Starbolts #782: The Changing Face of Tanis

 Hail!

    Well, it looks like Tanis is a new man after a very eventful night. He seems to be a lot more confident and more sure of himself.  It's amazing what a little bonding session will do and now he's interested in learning more about magic from his mother. The fact that he actually called her "Mom" is kind of a big deal given his history with her. He was grown in a tube like a fungus, artificially aged and sent to fight the Starbolts on Demonstorm's behalf. It took him a long time to call her "Motther" and now he calls her "Mom". That is progress. Not to mention character development. I wanted this arc to improve Tanis's character a bit since he was the butt of everyone's joke for a very long time. I just hope he puts some clothes on after that mission. Preferably before he meets the Faeori.

    Speaking of the Faeori, we've arrived at the gas giant Nara talked about and now it's time to find the moon they're living on. We can only guess what kind of state they'll be in. As for the gas giant? I was going to put rings around it like Saturn but I wasn't sure how to go about it. Right now it's a generic gas giant that looks like an orange. It does look kind of cool. 

     In any event, our heroes have arrived at the Faeori's new home. What will they find? What state will they be in? Will Tanis actually have some clothes on? These are all very good questions! I will answer them all next time!

See ya then! 

Starbolts #781: More than Meets the Eye

Hail!

    I think it's safe to say that there's more to Medea than meets the eye. She's a woman with many layers. On the surface she looks like a woman with absolutely zero filter. And she is. She has no filter whatsoever. Longtime readers are aware of that fact. She has no problem telling people off or dabbling in a morally dubious area every now and then. None of the Starbolts would have gotten the results she did. The Aquans wouldn't have been able to penetrate her mind and none of the others would have gotten her to talk. So that just left Medea to do the heavy lifting.

    At least our heroes now know where the Faeori are. In the next few issues will be finding them and then before you know it it will be time for Starbolts #800. Wow. Time flies when you're having fun, huh?

    Meanwhile, we got some much needed character development for Tanis. Tanis will realize that his mother just wanted him to embrace the magical side of his life. Bonding helped him unlock his magical talent. The more he uses magic, the more he becomes the person he was meant to be. Good thing Heidi is there to help out. Still, I'm left wondering how they're going to explain this to Lucy. By the time he returns to her, he should be a different person. He'll be much more confident. And that's the kind of person Heidi and Lucy want in a man.  

    Next week we're bound to see a new Tanis. Stay tuned for that. Our heroes are hot on the Faeori's trail. Nothing's going to stop them now!

See you next time! 

Starbolts #780: Withdrawal Madness

 Hail!

    I think it's safe to say that Shenra is having some severe withdrawals. She's got Nara in her head pressuring her to bond with Tanis. Nara basically found her weakness for Tanis that dates back to their tryst on a roof way back in Starbolts #437. Ironically, she was under mind control then too. Someone should really fix that girl's brain so that she's no longer susceptible to telepathic manipulation. The Aquans tried to fix her but she didn't want anyone else messing with her head. When this is over, she'll hopefully have one of the Aquans fix her brain. She's had it messed with twice now and that's honestly enough for anyone.

    You gotta love Medea and her lack of a filter. She comments on peoples' looks all the time and I'm pretty sure she'd comment on men as well as women. Well, she'd comment on anyone with a pulse. Let's be honest here. At least her heart is in the right place. She'll get the information out of Nara somehow. It likely won't be pretty. 

    It's a shame that her detox spell didn't work as well as she'd hoped. That must have been some strong magi juice. It seems to have a very long-lasting effect.  Hopefully, it will wear off. And as for Tanis and Heidi? Well, their activities are open to interpretation. Though, it's pretty clear what Medea wants them to do. 

    Anyway, next week promises to have some excitement. Will Medea get through to Nara? Stay tuned!

See ya next time! 

Starbolts #779: A Dangerous Encounter

 Hail!

    Yeah, I'm beginning to think bringing Nara along for this trip was a bad idea. This scenario is akin to putting a fox in charge of a hen house. Nara's species can sense magic users. That means she can sense whatever Tanis, Crystal, Jack, Carter, Firaxil and Medea are up to. She knows Medea plans on asking where the Faeori are. I don't think she'll cooperate. You might be thinking it can't be that bad if she can detect a magic user. She can also manipulate them into doing bad things if they're under the influence of magi juice or have been under its influence before. Sufficed it to say Tanis and Heidi bad better watch out.

