#I constantly summon elite enemies

[the-quasar-hero]

If I didn’t think of anything put it in the tags

[arkiwii]

ARKNIGHTS Rhine Lab AU - Role Swap

A Role Swap AU is an Alternative Universe were the characters roles are swapped! It can be just swapping the roles around, or two characters roles with each other, while keeping their personalities. In the case of this AU, I did the second, finding it way more interesting in the context of Rhine Lab. So I'll present the characters swapped, and what they became!

Saria <--> Silence

Saria now takes the role of the new and basic researcher of the Structural Department. She is now Infected - which does not have much relevance outside of the fact that her Arts are much stronger -, and joined Rhine Lab with the goal to seek a cure for Oripathy. A born leader who seeks to help and protect the weaks, she is much more colder as she has spent the most of her life alone.

[Gameplay] Saria would be a 6* Dualist Defender, with a move pool moreso based on healing and buffing herself, as well as debuffing the enemies.

_____________

On her side, Silence became the co-funder of Rhine Lab, as well as the Director of the Structural Department. She is very appreciated by the company for her optimistic behavior and love of science, although she may appear naive. Uninfected, she is more lively, and possesses strong Arts that she uses with the mean of her drones.

[Gameplay] Silence would be a 5* Mech-Accord Caster, with the unique ability of being able to heal with the drones she unleashes during her skills.

Ifrit <--> Rosmontis

Ifrit has became the subject of Williams Loken's experiment, with the goal to recreate a Diablo with the shard of their remains. It caused the Loken Watertank incident, where Ifrit destroyed the laboratory and was found by the Maylander Foundation. Sent to Rhodes Island for treatment, she became an Elite Operator for her dangerous fire Arts, as well as a very close friend of Amiya and Blaze with her strong personality.

[Gameplay] Ifrit is now a 6* Phalanx Caster, with the talent to lower the resistance of all enemies in her range when off-skill, and to cause destructive Arts damage when using her skills.

_____________

Rosmontis is now the child of Parvis' experiment, with the goal to create a Chimera. The experiment gone horribly wrong, Rosmontis has destroyed the Haydn Laboratory, and was found by the Columbian Military, before being sent to Rhine Lab where she will be under the care of Saria and Silence. Amnesiac, Rosmontis's strong post traumatic stress disorder has caused her to lock her emotions and to show little to no emotional responses, unless when stressed, where her destructive powers show up.

[Gameplay] Rosmontis is now a 6* Arts Guard, her playstyle taking a lot of inspiration from Saria, her powers allows her to debuff and deal enormous amount of damage to enemies.

Magallan <--> Mayer

The member of the Engineering Section Magallan is a simple researcher with the dream to explore the world, but the unfortunate fate of being constantly busy. Her most prided creations are drones taking inspiration on the fauna from places she has dreamed to visit when she was younger, with quite some freedom in their appearence.

[Gameplay] A 5* Summoner Supporter, Magallan can summon drones that will debuff and give invisibility periodically to nearby units, making her a really good support.

_____________

Mayer is considered a mystery by most employees of Rhine Lab, and it's mostly due to her weird explorations to Iberia and its surroundings... Very praised explored, Mayer specializes in submarine explorations, and studies the Seaborns as well as their biology very closely, feeding particularly interesting data to Rhine Lab. She posseses robots, courtesy of Magallan, her close friend, who are more opted for battle and protecting her against the Seaborns.

[Gameplay] 6* Summoner Supporter, Mayer possesses melee summons who can deal significant damages, especially against Seaborns type of enemies, as well with their auto destruct when defeated.

Ho'olheyak <--> Muelsyse

The last member of the Kul'kuk'an has joined Rhine Lab with the hope to find the answers behind her race and achieve truth. Throughout the extensive knowledge of her ancestors, particularly on the subject of stars and constellations, she became a very close assistant of Kristen and a strong asset for her to achieve her dream. Director of the History of Sciences Section, she learns about the story of Terra as a whole to gain knowledge.

[Gameplay] Ho'olheyak became a 6* Mystic Caster, who can apply weightless and Levitation based on the amount of stored attacks, with skills that emplified these abilities.

_____________

Muelsyse was one, if maybe not the only friend Saria had during college. An Elf with a cheerful attitude, her search of her race as well as engagement for children's protection, herself an orphan, as led her to meet and be recruited for the Maylander Foundation. Her ability to sneak around, spy, create clones and harvest previous information make her an extremely good asset, and she has been able to help many cases, as well as discovering the projects Rhine Lab has been hiding.

[Gameplay] Muelsyse is now a 6* Ambusher, with the fun ability of being able to place a clone of herself on the battlefield, with skills tuned to this one.

Astesia <--> Astgenne

Opposite to her sister, Astesia decided to follow the paths of science to discover the truth behind the stars and most of all, behind the false sky. She is a calm, elegant woman who joined the Originium Arts section under Dorothy Franks, with who she became a close friend. However, her unprompted Infection after a failed experiment had caused Astesia to lose faith in her researches, and she had become more reserved, but thankful for her sister and her friend for supporting her no matter what. Astesia left her family after these ones rejected her views, and has found her new place at Rhine Lab.

[Gameplay] Astesia is a 5* Splash Caster, using her Arts to attack the enemies. Her attacks have a light chance on stunning the opponents, and her skills will cause great crowd control AOE damages.

_____________

Astgenne followed the path of her family's heritage by learning their traditional sword techniques with the usage of the astro globe. Energetic, full of promises, she has an optimistic faith and belief in the stars and astrology, as opposite to her sister with who she might often debate. But both cares a lot about each other, and after Astesia got infected, which infected Astgenne as well due to their nature of twins, Astgenne has gave a lot of support to her sister, and places her hopes in her, believing that the stars will save them. She currently manage an occult society around the stars, in collaboration with Rhine Lab.

[Gameplay] A 5* Lord Guard, Astgenne will use her Arts to launch ranged attacks at the opponents. Her melee attacks turn into Arts damage upon the activation of her skill, and will stun everyone in her range the moment her skill is activated, her damage emplified on stunned enemies.

Robin <--> Kafka

Desesperate after her dad's company, BlackCloud Trade, went bankrupt from a competition against Simon Co., Robin seeked for help everywhere to make money and pay the medical bills for her father. When the situation seemed lost and Robin was close to give up, she met with Saria, who were able to bring her back on the tracks and give her a reason to fight. When Saria found out about the involvement she had with Simon Co., she proposed a deal with Robin; to help her infiltrate Mansfield's Jail and save Anthony Simon, the man Robin despise the most, so Robin can see if he's a good person who deserves to be forgiven, or someone who should be guilty for his family's actions.

[Gameplay] Robin is a 5* Agent Vanguard, able to use ranged attacks with her throwing knives. One of her skills will boost her attack on deployment, while the second will place mines around her, dealing damages while generating a good amount of DP upon explosion.

_____________

An orphan from Columbia, Kafka always had lived in criminality and gang battles. While she is not entirely found of this life, she made herself a reputation in the grey zone of Columbia, despite her claims to be a simple gardener. When Anthony Simon's head was given a price, many criminals went to try and kill him, unsuccessful. Kafka would had not paid interest if Jesselton did not employed her to help him kill Anthony. Kafka accepted, the price of his request being a non neglectible one, but had no actual intentions on killing Anthony on her own, but rather try to pocket the promised money with no harm involved.

[Gameplay] After joining Rhodes Island, Kafka applied to become a 5* Dreadnought Guard, with the talent to become invisible when unblocking enemies for enough time. Her skill causes Arts damages, hitting everyone in range with her large shredders.

Unchanged roles

Kristen remains the founder of Rhine Lab, and still pursue her dream to carry on her parents' goal, with the strong support of Silence. Both have lost contact with their time at Rhine Lab, but they keep good terms... Until Silence finds out the horrifying projects she agreed on, that is.

Ptilopsis is still a subject of Dellareed's experiment, which has failed, but without any care from the Structural Department, she has been deeply conditioned to behave and act close to an artificial intelligence. While Silence deeply wishes to give her proper care, her busy schedule rarely allows her to, and it's as an assistant of Parvis that Ptilopsis found her role, under the trust of Silence. Thankfully for her, Saria disagreed deeply with the views Parvis had on his "assistant", and brought her to Rhodes Island for help. Silence feels deeply guilty for not having noticed it sooner.

Dorothy remains the Director of the Originium Arts section. Daughter of two pioneers who lost their lives in a Catastrophe, Dorothy strives to create an ideal world where everyone can live in equality, and where she can protect the pioneers. Helped by Astesia, she gives value to her assistance, and hope to help her as well with a dreamed world where infection would not exist anymore.

Parvis is now a simple assistant of Silence at the Structural Department, who acts more as an executive assistant than anything. Silence being horribly busy, she entrusts him for most cases, which turned being a horrible idea when Parvis saw this as an opportunity to carry his researches on the chimera project. He took on the role of Director when Silence left.

Jara, Nasti, Ferdinand, Justin Jr., Loken, Tin Man, Jesselton, Domma and Mountain have no noticeable change in their characters.

Summary of the timeline

At the young age of 10, Kristen Wright learned the horrible news of her parents' death in a flight incident, which led to the dishonor of her family to the scientific community. Helped by Jara, she continued her education and met the young Olivia Silence during high school. The two young women had originally nothing in common, but their love of science and search for the truth. It did not took long for the two of them to become best friends, and for Olivia to turn into an important person for Kristen; dreaming of achieving what her parents had failed to achieve back then, she found hope to continue to go forward with Olivia's optimistic nature and support.

After both graduated and finished their studies at Trimounts' Institute of Technology, they decided to found Rhine Lab together, a promising future for the two rising stars of the scientific community. While the first year was rough between the struggles against concurrence and the little financial help they had, they got nonetheless joined by bright minds like Ferdinand Clooney, Ho'olheyak and Dorothy Franks.

As time went on, Rhine Lab has became one, if not the biggest scientific company in the span of ten years. However, Silence, who became the Director of the Structural Department, and Kristen, as the CEO, both fell apart of each other with their busy schedule. It's until Silence got to hear about an incident happening at a nearby laboratory, and got the sole survivor transfered to Rhine Lab with the help of the DOD, that things got a turn. The young surviving girl, named Narcissa, has been deeply infected and bear heavy traumas, and with the help of Saria, a Rhine Lab researcher who agreed to help her, she gradually unpacked her locked memories. Silence, trying her hardest to be there for the girl, also insisted on investigating the truth behind the event, with the help of Ho'olheyak.

She soon disvovers the horrible reality, and how Narcissa happened to be the subject of a human experiment, and that Ho'olheyak was sent with her to make sure none of the secrets would be undiscovered. Silence fought her way out of it, with the help of the Maylander Foundation, and tried to warn Saria about it. However, she arrives too late, and Narcissa lost control in yet another treatment phase. Saria manages to calm her down, but blames Silence, herself having learned the truth and realizing that Silence has been part of it, maybe even hiding it from Saria to continue the experiment, and she leaves Rhine Lab with Narcissa.

Silence tried to face Kristen, and swear to stop her, leaving Rhine Lab. She finally joins Rhodes Island, to seek help from them, but soon meets with Saria and Narcissa, now codenamed Rosmontis. Saria, scared that Silence followed them, refuses to have her approach her or Rosmontis, firmly keeping her distances. Silence struggles to hide her fear, and is left alone to fix her own mistakes.

I couuulld say more but, hey, I am cooking! All the events that follow, so Mansfield's Break, Dorothy's Vision, Lone Trail, they will greatly change and I could give a quick summary, but hey, surprise!! (I'm lazy)

I will eventually make designs of the swapped versions, but I'd love to explore the characters' new dynamics. Like how Saria's hard nature ends up having a negative effect on Rosmontis, how Silence tries to help her and bring Saria to realize what she's doing, while also struggling with her own powerlessness. Or about Ptilopsis, how this one is struggling more deeply with her issues, but tries to help Saria and take care of Rosmontis a lot, both relating to each other. I could also talk about Ifrit, now an Elite Operator, with all the shenanigans she has with Blaze and how cool she is, but also how she will try to help Rosmontis later! Or even this absolutely cool Mayer who would be an amazing character for IS3, cause hell yea deep sea horrors!!

