#AND he has a skill that does MORE damage when enemies are affected by those conditions

[one-vivid-judgment]

Starting to think Joongi is just a little freak of nature who's busted no matter what job you give him cause the amounts of damage this man deals is ridiculous. Which is weirdly in-character when you think about it cause I can totally see Ichi going "Oh hey Joongi I got you this job!" and it's just... being a cowboy. And instead of being taken aback, Joongi goes "Aight, bet" cause he's a professional like that and he's not about to half ass anything.

[fushigidane]

Personal skills for the awakening kids

i wish awakening had personal skills SO BAD it's not even funny.

anyway. i thought up some personal skills for the 2nd gen. these are all made within the context of 3h as that's the au that's been swimming about in my head for several weeks hence any reference to those mechanics but pls enjoy :) :)

lucina

gee, lucina, how come mum lets YOU bring the overpowered game mechanic to other games--

basically just the engage chain attack feature as lucina there is The Chain Attack Emblem. killassisting killstealing left and right. would serve really well with 3h's love of chunky hp monsters. the weapon durability aspect is kind of incentive to always have her equip falchion (3h regalia should NOT have limited durability and in THIS essay i will--) or a forged training weapon as the damage is fixed.

this probably could transfer to fateswakening where this would proc on top of normal dual strikes, but another option i thought up for her would be the ability to dual strike for anyone as long as the targeted enemy is within her movement range (i.e. she can dual strike without being adjacent to an ally)

owain

i wanted to make the fateswakening trio's skills distinct from their fates counterparts... though i wouldn't be able to use aching blood in a 3h setting anyway as it has no weapon naming feature. truly tragic.

this is probably self-explanatory: owain does extra damage when using any attack that has a name bc He Gets Excited. it would apply to each individual strike rather than the total damage number, and part of me wonders if this would make 3h-astra actually viable.

also, rip to like half the crests in 3h which have this exact effect but separate and worse since they're a non-guaranteed proc. we honour your sacrifice so owain could rise

inigo

3h's authority makes rally skills pretty easy to get, but the fact they only affect one unit means i barely use them and it makes me sad. inigo deserves his funky little rallies and he will GET his funky little rallies.

this skill would also apply to the stat boost from special dance (though not the dance effect itself).

not much else to say. i just think this skill is neat

brady

this is basically the skill stealth, which is otherwise exclusive to the thief/assassin/trickster classes in 3h. it puts the unit at the bottom of the priority list for enemy attacks so they will only be attacked if there are NO other viable targets.

great for a healing brady. i always put him in a support role so this is perfect for me. less great if you want brady to be a combatant as it limits what you can do on enemy phase, but you could still use it to your advantage

i just have this image of enemies seeing a healer on the battlefield, going to attack them, and then being hit by this Stare of Promised Violence that makes them back off and decide to attack,, idk. fucking dedue instead. and brady is sitting here confused bc he didn't do anything (it's just his normal face)

kjelle

She Will Not Be Knocked Over. armour too strong. 10/10. truly a GET DOWN MR PRESIDENT skill of all time, as she has earned

this skill means she takes the damage but doesn't get movement sealed or debuffed or anything after being hit by a gambit. Not Even The Force Of Ten Dozen Men Charging Will Faze You.

a fateswakening equivalent i considered would be preventing specifically armour-effective damage i.e. from hammers or armourslayers, so they just deal normal damage instead (or, in fates' case, the weapons get hit with the non-effective target debuff).

cynthia

basically a stronger but more situational variant of elise's and flayn's lily's poise. all about protecting the vulnerable, plays into her more sensible (read: comparative to owain) idea of heroism.

i personally like this a lot bc i always always go falcon knight cynthia (it feels better) and cynthia with a healer flavour... mwah.

i'm generally a massive fan of aura skills (i.e. buffs to allies within a certain range of a unit) and this is the type of skill that could definitely save your units after an unfortunate mistake

severa

THE COUNTERPART TO BERUKA'S PERSONAL THAT SELENA SHOULD HAVE HAD. NO I WILL NOT TAKE CRITICISM they did her SOOO dirty with her fates personal--

aside from being perfect personality-wise (she WILL prove she is better than others--), this also syncs well with most classes severa will find herself in. swords are pretty much wholly 1-range weapons, so are usually facing a counterattack, except the levin sword...but nobody is rushing to give her that. (she has a 10% MAG growth in awakening, which is quite literally the lowest available...)

i wanted to name this competitive but apparently that's takumi's personal skill name. so rude of him

gerome

local teenager fixates on dragons, more at 6

he's studied dragons + minervikins so hard he knows how to fight beside them in a way that lets them fight to the fullest. also he gets so secretly happy (and it is secret do not tell a soul) to be next to a dragon that he too fights better.

this would apply equally to wyvern units and units that are dragons in non-dragon classes e.g. a mage nah.

gerome <3

yarne

the original name of this skill was sudden brevity until i realised brevity does not mean what i clearly thought it did when i wrote it.

an improved version of strong riposte from fates. poor yarne spends so much time wanting to hide on player phase that any damage he is directed to deal is only mediocre, but when enemies attack HIM on ENEMY phase, he's like oh shit gotta survive--

DONT MESS WITH A BUNNY indeed :)

laurent

3h's limits on spell learning means this basically has a cap of +10 in the late game, but even that is still mega broken. this skill would serve as a really strong incentive to train his reason/faith in the early game and the extra power you get from learning spells would scale well as you progress further.

now that the meta is out the way, this skill is like when a character (not necessarily a fe one) gets a new skill in a game and there's this super exaggerated powerup sound effect and a victory quote, and you're just like... 'all you learned was how to wear heavier armour' but with THIS skill it's actually VALID

knowledge = power and also justification for laurent joining the cast of fodlan characters found near exclusively in the library

noire

it's a little criminal that awakening wasn't able to give us something that reflects noire's blood and thunder state in combat aside from her crit quotes, so this is what i came up with.

the more she fights, the more BLOOD AND THUNDER she gets.

it makes the most sense that her offense would be the one boosted, and even though she's an archer she can fill a good role as a mixed attacker (i WISH awakening had a shining bow), hence STR/MAG being boosted. i briefly considered SPD, but noire has one of the best base speed growths in the game anyway (before growth inheritance; she's on par with lon'qu and a speed-boon robin, and weirdly only beat out by PANNE with 55 base speed for some reason) so it'd be a little redundant when she already doubles everything

nah

this is based off that odd quirk of nah's where she always forgets she can turn into a dragon. i think of her support with f!morgan all the time, where she spends ages trying to learn how to catch a wyrmslayer and in the end realises it was a wasted effort bc she doesn't even fight in her human form and her dragon arms are too small to do what she learned.

"until engaging in combat" applies to combat initiated with nah on either player OR enemy phase. you'd have to have her avoid combat completely for this skill to build up. it would apply to offensive non-damaging magic e.g. silence, but wouldn't apply to healing, so nah could spend her time doing that.

this is a skill you need to dedicate yourself to using yourself, but in the hypothetical scenario where she's a boss, this skill is absolutely terrifying. especially if you took all the limiters off. it would actually make for a very fun map i think--the best fe maps are those that make you go on the offensive IMO, but that's not exactly what this post is about, so i'll move on.

f!morgan

i've made separate skills for the morgans because their supports are different enough that they feel like different characters to me, even if just slightly. it's why i always like them as twins.

what i wanted with the morgans is a skill that hints at what they were before losing their memory and joining the shepherds. for this one, though she is a wyvern lord in future past 2 she is a malig knight in my heart. they just hadn't yet invented malig knights when they made her. this skill is based on its lvl15 skill, savage blow. (to be clear, the 5 extra damage would also apply after combat).

this is a fun one that's good for crowd control and mopping up large groups of enemies, especially with the existence of 3h canto where you can just swoop out of enemy range after obliterating their movement.

it's a very fitting skill if you have morgan in, say, a wyvern class or even dark flier. but if you put her in a dainty little base pegasus knight class... the image of a fragile little pegasus that will fall to like two axes hunting people down is kind of hilarious. sorry morgy

m!morgan

last but not least, the son himself... likewise to f!morgan, i wanted this skill to reflect who he was before the shepherds. he's a sorcerer in the future past 1, which is why i wanted this skill to be dark magic based. both morgans having skills that debuff enemies is another intentional choice.

it's loosely based upon the -taker skills. this skill isn't as powerful as them (you get less stat per proc and the cap is smaller) but you can gain the boosts without delivering the killing blow and you have more variety in what boosts you can get. morgan tends to be a jack-of-all-trades like robin, so an all-round boost is good for him.

past morgan was probably pretty scary with this, but present morgan without a hint of memory now just goes around Yoinking enemy stats. Morgan Says Teehee Mine Now. as he should :)

[adhdbisexualramblings]

No. You know what?

I am sick and tired of how the Invader Zim fandom treats ZaDr.

While I stand by the firm belief that any romance between them would be imagined, bitter, codependent, and toxic, you are all terrified of that. You are all scared to admit that it’s anything but nice.

“oh but Zim and Dib are so similar that-“ that is EXACTLY the problem. They’re too similar. One is apprehensive to get close to anyone and the other has no social skills. Zim craves attention and isn’t good at giving it. Dib focuses too much on getting the attention of those around him and doesn’t relent until it blows up in his face. And have you seen Zim? Have you seen how manipulative, uncaring, and selfish he is? Do you really think he would accept Dib, a human, as his partner to begin with? Do you not think Dib wouldn’t have an issue with getting close to the enemy? Do you think neither of them would? If anything, a “relationship” between them would consist of Dib following Zim around like a puppy, because Zim gives him attention, and Zim leading him on because he loves being paid attention to.

It would be messy. It would be bad. It would be codependent at best and downright emotionally abusive at worst. They hate each other.

the fact that they will need to “rely on each other UwU🥰” is NOT GOOD. They can only rely on each other so much before it becomes too closed. Zim doesn’t understand human love. Dib is so starved for affection he’ll love anyone who gives it, and have you seen him? He attached to Mr. Dwicky only because he said he believed him. If he wants to get into any sort of relationship, he needs to set some sort of boundary first. He’s not going to do that with Zim, and if Zim does set boundaries, they’re going to be enforced very roughly.

Zim has never gotten any praise in his sad pathetic life. If he does, it’s all he’ll focus on. The one thing he wants is respect and attention. Other than sucking up to superiors, the other way he gets the respect he wants is with fear. Not just respect, even, but a power dynamic that puts him above the other person. See Prisoner 777 and his children and his multiple threats to anyone who he might want to intimidate. He’s not completely prickly, yes, but the anger and brashness he displays is very thick as well as very hard to put down. It takes a lot of coaxing to get anything positive out of him.

