubber Flooring ceramic tiles as well as the outcome would certainly be a terrific house gym floor. However I also understand that the process is more vital compared to the objective I'm mosting likely to enjoy this one, yet I'll be back in the gym on Monday. Fitness centers have made a company out of taking apart olden activities, rebuilding them, injecting fancy packaging and providing them to consumers in a quite studio. As the gifted designers who sent their job to our good friends at show, having the in-home fitness center of your desires isn't really just hassle-free - it's actually practical. The Overall Fitness center 1000 measures 88 inches long by 16 1/8 inches large by 44 inches high when released for usage. One point that all of these home health clubs have in common is that the customer needs to acquire the weights independently. Though it is true that a person system of power could be a minimal wickedness than an additional, I confess, every system of power (i.e. government) is destructive to autonomy, that is, the will as well as need of the people, a living expression of the passion of the residents. As the Blue Ranger, Tori depends on the power of water to combat evil doers, and also pilots the Dolphin Zord. A lift is an enclosed secure space, like a womb, with a little chance that something can go terribly incorrect and eliminate you, likewise like a womb I mean. https://studiosante.de/purodone/ integrated quite possibly, yet I have never check out a book by David Baldacci, nor have I seen the movie based upon this publication. He was a fan of the Power Rangers prior to turning into one, however his friends dismissed the famous extremely heroes as an urban myth. I likewise delighted in the simple design and also the clear descriptions of loads of exercises you can do to enhance your body without equipment. Both Kimberly as well as Zack silently nodded, completely delighting in the thrill of pure power via their systems. Barinthus turned up behind me. I understood without seeing that he reached for me-I can feel him relocating through the power at my back. Its largest shareholders are Kite Power Service's chief executive, Costs Hampton, as well as chief operating policeman, John Hardy. Because it is thankfulness that keeps you linked with power, you could not exercise much power without gratefulness. After speaking with Lagman about his viewpoint of Awaken, I was excited to find a location that integrated restorative motions right into stamina training and was ready to see simply exactly how corroded my gymnastics skills were. Creating has the power to inspire, to show, to captivate, to lead, as well as to attach-- and it can do those things long after words have trembled off my hands and also into the key-board. Homeowner ought to have their very own plans for lift failures, inning accordance with the fire service, which will certainly charge customers ₤ 362 for participation in the future - with an added fee of ₤ 90 for every 15 minutes after the initial hour. What rate of interests me more is exactly how in each story human life is positioned relative to legislation and political power. The oppositions could not wonder about whether the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to limit co2 air pollution from power plants. The emphasis of his book is the impact power carries those who don't have it. He breaks his analysis down right into three measurements of power: the first is straight bargaining as well as engagement, the second is the exemption of the powerless from that bargaining procedure and/or agenda-setting by the powerful, and also the third is the internalization of the perfects, worths, and also choices of the leading by the dominated. Rather counter-intuitively, the faster detachable quad lift has the exact same uphill ability as a fixed-grip quad. You rest, lie or stoop on a cushioned glideboard mounted on the slope rails, then regulate the glideboard's activity on the rails by pushing or pulling on the wing or leg pulley attachments that came with the Overall Health club. Not just these health clubs as well as camps give acupuncture solutions yet additionally assessments connected to the exact same. When the shore's clear, I mobilize the power of the Wind Ninja, and streak through the city and also into the timbers in a heartbeat. A la maison, dans la cour de récré, en faisant la queue à la boulangerie ... il suffit de repérer les Power Tattoos pour trouver kid prochain adversaire! Despite a max degree of 9999, utilize Transmigration to start throughout once more, yet your characters will be also stronger per degree! Over all it's a wonderful fitness center and so numerous makers that you could always find one to workout on and also Nikko that handles the Pro Store constantly has a fantastic selection of appearal to selected from. If you're a huge sweatshirt (you recognize who you are ...) then its an outright requirement to bring a towel with you and clean down the devices when you're done. And for annual participants, see if your health club is just one of the numerous huge chains that will certainly let you put your membership on hold, inning accordance with Instead, dress and head outside, or pop in that new health and fitness DVD and also exercise in your living room. A thoughtful expert of these methods will not be misinformed by the thrill of the experience of power down the path of self-gratification and also misuse, yet will choose rather to take pleasure in the further delights of making a lasting difference in the world. The person having loss of power must take herbal oil massage therapy to get strong erection as it aids to boost circulation of blood to the body organ to regain power and period normally. Power companies routinely shift generation amongst plants and between business to efficiently provide the power required, as well as to meet contamination control needs cost-effectively. Pure Gym says its company model is based upon providing members economical costs without tying them right into repaired term contracts, with health clubs accessible at any time of night and day. However, his and also various other scientists' searchings for recommend that it is the helpless, not the effective, who will be most receptive to that message (people reduced in power report feeling compassion for others much more frequently). The Total Gym 1000 consists of a bottom external rail as well as an upright column, attached by 2 identical rails. I would claim this publication is except everyone because everybody does not have the skill or drive it would take to maintain power. However motion pictures hardly ever showcase the things I despise most about lifts: terrible elevator Muzak (never ever a cool Miles Davis soundtrack, like the one in Lift to the Scaffold) or the way that, when you're in a rush, a person has pressed all the switches so the damn thing stops at every flooring. In addition to giving an indoor gym that is comfortable for plus-size women, Body Exchange offers various bootcamp and also off-site workout resorts. Making roads safer would have a much bigger impact on our cumulative health and wellness than building more health clubs. A leg drive is where you push against the ground to generate force to raise a resistance. Bel pertained to me with an old buddy of mine, among the friends who surrendered on me. He gently slipped his arms around me and also lifted me from the dirty fitness center floor. There ready reasons to be cynical of the notion that a win for Clinton will introduce a feminist utopia-or even just greater political power for females. The power relocated exterior from me, or possibly I moved on through something that was always there, however tonight I can sense it. Siobhan moved forward, and the power did not load her. As well as it forecasted that kite power would certainly cost so little that developing nations would have the ability to use it to discourage themselves off contaminating diesel generators and other carbon-heavy energy resources. If you desire straightforward workout devices as opposed to a way of life concept, check neighborhood authority facilities.

