A requested build, tried not to give up too much smash in favor of survivability.  Dren, I'd appreciate your take on this.

Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.2
https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/...o-designer

Click this DataLink to open the build!

Wishybrute: Level 50 Natural Brute
Primary Power Set: Super Strength
Secondary Power Set: Invulnerability
Power Pool: Flight
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership

Villain Profile:
Level 1: Punch

• (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
  
• (3) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
  
• (3) Hecatomb - Damage/Recharge
  
• (5) Hecatomb - Accuracy/Recharge
  

• (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (5) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
  
• (7) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance
  
• (7) Steadfast Protection - Resistance/+Def 3%
  
• (9) Aegis - Resistance
  
• (9) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
  

• (A) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance
  
• (11) Gladiator's Armor - End/Resist
  
• (11) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
  

• (A) Miracle - +Recovery
  
• (13) Miracle - Heal
  
• (13) Panacea - +Hit Points/Endurance
  
• (15) Panacea - Heal
  
• (15) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
  
• (17) Numina's Convalesence - Heal/Endurance
  

• (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
  
• (17) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Stun/Recharge
  
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Accuracy/Recharge
  
• (19) Absolute Amazement - Stun/Recharge
  
• (21) Absolute Amazement - Stun
  

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (21) Shield Wall - +Res (Teleportation), +5% Res (All)
  

• (A) Gladiator's Strike - Accuracy/Damage
  
• (23) Gladiator's Strike - Damage/Recharge
  
• (23) Gladiator's Strike - Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (25) Gladiator's Strike - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (25) Gladiator's Strike - Accuracy/Damage/End/Rech
  

• (A) Winter's Gift - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
  
• (27) Winter's Gift - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
  

• (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
  
• (39) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (40) Unbreakable Guard - RechargeTime/Resistance
  

• (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
  
• (37) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (39) Unbreakable Guard - +Max HP
  
• (39) Gladiator's Armor - Resistance
  
• (40) Gladiator's Armor - End/Resist
  
• (40) Gladiator's Armor - Recharge/Resist
  

• (A) Recharge Reduction IO
  
• (31) Recharge Reduction IO
  
• (37) Recharge Reduction IO
  

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (27) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (31) Winter's Gift - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range/Endurance
  
• (31) Winter's Gift - Run Speed, Jump, Flight Speed, Range
  

• (A) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance
  
• (34) Aegis - Resistance
  
• (46) Aegis - Resistance/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (46) Aegis - Resistance/Recharge
  

• (A) Gladiator's Strike - Accuracy/Endurance/Recharge
  

• (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
  
• (42) Superior Brute's Fury - Recharge/Fury Bonus
  
• (42) Superior Brute's Fury - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
  
• (42) Superior Brute's Fury - Damage/Endurance/RechargeTime
  
• (43) Superior Brute's Fury - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (43) Superior Brute's Fury - Accuracy/Damage
  

• (A) Reactive Defenses - Scaling Resist Damage
  
• (29) Reactive Defenses - Defense
  
• (29) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (43) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (45) Kismet - Accuracy +6%
  

• (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
  
• (45) Mako's Bite - Accuracy/Damage/Endurance/Recharge
  
• (50) Mako's Bite - Damage/Recharge
  

• (A) Sudden Acceleration - Knockback to Knockdown
  
• (33) Armageddon - Damage
  
• (33) Armageddon - Damage/Endurance
  
• (33) Armageddon - Accuracy/Recharge
  
• (34) Armageddon - Accuracy/Damage/Recharge
  
• (34) Armageddon - Damage/Recharge
  

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  
• (36) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Recharge
  
• (37) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance/Recharge
  

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (46) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Endurance
  

• (A) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance
  
• (48) Unbreakable Guard - Resistance/Endurance
  

• (A) Luck of the Gambler - Defense/Increased Global Recharge Speed
  
• (45) Luck of the Gambler - Defense
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Numina's Convalesence - +Regeneration/+Recovery
  
• (48) Numina's Convalesence - Heal
  

• (A) Empty
  

• (A) Performance Shifter - Chance for +End
  
• (48) Performance Shifter - EndMod
  

A year or so back i wrote this as an omake to WhoAmEye's "Totally Losing It" over on SV but never posted it as i thought of it simply as an opening, and questioned whether i should post it to its own thread there or not. Because of that and the lack of continuation of the thread it has languished since in my writing folder. Unfortunately today one of the writers for Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain died, and in Memorium i post this here.