Anywayyy, it's a lot lot, I sometimes think about this new timeline and I think there can be something really cool to be done with it, maybe a series of fics, who knows! It's just a project for fun, simply playing around with the characters, there might be a lot of flaws and things missing, I'll try my best to make everything make sense.

So hum, yay! feel free to give me opinions, for fun :]

[shuttershocky]

If you’ve been keeping up with the new CN ops, any thoughts on Ray’s kit now that she’s out?

I really like Ray's Kit, she's maybe the 6 star I'm most looking forward to between now and CN's server. There's some really cool ideas in there with just enough restrictions on her to keep her interesting.

Ray really feels like HG wanted to play with a second Ebenholz, so they made one that's close to a physical remix of his kit's ideas (though without Ebenholz's focus on Elites).

Where Ebenholz deals Arts damage and stores charges to unload all of them into one target, Ray needs to store charges (Ammo in this case) to even be able to attack regularly though she STARTS with Ammo rather than having to build it up from nothing. Her damage gets higher the more she attacks the same enemy (up to +24%), and even gets another 15% physical damage bonus when attacking an enemy scouted by her Sandbeast summon, giving her really high physical burst that's dependent on her not attacking constantly so she can reload all her ammo.

Even her skills feel like alternate takes on Ebenholz's ideas.

Ebenholz's S1 is the classic Mystic skill that narrows range into a straight line and lowers ATK interval so he can build charges extremely rapidly and burst one enemy with the built up charges (so long as they aren't in the center of his range). Ray's on the other hand, is loading a special bullet that deals a whopping 450% ATK for big burst (and shift Force 2 for some reason), but because of the Hunter subclass' specific range, and the skill not having a range increase, you're shooting down straight from the center (unless you get your Sandbeast to spot an enemy).

Ebenholz's S2 is using his stored up charges to create shifting mines in his attack range, basically attempting to make sure he never stays fully charged for long and thus not "wasting" his charges. The mines act as area denial and somewhat chaotic crowd control (as the shifting effect can send enemies everywhere). Ray's version of this on the other hand, is expanding her range (which also expands where her Sandbeast can be placed) and then having her Sandbeast actually collect the ammo she fires near it, instantly refilling her ammo when the Sandbeast retreats (and the skill reduces the Sandbeast's redeployment time as well). The skill encourages you to move the Sandbeast around Ray's range changing her focus area, and retreating to instantly recover all her spent charges and not waste time reloading, with the sheer strength of Ray's attacks on whoever is near her Sandbeast acting as the area denial itself. This is a really different implementation on the same idea of "Play with your charges efficiently with a skill that seizes map control" which makes it so fucking cool from a design perspective.

You all know what Ebenholz's S3 does by now and don't need an explanation. Ray's version expands her attack range but also makes her stop attacking until she has full ammo, her skill significantly shortening her reload interval (so she gets to full ammo faster). Once she has full ammo though (8 shots), each shot deals a huge 330% ATK nuke and binds the target for 2 seconds. Ray's ATK interval is 1.6 seconds, meaning she can permabind one enemy while she chunks them down with her powerful attacks. While this skill doesn't have targeting rules like Ebenholz's (so she can fire a precious shot at a slug), the bind means that one she picks a target, she locks them down for her barrage until she's all out of ammo and has to reload. She's not instantly killing an enemy from full health since she can't use all her stored ammo at once, but make no mistake this skill does really high DPH, enough to nuke Patriot Phase 1 for 2.7k+ damage through his DEF without any DEF reduction.

Honestly all of her skills look really good to me and scale well with specialization. While she doesn't look like she's broken enough to recommend M9ing her for meta, she absolutely looks like an M9 for fun. Her S1 stores two charges of the 450% ATK bullets btw. Combined with her increasing ATK whenever she hits the same enemy and the Sandbeast boosting her physical damage by 15%, and she's going to punch so hard with spinach in IS.

[colourstreakgryffin]

What do you think what type of Pokémon trainer would he be and what type of Pokémon would he have?

I have thoroughly thought this out and has even written this in my Pokémon AU post but I’ll just go into more detail here!

Pokémon AU! Iguro Obanai

“Lord of the Poisons~ welcome him, Iguro Obanai~! He’ll wear down your Pokémon with deadly poisons and drown out your chances of winning~! The one and only Poison Elite Nine”

Type of Pokémon

Obanai uses Poison-type and he would be a Elite Four member(or Elite Nine as to fit the Hashira)

Kaburamaru would be a Shiny Ekans(as Shiny Ekans are the closest to white, small snake Pokémon you can get)

Obanai uses Poison-types solely because Kaburamaru is a Poison-type

Obanai’s choice of his league team is the following in exact order;

Seviper, Scolipede, Drapion, Toxicroak, Crobat & Nidoqueen

Nidoqueen is Obanai’s ace and strongest of his six. The reason Nidoqueen was chosen over Nidoking is as a attempt, to try cure Obanai of his fear over women

Nidoqueen is practically Obanai’s starter Pokémon, gifted from the Master, and she has special IVs and access to a Mega transformation

Whilst all the other five Pokémon on his team are self-found

Type of Trainer

Obanai is extremely strict and tough on his Pokémon. He suspects them to follow his commands with no hesitation and he won’t take shit. If they purposefully disobey him, he’ll punish them

By putting them in the PC at the Pokecentre for a few hours so they learn their lesson

As a Elite Four/Nine, Obanai is one of the nine most powerful Pokémon trainers in Japan and his training schedule reflects this

Obanai uses direct counteractive moves to get around his Pokémon’s weaknesses. Every one of his Pokémon can fight a ground-type or a psychic-type

Kaburamaru is not a battle Pokémon, kept out as a detection and security alarm as his senses are refined. Many shiny collectors try to buy Kaburamaru off Obanai

Anytime Obanai is out of the Tokyo Plateau, he is exploring the forests for specific berries and natural healing to support to defence items to be held by his Pokémon for additional help, alongside his two allowed Super Potions

Obanai is not favouritistic towards any of his six team but with his ace Nidoqueen, he is slightly less tough on as she is his best fighter

Obanai’s main strategy up against enemies is the poisoning status condition. He uses Poison Jab or Cross Poison and once he has inflicted poison, he mixes inbetween offence and defence until the enemy Pokemon faints from poison

However. Obanai is very grateful of and protective over his Pokémon. The moment even just one is injured or fainted, he either rushes it to a pokecentre or uses his own supplies to heal it

Kaburamaru is the only Pokémon that stays out constantly. His team are usually sleeping in their pokeballs unless summoned, Obanai believes they should preserve their strength if not being used

Obanai doesn’t nickname his Pokémon. They all are called by their species like Sanemi. He may shorten down their names at times, as when he called Nidoqueen; “Nido” but that’s it

Fun Facts

Obanai’s room in the Tokyo Plateau is a very forest-like environment, full of poison-type Pokémon in the trees. He seems to be fine staying in the room as the Pokémon must be docile

Obanai collects Fairy-type Pokémon to give to Mitsuri. She has a few gift Fairy-types from Obanai and the only non-fighter Pokémon she has shown out, the Alcremie is also from Obanai

Obanai prefers using Nidoqueen and Crobat when having to battle Legendaries

Obanai is apart of the ‘big three’ of the Elite Nine members, alongside Gyomei and Muichiro

Yes. I still purposefully picked Crobat whilst being fully aware of it’s friendship evolution method. Obanai and his Crobat have a close relationship than can rival his with Nidoqueen

Obanai’s Nidoqueen is clingy and playful. She likes making friends but she has a very serious side and can be really cruel. She is very attached to Obanai and gets jealous over Mitsuri

Obanai’s Crobat is a quiet, monotone Pokémon by nature. He gets a thrill out of battling and likes to trick humans into thinking he drinks blood. He views Obanai as his surrogate human father

Obanai’s Toxicroak is a fun jokester, who messes with his opponents and enjoys playing with younger Pokémon he finds. He gets scolded the most by Obanai for his unserious, light-hearted behaviour

Obanai’s Drapion is a ferocious, emotionless machine built for battling. He doesn’t like his fellow teammates and expresses favouritistic love towards Obanai. He will never disobey Obanai

Obanai’s Scolipede is very calm and friendly. He enjoys setting up Pokecamps and likes to race other Pokémon for fun. He is also a big metalhead, Obanai and him bond over metal music

Obanai’s Seviper is elegant and dark, with a nasty thirst for victims to bite. It simply despises having no attention and enjoys participating in Pokémon contests. He and Obanai have a matching fang of severity

Obanai’s only non-battle Pokémon are all from Mitsuri; so a Muk, a Stuntank(since both are poisons), a Mawile(since she thought Mawile is a cool fairy type) and a Galarian Weezing(since it’s a mixture of poison and fairy)

[pastelmagpie-t]

Current dnd group!

Meet the LUNARtics (name is in need of workshopping)!

This ragtag group of people came together after the moon was moved closer to Earth and flooded half the planet. They set out on a journey to one of the few remaining floating cities where they learned that the corrupt government (a few elite members) where using their magic and influence to take advantage of the flood and the victims of it. The group set out to stop this corruption and in turn were labeled enemies of the state. They then discovered that a moon cult, supported by the same corrupt government, was responsible for the flood and ventured to another island to put the moon back in place. They succeeded and named themselves (very apparently but unfortunately) the Lunartics. However, they were no longer able to return the city and instead were sent cryptic mission assigned by an unknown god to another land where a civil war has broken out. Here the group must figured out what this god wants of them while surviving the onslaught of other conflicts, enemies, and moral choices. Yay!!!

Anyways, here’s a look at the group!

Red: This is Brook, the chess themed human barbarian whose shirt always rips off and only moves in chess formation. (Fun fact - He wears clown shoes that makes him move like a million miles per hour and once left a Brook shaped hole in a mountain face.)

Orange: This is Marlow, the potoo aarakocra necromancy druid who may or may not be a religious terrorist. (Fun fact - During our first combat encounter, he ate a goblin whole…..)

Yellow: This is Aurialee, the sea-elf blade singer wizard who is kinda the only stable one in the group. (Fun fact - She wanted to call our group the Immovable Squad and was so upset that we didn’t choose that name that she went and stole an actual immovable rod.)

Green: Aye yo it’s Wynnie (my character)!!! If this is your first time seeing her she is a half-elf warlock who grew up on a cattle farm, has an obsession with cabbage, and has a familiar rat named Vye. (Fun fact - Just recently she summoned a flock of sniffer rat familiars to help find and uncover victims of a landslide (I rolled a nat 20!) and has now fully embraced being the rat lady.)

Blue: This is Clovis*, the pixie sorcerer who is a leader of a drug cult and who gave up his love for everything but his brothel wife to own a god. (Fun fact - He had a pet pigeon at one point, but he forgot them on a beach somewhere. (Rip piggy))

Purple: This is Erevyss, the edge lord Drow rouge/bard who tries to act cool but always ends up with his face in the mud. (Fun fact - Him and Wynnie have a love hate relationship where they bully each other constantly.)

(*Before Clovis, there was the knome fighter, Cordelia, who betrayed our group by killing our favorite alley and then left with all our loot. Reference group photo top right corner.)

[ask-king-bowser]

Bowser adjusted the camera and then walked away so people could get a better look at him, a big Monster with spiky bracelets, a spiky collar, two big Red eyebrows and a pair of horns, the monster also had a Red crest and a turtle Shell.

"Hello everyone, my name Is Bowser, also known as the koopa King, i am the ruler of a huge Kingdom that grows every minute we talk, i've decided to use this application called Tumblr as a way to interact and communicate with other beings, farewell"

Name: Bowser

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Size: 8' 7"

Weight: 1200 lbs

Abilities:

Super Strength

Nigh-Invulnerability

Fire Breath: Bowser is able to breathe fire, whether it be in streams or fireballs.

Dark Magic: Bowser can make himself grow bigger.

Bowser crush: Summons a giant mechakoopa to crush his foes.

Teleportation: Can transform into a black wisp to move from place to place.

Whirling Fortress - Bowser conceals himself inside his shell and spins around with it in the air, dealing damage thanks to his spikes and rapid spinning, Bowser also regenerates while doing It.

