#I also has more cult members I am designing that also get knocked up for various reasons

[arachmech]

I have a character named Olin, who is a deserter from a space cult. All members of said cult have undergone genetic modifications to bear children, but are dangerously xenophobic and raid numerous colonies for supplies.

Olin and a few others of the cult stole a shuttle and hid out on a backwater colony inhabited by both humans and aliens, and he meets his future wife Willow when he is employed by her family as a guard. Half a month into his and Willow’s relationship, Olin was badly disfigured, which is the reason for the mask. He now speaks in a type of sign language similar to asl.

He has Simon at 33 yrs via IVF with Willow’s eggs and his sperm, simply because I wanted him to.

[vg-sanctuary]

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Moonsprout Games - Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC - 2019

I don't like the core gameplay of 99% of all RPGs, but the ones I do like have been some of my favorite games I've ever played. case in point, Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, a modern interpretation of the classic Paper Mario formula and an ideal example of indie developers adding to the legacy of a cult classic. its main feature is turn-based combat with action commands, like old Paper Mario or the Mario & Luigi series, and strategy in its intentional design and small health and damage numbers that goes way beyond "spam damage and heal every third turn, use mana items as needed". (in case you want to be 100% blind for your playthrough, past the Keep Reading link are some very minor spoilers: an item a specific cook can make after a side quest, some basic enemies, environments that are about halfway through the game, and the names of some medals.)

“wow, vg-sanctuary posting about a game that's not even two years old at time of writing? and it's an RPG? are you not a retro/legacy blog anymore? who are you and what have you done with the writer?” I still am a retro/legacy blog, mostly, just this time I thought I'd share something that its developers still get money from, and whose developers aren't mega corporations. and I just beat it, enjoyed it, and really felt like writing about it because it still doesn't have the popularity it deserves even after that puppet guy on YouTube talked about it. not that this post is going to reach any significant number of people, but still. I'll write about some more indie games sometime in the future. (and indeed I am writing about another RPG and you better believe it has a lot to talk about.)

anyway, Bug Fables starts with a brash little bee called Vi and a polite and honorable beetle named Kabbu wandering into an explorer's guild and not having a partner to join the guild with. they reluctantly decide they're going to fight together because companionship is a requirement for this guild, foiling off each other and sometimes off their third friend Leif, a blue moth they find in a cave, for the whole game. every character has a distinct personality and all the party members get some valuable character development through a side quest, which I really liked, but I'm no connoisseur of RPG stories. while I'm on story, people that come here looking for a well-made world will get what they want from the many optional lore books hidden around the world.

the plot becomes more complex and compelling as the game continues, though it generally lets gameplay take the spotlight. which is great, because the gameplay is also mostly great. about a third of it is doing puzzles on the overworld using the abilities of each character to move forward a la the Mario & Luigi series. they generally make use of whatever your newest overworld ability is, and some areas early on have inaccessible things you have to come back to, sort of like a Metroidvania except it isn't required to do this for progression. some puzzles take longer they could because they involve using Kabbu's horn to repeatedly fling an ice block many times over a distance. it's never egregious, but it could have been faster if the guy would use his arms. this is a minor caveat and not a majority of the game.

a lot of people probably don't know how the combat for this or Paper Mario works, and it's really important to Bug Fables, so I'll explain that here. it's turn based, which is typical, but basic attacks and skills need you to time a button press to do as much damage as possible. you can also time a button press when an enemy attacks to take less damage. Paper Mario and Bug Fables also both have medals instead of other equipment that give characters higher max HP or a new skill, for example. you have limited medal points and stronger medals require more points.

this is going to sound like a lot, but any RPG's combat will sound like a lot if you try to detail it in a single paragraph. the game introduces these things slower than I am here. in Bug Fables specifically, the character standing in the front of the group does one extra damage but is more likely to be attacked, and you can pass turns from one character to another in exchange for that character dealing one less damage (which is a lot because basic attacks only deal two damage by default). certain enemies can only be hit by certain attacks; some enemies fly, so Kabbu can't hit them until Vi knocks them down with her beemerang. not a typo, beemerang. and many of Bug Fables' status effects have upsides -- being paralyzed reduces damage taken everything by one, poison has many medals that make it a good thing, and being asleep heals the sleeping character every turn. there are others that are straight up bad things, though, and usually don't come until later. all of this adds up to even small encounters having strategic depth, which is great, and if you don't feel like small encounters you can just avoid them. skills that would typically be relegated to one character, like healing and support skills all going to one, are instead split between party members to make decisions more difficult in a good way. there's also a lovely medal that instantly kills any enemy the game deems too easy for you, sort of like in Earthbound.

I figure I spent more time doing housekeeping like cooking (simple A+B=C or A-becomes-B crafting), buying items, and arranging medals in Bug Fables than in any other RPG, which is because it was designed that way. by the way, cooking recipes start hidden, but a foodie at each restaurant will share some strong ones for free, which is a big help early on. anyone who's played The World Ends with You (i.e. me) will be spoiled by its excellent quality of life: no consumable items and you instantly heal to full after every encounter. it makes items seem like a ridiculous formality that RPGs only still have because they've had them for years, but in Bug Fables any item that isn't simple healing -- a lot of them aren't simple healing -- has great strategic use, and the exact way you spend your medal points can determine whether you win or lose any fight, especially bosses. for example, one character having one extra damage for two turns when they typically only do two is pretty important, especially when they use an attack that does multiple hits, and having it in item form saves valuable medal points and skill points. part of that time was kind of a waste, though, because I generally had one set of medals I use for multiple enemies and one I use for single enemies like bosses. being able to save loadouts would have helped a lot. I would like to compliment Bug Fables on allowing you to restart any boss with different medals without having to repeat cutscenes, and commend it for letting you do-over your level up bonuses late in the game when it starts to matter.

it's not like spending a lot of time on strategizing before fights is strictly mandatory. I was mostly playing on hard mode where enemies have more health and more difficult attacks, and mostly with a medal called Hard Hits that makes all enemies deal one extra damage in exchange for extra money after each fight. it can be less difficult if you'd like, but it's never mindless; even if you're doing a strategy that manages 20 or 30 damage (again, a lot in this game) in a single turn, it takes effort to choose your medals to do so much damage and actually play the strategy out in combat. the combat strategy is the best part of Bug Fables, and it makes each fight almost like a puzzle. I've typed some form of "strategy" six times so far, which is fair because it's the best part of Bug Fables. don't let it put you off, though, it's RPG combat strategy, not chess-like or RTS or something, so if you've enjoyed any other turn-based RPG it should be easy to get used to.

it's also worth mentioning the ample side content. each chapter of the game unlocks a handful of side quests, some about trading, some about combat, and almost as many bonus bosses as main bosses. you're allowed to fight them fairly early on, and a few become available after the final boss that are actually a bit harder than it in classic Paper Mario fashion. basically, if you like Bug Fables, there's a lot of it to play. there's even a trading card minigame because of course there is. it's fairly fleshed out, too, and unlike the one in Chocobo Tales the animations between turns don't take six years. the reward for the whole card side quest isn't something that's important for combat, so you can skip it if you don't like it; I didn't especially like it so I think that was a great decision on the developers' part.

rewards for some of the other side content, though, are so good it's kind of a wonder they can be completely skipped. it doesn't make the game harder to not have those skills or medals, but they are some of the best in the game and undeniably really useful. they make great side quest rewards in that sense, but it's important to know for the people that usually wouldn't do side content. I don't know if that's a common kind of player, but just in case. (this game's 100% achievement has been earned by a sky-high 5.9% of players on Steam. usually it's more like 2% or less. the point is none of the extra content is overly obtuse.)

I will complain about the forced stealth sections though. and be astounded that they fixed the main issue with them in the last stealth section. these are minor caveats and take well under an hour total unless you're really, really, really bad at sneaking, but they bothered me when I got to them. I mean, I understand why they're in the game, I understand why Zelda has them, but I didn't really like them. the main issue for all but the last stealth section is that there's no vision cone or other indication that "if you stand here they will see you" or even an opportunity to recover from mistakes which are incredibly important for playable stealth. the last stealth section does have a vision cone and does have an opportunity to recover from mistakes, which is a great step up. I would like to use even more italics to remind you that these sections total less than an hour of gameplay. Zelda: Breath of the Wild's forced-ish stealth was much worse than this.

I don't know where else to put it, so I'll add here that the soundtrack is great and the graphics are perfectly Gamecube-y and the sprites capture the cuteness of Paper Mario really well, even though they're, you know, bugs. each environment is distinct and themed well, and each one’s music matches well. I really wish I knew how to talk about music because there are a lot of different songs in this game that work well for what they go with. boss music sounds intense and boss-y and appropriate for each boss you're fighting, the not-music hits just right, and everything else feels good. some songs use Nintendo 64 MIDI instruments, which I loved. and the bee boss music has a synth that sounds like bees buzzing.

anyone that likes RPGs -- and even some people that don't -- will probably enjoy the story and strategy that make up the excellent Bug Fables. it goes beyond being a homage to Paper Mario and becomes its own thing entirely, though its roots are obvious from the art style. not that this takes away from it -- Paper Mario is a great legacy, and this manages to be even better. for all its little bad things there are a dozen great ones. I admit I haven't played the classic Paper Mario games, but this made me want more -- I guess I'll have to go back while I hope for Moonsprout Games to continue forward.