 The Mass Effect of Mindy and Buttons
 
A varren lay in the corner of a room watching the small Asari child play with her ball in the center of the room. Every so often the child would throw the ball and it would bounce off the wall and into a toy on the floor before bouncing into the varren who would then nose it over to the child once more. The child would then giggle and praise the varren giving it a hug and a sloppy kiss before going back to its play and allowing the varren to return to its nap.
 
It was after one such occurrence, as the varren was returning to its spot on the floor, that it heard a noise. The noise was not unlike the noise its larger mistresses would make with their fingers when it misbehaved or they wanted its attention for some reason or another. The snap however had come from within a structure made of the child’s toy blocks and since the larger mistresses were not in the room the varren went to investigate. The noises coming from the structure were similar to the large mistresses moving about, but on a much smaller scale. “Well that was a complete waste of time,” a voice said from inside the structure.
 
“I don’t know Brain,” a second voice replied. “We definitely went somewhere that isn’t the lab.”
 
“Pinky,” the first voice replied in a frustrated tone. “It’s obvious that we landed in the childcare center across the hall from the labs.” As the voice spoke a pair of white mice exited the toy structure and turned away from the varren without even seeing it. “We will simply return there and attempt to make our way to this Shadow Broker tomorrow night after I have had a chance to recalibrate the teleportation relay.”
 
The varren was surprised to see that it was the two mice speaking as the mistresses did, this was not right. Varren were not the brightest creatures in the universe, but even they knew what was supposed to converse and what was not. Mice were not meant to talk like the mistresses, thus there was something wrong with these mice, that meant they were a probable danger to the child who he was to protect at all costs. With that thought in his brain, the varren started to growl at the mice catching their attention.
 
As soon as he started to growl the two mice froze mid-stride and turned to look at him. “Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering,” the short one asked.
 
“I think so Brain,” the taller of the two mice replied swallowing heavily. “But I doubt I could saddle break that creature even if I had one to fit it.” At that point both mice took off running through the toys in a beeline for the door to the room which sat wide open. The varren barked at the mice and jumped after them in pursuit scattering toys in all directions and causing the girl to stop tossing the ball and laugh at the results. The mice were surprisingly fast but the varren was hot on their tails as they reached the apartment’s hallway and all three broke straight for the door. An asari stuck her head out of the kitchen and didn’t quite squeal at the sight “Sweet goddess Buttons what are you doing,” she demanded just before the varren reached the door and it opened. Buttons the varren was caught mid-leap by the human woman who walked in the door even as the mice shot by beneath her unnoticed.
 
“Hey Buttons, its good to see you too.” Elizabeth Shepard said catching the varren and rubbing its head as she pushed it back into the apartment. “What’s gotten into you?” Elizabeth looked to her partner and the mother of their child “Any idea what his problem is?”
 
“No,” Liara answered, this just started all of a sudden. “A growl and a bark in Mindy’s room and he was zooming down the hall after something small and white.
 
At this point the child in question came toddling down the hallway a smile on her face, “Hello ladies,” she said. Both parents sighed but refused to try any more to get her to call either of them mommy. “Whatcha doin,” she asked.
 
“Catching Buttons,” Elizabeth answered.
 
“Why,” the child asked.
 
“Because he doesn’t need to go out of the apartment without an adult,” Liara answered.
 
“Why?”
 
“Because he could get hurt,” Elizabeth answered.
 
“Silly Buttons,” the child said giggling and hugged the varren. “Play ball-ball now,” she continued, “come on Buttons.” The varren looked to his two larger mistresses who both nodded and trotted after the toddler. When she reached the door to the play room she turned to look at the two adults and waved at them. “Okay, I love you, buh-bye” The two adults simply wave back and disappear into the kitchen as the girl and her varren go back into their room. The girl stops in the center and starts playing with her ball again, the varren goes to his corner and lies back down. Its his job to protect the girl, that is all he cares about.