Bowser Bomb - Basically a ground pound that can create shockwaves.

Flying Slam - Bowser grabs onto his enemy and performs a flying suplex on them.

Geokinesis: Bowser can cover himself in a rocky barrier to roll around and attack with his sheer weight.

Weaknesses

Arrogance

Short Temper

Bad Planning: Sometimes, Bowser's own planning leads to his defeat. In Super Mario Bros, he stood in front of a axe that would cut down the bridge, leading him to his defeat. And when he intelligently used several power ups against Mario in Super Mario 3D World, he stood on a Pow Block that led to his defeat.

Alternate Forms

Giant Bowser

When Bowser's life is at risk, adrenaline supercharges his body, allowing him to grow thousands of times his size. There are other methods Bowser has discovered to achieve this monstrous form, such as absorbing the power of a Grand Star.

Dry Bowser

Dry Bowser is one of Bowser's more common forms. If his flesh is melted, burned off, or otherwise removed, he will be reverted to a skeleton. He can throw an indefinite amount of bones at his enemies, and is incredibly durable. He is immune to all energy and elemental attacks, and can only be incapacitated is hit with a strong enough tremor or physical blow, which will cause him to fall apart. However, he can immediately put himself back together, and can use magic to regenerate his flesh.

Meowser

Bowser accesses this form after using a Super Bell. It makes him quicker and capable of climbing up walls.

Fury Bowser

Fury Bowser is a form that Bowser takes in the Bowser's Fury mode of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. Along with being one of his biggest incarnations to date, he sports a pitch-black color scheme and constantly exhales fire. He can rain meteors across entire islands, breathe long strings of fire at his targets, and turn even docile cats into enemies. (Will be used in rps only if battling God like creatures or huge ones)

But wait. . there's more

Do not forget about us sir!

You can also ask questions to The elite trio:

Sergeant guy, Corporal Paraplonk, Private goomp

and to Kamek as well

[adiabolikpastel]

Title: Lunar Eclipse Masquerade

Karlheinz pt. 3

Rating: NSFW | PG-18

Word Count: 1,947

Pairing: Karlheinz x Skye (m/m)

ღ As the part unwinds, Skye is finally able to take a breath. Though maybe there is something else on Karl's mind, as the moons affects finally seem to reach him. ღ

Mun Yu: We did it! These are the last pieces of the LEM story. The end to our Lunar Eclipse. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride, and gotten to know the stories on this blog better! Tune in at the end of it all for Authors Notes!

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ｡. +ﾟ ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

Despite what most people think, demonic beings are very social creatures. The elites hold countless balls and parties, celebrating their immortality together, and entertaining one another with stories. Typically, they are done in celebration for something – though this is not always the case. All types of beings from across the Demon Realm will come if the host is of high enough prestige.

There would be no such host if it was not for Karlheinz. Seated as the head of the Bat Clan (vampires), Karl’s reach spans far. Being the widow for the former Demon King’s daughter, and having children of the first blood, an invitation from the Vampire King is not one to refuse. Though why would you? In his immaculate castle within the Demon Realm, Eden Castle, it is always quite the spectacle. While the celebrations held in his Human World mansion are nice, nothing compares to a true night of pleasure within the true home of the King.

On this night, there was to be a Masquerade in honor of the first Lunar Eclipsed Moon in over two years. While this night may serve each species differently, the idea to celebrate its return was simply too tempting. For this reason, Karlheinz took it upon himself – or rather – his house, to host the event. This extended to his offspring as well, regardless of their personal agenda. Members of every social elite race accepted the offer, and gathered for a truly unforgettable evening

While he was sure others had a marvelous time at the event, Skye was exhausted. It was one thing to organize and watch something happen from afar. Being one of the hosts was completely different. There was never a moment of peace. At any time someone would come up to speak with Karl, and he would have to smile and pretend to be interested.

It was enough to just be seen and not heard. How did his wives ever deal with this? Then again, they were probably all bread for this kind of thing. After departing from Shu and his new bride, Karl had insisted on taking Ajax and his wife with him on a tour. But not before getting Burai – what were these three frat brothers?

To see Karlheinz in this light was rather amusing. Not that he was very different, but one could tell that the three men had a special bond about them. Perhaps that wasn’t something Skye could understand. He wasn’t too keen on the history here in the Demon Realm, but he did know that there used to be battles constantly. These three must have been allies through all of that. Or perhaps they were enemies which Karl subdued? Skye wasn’t sure which.

“And then, wouldn’t you know it, Meteo surprised us with a visit! It was glorious to see him! Xyander and Xylon met him for the first time. Hard to think they are already three and never met their brother. My son has been so busy – but Stevi and Helios were excited to see him. Little Onan was sleeping, but I am sure they are having a great time while we are away.” Ajax prattled on and on while they walked through the castle. Skye couldn’t help but roll his eyes, just how many kids did this guy have?!

“Dear, you speak of our children much too much. Your castle is beautiful as always, Karlheinz. Thank you again for allowing us the honor of visiting. Even if it was just to swoop away with our daughter.” His wife chimes, wearing a smile, but her words drip with venom.

Karl laughed slightly at her, Skye could tell that it was mostly in triumph. “Now Catalina, we both know that Ajax would never simply give away something so precious. Callista will be well taken care of, of that I assure you.” Karl offered her comfort, but it was more so in an attempt to get the matter dropped. He had won, there was no sense in her dwelling on the past.

“Honestly, the fuss you all make over children.” Burai finally speaks. “That is why you have them one at a time. Devote what you can, then move on.”

“That is an interesting stance, though, given your record my friend – I wouldn’t lead with it.” Karl states, in reference to Burai being not only his friend, but his ex-father-in-law.

“I would choose one child every century- millennia even - over the amount you both have.” The Demon shivered, disgusted by the idea it seemed. “They are simply a means to an end. We must produce them to preserve the line and power, but nothing more.”

“That is not true! My children bring me such joy! You cannot say that you feel nothing when you look at your son now!”

“I won’t comment on that.” Burai simply answers, as Ajax berates him with further justifications of his unending love for his offspring.

Skye walks quietly next to Karl while the demons talk amongst themselves. He was ready to retire for the evening, and as they came back into the ballroom, he was glad to see most of the guests had gone. Especially at least half of Karl’s sons – all that remained were Kanato, Shu and Reiji… wait! Was Reiji seriously trying to take Shu’s dance!?

“Well isn’t that quite the problem.” Karl muses beside him. “Seems those two just cannot get along.” Skye knew that this had to be part of a larger plan. Karl doesn’t simply do anything. There is always a motive.

“Callista my dear!” Ajax’s voice boomed from behind them, the large demon B-lining straight to his daughter. He did not seem upset by her daughter being in the arms of someone other than the man he had just left her with.

“It is still a mystery how that man became a Demon Lord.” Burai comments stepping up to Karlheinz. “He is a fool.”

“Some just have other reasons for fighting. He is plenty powerful to make up for the fool. Not to mention his wife does a fairly decent job keeping things in check.” He shrugs it off, watching the ever doting father collect his daughter. “What of you? Any plans I should know about for a future love affair?”

Burai scoffs, “My last child is still alive, so do not count on it.” He says, gesturing to someone. Skye looked in the direction, hoping it would be Alrick. To his surprise, a woman seemed to respond to the signal. She was dressed in a floor length gown, but not something fancy, something closer to a maid’s outfit really. Was this a familiar? Her appearance was almost human; very bland everything. There wasn’t even a demonic presence about her.

“You have summoned me, Lord Burai?” Whoever this was, they were most certainly a servant. Not looking up even slightly, that was some quality training.

“We are leaving.” Burai dictates, the young maid bowing and excuses herself. “You celebrations are nice, however, please do keep me off any intimidate affairs. I have little time to deal with such things.” Almost as quickly as he finished his sentence the strange woman was back, and helping him put on his coat. Perhaps she was a familiar.

“You are the last person I would want to have anything intimate with, my friend.” Karl waves off the demon lord, and escorts Skye to the head of the room. Skye looked back at the Snake demon to see if Alrick was going to show up.

Instead, he saw this supposed happy bachelor prude, actually link arms with the servant! What a hypocritical- oh god was that a kiss!? Skye couldn’t believe it. Even if it was on the hand, that ass hole. Giving everyone the ‘oh look at me – I’m all business. Big bad demon lord’. He couldn’t wait to tell Alrick about it later.

“You are quite distracted. I think that’s enough sharing you for one day.” Karl’s voice brings Skye out of his train of thought. “Come, we shall retire for the evening.” His voice was soft, as if he was purposely only allowing Skye to hear.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to imply something, my king.” Skye knew that there was no way this night was not going to end without the two of them becoming intimate. Honestly he was pretty tired. Not to mention, it was his impression that the Bloody Moon was supposed to affect the bat clan. Here the night is over and Karl’s been the same. Rip off.

Karl laughed a little at Skye’s comment, “Haha, you know me too well.” He moves a hand around Skye’s waist, holding him close. Within moments the two of them were moved out of the ballroom and into their room. Well, this was the room they typically fooled around in. Skye knew this wasn’t Karl’s room – he actually doubted that the man slept at all.

Skye smiles up at Karl and moves over to the bed, sitting on the edge, crossing his legs. “I must say, that was fun being your little arm candy ~ I don’t think there was a single person who missed it.” That thought sent shivers up his spine. What a thrill it was to be seen. Not to mention seen by all those stuck up demons who would normally look down on him.

Karl watches Skye bask in the afterglow of their appearance. What a strange creature he was, actually wanting to be the center of the universe. Yet at this moment, Karl felt like that role suited Skye more than any other. “Yes, you were magnificent, my siren.” His praise seemed to affect him, as their eyes were soon looking over one another.

With a smirk on his face, Karl summoned his magic to disrobe the cape which was draped over his shoulder. Whilst he undid the buttons on his vest, and loosened the tie around his neck. “So well in fact,” He stepped out of his shoes, and allowed magic to take his discarded clothing off to be hung up. “I believe you deserve a reward.”

Skye was entranced by Karl’s mystical display. God it was always so hot to watch him strip. Way better than doing all that work himself. Just as Skye was about to do the same, Karl suddenly dipped down and knelt before him. “My King…?” Skye’s eyes widened. This man was not about to do something stupid, right?!

With a small laugh, Karl slowly started to take off Skye’s heels. “Your expression dictates you were thinking something absurd.” He softly kisses the top of Skye’s foot. “I am rewarding you for all the hard work you did for this night, not punishing you.” There was a hint of melancholy to his words.

Karl had no interest in submitting another to the role of his ‘wife’ again. The title was nothing but a front anyway. He had not loved anyone. Still loved no one. These ‘feelings’ for Skye - if they were love, Karl would have no idea. Their time together was an end to boredom alone. The means to a release. Though if that were completely true, Skye wouldn’t be as involved as he was with Karl’s professional life.

The boy was more than just his assistant here. In the Human World, he was even Tougo Sakamaki’s new face. People saw him more than they did the politician. Once Skye had finished school, he came onto the alias’ line of work, and began working as the personal secretary for the famed politician. Karl was sure that Skye would even be a nurse for Reinhert if he had asked.

Skye let out a soft mew in response to Karl’s gentle touches and kisses. This was new, he was never this gentle. It felt nice, especially since his feet were killing him from the heels. Beauty was so painful. He was happy that things were like this, how silly to think that Karlheinz would even consider a marriage. Well, it wasn’t like he honestly thought about it - it was more just the shock of him actually kneeling.

Though now that he got a good look - the sight of the Karlheinz was worshiping his feet. “Heh, my king~ I have to admit, mhmm, the sight of you down there… is really turning me on~” He says, moving his other foot to locate Karl’s groin.

Karl simply focuses on his task at hand. Slowly. Sweetly. Moving his lips up from Skye’s foot, up his leg. “Mm! My King… if you tease me so much I - ah!” Karl moves to just behind Skye’s knee - one of his biggest weak spots. Skye bites back another moan.