    Then again we can only hope that Shenra isn't going to their quarters. I hope not. It's getting to be a happen where his romantic encounters with Heidi are interrupted. Hopefully, she's on her way to see M'anta and ask him to drop this lady off at the closest inhabitable planet or moon. There she can find for herself. Though, I suspect Shenra would be okay with dropping her off into the heart of a collapsing star. She clearly has issues with that woman and it was probably a bad idea for her to visit her. Live and learn, I guess. At least she and Medea are close to being friends now that she saved her.

 See ya next time! 

Starbolts #778: Dance Revolution

 

Hail!

    It's amazing how once again Michael Jackson's music brought down a drug operation. For those who don't know check out the plot of "Moonwalker."  Is it a good movie? Your mileage might vary. My brother and I played the game it was based on many times growing up. Fun game. I think it's one of those cases where the game was better than the actual movie.

    Anyway! Our heroes leave Funkeezi with a musical database that contains Michael Jackson's greatest hits and who knows what other songs are on there. Sufficed it to say that the Funkeezi were impressed by Terran musical forms. It will take them some time for them to analyze everything from Abba to ZZ Top. In exchange, the Starbolts get Toejani's aid in their quest to find the Faeori.

    The question that should be on everyone's mind is what kind of state will the Funkeezi be in. They're addicted to magic. I wonder if Medea might be able to cure them like she cured Shenra. More on her next week. I figure she'll be coming down hard after drinking that magi juice. She'll be confronting the dealer for sure. 

    It was pretty cool to have Crystal and Carter enhance Jack's abilities like that. I have this idea that if Jack is in close proximity of his sisters he'll be able to perform magic. We've seen it once before when they went to visit the spirits of their grandfather. This time he was able to conduct a full concert complete with music and dancing. That wowed the audience and served to help end drug operation.

    Now our heroes are back on the road. What else will this quadrant throw at them? Time will tell. We already had to deal with a music crazed civilization and a bunch of bounty hunters. Let's see what's out there. Engage!

See ya next time! 

Starbolts #777: Funkeezi Dance Party

 Hail!

    Ain't no party like a Funkeezi dance party because a Funkeezi dance party doesn't stop! It looks like the Funkeezi have turned dancing into an intergalactic sport. This one event was broadcasted all over the quadrant to billions and billions of people. It was also saved for posterity by our heroes. There's no way Jack is ever going to live this down especially since he dressed like Michael Jackson and performed his "Beat It".  Ahh, I wonder if this incident violated the Prime Directive. Probably not. They're all about music on Funkeezi and I think the quadrant could do with a little something from the King of Pop.

    Meanwhile, it looks like Nara is the magi juice dealer our heroes were looking for. Jack was right to be suspicious of her and so he called in his sisters to do a little bit of magical interference and assistance. There was no way he was going to impress the crowd by himself and he doesn't entirely trust Tanis. The question is did he earn their trust? What happens next? Will Nara help the Starbolts find the Faeori? We shall see. Right now she's out cold thanks to Heidi. Might be a good idea for Tanis to stay on her good side!

See ya next time! 

Starbolts #776: Barroom Blitz

 

Hail!

    This mission to the seedy underbelly of Funkeezi culture has definitely taken a strange turn. In order to find out what exactly happened to Shenra, Jack and Tanis are going to have to dance and then meet with the dealer who supplied her with magi juice. After that? Who knows. All I know is that this unconventional pairing of Jack and Tanis has been seeing some hilarious moments. However, I suspect Heidi won't be too pleased that some alien lady was hitting on Tanis. Chances are she was listening to the whole thing. It's a good thing Jack saved his life or else he'd have been in big trouble.

    Speaking of that lady, there's more to her than meets the eye. I think we'll be seeing that lady again--especially next week. 

    I'm still trying to figure out why the bar has an underground dance arena. What's the purpose of it? Maybe Funkeezi takes underground dance clubs a little too literally? Who knows? One thing is for sure Jack can definitely call this adventure one of his strangest. His sisters are never going to let him live it down. The whole thing will be recorded and put on his file back at Agents Academy. The Whitefox sisters are definitely chaos goblins!

See ya next week as we dance the night away! They take their dancing seriously. Let's hope Jack can bust a move!