Zim likes fear. It’s something that makes him feel superior. He feels more comfortable when he has any sort of advantage. We see him take glee in showing his Tallest or fellow Irkens how he’s the greatest. How of course he’s right and brilliant, he’s Zim. This barely needs to be said, but he has a massive ego. Not to mention his feelings on all humans in general. Filthy, dirty, stupid, inept, deserving of Irken control. He’s hardly eager to get into a relationship with one.

This is where I would mention that they are similar which, while that would give them common ground, is often one of the dealbreakers in actual relationships. If people are too similar, fights often run back and forth for hours. They don’t know how to take in this often painful mirror image. They know every inch of the person before knowing them. They don’t know how to communicate. For Dib and Zim specifically, it would be emotionally damaging as opposed to eye-opening. Neither like being reminded that they’re wrong, or that there’s something wrong with them. They have similar problems, which neither can fix because they’re still pushing back dealing with their own. It would be a circle of hurt, even unintentionally. They might both love the transactional attention, but that would only lead to them believing they need each other, and feeling more comfortable in the obligatory attention the other provides. Because a lack of attention would make them feel their relationship isn’t working. It’s built on the need for an audience and praise.

But they don’t need transactional attention. They need someone who can listen. They need someone who can give another perspective, but if they’re two mirror images, the light only bounces back. They would get nowhere.

Even if it, miraculously, wasn’t filled with bitterness or intentional hurt, the two would be stuck. It would hardly be good for an Irken, who has a completely different moral code and different form of hurt, to be with a human, who is only marginally more self-aware.

I have a lot of feelings about this specific part of the fandom and am up for talking about it more or criticisms.

[300iqprower]

Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 55-56.5: Karna

[Special thanks to @hasarjunadoneanythingwrong for helping me get a foothold on Karna's connection to Surya and flames and some other Mahabharata stuff! Also the .5 is because...well you'll see.]

Knowledge of the Deprived A -> EX

Inflict NP Seal on a single enemy (1 turn). Decrease Debuff Resist for a single enemy (1 turn).^ Apply Stun Immune to all allies except self (3 turns). Apply immunity to Mental Debuffs to self (3 turns). Apply Special DEF [Low-Rarity] to self (3 turns). Apply Special ATK [High-Rarity] to self (3 turns). [Debuff Resist down now scales from 35% to 125% Rarity based effects scale from 10 to 20%]

If Bart gets to be a class traitor than so does Karna "I literally get everything I ever want and still identify as Poor." Mahabharata (That's basically the story right? Right. Definitely. ...Wait probably could have just pointed at the Charity thing- MOVING ON) So yeah he gets an attack buff against high rarity enemies. Aka. Basically every boss. I was originally gonna do "Golden Rule enemies" but then found out that SOMEHOW Arjuna's second skill isn't considered a derivation of Golden Rule and so just decided screw it, I'll just split up the buff and make it High Rarity across the board. So then, I'm keeping the cooldown at 6 as well as the debuff duration at 1, but in exchange more than doubling the debuff resist down to a massive 125% at max. I was considering making it a 150% to make it a sort of "True Debuff Resistance down", since passives can raise base resist as high as 50%, but decided against it on the grounds of all such servants are those with "Core of the Goddess" and the skill is specifically meant to apply to the "Poor", so I instead went with Jeanne "literal peasant girl" d'Arc and her Magic Resistance EX (25%) instead. As the selfless hero of the poor, Karna also protects his allies from immobilization, characteristically doing so at the cost of his own personal protection. What he does retain though is his insight into others, seeing through all sorts of psychological trickery such as charm or terror. Lastly is the aforementioned class-traitor bit. Hero of the poor, blah blah blah, classism in both the gacha rarity sense and FGO's 'devisive' interpretation of the Mahabharata, but most importantly REJOICE, Karna users! The character who supposedly has armor that reduces all damage he takes to almost nothing FINALLY has a form of survival! Soft survival. By a marginal amount. Against all -2 of the low rarity bosses to exist. ....Okay yeah there's a real survival tool in the next one.

Mana Burst (Flame) A -> Mana Burst (Surya) A+++

Increase own Buster Card effectiveness (1 turn). Increase own NP Strength (1 turn).^ Remove own Debuffs. Apply Damage Cut by 500 to self (3 turns). Apply Invincible to self. Remove this buff at the end of the next turn unit is attacked. Tremendously increase own Critical Star Gather Rate when on a [Sunlight] or [Burning] field (2 turns). [Activates first] Apply [Sunlight] field status to self (10 turns). [Increase NP Strength by 10% each to a maximum of 30%.]

Of Karna's rankups this is definitely the 'main one.' It grants him some much needed defensive effects and tightens his focus all while throwing in quite a bit of flavor. (HOW DID MR "My armor nullifies 90% of all attacks" NOT HAVE A SINGLE DEFENSE SKILL?!?!) He gets a slight damage cut for 3 turns, something that Apocrypha shows is canonically an affect his flames (Literally stating they can nullify minor amounts of damage) and 'sheds' himself of debuffs as he quite literally burns impurities away, becoming a beacon of Surya that bathes the battlefield in sunlight, and should the battlefield ALREADY have a sunlight status he will draw that light into him, IE he gets an immense star gather buff, a maximum of 5000%. Because Surya is both the light and flames of the sun, this effect can activate on the much rarer Burning battlefield as well (Which is also some nice synergy with the Nobus given Karna has anti-divine)

The game changer though is of course the invincible. 500 Defense cut for 3 turns really isn't much of anything, more flavor than anything else (and also because Melusine's kit is insulting) with THIS being the real defensive tool. I couldn't get his armor itself to work so instead worked it into the same skill that buffs his NP, which is about as close as I could get to make the "He powers up his NP by sacrificing his armor" thing to work. Regardless, said famous armor has an equally powerful buff. The invincible is only one turn, but will never go to waste because that turn will only be used up whenever Karna next takes damage. Essentially it has both the benefits of a hard effect (a full turn duration) AND of soft effect (only being used on the next hit rather than possibly going to waste). The main drawback here is of course that while the invincible is potentially multi turn, the offensive effects are all still 1 turn, and the conditional gather is still only 2 turns. While the 20% high rarity bonus offsets it, Karna's main stim is still a 1 turn burst on a 5 turn at best cooldown, meaning one must be way about using the Invincible even if its use is lenient. On the opposite more beneficial side though, it means one doesn't have to worry about wasting the invincible by using the stim early for an NP. I mean that's the opposite of how his lore works but this was the only way I could make it remotely balanced and allows some interesting potential for target focus support ensuring, say, that invincible remains for an upcoming AOE attack.

Uncrowned Arms Mastery -> Crowned Master of Arms

Increase own NP Gauge by 40%.^ Increase own Critical Star Drop Rate (3 turns). Increase own Critical Strength (3 turns). Increase own NP Overcharge Level by 2 (1 turn). [Reduce cooldown from 8/7/6 to 7/6/5]

This is the ".5". Compared to most of what I do at this point it isn't even really a rank up, just pettiness. I mean that's part of all these, but it was JUST that with this one. They seriously took away Imaginary Element and gave us a crappy and vastly less f2p friendly replacement? Seriously? Screw off. Karna's 25% battery was perfect for it. Fine then, if that's how it's gonna be, he doesn't get a flat 30%, he gets a flat 40%. Even at rank 1 all it takes it 1 chen gong and an MLB Leyline and bam: Turn 1 NP Karna is even easier to get than before, AND at Overcharge to boot. So there. If I didn't know any better I dare say this is the first one in quite some time that could pass as an actual Rank Up we'd see officially. ...Honestly I was actually gonna bite my tongue and just leave it untouched, if only because I don't want every HRU to keep being "We're basically upgrading the entire kit", but a certain someone specifically requested I touch this skill if ONLY to fix the inaccuracy of its name, as Karna was a very much celebrated warrior champion - he was literally crowned for his arms mastery. So yeah, consider this one he doesn't really need, but also one that's not giving him something undeserved. It's the kind of thing that would make him, like, solidly A tier instead of B+.

There's also no less than 3 additional versions I had for an idea changing it to a skill called "Crowned Avatar of Divine Arms” and spent an entire day coming up with an absurd system to fit in a Kavacha and Kundala buff, but they're all way too much when the most balanced of the three was still an entire 4th skill's worth of effects. And not like a mid tier skill, like at least about as good as Ishtar's second skill and as complicated as one of Summer Kiara's. So yeah, I cut my losses and just made the NP gauge 40% instead of 30%, reduced the cooldown to 5 turns minimum, and gave the invincible to his second skill and turn it into one of the "Bread and Butter skills" I've mentioned before

SO TO RECAP: More extreme version of the same utility on his first skill, his second skill is now a very powerful survival tool at the cost of being attached to his main steroid, he basically ensures permanent Sunlight field while active, and his third skill gets tweaked to keep his status as a great turn 1 NP unit even without Imaginary Element.

[warlock0103]

Alright, if Loki's off limits, what about Gunmar vs. Mirage?

*Puts on Death Battle hat*

Now this is one that we can look at with some science. (Or at least a lot of googling)

Gunmar the Black, Trollkind's greatest threat and tyrant.

vs

Mirage the Soulcaller. Travelling bard and former adventurer.

After discussing the feats of Gunmar with @katanamasako and @xdeusxmachinax, (Since Mirage is my character. I know what she do.) the math was done, the numbers were crunched and simulations were made. It's time for a

DEATHBATTLE!!!

Centuries ago, when humans and trolls started fighting each other for control over the Earth, it created the War for the Surface Lands, and there were many deaths. This led the first Heartstone to rot from within, and Gunmar was born from the corruption and darkness. Joining under the warchief, Orlagk, Gunmar began his bloody conquest.

He killed man and troll alike with his inhuman strength and seeming indestructibility from kings of other troll tribes to human settlements. It was only when he betrayed his Gummgumm leader that he finally took damage. Losing an eye to Orlagk, and gaining the sword Decimaar.

Later, Decimaar would get an improvement from Morgana, and the ability to warp the minds of those with weaker wills than Gunmar to be his eternal slave unless entering an area that cancels magic.

Even after being sealed in the Darklands for centuries, Gunmar retained his ambition and hunger for power. Only he was thwarted by the Trollhunter. Merlin's chosen warrior with the power of the eclipse blade. Said to the only weapon able to deal Gunmar a mortal wound.