“Now that wont do.” Karl suddenly speaks and looks up at Skye. His eyes are full of desire. Hunger. Lust. “I want to hear you. Every sigh. Gasp. Moan. You will not hold anything back. In return, I shall spoil you. Every. Inch.” He smirks, wetting his lips, and picking up Skye’s other foot. “So. Be the beautiful siren you are meant to be. And submit yourself to my will.”

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ﾟ ｡. +ﾟ ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ROUTE END☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

[princeasimdiya12]

So in my DR1 Taleshift AU, the talents go as followed: Swimmer!Makoto, LuckyStudent!Chihiro, Programmer!Toko, Novelist!Celestia, Gambler!Leon, BaseballPro!Mondo, GangLeader!Mukuro, Soldier!Sakura, MartialArtist!Kiyotaka, MoralCompass!Byakuya, AffluentProgeny!Junko, Fashionista!Kyoko, Detective!Hifumi, FanficAuthor!Yasuhiro, Clairvoyant!Sayaka and Idol!Aoi. These headcanons mean a lot to me!

Hey anon! Thank you for your patience! I’m sorry it took so long but I had alot of real life affairs to take care of. Even to this day. With that in mind, i would like to bring up that I won’t be accepting any new talentswap asks like this for some good time. 

With that, I hope you enjoy these new headcanons for this AU.

Makoto Naegi as the SHSL Swimmer

He could spend hours in a pool of water just letting his mind wander as his body feels the cool pool sensations.

One day, when he was out on the beach with his family, he spotted what looked like a dolphin in distress and far out into the open waters.

Without thinking, he immediately swam towards the creature and brought her to the beach to have her wounds fixed.

He earned quite a bit of noteriety for that.

He’s the shortest member of his swim team and has been playfully teased for it.

During the summer, he often serves as a lifeguard assistant.

Chihiro Fujisaki as the SHSL Lucky Student

Their luck made it difficult for them to interact with others in social situations.

When their luck causes bad things to happen, it usually results in Chihiro being involved in a given accident making them come off as a bad omen.

When their luck causes good things to happen, they find themselves getting attention from the media and eager crowds.

Chihiro’s constantly changing luck is a prime factor for their timid and frailness.

They put alot of time in researching different forms of luck and rituals in an attempt to change their luck to their preferences.

They’ve picked up a variety of good luck charms and have a tendency of performing superstitious rituals whenever they’re about to do something.

Chihiro is also willing to give those charms to their friends (like Mondo when it comes to big games). 

Touko Fukawa as the SHSL Programmer

Not wanting to be involved with her abusive family, Touko spent her whole time on the computer.

She familiarized herself with the complex workings of the computer and how to make her own programs.

Her specialty is being able to create anti-virus software that can detect and report potential hackers while maintaining a clean software system that can last for decades.

She hates it when people ask her if she can make video games as she believes them to be stupid and not worth her effort.

She enjoys venting her frustrations on message and forum boards by provoking others with her comments.

Syo still exists in this AU because of the abuse and managed to pick up on her original self’s programming skills.

Whenever Syo takes over, she manages to hack security programs and bank accounts as a means of taking revenge against unlucky kids who hurt her or her gloomy self.

She managed to frame them for crimes they didn’t commit, summoned gang members to tear down their homes, and have illegal commodities shipped to them.

Her username is Geno-Zdr50 and after her crimes were revealed, she was given the title of SHSL Hacker.

Celestia Ludenberg as the SHSL Author

She earned recognition for bringing back the gothic-romanticism genre.

Alot of her stories feature tales of romance and tragedy between elegant ladies and their supernatural/undead suitors.

Her wardrobe is similar to her original outfit only with a longer dress and she wears a black veil with red roses.

She claims to have been involved in multiple relationships with different men who provided her with an interesting romantic experience.

Celestia has a strong dislike for tropes and cliches and tries desperately to ensure that her stories avoid them.

The last thing she wants to be considered is a run of the mill author by some half-witted review articles.

Leon Kuwata as the SHSL Gambler

His main attire consists of a red collared shirt, black jeans and shades.

He doesn’t win every game because of his lazy attitude and his tendency to panic whenever things don’t go right for him.

Leon got the title by winning a few big competition games involving blackjack.

He prefers to use slot machines since they make it less hard for him to showcase his skills.

One of his tricks is by flirting with the waitresses or servers and convincing them to give them tips on what the dealers are like.

He often ropes Yasuhiro and Hifumi into joining him whenever he goes gambling believing that their eccentric personalities will boost his chances.

Mondo Oowada as the SHSL Baseball Player

He got into baseball because of his brother who was already a professional player.

Mondo’s has multiple baseball uniforms because of how often he tears or smears them.

He managed to convince some of his friends, who were close to becoming involved in gangs, to join him.

When he started playing, Mondo had a fierce temper and would pick fights against other unruly baseball players which would leave the two of them with bruises and black eyes.

Daiya decided to step in and offer his personalized training sessions to help Mondo before he ruined his career.

By channeling his frustrations into body improvement training and hitting the ball, Mondo was able to get a better control of his temper.

Although there have been cases where the baseballs he swings out of the stadiums end up causing massive damage in random streets.

Mukuro Ikusaba as the SHSL Gang Leader

Just like in canon, she ended up leaving her family to visit a country that was torn apart by war.

But rather than joining Fenrir, Mukuro ended up in the presence of orphans and street rats who lost their families to war.

She managed to convince them to join her in fighting back against the invading soldiers.

Using effective planning and improvised training, she was able to create her own army of resistance fighters who could take on any adult soldier.

They would be known as the Walking Corpses.

She instilled an anti-empathy principle onto her fighters so that they would feel no sorrow or despair for the loss of an ally.

Sakura Oogami as the SHSL Soldier

At an early age, she was recruited by the Japanese government to partake in a program designed to train soldiers.

She was scouted because of her family’s reputation as powerful fighters.

For years, she endured brutal training against a variety of fighters who were three times her age and with no heart in them.

She performed multiple reconnaissance missions which involved rescuing fellow soldiers from enemy territories while also taking down guerilla fighters.

While she won’t say it out loud, Sakura does have sympathy for the guerilla fighters and soldiers who are trying to protect their homeland.

Sakura prefers to use her body to fight, but she knows how to use different guns and weapons.

She actually faced Mukuro and her Corpses once. While her subordinates were easy to apprehend, the Lead Corpse was much more resilient and they ended up in a draw.

To this day, she has yet to take the life of an innocent.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru as the SHSL Fighter

Wanting to uphold the proud name of the Ishimaru Family, Kiyotaka devoted himself to learning martial arts.

While he has studied multiple forms of martial arts, his preferred combat forms are karate, judo and taekwondo.

He has a fanbase of girls who found him to be quite attractive thanks to his handsome physique and his cool profession.

He’s actually very flustered by their attention and tries desperately not to fraternize with dates as they would interfere with his training.

Kiyotaka is always shown wearing a white gi for a uniform and is often barefooted. He claims this is to build endurance. 

Byakuya Togami as the SHSL Public Morals Officer

He runs a tight shift in ensuring that his academy’s rules and regulations are followed by every student.

Byakuya also made a secret group of student officers who would keep an eye on any rule breakers and would report their findings to him.

His punishments range from extra homework to having to clean the entire school during weekends or fun holidays.

He decided to expand his power by influencing different academies using his moral code and conduct.

He’s also openly criticized multiple schools that were lackluster when it came to discipline and how they organized their education system.

With his influence as a Togami, a majority of elite academies in Japan incorporate his strict moral code.

Junko Enoshima as the SHSL Heir

She was born to a wealthy family that specialized in marketing.

At an early age, Junko learned the basics of managing businesses and how to treat employees under her thumb

Her upbringing upheld morals that encouraged her to be as ruthless and tactile when dealing with enemy companies or unruly subjects

She enjoys manipulating stocks and employees as a means of brutally taking down business rivals

Junko also has connections to underground agents that can bring her dirt about her competitors while also assigning them to sabotage their own enterprises.

Kyoko Kirigiri as the SHSL Fashion Model

She undergoes extensive workouts and health routines to maintain a physically fit and beautiful appearance.

Her main styles are based on classic punk while incorporating different concepts of violet.

Sometimes she gives pointers and tips to her model colleagues before a big event but she’ll still be cold and serious when it’s time to perform or showcase her works.

She’s always wearing gloves and there are tons of rumors as to what she’s hiding under her hands.

Kyoko knows how to speak French and English since she often travels to France and the US for modeling events.

Her father is a fashion designer but she stopped modeling his works due to creative differences. 

In her free time, she likes to sketch different designs. Yasuhiro has even asked her for help with creating new characters.

Hifumi Yamada as the SHSL Detective

He wears a classic trench coat and a fiddler hat

He cites Detective Conan as his main inspiration for his career and how to approach his cases

When interrogating potential suspects, he often uses bizarre or outlandish questions in order to make them lose their defenses.

Alot of his cases involve finding lost children or recovering stolen money and valuables

Despite taking on many cases, he has yet to be involved with anything murder related.

He secretly wishes for a detective rival so the cases can be more exciting and that he can be pushed to be a greater detective. 

Yasuhiro Hagakure as the SHSL Doujinshi Author

He grew up loving shonen anime with fantasy settings like Inuyasha or YuYu Hakusho.

His mom helped him in perfecting his writing and drawing skills and later with helping distribute his works.

Yasuhiro didn’t flunk like in canon, but his grades were pretty low since most of his time was spent daydreaming about potential storylines followed by him drawing them out.

The kids at his school were very impressed with his drawings, especially since they were based on their favorite shows.

He became very popular throughout his middle and high school years.

Despite his fandom, there were very few people whom he could call friends since most of them didn’t love the different layers and symbolism of the anime shows the same way he did.

Sometimes when inspired, he’ll pull out drawing supplies and paper from his dreadlocks.

Yasuhiro dreams of making his own anime/manga featuring a (totally not a self insert) protagonist who goes on ghost hunting adventures alongside his magic pet chicken.

Sayaka Maizono as the SHSL Fortune Teller

She dresses up as a carnival themed fortune teller.

Her stage name is the “Fairy of the Moon”. 

She prefers to predict happy and positive things in order to build a good reputation among the public.

When something bad is about to happen, like a fight or an accident, she notices things in extra detail that hint towards the upcoming event. (Like in the Final Destination series)

Sayaka has made several TV appearances where she would make open predictions about a fellow celebrity.

Having been acquainted with Aoi during her appearances, Sayaka often gives warnings to the idol about potential attackers.

Aoi Asahina as the SHSL Idol

While she’s a great singer, she has a hard time with writing her own songs. So she lets her group write them.

Her preferred songs contain messages of friendship and how bonds are important between people.

Aoi pulls off incredible dance movements throughout her performances that many idols have a hard time pulling off.

She has a close friendship with her idol group and considers them as her second family.

Aoi has also sparked controversy for openly supporting idols who defy the harmful expectations of their managers/corporate groups with their choices.

Her opinions on the matter have earned her an equal amount of fans and enemies. 

She has a harder time eating her precious donuts since her manager frequently discourages her from eating unnecessary sweets.

[miragecounseling]

this is for @the-mystic-dragon  but anyone is welcome to use these builds ofc! just a little overview of herald and renegade.  this is SUPER LONG!!! so feel free to just copy the build and take a quick look at the gear recs if you want! But I wanted to include the basics of each elite so you know what to do with each legend. ^^

Copy the template code, then go into your build template page in game, right click the slot you want to save it to, and click paste build template.

