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Good morning everyone. Just a few quick things.
Sorry to those of you on Reddit. I messed up the tags for Part.3 of Chap.150 and it didn't send notifications out from the bots. I went ahead and reuploaded the chap so hopefully, you got it then.If not here and you missed it, here is part 3 of chapter 150.
One, thanks to all of you who have filled out the survey. And to those of you who haven't and still want to, make sure you do so because I will cut the survey off on the 19th.
Link=https://forms.gle/bpqSdg2aEHBGnLKY7
Two, as I mentioned at the end of the last chap, I am taking a small break to recoup and get everything fixed up for the recap of Vol.6. I shall see you again on Thursday the 23rd for the Side Stories and for the final week of double posting.
I think the Side Stories are pretty fun this time, as we get some action, adventure, and behind-the-scenes events. As well as checking in on some others :D
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this epilogue as we are going to get some action with our old friends in Hades Squad.
---
Year 2517, floating somewhere in Federation deep space.
“Heimdall, I don’t mean to question orders, but is something like this actually possible?” Apollo asked as he settled into his harness.
“Yeah, they are keeping us in the dark about this new tech. I don’t really like that,” Hephaestus added.
“And it almost killed you! What the hell is that, huh? They just expect us to—”
“Relax, Artemis, everyone. It’s as they say. I had the same concerns, but Suárez cured all my worries. I saw it with my own eyes. And the tech is being kept on the down-low for reasons just like this. Besides, we might all be freedom fighters and allies in this war, but we are still just soldiers,” I told them, wagging a finger at them.
“So it’s possible to rip a ship out of warp?” Apollo asked, his blue eyes piercing into me.
I nudged Va'cot. “Well, you tell them, won’t you?”
Va'cot nodded slightly. “The Council was working on anti-warp technology for many years, but as far as I’m aware, it never left the initial stages. They lacked any reliable power source to affect ships,” she said in her usual toneless voice.
“But now things are different, huh?” Artemis mused.
She’s right. Things are different now, and we experienced that firsthand.
The anti-warp tech was the real deal, and it nearly took my life. We got our first taste of it on the raid on that space station. I got hit by multiple bullets, and they all left nasty wounds that took an extended amount of time to heal. It was like they left a lingering curse on me or something like that.
It turned out it had to do with these new crystals the Federation found, and we managed to capture one on that very station. That’s why they were so hellbent on blowing it to kingdom come. They resembled the crystals everyone used for warp travel, but these new crystals were… different.
The crystals used in warp drives came in a myriad of bright colors and sizes. Some were as large as a man, and others could even get as big as a bear. It just depended, and as far as we could tell, the color never mattered, and the size just indicated how big of a ship it could move. Those were the only fundamental differences.
But these new crystals were pitch black and smaller, no longer than a finger. But they exuded some kind of sickening aura. The second they busted it out of its containment, I wanted to vomit, which was a new experience for me. The thing felt perverse and wholly wrong, like an evil artifact of some type.
But I’ll be damned, evil, god-given, whatever its power was, the thing was powerful. Two finger-sized crystals were enough to rip a ship out of warp, something that I wasn’t able to believe ‘till I saw it with my own eyes.
When I sat on the bridge of the Stormpike and watched a frigate get pulled out from warp, suddenly, I felt as if I had witnessed a significant change in the way of the galaxy, and I was glad the Council never got their hands on the technology. While in the warp, it was thought that a ship was untouchable until it came out from its warp point.
And it’s not like warping around was omnipotent. It had its limits, and everything had a cost. But regardless…
It’s a shame we only have ten crystals in total. We have no idea where the Federation got them or how many they have in stock, but we think it’s only a few, and they don’t seem to know about pulling ships out of warp yet. And we are sadly already down six. And two of them are about to be used to pull this mission off.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter if we know how it works,” Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders. “If it gets me face to face with that old hag so I can rip her arm off and beat her to death, then that’s all that matters.”
There was a moment when none of us said anything. Typically it would be best to…steer away from that kind of talk before a life-or-death capture mission, but I felt that everyone was of the same mind. I think, given a chance, everyone would do what Artemis was thinking.
Well, maybe not Va’cot. She’s a good girl when she isn’t trying to slice someone’s throat.
“Now, now. You know we can’t do that,” I chastised half-heartedly. “If you killed her then everything would be for naught, Artemis.”
Artemis clicked her tongue. “Fine, one swift kick to the ribs oughta do it. I promise I won’t break her in half.”
I just chucked wryly. “What you don’t know is that we already lost life to get this information. I’m sure that person is rolling in their grave right after hearing you.”
Artemis begrudgingly nodded in agreement. “But is all of this information accurate? It’s so little, and we were not able to confirm it. Right, Heimdall?” Apollo argued.
I sighed internally but also couldn’t help but remark on just how much everyone had changed. Once upon a time, it was unthinkable for any of these people to question the validity of a mission. Sure, some gripes or questions needed to be answered for clarity, but outright skepticism?
Twenty years ago, that was unthinkable. Guess it all changed because of him, huh?
“Our ever lovely Suárez personally guaranteed that the mole was a trustworthy source. It’s taken us all this time just to find a single trace of her after the war, so this is all we’ve got. It’s now or never,” I explained.
Everyone nodded to themselves and relaxed a bit. It’s not like it would have changed anything, whether the mole was suspicious or not. We’d been waiting for an opportunity like this for over a decade by that point.
”Besides, I’m running out of time,” I muttered quietly to myself as I closed my cybernetic hands.
I had lost the use of both my arms the previous year. Every part of my body ached, and getting up in the morning was becoming more of a challenge with every sleepless night I went through. That was another thing: sleep.
I didn’t have to sleep all that much compared to a normal Human. Back in the day, I could go weeks without even a wink of sleep and still be right in the ol’ mind. But as the sand of my youth trickled down the hourglass, I’d wanted to sleep more than ever.
Getting old sucks. Suárez told me that I only had a few more years, even if I stopped what I was doing and retired for good. Not that I have any plans of doing so. I’m in too deep to go back to AJS and plant flowers with the kids again…
Well, it is what it is—just another mission.
I stood up from my seat and looked out at the four people in my squad. “As all of you already know, this mission is both critical and dangerous. We have forty minutes to succeed, thirty minutes for the warp drive to warm up after taking the ship out, and ten to extract. That also includes the time it takes for their comms to come back on and send a signal.”
I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck. “I don’t need to remind you that we are far from any kind of backup. If we miss that forty-minute deadline, the two cruisers are to leave without us, and we are to sabotage the enemy vessel and go down with it”
Everyone nodded a single time. “Our primary goal is to secure the doctor alive by any means necessary. If things turn for the worse, we are to eliminate her along with the ship. The mole couldn’t give us concrete details on her security, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. We are expecting at least two squads of Gen 3s on a frigate, along with marines. The old doctor moves fast and light these days, which is good for us.”
“This isn’t going to be a walk in the park. We may have the element of surprise, but that will only last so long. In order to save time, we are aiming for the center of the ship while another squad will hit the lower decks. We split up and cover as much ground as we can on the upper floors and take the escape pods so we can get scooped up by our friendlies…” I trailed off.
Everyone just watched me in silence, so I just sighed and sat down. “What’s the point? Everyone already knows what to do,” I groaned.
I felt Va’cot’s pink eyes staring at me, so I turned to look at her. She nodded quickly and gave me a thumbs-up. I chuckled to myself and gave her one back.
At least somebody appreciated my recap.
Just then, the hue of the hull changed into a soft yellow. That meant it was time to get ready. Like the well-oiled machines we all were, we donned our helmets, grabbed our weapons of choice, and locked ourselves into our harnesses. The time for conversation was over, and it was now time for action.
In just a scant five minutes, the area was bathed in an ominous red light. “Readings indicate an inbound warp jump. Warp point being formed,” the ships onboard AI mono voice echoed.
It could have been a minute or an eternity before the cold metallic voice rang out once more. “Target acquired. Launching in three…two…one.”
The engines roared to life as I was thrown into the back of my seat. Even with my harness, I shook like a madman as the ship rocketed off toward its target. It was always a weird thing, being in a metal coffin about to smack into another metal coffin in the middle of empty space.
The only bright side was that it took the enemy's ship a few moments to fire at us. Thankfully it was standard procedure to power down weapons in warp jump as there was no need to waste power, and it took some time for even small-caliber point-defense systems to come online. And all we needed was those few moments.
Boom.
Crash.
Everyone rocked in their seats as the Tiger rammed into the enemy ship and burrowed its way through the hull using its plasma shield as a ram. Eventually, everything stopped, and the harnesses were quickly released. We stacked up at the front, and the room was bathed in bright green light as the gangplank smashed down.
We were in a long hallway, and my eyes immediately locked on a figure. He had just missed being crushed by the gangplank and looked up at me with teary eyes. I never heard what he tried to say as I crushed his skull under my weight.
Bolter fire thundered off as we mowed down hordes of people frantically leaving their rooms. We had landed in a barracks, and nearly all the hostiles were unarmed besides a handful with pistols. I watched a round ricochet off Hephaestus’s helmet, only for him to turn slightly and reduce the offender’s head into a pink mist.
We made short work of anyone who was still left breathing, and our squad split. I took Va’cot and headed toward the bridge while the others moved on to the ship’s armory and ammo storage. There was no conversation between us, we knew what needed to be done, and we all went about our tasks diligently.
Va’cot and I cleared room after room, hoping to score a lucky break, but all we ended up finding were those attempting to arm themselves or those hiding in their bunks. We didn’t have time to execute every single sailor, but a quick shredder grenade into each room was enough to paint the walls red.
The sound of heavy boots on the floor echoed in the distance, and I gave Va’cot a signal to cloak herself and hide in the doorway. Two figures, both towering over six feet tall and clad in sleek black armor, raced down the hallway with bolters at the ready.
Unfortunately for one of them, they got too close to Va’cot, and she deftly swung her plasma sword. The air hissed with plasma fire, and she cleanly separated the Death Commando’s head from his shoulders. Unfortunately for us, the second wouldn’t be so easy.
I fired two rounds, hoping to hit center mass and a leg, but the commando was quick on the reaction. He threw his body into a doorway and returned fire. It was only thanks to our new Elunari-equipped plasma shields that those bolter rounds didn’t cave in my chest.
The rounds tried to force their way through the shield, only to detonate harmlessly on the outside. My shield hummed from the strain, and I went into the adjacent room. I flicked my visor’s heat sensor on, a new tool courtesy of the Coalition, and I tried to track the Death Commando, but no dice. His armor was far too well shielded thermally to be seen through a thick metal wall.
But his gun’s barrel wasn’t.
I took aim and shot through the wall, tracing the barely visible smear of red. My shots seemed to be missing until Va’cot tossed a plasma grenade into the door. I watched as the small ball of red fire grew in my vision into a miniature sun until it exploded.
The blast rocked the room and kicked up dust, and I wasted no time in reloading and sending more rounds at the target’s last known position. I ceased my fire, reloaded, and counted to ten, waiting for any heat signatures or noises, but nothing came.
We checked and cleared the room, both enemy combatants were dead, but there was no time for celebration. We immediately went back to our search, and when we stepped into the hallway, a hail storm of gunfire barraged us. Rounds clanked and bounced off our armor harmlessly and the two of us returned fire.
The squad of unfortunate souls was reduced to nothing but their legs as rounds burrowed into their chests and exploded. “Marines and Death Commandos engaged. Two combatants neutralized,” I radioed.
I checked the status of the rest of my squad, and they were all green, as was our friendly squad. There were quick flashes of acknowledgements, and Apollo’s voice filled one of my ears. “Marines have been engaged, no Death Commandos,” he said quickly.
Huh, does that mean she is on the bridge after all? It was considered to be less likely, considering she is a researcher. Well, let’s find out.
Va’cot and I wordlessly continued our slaughter, meeting only the bare resistance of marines and crew members. Eventually, power flicked out on the ship, and the bulkhead doors slammed closed. But we planned for that as well.
We had plenty of pre-made charges to blow all the way to the bridge if need be. I quickly placed the charge and—
Boom.
Huh?
I stared in surprise. The bulkhead door was dented inward, but it still remained standing. Considering that we had the schematics, we knew very well what was needed to blow through these doors. We even added a bit more just in case something like that occurred, but to think they reinforced them that much.
“This means we are in the right place,” Va’cot said through our system firmly as she sliced the near-broken door with her sword.
“That’s one way to look at it,” I responded.
It took a bit longer than we had planned, but we eventually arrived at the door to the bridge. The place was sealed shut, and I had to plant multiple explosives to even dent the thing. It was also a problem that we hadn’t run into anyone since the doors started dropping.
“They are either all in here, or we are going to get ambushed when we—”
My words were cut off as the door opened slightly, and a storm of bolter and rifle fire smashed into us. My shield whined and flickered from the intensity, and we were forced to find cover only for grenades to be tossed at us.
The fragmentation grenades exploded and peppered us with shrapnel but left us mostly unharmed. I ended up taking a piece to the fingers in between my armor plates, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. I looked over at Va’cot, and she had a nice long gash in her visor. One of the pieces must have slipped through her shield and cracked it.
“From the pattern of fire, there is one bolter deep, one on the right and one on the left,” I said.
Va’cot nodded her head. “I will eliminate the one on the right.”
“I’ll aim for the left, and we both get the center,” I said back to her.
Our conversation ended just like that, and I immediately set the charges off on the now-closed bridge door. A powerful shockwave rolled past us, and the lights flickered on and off, and the warship rocked from the force. Va’cot tossed plasma grenades, and I threw in shredder grenades before entering, making short work of the crew and marines.
The flurry of hell we sent in was our cover, and we relied on our shields for any blows. I trusted Va’cot fully, so I didn’t bother checking if she was going to be okay. I swept my side, and it was clear with the bodies of dozens of marines and crew members ripped to the shreds. I found a Death Commando still standing on the left, albeit seriously injured but alive and with a gun raised.
The third generation had the lowest tolerance to Ambrosia of all the generations, but regardless of tolerance, if enough of the stuff was pumped into their veins, they were still dangerous. Despite missing an arm, he wielded his bolter from the hip and fired at me.
The shots impacted my shield, and I sent immediate rounds back to him. And he didn’t have a shield. Most of my shots bounced off his armor or didn’t penetrate deep enough for an injury, but one of them hit him in the neck. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes as the round burrowed through him.
They just don’t make them like they used to. The Gen 3s are just so fragile compared to us. Too Human.
Va’cot was in a similar state as she had taken out her target, and a quick scan showed the middle Death Commando had perished before we entered. The room was now quiet, filled only with the groans of dying Humans. We moved quickly.
I turned heat vision on and confirmed five signatures hiding in the panic room. The door was locked up like a vault safe and was well hidden behind a panel. It was meant for situations like this, but it only worked if the boarders didn’t know of its existence.
“Cut it open. We can’t risk explosives now,” I ordered.
Va’cot set to work, and I finished off any survivors before standing guard for her. “Va’cot and I have secured the bridge. One Death Commando squad was eliminated. Doctor Octario has not been found, and we are breaching the panic room.”
“The lower floors are clear, no Death Commandos or targets. Planting charges on warp drive,” an AI voice said through comms.
It must be a species that doesn’t speak English leading the lower floor squad, interesting.
“We are under heavy fire. Resistance is concentrated at the armory. Requesting backup,” Apollo said calmly.
“We’ll be there in a moment,” I told him. “Va’cot, status?”
“Five Humans, three males, and two females. No elderly females in the safe room,” Va’cot radioed.
“Then let’s move to Apollo.”
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
We made sure to raise the bulkhead doors and destroy the systems as well as any communication units before racing through the halls back to our squad. Resistance was minimal, only stragglers who had managed to arm themselves from their deceased comrades. However, the sounds of heavy gunfire could be heard as we approached.
We made it to a hallway that was a literal blinding flash of light. Sadly, scanning for life forms wasn’t possible because of the metal used by the Federation. However, we could see the positions of our squad mates. They were pinned down in adjacent rooms by gunfire.
“They are stalling for time. We have ten minutes, Sir,” Va’cot stated.
Yeah, I know…damn. To think she would be toward the armory. How annoying.
“Squad two, can you place charges on the lower deck at the junction to the armory?” I asked.
“Affirmative. Two minutes for placement,” the synthetic voice said.
“You heard them, return fire and keep them busy,” I said into my helmet.
I received the affirmative, and we continued to trade fire. There was no way for us to press forward safely. Even if we maxed out plasma shields and used external shields, we would succumb to this kind of concentrated fire. They even had a heavy bolter in place, which would make quick work of us if we were to rush forward blindly.
“Hey! What if those explosions kill that hag or blow us the hell up?!” Artemis growled into her helmet as she blew the head off a marine that peaked in too far with her railgun.
“We can’t be passive because we are running out of time. If the explosions kill her and ignite the ammo, so be it. Remember why we are here,” I told her firmly.
Artemis said nothing for a moment before sending a few more shots. “Yeah, I know! I just want my chance!”
“Charges are placed,” the voice called out.
“Do it now.”
Boom.
A quick shock wave rolled past us and rocked the ship, only for a fire wave to snake down the hallway. The gunfire was momentarily halted, only to be replaced by the agonizing screams of dying Humans, which didn’t last long. Instead of waiting for the wave to fizzle out, we all pushed through it with Hephaestus at the front.
The walls were scorched black, and the entire floor had been blown inwards. There were no survivors. We had to skate by on the edges to avoid dropping to the lower floors, and we quickly pushed through the junction. There was only token resistance left until we reached a sturdy vault-like door made of black metal.
Hephaestus peeked through the thick glass and ducked down before a round echoed off the metal. “There are people in there, two Death Commandos and a handful of crew members. And so is she.”
“Target located. She is holed up in the armory,” I radioed in.
“Understood. Warp drive charges are set. We are prepping for extraction and shall take the furthest escape pods from you. There are less than ten minutes remaining, Commander,” the synthetic voice said.
Yeah, I know…damn this is gonna be a pain.
“Well, it looks like the ammo didn’t cook. Sucks for her,” Artemis spat.
“No explosives. We’ll kill her for sure. We have little time. Do we retreat?” I asked them.
Four heads turned to me, and they all looked at each other and then back at me. “I have no plans of going back now,” Apollo said firmly.
“Aye, aye, I’m with him,” Hephaestus agreed as he moved to cover us.
Artemis was already back to cutting a hole in the door. “You already know my answer. This is what I signed up for. Either I’m killing her, or she is coming with us, no in-between.”
I looked at Va’cot, but all I could see was the reflection in her blue visor. “I would like to help everyone,” she said with a nod.
“Well, then it’s settled, I guess. Let’s nab her,” I said with a chuckle and shrug.
“Don’t worry. These bastards are dead. I don’t need explosives to kill them,” Artemis stated with conviction.
“Then we will cover you,” I said as I nodded to Va’cot.
“Hey, big guy! I’m gonna need you to rip this door off in a minute. Can you do it!?” Artemis yelled, purposely letting her voice out through her helmet and into the room.
“Yeah, probably,” Heph said with a shrug.
Artemis never stopped working on the door as she clicked her tongue. “Probably?! What the hell are we feeding you for, huh?! You can’t be that big for nothing!”
We all fired down the hallway as a few stragglers attempted to ambush us. Artemis’s yells must have forced them out of hiding and given them some false hope. Nevertheless, we made short work of them.
“Now then…time to die,” Artemis mumbled to herself as she sat on her butt and forced her railgun into the hole.
Her weapon came to life and crackled with red lightning. The air around her whizzed with power as she fired off two thunderous shots in quick order and pulled the rifle out.
“Both the DCs are dead. Just the grunts left,” Artemis said as she made room for Hephaestus.
The giant of a man dug his hand into the door frame and began to yank. It was impressive, to say the least. Those doors were meant to stop the explosion of ammo being cooked off, yet he was ripping them off the hinges slowly but surely.
“There are five minutes remaining,” Va’cot stated in her toneless voice.
“You’re—not—helping! Va’cot!” Heph said through gritted teeth.
“If I were to stand there, I would only get in the way. You are too big,” she stated.
That was… rhetorical, well, whatever.
Rip.
Hephaestus’s muscles bulged, and the door started to pry open. Once he got enough of a purchase, he forced his entire hand into it and peeled the door back like a can of sardines and tore it straight off the hinges, tossing it down the hall with ease.
“Damn, that hurt,” Hephaestus grumbled as gunfire bounced off his armor.
A few quick shots and the rest of the combatants were eliminated. The only people left were the cowering crew in the corner and a lone elderly woman in a dirty blood-splattered lab coat standing tall before us.
She glared at us with eyes that said she was more annoyed than anything. It was almost like she was a mother that came home only to see something disappointing. It made me want to punch her in the throat.
The first to reach her was Artemis. Her leg moved so swiftly that I nearly missed it, and I didn’t even have a chance to stop her. Doctor Octario rocked to the side like a bow and was launched like an arrow into the wall and was promptly knocked unconscious.
“That was for the Commander,” Artemis said, her voice cold and devoid of even rage.
There is a big difference between thinking and doing things, Artemis! But I have no time to complain!
“Grab her, and let’s move. We are running out of time,” I ordered calmly.
Apollo instantly injected the doctor with a syringe and tossed her over his shoulder before I could even finish the sentence. Time was not on our side, and we ran as fast as our legs could take us to the nearest escape pods.
We ignored the marines attempting to block our way with bolter fire, and we piled into a pod that was not meant for this many people or even people of our sizes. Hephaestus was the last in and the poor guy barely fit, but the second he cleared the door, I smashed the button to launch us.
“Stern side! Launching now!” I barked into the radio.
Our bodies rocked violently as the pod jettisoned into the void of space. I peeked out the front glass and saw multiple warp points forming in the inky blackness. The distress signal was sent. And an entire fleet was descending on us. But a shadow quickly loomed over us, and we were jostled again, caught by our friendly ship.
“We are reeling you in, Hades Squad! Get ready for a warp jump the second you get inside!” the captain yelled at us.
“Wait! We are packed in here like sardines. We are screwed if you jump!” Artemis yelled back.
“Too bad! We are jumping, soldiers! You’ll live!” he yelled back.
Damn, this is not going to be fun. I’m going to need a new spine after this. Well, mission accomplished, I guess.
​