[veryrealimagination]

Whumptober Day 6

Day No: 6 Prompt: Bruises Fandom/OC: Escape the Night Medium: Fic Trigger Warnings: Cult attacks SFW Additional Tags: This is a fandom that I don’t even know why I’m thinking about it, No, I’m lying, I know why

Joining the SAE hadn't been on his list of things to do in his life. Of course, going to a cursed town, dying, being brought back and surviving with only Nikita and Joey at his side wasn't something that Mat planned either. So, when he was sent on another mission to get some powerful artifact, he didn't just have to deal with just puzzles and physical obstacles. Instead, there were actual cult members that were trying to raise one of the disciples of the Cursed God. He didn't anticipate people. He should, at this point. The SAE didn't just have the Cursed God going against them, the deity had minions and right hands and left hands and... "Mat, pay attention," Nikita yelled, pushing two back with a large staff that she grabbed from somewhere. He had a double bladed ax that wasn't as good as he was hoping when it got caught and ripped out of his hand when he tried to swing it. One of the members tried swinging a cricket bat at his head. He ducked, then pushed a shelving unit on the batter and a friend of his. "I am." "You were monologuing in your head again." He managed to pick up a single bladed ax and stopped the next attack at his head. "I don't monologue in my head." "I recognize the look on your face." "Hey!" Knocking down the almost last cult member, Mat walked over to an altar of some sort, one that had dried blood on it, thank you very much. The object was a strange tablet, made with a combination of Sumerian and strangely Incan designs etched on well cared for red clay. Picking it up carefully, he placed it in a metal lock box for safety and placed it back in his messenger back before turning back around. Nikita had the other members down, but one had snuck back up and slammed him into the altar. A sharp knife that may have been used for sacrifices hovered over his face, stopped only by both of his arms crossed and holding the person back. "Nikki, a bit of help," he said, forcing his arms back up. "The Darkness recognizes the next, a soul touched by death, lit by life," the member hissed, "You cannot stop the following plans, Detective." "Uh, no, that would be me stopping you." Nikita came up with the cricket bat and knocked the person on the shoulder, the sudden pain making him drop the knife. Mat forced them up and then went for an uppercut. There wasn't enough power in it to knock the member out. That came from tripping backwards and hitting their head. Nodding at the job, she turned back to Mat and waved a finger. "Not Nikki." He raised his hands. "Not Nikki, got it." His back stung when he stood up, but it was nothing making their way back to Headquarters. It was when Joey clapped him a couple of times on the back that the pain shot up. "Ow, ow, ow," he muttered, trying to move away from Joey. Joey quirked a smirk, "Hey, I know I'm strong." "Oh, ha, ha," he said, "Stone altar met my back unexpectedly." "Unexpectedly. Like the door at the Tanner House?" he asked. "Like the Oon Plok Temple," Nikita mentioned, having changed back into civilian clothing. "Ooo, cults. I'm getting a serious dislike of cults," Joey said. "You're just getting a serious dislike of cults? What was it, a comedic version instead?" Mat asked, feeling the development of pain across his back. He was going to have to use the heating pad while working on his next episodes. It may put him to sleep, but that was a consequence he was willing to take. "No, just the average instead of the bold dislike." He frowned when he saw Mat trying to be subtle in shifting. "A stone altar, huh?" "No worries, I've already texted Stephanie and she's coming by to pick him up," Nikita said. "I don't need to be babysat," Mat argued. Joey said, "Not babysat, just watched with a magnifying glass."

“There is not a big enough magnifying glass for that,” Mat said, before realizing it, “Wait.” Nikita snorted. Joey snickered. “Ha, ha, ha.”

“Maybe we should take a look,” Joey mentioned, watching him shift again. “You’re more fidgety than the sprained wrist you got from the Tanner House.”

Mat looked between the two of them, figuring it would be better where there was more than one person that could help him out. Thankfully, they were already in a room that could be shut to keep others out. Nikita did that while Mat struggled to get off the jacket and shirts he was wearing.

Joey winced in sympathetic pain when Mat let out a groan before getting the undershirt off. His back had already started turning into various shades of red and purple. There was also the outline of his messenger bag strap creating possibly the darkest line of purple. “The cult member had some strength to him.”

Nikita had turned her back, but caught a glimpse of something that stood out. A symbol that must have come from the altar. She pulled out her phone and took a couple of pictures. “Hey!” he protested. She pulled up the first one and showed it to him. “Wait, I recognize that.”

“Yep, the Revenant remains from Walker. Looks like the stone altars seen some victims.”

“But Walker’s at least a hundred miles away. Why sacrifice someone on the altar, then dump their body that far?” Joey asked.

“Well, no one would suspect it. Not with a dumping ground that far.” They stopped theorizing when someone walked in with a paper bag. “Hi, Honey.”

Stephanie took Joey’s place in front of Mat to pull out a sweatshirt. “Hearing how bad it was, I thought this would be a good idea,” she said.

He smiled, “My Hero.”

[currentfandomkick]

Bio! Dad Strange Part 9

Jason returns, may be a 2 parter to cover tim getting kidnapped and the aftermath. Will let you know at the end. We are getting to Marinette dealing with Ladybugging soon.

Marinette wasnt sure what to think this year. She met The Barry Allen last year. She also figured out 2 heroes pre-flash revelation and two more after—in her defense Hero Stalker’s old theory on The first Robin did Batman in. it is not her fault 5 founding members have the multiple-persona game of a booger.

She was also Tetch (Mad Hatter. Doesnt deserve the name) and Mr. J’s, Jerimah’s, last victim before they died. Then some idiots revived Jerimah. She hates his cult a lot, okay.

Everyone was on high alert and trying to keep her inside. The thing is, she hates being inside. She’s inside for designing, sure. Research? She’ll live.

But 24/7 inside time?

Never a good combo with her.

Rose’s plants may be snitches, but they seemed to agree on the over coddling. She’s ten, can break phones by tapping them, and is defiantely more off her stickers than on at the moment.

The one on her was uring her into some alleyway. If she was reading the movement pattern right, a gang fight.

Lovely, she usually did these with some sort of supervision but they were all being rude and she needed time outside.

She checked her belt, a few pairs of ball weights tied together with one chain each to make bolas clipped to back. She has a taser in hand, and a few rubber bullet loaded gun on one hip and a stun gun her size in the other. She had a packet of zipties and rope up each sleeve. Easy to giftwrap and humiliate bad people, like Batman does.

She blinked once when she saw—new player? In a bright red full face helmet that looks horrible. And he’s holding that gun make all wrong to max out usage. Ugh, amatuers.

Some part of her groaned about a potential run-in with Batman and his new Robin—she was pissed about Tim not telling her still—and decided this was as good an anger management as any. New vigilante, maybe the sirens would help him find a team.

She snuck up behind a few members, quick to grab the guns and move them out of reach. No need to give anyone playing possum an easy out, right—she saw a mix of her people in with the gang. She needed to teip this guy up before he hurt the RKC street kids and honoraries tangled up in this.

“Hey helmet, if you’re gonna shoot them you’re holding the gun wrong.”

Helmet turned to see her. She didnt grab her usual harley-knock off outfit for helping today. She wanted to be Pixie Pop for a bit. And if the Rogues forgot that she’s Pixie well, better for her, right? Pixie just wore her hair like Tinkerbell and wore a bit of green.

The guy he was aiming at made to run.

Marinette grabbed a makeshift bolas and threw it at his knees. She recognized him from one of the RKC hit lists—human trafficker. He fell with them wrapped around tight and defiantely injured bith his knees with how the weights hit him.

“I, Pixie Pop?” Weird, no one had seen her as Pixie in two years. How’d he know it was her?

“Yeah. Havent been around much lately.” She threw another bola at another guy. “You new?”

“Talk after i kill these guys.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, because really?

She threw a knife to screw his aim into non-lethal on one guy. “Kick their ass first, some RKC are in here.”

Helmet oddly did as she said, switching from guns to—is that. A. Sword?

She twisted to punch the guy sneaking up on her. Helmet threw a sword and landed it in his shoulder.

“Thanks!”

“Holy shot you’re really here this time.”

“Did you get hit with feargas as a baby or something?” Her partner being prone to dellusions and good with weapons was a bad thing.

“Just came back from the dead is all.”

marinette hit the guy going for helmet with her stun gun.

“That’ll do it!”

Helmet turned to one of the guys, gun at the ready. She had a feeling Helmet needed a lot of help, or else one of Rose’s agents would be down.

“If you know about pixies, you should know she got an upgrade to having some trust dust.”

Marinette walked over to the guy, letting her tracker plant take a look. The flower bloomed and he got a face full of ‘filter-less pollen’ that’s as close to a truth serum as Rose could make. After all, people can turn sides.

“Truth pollen?” Helmet was staring at her closely.

“Yep.” Marinette turned to her victim. “Are you helping the traffickers?”

“Does infiltration and killing them count as helping?”

Helmet stared at them then.

“Which team?”

“HKT ma’am. How did you get rose to give you one of those?”

“Think for a minute who she gives these to.”

“Comanding officers of the the RKC reconn and interigation but there’s only 15 and i met them all when i joined in the fall.”

“Im the summer help when theyre not puppy gaurding. Now, i have to do zipties on the traffickers, think you can help?”

“I lost coordination from the pollen.”

“Of course you did.”

Marinette turned to see Helmet staring at her. Like she should be dead, not the new revival guy.

“Good enough.”

“I thought only Poison Ivy could do things like that.”

“I have a badass team, well, when they aren’t going overboard. One week kidnapped and suddenly im made of glass.”

“Pixie you are what, ten?”

“So? Two of my best friends went missing becuase no one stepped up, one of them resurfaced as an idiot a year later but still.”

Helmet stopped then. “Two?”

“Hero stalker went after our big brother vanished.. he came back as an idiot.”

Helmet paused. “Hey, you check the others and i’ll help you drop off the good ones at a doctor or something.”

“Zipties are at the ready. Mind doing your share?”

Helmet did as she asked, working with her until all was squared away.

“Okay, my tracker gave off a signal to the RKC to gather our guys here, and—why are bleeding?”

Helmet looked up at her then. “I am?”

“... you’re coming with me since i dont know if you need a transfusion, but i know a guy who can help.”

“I’m driving.”

“On what?”

“Motorcycle.”

Marinette let him walk her to it, and she got on first. He ‘drove’ them while the plant told her when to turn. They ended up at her dad’s clinic as ‘Mr. Smith’. He was so grounding her.

“Smith, i need help,” she tried.

Her dad came out and paled when he saw her carrying Helmet. Before he passed out he let her take it off. “Red hoodie... oh god he said he was revived.”

Her father worked out the blood bags while she checked the wound, bullet still in there. She got it out with tweezers. No major damage to the muscles and shit. How many scars did he have? Pre or post revival?

When he came to she turned to her father and said one thing.

“So this is my new brother. Dont try to get out of it, he kept me alive when i was comstantly pixie, and you said if he was in a bad place then you’d take him in, no questions asked.”

Strange sighed, nodded, and went back to fixing Helmet up.

The next day he was forced moved into an extra room by hers. Somehow there was already clothes his size and style in it.

“Pixie...”

“Im determined and my honorary aunt is a cat burglar.”

Helmet hugged her.

“So for the documents, what do you want to go by?”

Helmet said he didnt want it to be obvious, given who he was before.

“Its not like you were robin.”

“I was.”

“.... i know two robins now, pre-robining. What is my life?”

“ you are ten, calm down. And you knew dick?”

“Met him as Nightwing, not very friendly. But uh, remember hero stalker?”

“The idiot who followed me and B?”

“Yeah, so funny thing, it was a thing that he wanted to be Robin when you went off from Gotham, and then he somehow managed to convince bats to take him on.”