[renegade]  [&DQkPPwM+Px3cEdwRBhIrEisSBhLUEdQRyhHKEQMFAwLUEQYSKxIGEisS1BE=]  [herald] [&DQkPPwM+ND7cEdwRBhIrEisSBhLUEdQRyhHKEQECAQIGEisS1BEGEisS1BE=]

FOR RENEGADE:  weapons: Sword / Sword for melee damage / Staff for CC, condi cleanse, block.  If you’re struggling in melee, you can swap to short bow (it’s built for condi and won’t be as powerful on a power build, but for most things in open world it’s fine!) or hammer (doesn’t do much damage but allows you to tag things from range). armor: Berserker stats or marauder stats work fine! I try to avoid stats that give toughness as it makes enemies aggro on you easier, so if you feel squishy take more marauder gear. runes and sigils: I love Superior Runes of Vampirism and Superior Runes of the Eagle for pve stuff! Vampirism gives you +10% to your maximum health and restores 10% of your health when you kill an enemy. Eagle is just purely extra damage. For weapon sigils you can go ones that boost damage (Bloodlust, Force, Air)! 

legends: Renegade unlocks the legendary Renegade summon, Kalla, which you should generally use with every Renegade build! All of Kalla’s utility skills are ground targeted AOEs, which means either you or the enemy need to be inside of them to work. If traited correctly, all Kalla summons will give protection which gives you and 5 allies -33% incoming damage (length will be determined by your concentration / boon duration).  Breakrazor’s Bastion is your heal skill that heals for a burst and then pulses 10 more much smaller heals. While active it also gives you -50% incoming condition damage!  Darkrazor’s Daring gives you stability, is your sutnbreak in Kalla, and applies daze to enemies. I primarily use this for cc or the stunbreak! Razorclaw’s Rage bleeds enemies and allows your attacks to inflict more bleeding. Honestly... I never use this skill as I’d rather save my energy for power attacks.  Icerazor’s Ire applies cripple and vulnerability to enemies and does quite a bit of damage! I generally cast this off cooldown if I have the energy to spare. Soulcleave’s Summit Your elite!! This is a super amazing skill that allows your to heal every time you hit the enemy. It’s a little hard to use on general open world enemies as they’ll die pretty fast, but it’s great on mobs or bosses with large healthpools. This is a continuous summon, which means it’ll drain energy until you cancel it or your energy runs out.  The other legend you use is personal choice! If you want to be a little tankier or have stability, go with dwarf! Put your road down, stand in it, activate your hammers and run into enemies. If you want pure damage, go with Shiro! Activate impossible odds and throw your hardest hitting moves at enemies (citadel bombardment is best used with impossible odds).  other notes: - Renegade is able to give alacrity, which reduces the cooldown on all skills! - Using gear without concentration means your alacrity won’t last very long, but being able to give yourself any is nice!  - You also have access to Kalla’s Fervor which basically increases the damage you do!  - If you really don’t want to use Kalla but still like the other bonuses from Renegade (shortbow, alacrity, etc), you can go something like Dwarf / Shiro instead! At the end of the day it’s about what you enjoy playing, not what’s meta ^^ - The build I linked gives you access to Battle Scars! When in combat, you apply stacks of battle scars to yourself when you use a heal skill, are in combat, or apply vulnerability to enemies (done with Kalla and sword skills). Battle Scars let you steal health for a set amount of time by attacking enemies, which makes you super tanky in combat!

/////////////////////

FOR HERALD: weapons: Sword / sword + staff again! Can always sub in hammer for long range tagging. Herald unlocks shield, which is great if you want extra blocks, heals, and condi cleanse!  armor: Same as renegade! runes and sigils: Same as renegade! * You CAN very easily go condi herald but condi gear is a bit more challenging to get unless you have the lunatic or warbeast recipes unlocked. So we’ll stick with power for now! *  legends: Glint is unlocked with Herald and it’s a bit different from other legends! Glint is comprised of facets which have active and consume skills. On active, they provide constant boons- no concentration required! As long as the skill is active, the boons will persist. However!!! This constantly requires energy, so you cannot have all of them active without running out of energy.  Consumes stop them from ticking boons, stops the energy drain, and gives a different consume skill depending on which you used.  Facet of Light / Infuse Light is your heal. On active it pulses regen, on consume it’s an INCREDIBLY strong heal that converts all incoming damage for 3 seconds into healing. I keep this active if I know a heavy hitting attack is coming or if I am low on health and want a quick heal. Facet of Darkness / Gaze of Darkness pulses fury (increases damage and crit chance), on consume it is your stunbreak, blinds and reveals enemies, and places 10 stacks of vulnerability on enemies. I keep this active for the extra damage and consume on mobs to blind them.  Facet of Elements / Elemental Blast pulses swiftness and on consume is a ground targeted aoe that pulses weakness, chill, then burning. Does decent damage even on power builds, it’s worth spamming if you have the energy. I only keep this active in WvW or when I really need swiftness.  Facet of Strength / Burst of Strength pulses might (increases damage) and on consume gives you 25% extra damage for 5 seconds when it successfully hits a target. Super great to keep active for might and to consume when you want to burst down a target.  Facet of Chaos / Chaotic Release pulses protection and on consume gives superspeed, does damage to enemies, and launches enemies. Great for CC and superspeed. The energy cost for this is the same as using both the fury and might actives, so it’s almost never worth it to keep this one active constantly. 

In a low pressure situation, I keep Might and Fury active, with Regen active if needed. I spam Swiftness consume off cooldown while using my Might consume to burst.  Same with ren, whatever other legend you want to use is up to you!  other notes: - Herald, imo, is not going to be as strong as Renegade is, especially if you run dwarf over shiro. But it’s great for its sustain and boons, making it awesome for smallscale group content or easier bosses. It will struggle a bit more than Ren when soloing champs or doing difficult content alone.  - Like Ren, you also have access to battle scars! - Herald gives access to Facet of Nature / True Nature. The actives vary from legend to legend, so take a moment to read them over! 

[vermilionvector]

Make Hyper Actives and Master Skills great again

(even though they never were)

1. Increase base skill damage (duh): 1.2x - 1.3x would be nice since we have limited options to increase damage (Master Artifacts, Destruction gems/Reforge option, and synergy.) Or add more methods to get HA/Master Skill damage increase. (e.g. Titles, Force Passive/Active, accessories, elixirs, guild/house buff, etc.)

2. Boss attacks which normally ignore i-frame cannot ignore i-frame from HA and Master Skills.

3. Give Hyper Armor (cleanse/ignore debuff) after using HA/Master Skills: 1/2/3/4 seconds for each stage of Master Skill and 5 seconds for HA. (Duration is halved in PvP).

4. Reduce base HA cooldown to 120 seconds. (80 seconds with Concentrated El’s Essence.) Same as damage, have more methods to decrease HA cooldown (although it should be rarer).

5. Artifact Lv. 5: Unlocks an additional ‘Artifact Rune’ for the Artifact’s equipment slot. Farm Master Road to get materials (different from the Mark of Acknowledgement) to craft Rune (or random drop with extremely low chance) which unlocks unique effect based on each Master and can only be activated when using Master Skills and HA. Higher rarity gives more effects, but also requires higher tier Master Skill/HA. Using higher tier skills can activate all effects below it. Unless specified, the buff applies to the skill only.

Normal - Stage 1

Rare - Stage 2

Elite - Stage 3

Unique - Stage 4

Legendary - HA

(The value might be a bit over/underwhelming as it’s just a fun idea)

Gaia:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Poisoning IV for 15 seconds. (Duration is halved in PvP.)

(Rare) Gain physical/magical defense 4% increase buff (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 5 times. Value is halved in PvP.)

(Elite) Create a shield which reduces 25% damage and negate various debuffs for 10 seconds. Cleanse all debuffs when activated.  (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Gain physical/magical attack increase based on your final defense stat (after calculating all buffs and debuffs)

(Legendary) Damage increases based on the number of buffs (10% each; max 5 buffs; value halved in PvP.)

Rosso:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Burning IV for 15 seconds. (Duration is halved in PvP.)

(Rare) Gain 3% physical/magical defense decrease and 3% physical/magical attack increase buff (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 5 times. Value is halved in PvP)

(Elite) Emits fiery aura which inflicts Ember of Combustion/Ember of Retribution which burns MP and reduces 30% physical/magical defense to enemies in range for 10 seconds. MP Burn is 5% per second for 2 seconds. Ember of Retribution will be inflicted if HP is below 10%. Debuff constantly applies at 0.5 second interval. (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Sacrifice up to 80% HP (10% in PvP). Gain 2.5% physical/magical attack increase for every 10% HP lost. (HP cannot go lower than 10%. Effectiveness reduced if you’re not at full health as it’s calculated based on the actual HP sacrificed.)

(Legendary) Damage increased based on total HP loss in this battle (reset if you die.)

Ventus:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Piercing IV for 15 seconds. (Duration is halved in PvP).

(Rare) Gain 2% all speed increase buff (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 5 times. Value is halved in PvP.)

(Elite) Gain the ability to hover in the air/air dash/awakening mid-air for 10 seconds. (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Gain physical/magical attack increase based on your average final all speed stat (after calculating all buffs and debuffs).

(Legendary) Damage increased based on distance traveled. (Calculated right after the beginning of the stage. 5% per 3000 range. Reset if you die.)

Denif:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Freezing IV for 15 seconds.  (Duration is halved in PvP.)

(Rare) Gain Mana Shield for 10 seconds which decreases MP cost by 10%. Every time Mana Shield is activated, natural MP recovery increase by 2. (max: 5 stacks; cannot be removed) (Shield duration, MP cost decrease and natural MP recovery increase values are halved in PvP).

(Elite) Emits frosty aura which inflicts Frostbite and decrease all speed by 10% and physical/magical defense by 30% to enemies in range for 10 seconds. Debuff constantly applies at 0.5 second interval. (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Inflicts Frozen for 3 seconds. Duration increased by 0.2 second based on the number of enemies killed (max: 10 kills). All hits can activate the effect.

(Legendary) Damage increased based on the number of skills used in this battle (reset if you die).

Adrian:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Plague IV for 15 seconds. (Duration is halved in PvP).

(Rare) Gain 1% cooldown time decrease per enemies defeated (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 5 times).

(Elite) Gain ‘Maximum Charge’ buff for 15 seconds. Increase all skill damage by 15%. After the buff ends, apply ‘Overcharged’ debuff which increases skill MP cost and cooldown by 10% for 10 seconds. (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) During ‘Maximum Charge’, Active/Tenacity/Strength/Bravery skill cooldown are reduced to 1/3/5/7 seconds

(Legendary) Damage increased based on seconds of cooldown passed during this battle. (1% per 6 seconds; reset if you die.)

Solace:

(Normal) Imbue the weapon with Petrifying IV for 15 seconds.  (Duration is halved in PvP).

(Rare) Summon 3 ‘Swords of Revealing Light’ for 10 seconds. Each one reacts to different skill tiers:

Tenacity: Deal damage by swiping.

Strength: Pierce straight forward (range is about Raven and Eve’s cores)

Bravery: Falls onto the farthest enemy, dealing high damage. (Search range is one screen wide)

Each time the Swords take action, increase physical/magical attack by 2% (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 5 times. Value is halved in PvP.)

(Elite) Emits Sun Aura which inflicts ‘Flame Marks’ upon enemies hit. Reduced physical/magical attack and defense by 5% and 10% per stack. Debuff constantly applies at 0.5 second interval. (infinite duration; can stack up to 5 times; can only be removed when hitting the attacker 20 times (10 times in PvP). (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Inflicts ‘Extreme Blindness’ to enemies hit for 10 seconds. All effects from normal’ Blind’ applies. Enemies hit with ‘Extreme Blindness’ will also not target you in dungeon and their accuracy will be decreased by 50% in PvP.

(Legendary) Damage increased based on the number of enemies. The lower the higher.

Hernia:

(Normal) Randomly imbue the weapon with one DoT and instant-effect attributes II for 15 seconds. (Duration is halved in PvP). (e.g. Water II + Plague II)

(Rare) Summon ‘Light’s Guidance’ which will constantly shoot projectiles to nearby enemies for 15 seconds. Per 3 second while the Light’s Guidance is active, gain 1% physical/magical attack/defense increase buff (infinite duration; cannot be removed; can stack up to 10 times. Value is halved in PvP.) The ‘Light’s Guidance’s attack can activate attribute effect.

(Elite) Emits a Holy Aura for 10 seconds. Decrease enemies’ elemental resistance by 150 for 5 seconds. Debuff constantly applies at 0.5 second interval. (60 seconds cooldown).

(Unique) Increase your elemental resistance by 250 and attribute activation rate x2 for 25 seconds.

(Legendary) Damage increased based on your average elemental resistance.