[wittygaypuns]

A prompt for you, if you want it: Hermann is the kind of person kids inexplicably gravitate to and he doesn't seem to even notice. Newt is sort of jealous because he was supposed to be the cool uncle, but at the same time loves seeing Hermann interact with children.

I have a lot of kid feels so this got longer then intended, enjoy anon!

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“Andthen it shwoop!, sucks ineverything like a vaccuum!” The wide-eyed girl said, clapping herhands together with the infectious enthusiasm that only a five yearold could truly summon.

“Goodness! Does it do that to everything?” Hermann was sitting inhis rolling chair, both hands on the handle of his cane, leaning hischin on them as he listened to the children.

“I don't know! Yancy, does it?” She gasped, and looked to theside, where her brother was listening with an intense expression thatwas identical to his mothers.

“Not to everything... I think it can't suck up a Jaeger, but maybeit can do it to a house or maybe some animals.” Yancy said,nodding.

“Oh yeah, I don't think a black hole could suck up a Jaeger, thoseare really really super big. I bet it could suck up a boat!” Sumakowhispered, her tone scandalized.

Newton grinned as he watched the three of them. They were babysittingSumako and Yancy Beckett, the wonderful children of Raleigh and Mako.Raleigh had taken a leave from the Rangers after Mako gave birth,opting to be a stay-at-home father (or, as Mako had put it, her'house husband') until they were old enough to attend school. It wastheir first weekend being allowed in the Shatterdome, and thoughHermann and Newton had met them once or twice, this was the firsttime Raleigh had been able to bear the thought of leaving them alonewith the scientists. Mako, who grew up around the two, knew that theywere excellent babysitters and that Newton's destructive urges werealways completely dormant in the presence of a child. She had coaxedRaleigh into agreeing by putting both Newton and Hermann's phonenumbers in his phone, and getting the scientists to agree that theywould accept any attempt at video calls. It was adorable how dotingRaleigh was.