“That Child is Robin.”

“Will be another hero soon if he knows what’s good for him—he’s too easy to make.”

“Wait, you know who he is-is or—”

“I know 5 secret identities and want to lodge a formal complaint about heroes having no secret identity game.”

“Youre ten. I refuse to let you deal with legal things.”

“But illegal is still on the table?”

“I am a vigilante, of course it is.”

“Good, so can we tlak about how dumb Supes secret id is? I photoshoped glasses on as a joke and looked at my file and knew.”

“Wait have they found you yet?”

“No? I dont think so. Not the mom and step dad or father one yet.”

“But its.”

“I know, but i can keep multiple secret identities. They cant handle one. What is this bull they drop in my lap? No masks for two of them, and the three with cant even manage a basic gait switch?”

“I am so glad you noticed too.”

“Also we need to intervene with Hero Stalker.”

“Does your father know-know or...”

“Knows i know, but knows im not telling even in death.”

“Fair. So, heads up i am going to yell at the JL after killing B for impact.”

“How about beating him up instead and kidnapping Hero Stalker? Bats is fine just needs an adult working with him.”

“Maybe. If my mind wasnt so fucked i’d send the Dick a text or something about this, but i think he hates me so that probably wouldnt work.”

“We have planning time, that’s what my house arrest is good for. Now name.”

“... i want to go by Jay.”

“James work?”

“Sure.”

“James “Jay” Smith then. And we are fixing your vilagante outfit.”

“What’s wrong with it.”

“Your helmet has a nose. And the who this is shit for discreet armour. I’ll get a rant in fifteen on armor history from a fashion obsessed friend and make something for you using that, ok?”

“Do i have a choice?”

“I am your little sister offically. resistance is futile.”

—

So the long awaited return of Red Hoodie/Red Hood/Jason Todd.

For refrence (as age is weird here) Jason looks 14/15 here, but due to dead years is technically 18

Tim is 12

Marinette is 10

Dick is 20something.

Bruce is 30something

Heads up, this will be a two parter for this summer. As i love the next part but need sleep.

@ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @emeraldpuffguide @dast218 @weird-pale-blonde-person @mystery-5-5

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (118/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[20, March, 233 Before Age.   Vernas II.]

By Saiyan standards, Endive was a very practical woman.  While other Saiyans craved power and glory in the abstract, she focused on results.  Some considered this attitude to be cold, and they dismissed Endive as lacking passion, but she simply had a different perspective.  While others talked about what they wanted, Endive would ask "Do I have what I want right now?"  If the answer was "no", then she would consider how to change that answer to "yes."  If she craved battle, she didn't complain if there was no battle to fight; she calmly looked for ways to find one.  Sometimes the best solution was to wait patiently, and so she did.

This unusual mindset was the reason Endive became such an experienced spacepilot, since almost everything she wanted in life required travel.  It also gave her greater focus than most Saiyans had.  Instead of boasting about past or future success, she concentrated on the moment, and made certain that her agenda moved forward in the here and now.  This made her somewhat pushy and demanding in times of want, or aloof during times of contentment.  Many found her personality off-putting, but she didn't particularly care what others thought of her.

The Jindan Cult had been quite satisfactory to her since she had joined.  Endive had wanted to become stronger, and the cult had given her strength.  The Jindan elixir increased her power less than an hour after drinking it.  For some reason, it seemed to do more for some Saiyans than others, but this didn't concern her for the time being.  Endive had never wished to be the absolute strongest, mostly because that goal lacked a clear pathway to achieve it.  For now, she was content to simply be mightier than she had ever been before.  

The cult demanded her fealty in exchange for power, but Endive found their yoke to be an easy one.  She had excelled at every menial duty and chore the priests had assigned to her, and was fast-tracked to a position into a tactical field unit.  Their missions were covert and unglamorous, but Endive found the work stimulating, if not always exciting.

On Vernas II, she was given command of a four-person squad, and she led them to victory against a team of powerful warriors who had been investigating the Jindan cult.

"Radical-1!" cried one of them as Endive smashed into their headquarters.  She guessed that Radical-1 was the one she had knocked to the ground as she made her way inside.

"I hope you make better sport than your teammates did," she said.  "Though it makes little difference.  Your lives were forfeit the moment you chose to oppose the Holy Word."

"Stop her!" shouted one of the others.  They called themselves the "Star Sabers," and their organization was devoted to promoting things like peace and justice in the galaxy.   Endive had memorized their files before arriving in the Vernas system, but now that the fight had begun, she couldn't bring herself to care who was who, or what their individual powers were, or how to counter them.  She was thousands of light years away from Luffa and her blasphemous Federation, so there was no reason to hold back.   And so, she fought with her full strength, and as she mowed down her enemies, she said a silent prayer of thanks to Trismegistus.

As she fought, she sensed a presence in her mind, and recognized it as one of the Star Defenders' mentalists.  Unable to cope with her strength and speed, it was only natural for them to try to attack her through telepathy.   Endive simply ignored this, and fought on.  Behind her, she heard a scream, and glanced back to see that it was the one codenamed Beautiful Thinker.  He was a blonde-haired, green-skinned man who only wore a pair of swim trunks into battle.   Under different circumstances, his wardrobe might have made sense.  Beautiful Thinker's telekinetic abilities made him virtually untouchable, so clothing and armor were of no use to him.

But Trismegistus, her blessed master, had prepared Endive for foes like him.  He had seeded the minds of all of her brothers and sisters in the cult with the Mindworm, a psychic booby trap that would ravage the consciousness of anyone who tried to use telepathic probes to learn their secrets.   Endive wasn't sure if Beautiful Thinker could survive the effects of the Mindworm, but she planned to decapitate him long before he would have the chance to recover.

"Through You, my path is clear, my heart is sure," she chanted under her breath as she snapped the neck of one of the Star Sabers' strongest members.  Another one, Ignitress, tried to smother Endive by surrounding her with fire, but this was easily solved with an explosive wave of ki that disrupted the flames and knocked Ignitress unconscious at the same time.

"By Your hand, I conquer in Your Name, the Thrice-Blessed, for ever and for ever," she continued.

One of them nearly got the drop on her, but Endive managed to avoid serious injury and fired back to kill the armored Star Saber who had attacked her.  She looked down to notice a large section of her unitard had been shorn away, revealing a mark on her hip.  This was no battle wound, but a ceremonial brand she had been given by Trismegistus himself.  There had been many ceremonies and rituals since the day she joined his cult, but receiving his mark stood out as one of the proudest moments of her life.    It represented his appreciation for her tireless service to his cause.  Like all of her brothers and sisters, she belonged to Trismegistus, but the ones who bore the mark were special.  Trismegistus chose to proclaim to the universe that Endive was his.  She longed to be worthy of his esteem.

"I should have known!" shouted one of the last Star Defenders as she wrapped up the battle.  He was called Blue Zephyr, and Endive's mission profile listed him as a priority target.  He knew more about the cult than any non-Saiyan alive, and that made him too dangerous to ignore.

Endive refused to be baited by his mindgames.  Instead of replying to him, she simply fired a beam of ki energy at his heart.  The alien warrior managed to dodge it, and somehow he still had enough life in him to escape several more of her killing blows.

"It all makes sense now," he ranted.  "King Rehval knew he couldn't continue his rule out in the open, but his ego wouldn't allow him to stay in hiding, so he disguised his subjects as a band of religious fanatics!"

"King Rehval?" Endive asked.  "Perhaps we overestimated you as a threat, Zephyr.  No worldly monarch could possibly compare to the grandeur of our holy benefactor.  A shame you have to die in ignorance, but you've interfered with our operations in this sector far too often."

Zephyr pointed at the mark on her exposed hip.  "Rehval's operations, you mean!   You're not fooling anyone, Saiyan.  That brand is relatively new, judging by the way the skin has healed around it.  If your leader gave it to you, then why is he using the symbol of the Rehval Dynasty as his personal mark?"

She looked down at the hole in her uniform, bewildered by his words.  She was born on Planet Saiya, and her father and uncle had served under its ruler, King Rehval III.    But the brand she wore couldn't be Rehval's, so why would Zephyr bother to suggest a connection?  It made no sense...!

As she struggled with the contradiction, Blue Zephyr attempted a desperate, heroic attack, one designed to take advantage of her momentary confusion.  But Endive still had the presence of mind to avoid his offense, and she slaughtered him before she could try again.

She longed to make sense of all of this, but there was still the mission to think about.  Her master's enemies had to be eliminated.  The mystery of the symbol bothered her, but she knew she could get an answer soon enough.  She simply had to he patient, and then she would ask the one person in the universe who always spoke the truth.

*******

[28 March, 233 Before Age.    Nagaoka.]

By the hierarchy of the Jindan cult, the priests held authority over the flock.  But as Treekul prepared Endive, anointing her with scented oils, washing her feet and hands with consecrated water, and placing golden ornaments on her body, it seemed like the alien priestess was the servant.   Treekul was the only non-Saiyan in the cult, and some wondered why Trismegistus had permitted this, but Endive knew better than to question his will.    

"Has he asked about me?" Endive asked as Treekul handed her the ceremonial tea.  Like much of the complex that served as the cults headquarters, it was a gloomy underground room lit by torches along the walls.   Endive enjoyed the way the flickering light danced across the surface of the dark liquid.  

"Oh, uh... not really," Treekul said after a moment's hesitation.  "I mean, he's got a lot on his plate, though.  And you know how it is.  It wouldn't do for him to go around sharing those kinds of feelings."

"Of course," Endive said.  "I'm not disappointed, you understand.  Merely curious."

"Sure, sure," Treekul said.  "Hey, could you... uh...?"

Endive noticed Treekul was gesturing at her leg, so she raised it slightly for her.

"Thanks," Treekul said.   The alien leaned in and steadied Endive's foot with one hand while she held ornaments in the other.   "These ankle things are the hardest ones to put together."

"I am nothing to him," Endive said.  "I'm fully aware of that.  But I bear his holy mark, and his triple blessing, and he speaks to me from time to time.  It's far more than I deserve."

"Endive?" Treekul asked.  "Do you remember how we came here?  With Lesseri and Guwar?"

"I suppose," she said.  "I prefer not to think of those days.  I was so weak back then.  So... lost.  We all were."

"Uh-huh... Yeah, you're right," Treekul said with a sigh.  "Lost.   Not like we are now.  So, how was the mission?"

Endive chuckled.  "You always ask me about the missions," she said.  "The other priestesses never make this much conversation."

"Well, you're... doing holy work," Treekul said.  "It's an honor to hear about your service... er, my child."