[arcticdementor]

You might look around sometimes and think to yourself, a new America has dawned, godless, without the old restraints. Yellowstone, the Kevin Costner Western on the Paramount Channel is the best example I can summon to mind just now, and its third season has just started. It’s a 21st-century story of cowboys and Indians—with characters seeking freedom from law. Practically, this means they must constantly defend a way of life independent of the many bureaucracies threatening their livelihood, and they do so with terrible violence.

Taylor Sheridan is the writer-director behind Yellowstone, and the series follows the success of his movies, Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River. These movies earned seven Oscar nominations, one for Sheridan, and about as many nominations in Cannes, including important wins. Sheridan was raised on a ranch, but his family lost it, so he went to college and Hollywood, recalling Sam Peckinpah’s story. After Clint Eastwood, he’s now our premier poet of manliness.

…

Like any man long in power, Dutton has many enemies, and the more they behave dishonorably, the more you see that he’s touched by greatness, since he has no desire to go hurting people and does not share their cruel contempt for justice or life. Many look to prosper in his place, partly by the prosperity he has made. Worse for Dutton, America has changed—from the national press investigating him to the new economy to the way historical grievances grant authority to demand change—everything is threatening his way of life, built around family, land, and centuries past and future. Indeed, loyalty itself is over and new identities are required, which are flexible and practiced in deception. To succeed in Yellowstone’s new America, it doesn’t really matter whether you know any part of the country or have done well by people, but whether you know how to manipulate institutions and please those who manage the most successful interests, which seem hardly any better than legalized conspiracies.

Like Hemingway’s marlin, which achieves its greatest leap in its death throes and expires at the top of the arc, Dutton is most impressive in agony. He seems superhuman compared to the new American elites. His handling of urgent problems makes him resemble the president—he is an executive. Meanwhile, egalitarianism has not created equality in America, but only a new elite, impatient, ignorant of the future, blind to necessity—thus, astonishingly able to manipulate the new systems of power, since these elites feel no concern for consequences. The real world, where people are tied to a place, to other people, to their past, and the good they pursue, is replaced by access to the institutions and finances that make the world work, which manipulate people’s lives indirectly, in unaccountable and unpredictable ways. Everyone’s tied into legal demands and their lives are increasingly regulated, but only people who know how to use the law to get what they want get ahead in this new situation. The first post-American elite is coming for the last cowboys.

…

The American Dream is over in Yellowstone, and billionaire gentrification is coming for the last refuge of manliness in a country that produces compliant subjects rather than free citizens. In this grim world, cowboys are stand-ins for the white working class. They don’t go to college and they work dangerous jobs without much healthcare and for little pay. They are not disrupting the economy. They are America’s past, not future. Their virtues are Stoic and this might simply mean resignation to death.

…

Justice is built on nobility, and in Yellowstone, Sheridan draws our attention to this through the characters’ relationship with their horses. So understanding horses is the core of Stoicism—the horse is the noblest animal and America’s love of horses lasted well into the last era of popular country music and the Western, in the 1970s, because a horse rider presents the image of someone more than merely human. It is a greatness available nearly to anyone, at least anyone willing to face harsh nature. Horses are everywhere in Yellowstone, so one might not read much into it. They symbolize certain virtues, however. The horse is a power that will obey the rider, but not against its own nature. To ride a horse requires endurance in face of pain or weariness, courage to face fear or whatever weakness might come, self-control in face of temptation, and moderation—those habits that make man thoughtlessly sovereign. Without these, you die when it’s suddenly dangerous. One cannot talk oneself into it and there is no technology to accomplish this, either. It’s a way of life, not a job. It takes long practice which allows you to understand yourself and develop self-discipline. As such, horse riding leads to a kind of self-knowledge.

…

The Duttons are not Christians, few of their like seem to be—not even the death of the firstborn leads to a church funeral. They believe in freedom and nature—ruling over the land, over the horses, over people. They despise weakness and treasure loyalty. They trust family, not morality. Compared to ordinary Americans, they’re shockingly aristocratic. They believe in choosing the means to defend family and their land because family itself is unchosen—it’s nature, and therefore reliable. But can they live in America, where most people have no family? They rely on their old-fashioned patriotism to defend the ranching way of life, but the country has changed without them and it seems they can either adapt and sacrifice their family, or stay loyal and lose everything.

…

The opposite of a man in America is a bourgeois bohemian, to recall David Brooks’s signal contribution to our sociology in Bobos in Paradise (2000). Brooks is a sophist for this class, so he will not tell the ugly truth—but Tom Wolfe did in A Man in Full (1998), and even scooped Brooks. It’s not an accident that he saw clearly: Wolfe was the poet of American Stoicism and understood the threats to manliness.

The people who define elite taste in America are themselves opposed to violence, but not because they are Christian or even moral. It’s because their own rule doesn’t require that they ever take any personal risks—poorer people do that, who live in other parts of town or are completely removed from sight by gentrification. Nowadays, the rich take no responsibility for the poorer or those suffering violence, or even ever shake their hands, which is why our cities are such madhouses. There is no noblesse oblige.

Sheridan wants to show the violence in America to rebuke this bloodless view of things. So in the first season we see, through the real estate developer drama, how the new American elite is moving in to remove the last ranchers. This establishes the difference between real men and those who want to rule merely through institutions and finance, as though history had ended and we’re just dividing up luxuries. In the second season, we see rule by violence, in order to understand the difference between men and beasts. Sheridan shows that not all who kill are the same. Only then is it possible to defend the ranchers against the bobos persuasively.

…

The older Americans were not sufficiently attuned to nature, because they believed in God more. But as the churches are emptying, people are looking elsewhere to learn who they are. Some turn to nature, because human beings are not trustworthy. We may say mankind is naturally perverse, always coveting and therefore often violent or treacherous, which is why harshness was required in the past, to establish property and then defend it. This is certainly Dutton’s view, who only goes to church once, to make a priest manipulate a parishioner into obedience. And as a family, the Duttons are only happy when they revert to their old ways, taking care of their herd from an improvised camp so far away from civilization there’s no cell tower in range.

The only way to end the human drama would be to stop being enviable. End greatness and thus end striving. On the other hand, to defend greatness is to defend suffering. This way, we learn that suffering builds character—it brings people together, as do common enemies. This problem, the future of America, is the show’s indirect concern. Is it possible to retain honor in a dishonorable world? It’s not obvious how we can defend freedom without honorable men making sacrifices. Nor how we can raise honorable men if we tolerate bobo elites who despise honor and use every institution of government and market to end it. Dutton raised his kids to correspond to his understanding of rule. The treacherous Jamie is a Harvard-educated lawyer who tasted the bobo life for a while, but in order to redeem himself, he works like hired help in the stables. Beth is a finance genius, which plays to her ruthlessness, but at the price of undermining her ability to love and trust. Kayce is the truest cowboy, but what makes him so loyal also blinds him to the complexities of 21st century America. They each amplify something in Dutton, but in this attempt to pass on the ranch to a new generation, it turns out honor and savvy have been utterly split apart.

This acquisitive capitalism that corrupts honor is the enemy that returns in the third season of Yellowstone. That’s what the name of the show is about—the place of nature in America. Is it a museum, a zoo we visit occasionally, enjoying the beauty after all the danger is under control, and the millionaire class gets extra privileges? Or is there also a human nature that we need to learn to respect by treating physical nature with some respect, lest our elites treat us like pets as well? To defend manliness in America, it may be necessary to defend wild nature. That is a preparation for political freedom. To go too far in the opposite direction is to treat human beings, but especially men, like savages—as our elites do to the urban and rural underclass.

The purpose of the show is to persuade Americans to believe in nobility again. To face cruelty and violence as a preferable alternative to institutionalized despotism. To accept America’s tragic past with gratitude for the freedom we still have, if we are willing to earn it again. We have had so much success, we’ve created a class who profits by this success without any connection to America or regular Americans. We need to educate new elites about what’s worth loving and defending. Sheridan wants to teach by tragedy, so his protagonists are essentially honorable, which is no longer tolerated in our storytelling. Americans have never accepted tragedy before but perhaps now we will, since our freedom is once again in danger.

[heavenbat-gw2]

Jozzik the Great - Mesmer Magician

◦ Insists on being called “the Great” ◦ Claims he’s a Magician, not a Mesmer ◦ The difference is in ~PRESENTATION~ ◦ Loves pink, sparkles, magic, and fashion ◦ Very loud and high-energy, extremely talkative. ◦ T r i c k s t e r

Overview

Race: Asura

Age: Young adult; equivalent of about 22 ish?? (I have no idea how asuran ages work lmao)

Sexuality: Straight

Pronouns: He/Him

Height: Average for an asura, maybe a bit on the short side

Weight/Build: Roughly average; a little noodly in the limbs, a little extra weight in the hips. Not a ton of muscle definition.

Scars/Birthmarks/Distinguishing Markings: Asuran brindle-type markings giving him some darker speckling on his tips. Has a tattoo of a colorful, beautiful bird on his ankle.

Gameplay Info

Class: Mesmer (no elite specialization yet)

Preferred weaponset: Wand/torch combo or staff

Weapon skins: Princess Wand, Alchemist Torch

Preferred tactics: Summon as many mirages/illusions as possible, attack from afar, constantly Blink everywhere

Favorite Mount: his Springer, named Mirage aka Mira. Followed closely by Glitterbomb, his griffon.

Personality & Morals

Are they…(bold which term applies to the character):

introvert / extrovert / ambivert risk-taker / cautious (depends on the situation; fluctuates) organized / disorganized close-minded / open-minded calm / anxious / restless disagreeable / agreeable / in-between patient / impatient (again, kind of depends on the situation; he gets bored and impatient easily but at the same time he can lie in wait to set up a joke for hours on end) outspoken / reserved leader / follower / flexible empathetic / un-empathetic optimistic / pessimistic / realistic traditional / modern / in-between hard-working / lazy

Moral alignment: Chaotic good

Guilty Pleasure(s): Sometimes..... he likes to....... wear sweatpants

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths/Skills (Mental/Physical): Clever, very observant, kind, emotionally aware, very fast, high dexterity, great at showmanship

Weaknesses (Mental/Physical): Can sometimes be self-absorbed, can be obnoxious and overbearing, sometimes doesn’t know when to stop, not physically strong, low pain tolerance

Biggest Advantage: Good at seeing through to the heart of problems/situations, excellent at drawing attention

Biggest Vulnerability: Doesn’t have a lot of skills outside of magic and fashion; can sometimes freeze up in panic

Mental Ailments: None currently

Physical Ailments: None currently

Addictions/Bad Habits: BEING A MISCHIEVOUS ASSHOLE.

Phobias: TBD

Virtue: Hope

Vice: Pride, Greed

Lifestyle

Birthplace: Rata Sum

Current Residence: Khallalh’s lab in Metrica Province

Education: Completed some college at the College of Synergetics (did not graduate)

Religion: Agnostic; he’s not sure what he believes in, not sure if there’s a guiding force behind it all, but he’s not sure there ISN’T one either. He knows there are human “gods” but doesn’t know if they’re actually deities or not. Unsure about the theory of Eternal Alchemy.

Philosophy/Outlook on Life: Mostly positive; believes wholeheartedly in embracing joy and the pleasures in life, and in helping others if possible.

Job: He used to be a traveling performer, but since he met the Misfit Krewe he’s stopped doing that. Still sometimes does performances, but mostly focuses on fashion design/jewelry now.

Hobbies: Magic, using illusions to mess with people, turning people into birds, being a general nuisance.

Relationships

Status: Single (and open for relationships)

Family: The only living family he has left is his mother, Modna

Friends: Khallalh, Vex, Forcas, and Darijja (probably has more but those are all I can think of atm; more to be added later). Coll??? (one-sided), Rezza

Enemies: Probably has a lot of people who really hate him but he doesn’t really have anybody he considers his enemy.. other than, like. Balthazar or Joko or the Inquest or people like that. But that’s less of a personal thing.

Other notable relationships (If any): There is a tribe of Grawl who still believe he (and Forcas) are gods

Backstory

Childhood: Raised in the heart of Rata Sum, born to a tinker and a tailor, Jozzik by all means should have turned out like any other Asura. And, in some ways, he did; he has the classic Asuran confidence. But, perhaps thanks to the influence from his mother (the tailor), he turned out rather odd, even by Asuran standards. Jozzik’s mother, Modna, was a genius of the tailor world, and instilled some of her passion for fashion and presentation into Jozzik. Additionally, Jozzik was born into a female body, but quickly decided that he was more of a “he” than a “she”–thankfully, both of his parents still accepted and loved him and were quick to respect his wishes, both of them even helping Jozzik with his transition.