Gunmar's strength and indestructible nature are by far his strongest boons. He can easily toss cars and boulders around, leap through floors of a museum and through the ceiling, and as Fish pointed out, if he can get a hold of an opponent, they can be eaten in mere seconds. He's also much faster than the average human, being able to go speeds of 30 mph at least.

His weaknesses on the other hand are harder to parse. He retains the standard troll weakness of sunlight turning him to stone. Music based magic also seems to work on him via Douxie in the Wizards series. The claim that "only Eclipse can deal him a mortal wound" is especially odd given that Orlagk with Decimaar has caused him injury and even Excalibur. So it's potentially that only potent magically enhanced weaponry can hurt him, and the eclipse thing is more of a prophesy than a definitive.

===============

In a world of Gods and Titans, Mirage was born to struggling musician and cursed human father, and a tiefling mother with decent magic potential, Mirage grew up poor, but never unloved by her parents. They taught her how to play the violin, do simple magic spells, and survive in a world that looked unfavorably to those with her and her mother's infernal ancestry. Her parents also did their best to keep the family curse from affecting her life too much.

Should a member of the family approach a spirit of the dead, the spirit would latch onto them, and transfer all the feelings of sorrow and sadness onto the family member, that they experienced in their lifetime. Such a vast amount of negative emotion lead many of the family to suicide, and unfortunately for Mirage, her parents were no exception.

Now forced on her own at 15, Mirage eventually left her hometown to find a cure for the curse a few years later. Travelling with a Cleric of Hades looking for misguided souls, a royal guard turned mercenary, and a druid who set the world ablaze with her charm.

Mirage initially focused on support, but soon learned her skill in illusions and fire based magic. Using her father's violin, she played songs that confused foes, healed her allies, burned enemies in hellfire, create an illusory dragon that cannot be killed, but does damage like a real dragon. She even has spells to grow plants for harvest, turn invisible, teleport, and even change a creature or object into something else completely and permanently.

The burning grew even stronger when after set to do a favor for the sun God Helios, Mirage's fire magic was able to ignore a creatures natural resistance to fire. She could burn through magic armor, fire dragons, and even other flames itself.

Her adventuring days came to an end during a climactic battle with a cult of Typhon, the scourge of the Olympic gods. The cult brought Typhon back as a demigod and due to loopholes in the laws of the divine, the Gods couldn't fight him to stop his continued rampage. Not directly anyway. Mirage's group was gifted boons, and Mirage's was the Aegis Armor. Armor worn by a younger Athena, and able to defend against mental effects and blows that would kill the average human. Typhon was defeated, but Mirage was left alone as the sole survivor of her party. She retired from adventuring after that battle, but still travelled, and spread her songs across the land.

Mirage's strengths are... Many. She's a versatile spellcaster, her fire spells bypass immunity, Athena's armor make it very difficult to actually hit her, she can heal, evade, teleport and more.

Her weaknesses are that she's still mortal. If her opponent can overpower her defenses, she doesn't have much to stand up to attacks. She was never the muscle of any group she was in. Also important to note, that many of her good illusion spells take time to cast, only one can be active at a time, and while teleportation is nice, she's no faster than a normal human, and by the rules of death battle, no escape allowed.

Speaking of, the results of the fight. I don't have the time or budget to do an animation, so let's just say the result and how that was decided.

===============

Mirage wins.

Don't get me wrong, Gunmar is a potent fighter and physically powerful, but from the talks with Fish, his most powerful feat was throwing a car. As fast as it was going, the joules needed for that feat was ~450,000. There might be more, but let's look at Mirage's feat of tackling Typhon.

Typhon was once at least on par with Zeus, who can throw literal thunderstorms at people he doesn't like. The average strength of a thunderstorm according to google is 10^15 joules of energy, so this is the benchmark.

Typhon was turned into a demigod sort of being to free him from the bindings he was under after his initial rampage. Let's say an eighth of the benchmark, and divided again for the 4 members of her party. (The ones that actually fought Typhon that is.) Which gives us a total of 31,250,000,000,000 Joules of energy. That's roughly 31,250,000 sticks of dynamite.

Yeah... That's a bit more powerful. She would need to beat that to do damage to him, and despite not being the main attacker, she was still able to damage Typhon.

Gunmar's combat experience is also something to note. He's fought wizards before and would know how to face them, but Mirage's versatility and skill is something Gunmar has shown no perfect counter for. Even if he reaches Mirage, she has several skills that would allow her to avoid harm or even misdirect him. Hell, she could turn him into a mouse and teleport him into the deepest part of the ocean. He's a literal rock monster and would sink. Either drowning if he can, or just unable to move by the crushing weight of the ocean.

For that matter, she could just teleport them both to a location in sunlight. She knows a thing or two from her travels, and a troll's aversion to sunlight is well documented in most realities where trolls exist.

And finally, the Eclipse blade. As stated before, magic weapons like Excalibur can pierce his indestructible defenses. Hell, he's been winded by being tackled or having a large rock thrown at him. I'm 90% sure it's less of conditional immortality, and more a prophesy of what is needed to finally end him. And thanks to Helios, Mirage is a magic weapon effectively with her fire magic. Bypassing immunity, both natural and magical. Should it not be conditional immortality, Gunmar would be literal toast.

TL;DR, Against this Mirage, Gunmar's feats were just an illusion of grandeur.

[dragonshoardofwriting]

A quirk in any other hands #1

AN: The first post in a series where I'll take one quirk, and present a few different characters using it to various ends.

Quirk: Thermal Isolation Desc: Upon activation on an object, that object will not exchange heat with its surroundings, until the effect is cancelled by the user, or the object's surface is distorted to a large degree (ex. a glass breaking).

Char(#1): Mei Suzuki Profession: Waitress Desc: Having grown up using her quirk almost exclusively to keep her food and beverages at the optimal temperatures, Mei opted to get a commercial quirk use license as soon as she became an adult in hopes of using her skills to land a job in the restaurant business. Although her plans for a cooking career didn't exactly pan out, Mei finds her current job cushy enough, since most of her time at work is spent using her quirk on take-out boxes, glasses and dishware to ensure proper temperature of served food, freeing her from most other work expected of a waitress.

Char(#2): Ren Tsukimi Profession: Villain (Mercenary) Desc: Although his quirk was often considered 'weak' or 'unsuited for combat' by people who heard of it, Ren finds it easy to use to his advantage in fights, even if it requires a bit of preparation. There are two things he always does before any job. The first is to heat up his two trusty daggers over a flame, until they're hot enough to glow with heat, and then preserve them with his quirk. The second is to use the molds in his freezer to make ice-knives, and then apply his quirk on them. Because of his quirk use, his weapons are preserved as he needs them, and their temperature doesn't affect him at all while he wields them. Many enemies fell to his twin daggers that cut relentlessly, opening up bleeding wounds or burning the target, as Ren cancelled and reapplied his quirk on them to inflict maximum damage. Many more still were caught off guard when blades that lodged into their flesh, at first normal aside from appearance, suddenly became freezing in the middle of combat, seeping warmth away from their bodies, and worse - slowly melting, letting more and more blood flow.

Char(#3): Miu Tanaka Profession: Firefighter Desc: There aren't too many people with fire resistance around. And there are almost none of those who'd have other useful abilities for a firefighter. Miu's quirk, in a way, among it's many other applications, can grant a degree of fire resistance to other people. Sort of. Miu's role whenever a fire needs to be dealt with is simple - use her quirk on the gear of people who would go into the flames, and if she still has energy left, use it on those standing closest to the flames too. It might not protect from all of the heat, but having a temperature-repellent barrier of clothes between oneself and the fire does make the job much more bearable.

[vixthefantheorist]

Combat Data of Henrik Von Schneeplestein

I rolled a die and got Henrik to work on for a Combat based bio. Who should I write for next?

A/N: Vix here with a battle bio for the lovely good doctor, Henrik! Do keep in mind, these are bios focused on their battle capabilities mostly.

[Edit]: And I have combined some elements I thought was cute from the game Septiscape, that I'm one of the devs of. Just to add a splash of cute personality to him

Theme: N/A (I really need to find some music for the Egos)

Name: Henrik Von Schneeplestein

AKA: the Good Doctor

Age: 36-40 (I do see him as being a bit older than the other Egos)

Clothing: Always wears a set of surgeon's scrubs and labcoat… may or may not have a medical mask over his nose and mouth (how many sets of scrubs does this man have?); May also have a soft blue turtleneck shirt or sweater and tan slacks in place of scrubs, which is rare

Habits: 

Coffee is never far from his reach (I swear this man has nothing but coffee in his veins) 

Obsessed over equations of his work 

Bops other Egos with his bo-staff to keep them away from his instruments and work 

Has the habit of speaking and swearing in German when frustrated or very focused on his work 

Sleep barely exists to this man (but has been known to sleep at his desk, or the floor if he falls out of his chair. The other Egos tend to pick him up and carry him to his bed to sleep more properly)

On a number of occasions, Henrik has the habit of calling Chase, Kӓse Brot, by accident. Usually whenever his accent at his thickest and trying to address him or get his attention

Personality: Henrik is a bit of an eccentric, but a fairly level headed man. He’s a workaholic, often buried in his work to make one thing or another to work or solve a problem. An intelligent but cynical being to anything that isn’t very scientific in his mind, often trying to give logical reasonings to things that don’t make sense. Keyword: trying. It’s taken him a long time to remotely accept magic as a real thing but still has some trouble understanding it.

He’s earned a number of degrees in various science fields, namely those of time (this also gives reason why he holes up in his lab so much); though he has studied the ways of medicine, only to keep the other Egos alive. He can’t fathom how long they went on without a healer so he became it for their sakes. And because of this, he’s very strict about their health and wellbeing… especially to Chase with his tendency to do trickshots out of the oddest of things. Namely one incident involving a wheelchair and fireworks and stairs. (Never again, Chase)

But because of the amount of time he works in keeping them healthy, Henrik has grown to be a father-like figure or at least an older brother to them. This may have grown from his own yearning to see his own family that had left him years ago. 

Weapons: Bo Staff. Highly augmented by another Ego, Jameson Jackson, to attune itself to Henrik’s energy levels. 

Fighting Style: Mid-range only. Defensive/Support class.

He’s neither the strongest or fastest of the Egos, in fact, like Chase, he’s average in physical terms of strength and power. So instead of power, it's his skills as a doctor, scientist and skill in using the staff are what keep him alive (most of the time at least).

His staff uses hard light energy to change from staff to a polearm of a spear, though that is more of a last resort use in case Anti is gunning to kill him first. He’s adept in using the staff when combined with his medical knowledge, allows him to cause pain without damage to incapacitate his targets. There’s even slots within the staff that he uses to store toxins or tranquilizers to further enhance his chances to affect his enemies.