Endive drank the tea and inhaled the aroma from a vessel of burning incense which Treekul held near her face.  "We went to Vernas II," Endive said.

"Vernas.     I've never been there," Treekul said.  "I've heard it's nice."

"It's even more beautiful, I should think," Endive said, "now that we've purged the heretics from that world."

"Oh, definitely," Treekul said as she worked on Endive's other anklet.  "You can never purge enough heretics, I always say.    So... how long a trip was that?"

"I do not recall," Endive said absently.  "I was not the one flying the ship."

"Really?" Treekul said.  "You always flew the ship when we were looking for Trismegistus.   Remember that?"

"Yes, well... I have other duties now," Endive replied.  "If you are finished, I would not presume to keep him waiting."

"Right, right."  Treekul rose to her feet and half-heartedly waved her hands to make an esoteric gesture.  "May his triple-blessing be upon you," she said, and then she escorted her into the next room.

*******

Endive waited for the right moment before asking her questions.  Trismegistus had needs, and he had summoned her to his meditation chamber to satisfy those needs.   Her own problems would have to wait.    His bodily humors required perfect balance in order to properly maintain the Jindan power that sustained them all.  Luckily, the balance could be restored through ritual intercourse.  Hundreds of women in the cult had been chosen for this duty, though Endive took pride in knowing that she was one of Trismegistus' more frequent selections.

When they were finished, she rose from the bed to prepare his drink.  "An excellent session, as always, Endive," he said with a satisfied smile.  "I would call upon you more often if I could, but their are stoichiometric considerations that cannot be ignored."

"You honor me with your praise," she replied.

There was a time, not long ago, when they very thought of these ritual trysts would have disturbed her to her very core.  The Saiyans were a very repressed people when it came to romantic love.  Having a single lover in one lifetime was almost too much for some Saiyans to consider.  The idea of casual polyamory could be very troubling indeed.  Before joining the cult, she had privately fallen in love with Guwar, but she had never found the courage to tell him.  She had hoped the cult might help bring them closer together, but instead, it had driven them further apart.  Their duties had kept them separated, and the communal breeding practices of the cult made things even more awkward.  Endive had dreaded the idea of being mated to a complete stranger, but then she was disqualified from the breeding pit altogether.  Soon after, she was chosen to service Trismegistus.  At first, it had sickened her to be treated like a piece of meat, shuffled from one loveless relationship to another, but over time, she had come to accept the necessity of her duty as one of Trismegistus' consorts, and the honor of it soothed her battered self-esteem.

"Master, I had a moment of doubt on my last mission," she said as she took a knife from a small altar and cut the palm of her right hand.    

"Oh?  And did you speak to the priests about it?" Trismegistus asked.

"No," she said.  "I did not want to spread the words of a heretic.  I knew you would summon me to your presence eventually, so I waited to bring it to you directly."

"I'm disappointed, Endive," he said.  "You have so many responsibilities, and you handle them all so gracefully.   Yet you neglect your own soul.  A very selfless failing, but a failing nonetheless."

She made a fist and, allowed the blood from her hand to drain into a copper bowl on the altar.  His words stung more than the wound she had just inflicted upon herself.

"Such a lovely figure you have," he said, admiring her outline in the torchlight.  "A shame that heresy and doubt should fester inside such an exquisite vessel."

As she added the other ingredients to the bowl, she lowered her head and felt the warmth of tears on her cheeks.  She was always failing him, one way or another.  He deserved better from her, and it pained her that she couldn't give it to him.

"When you first joined me," he continued, "you said that you wanted to unburden your spirit, Endive.  How can you do this if you won't trust the very priests I provided to help you?"

She couldn't answer that, and so instead she turned to face him, and brought the bowl of blood to his waiting hand.   He drank, then handed it back to her.  

"Forgive me, Blessed One," she finally said.   "I... I sometimes forget my place in our relationship.   I am your servant, not your wife."

"I can't commit myself to just one woman, Endive.   My enlightened biochemistry won't allow it," he said.   "Still, if it were possible for me to marry, I can't imagine a finer choice for a bride than you."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and nearly dropped the bowl in her surprise.   He had complimented her many times, but never so personally.    

"You must understand that there are reasons for my ways," he continued.   "Speak to the priests.   Let them help you first, and if the matter is too difficult for them, then they will bring the matter before me.    You see, they dilute my workload, just as you and the other consorts dilute my humor imbalances."

"Of course," Endive said.   "Your time is valuable, Illustrious One.  It is selfish of me to waste it in idle talk."

"Nonsense, my dear," he said.    He patted the bed to summon her back to his side.   "I enjoy your company, and the intimate conversations that come with it.    Now, let us talk of your heroic adventure on Vernas II."

Thrilled by his approving words, she set the bowl back on the altar, and returned to his side.

*******

[April 1, 233 Before Age.   Nagaoka.]

"Why me?" Treekul asked.   "And don't tell me it's because we knew each other before the cult.   That didn't seem to matter much to you before."

"Because..." Endive struggled to find the right words.   "Because you're different from the others."

Treekul's quarters were better lit than the others in the priesthood, and she had fewer candles and other objects deemed sacred by the cult.    Instead of the typical robes, she wore a sort of gown that Trismegistus had designed for her.   This revealed a good deal of her lavender skin, and without a hood to hide her short green hair, it seemed as though Trismegistus was determined to flaunt her alien heritage rather than downplay it.    

"Because I'm different," Treekul repeated.    

"I am... dissatisfied with the counsel from the other priestesses," Endive explained.    "They told me to fast and to meditate and to focus on my duties.   I have, and I find no resolution from this.   I was hoping you could offer a different perspective."

Treekul sighed and finally turned her seat away from the parchment she was studying.    It was whispered that Trismegistus was tutoring Treekul in the secrets of alchemy, and this was why he had given her such a high rank in the priesthood.   Endive knew better than to repeat such rumors, but she did not ignore them, either.     "This guy on Vernas II, he said the mark on your hip is King Rehval's," Treekul began.  

"Yes," Endive replied.

"And you're wondering why someone, even an enemy, would lie about something like that."

"Correct."

"Why does it matter?" Treekul asked.  

"Excuse me?"

"For all you know, King Rehval ripped off his symbol from Trismegistus," Treekul said.   "Or it's a coincidence.   Or this Blue Zephyr guy was mistaken.    Or you misunderstood him."

"That all seems very unlikely," Endive said.   She felt strangely aware of her burgundy unitard as they discussed this.   In particular, the section of it that covered her mark seemed to chafe against her skin.  

"But why does it bother you in the first place?" Treekul pressed.  "What does King Rehval mean to you?"

"He is an enemy of my Master," Endive said.  

"What if they patched things up?" Treekul suggested.   "The king might decide to join the cult himself one of these days.   Maybe he already has."

"That could never happen," Endive insisted.    

"Why not?"  Treekul asked.  

"He would never pass the initiation rituals," Endive said.    "That man is too self-serving.    He could never bow to the wisdom of Trismegistus."

"How would you know?"

"Because... because he killed my family," Endive said after a long pause.   "You already know this story.   I told it to you when we were on the ship, searching for this planet.  You remember, don't you?   When we were with Lesseri and Guwar?"

"I must have forgotten," Treekul said wryly.   She pointed at her outfit, and then at the parchment on her table.   "I have other duties now.   Refresh my memory."  

And so Endive did.    Indeed, Treekul had heard all of this before.  Endive's uncle had been a loyal follower of the Rehval Dynasty.  He had obeyed the king in everything.  He had cut off his tail, he had worn the blue military uniforms, and he had served his country like a good soldier... only to be beaten to a pulp by Rehval III.  The crown prince had wanted to make an example of him to discipline his subjects.  Her uncle had been allowed to live, though he didn't last long after that.  Endive and her father had watched him die in a hospice like an old man.

Her father quit the kingdom soon after, since it had become clear to him that loyalty was worthless on Planet Saiya.  But independence hadn't been worth very much either.    Endive's father became an outspoken critic of the Rehval Dynasty, and alien governments quickly found him to provide a useful insight into the Saiyan Kingdom.  Too useful, as far as King Rehval was concerned, and so the  royal assassins killed him.  At least, that was what her father had suspected.    It made sense for Rehval to have him assassinated, though there was no proof.    The doctors had told Endive that it was poison, and she had long wondered what kind of Saiyan would resort to such an dishonorable weapon.

And as Treekul listened to Endive repeat the tale, she made sure to press Endive on how angry and betrayed she felt by King Rehval's actions.   How suspicious Endive became of the Saiyan Kingdom, and of government in general.   How outraged she would feel if Blue Zephyr had been telling the truth, and that she had somehow been duped into working for King Rehval all along.    

That was because Treekul was different from the rest of the priests.  Unlike them, she desperately wanted a way off the planet, to get as far away from the cult as possible.   Trismegistus had taken steps to prevent Treekul from accessing spaceships or navigational information, but he had given all of this and more to faithful soldiers like Endive.    With a little encouragement, Treekul hoped that Endive might become disillusioned enough to want to leave the planet... and hopefully take Treekul with her.

*******

[25 April, 233 Before Age.   Nagaoka.]

Over the next few weeks, Endive found little time to consider Treekul's counsel, or the counsel of any of the other priests.   With combat intensifying in the Holy War against the Federation, Endive had expected to be sent into Federation space.   She was not, and instead, she was called upon to fulfill many of the duties left behind by other cultists who were deployed instead.    Her missions took her to other star systems, usually acting in secret, so that none would realize that her actions were in the service of Trismegistus' agenda.  

Each task was fairly simple in itself: assassinations, smuggling, destabilizing governments, and other matters Endive had performed in her old life before joining the cult.   She found these acts took on a whole new meaning because of the holy purpose behind them.    It was immensely satisfying to kill someone and know that it cleansed the universe of evil.    It made her feel powerful.   Righteous.    It was almost enough to make up for the sheer volume of the work, which had left her nearly exhausted.    

When her work had finally lightened up enough to allow her to return to Nagaoka, she was immediately assigned to duty in the shipyard, performing maintenance on the light cruisers and other vessels used by the cult's warriors.   And then, just when she thought that she would finally be allowed to rest, she was summoned for consort duty.     She hadn't slept in days, and what little time she had planned for a short nap had to be allocated for the laborious process of bathing and receiving the ornaments and perfumes required for the ritual.

"Have you thought about what I said?" Treekul asked as she dabbed aromatic oils on the sides of Endive's neck.    

"I have," Endive replied wearily.    