Next

Hi!
I'm currently playing Domain Rhinos and I get two recurring situations, where I find myself in a bad spot:

• I get Blood Mooned
  
• I draw a Crashing Footfalls
  

I tried [[Fable of the Mirror-Breaker]] to discard any stranded Footfalls, but I don't like the fact that I am not guaranteed to get Treasure tokens that would be vital in a Blood Moon situation.
[[Big Score]] is castable under Blood Moon, discards Footfalls and gets me two Treasures that I can use right away to cast spells that were previously stranded in hand due to Moon. I also like that it is instant-speed as opposed to Fable.
I haven't tested the idea thus far and I'm wondering whether [[Big Score]] is completely unplayable or not, and why. It feels like I'm lost in the sauce, so I'm thankful for any insight on this.

Español : Okey, intentaré explicarlo de forma que no resulte raro (a pesar de que lo es). Ellas dos son mis personajes favoritos de la saga y, de forma completamente random, se me ocurrió shipearlas. ¿Debería hacer algo aquí? (Nota : sería solo algo de fanfiction porque no sé dibujar.)
English : Okey, I'll try to explain this so it doesn't seem weird (it is, tho). They are my two favourite characters in the series and, completely randomly, i got the idea of shipping them. Should I do something here? (Note : it would be just some fanfiction since I can't draw.)

I'm an artist/budding writer looking for ideas for an otoge. Since my favorites encompass scenarios I've always wanted to see (MC is a fugitive/Nightshade, MC owns the LIs somehow/Nameless, LIs are imaginary/Taisho x Alice, MC goes back in time/Nusantara), I ask you:
What's a setting/charactetrope you love but don't often see in the genre? (Strong MCs, I bet, but what's that to you? What'd be a "too strong" protagonist? My Vow to My Liege comes to mind.)
Also, favorite art styles and game mechanics? What draws you to a title and makes it memorable? I like animesque art à la Fire Emblem, characters that aren't what they seem, animations, different poses, choices that matter, personality systems, and theme songs, but am open to all ideas and would really appreciate the insight!

I've been planning on making some homebrew for Troika. One thing I want to do is adjust the Initiative system to be a little less chaotic. A lot of players at my table have felt encounters are very swingy. So, this is my idea.
X.X Control the Chaos Initiative Every player draws 2 tokens from the Initiative Stack. The GM starts the round by drawing a random token. Going clockwise from the GM, players play one of their tokens then draw another one (so they always have 2 in hand). Once all players have gone, the GM draws another random token. A round goes on like this until the GM cannot draw random tokens or the End of Round token is played, whichever is first.
My rationale: Give players options even if it isn't them taking their turns. By putting the cards in their hands, they get to pick when enemies go, when allies go, but not what they do. This can used for more strategic gameplay, but still keep some randomness to it.
I haven't tried this yet, I will be running a new game in a month to test this out. Curious what ya'll think about this.