The staff being attuned to his energy levels, Henrik is able to ‘cast’ a healing pulse of energy over his allies to heal them or boost their speed at the cost of the caffeine levels in his system. (Yes, he gains power from drinking coffee, weird I know, but it's more of an energy boost than an actual power-up; which allows him to ‘cast’ for longer periods of time)

Weaknesses: Henrik has the worst defenses against the other Egos’ own powers, thus why he’s often behind them, throwing out healing and support. Except against Chase, where he can knock aside the guns to avoid being shot, but that’s if he’s fast enough. Speaking of which, his own ability to heal and boost the speed of others drains him heavily and must use it as effectively as possible without wasting it. Without caffeine, Henrik is unable to be of much help if awake at all, thus he carries around a thermos of coffee with him everywhere he goes. 

Relations: Chase [best friend], Jack [good friend], Jackie, Marvin [both friends], JJ [relaxation friend, as in he chitchats with JJ often], Anti [enemy]

Fears: Being replaced as the Doctor Ego, being abandoned by everyone, that everything he’s worked for is worthless to his friends and the world around him, loss of control of his life. His knowledge being used to hurt others, falling asleep but never waking up again, (it’s why he rarely sleeps himself)

[For the current moment, this report on the subject: Henrik Von Schneeplestein is up to date.]

*~*~*~*~*~

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed that! Still needs a bit more tweaking but this all just based on what information I have now of the Egos. And from that I just came up with the rest. The bios will change over time as I get more information of the Egos and alter the information in my AU.

[rapifessor]

Heizou Gameplay Analysis

Alright, here we go. Time to dissect the inner workings of the detective fisticuffs man himself, Shikanoin Heizou.

General Play Style and Abilities Overview

Heizou’s style is unique among Genshin Impact characters. He’s a catalyst user, but he fights more like a character with a melee weapon, except he has an Anemo infusion with 100% uptime. His Normal Attacks have a small amount of AoE to them which can let him hit multiple enemies if they’re grouped tightly together. He also has a Charged Attack that’s weaker than most catalyst Charged Attacks, but only costs 25 stamina whereas most others cost 50, ignoring any cost reductions a character may have of course.

Heizou’s Normal Attack also serves an important purpose, in that it builds Declension for his Elemental Skill. With Declension, the Elemental Skill becomes stronger, and this forms the bread and butter of Heizou’s kit. This ability does a pretty large amount of damage, since it has pretty good scaling and gains a massive damage bonus from having Declension and Conviction, which is gained from having maximum Declension.

His Elemental Skill can send smaller enemies flying backwards a short distance and also stagger larger enemies. It doesn’t count as a “heavy attack” though, so it’s ineffective against shields and ores. But it has a large AoE that extends pretty far in front of Heizou and makes it highly effective against groups of enemies.

As for the Elemental Burst, there are a couple interesting things to note. It only costs 40 energy, which is seemingly quite a rare sight these days; it’s been a long time since we’ve had a character with a 40 energy burst be introduced to the game. This means that Heizou shouldn’t really need any Energy Recharge whatsoever, especially with his fourth Constellation level, which grants him energy when his burst gains an elemental absorption.

Speaking of which, the way this absorption happens is a little different from most Anemo characters’ Elemental Bursts. Rather than infusing the burst itself with an element, it applies a status to enemies it hits that triggers an additional hit of whatever element was absorbed from the enemy. So it affects enemies on an individual basis, rather than all enemies within the burst’s AoE. It’s also limited to a maximum of four enemies hit by it.

All of this combined suggests that Heizou is meant to fulfill the role of the main damage-dealer in your team. He’s designed to work in conjunction with burst supports that can deal damage while off-field, triggering Swirl reactions and powering up his Elemental Skill for a nice chunk of damage. Then, when his Elemental Burst is ready, he can cast it for another solid hit of damage and keep enemies clumped together. His abilities were made to be used frequently to support his role as a character with lots of field time.

Constellation Overview

Heizou has a few good Constellation levels for those who want to invest in him. The first level lets you get access to his full-power Elemental Skill faster with a brief ATK SPD Bonus and a stack of Declension. This bonus can also be triggered pretty frequently. In fact, it has the same cooldown as his Elemental Skill, which can help you to play Heizou as a quickswap character: frequently switching to him to get in a quick use of his skill before switching again to a different character.

The second level increases the strength of his Elemental Burst’s crowd control effect and makes it last ever-so-slightly longer. I am unable to personally test this one out, but depending on how strong that pull becomes, having the duration extended could make a huge difference.

For the third and fifth levels, Heizou gets a three-level increase to his skill first and his burst second, which is quite beneficial as the skill is the more crucial (and arguably more powerful) of the two.

Level four, as previously mentioned, generates energy for Heizou when his Elemental Burst triggers an absorption. This could honestly be overkill however, as depending on your team and rotation, he might very easily be able to get his energy back regardless of whether you have this level or not. So I would argue it’s a bit redundant.

Finally, we have the sixth level, which adds even more power to Heizou’s Elemental Skill. It will now gain CRIT Rate based on your amount of Declension, and with Conviction active as well it gains 32% CRIT DMG for a significant boost to its overall damage.

Comparison to Sucrose

As Heizou has a lot in common with Sucrose, it makes sense to compare the two. They’re both 4-star characters with the same element and weapon type, and even the same stat gained from ascension: Anemo DMG Bonus.

Statistically, Heizou is clearly stronger than Sucrose. His attacks chain have better scaling, his stats are better with him having 55 more Base ATK at max level, and his abilities have lower cooldowns and energy costs. However, due to his lack of support capabilities, he’s not strictly better than her.

The truth is, Sucrose is kind of busted. Her ability to grant Elemental Mastery to her party members based on her own value for the stat makes her insanely powerful in conjunction with reaction-based DPS characters and also as a main attacker for Electro-Charged teams. Even though she doesn’t do much damage herself, the powerful Swirl reactions she triggers and the massive boost in damage she gives to her party members is really hard to beat.

Heizou is considerably more “selfish” when it comes to his gameplay. Though one of his passive talents does boost Elemental Mastery for his party members, it’s nothing compared to what Sucrose offers. Most of Heizou’s power is dedicated to himself rather than his teammates.

In short, I believe that Heizou still works wonderfully in a role where he’s on-field using his abilities while your other characters’ bursts are doing work in the background. However, he doesn’t work nearly as well in a supportive role, which limits his options somewhat.

General Thoughts on Weapons and Artifacts

Artifacts are usually pretty straightforward for Anemo characters. With the exception of Xiao and maybe Jean, they all want pretty much the same thing: a 4-Piece Viridescent Venerer set. It’s simply too powerful to pass up on when you’re most likely using Heizou in a team full of Pyro/Hydro/Cryo/Electro characters.

When it comes to the stats you want on the artifacts though, it gets a little bit more complicated. Since Heizou himself does a pretty significant amount of damage, it’s probably worth investing in that as opposed to just stacking Elemental Mastery on him. Venti is a similar case in that he does so much damage that it’s often optimal to run an Anemo DMG Bonus Goblet on him and put Elemental Mastery on the Sands and Circlet.

The key is finding out how much Elemental Mastery is enough, and then dedicating the rest of your stats to things like CRIT Rate/DMG, ATK, and Anemo DMG Bonus. I think what I’ll do, unless I hear otherwise, is invest in his CRIT stats with a Circlet and put ATK on the Sands and Elemental Mastery on the Goblet. It’s something I’ll be trying out and comparing to other setups to see which I think is best.

Now then, weapons. I think Heizou has a lot of good options. Mappa Mare, for starters. He’s the first character who I’d say actually uses it really well, since all parts of the weapon are relevant. Elemental Mastery is good for him and the DMG Bonus from the passive ability actually matters.

The Widsith should also be a spectacular option as always, thanks to the absurd buffs it provides the holder with. All of them should let you get some big damage out of your Heizou. Solar Pearl and Blackcliff Agate should also be pretty strong on him thanks to their CRIT stats and solid passive effects.

Lastly, I think Sacrificial Fragments is worth mentioning as a possible hidden gem. The Elemental Mastery is relevant on him of course, but the main draw is the passive effect which gives you a chance to reset Heizou’s Elemental Skill. Considering how buff that skill is, it might be worth running this weapon just to be able to use it more frequently.

Oh yeah, about 5-star weapons... Nothing really stands out as spectacular here, but Skyward Atlas and Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds are still great picks for raw stats. You can probably get a lot of mileage out of them, but I wouldn’t worry too much since none of them are particularly well-suited to Heizou.

Conclusion

That was a lot to cover, but I thought it was worth getting in-depth with Heizou. I think he’s a really interesting character in concept and in practice. He’s very fun and satisfying to play, and while he’s not setting new bars by any means he’s still a solid 4-star character than can be good in a lot of different teams as the headliner. I look forward to seeing what he can do with a good amount of investment.

[ajentmm]

FEH Refine Theorycraft June '24

Ah! I almost forgot to do this. I have some much more important things to do but fuck it. Fallen Ike is great but I imagine to everyone will skip the rest. And where's male Kris? Well he would be color sharing with Ike on the new powers banner so next month. And where is the 3-4 star refine?

Ike: Zeal Unleashed

So for this specific unit that I already blogged about, I got some criticism and reworked it from what you will find in the old blog. I've been sitting on this revision for this very day. I then retooled it to match Fallen Lloyd's weapon, namely the increased range of the debuff. Now that we have Emblem Ike, we might see something different but I think is good.

Chaos Ragnell: Unit can counterattack regardless of foe's range. At the start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25% or Penalty is active on unit, grant Atk/Spd/Def/Res+X during combat (X = 5 + current penalty on each of unit's stats × 2. (Example: if unit has -7 penalty to Atk, grants Atk+14, for a net bonus of Atk+7.) Calculates each stat bonus independently.

At the start of turn, inflict Atk/Def-7 and [Panic] on unit and closest foes and any foe within 2 spaces of those foes through their next actions. If foe initiate combat or foe's HP ≥ 75%, grant Atk/Spd/Def/Res+5 to unit and inflict Atk/Spd/Def-X on foe during combat (X = number of [Bonus] and [Penalty] effects active on unit × 4; max 16; excludes stat bonuses and stat penalties), reduces the effect of [Deep Wounds] by 50% during combat, and also, before unit's first attack, grants Special cooldown count-X (X = 50% of unit's max Special cooldown count value, rounded down) to unit.

Summer! Selena

Lvl. 40 5 ☆  36/37/37/17/23       Max Invest: 46/47/47/26/33

Exotic Fruit Juice: Grants Atk+3. Inflicts Spd/Res-6 on foes within 2 spaces during combat.