"That's good."   Treekul fetched a bottle of vermilion pigment and began drawing symbols on Endive's arms and torso.     "So have you been to any new planets lately?"

"The Tekkers Cluster, mainly," Endive yawned.    "He sends me there so often.   At least it's only twelve hours away by stardrive."

"That close, huh?" Treekul said.   "I've been there before.    Very densely populated.    It'd be really easy to get lost in that sector.   Even the cult would have trouble tracking you down if you didn't report in.    Something to think about."

She finished applying Endive's ornamentation and sent her into Trismegistus' bedchamber.   She did exactly what was required for the ritual balancing of his humors, and nothing more.    She simply lacked the energy for anything more than an apology.    

"Pious service needs no apology, my dear," Trismegistus told her.   "And your company is most welcome, even if you are too tired to enjoy it."

"I am... honored," Endive said, though she had trouble believing her own words.    She cut her own hand, and bled into the copper bowl, and then, as she took the bowl back from him, she pointed at the mark on her hip.    

"I have to know what this means," she said in a voice that indicated that she was too tired and too desperate to mince words.    

Trismegistus looked down at the brand and smiled warmly.   "It means you're one of my most treasured servants," he said.   "Is that not enough?"  

"No," she said.    She was almost surprised by her own answer.  

"No?" he asked.  

She shut her eyes tightly and pointed at the mark.   "I want to believe that this is a test," she said.    "That you branded me with the mark of my family's enemy to see if I would rise above my own bitterness.    My focus should be on the Holy Work, on helping you to remake the universe.   But I shall always be distracted, so long as their may be a connection between Rehval and yourself."

"I see," Trismegistus said.    He sat up on the bed and reached out to wipe the tears from her cheek.    "You fear that your doubts will compromise your service to me.    How very like you, Endive."    

"The priests only counseled me to ignore my suspicions, or repress them," Endive said.   "All of them except Treekul, that is.   She had me confront my fears, and reminded me that you and King Rehval are nothing alike.   But then... how does that explain the mark?"

"Treekul.   Of course," Trismegistus said with a smile.    "She's very perceptive, as you've seen.     Yes, I can tell now."   He rose to his feet and ran his hand down her bare back.   "You're finally ready for the next step, Endive."

She was about to ask what he meant, when he crossed the bedchamber and rummaged through a cabinet of glass phials.   He withdrew one, and held it out to her.

"Another test?" Endive asked as she examined the blood-red liquid inside the phial.

"The mark is not a test," Trismegistus explained.    "But this potion is.   I'm reluctant to share this new mystery with you.    It may undo the great strides you have made in your faith.    But you've shown remarkable progress, my dear.   It would be selfish of me to withhold this secret from you."

Endive rose from the bed and set her teeth.    "I have nothing to fear from the truth, Blessed One," she said, reciting a  line from the cult's daily affirmations.  If I shirk from this trial, then I was never worthy of my past triumphs."

"Well said," Trismegistus said with a smile.    She smiled back at him, grateful to be on such friendly terms with a divine being.    Sharing his bed, fighting his wars, praying to him each morning, there was no greater honor in the universe.    He was everything to her, and yet he was so warm and personable.

He poured the phial's contents into a goblet on a small altar.    Then he reached for the bottle of wine that they had shared earlier.    She reached out to stop him, to offer to pour it herself, but he gestured for her to remain where she stood.    

"I know you're used to serving the drinks, Endive," he said, "but this is an ordeal, not a refreshment.    I must prepare it personally."    A moment later, he presented the goblet to her, and she took it in both hands.    

"Endive, my beloved, are you ready to receive this knowledge, for the betterment of yourself, and for the purity of Jindan?"

"I am," she said automatically.    In her mind, there was no other possible response.

"Then drink, my child, and may you grow stronger," he commanded.  

There was only one mouthful of potion in the goblet, and when she swallowed it, she expected to feel something similar to the experience she had during her initiation into the cult.   Instead, she looked at Trismegistus, unsure what to do next.    A minute passed, then two, and then she began to notice the features of his face.   His appearance wasn't changing, and yet he seemed to become another person before her very eyes.    With each passing moment, he became increasingly familiar to her, as though she had seen him in some other context, in another lifetime.    

And then she understood.    

"King Rehval," she said, dropping the goblet onto the floor.    She took an involuntary step back.    "You... you're...!"

"I am," he said.

"How--?"

"The same alchemy that made you my mighty soldier," he explained.    "I have potions that can alter or remove a person's memories.   When you came to my fold, I fed you such a potion that suppressed your recollection of me.   I gave it to you and everyone else who sought my wisdom.   And so, you saw my face, heard my voice, but you did not recognize me.   What you drank a moment ago was the antidote."

He took a step forward, closing the distance between them.   "Very few," he said, "earn the right to taste the antidote.   Fewer still are able to handle the revelation it contains.   And now we must see if you are one of those few."

"You killed my father," she said.

"Yes," he replied.   "And I've done worse to many of the other Saiyans in my flock.    That's why I took care to conceal my identity from them.   From you."

"So you could seduce me?" Endive asked, surprised by the tone of her voice.   She suddenly felt very exposed.   Only moments ago, she was proud to share her body with him, and now, she felt like she had betrayed herself.

Rehval smiled.   "You were the one who volunteered to be one of my consorts, beloved Endive," he said.   "You told me it was an honor to service the body of one so wise."

He was right.    She had said this, and she still believed it.   Was he not still Trismegistus?  The Thrice-Blessed?   The master of the Jindan power?  The Keeper of the  Holy Reagent that would change the universe?   His antidote had restored a few of her old memories, but it had not taken the new memories away.   Everything she had experienced in the cult was still real, still meaningful.

"Do you feel deceived, Endive?" he asked.    

"Yes," she said.  She didn't know whether to be furious or to beg his forgiveness, and so she kept her answers as brief as possible.  

"That is the great trial you must face, my beloved," he said.    "I hid my true self from you because I knew that you wouldn't accept my teachings otherwise.   Now that you have embraced those teachings, and recognized my authority over the natural world, there's no need to disguise myself any longer, is there?"

"I..."

"You loved your father, didn't you?" he asked, taking her hand in his own.  

"Y-yes."  Her hand trembled at his touch, but she did not pull away from him.

"But your father opposed me, Endive.   He lacked the wisdom to see beyond worldly things.    He only saw me in a political context.   The King of the Saiyans, a leader to be plotted against or bargained with.    That was his weakness, and that was what killed him in the end.    Or do you think that I should have permitted him to destroy me?"

"No!" she said.   "Of course not, Master."

He smiled.   "You know, I think he'd be proud of you today," he said.   "Every parent wishes to see his child surpass him.   You embraced my teachings and became my disciple when he could not.    You have succeeded where he failed."

He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingers.    She wanted to pull away, to tell him how revolting his touch was to her now, but she couldn't find it in herself to do so.  

"The trial is this, Endive," he went on.    "I don't expect you to accept this truth easily.    The Old Endive would have died before submitting to King Rehval.    The New Endive, reborn by Jindan, has pledged herself to Trismegistus, mind, body, and soul.    Now you must decide which Endive to be.    You can accept this truth, and remain my faithful servant.   My crusading general.    My favorite consort.   Or you can leave the cult, and forsake Jindan, and remain true to your father's misguided cause."

Endive's eyes widened.  It was no choice at all.  She remembered Salziff, the man who told her how to find the cult.  He had been cast out for his disobedience, and when Trismegistus withdrew the Jindan power from him, it left him weakened to the point of irrelevance.  She remembered looking down at the man, and feeling a mixture of pity and disgust.

Salziff had reminded her very much of her uncle, wasting away on a bed, long before his time, when he should have met his end on a battlefield.

Her father had been a stern man, unwilling to show any emotion, but he cared for his family.    When he uncle finally died, her father put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.    It was a small gesture, but one she would never forget.

Even as she thought this, Rehval put his own hand on her shoulder, though it was to pull her closer.    There was nothing tender about his grasp.   More like a merchant gathering up his profits.

She remembered her father's deathbed.    Like her uncle, and like Salziff, he wasted away, dying to some poison she had never heard of.    The autopsy report called it polonium-210.   Her father called it the handiwork of King Rehval, though she couldn't imagine what sort of Saiyan would stoop to poison.  

But now.... Now she knew exactly what kind of Saiyan would poison her father.  She had shared his bed, fought his wars, and had devoted herself to him, mind, body, and soul.    He was groping her at this very moment, nibbling at the base of her neck.   He had offered her a choice between continuing as his servant, or wasting away like her father and uncle.    But he wasn't even waiting for her to choose.    He already knew her answer.    

With a defeated sigh, she returned his embrace, and caressed him with her hands, just the way she had always done in his bedchamber.    He nudged her slightly, and she lowered herself to her knees, and accepted what came next.    

Several minutes later, she looked up at him, and he wiped a tear from her eye.    "It took great courage to do that, my beloved," he said.

"Tell me," she pleaded.  "Was all of this meant to punish my father?"

"Yes," he said.  "Your father was weak and yet he brazenly defied me anyway.  The poison I gave him ensured a slow, painful death, but that wasn't enough to satisfy my wrath.  When I created this cult, I knew one day you would come to me, seeking Jindan, never suspecting that the price of it would be to betray your father's memory.  Now, his daughter has become my greatest general, and she kneels before me, naked and weeping in my bedchamber.  But there's more to it than that."

"More?" Endive asked.

"By punishing your father, I have also taught you a lesson.   Now you at last see the true nature of power, my dear."

She looked up at him and nodded.  "It's more than just being able to hit harder," she said.  "It's about control."

"Your uncle understood that," Rehval said.  "He accepted the king's justice because he knew there was no other choice.  Your father only thought he understood.  He believed that leaving the kingdom would give him control over his own destiny.  But he underestimated my reach."

He reached down and wiped more tears from her cheek, for she was still weeping.     "Rise," he said.  "It's getting late, and you'll need time to reflect on all of this... after you've completed your duties here, of course."

"Of... course," Endive said quietly.  As she stood, she tried to gather up some semblance of self-respect.  When that failed, all she could find was her faith,    Broken and splintered, it was all she had left.  Her father had been a fool, hadn't he?  As much as his death had pained her, how could she blame Rehval for defending himself?  And in his holy revenge, he had seen fit to glorify her, to transform her into his instrument.  If she couldn't find pride in this, then she would have no pride at all.

And so she forced herself to smile affectionately at him, and to return his embrace when he offered it.  And when he was finished with her for the evening, she bowed low and thanked him for the honor of being with him, even though she privately wished that she could have been anywhere else in the universe.