This is part 2 of captured by a unhinged drider.
Usage: You may record, tweak and edit the script as you please including the name etc.
Monetisation: all forms of monetisation are ok. I would appreciate being able to listen to it if possible. Please credit me if you use this script for any project.
START
SFX: [Listener dangling in webs, Cave/Ruins atmosphere]
SFX: [Drider is holding the listener, snuggled into them asleep making noises and breathing for several moments]
(Yawn, then whispered) "Hmmm, morning pet.... Pet?.... Oh, they're still sleeping."
SFX: [Sound of drider carefully letting go / getting of off the listener]
(Whispered) "You really are a precious little fly aren't you pet. Hmm, So peaceful in your sleep, Are you dreaming about me, hmm?"
(Slight chuckle under breath) "Are they pleasant thoughts I wonder?"
SFX; [Caressing listeners cheek]
"Hmm. So warm and soft"
"You're mine"
SFX: [Listener awakes moving in web]
"Oh... I'm sorry pet, did I wake you?..."
"No, no. Shhhh. It's alright, I didn't mean to wake you."
"What? No. You don't need to worry pet, I'm not going to hurt you. You haven't done anything wrong... No no, shhhhh, shhhhh... That's it, that's it. You're ok."
"Shhh, there you go... There you go"
"I told you pet. I won't hurt you...Not anymore, Not if you behave"
(Whispers in ear) "Not now that you're mine"
"My precious little fly"
Short pause
"Oh, but pet, why do you still look so afraid of me... Have I done something wrong?"
Short pause
"Let you... No!"
"I'm not letting you go, you're mine. My pet."
"You belong to me now."
"Besides, is it really so bad here, with me? You're safe and protected. I'll feed you and keep you warm at night. You don't have to worry about the stress of your old life. A nice simple existence as my pet... All you have to do in return is keep me company."
Short pause
"Monster?... Oh I'm sure I seem that way to you pet... After all, our first interaction was, not a friendly one."
"But I assure you, life as my pet will be very different. You'll understand eventually, you'll learn to accept it and grow to love being here with me "
Short pause
"And if you're really good. Eventually, I'll even let you out of the web so you can exercise"
"But you have to earn that privilege little fly."
Short pause
"Why do you shy away from pet... I haven't done anything to threaten you, We even slept in eachothers embrace"
Short pause
"Well of course you didn't have a choice, because you're mine, you're my pet."
"But that's a good thing little fly, because I know what's best for you after all... I keep you safe."
Short pause
(Annoyed) "Stop asking me that"
(Frustrated) "We're not having this discussion again pet, you're mine. I'm not letting you go... I.... I can't."
"Why? You know why... If... if I let you go, you'll tell the nearest town or village, and then they'll come back and try to kill me"
"I know you're kind all to well, it's in your nature after all. Humans hunt and kill anything that they fear, anything that's different to them."
"Vile, hateful little creatures."
"Oh but not you pet... No, you're different. You're my previous little fly."
Short pause
(Laugh) "You're promises are empty pet... I can't trust you. I can't trust anyone"
Short pause
SFX: [Listener struggling]
(Warning) "Don't... Please Don't ruin this pet"
(Warning) "Stop shouting"
Short pause
"Why do you insist on infuriating me with these pathetic pleas pet..."
"I won't let you ruin this. Not again... I'm going to gag you"
SFX: [Drider putting silk / web over listeners mouth, listener struggling]
"Stop squirming human. You brought this onto yourself"
(Aggressive) "I said stop struggling!"
SFX: [Violent grabs listener]
(Mockingly and frustrated) "Aww, what's wrong pet? does it hurt?..."
(Playfully/sinister) "Careful now pet. Those muffled screams are dangerously exciting."
"You wouldn't want me to get the wrong idea now would you?... After all, if you act like prey, then... Well then I might not be able to control myself."
SFX: [Inhales listeners scent]
"And you smell so enticing"
"Or perhaps... Perhaps this is what you want hmm? Do you want me to hurt you..." (Whispered Sinisterly) "To devour you."
"No?... How Interesting"
"Because that's the way your story ends y'know, if you carry on down this path. If you keep resisting me like this"
"I don't want to hurt you little fly... I really don't"
(Aggressive) "But if you carry on squirming I'm going to rip you apart"
SFX; [listener stops]
SFX: [Drider breathing / Calming themselves]
(Softly) "Why do you make me like this hmm."
"why do you make me so angry"
"I really don't ask for much y'know."
"Perhaps you need a refresher hmm. Perhaps you need to be reminded of your purpose"
Short pause
"Do you remember how you got here pet? Do you remember our little agreement. It really wasn't that long ago."
"You entered my home, uninvited. You brought a sword into my nest. By all rights I should of strung you up and devoured you on the spot."
"And then what happened hmm.... You asked me, No. You begged me to spare you're life, and I did, I showed you mercy.... All I wanted in return is for you to be my pet..." (Slightly emotional) "To keep me company"
Short pause
"I kept to my end of the deal... I spared your life, I keep you safe, warm, fed and you still keep resisting me?..."
"Perhaps I should just devour you hmm... Why should I deny myself such a delicious meal, when all you do is fight me"
"Can't you see I'm trying pet."
Short pause
"Look at me little fly"
(Assertive) "I said look at me"
"It doesn't have to be like this you know."
"You're life could be bliss if you'd only listen to me. The sooner you accept your place as my pet the better."
"I don't want to have to be like this with you. But you make me, you leave me no choice."
Long pause
(Sigh) "I'm... I'm going to take the gag off again... Just... Just please behave, don't Struggle."
(To self, under breath) "I've had enough silence for one lifetime"
SFX; [Drider removing gag]
Long pause
"Look pet, I understand why your afraid of me... I do. You can't help it. You're little human brain acts on impulse. It's only natural for you to fear me."
"But I'm asking you. Please just give me a chance. That's all I'm asking from you. I... I've been alone for so long. All I want is for you to keep me company, to atleast talk to me. Please?"
Short pause
"Say, something pet. Anything."
Short pause
"You're only useful to me alive if you speak, pet. Silence just accelerates the feeding"
Short pause
(Suprised/relieved) "You... You want to ask me something.... Y-Yes of course pet. G-Go ahead."
Long pause
"Well because.... Because, I'm tired of it all."
"Do You have any idea what it's like. To be forced to live alone for so long. To be feared and hated by everything just on the very merit of your existence."
Short pause
"Yes, Driders are solitary creatures, that's correct. But I've lived in these ruins since I left the nest. Never, not even once. Have I seen or spoken to anyone, not humans, not the elves... Not even my own kin."
"It drives me insane"
Short pause
"Oh I've had plenty of your kind come here pet. But not one of them came here by accident, not with good intentions... They all came to kill me. To claim a reward as if they are some sort of bounty. Thinking themselves Brave hero's."
"But they all begged for their lives in the end. Each of those self proclaimed Heroes died a cowards death"
Short pause
"So why did I spare you?.... Now that's a very good question pet"
"You see, in all my years of life. I've had plenty of people threaten to slay me, to burn me. I've had plenty of people make demands of me or beg me to spare them.... But only once has anyone ever asked me about myself."
"You see little fly. You are the first and only one who has ever asked me a question. Who said anything to me other than simply threatening to slay me or begging me to spare you life... Although, there still was plenty of the latter."
"That's why I spared you pet... Because you reminded me of what it's like to have someone. To not be alone anymore."
"And that's why I can never let you leave, because I can't go back to being alone. No. If you ever try to leave me..."
(Sinister) "I'll devour every last drop of you, I'll keep you here with me, forever. You're mine. My pet, my little fly."
Short pause
"I want you to be happy pet. I want you to enjoy it here. With me."
"I don't want to be angry all the time... I just want to have someone to talk to... Is that really so much to ask for?"
"Can you please just try?"
Short pause
(Sigh) "It'll take time, but I'm patient... You'll accept me one day. You won't have any other choice."
"Now then.... As much as I've enjoyed our short conversation. I think that's Enough talk for now pet. It's late and I need to hunt... But Don't worry, I'll bring you back some food, I won't let you starve"
Short pause
"Don't go anywhere now pet... You know what will happen if you do"
SFX: [Drider scurrying away]
Time skip
SFX: [listener begins struggling in web for several moments, gradually getting more violent the longer it goes on]
SFX: [Web gradually tearing in places before eventually braking and listener dropping to floor]
SFX: [Listener begins running... They Get to stuck door and begin desperately trying to open it but with no success]
SFX: [Faint/distant sound of Drider scurrying back in the background]
(Quite/muffled & echoed) "Are you still awake pet..... Pet? PET!"
(Gut wrenching, echoing scream of rage after realising listener has escaped)
(Echoing) "No!.. No no no, where are they, they can't of, no. Not without....."
(Sniffing/inhaling listeners scent) (Sinister) "I'm coming for you pet, and when I find you.... Oh what I'll do to you when I find you"
SFX: [Listener desperately trying to open door as sound of Drider scurrying rapidly approaches]
(Eerily calm) "Found you pet"
"Oh what's wrong hmm, did your little escape not go to plan... Pity"
"I'll give you one chance and one chance only pet..."
"Come back with me willingly, and I promise I'll forget this ever happened. If not, then... Well, then... Well you'll just have to use your imagination won't you"
Short pause
"I don't understand pet? What have I done wrong hmm? I've given you so many chances. I've cared for you. Kept you safe and yet you still try to run from me?"
"But it's ok... It's not your fault little fly, your just a human. You act on impulse and emotion. If you come back now I'll Forgive you for trying to leave me..."
Short pause
(Laugh) "Oh. I see"
"I can see you looking at it y'know. Just out of reach. Your old sword, Those panicked thoughts darting through that tiny mind of yours."
"Hmm. Could you reach it in time I wonder. Y'know... I'm almost tempted to let you take it. If only to see the fear in your eyes when you realise how truly powerless you are against me."
"You're own thoughts betray you pet. Even now you're a slave to your emotions, frozen in fear."
SFX: [Drider slowly moving slightly closer]
"But it's ok... I know what's best for you"
"Now come here pet. I promise, I won't hurt you if you come willingly."
SFX: [Listener quickly moves and grabs sword, unsheathing it]
(Outraged) "YOU DARE! You dare draw that sword on me, after everything I've done for you."
"I spared your life, I kept you safe, I fed you and kept you warm. And this is how you repay me?"
"Humans, such impulsive little creatures, can't you see that this is where you belong? You're mine pet... You belong to me"
(Laughing) "Enlighten me pet. Even if you escape, Whats your plan hmm? To Run blindly through the forest in the middle of the night, find the nearest town or village and tell the soldiers about the big scary drider"
"If you even make it that far... Which I assure you... you won't."
Short pause
"We've been over this a thousand times human, you're mine... My pet, you're not going anywhere. You belong to me"
"So put the sword down, and come to me willingly. Or I promise you. You won't enjoy what comes next"
Long pause
(Calming) "Thats it pet, nice and slow. Just keep..." (interrupted)
SFX: [Listener pulls out a oil lantern]
(Scared/nervous) "Where... where did you get that... Put... Put it down pet. Now!"
"If you break that, you'll kill both of us"
"Pet?"
"Think very carefully about what you're doing pet"
Short pause
"NO!"
SFX: [Listener smashes oil lantern on ground between themselves and drider, ruins and webs going up in flames]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
(Rage) "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?... I'll tear you to pieces for this"
"No... My home, my webs. What have you done... You're destroying everything"
SFX: [Listener begins trying to break door down]
(Emotional throughout)
"Pet, please... It's not to late, We can fix this.. I promise"
"Please little fly, just listen to me... We can fix this, please. Don't do this to me."
"My home, you. It's all I have left."
SFX: [Sounds of burnt wooden beams collapsing]
(Shouting) "Why are you doing this to me?"
(Angry) "I knew it. You humans are all the same, vile little creatures. You've taken everything from me"
"Pet please...(Gasp)
SFX: [Part of the ruins collapsing onto the drider]
SFX: [Drider Screeching]
"Help me pet... Please, I can't.. I can't move"
"Pet?"
SFX: [Listener breaks down the door. A rush of hot air sweeping over them]
"Pet, Don't leave me... Please.... I'm begging you"
"We can make this right pet... Just... just come back to me. Don't leave me. I can't be alone again... Please."
(Listener pauses for a moment, turning back Feeling pity on the Drider)
(Shouting) "No! Pet please... You can't"
"Please Don't leave me, we can, we can make this right... You're mine... I need you."
SFX: [ Listener Turns back to the door and begins running entering the forest, illuminated only by the fire coming from the ruins as the sound of the fire gradually dies down as they get further away]
(Screaming) "I'M GOING TO FIND YOU PET"
"YOU BELONG TO ME!
Fades out as listener runs
End

Art block is being a pain to me and I don’t have any ideas for a drawing.