Newthad been incredibly excited to watch the two, even if just for thechance to watch genetics at work. He saw Mako in Sumako's eyes andhair, and Raleigh in her grin. In Yancy, he saw Mako in his demeanor,quiet and intense, and Raleigh in his facial features. They were adelight to talk to, though Newton hadn't really been able to... Thetwo seemed entirely fixated on Hermann, and Newt was doing his bestnot to be jealous. He was the cool uncle, through and through, butfor some reason thekids had been clamoring for Hermann's attention for the last fortyminutes. Newt had so many plans to keep them entertained; he wasgoing to teach them to play the keyboard, or play with his Kaijufigurine collection, or show them his Kaiju specimens, or teach themsome easy science experiments. And that was only scratching thesurface. He planned on sneaking them into the Jaeger bay to see themup close.

Instead, they had been talking to Hermann since they arrived, nevershowing a break in enthusiasm. Sumako had even drawn him a picture ofa constellation she had 'discovered' that looked like a whale.Hermann treated everything they had to say as if it was the mostintriguing thing he had ever heard, listening with rapt attention tothem incorrectly explain aspects of space that Hermann, theastrophysicist, had studied for years. It would be like someonetelling Newton how about the function of kaiju brains. He was amazedthat Hermann had yet to become visibly irritated, or to correct thekids in some way, or even just try to teach them things.

No, Hermann was the very pinnacle of patience, allowing little Yancyto wax poetic about Sumako's constellation and how it came to be. Hedidn't call the very prospect of a giant floating space whaleridiculous, or tell him that constellations were merely a way topinpoint locations in the night sky. He didn't tell Sumako that itdidn't change positions because it was moving to find its babies, whohad been lost when a star exploded between them. They didn't gorunning to Newton to tell him stories instead because Hermannwas too grumpy and mean about it. They didn't regale him with talesof the way they thought the world worked, with wild imaginings of thefabric of their universe and others. They totally ignored all thecool stuff Newton had laid out on his desk to grab their attention.

They totally ignored Newt in favor of Hermann, and he had tobite down the weird jealousy that brewed in him. He was thecool one. He was the one who would not only entertain theirideas but give them ones of his own, while teaching them thefundamentals of the subject of their choice. He had thought at firstthat maybe they just preferred to talk about space, but that idea wasdashed when Sumako began to give her impression of a Kaiju, puffingout her little shoulders and standing on her tiptoes. She placed heroutstretched fingers over her head and proclaimed herself Mutavore.

“Oh, goodness! Mutavore!?” Hermann gasped, putting a hand overhis chest in mock surprise, eyes wide before turning to the boy.“Ranger Yancy, you must save us!”

Newton's jealousy quickly dissolved, watching Hermann play along withthe kids. Shit, he was a natural, wasn't he? That wasn't the firsttime kids had gravitated towards the more severe of the two. It wasremarkable to watch, even Newton had to admit. The man who had oncetold Newton that he had no time for any sort of tomfoolery,especially in the lab, instantly changed around kids. Thebrass had authorized field trips for a few local schools after theBreach was destroyed, and whenever they got to the lab part of theirtrips, the kids would seem completely rapt with whatever Hermann hadto say.

There was a kindness to the way Hermann spoke to the kids that madeNewton feel like a monster for getting jealous. He explained thingsin a gentle, simple enough for the age group way, and would answerquestions long after it stopped just being common courtesy. It neverseemed like an obligation for Hermann, who seemed genuinely happywhen there were little ones around. Newt was amazed by him, and optedto just watch Hermann interact for the time being.

He absolutely proved himself to be the more fun one later on, thankyou very much, making oobleck with them out of cornstarch and water(he wanted to make quicksand but was vetoed by Hermann), then laterthen a surprisingly complex Rube Goldberg machine that stretched thelength of the laboratory. He and Hermann worked well as a team tokeep the kids entertained. By the time Mako and Raleigh returned tocollect them, they found that Hermann had fallen asleep sitting upwith the two kids leaning on either side of him on their beat up labcouch.

Newt had taken about fifty pictures. You know, for evidence.

“Herms, come on, I wanna go to bed.” Newt cooed to the man,gently rubbing his cheek.

Hermann made a low noise, bringing his hand up to rest over Newton'sas he slowly opened his eyes,  looking at him from the two littleslits. Newt grinned.

“C'mon handsome, let's go sleep in bed, that couch always makesyour hip hurt.” He said.

“The twins...” Hermann's brows furrowed.

“Mom and dad came to get 'em. They thank you for your service andwe're gonna have them over again tomorrow.” Newt reassured.