Draw Back - Atk/Spd Push 4 - Spd/Res Snag 3

Selena, how is this a perf weapon? This is just the same as the inheritable tomes on this same banner. Do better girl.

Exotic Fruit Juice: Grants Atk+3. Inflicts Spd/Res-6 on foes within 3 rows or 3 columns centered on unit during combat and also, if those foe’s Spd < allies’ Spd, neutralizes effects that guarantee those foe's follow-up attacks and effects that prevent allies’ follow-up attacks during combat with those foes. At start of combat, if foe initiate combat or foe's HP ≥ 75%, deals damage = 15% of unit's Spd (excluding Area of Effect Specials).

Okay, know she is getting something closer to the new Spd/Res Crux, expect instead of giving a follow-up to allies, she grants the Spd check NFU. She then just get true damage base on her Spd.

At the start of turn, if unit HP ≥ 25%, grants the following to unit and allies within 2 spaces: Atk/Spd+6, [Canto 1], and “When initiating combat, 40% DR on first hit” for 1 turn. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, inflict Spd/Res-6, neutralize foe’s bonuses on Spd/Res, and neutralize effects that inflict "Special cooldown charge -X" on unit during combat.

To continue with the ally support, she also grants Atk/Spd+6, [Canto 1] and some DR to herself and allies. Then, she gets more Spd/Res debuffs along with half tempo and lull Spd/Res for herself. This is similar to past mage cavaliers that we got on special banner, but definitely better than what we have now.

Nemesis: King of Liberation

Dark Creator S: Grants Def+3. During combat, boost unit's Atk/Def by number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 2 (max 6). At the start of combat, if it’s the unit's first combat in player phase or enemy phase, or if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5 to unit and reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials (excluding Røkkr area-of-effect Specials) by percentage = 30 + number of allies with HP ≥ 50% × 10 (max 60%).

Foes with Range = 1 cannot move through spaces adjacent to unit, and foes with Range = 2 cannot move through spaces within 2 spaces of unit (does not affect foes with Pass skills). At the start of combat, if foe initiates combat or foe’s HP ≥ 75%, grant Atk/Def/Res+5, a guaranteed follow-up attack, restores 7 HP to unit after combat.

Julian: Tender Thief

Tender Knife: Effective against cavalry foes. At start of combat, if unit's HP ≥ 25%, grant Special cooldown charge +1 per attack, inflict Atk/Spd/Def-4 on foe, neutralizes effects that guarantee foe's follow-up attacks and effects that prevent unit's follow-up attacks, and disables unit’s and foe’s skills that change attack priority during.

If unit or foe initiates combat after moving to a different space, inflict Atk/Spd/Def-4 on foe, neutralizes effects that grant “Special cooldown charge +X” to foe or inflict "Special cooldown charge -X" on unit during combat, further inflict Atk-X% on foe (X = the number of spaces the unit that initiated moved x 5, + 5, Max 25%), and reduces damage from foe's first attack by 40% ("first attack" normally means only the first strike; for effects that grant "unit attacks twice," it means the first and second strikes).

Anna: Secret Seller

Apotheosis Spear: Grants Spd+3. Unit can move to a space within 2 spaces of an ally within 2 spaces. At start of combat, if foe's HP ≥ 75%, grants Atk/Spd+6 to unit, and also, reduces damage from foe's first attack by 40% and unit's next attack deals damage equal to total damage reduced (by any source, including other skills). Resets at end of combat.

If unit initiates combat or is within a 2 tile radius of an ally, grants Atk/Spd+6 to unit, reduces the percentage of foe's non-Special "reduces damage by X%" skills by X × 30%, and grants Special cooldown count-X to unit before unit's first attack during combat (X = number of spaces from start position to end position of whoever initiated combat, max 3; if [Penalty] effects are active on foe, then the value is treated as 3).

[tonkihill]

Point blank mods

#Point blank mods mod#

#Point blank mods free#

(1-9) to (13-179) Added Lightning Damage Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Per 1% Quality: 1 Superior 2 Anomalous 3 Divergent 4 Phantasmal 1% increased Damageġ% increased Projectile Speed Projectiles Pierce 0.1 additional Targets Fires 0.1 additional Projectiles 1% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage Deals (135-225)% of Base Attack Damageĥ0% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage The projectiles cannot miss if the melee attack hits a target. In addition to converting some of your physical damage to lightning damage, the stored energy is released from the weapon as projectiles as you strike, flying out to hit farther-away enemies. It does apply to Lightning Strike Lightning Strike Attack, Projectile, Melee, Strike, LightningĮffectiveness of Added Damage: (135-225)% Requires Level 12 Infuses your melee weapon with electrical energies as you swing. The Point Blank effect only works with projectile attacks, such as those made with a bow or wand. A skill either has Point Blank or does not. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Supported Skills deal (0-38)% increased Projectile Damage This is a Support Gem. Per 1% Quality: 1 Superior 2 Anomalous 3 Divergent Supported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile Damage Supported Skills have 2% chance to Knock Enemies Back with Hits at Close Range Projectiles from Supported Skills Pierce all Targets within 1 units Supported Skills' Projectile Attack Hits deal up to 30% more Damage to targets at the start of their movement, dealing less Damage to targets as the projectile travels farther Point Blank Support Point Blank Support Projectile, Attack, SupportĬost & Reservation Multiplier: 110% Requires Level 18 Supports projectile skills. Distanceįor reference, melee weapons distance range is 5 for one-handed and 6 for two-handed weapons, cold snap has an area of effect radius of 15. Projectiles that travel in multiple segments (such as Arrow Nova Support) include the payload distance in the damage penalty. distance travelled continues to increase as the projectile returns to its point of origin. Per 1% Quality: 1 Superior 2 Anomalous 3 Divergent 0.5% increased Attack Speed 1% increased Projectile Speed 0.5% reduced Projectile Speedįires an additional Projectile Deals (80-100)% of Base Attack Damage Place into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. It flies out and then returns to you, in a spinning attack that damages enemies in its path. Projectile Speed: 1000 Throws a spectral copy of your melee weapon. If the projectile changes direction-as is the case with Spectral Throw Spectral Throw Attack, Projectile It is important to note that damage scaling is done with respect to the total distance the projectile has travelled, not its current distance from the point of origin. But it's a bit more in-depth.The projectile deals the greatest amount when initially released, the attack damage will continue decreasing until the maximum projectile distance according to the table below.

#Point blank mods free#

The best comparison to this would be Madden's signings of free agents. This is an interesting experience on its own, because their is a certain amount of strategy involved in buying and selling items. You will also be able to buy and sell items from them through the Buy and Sell Menu.

Buy and Sell - Throughout the game, you will be able to talk to many friendly NPCs.

If the player becomes completely insane, he will commit suicide. There are several factors that affect your sanity.

Sanity Level - This indicates how sane the player is.

For example, if you are shot in the arm, you will not able to perform stealth kills or hold two-handed weapons.

Pin Point System - Depending on which location you are shot, your player will suffer accordingly.

This is a true to life game, with many plot twists.

Hand-to-hand combat, including punching.

You will be able to do the following manuevres:

Point Blank Mode - This modifiable melee mode will allow you to control your melee attacks with extreme precision.

#Point blank mods mod#

This mod will consist of 7 unique maps, with a total of 12 levels altogether.The entire experience is in 3rd-person.In Dreamscape, you control Virgil Coltreese, a silent, yet deadly, killer. The story will involve drugs, money, revenge, sex and stealth. Its main features include the Pin Point Damage system and the Point Blank attack system.ĭreamscape will be set in the streets of San Diego, California. Dreamscape: Pin Point Blank is a 3rd-person single-player total conversion of Half-Life 2.

[nyashykyunnie]

Might as well hope on the bandwagon. May I please request a Father Xiao scenarios? Maybe his child can be a half-adeptus like ganyu (Child auto-corrected to Childe when I was typing this xD)

A/N: took me awhile to think of a Xiao hc cuz I was tryna choose between some scenarios AHWHEGW Also SAME, MY PHONE AUTCORRECTS INTO CHILDE ALL THE TIME AHAHAGAGSG AND YES XIAO HAVING A HALF-BLOOD CHILD EEE NGL HE GONNA BE EXTRA PROTECTIVE AHADHJADGS I’m so excited for this ehehh. Also tyvm for the req!!! I hope you enjoy this anon!! Btw this was supposed to be for three charas but I got carried away with xiao so ahah,.... Woops =w=;;

𝙵𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛! 𝕏𝕚𝕒𝕠 x 𝙶𝙽! 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍! ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

.     　﹢　˖    　✦      ¸ .　﹢　 ° 　¸.    ° ˖ ･ ·̩　　 ｡　☆　　　ﾟ ＊ 　 ｡　☆ ✦˖

Having a child, with his own blood running through your veins, you being the spitting image of him- Was the last thing Xiao could ever imagine ever happening to him.

It’s understandable that he was really shocked to know you are his. Xiao is, after all, the Conqueror Of Demons. He is more than used to being in battle, always being on high alert and ready to slash any enemy down since it isone of his duties as the Vigilant Yaksha who protects Liyue.

Xiao was very cautious around you. With your small and fragile body, he feared that even touching you was enough to kill you. The Wangshu Inn keeper had to teach him ‘how’ to hold you because Xiao’s fear of holding you might just make him stay ten feet away from you at all costs.

He watches over you from afar, always ready to strike at whatever dares to bring you harm.

Though, most of the time, the yaksha is always leaving you to Verr Goldet’s care so he can fulfill his duties. It was fine at first- Until Verr had to talk to Xiao about it. He told him that he shouldn’t be too focused  on that job. 

She told him the possibilities of his constant negligence of you, she told him you might grow “Deprived From Fatherly Affection”. Xiao was shocked of course, he didn’t really know that. 

He felt guilty, he was so blinded by not wanting to inflict any form of harm on you, he didnt expect that it’ll inevitably lead you to growing some unwanted mindsets and habits.

Xiao isn’t really one for affection, there’s no need to explain that. Majority of his skills are more on the ‘slaughter’ and ‘exorcise’ expertise.

Regardless, he is not just a protector of Liyue now, he is a ‘father’ now. Specifically your father. This new responsibility isn’t something he will run away from.

Don’t expect much from him though. Xiao is still hesitant to some extent, he’s trying to figure out how he will interact with you.

 Unlike him, you’re fragile. More fragile than glass. He’s afraid of exerting accidental force that will lead him to hurting you. You’re just too small- so small can’t even reach pass his knees(Please this yaksha is just overthinking too much)

Baby steps, that’s what he’ll do. Slow and steady so he wont be too overwhelmed.