NEXT: Luffa and Seltiss

[thebibliomancer]

50 More Days of Comics! 28/50: Avengers #37 (2001)

I almost feel like I’m cheating, covering this. My Avengers liveblog is so hiatus’d and here I am skipping ahead to the good stuff just because a box told me so.

But the box is as the box does and the box placed this issue in my path so here it be.

Look at that cover!

Shame its symbolical and not- nobody actually crucifies Captain America to a giant sword and swings him around. Its like they saw the opportunity and then didn’t go for it.

And for a change, I actually know the surrounding context of a random issue that I pull out of a box! Because I’ve read this run!

Half of the plot takes place in Slorenia, which got devastated during the Ultron Unlimited story. And by devastated I mean he killed the entire population and then went ‘oh hey uninhabited country, dibs, I call dibs on it!’

And then the Avengers showed up and killed him. Again. For like the fifth time. This time was the time when Thor would have words with Ultron so it was notable for that if nothing else.

The other half of the plot takes place adjacent to Avengers mansion and deals with the Avengers ongoing shadow war with the Triune Understanding. The not-at-all scientology not-at-all cult has a hate-on for the Avengers for reasons I don’t really remember so they’ve been stirring up public sentiment against the Avenger by, among other things, pointing out that they’re awfully white.

The idea that maybe the Avengers should reflect American diversity in some way caused Thor to ragequit the team.

It also allowed the Triune Understanding to suggest that hey their personal superhero Triathlon should join the Avengers.

I like Triathlon. I do not like the affirmative action plot because its retreading a plotline already done when the Falcon was forced to be part of the Avengers, whether he liked it or not, because the big bad government was forcing the Avengers to be diverse.

And I don’t like it because its taking something that should be good, diversity in the general but also in the specific sense of on a superhero team, and putting it in the mouths of people considered bad or antagonistic to make it seem like an imposition on the Avengers.

You’re on the wrong side of history Thor, the Avengers, and Kurt Busiek when you decided to rehash this plot from the SEVENTIES.

Although we’re in the part of the plot where Triathlon has decided after a talk with the Wasp that he’ll get out of the Avengers what he puts in so he has stopped being rightfully peeved that the Avengers initially didn’t want him and hate his religion.

Another part of the Triune Understanding thing is that the cult leader of the Triune Understanding can summon supervillains called Pagan and Lord Templar which he has been sending out to make the Avengers look like fool chumps.

That’s the long version. The short version is that Slorenia was destroyed by Ultrons before he was taken down by the Avengers. And the Avengers somehow pissed off a cult which has been waging a media war against them as well as sending out two jerks called Pagan and Lord Templar. And while Triathlon is a member of the Triune Understanding, his thetans are either too low or too high to be in on the schemes and just honestly sees the Understanding as a self-helpful group that helped him turn his life around and gave him superpowers.

Anyway, Slorenia. Pretty much the inspiration for Ultron ultroning Sokovia in the movies. But this is after the Ultroning so whats up now?

A giant weird looking swordsguy called Bloodwraith is marching through the land yelling about how everything is the Avenger’s fault.

Bloodwraith used to be shorter and used to be Sean Dolan. Somehow he ended up with the Black Knight’s cursed Ebony Blade and joined the UN and SHIELD organized humanitarian effort to clean Slorenia up, bury all the piles of corpses, get it habitable again. In case anybody wants to live someplace where a robot attack wiped out the population?

Anyway, the Ebony Sword ended up absorbing the millions of quite restless and entirely pissed off dead turning Sean Dolan into the Bloodwraith.

Who turns the skies dark and then starts rampaging, killing hundreds of the assorted volunteers, SHIELD agents, and UN people. That’s when Cap, who isn’t an active member at this time due to quitting since he was too old to want to fight a PR war, called in the Avengers.

Bloodwraith: “LEAVE ME BE, AVENGERS. HAVE YOU NOT ALREADY DONE ENOUGH IN THIS LAND? THIS LAND IS YOUR LEGACY, AVENGERS -- THE LEGACY OF YOUR FAILURE TO SAVE IT, OR ITS PEOPLE. MY PAIN IS BORN OF YOUR FAILURE. I WILL SHARE MY PAIN WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD. AND IF YOU TRY TO PREVENT ME -- YOU WILL DIE.”

And which Avengers? Why, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Scarlet Witch, and Photon!

Iron Man even designed a special toaster looking gun specifically to mess up Bloodwraith!

Captain America: “Will this work, Iron Man?”

Iron Man: “Well, Cap – considering I had to design it on the Quinjet over, build it out of spare parts, and haven’t been able to test it at all – yeah it should work. If that creature’s made out of any energy known to science – this should mess him up pretty good.”

-FAILURE-

Iron Man: (Okay… so the Bloodwraith’s not made of any energy known to science. Shows what I know.)

Cap sends Monica Photon Rambeau and Wonder Man to try to contain Bloodwraith. Photon runs the gamut of the electromagnetic spectrum but nothing seems to affect the giant guy.

But when Bloodwraith takes a swing at her, his giant Ebony Blade passes through her energy form intangibly but the cool she feels afterward knocks her down and Wonder Man also gets slapped out of the air just a panel later.

Scarlet Witch wonders what Bloodwraith is even doing here prompting Captain America to explain all that Sean Dolan stuff. But I’ve already covered that.

Cap berates himself and the Avengers for the whole situation. Sean Dolan apparently had a run-in with the Avengers before, not sure when. But the Avengers decided to let him leave with the Ebony Blade because they believed him when he said that he would break the curse. He wasn’t an immediate threat so they let him be. (Movie Cap might have words for you, Cap)

And now the guy that the Avengers let go is using the cursed sword of a once Avenger fueled by millions of restless souls killed by a robot created by an Avenger. This is an Avenger problem which created more deaths for the Avengers to avenge.

That’s where Cap is at right now.

Since science has failed, Cap says they have to rely on Scarlet Witch’s magic.

Scarlet Witch: “Uh, I’ve been studying, Cap – learning to better control the chaos-magic that fuels my hex-power and I’ve been making strides – but I’m not sure I can do that -- !”

Captain America: “Try.”

So while Scarlet Witch starts to meditate and touch the spirits of the Slorenia dead and ask them to rest in peace, Iron Man, Photon, and Wonder Man try to slow Bloodwraith’s march out of Slorenia.

And with Wonder Man’s strength (he punches with the force of Thor’s hammer! As he never gets tired of saying) and Iron Man’s repulsors, they’re actually slowing Bloodwraith down. Slowing. But not stopping.

Bloodwraith: “SLOW ME, PERHAPS – BUT YOU CANNOT STOP ME! THE WORLD WILL JOIN SLORENIA – JOIN IN HER PAIN! JOIN IN HER DEATH!”

And I guess Photon is flying around not contributing anything worth expositing, huh, Iron Man?

But when Scarlet Witch does make contact with the dead, Bloodwraith notices and turns around to march back toward Scarlet Witch. So now Wonder Man and Iron Man have to try to slow him down again except from the other direction.

And they lose Photon. Because they get a call from the B-plot saying that they need specifically her. So off she goes at the speed of light in atmosphere.

With Bloodwraith approaching, Cap tells Scarlet Witch that whatever she can do, to do it now.

So she does an energy thing and while Bloodwraith howls NOOOOOOOOOO! like some manner of Darth Vader, Scarlet Witch tells Cap that they’ve got to get everyone over the border fastlike.

She couldn’t break Bloodwraith’s link to the Slorenian dead. They were just too angry and too restless. Since her magic training was kind of an over a weekend deal, much of what she does is based on instinct and guesswork. Maybe Dr. Strange could have done it but if you wanted Dr. Strange maybe you should have invited him to join the Avengers a couple years down the line like you’re going to do.

So instead, Scarlet Witch strengthened the Bloodwraith’s link to the dead and to Slorenia itself. Bloodwraith is now trapped inside of Slorenia, unable to threaten the outside world. But it leaves Slorenia as a country of the dead barred from the living by a giant angry man with a cursed sword.

But under the circumstances, it was the best she could do.

Captain America: “I know. I’m not blaming you…” -sounding very much like he’s blaming her-

But what of the other half of the plot?

In the other half of the plot, the Avengers (Wasp, Warbird (Carol Danvers pre Captaining), Jack of Hearts, Vision, and Triathlon) are dealing with Pagan and Lord Templar smashing up Avengers Mansion.

Warbird and Jack of Hearts emerge from the river in a punchup with Pagan, apparently having battled through the mansion and then down the tunnel that led to the Avengers’ submarine pen that they totally have.

In the collapsed subbasement of the mansion, Triathlon (with three times the strength, speed, and stamina of a normal person fairly fit person?) holds the collapsed ceiling on his back to keep shrunken Wasp from being squashed like a bug.

Of course, Lord Templar picks this moment to show up and glare menacingly from the shadows talking about how the Avengers will make fine soldiers for him once properly conditioned.

And then Vision pops up from behind and shoves a fist through Lord Templar because if there’s one thing that Vision does really well, its that.

The distraction allows Triathlon and Wasp to regroup at Central Park so further property damage will happen in a public park and not in a building that has already been fairly smashed. I was actually being snide for the first half of that, about how the Avengers are ok with the damage not occurring on their own property but then halfway through I realized it probably does make sense not to fight in a building that has already partially collapsed.

Sometimes single sentences are journeys.

But as they relocate toward Central Park, Wasp wonders where her ex-husband Hank Pym has gotten to. He must have gotten the alarm. And I think there was a recent subplot where Hank got split into Goliath and Yellowjacket personas and the Goliath persona kidnapped Yellowjacket to a tiny lab in a tree in the Avengers’ yard unbeknownst to them. Its Kulan Gath related nonsense.

In the park, while Pagan plants Warbird and Jack of Hearts like dumbass trees, Lord Templar releases the Avatars of Templars, which are six Lord Templar looking guys that have a maximized attribute. Like Strength or Speed or Agility. Although I’m not sure what difference is being drawn between the last two.

When some of the peanut gallery of lookie loos and media wonder aloud what Lord Templar is doing, the guy, no joke, the guy literally bishie sparkles and proceeds to give an interview.

Lord Templar, sparkling: “I, mortal? I bring you the blessings of peace – and of universal law. A new order – indeed, a true order—for all to benefit from.”

The press: “holy pete, he’s giving an interview!”

Lord Templar, still sparkling: “The Avengers are a threat – champions of chaos, and outmoded individualism. But rest easy, my flock – their pernicious influence over you will stand no more!”