“Oh... Good, good.” Hermann removed his hand, sitting up a littlestraighter and taking Newton's hand in his to stand up.

Newton fidgeted the whole way back to their now shared quarters,guiding the still-groggy Hermann quietly. Watching the other man withkids time and time again seemed to have jostled something in him,something he never knew was there to begin with. He always assumed hewould never have kids; surely they would impede his rock-starlifestyle of spending all hours of the day holed up in the lab withhis husband. Where would he find the time? How could he raise a kidsafely in a world like theirs? But now, older and living in apost-Apocalypse-cancellation world with a husband and a pension, theidea had resurfaced.

“Hey, Herms?” Newton said as he undressed them both, once intheir quarters. Hermann, whose eyes were closing already, made aquestioning noise.

“Let's have a kid of our own.” Newt suggested, as casually as onewould suggest dinner plans.

“... Excuse me?” Hermann's eyes opened, looking down at him asNewton got his trousers off.

“A kid. Let's have one. We could adopt, there are tons of kids whoneed parents. Or we could get a surrogate if you want a biologicallyyours one.” Newt said, standing back up to strip his own shirt off.

“You want to... have a child? Where's this coming from?” Hermannmuttered.

“God, for a genius you're pretty dense sometimes. We'd be awesomedads. You especially. You're great with kids! We could look somestuff up tomorrow, get the ball rolling...” Newt grinned, workingon his own pants.

“T-tomorrow? Newton, you can't just decide spur of the moment thatyou want a child!” Hermann was more awake now, sputtering at thethought.

“Why not? Straight people do it all the time.” Newton pointedout. Hermann gave a snort, but seemed to consider it.

“I... why don't we discuss this in further detail in the morning?”He said.

“Sounds good. Wanna... uh, you know. Act like we're making one inthe old fashioned way, til then?” Newton propositioned clumsily.

“What? Newton!” Hermann said, brows furrowing as Newton wrappedhis arms around his shoulders.

“It'll be sexy, I promise. I can act like I'm ovu--” Newtonbegan. Hermann put a hand over his mouth.

“.. Don't finish that statement or I'm never sleeping with youagain. Ever. Get on the bed.” Hermann said.

Gleefully, Newton tossed himself on to it, laughing as Hermannfollowed.

#newmann #pacific rim #pacific rim fanfiction #wittyfic #Anonymous

[warsofasoiaf]

How about an analysis on the finest scholar of Hegellian thought in the 23rd century, your boy Edward "Caesar" Sallow? Bonus points if you can work in an image of Bill Rawls giving McNulty the finger

The writers of Caesar knew what they were doing; Caesar is an excellent example of a well-realized totalitarian. His ideology mirrors the rise of plenty of despotic dictatorships throughout history with a uniquely Fallout twist.

Caesar talks up his similarity to the rise of Julius Caesar, but drawing upon the fact that his Legion is a largely forcibly integrated group of tribals, his Legion resembles more the fringes of the Roman Empire under the command of a private general, something more akin to the Crisis of the Third Century rather than the rise of Augustus or the Pax Romana of the first century A.D. To give Caesar what little credit he is due, he understands this, hence why he plans to take over New Vegas, turn it into his Rome, and to use it as a capital city. Of course, Caesar is banking on the politics of inevitability to do the heavy lifting for him with his interpretation of Hegelian dialetics. This idea of the politics of inevitability was prominent in Communist teachings, Marx believed in the inevitable class conflict that would lead to the communist utopia, and was convinced of its inevitable success due to the conditions of the capitalist system. Totalitarians aren’t the only ones who preach the politics of inevitability, the West was confident that China would liberalize its government with the capitalist reforms of Deng Xiaoping in the liberalist idealist model at the tail end of the 20th century. China freed up its markets but that came with no political freedom. The politics of inevitability are politics of failure, no future is certain without intellectual integrity in thought, careful thought in action, and constant evaluation and readjustment.