Power: Guaranteed Return to Target (anti-banishment?)

Note: Changing the "Target" means that the target will return to Doug.
Side affects: Dizziness, and Spinning. (lyrics are on the Youtube page.)

Nova Scotia, Canada
September 25th, 2016
9:51am AT


He was home.

Relatively speaking, that is. He was at least in the right province, and nowhere near the Bay of Fundy. Halifax was close enough to reach by bus but not so close that random tourists came by the building.

He'd let a friend back in Ottawa talk him into taking the job as apartment manager. It should have been an easier sell - he was being paid more than he had been earning at the call centre, his new employer covered his relocation expenses, the roof over his head was included in the benefits package, he had decent medical care for his ulcer and a few other things he didn't previously know were wrong with him, and he was back in the Maritimes. It was almost too good to be true... which is why he was worried. He knew who his friend's tenants were. Who was he going to end up with?

But that was a worry for later. Right now, he had to give the place a quick inspection.

"The place" was a failed resort - too large to be a B&B, too small to be a proper hotel, too common in design (and too far from the ocean) to be an ultra-luxurious getaway. It had a pool behind the building and a small gymnasium behind the pool. The gym was stripped bare, though; the exercise equipment had been sold to pay down the last owner's debts before he'd had to sell the property altogether, and Funtom Property Management hadn't seen fit to purchase replacements for anything but the lighting and a few floor mats. At least the building's showers were still intact. The outbuilding's water heater didn't work very well, though - but who was going to want to use an empty gym? That was a matter that could be fixed later, once there was more money available.

He looked at the wall surrounding the property - a good, solid wall that would preserve everyone's privacy - then turned his attention to the main building. There were eight guest suites spread out over a single level, four of which had two bedrooms while the other four - the suites closest to the reception area - had one each. Oddly, the locks were mechanical, not the usual keycard locks found in practically every other hotel in Canada. He and Mr. Michaels had spent the previous day supervising the movers, making sure each of the bedrooms had a bed and all of the suites had televisions, telephones, and the other furniture people had come to expect in a hotel room. The two of them had also made sure that there were enough tables and chairs in the breakfast nook behind reception for a dozen people to eat at the same time. Although Michaels hadn't done any of the physical work, leaving that part of the job up to him.

The kitchen behind the nook was a work of art. Large enough for three people to work in it together, the stoves and ovens were gas-fired, the countertop was solid enough to stand up to heavy use, and the cupboards held such a wide range of kitchen equipment that he didn't even recognize all of it. It and the nook could easily serve as a proper restaurant, if the place wasn't so small and out of the way as to be impossible to make a profit running. The kitchen even had its own stairs down to a pantry and wine cellar, neither of which were stocked at the moment.

Also to be found in the basement was a laundry room large enough to handle the washing from the guest rooms and restaurant, the mechanical rooms that all buildings larger than a shed had in their basements, a storeroom large enough to hold enough supplies to last the place for a week even if the roads were impassable... and his own apartment. Such was life. At least it was an apartment, not a single room.

As he walked up the front stairs and into the office behind the reception desk, he thought that the place was quite peaceful. He wondered how long that would last.

Then he noticed the people gathered near the pool outside. They looked familiar: the mustached man in the dark-green kimono, the stocky man in a dirty gi, the boy with the tiger-striped bandana and a backpack, the girl in the pink pantsuit carrying spherical clubs (not bonbori lanterns), the old woman with the walking stick that was taller than she was, the boy wearing white robes and thick glasses, the girl in the blue top and dark tights with a ridiculously-huge spatula strapped to her back, the young woman wearing a dress and an apron, the girl in the fashionable (for three decades ago) blouse and slacks, and, of course, the short-haired girl in a yellow sundress yelling at a boy in black slacks and red shirt. He opened the window to hear "- is all your fault, Ranma!"

Oh, God.

Epsilon sighed and headed out to meet his new tenants.