And while Pagan knocks around Warbird and Vision like its going out of style, Triune Understanding leader Tremont watches the battle on the news and gloats how perfect this is. The Avengers are being made to look like fool chumps. Granted, Triathlon is in the mix with everyone else and he’s the Triune Understanding’s best-known follower, but Tremont is confident that Triathlon comes off as struggling quite heroically.

It’s a complicated PR game, he plays. Making the Avengers look like doofuses when one of his one people is on the team.

But as things look bad suddenly Goliath pops up behind Pagan, grabs him by the scruff of the neck and hurls him into the sky like Team Rocket.

Because sometimes you just want a problem to temporarily not be a problem.

Plus, he has a really good idea.

And that’s when he calls Cap to ask to borrow Photon and she light speeds across the ocean and THROUGH Pagan.

Having a woman shaped bolt of energy pass through his chest gives Pagan pause and in that pause, Jack of Hearts focuses his zero-fluid granted energy powers into his fist and socks Pagan in the gut.

And Pagan collapses to the ground to the jubilation of the peanut gallery.

Lord Templar decides that leaving is the better part of valor and attempts to skeedaddle but Triathlon doesn’t like the thought that after all this noise Templar gets to just duck out.

He runs the gauntlet of the Avatars of Templar using his three-times speed and agility to make his way through and kicks Lord Templar in his dumb face, knocking the pain in the ass on his ass unconscious.

The peanut gallery loves it and hoists Triathlon and Jack of Hearts on their shoulders to do a hip hip hooray thing, not noticing that the unconscious bodies of Pagan and Lord Templar faded away without a trace.

Goliath briefly considers mentioning it but nah, they can have their moment. They earned it.

And then he offers gum to everyone because he did bring enough for the class.

Later after both plots have wrapped up, the Avengers convene or gather or I’m sure there’s another word. Memetic and alliterative. Ah well.

Anyway, the Avengers discuss what had just happened and Wasp mentions that SHIELD is arranging a cordon around Slorenia ot keep it quarantined until Bloodwraith can be dealt with. I guess nobody has bothered to call Dr Strange yet.

Cap has opinions.

Captain America: -muttering to himself- “Sure. Lock that barn door, boys, lock it tight…”

Wasp: “Cap…?”

Cap: “THIS SHOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED! The Bloodwraith, Slorenia, Templar – they were all Avengers cases. But they got away, or we turned our back on them, and got surprised. We should have been prepared. We should have handled them earlier. Now look what’s happened. The Bloodwraith has killed scores of volunteers – good men and women trying to better the world. We lost a country. Templar and Pagan escaped again. And we’re still playing catch-up – always playing catch-up. Always two steps behind!”

Wasp: “You’re right, Cap.”

Cap: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take it out on you. But there must be a better way. There must be something that can be done.”

Wasp: “Maybe there is.”

Cap: “Hm?”

Wasp: “Maybe it’s time for Captain America to return to the Avengers. And time for us to make some changes…”

DUN DUN DUN!

Leading to the Avengers actually getting organized! Which only lasts until the end of the Busiek run. Afterward, they return to being dumbasses. And then they explode. And then they’re the New Avengers and then they’re really dumbasses.

I’m predisposed and also biased towards this comic but what a good comic that I already liked! Thank you, box!

But there’s a lot of little details in the writing that can be dismissed as cheesy silver age type writing that I think makes things more coherent.

Like early on after Iron Man has gotten his ass kicked by Bloodwraith he thinks to himself that as dangerous as the situation in Slorenia is, he can’t help but wonder how things are going back in New York.

SCENE TRANSITION.

And there’s always a comment or a caption that signals that the scene is shifting.

Another one, while the Avengers are getting their asses kicked by Pagan has a news reporter ask her cameraman if he’s getting this and he confirms that its going out live.

CUT TO TREMONT WATCHING THE FIGHT ON TV.

It’s a small thing but it really adds coherence. Just like people narrating their actions in that goofy Silver Age way makes sense of sometimes confusing art.

Next time: Some questing elves

[fernlomwrites]

Chronicles of Tenaria: The Tour Begins

Life was not any easier for Harmons without the mask on. He could still feel Pinstripe in him, his voice in his head

“Come on lawman, find me a new victim. A new sucker for me to possess. I’ll make your life a living hell if you don’t”

“Is that a threat? Am I being threatened by a ghost?”

“A ghost that can very easily take over your body. Watch and learn badge boy”

Suddenly, as if he could not control his own body he un-holstered his side arm and pointed it to his temple.

“Tell me boy scout, you think you can survive a bullet to the brain?”

“What?? Can you? You damn psychopath?!”

“Of course I can. Do you know how much easier it will be to possess you if your brain dead? Fortunately for you, I need you as a pawn, not a body.”

Slowly, the gun was lowered and returned to its holster.

“Sleep, you are useless to me tired.”

“I should have never put on that damn mask”

“Yes, you are an idiot. Now sleep”

“I swear when we find you a new host, as soon as you bond to him or her, I am going to kill you”

From deep inside his mind Harmons felt the eerie laughter grow into a horrendous cackle.

“No you wouldn’t. You are limited by your stupid sense of honor bullshit. You would never kill me out of the fact that you would also kill an innocent person. You law types are all like this, too focused on what’s ‘right’ to make the tough decisions. It’s your idiotic sense of justice that got you into this mess in the first place. Now sit your ass down and get some sleep.”

Harmons felt his legs fall out from underneath his weight and fall face first into the bed’s comforting embrace. With a sigh he allowed himself to drift off into a deep sleep. Though it felt like he slept for only a few minutes, he woke to find he slept through the night and almost to the afternoon, only to awake from the sound of knocking on his front door.

“Urgh, Pinstripe you bastard!” Quickly, Harmons rushed out of bed, not bothering to change out of the suit from last night and swiftly opened the door.

“Your late deputy. Are your bags packed?” Cal stood at the door guitar hung over his back, cowboy hat replaced with a ragged old truckers cap, brown leather jacket over a grey flannel, old jeans and a large belt buckled designed like a horseshoe.

“Yes Cal, my bags are packed. Let me grab them so we can go”

Cal grunts under his breath and walks across the lawn to the Bus parked by the curb, marked with the OFFkeys logo. OFFKEYS. Surrounding by each of their individual necklace charms. Portions of the buss themed after each of the members, the front simple, and black for Clarice, afterwards red is mixed in a blood and fire like pattern for Mike, then more brown and silver is added for Cal, then the reds and browns are replaced with blues and purples for Jenny, then the blacks and silvers are replaced with a rainbow of color for Pandora, and the bus ends with neon colors, and pixel patterns for Eric.

Harmons looks at the buss in puzzled bewilderment. “H-how…how is it that works together…how?”

“All music is fundamentally the same” Clarice answered as she approached the bewildered deputy “So it is very easy to meld our different genres. And make something beautiful. Your friend Chris is on the bus already…is that your only bag?”

Harmons looks down at his solitary, small black roller bag “well…yes…should I have packed more?”

Clarice scoffs “Depends, how long did you expect to be with us?”

He shrugs “I…I guess a week or so…”

“Try a couple months. That’s how long the tour is Deputy”

Harmons almost choked on air “M-months? Are you serious?”

“Of course she is” Mike walked up and handed Harmons the mask “Clarice isn’t exactly humorous. Then again, neither am I.”

Harmons reluctantly takes the mask and puts it into his bag “And if I find a new host for Pinstripe sooner?”

“Unless you just have money for a plane ticket back here laying around yourself, you’re stuck with us deputy”

Harmons sighs and picks up his bag “Where do I put this?”

Mike gently takes the bag from him “I’ll take it for you, just get on the bus”

“Come on Deputy~” Jenny takes his hand and slink away with him into the bus “Let me give you the tour~”

Where the outside of the bus was a mix matched color disaster, the inside was much more uniform. A gold and brown color design filled the interior of couches, beds, and seats. Dr. Krins was sat on the center couch, chatting with Cal, Eric, and Pandora.

“So then this guy decides he wants my bag of stuff. And you know its not a good idea to threaten Santa. So, I brought out my canes and broke his jaw. I left a lump of coal in his pockets.”

“Geez Krins. That’s…badass.” Cal took off his hat in respect.

“Wait. Wait a minutes” Harmons walks up to the group, visibly confused “Did you say Santa?”

Dr. Krins chuckles to himself “Ho, ho, have I never told you?”

Harmons drops to the couch “My best friend…is Santa?” Slowly he drops his head into his hands “Can my life get any weirder?”

Cal tries to pat his back comfortingly “I know Deputy; I was the same way”

Dr. Krins chuckles “I wasn’t even hiding it. No one ever thought I was real is all. I thought I was obvious.”

“It…it was…but like you said, I didn’t think Santa was real.” Harmons slowly looks up “and did you say you broke someone’s jaw with your canes?”

“Oh yah, I broke Rodney’s legs last year when he was on his little murder spree. He tried to take my charm. I swiftly broke both his legs, and them left him a box with a little surprise inside”

Mike turns and faces Dr. Krins. “What was in the box?”

Krins smirks rather slyly “His first victims charm. He thought it was gone. His first victim could actually control his body if he wore his charm so he got rid of it. I found it”

Harmons stands up “I remember that charm. He wore it when me and the mayor took him down. It was a silver key with neon green gems in an atom formation. When the spirit of the charm took him over, he started steaming when the fight started. He eventually exploded, and what was left…. was his first victim. Professor Ilions. “

Eric was the only one to seem surprised “My dad…I forgot he was the first one dead. He is alone in his lab so often I never noticed he was dead. It wasn’t until he came back did he spend time with mom more”

The rest of the band silently stand by Eric and comfort him. Dr. Krins hands him a box of tissues, seemingly from nowhere. Harmons was the only one not by Eric. “Geez…that’s terrible Eric…”

Eric clears his throat and puts his glasses back on “Let’s get going now. Her Brady! Let’s get moving!”

Siting at the driver’s seat was a thin, scrawny man, with a simple chain necklace, its charm a flaming wagon wheel. He smiles politely before lurching the bus forward and down the road. For a while the bus seemed to be driving slowly, before suddenly shooting down the road as his charm glowed a bright fiery red.

The whole band and Dr. Krins stayed standing, seemingly unaffected by the sudden speed, but the initial lurch forward was enough to knock Harmons back down into his seat, and the speed increase kept him pinned.

Clarice laughed “Not used to Brady’s driving huh? Not many people are, he was a natural born driver, that’s why we hired him to drive our bus. We save so much time getting to our concerts when he drives.