When Piper McLean comes up in topics here, she’s usually the subject of heated debate. Ever since her introduction back in 2010 (yes, it has been that long, and yes we are getting old), she remains one of the most controversial figures so far put to print in the Riordanverse, perhaps even the most controversial. Just in HoO we have:
The feathers in her hair, with the one side claiming this is an offensive stereotype, and the other claiming this is how Piper shows her pride as a Native American, she has a right to accessorize how she pleases, and complaining about her feathers is like making a mountain out of a molehill.
Her charmspeak, with one side claiming it’s the most broken power ever and makes Piper tantamount to a Mary Sue, with the other side ready to start citing one example after another when charmspeak failed and Piper got her ass handed to her. Case in point, my own post the other day when Midas turned Piper into a gold statue while she was using charmspeak.
Her relationship with Jason. Now, there’s a dozen different criticisms surrounding this one, but I’ll stick with everyone’s favorites: Piper’s obsession with Jason, her possessiveness of him, her “pick me girl” attitude, the strangeness of their start together, Piper’s insecurity about whether he may break up with her and get back with Reyna, and how “rushed” their timeline is. An interesting counterpoint is how Annabeth is no different, with proponents citing how jealous and clingy she became of Percy when Rachel entered the scene, and how possessive she is of him in her own right when she was ready to strangle Piper, Leo, and Jason at the Grand Canyon when they had no idea who Percy was. Then the counter to this counter is how comparing Annabeth’s and Piper’s behavior is like comparing apples and bananas. For the timeline, many say that the unseen six months between TLH and MoA wasn’t enough time for them to get to where they were at the beginning of the book, while many others argue that six months is way more than enough time for them to have talked things out, confessed their feelings, and made the decision to officially start dating.
So on and so forth.
And then we get to ToA…
Cue air raid sirens, code red alarms, bad weather alerts, a crying baby, and a seasick alpaca
When it comes to ToA, Rick either makes or breaks Piper. He either finally took her in the right direction, or he totally destroyed her character. There is no inbetween.
Right off the bat, we’ve got Piper revealing that she and Jason broke up, hitting us with the gut-wrenching reality that not all relationships last forever after all. This is either the greatest thing Rick could’ve done for Piper, breaking her free of the shackles that were Jason, or this is the worst thing Rick could’ve done, wasting five years of our lives writing this pairing just to throw it all away, undoing five years of character development just for drama and plot.
Then we’ve got Piper’s dialogue and her attitude towards Jason, and her words about Hera and Aphrodite. Piper’s rudeness towards Jason, and what she says about Hera forcing her into a relationship, and Aphrodite pressuring her into staying in that relationship, is either a stroke of literary genius on Rick’s part, showing how high amounts of stress are weighing on Piper and finally getting her to reveal what she really thinks, or is saying stuff she doesn’t really mean, or this is Piper being way OOC, saying stuff that doesn’t make any sense and is a direct contradiction to stuff she was saying and thinking back in HoO.
Even more, we’re introduced to Piper’s tandem identity crises, those being her spiritual crisis regarding her Cherokee identity and her sexual confusion. This is seen either as Rick finally giving Piper some meaningful character development, having her question if she really is Cherokee given how long she’s been away from the tribe, and questioning whether she really is straight, or if she was really gay the whole time, or if she’s bisexual, or this is a weak and shoehorned plot introduced at the last minute that has no canon basis what with how confident and proud Piper was to be a Cherokee, and her sexual confusion makes no sense seeing as how she had no such qualms anywhere in HoO, and this is therefore Rick trying to score more diversity points by retconning Piper’s sexuality.
And then to wrap it all up, Piper’s apparent new partner. The actual text from ToN says “friend,” never “girlfriend.” However, this is from Apollo’s POV, and he also describes Piper and Shel as “lovebirds,” with their hands laced together, and one of them leaned over to kiss the other. “Early days” says Piper, talking to the newly reinstated sun god. What I’m getting at to this is that maybe, just maybe, Piper and Shel aren’t actually girlfriends, but really good friends, meaning this fandom has been wrong about “Shelper” for the past two and a half years. But disregarding this theory, Piper’s new girlfriend takes the cake for being the most heated topic of debate regarding her current status in the Riordanverse.
We’ve got people saying this is excellent writing on Rick’s part. He showed us Piper struggling with her identity, and then he showed us how she’s coped with that struggle after a timeskip. We’ve got people saying this is great for Piper, that she’s in a relationship of her own choosing. Then we’ve got people saying this is abysmal writing, that Rick can’t write LGBT relationships to save his life, that the whole Shelper pairing is weak, rushed, and forced, and plays into negative stereotypes about lesbians. We’ve got people criticizing the double standard, pointing out how some say that six months for Jasper wasn’t enough time, but less than three months is perfect for Shelper. More on the timing, we’ve got people saying that this is great, that this demonstrates that Piper has moved on from Jason, and the other side argues that this is horrible and unrealistic, that it hasn’t even been a full three months since Jason died, and she’s already got a new partner.
Too fast, they say, with no build-up, background, effort, energy, or anything at all. Rick just slaps Piper into a new pairing and calls it an arc.
Poor Piper just cannot catch a break. Those who hated her in HoO now love her in ToA, and those that loved her in HoO now hate her in ToA. One guy was even so dedicated to sharing his views that he wrote not one, but two essays on everything wrong with Piper.
But I’m not here with you today to talk about Piper’s controversies. The point to that huge intro was to highlight the biggest talk points about Piper, so I could build into a trait about her that rarely ever gets attention:
Her dark side.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Piper has a dark side to her that rivals Nico. Maybe even surpasses him, because when we saw Nico commit murder it was because Reyna was in near-mortal peril and he was saving her life, but Piper’s moment comes in the form of good ‘ol fashioned revenge.
Bringing TBM back into the spotlight, we see Piper’s most brutal moment when she comes up behind Medea and throws Katoptris into the witch’s back, impaling her in the spine, and probably a lung, because Medea is written as not being able to speak, and she dies shortly after Piper’s attack. Nico turning Bryce into a chattering ghost and sending him straight to the Underworld is certainly brutal, but there’s a certain amount of oompf that comes with actually plunging your blade into someone, drawing their blood, and taking their life.
Now, as for what this has to do with her dark side, we have to examine all that’s going on right now.
The Imperial War is raging on with what basically amounts to the Empire Strikes Back of the Riordanverse, with Caligula actually managing to kill a main character…controversy over how he managed that also aside…and the McLean family is practically ruined. Tristan now has no money, with all of his mansions, cars, furniture, and more expensive outfits all having been repo’d by the bank to cover his debts, and he may be in even more financial trouble than we know of, with whatever money he does make when he gets back to Tahlequah going straight to the bank as well. The only thing keeping Tristan in one piece right now is Piper.
But what is the number one thing on Piper’s mind right now? Is it her father’s emotional and mental state? Is it her future in Tahlequah as a public high school student? Neither. Piper’s out for blood.
In Apollo’s own words: I realized she had come here first and foremost to get revenge on Medea, secondly to help us. Making it out alive...that had been a very distant third on her list of priorities.
First to get revenge, second to help Apollo rescue Herophile, and from Apollo’s POV, Piper hadn’t cared if she lived or died. She went to the main LA entrance to the Burning Maze, the one that was supposed to be a heavily guarded death trap, fully intent on fighting her way through just to take Medea’s life. Piper disregarded what her father was going through, what would happen to him if she died, and what would happen to Hedge if she died, and dedicated every fiber of her being to killing the witch. She’d been ready to fight an army by herself if she had to.
So, amongst all the controversy and raging debate that surrounds Piper, I think we can all agree that if you ruin her father’s financial success and almost get him thrown in jail on top of killing her ex-boyfriend that she had tons of unresolved issues with, she is going to track you down across the planet to kill you.
The dark side of Piper McLean. She’ll cast everything aside, even her own life, for revenge.

There’s been so many “My boyfriend is actually a misogynist” threads lately I can’t keep up.
Ma’am, if he does not believe you are equal to him, break up. That’s not me being one of those “just break up” Reddit people that’s just the truth. If your boyfriend hates feminism, that means he hates the idea of you having equality, which means you probably shouldn’t want to be with somebody who sees you as lesser because of your gender. Looking past it now will do nothing but let the problem come into play in the future even if you don’t think it’s an issue now. Because the “my boyfriend said xyz misogynistic thing” turns into “my husband won’t let our six year old wear shorts outside” or whatever else type of fathers these men grow up into. I would know, I have one.
This is in no shape or form me blaming the women for their boyfriend’s thoughts. I am saying that if you find yourself in some type of relationship with a certified misogynist, it’s in your best interest to get out of it ASAP. Nothing good has ever come from it. It is better to be single than to be arguing with your “partner” everyday about if you deserve equal opportunities or not. If you would rather be in a terrible relationship than to be single, go to therapy. You are also not Mrs. I-Can-Fix-Him.
And no, he is not “good in every other way”. I don’t care if he made you breakfast a couple times before or if he got you a nice birthday gift. He’s still misogynistic. PLEASE wake up lmfao