Adolescence: Unfortunately, things did not stay so cheerful forever. A little after Jozzik started college, Jozzik’s father died in a horrible accident. Unable to deal with the grief and unable to stay in Rata Sum where he had so many memories of his now-deceased father, Jozzik struck out into the world, setting up a traveling Magician show.

Young Adulthood: After traveling around and perfecting his act, he met Forcas, a mute explosives technician whom he recruited to help with pyrotechnics. Approximately a year later the two met Darijja, whom he recruited to help protect their little traveling caravan. Then, one fateful day, the trio ran into Khallalh and Vex…. and the rest is history. 

Present Day: Jozzik’s present is one spent with the self-proclaimed Misfit Krewe, led by Khallalh; though, as of late, they’ve started to share in the leadership duties to take some of the stress off Khallalh. Currently, the Krewe is in Elona, trying to help the people and trying to figure out a better way to handle the duties of Commander.

[atlaslain]

oh boy, time to ramble about zack's character? U BET IT IS.

so listen, listen. here's why i fucking hate it when people refer to him as a harmless puppy stereotype; here's why i can't stand when he's written off as the cute dude who died and made everyone sad. bc there is... so, so, SO much more to zack than just those things. first off: zack's not pure. he's not your good sweet boy uwu. he has a good heart -- yes! he has good intentions -- yes! he'd never do anything that he perceived as 'bad' intentionally. but the issue is that he, initially, has a very limited worldview and a very 'good-and-evil' understanding of how the world works. he does bad things without realising they're bad, and he continues to do them. but i'm getting ahead of myself. limited worldview. that was where i meant to start. i've said this a lot of times but zack left home aged twelve. twelve. did you know precisely what you wanted to do with your life aged twelve? were you ready to make life-altering decisions like joining a huge corporation's army of elite superhuman soldiers via mako augmentation and experimentation? what twelve-year-old is prepared to make that choice? oh, but zack did. because he was a child and he had lofty dreams and he thought it was just that easy. he grew up on superhero stories where good triumphed over evil and he wanted to be that, too. and before i go on: his dreams aren't pure either. they're not entirely selfless. yes, he wants to help people. but he is also a child who dreams of glory and being adored. he wants to be a famous hero, and he wants it to be as easy as joining SOLDIER and fighting their battles. because he believes shinra's propoganda and because he doesn't fucking know any better. so yeah, he leaves without telling his parents. never sees them again, actually. off to chase villains because the world is just that damn simple. you join the good guys and fight the bad guys. shinra, of course FUCKING MUST be the good guys!! all their pamphlets say they are!! they make mako reactors and those can't be bad!! ( and might i add, zack's a country boy. he's removed from the world growing up and literally thinks shinra is this magical far-away provider of energy and power. ) this next bit is headcanon-based but also based on tidbits i've read. soldier's recruitment program? not fucking easy. rigorous. deathly. tests applicants to their very limits, mentally and physically, because soldier members need to be the best of the best. mako exposure outright killed some, sent some insane, twisted others. some of those vanished -- likely off to deepground to be experimented on. others committed suicide. zack survived, likely unaware of what had happened to his fellow applicants. was probably told they just weren't as strong as him, not strong enough to make it. and he likely felt self-satisfied because he was going to be in soldier. the other thing about zack? god, he loves to fight. that violence, that sense of home on a battlefield, comes to him as easy as breathing --- he's never felt so alive as he does then. he's delighted when he fights. ( feels there's nothing else he's good for. ) it's present in the game, the way he laughs and smiles as he swings his sword, how excited he gets before missions in which people might die --- in which he might kill people. he is an incredibly dangerous person, even at that awfully young age. he learns battle tactics like he was born to them; battles unarmed or with weaponry like it's part of him. materia? magic? summoning? easy. exciting. he fights because he can, not because he needs to. and he's only maybe 14 by this point. there are still YEARS of being groomed by shinra ahead of him. there's years of fighting their wars. wutai? y'know how many wutai spies and soldiers he likely killed on shinra's orders, because it'd been drummed into him that they were the ENEMY and he believed it? A LOT. and at this point in his life, HE WAS STILL DOING IT FOR THE GLORY. i'm not joking. he's visibly upset when sephiroth is a better war hero than him. zack has still... not learned what a 'hero' really is. it's just something he blindly chases, a word he assigns to himself over and over to help him sleep past the visions of dying people. oh, and the genesis clones? they're people. he kills them without a second thought simply because they deserted soldier with genesis. ( sure, one could argue they'd kill zack if given the chance and you'd be correct. you could also argue they're doing shitty things and hurting people and you'd still be correct. they needed to be stopped. but they were still humans beings slaughtered without batting an eye. ) MOVING ON. now, u may at this point be like 'kit i thought u loved zack' and I FUCKING DO. i stan him so hard. because he is a character capable of learning and changing; he's a character with a desperate inner drive to DO GOOD, a character with an innate sense of responsibility and protectiveness who genuinely would lay down his life to defend others. he's a loving, kind, caring person who gives so many fucks about the people around him. but he's also a paid killer. and that part of him has to be accepted too. it can't be forgotten just because he's cute and flirty. he's a great guy in a bad job who didn't learn fast enough what kind of people he was fighting for. but he does learn. he does demonstrate the ability to question, particularly after angeal's death and its profound impact on him. ( regrettably that's a double-edged sword because he also shoulders all of angeal's burdens and thinks he has to go on doing what he is, protecting his 'soldier honour' etc because it's what angeal would've expected of him, and he finds himself shaking under the weight of being the person he thinks he's supposed to be. ) he's slow to learn, but he learns. he learns when sephiroth and he uncover shinra's experimentation; he learns when he tells cloud 'soldier is a den of monsters'; he understands that in exchange for power, he has handed away his own humanity. but by then, the damage is done. and he constantly falls back into the old learned habit of 'i'm a hero!' and reminding himself desperately that he's doing the right thing. he only truly understands how little he ever meant to shinra when they're happy to experiment on him and hunt him down. zack did good in his life as much as he did bad. he was a lethal warrior but also a good person. he feels his one true act of heroism, the one thing he did not do with glory in mind, was his sacrifice for cloud. if anyone still thinks he's a harmless puppy, they can fight me.

[badbloodmagic]

So the top dogs of this blog are Matthias, Magdalena, and Viktor. I’ve decided to list how each muse is connected to help myself and others understand.

Matthias Bortuem

Coven Leader | Dark Fae Council Member | Is an investor for several companies throughout the human world & holds a good fortune that he uses to influence things to his benefit

Employees:

Leslie Lawless

She is the most likely to betray him and take his ‘crown’, Matthias likes to keep her close, especially because he knew her in her previous life but he knows she’s just as much of a powerful asset as she could be an enemy

Leon Stover

informant and spy, secretly a gang leader (of the half blooded Fae in the New Orleans community and back in Chicago. A group of rebels to rise up when the time comes, but for the most part they help humans and their own half blooded kind alike due to the prejudice against half breeds

Rebel Group Members:

- Lana Voltraep - once a rebel leader, always a rebel leader. Lana and Leon see eye to eye on quite a few things and having the werewolf in his group as a co-leader was the best thing Leon could have done.

- Adam McCarthy a member of Lana’s pack and member of the Rebel group. Secretly works for Magdalena.

Sidian Doiae

Matthias was close to Sidian’s father and made a deal with the black market emperor and thus obtained the rich little witch prince as an associate. Anything Matthias may find interesting Sidian gets for him

Rebecca Needmore 

Student at one of Matthias’ schools, a smaller coven designed to teach the easily manipulated and molded the way he believes is most beneficial to him.

Raydan Abash

A man that was tied to Matthias quite against his will, summoning him was easy enough, making it so he could never fulfill his duty to the witch who summoned him was even easier. Raydan is a hired DOG, literally, the fact he cannot die until his master/mistress’ wishes are completed made his master almost giddy and he would be lying if he said it didn’t frighten him. Raydan is used to being used, it is part of his curse after all, being a war dog is also something he’s more than accustomed to. He’ll do whatever he has to in order to the goal: world domination.

Hazelle Lengall

Her madness was intriguing and although they have known each other for quite a while since the ages of Kingdom’s and bloody wars, the two have an understanding of sorts. One Matthias knows very well could have been just as much Hazelle manipulating him as it was him doing the same to her.

Jason Howards

It was a curse that Jason wanted, everlasting life, and it came with such a price. One he gave so willingly in order to gain his vengeance for his family. The only condition is one he doesn’t even know, Matthias gives the man a list of his competitors and soon after such, they vanish from the face of the Earth, conveniently knocked off by a Hunter.

Magdalena Lewis

Mafia Boss | Siren General by name | Has a fortune which she uses to explore methods to ‘take over’ the Dark Council which she has been banned from joining because she is so power hungry, just like her father before her

Employees:

Lorelei Rhine

Daughter and second in command, although the younger Siren lives her life in complete seclusion from her mother, the two are of like minds, Magdalena is far more power hungry and Lorelei actually could find happiness in the place she has, running a club as a cover for illegal dealings in the back, a casino and gambling room for the rich people of the human and Fae worlds alike. 

George Lewis

Although George is vehement in his unwillingness to work with his mother by the fact that h has run away more times than either one of them can count, Magdalena still holds to the hope that he will return to his rightful place by her side.

In the verse I haven’t titled yet: George is Magdalena’s second in command, putting Lorelei in the position of being jealous of her younger brother and her half Lewis status, her father being a lackey of Magdalena’s and nowhere near as noble as George’s full Siren status. He is a dark and broody boy who works well in the shadows and sings people to their death.

Lance O’Brennon

In honesty, the Irishman would never work for a woman so corrupt and as evil as Magdalena. Which is why he has on occasion worked as a bouncer at Lorelei’s club and thus works for Magdalena by association. He’s been on several errands and has even served as a form of protection for the club owner while she does her mother’s bidding.

Callum Monroe

Everyone needs a work mule to do their dirtier work, with this mans talent of controlling the dead, it was ideal for Magdalena to hire him with a steady paycheck despite the other jobs he may take. Although he is flakey, Callum has quite the respect for the Mafia Siren Queen.

Viktor Markell 

Dark Council Elite Member | CEO of World Trades, a cover for his Fae dealings but also a place holder in the human world | Heir to the Markov Dynasty

Employees:

Cristov Markell

Little brother and pain in the ass, Cristov is the war dog of the Markell trio, doing the dirty work whenever he feels like it but being in an eternal BAD MOOD helps with his desire to constantly kill or maim people, if he isn’t drunk. Under it all, Viktor knows that Cristov will do anything for him and the family, even if Viktor was the one who brought the most pain upon the youngest brother. 

Borislav Markell

It wasn’t Viktor’s preference but Boris became the second in command, trumping even over the youngest in their rich lineage. The middle brother has proven himself on more than one occasion, again, despite what pain the eldest had brought upon him. Together, the three Markov brothers are a force to be reckoned with, that is, if Viktor can keep the thin strings holding them together tethered. 

Luciano Delarius

A bartender by choice, a hitman by trade, when the youngest Markell brother is otherwise occupied, Viktor calls upon the fallen angel to do what dirty work he doesn’t wish to get his hands tainted with.

Jacob Lawson

It is known to many in the Fae community that Attorney Lawson does exceptional work for the World Trades Inc. and serves as the personal lawyer to the eldest Markell brother, also getting the youngest out of trouble, which is more often than most would think. He’s on their payroll for a good reason, he knows how to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong and get away with it.

[bedlamsbard]

Part one of the concept writing for the prison AU I’ve been snippeting over the past week!  Like a lot of my concept writing, this is very sketchy; my prose isn’t quite at the place it would be for a polished story, it’s a bit more abrupt, there’s less context explicitly laid out.  I don’t usually do concept work in narrative order, so this one is a little unusual there.  It should be taken as a given that this is a Backbone AU, like most of the others.