The author of this article draws a parallel between the arguments used by clowns like Ben Shapiro and those used by the antebellum South. How they are victims of censorship because they can no longer express themselves freely, and that pushes them into positions they “normally” would not hold.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2...-that-too/

Quote:All of this is there in the reasonable right: The claim that they are the little people struggling against prevailing winds. The argument that they’re the ones championing reason and common sense. The allegation that their interlocutors aren’t so much wrong as excessive; they’re just trying to think freely and are being tormented. The reliance on hyperbole and slippery slopes to warn about their adversaries’ intentions and power. The depiction of their opponents as an “orthodoxy,” an epithet the antebellum South loved.

I'm not sure if this should go here or DW General, but there used to be list of confirmed power songs pinned at the top of of either this forum or DW General on the old site. While I doubt it had been updated for years even before the move, I wanted to go through it looking for healing songs. I was dismayed to find that the thread apparently didn't get migrated even in its out of date form. It says something about how thoroughly I've bailed from Crapatalk that I don't even remember how to access the site, assuming it still exists.

Anyway, is there any chance of the list being posted here, with or without updates?

The _one_ Mazda dealer in state has no interest in selling me a car, so I called Ron Tonkin Mazda in Portland.

Less than an hour later they've got a quote in my hand, and we've gone over how the procedure should work.  I'm going to talk to the boss about time off and look at tickets tomorrow.

I may be flying down Friday, overnighting in Portland or nearby, and leaving for Alaska Saturday morning..  In a new 2019 Mazda3 Premium in Deep Crystal Blue Mica with a freaking HUD.

Anyone in the area care to do a dinner?

from: jet.jaguar@friggarock.fen
to: Lists.Jet.Stingray
Subject: A little question on company law.
Time: 12:35:43 - 2025/08/08 - Frigga

What happens to what's now a decent middle-size company when its owner never existed in the first place?

Or what happens if to Stingray Motor Engineering if Sylia Stingray never existed?

If it comes as news to you that I've been using the Sylia Stingray identity then - surprise. Sylia Stingray owns a business called Stingray Motor Engineering. It's a motorcycle manufacturer that was supposed to exist as a vehicle to pay some bills and support another project. All that mattered was that the management keep the company open and keep it working and producing. The aim was to make the business stable so it wouldn't randomly go away and spill its secrets, rather than make the most profit.

It was a front. If you know why Sylia Stingray existed you know what it was a front for. If you don't, it doesn't matter.

Anyway - it turns out that by hiring competent management, with well paid workers and building a good quality product, the business grows. An industrial unit in Shannon is now a factory in Shannon producing engines using 3D-metal printing. They're building aero-engines for old warbirds just to prove how flexible the technology is. Three years ago they bought a chunk of the old Packard plant in Detroit to manufacture in the US

It's now exporting and has become a UAW's flagship. They build electric bikes. The motorids for Asagiri are built there under contract. Stingray began using the fusion tuboshaft engines from those for other purposes. There's a big contract for those - a scary-big contract from a scary-big client. Those engines are useful for a lot of other industries, and Stingray holds the patent for another decade.

There's about a thousand people working in Detroit, and just a little less than that in Shannon. And every single one of them is relying on Sylia Stingray to be a real person to keep the lights on and keep the money coming in. They go to work every day and they do their shit and they get things made right and get a good stable paycheck out of it. Micheal bloody Moore just made a documentary there calling the whole thing a shining beacon of hope.

It'd be a shitty thing to let them drop in the wind and the moment this comes out, they're fucked and it'll all be my fault. This'll be an almighty mess for everyone if it comes out

How do I untangle this mess without blowing it all up?

-Jet Jaguar

-------

Frigga 77 -  Stationpunk.

For those of who who do not already know: You can find a revised and updated version of the much-lauded Mids' Hero Designer for the Homecoming Relaunch of CoH at the Homecoming forums - https://forums.homecomingservers.com/top...-designer/

It's the same engine as before. Just new and Improved!

...there is a sequel. Or yet another sequel, if you admit the other two exist.

Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss to return in new Matrix film