Submitted into Contest #189 in response to: Write a story inspired by this quote from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy: “In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”
​
The boy had ran through the woods of this pine forest so many times, it never occurred to him that he could get lost. He could not get lost here, any more than he could get lost walking from his bedroom to his kitchen. And yet, the fallen knotted pine that marked the middle of the trail never materialized.
“Shoot,” the boy said, crouching down to the forest floor to take a momentary break. His parents would be worried about him soon. He looked to the tops of the trees and moved his body this way and that to find the sun; if he could locate it he would know where west was and he could find his way out. He ran twenty yards and could not see the sun. He was lost.
A branch snapped loudly in the underbrush. The boy whipped around to face the sound. After a moment, “It’s just a fox. Stop being a chicken. It’s just a fox.” He marched onward. The trees became so dense the sky was blocked. Another snapped branch. The boy jumped, in spite of himself.
“Hello? Is someone there?” There was no answer. The boy trudged forward, still dropping the sticks. Then, out of the deepest brush emerged another boy, maybe a teenager.
“Are you Danny?” He asked, panting. He was wearing a tightly packed hunting pack and the boy saw that he was carrying a compass.
“Who are you?”
“Gil. I’ve been looking for you.” He slipped the hiking pack off of his shoulders and sat on his haunches. He pulled water and a peanut butter sandwich out of it. “Want half?” Gil asked.
The boy hesitated. “How do you know who I am?”
“So you are Danny, then. You’re lost, right?” Gil said.
“Yes, I. Wait. How do you know?” Danny took a small step back.
“It’s my job to find people who are lost in the forest.”
“Well, how did you know I was in here? Did my mom and dad send you?” Danny asked.
“Sure, we’ll go with that. Want part of the sandwich or what?” Gil broke the sandwich in half and ate one of the halves in a single bite. He held the other half out to Danny in offering. Danny tentatively accepted and scarfed the sandwich down.
Gil wiped the crumbs from his hands and stood up. “Time to get you unlost, Danny, follow me,” he said, before heading deeper into the forest, away from the direction whence Danny came. Danny looked once behind himself and followed Gil into the wood.
When they’d walked for some time, Danny asked, “Where are we going?”
“Out of the wood. Stick close to me, we’re going off trail here.”
They started to climb over thick, knotted roots and into beds of all tree leaves. The branches too dense to climb through. Danny had to lift his legs high enough to climb through the openings in the branches that Gil cut with a machete.
“I didn’t come this way, uh, Gil.”
“It’s okay,” he called back over his shoulder. “Shortcut.”
The branches entwined so thickly at one point that Danny and Gil could only pass by crawling beneath them on their bellies. Eventually, the branches cleared and they were in a small glade; it glowed a dull yellow, but was illuminated by neither the sun nor the moon. On the other side of the glade, a rope was strung among several trees, from which hung a wooden placard that said “Turn Back, Private Land.” Gil strode confidently under the rope.
“Gil, this is private property, we can’t cross.”
“It’s fine.”
“The owners might have guard dogs. Heck, they might shoot us. Let’s go another way,” Danny was trying to tamp down the squeal of panic trying to escape in his voice.
Gil turned to him, skin ethereal in the yellow light, “Just trust me, Danny.”
Danny inhaled sharply as he bent under the rope and entered the private property. They continued on a narrow path until they came, quite suddenly, upon a rather large stone house. Danny wasn’t sure how he could have missed it; but there it was. He counted a dozen windows and huge double front doors made of oak. Gil approached confidently and knocked a pattern on to the door. It opened. Gil lazily waved at Danny to follow.
Inside, the house was tiny, a single room cottage with a small fire burning in the fireplace. There was an armchair facing the fire, and in it sat a huddled figure, obscured by a hood.
Still staring at the fire, the figure asked in a rasping voice, “Danny, do you want to go home?”
“Sir?” Danny replied.
“Do you have an answer?”
Danny swallowed and answered, “Yes, but I think it’s time for me to go back now, the way I came. This is not the right way to my house, I can see that now. It was ever so kind of you to send someone for me, but I know the way now.”
The figure in the chair waved his arms and the shadows teeming along the floor took shape, dragging and pulling Danny, overpowering him; pushing him closer to the fire.
“Hey! Gil! Help!” The end of Danny’s screams were muffled by the shadows overcoming his face. Gil stood impassively watching as Danny was dragged, wrapped in shadows into the fire.
Danny emerged somewhere on the other side of the fire, the shadows melting, burning and disintegrating around him. Gil was leaning against a stone wall opposite him, waiting.
“What on earth is happening?” Danny demanded. He tried to suppress the beginnings of tears. “Why are you doing this to me? Just take me home.”
“It had to be this way, Danny. This is the way home."
Danny didn’t follow. “I’m not coming,” he said, sticking out his chin defiantly.
Gil said, “You’re going to want to follow. It’s about to get weird in here.”
Danny still did not move, but then a great din of shrieking cries clamored into the room. Danny turned, trying to find tsource of the noise, but he couldn’t see anyone, or anything, that might be the source of the noise. Sometimes the voices said his name: Danny! Help us.”
Danny asked. “Where are those people, calling for me?”
Gil tapped his fingers to his head. “They’re in here.”
“I don’t understand. What do they want from me.”
“They want you to help them, Danny.”
“How can I help them?”
“They’re trapped. You need to dig them out.”
Danny’s hands were suddenly full of a pickaxe and a shovel. Confused but determined, he slammed the pickaxe into the stone floor again and again, until the stones were broken away. He went to his knees and pulled the stones until he reached rich, dark earth. He hit it with shovel, digging out earth until he saw a dozen or so fingers poking out of the dirt. The yelling was louder now.
“I’m coming! Give me a minute. I’ll be there.”
He put his hands into the dirt, expecting to feel an arm or a head, but he felt nothing. He pushed his arms in to the elbow, but nothing. He knelt upright and the fingers were gone.
“Where did they go?” Danny cried. “They were right here!” The screams had gown fainter.
“You didn’t get to them in time,” Gil replied simply. “They’re gone. We need to move on.”
“No! I have to help them!” Danny reached for the shovel, determined to dig more quickly, but it was gone and so was the pickaxe. The stone floor had been repaired. Danny gasped in shock, but Gil walked on. This time, Danny followed. They left the stone room into an open wood and approached a wide, rushing river.
“We need to cross,” Gil said. “And soon, before the embankment floods.”
“Is there a bridge?” Danny asked, looking into the river. “If we try to swim in that we’ll drown.”
The river started to spill out over its embankment. Danny took an instinctive step backwards. Then, he ran down the length of the river for twenty-odd yards, hoping to find something that could help him cross the river. Gil followed behind him a trot. The river flooded several feet more.
Danny was panicking. “Please, I don’t know why you’ve brought me here. But just help me.”
“I am helping. I’m showing you where to go. Get across the river and you’ll get to where you need to go.”
Danny dropped his pack and took off his shoes and shirt, so they could not weigh him down if he had to swim. He approached the flooded embankment and put his toe in. An idea hit him.
“I need another axe!” An axe appeared in his hand. He ran to an enormously tall oak tree and whacked and whacked and whacked at the base. Sometimes it would seem that he was more than halfway through the base and other times it was like he’d made no dent in it. The water was past his ankles then his knees, then he was swept away, desperately grabbing for the trunk of the tree, which finally fell as he was moved downriver, causing a massive wave that carried him even more quickly down the raging waters.
“Danny?”
Danny’s eyes blinked open to see his mother dabbing his forehead with a cool, wet cloth.
“Mom?” Danny sat up. “Oh mom, I had the most awful dream”
His mother’s eyes were filled with tears. “Danny, we were so scared. Billy, tell the doctor he’s awake!” Danny’s older brother ran out of the corner of the room and down the stairs. “You’ve had a terrible fever, Danny. We haven’t been able to wake you.”
Danny could hear a light figure taking the creaky wooden steps two at a time, and a young man with a white coat and a stethoscope rushed into the room.
“No!” Danny jumped in the bed, drawing his knees to his chest. “Mommy, help me. Get him out!”
Danny’s mother looked from him to the doctor with confusion. “Danny?”
The doctor approached closer. “Danny, it’s ok.”
“Mom, that’s Gil. He tried to trap me.” Danny pointed at Gil.
“That’s the doctor, sweet. Doctor Viro.”
“No, that’s… that’s the boy from the woods.”
Danny faltered as the doctor approached and he could see that what had been Gil’s features resolved into someone older, gentler. Danny exhaled and slowly lowered his knees away from his chest. The doctor sat on the side of the bed gently placed the stethoscope on Danny’s chest and then his abdomen.
“Good,” the doctor said. Then he reached in his bag and pulled out a thermometer. He popped it into Danny’s mouth. “Temperature dropped,” the doctor under his breath. Then he stood up and said to Danny’s mother. “More rest. Fluids. He should be fine.”
Danny heard a faint squelch, squelch, squelch. The doctors boots, covered in mud, leaves and twigs, were leaking water on to the bedroom floor. Danny tried to show the shoes to his mother, but he was back in the river, speeding toward a waterfall. Danny flailed his arms, looking to grab anything to keep him from going over the edge. Just as he was about to go over the waterfall, Gil grabbed his hand and pulled him on to a rocky outcrop on the other side of the river.
“What do you want with me?” Danny asked. “Why were you in my house?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Gil said.
“You were the doctor, dragging your dirty boots on the floor.
Gil gave Danny a skeptical look. A thought dawned on Danny. “This is a dream. It’s not real! I can end this.”
Gil shot a dark look. “Are you sure you can end this? I think you need to find your way through the wood first.”
Danny stood up not the rock, and slipped his shoes off to dump the water out. Putting them back on, he headed toward a mountain in the distance.
“Where are you going?” Gil asked.
“I’m climbing that mountain and finding my way out.” Danny hiked for what felt like hours. Finally, he reached the bottom of the mountain and spared a glance back to Gil who was following closely behind in silence.
“Are you coming?” Danny asked.
“I can’t.” Gil replied. “I’m have to stay here.”
“What's making you?" Danny was genuinely confused.
“It’s the laws of this place.”
“What if you held my hand?” Danny held his hand out.
Gil cocked his head to the side. “There is one thing you could do.”
“What?”
“Give me a drop of your blood.”
Danny raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? One drop.”
“Just one.”
“What will one drop do?” Danny crossed his arms over his chest.
“It will break the enchantment keeping me here, and then I can join you out of the mountain and find my way of the the wood.”
“Who are you, really? What are you doing here?” Danny asked.
“I’m Gil and this is where I’m fated to be.”
Danny, taking great pity on Gil, sat on his haunches and rub his hand along the broken flint gathered in a clump along the bottom of the footpath. He took a piece to his palm and nicked his skin; it hurt worse than he thought it would.
“Here.” Danny held his hand out to Gil.
Gil approached and pulled a vial out of his shirt. He uncapped it and held it to the wound on Gil’s palm. He recorked it and put it back in his shirt.
“Thanks,” Gil said, looking at the ground.
Danny continued up the mountain, somehow never getting out of breath, but the peak never seeming to get closer. After hours or days, Danny didn’t know, he stopped.
“Gil, why isn’t the peak getting any closer?”
“It is,” Gil replied, looking at something over Danny’s shoulder.
Danny turned around and a pair of wrought iron gates blocked the rest of the trail leading to the peak of the mountain. Danny tried to pull them open, but they were locked. He hit the lock on the gates with a rock, but no luck.
“Here, let me try,” Gil suggested. He walked to the gate and fiddled with the lock, reaching in and out of his pockets while doing so.
A few minutes later, the gate popped open, and Gil stepped through. Danny followed. The peak was much closer; maybe thirty minutes’ walk away, but Danny’s legs grew heavier until he could not longer lift them. He felt like he was being dragged back down the mountain.
“I need to stop,” Danny said, pulling off of the trail.
He couldn’t deny it now, he was being pulled down the mountain.
“Gil, help me. I’m falling.”
Gil shot him a pitying look. “Sorry, but only one of us can go through. I already used this,” he pulled the vial out of his shirt, "to open the gate. It senses another person who didn’t provide blood. You’ll have to go back."
Danny looked confused. “Wait, so I can’t come up?”
“I’m sorry.” Gil was smiling.
“Can you give me your blood?”
Gil laughed. “I’ve been trying to get out of here for hundreds of years. I don’t have any to give.”
Danny was further down the mountain now, nearing the gate. Rage filled him and he remembered, in the side pocket of his cargo pants, he had put a makeshift slingshot before he set out in the wood. He pulled it out and scrambled his hands over the ground until he found a decently sized rock. Gil had turned around, walking back up the mountain. While falling ever further, Danny aimed the slingshot and hit Gil in the back of his head.
Gil stumbled, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. He fell back and tripped over a large root sticking out of the ground, he fell and fell until he was even closer to the gate than Danny. Danny summoned all of his remaining strength and kicked Gil in the chest and though the gate, grabbing him by the shirt and retrieving the vial as he did. Danny didn’t wait to see what happened to Gil, instead he ran back up the mountain and reached the peak. He turned around to view the landscape below him and he woke back up in the room, his mother lightly sleeping in the chair next to his bed.
Danny was hyperventilating, still expecting Gil to walk through the door. Instead, Dr. Viro came back in, smiling genially. “Up are we, Danny?”
Danny did not led his guard down. He spied the doctor’s shoes to make sure they weren’t waterlogged boots. He tensed up as the doctor again listened to his chest.
“Are you ok? Your heart rate is kind of fast.”
Danny pulled back. The doctor moved the stethoscope to Danny’s back.
“Lungs sound good. I’m going to listen to your chest one more time. Okay?”
Danny nodded. The doctor stuck his hand into an inside pocket of Danny’s dressing gown and retrieved the vial. He pushed Danny into he bed, continuing to push him until he disappeared.
Danny fell onto the ground of a blank, grey room with no noise and no depth.
“Gil! What did you do?”
Danny stood up and wandered, but The room seemed limitless. He started to cry. I just want to go back home. He heard something that sounded close-by and yet far. He was afraid to listen more closely, lest it be another group of people begging for his help. But when he listened, he heard Gil’s voice, altered to sound like Danny, talking to his mother.
“I’m swell, ma,” Gil said.
Danny yelled as loudly as he could, hoping to get his mother’s attention, but no noise came out.
On the other side, Gil settled into the bed and accepted a kiss from Danny’s mother.
Danny continued his unheard scream.

I recently had a discussion with my bandmates about protest songs. We talked about how music as a medium possesses the ability to transcend language barriers and communicate complex emotions and ideas. While lyrics can be an effective tool for delivering a message, music can also convey a message or make a statement through its instrumentation, arrangement, composition, sonic landscapes, and other methods that transcends the bounds of a song. I think that it’s through this realm that music becomes an invaluable medium for protest and activism. By utilizing the full range of the musical medium, the art form not only captures emotional complexity but also highlights the underlying message and social commentary.
That got me wondering… Which songs demonstrate this? Do you have some recommendations worth a listen? A penny for your thoughts?
First songs that come to mind:
Star spangled banner – Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix’s notorious distortion-drenched rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, simulating combat – bombs dropping, people screaming – in protest against the Vietnam War.
Machine gun - Jimi Hendrix A jam-based song evolving around percussive riffs and experimental guitar work that simulate the sounds of a battlefield as a protest of the Vietnam War and a broader comment on conflict and violence.
Sheep – Pink Floyd The song kicks off with a soundscape of a cattle farm as a swirly Hammond organ peacefully introduces itself. However, the soothing meadow is soon disrupted as Pink-Floydesque guitars get thrown around your ears. The song draws inspiration from the novella Animal Farm and describes a circumstance where people follow an ideology or leader without knowing the reason.
Return to Monke – Viagra Boys The song interweaves internet culture and conspiracies with aggressive bass lines, driving synths, and loose yet dooming saxophones. Quite a funny picture if you imagine a crowd completely losing it – flying all over the place, throwing pints, and shouting – while a shirtless frontman embodies the monkey inside of him. “That phrase ‘leave society, be a monkey’ is just taking the piss out of these people who think the world is a big conspiracy against them. Maybe they should just leave.” – Sebastian Murphy via Apple Music.
Similar songs on Street Worms and Cave World are also well worth a listen!
Merchandise – Fugazi The Post-hardcore band never licensed an official shirt. Thus a bootleg shirt market emerged. A t-Shirt ‘this is not a Fugazi tShirt” quoting “you are not what you own” from this anti-consumerist anthem, ironically was approved for a charitable cause. Whether or not intended, the shirt design seems like a conceptual nod to René Magritte’s “this is not a pipe”, illustrating the difference between a thing and a visual representation of that thing.
Slip it In – Black Flag A poke at rape and toxic masculinity through provoking shouts and mourns.
Waiting Room – Fugazi The most immediately striking element is the use of an abrupt hold. The absolute musical pop cliché, as in U can’t touch this (MC Hammer), Crying (Roy Orbison), Alison (Elvis Costello), Crazy (Britney Spears), Lucy (Britney Spears), and Stronger (Britney Spears), shows the direct relationship between the lyric and the music. MacKeyes growing impatience with being on the sidelines and his desire to start things but having to stop: he has to remain a patient boy.
A wonderful video essay bout the concept
Clean Kill – Coriky Through its repetitive melodies and mundane lyrics, the song calls attention to the irony of using drone strikes to target human beings in an attempt to make warfare appear more sanitized and morally justifiable.
And maybe more subtle? Ex Lion Tamer - Wire Zomby Woof - Frank Zappa & The Mothers Trouble Every Day - The Mothers Of Invention I Was Gonna Fight Fascism - Soccer 96 & Albaster DePlume
Greets