“You know Deputy, it’s great that you came with us. Sometimes our...fans…can get a little close” Cal stands up and walks over to the fridge of the bus “And having a cop can be real convenient”

Harmons staggers to his feet “You think you are in danger? From your own fans?”

“They aren’t our fans. They know our power and want us dead”

Dr. Krins solemnly nods his head “Of course. Who are they?”

“They are called The Legion of Full Power. They believe if everyone in the world had powers, there would be peace. We know that is stupid. As does everyone else in town. Members have their symbol marked on their hands. The left hand has an anchor wrapped in chains, their right hand has a jagged key, engulfed in flames. Whenever we see someone with those markings approaching town, we swiftly turn them away”

“A cult. A cult has been trying to invade our town. Why does that not make me happier about the constant supernatural attacks. I should be happier about that since that is easier to deal with, but I’m not. A cult is so much worse, why can’t we just be a normal town. There are pirates at the docks, I was just visited by a mystic cowboy from the old west, and now I am haunted by the ghost of a damn assassin who killed my cousin.”

Mike tilts his head slightly “You had a cousin?”

“Yah, his name was George, his charm was purple pocket watch over a purple stone. He could control time, and unfortunately he decided to steal from Don Lomas. Bad idea on his part. I tried to protect him, but Pinstripe was too much. Funny thing is, Pinstripe knew how powerful the charms are, yet he left George’s. He didn’t want to take it. We put it in the vault, before we buried him.”

“You cousin tried to steal from the most powerful mob boss in the states? Was he stupid?”

“Yes he was Clarice, but he was still my family. As much as I never liked admitting. He was cunning like the rest of us. Doesn’t make him any less of an idiot though.”

Harmons staggers over to the fridge with Cal. “What do you guys have to drink here?”

“What would you like?”

“Beer preferably”

Cal opens the fridge and pulls out a can of beer for the deputy

“A lot to take in I’m guessing”

“Yah. I guess”

He opens the can and slowly drinks “Ugh, so, where is the first stop?”

“Portland. We should be there soon actually.”

“How? Portland is like a four-day drive from Keypers Cove. “

“Brady.”

Harmons turned and looked out the window expecting to still see the icy glaciers of Alaska, but instead saw a blur of blues and greens as the bus sped down the highway at impossible speeds.

“This…should not surprise me as much as it does”

“Yet it does. Funny right?” Eric softly pats his back “Just don’t spill the beer”

“Funny Eric. Very funny” Harmons smirks and returns to his seat

“Hmm, Portland ey~ Yes, my next host is definitely there~”

Harmons shivers “oh god, I forgot about you, I can’t wait to get your stupid voice out of my head”

“Who’s voice?” Cal looked up. Harmons made eye contact “oh right. So, yah, I’m kinda being haunted by Pinstripe”

“How…wait, never mind”

Mike reaches into his bag and pulls out the Mask. “Would it help if someone wore it for now?”

Harmons looked up and took the mask “Yah. Me. Turn away everyone. This is going to be bright”

The group looked away as Harmons slowly moved the mask to his face, before the bus was filled with a bright light, and Harmons was no more, only Pinstripe.

--------------------

Chrono Link

[thesevenseraphs]

Bungie Weekly Update - 11/9/17

This week at Bungie, we’re tallying the rally.

The battle for resources between the factions is raging on all fronts. Can New Monarchy or Future War Cult rise to the occasion and knock Dead Orbit off their black throne? Their fates lie in your hands.

Each leader sits on their perch in the Tower, waiting for you to do their bidding in the wild. Which one will you choose? We will find out who awarded the most packages and declare them the winner on November 14. Their banners will adorn our home and their chosen weapon will be available to all. The price you pay will depend on where you pledged your loyalty.

High Fidelity

The holiday season is nigh, so you might be compiling your wish list. The PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X are now both out there in the wild, and either of them would make a great gift – even if it’s one you buy for yourself. We’ve seen a lot of questions about whether or not Destiny 2 would scale to meet the potential of new hardware. On this festive occasion, the answer is “Yes!”

On December 5, along with the launch of Curse of Osiris and Season Two, we’ll be deploying an update to Destiny 2 that will deliver stunning gameplay with high dynamic range (HDR) lighting to these new consoles.  You’ll also see adaptive 4K resolution on the PlayStation 4 Pro and 4K on the Xbox One X.

If you’re migrating to these new consoles, or already have, we’ll make it worth your investment.

Answer the Call

Starting on November 17, the first Clarion Call for Destiny 2 will be live all weekend long. This will be an opportunity for you to earn double XP for everything you do with a fellow clan member in your fireteam. If you aren’t in a clan, this would be a perfect time to join one. Your increased gains will run from 10 AM Pacific on November 17 to 10 AM Pacific on November 20. If you are dedicated to playing solo, there will be future Clarion Calls that won’t require you to play with a clan.

Social Cues

Since the first launch of Destiny 2, we’ve seen a lot of feedback about the social features you use to share your adventure with other players.

Social Designers M.E Chung and Steve Dolan are here to shed some light on Guided Games, in-game chat, and that emote wheel we talked about a few weeks ago.

How is Guided Games going?

M.E.: Well, one thing we're really happy to see is that Guided Games has enabled a bunch of new players to play the Nightfall and/or Raid for the first time (since Destiny 1).  Our goal with Guided Games for end-game content is about helping players find tight-knit communities to join, but we see and are very aware of the current issues. For example, we know that the lack of reconnections causes all kinds of problems with unintentional oathbreakers, that the lack of audio feedback when a clan is found is causing players to miss the queue, that guides lack proper incentives, that we need a guided games option for Trials of the Nine, etc.

Steve: We have several of our superhero engineers working on really important things, like network stability across the game, but we hope to continue making progress on Guided Games as soon as possible. Here are some short-term fixes we’ll deliver with the release of Curse of Osiris on December 5:

We've added an audio cue so that you know when you've found a guide.

Full clans can now guide.

Added reminders that if you reject a clan, you're still at the front of the line, so you can only pick guides with a mission statement that looks appealing.

Guided games will support the new Nightfall and Raid content you’ll find in Curse of Osiris (and you’ll learn more about that next week on our first livestream).

Why aren't there checkpoints in Guided Games?

M.E.: The original goal was to prevent checkpoint farming (where players would start a game with a pickup group and drop right when they reached the right checkpoints to take to their buddies), but not having checkpoints causes different issues that we're not happy with either.  We're still looking at this. 

Steve: We also wanted to make sure every player had the same expectation of where you would be starting.  When you go into a guided game, you will always start from the beginning.  We considered breaking up the starting points by checkpoints, but our fear is that if we split up the matchmaking pools on a per-checkpoint basis, we would make queue times even longer. It's always a balancing act when putting new players together to play endgame content.

Why can’t players talk to their clans in the game chat?

M.E.: Oh, man, we want it in the game too! Getting clan chat into the game is one of our highest priorities, and we hope we can get it into a release as soon as possible. 

Steve: And yes, we're interested in a Tower/zone chat too, but we have to prioritize it against all of other asks.

Will we see improvements to chat functionality?

M.E.: We can do a waaaaayyyyyy better job in the game to encourage players to communicate, like making more obvious public/team channels and a good time to enter (i.e., NOT when the player gains control when boots are on the ground), or letting players know about chat setting defaults up front when you start the game, or letting you know when someone is trying to whisper you, etc. These are the kinds of things we have on our backlogs, but again, everything is prioritized against all other asks.

What about that emote wheel we just heard about?

M.E.: Yes! No one wants this more than me, and we're trying our best to make it happen as soon as possible.

Steve: I've wanted this forever! Even without an emote wheel there has been amazing content put out by the machinima community. I can't wait to see what y’all create once the wheel is out and it's easier to chain your favorite moves together.

Thanks for your patience, for sending feedback, and being a passionate community!

Resetting the Reset

The DPS team is always working diligently behind the scenes. They are making sure you have the info you need to have the best Destiny 2 experience. Player Support Specialists are your tireless advocates behind the scenes – in the meetings, repeating what you talk about on our forum.

This is their report.

Curse of Osiris: Reset Changes

With the release of Curse of Osiris, Ritual Resets will no longer take place at 1 AM Pacific. Starting December 5, resets will occur at 1700 UTC

Throughout Destiny 1’s lifespan, players would frequently encounter an issue where weekly resets would not always coincide with content releases. This would prevent impacted players from earning new rewards. Countermeasures were taken by disabling activity playlists, but we were unable to prevent every scenario. Additionally, we’re seeking to align the Milestone resets with event availability, such as Trials of the Nine or Iron Banner, to provide a uniform experience for players to follow each week.

The following is a short list of time zone conversions from 1700 UTC. If you do not see your local time below, we advise using an online time zone converter to prepare for the upcoming change.

9 AM PST

12 PM EST

5 PM GMT

9 PM MSK

2 AM JST

4 AM AEDT

6 AM NZDT

Stay tuned to help.bungie.net for future Support updates regarding the Curse of Osiris and the start of Season 2, releasing on December 5, 2017

PC Support: We are actively investigating general issues and crashes impacting Destiny 2 that have been reported to the PC Support forum. This chatter is helpful and we invite more of it.

Framerate Stutters or Hitches: Hotfix 1.0.6.2 was deployed this week to address issues introduced in Hotfix 1.0.6.1. Some players are reporting continued framerate stutters or hitching. We advise the following troubleshooting steps:

Ensure you have installed the latest Windows updates

Ensure you have the latest graphics drivers available for your GPU

Attempt running Destiny 2 in true Fullscreen mode

Set clock speeds for hardware, including memory, to manufacturer-recommended defaults

General Gameplay Crashes

: As we continue to investigate general crash reports during Destiny 2 gameplay, we advise the following troubleshooting steps:

Ensure you have the latest graphics drivers available for your GPU.

Note: AMD Vega and AMD R9 380 GPU’s have been reported frequently to the #Help forums.

Set clock speeds for hardware, including memory, to manufacturer-recommended defaults.

Some anti-virus programs may interfere with Destiny 2. Please consider temporarily disabling the program to see if this resolves your issues. If so, please report your findings to the #Help forum.

If you are receiving a “Run a scan and repair” error when crashing, yet seeing no improvements after doing so, attempt installing Destiny 2 to an alternate hard drive if available.

Additionally, we are investigating reports of issues encountered when attempting to visit the Third Spire destination during Trials events. Players may circumvent this issue by using in-game vsync settings or the framerate_cap setting in their cvars.xml file to limit framerate to under 100. Stay tuned to @BungieHelp for updates on our investigation

If you encounter any issues when attempting to play Destiny 2 on PC, please see our Vital Information and Known Issues thread in the #Help forum.