He believes that he will incorporate the positives of the NCR and Vegas without losing his Legion discipline. This profession of higher virtue is quite common in fascist thought. Fascist societies exhort a sort of palingenetic character, of a national renewal through a devotion to the nation, perfectly fitting Caesar’s idea of a legion that obliterates tribal identities and replaces that notion with devotion to a single idea. Caesar saw this as the strength of Rome’s empire, how it was able to lead to a successful, expansive, stable nation after the murderous infighting that plagued the Late Roman Republic. By forcing a continual emphasis on virtue and self-denial through a comprehensive culture built on obliterating all sense of self other than as a member of the Legion, Caesar believes he will create a society where the good of the nation is the good of the individual, where the selfish desires of individual people or small groups will not cause the suboptimal operation of the nation as a whole. This idea is straight out of fascist ideological textbooks. Liberal democracy is seen as selfish and decadent, incapable of responding to problems and encouraging infighting and corruption, enriching the self at the sake of the many. Democracy certainly does have a problem with corruption, but as the Courier discovers, Silus doesn’t obey the law to the letter, and he’s a centurion, one of Caesar’s highest ranking commanders. 

This idea of virtuous living extends to Caesar’s opinion on technology and one of his furthest divergences from our own historical Rome. Caesar believes in not using robots or other technology to simplify life save as an exceptional reward. Caesar’s reasoning is that if gains could be made without sacrifice, it would encourage easy living and naturally devolve to decadence and selfish characteristics. Only through paying a cost is the focus maintained on the good of the nation, without it the focus falls on the individual, to use Caesar’s logic. This of course is in great contrast to Rome, which was a scientific powerhouse and technologically advanced compared to its neighbors. Caesar either distrusts modernity as a means of decadence (another fascist analogue here) or believes that he must wait for the ultimate victory in the Mojave to transform the legion before they are capable of accepting some modern trappings. Either way, it’s a recipe for failure, throwing human grist into the mill of Legion operations. Caesar can train a soldier far better than any NCR general can, they are capable of charging a machine gun nest with throwing spears and football pads, but as World War I taught, human wave attacks are fodder for automatic weapons and artillery. While robots aren’t as disposable as they were before the bombs fell, the utility are too great to sacrifice, as Mr. House proves when his upgraded Securitron army can easily wipe the floor with the NCR and Legion both. Medicine is limited to just tribal powders and bitter drink, even though healing powder doesn’t fix broken limbs which are essential to the melee-heavy combat doctrine that the Legion practices (I play hardcore mode, there is no other way to play). 

Caesar’s society too, is inefficient for all his carping about the inefficiencies of other systems. Women are forbidden to be soldiers despite multiple empirical refutations like Ranger Stella (and possibly the Courier depending on the player). Slavery is nothing like it was in Rome, the explosive collars and conversations with Legion members suggest that it’s a permanent caste of chattel slavery used to create a workforce to support their military state. As the Legion’s territory grows, the bureaucratic apparatus would become larger to match. Caesar alleviates part of the logistics problems through traders, but in remote, difficult areas like the conquest of Denver, the Legion runs into problems, and as the Courier can illustrate to Lanius, the West is simply too large to administer, and the Legion can’t make up the difference in slaves. Rome had an impressive bureaucratic apparatus and still had logistical troubles, Caesar is falling into the same traps. He can’t administer his territory, and even worse, everything is dependent upon Caesar, and he’s dying of a brain tumor that he forbade the medical knowledge to even treat. The Legion lacks theater flexibility, as Silus laments. Without the Courier, Caesar would have been dead in the water even if the Courier decided to ignore the entire Second Battle of Hoover Dam. While Lucius might be an adequate successor, Lanius is nothing but a butcher, lacking any sort of strategic diplomacy or depth. The military state that Caesar hopes to transform doesn’t even have that hope under Lanius. Heck, Caesar even invites his worst enemy (potentially) into his camp, and never bothers checking up on their work under the Fort even if the Courier spent the entire first act of the game undoing Caesar’s work.

So for all of Caesar’s grandiose dedications, he’s little better than a petty warlord with delusions of grandeur, full of nonsense based on a political interpretation of history meant to support his presupposed conclusions. He got lucky through conquering weak tribes and think it makes him a grand civilization. Just like the failed states before it, his lack of understanding of economics and the stagnancy of a central society will doom him. He might believe that there is only gain through sacrifice, but the only thing sacrificed is the chance of success.

Thanks for the question, TBH.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#fallout: new vegas #character analysis