Have some paper and free time give me some ideas to draw

I am The Bard, who must admit some certain fondness for some of my subjects over others. Any historian naturally becomes attached to some characters, and obtains a bias towards them. I am no different in this regard.
It hung like the bones of an ancient lizard king, awesome even in its deiscation. Highest of the high places, casting forth the dying light of the age, and covering the cosmos in an intense metaphysical shadow. None were beyond its antumbra, and heaven and hell alike were bound within its deepest umbra. The weight of history pressing down on reality was bound up here. Here, amidst the ruins of what had once been the seat of the first and greatest king of the age, where dragons first caught fire in their breaths, where they sang and the world was changed. Here, in ruined majesty, lay the breathless word of awe and mournful nostalgia. A kingdom who’s shadow was graven onto the name of the world itself.
Akar. The first and true Akar. The plane of Io. The birthplace of Bahamut and Tiamat, and where the king of heaven died, and the end of the age began.
Many were the treasure seekers, pilgrims, historians, and other sundry who wandered those halls. Many more were the defenders. The servants of Bahamut and Tiamat alike, agreeing only in this, that the ancient palace, their once true and perfect home, should not be defiled by pillagers and scoundrels. So, suffice it to say the presence of the Black Hound Scoundrels was not welcomed.
Raymond’s sword was broken, again. He’d liked that one too, an ancient ilithid weapon, projecting a blade of light though a psionic focusing crystal. It had served him well, right up until the point where the blue dragon’s lightning bolt had overloaded the arcane technology and blown it up in his hand. He was also missing a limb again, but this was less troublesome than when he was alive.
He hit the ground hard as he fell back, rolling over and over on the black marble floor. Several things were definitely broken. They had found themselves near to their goal, in what had likely been a planetarium of sorts before the fall of Io. The room was filled with great orbs, each one depicting in full a different plane of existence, and how they moved and danced around one another in the great cosmic game. Each globe was about three times the size of a man in radius, and formed of material from the plane it depicted. The floor was graven of marble quarried from the negative energy plane itself, malefic energies safely disapated, and opposite it, a ceiling of glowing hypermatter from the positive energy plane supplemented the light of what appeared to be a miniature star in the center of the room.
That light was quickly obscured as the earth shook from the impact of an ancient blue dragoness landing in front of it. One of Tiamat’s consorts, fair and terrible as the sea and stars. The room crackled with static electricity, a storm system building within the confined space from the raw elemental power of the ancient dragon. She stalked forwards, reading another blast fit to reduce Raymond to ashes. As she opened her mouth, something hit her in the chin. The lightning backfired, and blew dragoness and defender alike back.
Pure angel-white armored boots tore up the surface next to Raymond as Elsior ground to a halt. Her wings flared, tensing for another burst of motion. Aegis snapped to the side in a ready position as the white lion guarded her friend. “Ray, you doing okay?”
”Fine. Just give me a moment.” Raymond replied. He focused, charging the depleted stone around him with his power, awakening a fragment of its prior energies. Once charged, he drew it up around himself, reforming his lost limb from the planar material. “Right. Good to go.”
”We cannot afford to be delayed by this guardian overlong.” Aegis warned through their shared mental link. “It must be removed rapidly.”
”Cualli can’t hold her. That’s how the last one broke.” Lamora warned. The changeling flashed into being, emerging from the form of a microscopic bacterium, only to deliver a devastating slash across the dragoness’s face. Her silver blade slashed horn and eye alike, sending the dragoness reeling with an eye cut out and a horn crashing to the floor. The shapeshifter goddess caught the blood from the wound in her palm, then in a crash of thunder, there were two dragonesses in the room, grappling with one another with fang and claw, tearing up the room in their struggle.
”Well best figure something out soon, we’re running out of zombies.” Keelah replied. The kobold, well, not exactly a kobold any longer, reported from the entrance to the room. Beyond it, the corridor was filled with the sound of clashing blades. She snapped around the corner, twin crossbows raised. Demonic energies began to charge from her weapons, then snapped out in a howling chorus as a rain of hellfire burst from the twin weapons. Tiamat’s lesser forces felt the sting of Avarice and Arrogance, as they rained amidst their ranks. She heard the chant of an Abashai sorcerer, and focused. The chanting devil had their spell cut off midway as Keelah fired a focused blast that punched through the sorcerer’s bodyguards and into his skull. The demonic energy exploded, rending the sorcerer to pieces and covering the nearby minions with gore. She fired another shot, this one a scything wave, and bisected a trio of white abashai that had managed to break through Raymond’s wall of zombies.
Despite her efforts, the undead were flanked, and annihilated. “Correction.” She updated. “We are out of zombies.”
”This necessitates a mightier minion.” Raymond remarked. “Cover me!” He pressed his hand to the black surface of the floor, and began to channel. At the same time, Lamora lost her grapple with the blue dragon, who threw her down with her teeth upon her throat. Unfortunately for the dragoness, biting a changeling is somewhat less than effective, as Lamora flowed like mercury away from the bite, taking on her true form and landing a devastating counter-slash along the dragonness’s wing. It turned towards her, roaring in anger, only to be checked and knocked back by a brilliant white flash.
As several of the dragoness’s teeth fell to the ground, Elsior landed, blade directed at the dragoness. “I’ve never fought a dragon before. Have to say, you’re disappointing.” This enraged the dragoness, who focused her fury upon the white lion, and the chamber shook with their battle.
As Raymond focused, the ground began to raise up into an arch. The sorcerer remained focused utterly on his work, defenseless as he chanted a ritual of awakening and binding. The minions of Tiamat surged forwards towards him, but then there came the sound of the unbreakable breaking. With a chime of shattering time, Keelah re-entered the fray. The fourth dimension cracked about her, as the demoness of time channeled the power of the abyss into the gears of the cosmos themselves.
She was about them and untouchable, fragmented across a dozen parallel worldlines, each one tangled in a gordian knot as reality bent at her whim. Her enemies were slowed, moving in molasses as no speed could avail them, and she likewise was a blur, her newfound abyssal power amplifying her speed, and time accelerating around her to push demonic enhancements even further. She was a one-woman platoon, single-handedly trapping the forces of Tiamat with enfilade fire, sniping their commanders into paste, blasting, ripping, and tearing the horde with a storm of abyssal energy.
Then, it was done. Raymond’s ritual completed as the gate stood ready. With a shout of warning, he activated it. The weak died instantly, reduced to their fundamental elements as the power of the negative energy plane ripped into the planetarium. A singularly unfortunate dragonborn was too near to the gate when it activated, and was pulled through, his body stretching out weirdly as the dimensional distortion inflicted a status scientifically know as “spaghettification” upon him.
Then from the gate came winged death, or perhaps death in the shape of wings. It came with an unsound, an unshriek, and an unboom. Its form perhaps suggested a vulture, or some other kind of carrion bird. But it was an impression, an image in the mind which tried to attach something known to the unknown thing. It was a storm of many black wings, and many eyes. About it was an unflame, an echo of the silence before the first words were spoken. The men of Akar called these creatures Nightstalkers, for they were the hunters and the dragons of the deathly plane. The shape of death, with it antithetical resonance, fell upon the brightest source of life, the blue dragoness. The two forces ripped against one another, lightning flashing desperately as silence smothered the thunder.
The scoundrels ran. “Minion.” Keelah grumbled as time wearily mended itself around her. “Minon. Minion implies you can control that thing!” She growled.
”Theoretically, I can.” Raymond replied. “Though I’d rather not try to put theory into practice right now.”
”So, in other words, you aren’t controlling it.” Keelah said.
”Why do you think I’m running too?” Raymond replied, and Keelah started running faster.
Then, they were there. They knew it at once, the presence of the place was palpable. A wrongness, a sorrow, a stain and scar upon the fabric of the world, invisible but impossible to miss or ignore. Raymond and Lamora felt their stomachs churn, their hair stand on end. Their senses screamed at them that this was a place nobody should be in, a place that should not exist. An absolute defilement hung upon the area, an abomination of desecration so severe that the world screamed around then.
Elsior fell to a knee, struggling to breathe from the overwhelming pressure of the area. Even empowered by Aegis, the dragonborn felt it more strongly than any of them, a death so profound its mere memory was enough to cause her heart to briefly stop, fitfully start, and then stop again. If she remained overlong, it would kill her. The effect upon Keelah was less severe, but without an artifact to protect her, she suffered terribly. The kobold was not a kobold any longer, her shape was formed from the material of the abyss, held together by her sheer ego more so than by any natural law. In this place, her scales screamed, writhed, and began to rip off her body into a twisting coil around her. Her skin boiled under it, her crossbows reknit themselves into her flesh. She retained her shape, her size, but more and more she leaned further away from the draconic heritage and into her new demonic nature to desperately avoid the ancestral agony gathered in this place.
It was odd, one of the simpler rooms in the great planetary palace. A dining room, with three chairs suited for draconic beings. It hadn’t been touched in centuries, nothing had even been here to shed the dead skin cells that would produce dust. Whatever meal they had been eating was long since rotted away, but the table was still half-set, broken plates and cookware scattered. It was as though it might have been left only a few minutes ago. If not for the blood, so much blood. It painted the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the furnitutre. Dried and set like stone into the fabric of the world, the blood of Bahamut, of Tiamat, and of their father.
This was where Io had died. This was where Bahamut and Tiamat’s war began, where they ripped their father’s heart from his chest and tore it in twain, split between them. It still carried the echo of Io’s dying scream, a memory potent enough to bring those with draconic blood to their knees. A memory potent enough to help fuel the birth of a new god of the dead.
”Ray. Grab it. Quickly.” Elsior ordered. “We aren’t meant to be here. Nobody is meant to be here.”
”On it.” Raymond replied, setting down his staff. It began to flicker, grey light sweeping out from it and scanning over the room again and again and again. Ghostly images began to form, memories of the room, playing back in reverse across the centuries. It had been so long that the process would take some time. “It’s set.” Raymond said, and placed a charm on the staff to return to him when it had captured the memory sufficiently. “Let’s get out of here.” He said, moving quickly back towards the planetarium. Everyone knew what waited for them there, it was better than this place.
”I just hope that your staff can get you the memory fast enough.” Keelah grumbled, piecing herself back into her false form. “There’s been trouble enough with-“
”Keelah, if you jinx us I’m going to kick you halfway back to the abyss.” Elsior cut her off.
Lamora stiffened. “Too late. She’s coming. Ray, timeline on that memory?”
”No idea.” Raymond replied. “At its current rate, maybe five minutes.” He started to sprint, and the others continued, Elsior picking up Keelah to bear her along more swiftly. “Maybe the nightstalker can slow-“
He went silent as they emerged back into the planetarium, and the world rent. An overwhelming dominance threatened to stop the hearts of everyone. The nightstalker turned its many-eyed gaze towards the rift and what came through. Drawn like a moth to a flame, it turned its gaze from the desiccated remains of the ancient blue dragoness and hurled itself towards the coming prismatic light. There was a sound like an earthquake, like a hurricane, and like a meteorite impacting as pure chaotic energy ripped it apart, blasting the apex predator of the Negative Energy Plane to dust in an instant.
The ground shook, as a thing unmatched in beauty and in horror stepped through. Five heads snaked on five necks, built upon a powerful body. The very magic of the room trembled as an impossibly powerful aura made the strands of the universe quiver. Five voices spoke in one, in absolute rage and fury, as Tiamat, queen of dragons, made her presence and displeasure known. “YOU DARE. YOU DARE, TRESPASS UPON MY HOME, IN THE PRESENCE OF MY PAIN? YOU COME, CRAWLING AMIDST THE TOMB OF GODS, AND THINK TO ROB IT, TO DARE TO STEAL FROM THE QUEEN OF DRAGONS?”
Lamora covered the scoundrels in a spell of invisibility, but Tiamat turned her gazes upon it and stripped the spell away with all the ease of a mother throwing away a sheet a troublesome child was trying to hide under. “I SEE YOU THERE, LAMORA, FALSE GODLING, PATHETIC LITTLE EXCUSE FOR A DEITY. EVEN IN YOUR MIGHTIEST FORM YOU WERE NO MATCH FOR ME. DO YOU THINK THIS LATEST MORTAL YOU USURPED WILL AVAIL YOU?”
Another head turned towards Elsior, towards Aegis. “I SEE YOU ALSO, DEVIANT, REMNANT AND REGRET. HOW MUCH THE TRUE YOU FEARS YOU, HOW ALIKE YOU ARE IN YOUR COWARDICE AND WEAKNESS. DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, CHILD OF THE USURPER. THAT TRINKET WILL NOT AVAIL YOU. BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP ME, AND I MAY SHOW YOU MERCY.”
Still another, full of wrath, gazed upon Raymond and he quietly thanked Adonai he no longer had a digestive system. “THE SAME WILL NOT BE SAID OF YOU, SORCERER, PARASITE, THIEF. HOW MUCH I REMEMBER YOU, BROKEN AND IN AGONY BY A MERE FAMILIAR, A CONCUBINE, AND NOW YOU THINK TO AVENGE YOURSELF UPON ITS MASTER BY OBTAINING GODHOOD? BY STEALING AWAY THE MEMORY OF MY GREATEST AGONIES TO EMPOWER YOURSELF? HAH. YOU, A FAILURE MORE TIMES THAN EVEN MY TREASURES CAN COUNT. FAILURE AS A FATHER, AS A LEADER, AND NOW YOU THINK TO BE A GOD? THE PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR ARROGANCE WILL BE LEGENDARY. YOUR SCREAMS WILL ECHO THROUGH THE MILLENIA, AND YOUR PAIN WILL BE ETCHED UPON THE STARS, SO THAT EVEN HELL SHALL GAZE UP AND SHUDDER. THEN ALL SHALL KNOW THAT I AM TIAMAT, HIGH GODDESS OF THE HIGH GODS, MY WRATH IS MIGHTY, MY VENGANCE SURE.”