He starts off by simply talking to you, maybe even playing with you for a bit with enough begging. Xiao slowly got used to handling you as time went by. Verr was even suprised at one point when she saw Xiao handling you during your tantrums. 

Xiao made good progress with you. He didnt even know that he was unconciously getting attached to you, he didnt know that he adored your presence. He didn’t realize that he gets a little frustrated when he needs to leave you behind. Xiao developed his ‘father instincts’ to such a level to the point that he sometimes wished his Yaksha responsibilties were less demanding.

When you are trouled with nightmares- Xiao will put some stuff to wardoff evil. Though, he also heard that child mortals are more effectively comfoted if they are sung a lullaby, so he’ll do that. Just... Don’t tell anyone else or that will be your last (maybe)

The immortal sometimes even comes home with new clothes since he knew that children grow and he wouldn’t want to see you struggling with the small fit ofyour clothing. He also makes sure to put some spells on them too to ward off evil.

 Xiao unconciously spoils you, his mind always drifting; ‘Maybe they’ll like something like that. Mortal children I’ve seen are fond of those stuff’.  Naturally, he’ll make a way to afford that small gift for you. If he cant, then he’ll just learn how to make it himself.

He loves you, he just doesnt know how to convey that. Being an adepti, being raised as a machine for war- Love wasn’t something he is great at. But even if it’s that, he’ll still strive for you secretly. Xiao will no doubt make the most descreet efforts to adore you. He still doubts himself even after all the progress he’s made in becoming close to you.

“Silk Flowers!” You squeel in delight as you spotted a bouquet of it from afar. You dash off from Xiao’s side, making the adepti startled and call out your name.

But still you were a child, of course you just kept running and running until the ground beneath you rumbled at what seems like caused from footsteps. Your feet wobbled and almost knocked you off of your feeting. Then it stopped, a huge shadow looming over your small figure. You look up only to have the color of your face drained.

“D-Daddy!” You cried out in absolute horror, falling down to the ground. You were terrified, how could you not? Monsters were real, and one of those monsters was about to murder you in cold blood. “Daddy! Help!”

Just at the beast was about to swing it’s flaming axe towards you- The  wind shifted, as if slicing through the air and knocking back the mitachurl.

“How dare such filthy demon dare to even make their presence in front of my child, let alone even dare to strike!” Xiao growled, his eyes flaming gold from raw fury as he walked with the air dancing violently around him. “ I’ll make you pay”

Xiao’s voice was flooded with resentment, his primodial jade radiated as it felt it’s master’s sudden abundance in power. He spun it as his Yaksha mask formed in his face. At the roar of the enemy, Xiao leapt forward, striking the demon in overwhelming speed. He moved so fast it’s too the point the mitachurl wasn’t given any chance to react. But was it done? No, not even a little bit. That demon frightened you to the point your voice faltered in calling him. He has seen you in tears but never to this extent. Xiao was fuming as he plunged down, his anemo spears stabbing the enemy with no hint of sympathy. 

When he finally finished the kill, Xiao’s mask disintegrated and immediately walked to your crying state. He clicked his tounge, feeling a huge pang in his heart as he saw you this disheveled.

“Da-daddy!” You wailed, reaching your arms out for him desperately as your tears clouded your eyes. “Waah!”

He wanted to scold you, he really did. But the sight of you crying like this made the words stuck in his throat. Xiao instead lifted you in his arms, letting you bury your face on the crook of his neck and sob freely. You soaked his shoulder and Xiao didn’t complain, he just rubbed your back to let you know he is there.

“Does anywhere hurt?” His nonlachant voice rung in your ears softly, stealing your attention. “If there is, better tell me now or those wounds will cause  further damage in you.”

“[Y-y/n] is bad.” You hicupped. “[Y/N] is so bad daddy is now ou-ouchie. Daddy now hates [Y-Y/N]”

“Hate? You mortals have odd ways of thinking” Xiao sounded a little rough, making you flinch. “Don’t be ridiculous, I would never bear such hostility towards you. Moreover, I’m not hurt. I’ve lived for thousands of years, pain is something minimal for an adepti such as myself.”

He scoffed.

“On the other hand, your life is counted by only one hand. You have yet to experience what life will truly bring you.” Xiao’s voice started to soften bit by bit as he softly squeezes your small body towards him more “However, I am your father. If darkness decides to crawl at your feet and even when you are frigthened of what’s ahead- Call out my name. I’ll always be there.”

“Da-daddy promises?” You look up to stare at his amber orb. “Daddy will make monsters go bye-bye?”

“Yes” He simply answered. “Now stop your noisy crying, we’re going back to eat.”

He appears cold, his way of talking always straight to the point, but still he loves you. Adeptus Xiao, the guardian yaksha, his power will not simply be used in order to slaughter the darkness creeping around Liyue. With his Vision and might as Alatus, the Golden-Winged King,... He will protect you at all costs and raise you no matter how he is troubled regarding his difficulty in making much of emotions.

You are one his greatest gifts, a treasure he will sincerely hold in his heart forevermore. It doesn’t matter if his karmic binds attack him, he will venture out of it for you. 

A/N: AIGHHTT AAAA ITS MY FIRST TIME WRITTING FOR XIAO HNNN, Did I do good??? AAAA I DUNNO AHDKSGF. I hope you all liked it hngghhhh ;___; Also I’m sorry for being inactive a lot AAAAA, school is starting to get mre and more demanding. I have more hcs upcoming so dw! I wont end up completely turning into a dead ghost!

[shuttershocky]

hey shutters! recently i got firewatch from recruitment, i've always been wanting to get her and I regretted not picking her instead in the 5* operator ticket back then, so i'm super stoked!! do you have any opinions on her or any tips to be mindful of??

The number one tip with Firewatch is to have fun :)

No but seriously, Deadeye Snipers like Firewatch are a subclass built for low DPS (very slow attack speed) but very high burst long range attacks. They target enemies with the lowest DEF first which makes them great at picking off certain targets from a crowd (like a wraith hiding between their tanks), but awful at dealing with trash crowds (6 slugs at once). Don't do the rookie mistake of bringing a Deadeye to do a Marksman's job, while Firewatch can certainly destroy drones, she won't necessarily target them first and she's not fast enough to take out trash waves without help.

Now even within the Deadeye subclass there are two types: those that extend their attack range, and those with weirder utility skills. Firewatch falls into the latter.

Firewatch's S1 is her "meta" skill. It's amazing. It makes Firewatch put on camo that lasts for ages and hides her from enemies while boosting her attack. This lets her be placed in positions that would be suicidal for most other snipers, while increasing her already gigantic attack stat so that her shots can pierce through some heavy armor. As Firewatch's camo was the earliest implementation of camo in the game, it is unique in that it actually makes her invincible, not invisible. Other operators with camo effects such as Heavyrain will still get hit by AOE attacks from the enemy or affected by things like poison gas, but Firewatch avoids damage entirely, and this is not written anywhere in the game. You can take advantage of this little oversight in certain stages, where Firewatch can be placed far more aggressively than even camo normally allows.

Firewatch's S2, demonstrated in the video above, is her fun skill. She calls down an airstrike on random tiles prioritizing enemies inside her attack range, with the missiles dealing massive AOE damage that scales off of her ATK stat. This is an extremely expensive skill in all kinds of respects: it needs heavy investment in order to be good (as specializing in the skill increases the missile count as well as the damage multiplier), needs the right support units to buff Firewatch's ATK or debuff enemies, Firewatch needs to be raised to a high level for her stats to be as high as possible, and it has a large SP cost of 50 so it's energy expensive as well. All things considered it's rather impractical and it would be irresponsible for a guidemaker to be describing to a new player how appealing this skill is. But efficiency is not what makes video games fun: it's spectacle.

Firewatch's S2 is one of the potentially strongest physical burst damage skills in the game, and when you use it well you can forget what I said about Deadeyes being countered by crowds, there won't be a crowd left.

Did you see that video above? That dude with the white hair is a boss with 28,000 HP. He made the mistake of standing too close to his big tanky bodyguards, and now there's only a couple craters left. That's what Firewatch does.

[codenamesazanka]

video games + fantasy and magic + quirk society + League:

*

“—So they’re all quirkless… But Shuuichi-kun just said some of them can shoot fire or shadow blasts.”

“Those aren’t quirks. It’s magic.”

“Like what Mister does?”

“No, it’s real magic. Er, well, real magic inside the story.”

“Sounds incredible! What the heck is real magic.”

“Ah, that. Magic is the stuff of dreams, of wonders, and grasping it within the palms of—“

“That’s got nothing to do with Insignia of the Inferno: Emergence. Don’t listen to him. Magic is a skill. It’s a supernatural power that performs ranged attacks which affects the stats of the target. You know, their condition, their health points, them as a character!”

“That just sounds like a quirk…”

“Well it isn’t! It’s fantasy. That’s how fantasy games and stories worked back then. Classical fantasy, about ancient and feudal times.”

“Ehhhh. All the stories I read when I was little had quirks. Like, Beauty and the Beast? The Beast Prince is a heteromorph, and Belle could touch mirrors to see faraway things! Or! Or like Momotaro can talk to animals, and Usagi had a transformation quirk—“

“Those don’t count as classical fantasy—“

“All those stories have all been changed from the original ones, to suit this modern extraordinary age. Remember, Toga-chan, no one had quirks back then. For most of human history until relatively recently, we were quirkless. In those original tales, the folklores and myths, the characters instead had divine blessings or otherworldly gifts… Magic, as it were.”

“Hmm…”

“Yeah, what Mister said. In Insignia, which is classical fantasy, everyone is quirkless. But! Some people, called mages, could do magic. And magic can be learned. As you level up, you learn more spells, you can use different types of attack depending on the kind of enemy. Back to the story, Alouet discovers a magic tome that contains the three ancient spells to seal away the—”

“That sounds unfair. They can do magic, but also have multiple magics?”

“Toga-chan is right, that’s cheating! And also sorta like your teacher, Shigaraki.”

“…Heh.”

“I told you guys, magic. is. not. quirks. And all mages know multiple—”

“Okay, okay! I know, magic is magic. So what happens next? Keep going, Shuuichi-kun.”

“I am! Alouet discovers the tome, and realizes that to seal away the Seven-Eyed Beast, they must travel to the each of the Three Celestial Dragons’ realms. At each realm, Prince Rhod - who has the Grace of Dawn that’s passed through the royal bloodline - performs the ritual to summon—”

“The Prince is a mage?“

“No, he’s not. Remember? The royal family had sworn to forsake magic—”

“But then how can he have this dragon summon power?”