”AND AS FOR YOU.” She finished, snarling at Keelah. “Who’s familiar are you again?”
Keelah grinned. "I am the goddamn eggshell caught in the universe's gears, holding it back from sheer spite even when I should be broken. I am the demoness of time, the greatest thief in the cosmos, the abyss couldn't hold me, and heaven can't keep me out. I am Ordani, a godslayer, and a true daughter of Io. In other words bitch, I'm your worst nightmare!"
There was a moment of stunned silence as Tiamat processed that she’d just been defied in the midst of her holy fury. Furthermore, that she’d been defied by a kobold of all things. A slave race dared to defy the queen of the universe? She was simply stunned by the audacity. Then, she ceased to be stunned, and became enraged. All five heads focused on the kobold, opened their mouths, and the battle was on.
A wave of annihilating prismatic energy roared towards Keelah, only to be intercepted by Lamora. As perhaps one of the most powerful attacks in the cosmos bore down on her, Lamora simply raised up her blade, and cut. The wave of destruction parted like the red sea, as Lamora stood, framed by the light of her blade and the apocalypse crashing past her and her party. She may have been the weakest among the gods, but to underestimate the heroine with a thousand faces was the utmost folly!
Elsior roared a battle cry and rocketed forwards, blade set to pierce the dragon queen’s adamantine hide. Only for her to miss, entirely. She paused, confused for a moment as Tiamat seemed to utterly vanish. However, as she looked down, and beheld a prismatic dragonborn, it was clear she had only changed her shape. A blast of supercooled acid hit the white lion, beginning to melt through her armor as it froze her solid to the ceiling.
Time shattered around Keelah as she took cover behind the planets, opening fire with a dozen piercing shots. They shattered in the air a meter from Tiamat’s form, and she calmly waved a hand. One of the planets Keelah was cowering behind exploded into corrosive gasses, instantly melting two timelines to goo. The gas rapidly spread, forcing Keelah to cover her mouths and hold fire, lest she risk igniting the gas.
Tiamat raised her hand, and fired a blast of fire. It was no stream as with a normal breath weapon, but a concentrated ball of heat and death, more akin to a fireball than a normal breath weapon. Raymond hurled a singularity at a nearby planet, dragging it off course and into the path of the fireball. The fireball hit it, and ripped the planet apart, sending magma spraying throughout the room. Irritated, Tiamat glared towards Raymond. A moment later, a bolt of lightning ripped out of nowhere and slammed into the mage. He went sprawling, body ablaze. As he rolled, he lifted his hand, and redicrected the energy. The power was still enough to blast his directing arm to ashes, but he managed to send the majority of the attack back at Tiamat.
The queen of dragons didn’t even deign to block the attack, letting the bolt of lightning pass harmlessly over her. She was the daughter of chaos itself, and no elemental magic could harm her, not even her own. The blade of Lamora on the other hand, could. As Tiamat was blinded from being inside a lightning bolt, Lamora struck, landing a glancing blow on the dragon queen’s arm. The hero’s blade slashed open the virtually indestructible scales, drawing a goddess’s blood. The dragon queen’s eyebrows suddenly raised, and she retreated away from Lamora, teleporting to the other side of the room and firing off another blast in her direction.
Keelah moved clear of the gas, and began hammering Tiamat’s position with fire. Tiamat once again blocked it, only for one of the bolts to vanish, replaced with a now one-armed mage. Raymond held a spike of pure negative energy in his remaining hand like a spear, and drove it into the wound Lamora had opened. The spear drove in, and wrapped itself around the dragon queen’s arm like a shackle. Tiamat’s eyes went wide, and she smiled briefly before moving in to rip Raymond’s head off. He shouted an alert. “Her magic’s sealed! Now!”
Tiamat’s foot swung with enough force to reduce the mage’s torso to paste, but it didn’t connect with him. Raymond vanished, and the dragon queen’s heel instead connected with the brilliant white armor of the White Lion. Elsior grunted, but she had traded blows with Ascalon, Tiamat was still murderously strong, but she wasn’t a fighter. “My turn.” She replied, stepping in and answering with an attack that hurled Tiamat across the room.
Tiamat landed on her feet, scales smoking but unbroken. Even a full-powered attack from Aegis could only bruise her scales, not break them. The power of a trueborn goddess was not something any mortal weapon, even an artifact, could overcome with simple brute force. That didn’t seem to stop the scoundrels though, as Elsior charged, Keelah opened fire, and Raymond hurled another singularity, this one aimed directly for Tiamat’s throat.
Tiamat smirked, and reality bent. Elsior found herself suspended in the air, dangling from invisible threads. A wall of crystal interposed itself between Keelah’s bolts and their target, and Tiamat conjured a staff of similar crystal, using it to focus a blast at Raymond’s singularity. The miniature black hole froze solid, fell to the floor, and shattered.
”Magic sealed my as-gh!” Elsior swore, as Tiamat crossed the distance and struck her. Her armor unraveled, and the dragonborn lost her grip on Aegis. She hit the ground sprawling, chest caved in and body starting to tear itself apart. It was like she was coming apart at the seams, body fraying like a damaged tapestry.
”It is sealed, this is something else entirely!” Aegis shouted, blade struggling in the threads before Tiamat casually picked the greatsword up in one hand to examine it like a child studying a new toy.
”Indeed, oh treasure mine.” Tiamat mused. “I am Tiamat, axiomatic to dragons. Where they are, I am also. All dragons, and all things that are called dragons. Do you understand? Besides, I could hardly call myself the greatest sorceress in the cosmos if I limited my self to only a single continuity’s power.”
Aegis tried to fight back, forming armor to restrict the dragon queen’s movements, but he could find no purchase. Every time he tried to manifest the restricting plates, he found his progress blocked by strange structures, as though the underlying threads of reality had been woven into armor for the dragon queen.
Lamora struck, and was deftly parried by Aegis. The two goddesses clashed for a few seconds. Lamora was far more skilled, but the gap in raw power was too much. Tiamat was toying with her. Keelah circumvented the wall of crystal and prepared to fire, but the wall collapsed into eyes, which intercepted her bolts with freezing rays of their own, before turning towards her. Raymond reformed his arm, and shaped a singularity into a staff. He swapped with Lamora, giving to buy the cleric time to heal Elsior.
With a two handed blow, Tiamat shattered Raymond’s staff, staggering the mage. Then, she drove the blade into his stomach, and twisted. Raymond was a spirit, not a man, but this was still a ruinous blow, and he fell forwards onto the blade. Still, he grit his teeth, and vanished, taking the blade with him. Lamora reappeared in his stead, and in a single motion, slashed open Tiamat’s throat. The dragon queen staggered back, before her blood flash froze, keeping her avatar in the fight. Lamora lunged to finish her, but invisible threads caught her blade and redirected it. With a thunderclap, her blade severed the shackle sealing Tiamat’s magic.
In a surge of power, Tiamat resumed her true form and hurled Lamora back. Her power was simply too great for the scoundrels to face even this aspect. Keelah opened fire, piercing the dragon queen’s hide with many bolts, and then ran for cover as Tiamat swept her tail out and threw half the room at the kobold in return.
Raymond leaned on Aegis like a cane, holding his essence in with one hand. He focused, mending himself to the point where he wasn’t about to disapate, but the effort left him weakened. He was practically out, and nothing was even slowing Tiamat down. He looked about, and gaze focused on the sun in the center of the room. He had one more gambit.
”I have an idea. Give me a moment, and time moving as fast as possible on that star.” He requested.
”I hope this one works Ray.” Keelah warned, and then fired a bolt. The sun began to spin faster. Elsior took back her blade, and with a roar of challenge, once more faced down the queen of dragons. Her brilliant blade met the fang, claw, and crushing tail of the dragon goddess, their blows shaking the ground, before Tiamat focused another prismatic blast and hurled her back. She advanced, as ruin came to the planetarium around her. The orbs were desiccating, falling back to their component elements and being drawn irrevocably to the star in its center, which began to swell and turn a sickly red.
Tiamat advanced on Raymond as he chanted, focus entirely on his spell. Keelah bombarded her but her attacks were only pinpricks. She prepared a blast to finish the mage, only to be intercepted by Lamora’s fist, and the bellowing roar of a Tarrasque. The sight of that monster drove Tiamat into a berserk frenzy, and she threw herself at Lamora’s mightiest form with an animalistic rage. She bit and tore and rent, tearing massive chunks off of the changeling. Her magic and breath weapons seemed forgotten as she screamed in utter rage and hate for the thing in front of her. All Lamora could do against the onslaught was defend, and not to protect herself truly, but to simply die more slowly.
”There’s not enough mass!” Aegis warned, as the last of the planets were dragged into the swirling maelstrom of the star.
”Then we’ll have to use acceleration as a substitute!” Raymond retorted, and hurled a singularity into the heart of the star. “Elsior! Throw the sun at her!”
Elsior looked at Raymond like he was crazy, and then shrugged. If this didn’t work, they were all dead anyways. She hurled herself into the heart of the star, trusting her armor to protect her from the incredible forces at work. With a cry, she threw the dying sun at the queen of dragons. “ORDER ON ME!”
Raymond threw the last of his power into briefly phasing the scoundrels out of existence, as the star impacted Tiamat and exploded. The queen of dragons was resilient, but even her armor was nothing before the force of a supernova. The planetarium vanished as the power of a collapsing star, even a miniature one, ripped it apart. But as the blinding light faded, Tiamat still stood, smoking and battered, stunned, and breathing heavily, but stood.
But so also did the scoundrels! Emerging back into existence, they attacked with everything they had left. Keelah blinded the dragon queen with an unendring rain of abyssal bolts, giving cover for Lamora to take on her true form and carve a ruinous slash across one of Tiamat’s throats. Elsior took the chance, shedding her armor and moving with enough force to create a sonic boom, she struck the weakened throat with all her might. In a spray of divine blood, the head severed, and with a crash, the red head of Tiamat fell to the ground.
Tiamat’s rage was incalculable. Her wings stirred up a veritable hurricane, throwing the scoundrels off of her as she took flight. The scoundrels looked up, and awe came upon them as the empress of dragons began to cast a spell of incomprehensible power. She wove together ley lines, the very flows of magic through the cosmos, and she wove them into being, not one, but five at once. Then, they began to align, one to each cardinal direction, and one pointed like a targeting beam directly at the scoundrels.
Raymond was unconscious, so Lamora called Cualli to hand and activated it. The scoundrels vanished into the staff, and it vanished into itself seconds before the spell began to activate. A beam of brilliant white light filled the air, and the ley-lines collapsed into themselves, into the directing one, and hurtled downwards. The scoundrels re-appeared on the Astral Hound moments before a spell powerful enough to shatter a planet detonated on the space they had just been standing. Akar’s ancient magics held it together, directing the force outwards. The plane survived, barely, with a seventy-mile wide hole punched through it, straight from one end to the other.
Keelah rushed to the Astral Hound’s helm and swiftly began directing the aethership away from Akar as fast as it could go, supplementing her own power to accelerate it through time and space even faster. They watched with baited breath, as they prayed that Tiamat’s aspect wouldn’t chase them down. Forutnately for them, the damaged avatar was destroyed by its own working. Within Ascalon’s domain, the true dragon queen raged that her prey had escaped her, though privately, she was mildly amused that any mortal had managed to push one of her avatars so far. It was the first time in a very, very long while.
”Did you get it?” Keelah asked as soon as Lamora restored Raymond to consciousness. “Because that was far too close to have been for nothing.”
Raymond focused on the staff, and projected out the memory. “Yeah, and I see why Tiamat didn’t want us to find it.” He replied. The hazy grey memory stood clear, as Io breathed his last, and his daughter wept for what she had done.
”Well that’s a fascinating little parcel of information, beyond simply its use in creating our own deity to counter her.” Aegis remarked. “But perhaps not the most actionable piece we recovered on this expedition. Did any of you notice what wasn’t there?”
”Even as supposedly the good half you’re an insufferable smart-ass you know that?” Keelah replied. “Just fucking tell us.”
”Takes one to know one mini-Mat.” Aegis replied. “There were no forces from Ascalon’s own armies. It was exclusively Tiamat’s.”
”Given her response to us being there, I think she’d have killed him if he tried to add his own.” Elsior replied. “Though, that probably wouldn’t stop him.”
”Exactly.” Aegis replied. “He’d only avoid having his own forces around to monitor the situation, and probably try to kill all of us, if there wasn’t already something else he needed them for. He’s preparing to make his move.”
”Another invasion of Akar?” Raymond guessed. “It’s only been fifty years. He can’t be ready for that so quickly.”
”We don’t take losing well.” Aegis replied.
”Fair enough. Even so, we’re going to need more information, and more firepower.” Raymond considered. “This memory is only a part of what I’ll need, and the energies required will take more than a little while to accumulate.”
”So,” Keelah considered. “What I’m hearing is that we need to break into heaven again.”
”And persuade an archangel to not only avoid killing us, but come with us. Because there’s no way Kazador will come with us without her.” Elsior groaned. “And maybe somehow pick up Matlal on the way, providing he’s not busy on the mortal front.”
”He will be. Can’t keep himself out of trouble that one.” Lamora remarked. “Though as for persuading Senket, I suspect she has words for Ascalon long overdue.”
”No doubt. So, in the interest of not having to ask Kaz to reforge me, please don’t tell her who’s soul is in this sword.” Aegis requested, with not a little fear.