“It’s not magic. This is something only the royal family have—”

“So they’re the only ones with a dragon quirk. I get it! I’m completely lost.”

“How many times do I have to—”

“It’s all game mechanisms, none of it has to make sense. Magic is just an attack that deals damage. Think of it as different types of weapons. Bow and arrows, throwing daggers, swords. You can get any one of them. You can use each one. That’s what magic spells are. Weapons.”

“Ooh, gotcha. And Prince Rhod?”

“Demigod. He summons dragons because they recognize him as a descendant of their former masters.”

“And then?”

“He gets the dragons, they kill the Beast, they retrieve the crown, and he’s King. The End.”

“…That’s it?”

“There’s more than that! And Prince Rhod isn’t—“

“King Rhod, now that he has the crown. Great! Wonderful retelling. Only took up…three-fourths of the hour. Now, it’s getting late—”

“Mister, I’m not finished.”

“He’s sick of your stupid video game story, Spinner! I liked it! But not really.”

“…It’s more fun to play it.”

“You’re just also a big nerd, Tomura-kun. You and Shuuichi-kun both are, classic-magic-quirk-fairy-tale-fantasy-whatever video games otakus.”

“Magic isn’t— You’re doing this on purpose, Toga! Hey—!”

“But don’t worry, I’ll still hang out with you guys~~”

*

tl;dr: Imagine how much nerdier Shigaraki and Spinner might actually seem when they have to explain historical conceptualizations of magic on top of the game mechanisms itself. RIP

[hurricanes-art]

i am interested in your hades au, would you mind giving some details about it? 👁 it looks really interesting

[This AU is from these drawings!]

*cracks knuckles* Ok! I actually got enough sleep last night so I'm finally feeling up to explaining this au lmao

Also I hope that by “some details” you meant “way way too many” because I am nothing if not long winded. Also @hades-hellsite asked for context too, here you go

The central premise is that, after he dies, Achilles manages to make an arrangement with Hades that allows both him and Patroclus to stay in Elysium together. He's not employed to work at the house and he never becomes Zagreus's combat trainer.

Hades makes a few attempts to find Zagreus a different teacher among the shades of great warriors, but being skilled does not make someone able to teach. And being able to teach one way doesn't mean someone will be good for every student. When Zagreus doesn't learn well with the few mentors Hades tries, which he barely gives a chance to breathe anyway, he's quick to decide that he must have no martial ability and declares Zagreus a failure in that as he has about so many things.

This has two major effects on Zagreus before his escape attempts begin. One, without any chance to actually grow into aptitude in combat, he's left without anything substantial to put his energy into and, more importantly, he's left without anything he feels good at and that gives value to his efforts. Two is that, in Achilles' absence, very few people in the house give him any care and support untwisted by the politics of the house and the judgment of his father. There is Orpheus, kind to him before Hades locks him away for refusing to sing, Hypnos, willing to put the house to sleep so he can find the truth though jumbled up in his own problems, and Nyx.

Nyx is the only one to aid Zagreus when he decides to try to escape. She contacts Olympus and weaves careful lies to win their support and blesses his departure. She's also the only one who believes that Zagreus has the slightest chance of escaping. Already in canon, most everyone tells him there no way he'll make it out, but here, it's so much worse. He doesn't know how to fight, his initial attempts are pitiful and his progress negligible, and near everyone lashes out at him to get back in line and stop making things worse.

He doesn't even have the Infernal Arms. Achilles is the one who brings them to him in canon; here Zagreus takes a simple bronze sword from one of the house's many displays of weapons from wars long past. He thanks the Fates that the Styx restores it the same way it does his body when he dies because he nicks and dulls the edges every time.

Despite all the disadvantages, Zagreus throws himself into escaping with unshakable determination, bone deep stubbornness. He picks up his sword and will figure out how to use it himself. Experience will be his teacher. He dies over and over and he watches his enemies and learns how they move and how he must react, mimicking their attacks for his own use and adjusting and adjusting after each failure. And contrary to Hades' adamant belief, Zagreus is very intelligent and learns brilliantly when allowed to and he grows stronger and stronger.

There's no teacher more savage than experience in something like this, though. The pursuit is agonizing and the cost is enormous and adjusting to this ceaseless violence feels impossible.

Much of my interest in this idea is how the added strain on his circumstances and relationships affects Zagreus and his mental state. At his best, Zag looks a lot like he does in canon, with his laurels unfurled and vibrant, and his feet glowing hot, but he rarely feels his best here. His laurel leaves curl in dry and crisp, muted like the leaves of autumn. Flakes of ash and soot build up over his legs and encase more and more as he suffers. So deep is his feeling of failure and being trapped that it affects him physically.

Not always, though. His flames respond to his emotions, burn brighter in his passion. Enthusiasm, love, fervor, bliss, anger set him glowing.

After a brutally drawn out span of time, Zagreus meets Achilles and Patroclus in Elysium and tbh, the rest of my interest is really in how the altered circumstances change the evolution of their relationships with each other. The pair of warriors were never separated for an extended time and Achilles is less downtrodden and resigned and Patroclus is less bitter and abrasive when Zagreus stumbles upon them.

They don't fight him, which Zagreus counts among his greatest blessings, although Achilles still seems to have an interest. It makes him twitchy and he jumps when Achilles finally lifts his spear and swings it around in his third time in their little glade only to bump the flat of the blade against elbow and tell him to keep it in more towards his body. Zagreus blinks rapidly at him before adjusting his arm.

Achilles helps him here and there, tips and tricks and valuable advice, but he never gives anything near the thorough instruction he did in canon. On one hand, he doesn't need to. Zagreus is a self made fighter and it leaves him with weaknesses but it is also a powerful thing. He is unpredictable and incredibly adaptable and he only continues to improve.

On the other hand, there's no room for it. Achilles is gentle with his guidance, but Zagreus is rubbed raw by all the fighting he's done and all that still depends on it. He doesn't want to always focus on the weapon in his hands. Patroclus notices and curbs Achilles' input when it exceeds its bounds. He sits aside and observers carefully when they spar. Zagreus doesn't need another's direction which is fine by him, who's lost all desire for combat. He gives his aid through his assortment of trinkets that carry Zagreus further to the surface.

Zagreus barely knows what to do with himself in the face of their care. He's so unaccustomed to such generous and genuine support, interest devoid of expectation or blame. As familiarity between the three of them grows, their interactions grow warmer, more tender and comfortable. Their care lays on a foundation, not a hinge, and Zagreus grapples with understanding that he really can lean on it. It all leaves him so uncertain yet so desperate because he wants more than anything to have joy and conversation and company with others where he doesn't shoulder heavy guilt from unspoken accusations over his escaping the house and to have a place he feels he belongs without being an intrusion.

He does at first believe he's intruding, though. Intruding on their time together in the peace of Elysium. It takes them time to convince him that they value his presence immeasurably. The opportunity to stay together in the Underworld has been invaluable for Achilles and Patroclus, but the peace of Elysium is a deceptive thing. It wears away and prickles at them, pressing down in odd warping ways. Patroclus is beyond pleased to have the war behind him and that it can never force him to fight again, and despite Achilles retaining an interest in competition and combat, he does feel the same way. Having a cause though, something to believe in and worth devoting their efforts towards... They didn't realize how deeply they missed it until Zagreus. It is revitalizing. They thrive in his genuine, boundless kindness and long to support him.

The drawings of Orpheus arguing with Hades and Zagreus fighting with Nyx is from one of my plot point ideas. Later down the line, together, Hades, Persephone, and Nyx agree to forbid Zagreus from seeing Achilles and Patroclus at Nyx's behest. Similarly to how she talks about Dusa in canon, she sees mortal shades as beneath his station and that it's highly unbecoming for the prince to be consorting with them. Zagreus fights against the idea ferociously and is only smothered by the threat that, if he seeks them out anyway, Hades will void Achilles' agreement and have Patroclus moved to the proper plane of the Underworld.

It crushes Zagreus. He loves them and cares about them so much and being torn apart from them is a wound that cuts so deep. But even more than that, what breaks him open most, is the fact that it came from someone he cared for and trusted most. Nyx was the one person in the House he could depend on most and this betrayal at her hand is devastating. And for such a worthless reason as propriety and godly vanity. It's not her place to force those upon him. It hurts Zagreus to the core.

Orpheus is the only one willing to stick up for him in this, deeply empathetic to the grief of being separated from loved ones and well acquainted with the fact that such punishments will only damage, never correct. After all, his stint of punishment in Erebus didn't revive his desire to sing, it was Zagreus's dedication and vibrancy that did that. One of the many invaluable gifts Zagreus gave him, including reuniting him with Eurydice, making him happier than he'd been since her death. Orpheus can't keep biting his tongue when all these gods refuse to see any of this.

It all comes to a head dramatically and painfully and I've thought of a few variations on how it would play out. I'll leave it for now though, I might draw it or write it later >:3c  Also this got really long lol. Hopefully the idea is at least somewhat interesting!

And here, have the lines from these two drawings because I like the way they look

[yui-kuromori]

Okay so mafia AU

The Wonderland’s tea party is an organization led by the Hatter. It’s specializes in drug trafficking, blackmail and selling information.

Arisu and Usagi are it’s newest members. They got recruited on accident really and it’s mostly Arisu’s fault. He was on the subway one day and sat beside this older man wearing sunglasses struggling with a piece of paper on his hand. It was hatter, who was trying to figure out the safest routes in and out of a building for an information robbery from a big company. Arisu had kinda peered at the map, gotten excited because *puzzle*, and offered Hatter some help. After Hatter tells him the “rules” Arisu spends the rest of the ride tracing out paths and tragedies, before leaving a baffled Hatter behind.

So Hatter’s like “we need this kid” and sends Niragi and Last Boss to “Invite him for tea”. Unfortunately for them, when they go to corner Arisu, he’s out with Usagi, and Usagi upon being told by Arisu that he think’s they’re being followed, and notices Piercings and Face Tattoos, goes “I think the fuck not”, grabs her best friend and *bolts*.

And run she does, going full parkour ninja, hauling Arisu’s skinny ass around. Niragi and Last Boss try following them, but after a while, she just looses them altogether. They report back to Hatter who just goes: “He has a ninja girlfriend?? We need them” and he’s really excited about it.

He sends in Chishiya and Kuina to actually talk to them this time and after some coaxing, they agree to at least try out. They both need the money.

What they didn’t expect was for them to be immediately adopted into the found family dynamic. Arisu and Kuina are immediately trans buddies, and Aguni is like “Okay, two more children for me and Takeru”, Last Boss takes the position of scary older brother, specially for Usagi, and even Niragi treats them nicely (in his own way).

Feat. Very concerned friends Karube and Chouta who have no idea what’s happening, their college classmates, who are running a rumor mill, Arisu’s awful family that keeps popping up even after he moves in with Usagi and Shibuki, who’s literally just vibing.

Also, this is probably Arisu x Chishiya

ROLECALL

Name: Danma Takeru

Code name: Mad Hatter

Skills: He is the leader and founder of Wonderland’s tea party. What used to be a two person gang grew into an organization because of his visionary attitude and charming personality. His charisma allows for nice deals and sales, while his ruthlessness keeps their family protected. He doesn’t usually go out on mission, but he’s a skilled fighter and a surprisingly smart man. He also has a keen eye and sharp intuition, especially when picking out new members.

Name: Aguni Morizono

Code name: Bandersnatch

Skills: He is the second founder and Hatter’s right hand man. He is the muscle of the operation, the strongest member on the team. He is responsible for dealing with their enemies, carrying out threats, defending their territory and keeping their family safe. He also trains all members on how to use guns, weapons and fight. He took Usagi under his wing, as he not only could see a bit of himself in her, but their fighting styles could be similar.

Name: Chishiya Shuntaro

Code name: Cheshire

Skills: He’s their doctor. He patches up whoever is hurt and occasionally deals with a dead body or two. He’s also responsible for gathering intel. He often goes undercover in big corporations and rival groups to gather some vital secret information that could be sold for a lot of money, or takes those groups down from the inside. He’s the one who took Arisu under his wing, noticing how good he is at reading people’s hearts, he’s been teaching him how to manipulate and lie and now they usually go undercover together.

Name: Kuina Hikari

Code name: Caterpillar or Absolem

Skills: Kuina is a dealer. She accompanies Hatter when he goes to strike a deal not only because of her charisma and people skills, but because she functions as a secret bodyguard. She’s also usually on robberies and stealth missions, where being undercover is not necessary but they still need to get in and out of somewhere unseen to get shit done. To those, she’s usually paired with Chishiya. She’s the one teaching Arisu how to fight, since their styles are the most similar.

Name: Niragi Suguru

Code name: March Hare

Skills: This is their killer ok? Need someone disposed of? Call Niragi. Need someone intimidated? Call Niragi. Some group is trying to start a turf war? Call Aguni who’s gonna take Niragi and Last Boss and they’ll fix it. Niragi’s also responsible for their weapons and sometimes will help with scheming. He’s decievingly protective of his family and shows affection with acts of violence. If you want any piercings he’ll do it for you.

Name: Samura Takatora (last boss)

Code name: Jabberwocky

Skills: His position is the same as Niragi’s. They are usually paired together for missions. While Niragi takes care of the guns, Last Boss takes care of knives and swords. They are usually sent with Ann or Arisu whenever they have to meet people and their looks alone are enough to intimidate any potential threats. He’s been teaching Usagi how to spear fight and is secretly delighted someone else has taken to more traditional weapons. If you ever want a tattoo, he’s the one to ask for.

Name: Ann Rizuna

Code name: White Queen

Skills: She’s the one responsible for most of their drug operation. While Hatter makes the deals, she’s the one crutching numbers, distributing product and sometimes even cooking up drugs herself. She can also fill in for Chishiya as their doctor and Along with him, Arisu and Niragi, she’s the one tracing most of their plans. If any of them were to die, she would be the one responsible for finding out who did it and helping to hunt them down.

Name: Tatta Kodai

Codename: Dormouse or Arganaz

Skills: Tatta is their getaway driver. He can outdrive everyone and anyone. His knowledge in mechanics helps them with their robberies and he’s been known to pull some Dean Winchester level stunts behind the wheel. He also keeps communication between teams clear and smooth. He’s been learning some basics under Ann’s wing and is getting pretty good at, uh, cooking.

Name: Usagi Yuzuha

Code name: White Rabbit

Skills: She’s a fighter and a runner. When she’s not in a position similar to Aguni’s, she’s doing patrols around their territory, spying on rivals and enemies from the top of buildings and helping Tatta to keep all the teams in the know. She’s usually paired with Arisu in the same way Kuina is paired with Chishiya. She’s also the only one that can keep them all sleeping a minimum of four hours a night and eating somewhat healthy food with a decent frequency. Many suspect that if Aguni retires, she’ll be the one to take his place.

Name: Arisu Ryohei

Code name: Alice

Skills: Arisu quickly become a big part of the brains behind most of their operations. He views plans with Hatter, tracing escape routes and planning damage control. He also goes undercover with or without Chishiya a lot, his innocent demeanor making him appear trustworthy. He’s also the one to analyze their oponents and tell the teams exactly where to look at for blackmail. He wrote down the plans that actually took down some big corporations. He’s been learning how to fight from Kuina, and is steadily getting better. He’s been also slowly learning how to hack, it’s just another puzzle for him.

[utilitycaster]

Level 14!

let’s go down the list except Fjord last because there are two paths he can go by but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on

Jester and Caduceus: no additional spell slots, although they can prep an additional spell as they always can upon leveling up (both are now able to prep 19 spells). Eighth level spells show up at L15 and honestly it’s a short list (for those wondering: control weather is very handy but they might not get that in time to battle the takers, antimagic field will be good when they take on Trent at some point in the future but probably not yet, earthquake could be pretty nasty against enemies in the distance, and holy aura grants some great benefits but does require an extremely expensive relic and mostly I just want to know what a 1000 GP relic of The Traveler will be). They do however get improved Destroy Undead (up to CR 3 now), and a slightly better chance at divine intervention (not relevant for 7 days for Caduceus, but maybe Jester will be able to drag Artagan from the bar?)

Caleb: like the other full casters, no additional spell slots. He does get two new spells for free and personally speaking after looking into how antimagic fields interact with concentration I would love to see delayed blast fireball. I’m saving 8th level spell speculation for when they level up to 15 because the wizard list is huge, and more importantly, Caleb gets a subclass feature this level! He is now a master transmuter and can use his stone in four ways: he can transmute a nonmagical object no larger than a five foot cube into a different nonmagical object of similar size and no greater value; he can remove all curses, diseases, and poisons from one creature and bring them up to full HP; he can cast raise dead without a spell slot (diamond still required)(unless it’s Yasha); or he can restore youth, reducing a creature’s apparent age by a minimum of 13 years (3d10 or 13, whichever is higher), but with no lifespan extension. Any of these options will destroy the stone, and he’d need to create a new one, which takes 8 hours, after a long rest.

Veth: She learns a new spell, which can be up to 3rd level, and can be anything on the wizard spell list (as opposed to her usual limitation to the enchantment and illusion list). Also she hasn’t use mage hand to distract people, I don’t think, unless I missed it in last week’s battles, which is a L13 ability that Sam might review upon leveling up. As mentioned, she could take Leomund’s Tiny Hut, but also counterspell, blink, nondetection, remove curse, sending...it’s a good list. I would advise personally against major image just because that’s illusion, so she could take it at any level she gets to learn new spells or swap out an older spell for it.

Yasha: in addition to a zillion HP, she gets the most metal ability of all, Rage Beyond Death. If she is raging and is taken to 0 HP, she does not go unconscious. She still makes death saves as normal - and presumably, if she is hit she still takes a death saving fail (although not an auto-crit since she’s not unconscious) but she will remain conscious until her rage ends, and also she can, as far as I can tell from the wording, be healed despite failing 3 death saves and remain alive as long as her rage has been continuous. L14 is a fun in-between state because at L15 she gets persistent rage, which makes her very, very hard to kill as a result - it pretty much needs to be an insta-kill, like disintegrate or finger of death or being taken to -154 HP, since otherwise she just rages until healed. But at L14 she does have to maintain rage through attacks or damage.

Beau: Beau is now proficient in all saving throws, which means +9 to WIS and INT, +6 to CHA, and +8 to CON which will help a lot against Lucien next time (as she was rolling with just a +3 to CON last week). Her strength and dex saves are unchanged since monks have proficiency in those to start. She also can spend a ki point to reroll a failed save. And finally, her unarmored movement speed is now 55 feet per round, which means with step of the wind she can do 165 ft/round, which is 18.75 mph or about 30 km/h. (note: technically this is not superhuman; Usain Bolt’s record 100 m dash comes out to 37 km/h. However, that was for under 10 seconds. A rested Beau can do this for 14 rounds which is 84 seconds, covering about 700 meters. Using the 800m dash world record, the top speed is about 29 km/h; since it’s not a perfect comparison, Beau is at the very least matched with the (male) world record holder for that distance and possibly a bit faster).

Fjord: Fjord is currently at L10 Warlock/L3 Paladin.

Another level in Warlock gives him two major benefits: a third 5th level spell slot which like his other warlock spells refreshes on a short rest, and a mystic arcanum, which is essentially a once-per-day 6th level spell. The arcanum options are interesting and a few don’t seem very in line with his patron (somehow, create undead, mental prison, or soul cage don’t really seem like great choices) but arcane gate is highly on-brand - it’s basically Now You’re Thinking With Portals (and means that he could essentially allow the whole party to dimension door, with the restriction that it must be somewhere he can see). Conjure fey is sort of the same idea as conjure greater demon except fey, so I don’t really see the benefit; Eyebite is a solid debuffing option; Flesh to Stone lets him petrify people if he can maintain concentration and they fail their saves; Mass Suggestion is exactly what it sounds like (and lasts 24 hours without concentration, although there’s a save and it breaks if you attack the creatures affected); the various elemental investiture spells which could be handy in combat although would make it hard for the other melee fighters in the Nein; scatter, which is also very on brand in that it lets him teleport other people around; and we know True Seeing from the clerics and it’s probably not worth it since he’s got the sword and said clerics can do the same thing.

L4 in Paladin’s main benefits are: gets him closer to higher paladin levels, gets him an extra prepared L1 spell, and he finally gets the ASI/feat the rest of the party got two levels ago. For ASIs, bumping up strength and dex wouldn’t hurt - a higher AC and saves are always nice even if his attacks are with his maxed-out charisma - but the feats look better, honestly. Some that stand out to me are are inspiring leader (he’d have to do it twice to cover everyone, but it would give everyone +19 temp HP); mage slayer which is a feat I really like but also makes sense for Fjord, who is often in melee against spellcasters; spell sniper (which would give him a 240 range with Eldritch Blast, and a bonus cantrip, which he could take from any list although charisma casters are the smartest option); or prodigy, which Beau has and which would give him some extra skills and expertise.