I find it really hard to settle on an idea my brain always bouncing around ideas it dosent know what to do with
I've always found I'll make an idea, then half a day later I just don't do anything with it especially when drawing most of my art is random because I feel like I can't stuck to an idea.
Even if I do, I never come back to it.
I don't think it lack of motivation I think, I just never know what to be doing

On April fools day a few of my favourite people are coming over to celebrate my birthday. I’d love to play a trick or two on them.. I’m considering making cake pops with brussel sprouts inside or something similar… I also considered making a fake cake out of styrofoam and ‘accidentally’ dropping it before revealing the real cake, however I am not a great actress. Anyone have any fun ideas that aren’t wasteful or mean spirited?
Edit - I was considering telling my guests it’s a dress up party, but giving each of them a different theme (Denim, 90’s, medieval, celebrity, formal, etc). The problem is they are all friends and they talk a lot so I know they’d figure it out immediately.
Edit 2 - now I’m considering another take on reverse surprise party where I make all my guests hide every time a new person comes over and we yell surprise after they’ve come into the empty apartment.

So I have the pen that came with HP spectre laptop, and usually I use it for drawing over presentation. Recently I thought it would be cool to use the two buttons on the side of the pen as presentation switch (forward/backwards).
Turns out HP has an Pen control app but is seems like I cannot download on the page;
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pen/16463237
My OS never shows up on the list (Tried on Windows 11, 10 and iOS) so there is no way of downloading it. I found it on Microsoft Store but it seems like that version is from 2018 and the ‘Get’ button doesnt exist on it while it says its compatible with my machine. I think I read on some website its only 32x which sounds ridiculous but not sure if that is true.
Found few links on it
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Software-and-How-To-Questions/Using-HP-Tilt-Pen-with-PowerPoint/td-p/6568380
https://www.reddit.com/spectrex360/comments/sfwwzg/hp_pen_and_windows_11_not_working_at_all/
But they dont seem to work for me (I have no green light on my pen, it might be different version of the pen).
Any ideas guys how to get the app or how to change the buttons on the side?

Okay, so I am a semi experienced bot builder, and I am not entirely sure this idea is within rules, but it is 85% satire anyways. Just hear me out.
So, the general idea is to make a BUNCH of really low wedge bots. Your strategy is to high center and control the opponent just by quantity. You have so many robots that it would be very difficult for your opponent to KO have of them. You could give a few small spinners or flamethrowers or something for the active weapon rule (i dont know how to effectively do this) . I don't know if 50 5lbs robots is the right ration, but even 25, 10lbs robots sounds good to me. I also think may be even more effective in lower weight classes, as the smaller robots would have more effective pushing power I think.
The main draw back is that any full body or steel spinner just hard counters it :/.

Crypto content is the practice of crafting educational and persuasive pieces to inform your readers about cryptocurrency. This type of writing can add value to your business or blog and attract NFT holders, investors, and community members alike.
Create an comprehensive content marketing strategy to guarantee that your crypto project receives the appropriate exposure and builds a vibrant crypto community. Then, communicate regularly with this group through blogs, videos, podcasts, and active communities (Reddit crypto communities in particular are popular).

Basics

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Visuals

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The basics you already know

There are hundreds of books and guides about how to design an IQ test with statistical testing. Yet there is no accessible guide on how to design visual items like matrices/matrix reasoning. This will be a very low-brow intro to how to become top level in just days.
Below in Table 2 you can see how well the various item groups on one of the most popular children IQ test measure intelligence. Matrix reasoning does fairly well. Right below math, vocabulary, and trivia items.
https://i.imgur.com/YvaxwHl.png
The above table is for WISC. The adult version of the same test is called WAIS. It features similar item groups and they are described in Table 9.1 below.
https://i.imgur.com/oBQgYb9.png
Of course there are 100 other ways to measure intelligence. While the crystalized intelligence tests focused on vocabulary are great and fast they are not ideal for measuring fluid intelligence which is the raw brain power no matter the knowledge acquired.
Below is an example of matrix reasoning from WISC defined as “select the item that completes the matrix”. This is not an official item, but it looks close to what you find in legit IQ tests.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1089/7850/products/wisc_matrix__57333.1410563234.1280.1280__08155_2048x.jpeg?v=1483559713
To replicate this level of design you need to have a bunch of panels then a missing piece people can select from a range of answer options. Usually you have 5 to 8 answer options to pick from. With 5 options a random guess will give you a 20% likelihood of guessing right by chance. Which is very high, but it makes for a simple test where the puzzle element is the focus of attention and random noise is kept to a minimum. Keep in mind answer options takes some time to design so start with only 5.
The item needs to be visually clear and big enough to clearly see all details on a smartphone. Some people have bad vision and it’s also not fun to spend 20-30 seconds on just trying to look through a puzzle and the answer options. It’s way more fun and relaxing to just do the puzzle right away. Everything needs to be clear besides the solution.

Adobe Illustrator

I will explain what you need to know to create such a puzzle is Adobe Illustrator.
The new versions require brand new PCs. But if you can get the 2018 version it will run fine. Though keep in mind Adobe software is very buggy so the 2018 version has a ton of huge bugs in simple tools so you need to learn how to work around that. It will take you about a week to learn Adobe Illustrator on a level where you can make puzzles in higher quality than what you find in the WAIS test. It's very easy. It's just a step above Paint. And much easier than Paint 3D.
Adobe Illustrator saves files in a vector format where even if you print or save the image the size of a house it will be exactly the same quality as if it was a small PC image - as you draw in vectors/lines not pixels. This is amazing for IQ matrices as the quality is perfect no matter what.
First thing. The image below shows the Artboard Tool. An AI file can consist of different canvases/images. You can save them as a single image file or as individual files. This is useful if you want to create an online test where people just click the answer panel itself instead of selecting a letter or number somewhere below the image.
https://i.imgur.com/434EtEu.png
Secondly, turn on the grid in the View menu. As you see below it creates squares. And Snap to Grid makes sure everything you draw snaps to these grids which means that everything will be 100% symmetrical right away without you needing to move anything around. You can then go into “Edit - Preferences - Guides & Grid” to adjust the grid size. Take note of the size of your canvas to create grids that make all your matrix panels symmetrical.
https://i.imgur.com/AhD8Zei.png
Only tools you need from the side menu are Line Segment Tool for drawing lines and the shape tool for drawing various shapes. And furthermore the Eyedropper Tool and Shape Builder Tool are quite handy shortcut tools for more advanced users. The Shape Builder Tool can cut and combine objects while the Eyedropper tool just colors them the same color you select somewhere else. You can also use the Select menu to select all shapes of a certain color then recolor them with a click.
https://i.imgur.com/ihtK3JV.png
Just by using the line and shape tool you can draw symmetrical shapes using the grid to measure everything as it snaps into place. The Line Segment Tool also has options for rounded corners.
https://i.imgur.com/1xIvhMT.png
That’s it. This takes 5 minutes to learn in Adobe Illustrator. If you look up beginner guides on Youtube they will have you create beautiful illustrations in just a day. It really is this simple. You are welcome to ask me for help if you get stuck somewhere. I like helping out.
Perfect intro guide. This guy is a king: https://youtu.be/Ib8UBwu3yGA
If you draw a line or shape over a shape and select both objects a Pathfinder menu will appear with options. Below you see an option to cut the circle in half where I drew the line. But we can also combine shapes or remove parts of them.
https://i.imgur.com/2DWGQAz.png
Below I made the WISC triangles with the shape tool. It can make squares, triangles, stars, and many other shapes in about 3 seconds. I made the rhombuses by drawing lines on the grid. Then I selected all the lines and clicked Shape Builder Tool and clicked inside the rhombus. The lines combined and became one single shape. Next we can use the text tool to add text. Resize by holding down shift so that the shape remains the same aspect ratio no matter the size. Shift also makes sure objects are 90 or 45 degrees and not crooked. In the image below you can see how I resized the letter A and then copy-pasted it into the grid lines by holding down alt and dragging it. Later I can change the text for answers options.
https://i.imgur.com/GVn8PLm.png
In the bottom right of the image above you see a color palette I made manually. I try to use it as much as possible as 8% of men are red-green colorblind. You don’t need to think about the colors if you can’t mess up anyhow. But in reality you can also just avoid using red and green of the same shade. Dark red and light green would go perfectly together and not look alike. This is something you can see for yourself by going into View - Proof Setup - Color blindness. It will show you how your drawing looks like to colorblind people.
Or upload an image or a PDF file with all images to this site to check your work.
https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulato
Below you can see the colorblind Proof Setup colors. I used 2 different colorblind palettes for the 2 rows to imitate what WISC did even though it’s silly to mix like this. You can see how blue, white, black, grey remain the same. While reds and greens fade into a brown-yellow color.
https://i.imgur.com/tVpRSNn.png
That’s it. You now understand the basics and can make your own test in no time. You can search Google for short videos on how to do each single step you are confused about. But the basics are extremely simple and will only take hours to learn. Otherwise just ask me for help.

Puzzle design basics

I have made hundreds of items in various categories so I can write about this for hours. But this is the fast and simple intro to the basics.
In a proper IQ test or just a for-fun puzzle quiz you need clear intro items. At the start of the test you show the logical rules you will apply later on in harder items. Colorshift, rotation, plus and minus, movement etc. For harder items you need a 3 by 3 grid with a missing panel or maybe 6 panels in a row with a missing panel. Either way will look clear and logical to test takers as long as you introduce it all slowly. If you have 50 items then the first 25 items will be very easy to make sure the lower IQ people can solve some of the test and to teach advanced test takers that logical rules could be found in columns instead of just rows. Don’t ever have a user tell you he was confused about what to do in the test. In the best items the test taker will see some pattern, but not see it fully right away. It’s also important that items are sorted in an Excel file by what puzzle style it is. An early intro item should present some logical solutions used later on. But don’t use 2 similar puzzles close to each other. Rotation and movement is such an obvious puzzle item that it will be used a lot, but it’s still important to not use the same logical rules for similar items as test takers will solve one and then easily apply the solution to everything else.
The hardest part is making the answer options. With only 5 options the answer options will be extremely crucial to figuring out the solution. Which is why the test should not reveal the answers too directly. A bad test will for example too often have the correct answer share some rotation or color with 2-3 other options. While totally wrong answers will look unique in every way. You can reveal some of the answer like the rotation or color, but try not to reveal everything. An AI just guessing on the answers with most in common with other answers, without even looking at the question itself, will likely do quite well on an IQ test.
Unfortunately people who never attended school will not be able to take a matrice test. Their IQ is very low anyhow, but they also just don’t have any test taking training. It’s the same issue we have with word tests. You need to read to be able to take them. This matrix design is universal, but maybe only for people who have attended basic schooling.
The famous Raven’s matrice test has over 200 items in an online database where each test is created by combining items of specific difficulty levels and of different puzzle solutions. This way no online test is the same yet all are equally difficult and varied. Once you have the difficulty level, puzzle solution, and g loading for each item you are good to go and can combine items into a single test.

Looking for testers

I'm right now looking for 50 testers for a batch of items. We are making a free online IQ test with some very creative ideas for how it will work. If you have interest please send me a DM and if I get 25+ DMs I will send everyone a link. It's very important that we get people who have the time and energy to take it seriously and not just look at items for fun as otherwise it will mess up our data - as I was told by EqusB who instructed me about this. The next item batch will have a stopwatch of 25 min. Prolific was not a success as people often just spent 9 min on a 30 min test. So I'm looking for more focused people and hopefully I can find a few here. I also welcome ideas on design, colors, puzzles. Anything really. We are all learning.
I will make a post about this test. Keep in mind this is NOT an IQ test yet. Just a collection of raw items. We need way more testing before it's done. So it's not a test you take for fun and then get a score. Hopefully it will be fun to just solve puzzles.