About 5K below the break.

Not fair, Hera thought bitterly, sitting on the edge of the bunk built into the cell wall.  Not fair, not fair, not fair.

She should have been back on Serenno taking the flight test that would have gotten her into Skystrike Academy, but instead she was here on Stygeon Prime, stuck in a cell in the Spire as if the previous three years hadn’t happened.  It wasn’t fair.

She pulled angrily at the sleeve of her prison jumpsuit, hating the way the orange looked against her green skin.  She should have been in her cadet’s uniform.  She shouldn’t have even been here, because it wasn’t as if she was the one who had done – whatever it was her father had done this time.

Not come and gotten me, a small, treacherous corner of her mind whispered, and Hera shoved the thought aside angrily.  She hadn’t wanted her parents in years, not since she had come to terms with the fact that they weren’t coming.  Not the first time she had been in the prison, and certainly not now.

She wondered if the Academy would let her take the flight test late.

Probably not.  The Empire didn’t exactly make allowances for things like that, and this would be a big allowance to make.  It wasn’t a requirement for admission to the elite pilot academy, but Hera had checked the records; no one had gotten in who hadn’t taken the test.  There was a slim possibility that her piloting scores were high enough that she might get in anyway, and that felt like all she could hope for right now. That was if the black mark of being here didn’t automatically bar her.

Hera didn’t want to think about that.  All she wanted to do was fly, and she knew – she knew – that she was good enough to beat any other Imperial pilot out there. All she needed was a chance to prove it. But the likelihood of getting that chance seemed to be smaller and smaller with every hour that she spent in this cell, as did her hope of catching up with the classes she was missing – she wasn’t allowed a datapad, so she couldn’t even spend this time studying properly, just going over everything that she had memorized and knowing that it wasn’t enough.

This wasn’t the first time Hera had ever been pulled out of her classes because of whatever treason her father had committed most recently, but it was the first time she had ever been taken offsite.  It was the first time she had ever been taken back to the Spire and treated as a prisoner, as a rebel herself, instead of as an Imperial cadet with a few bad relations. She hadn’t even been told what Cham Syndulla had done, just been taken into an interrogation room – several times, now – and asked questions she had already answered three years ago.  Asked over and over and over again, as if the ISB agent across the room had been hoping to catch her up.  So far all those questions had only been asked, but the last time the interrogation room she had been taken to had had an interrogation chair in it.  Hera hadn’t been able to keep from looking at it over the course of the six hours she had spent in the room, though the ISB agent hadn’t done so until the last few minutes.  Then she had looked at it pointedly and reminded Hera that if she was keeping anything from them, they had ways of finding out.

Hera had asked – repeatedly – for Agent Beneke, who had always handled her interrogations before. She had been told that he was unavailable at the moment.

Hera knew – she knew – that if Agent Beneke had been there he would have believed her.  He knew her, knew that she wasn’t lying about what she did and didn’t know.  This would have been over and done with even before she had left Serenno and she would be back at the Academy right now, in the seat of a TIE fighter where she should have been.

Why wasn’t he here?

She kicked her heels against the side of the bunk; the soft soles of the jumpsuit barely made any sound. The only halfway decent thing about this whole experience was that she was catching up on sleep.  There was nothing else for her to do.

She had just laid down again when someone screamed.

Hera sat bolt upright, every muscle in her body tense.  The scream came again, muffled by the thick walls of the cell but close enough that it had to be in the same corridor.

It went on and on, until Hera covered her ears with her hands, then, when that didn’t help, lay back down and pulled her thin pillow over her head.  But she could still hear it, growing more and more ragged, until abruptly it stopped and didn’t start again.  Whoever it was must have passed out.

Or died.

Hera shifted the pillow off her head, cautiously, then put it back in its former place beneath her cheek. Then she cried herself to sleep.

*

No one came for her the next day, or at least what Hera thought was the next day.  Just like the last time she had been here, the light and dark cycles in her cell were irregular, leaving her constantly disoriented and uncertain about how long she had been here, how long she had slept or been awake, and even how long it had been since the last time she had eaten – that wasn’t regular, either.  It was a trick she remembered learning about in one of her advanced classes at the Academy.

After she had eaten bland rations that had been delivered to her cell by a stormtrooper, she sat on her bunk and pictured her class schedule, trying to work out what day it was and which classes she had missed so far.  Blast, I think the astronavigation exam was today.

Patiently, she sat back and began to mentally work through the astronav material she had memorized in preparation for the test.  Hopefully she would be allowed to take it late when she got back to the Academy, and she didn’t want to be unprepared when she did.

She had moved on from astronav to her languages – she was taking Huttese and Aqualish this term – when the screaming started.

Verb conjugations went completely out of Hera’s head.  She shrank back, her hands going up to cover her ears before she forced them down again. She wasn’t afraid, she told herself fiercely.  Not really. She wasn’t afraid.  This was a prison, whoever it was – whoever it was probably deserved it.  This was where the Empire’s enemies were kept.

The Empire’s enemies, and her.

Being able to work through distractions was part of her training, but somehow Hera couldn’t make herself do it now, no matter how many times she tried to summon up the mental image of her Aqualish notes.  Eventually she gave up, curling up on the bunk with her hands over her ears and tears leaking out of her screwed-shut eyes.

“Stop,” she whispered as the screaming went on and on and on. “Please stop.”

Eventually it occurred to her that it might have been a recording meant to discomfit her and throw her off-balance, but somehow Hera knew that that wasn’t true, that there was a living being somewhere a few meters away being tortured.

Just tell them what they want to know, she thought furiously. Nothing is worth this.  Just tell them.  You’re going to eventually, just do it now –

Hera had taken classes both in interrogation and resisting interrogation.  Her instructors had always made that very clear.  No one could hold out forever.  The Emperor’s interrogators, droid or human, always got their results.

Just stop.  Please stop. Please, please, please – just stop –

It went on and on and on, until Hera was on the verge of screaming herself, and then – it stopped. Completely cut off, as if with a knife, and Hera thought with sudden desperation, Don’t be dead.  Please don’t be dead.

Except if they weren’t dead, then this might all start again tomorrow.  She would have to live through this again tomorrow.

Unless it was her they came for tomorrow.

*

The next few hours, or days, or however long it was passed in something that was alternately an exhausting blur and dragged on interminably.  Try as she might, Hera couldn’t get her mind back on her studies; even her usually foolproof method of mentally running through fighter simulations failed her.  All she could think about was that awful sound of screaming.  And her classes on interrogation and resisting interrogation. They had been tortured, but – not like this.  They had known that it wasn’t real, that they would walk away from it; the consequence of failure was having to retake the class or, at worst, washing out of the Academy.  Not…this.

Hera slept again, a little, but her dreams were disturbed; she kept waking up, unsure of where she was and what the year was, if she was fourteen and the colony had just burned or seventeen and an Imperial cadet.  Her cell was the same as the other one – it might have been the old one – because the Empire built everything to standard; Hera found that she could still pace out its length and width once she adjusted her stride for her now-longer legs, even in the pitch-black of the night cycle.  It was exactly the same.  It was as if she had never left, as if it had been waiting for her all these years, as if the years in between had been a dream.

It’s a trick, she told herself in a soundless whisper, sitting on her bunk in the dark with her knees drawn up to her chest.  You learned about this in class.  It’s all just a trick to break you.

If this was a test, it was one that Hera didn’t intend to fail.

It had to be a test. The alternative was too awful to contemplate.

*

Screams woke Hera up in a dead panic.

She sat bolt upright, her hands clenched so tightly on her one thin blanket that her knuckles ached. It was the same person again, she was certain of it, but this time the sound was so close by that it had to be in one of the neighboring cells.  In the dark of the night cycle the screams seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once, with an eerie, hollow note to it that Hera hadn’t heard before.

Vents, she realized after a moment; glancing upwards. There was no light in her cell for her eyes to reflect off of and compensate for the darkness with, but she remembered where it was from before.  Her cell and the one where – where the person being tortured was – they must have shared a ventilation shaft.  It was carrying the sound directly to her.

She clasped her hands over her ears, trying to calm her breathing; there was nothing she could do about it except wait it out.

It’s an answer, Syndulla, she told herself, forcing herself to articulate the words in the echoing silence of her own mind.  She was fairly certain that the Empire wouldn’t do an interrogation in the middle of their own night cycle unless they had a good reason for it; even ISB interrogators liked their sleep.  Which meant that even if the lights were off in Hera’s cell, it was still the planet’s day cycle.  They really were changing up the lighting cycles in her cell in order to – what? What did they think they were going to get out of her?  Hera didn’t know anything.

She forced herself to lie back down, but didn’t move her hands away from her ears.  It didn’t help much, but every little bit had to count somehow.

Hera didn’t think it would last as long this time as it had on previous occasions.  There was an ugly, raw note to the screams, weaker than they had been before.  The part of Hera that had sat through interrogation classes at the university thought with clinical detachment, Whoever that is won’t last much longer.

The part of Hera that was still her father’s daughter thought, Don’t give them the satisfaction.

She wasn’t surprised when the screams eventually died out.  Instead she just shut her eyes, thinking, That’s it, then.  She might get another few hours of sleep in relative peace if her nightmares didn’t overwhelm her, unless –

The door to her cell slammed open.

Hera jerked to her feet, staring as two stormtroopers hauled a limp figure in between them and tossed it down the steps, where it landed in a crumpled heap.  Hera had barely recovered herself enough to say, “Wait –” before the stormtroopers retreated and the door shut again, the lock engaging with a disturbingly final sound.

Hera stood still, frozen and horrified.  She could hear breathing – male, human or near-human, broken and ragged, so at least it wasn’t a corpse they had thrown in here.

Shakily, Hera made her way to the place he had landed by memory and crouched down near where she thought he was, putting a hand out to find him in the dark.  Her fingers landed on what Hera thought was his arm and she traced it up to his shoulder until she could find his pulse in his neck; too fast and too shallow for what she remembered from her medical aid classes. But at least he had one.  They hadn’t thrown a corpse in here with her.

Hera didn’t understand why they had done this at all.

She was wary of hurting him further in the dark when she couldn’t see if he was injured.  She could smell blood, new and old; she could also smell burned skin and the sour note of old vomit.  If he was injured – there was nothing she could do in the dark.

She got up and retraced her steps back to the bunk, where some groping around found the blanket she had dropped.  Hera carried it back over to the other prisoner, spreading it over him as best she could; he probably needed it more than she did right now.  Then she sat down on her bunk with her back to the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest, and waited.

*

Kanan returned to consciousness in agony.

He hurt in every inch of his body and a few he hadn’t known he had; the idea of opening his eyes and acknowledging he was awake felt like too much to bear.  He didn’t see much point, anyway, it wasn’t as though there would be anything –

He realized, abruptly, that there was someone else in the room with him.

Fear stabbed at him before he managed to calm himself enough to pay attention to what his senses were telling him.  A woman, not a man; breath coming too shallow; nervous, not the calm that – that he would be.  Nearby, but out of arm’s reach.  Afraid.

Grimacing, Kanan opened his eyes, which only got him the ceiling of the cell; those were the same everywhere.  He turned his head and his neck cracked audibly, making the Twi’lek girl sitting on the bunk flinch.

Kanan blinked at her, confused.

They stared at each other. She was his age, maybe younger, with green skin and eyes that were bloodshot from crying.  After a moment, she cleared her throat and said, “How do you feel?”

“Awful.”  His voice cracked on the second syllable, the word coming out as a nearly-soundless rasp that tore at his throat.  Kanan tried to push himself upright and couldn’t manage it, falling back and gasping at the pain that shot through him from head to toe.

The girl hesitated, then got to her feet and crossed to the room’s tiny sink.  Kanan heard water running, then she came over to him and crouched down.  She set the cup aside so that she could put an arm beneath his shoulders and help him sit up, then retrieved the cup and passed it to him, steadying his shaking hand with her own.

Kanan drank gratefully. The water was metallic-tasting, with an odd chemical note from the purifiers the Empire used, but it soothed his abraded throat.

“Thanks,” he whispered. It still hurt, but he suspected it would hurt to talk – to breathe, even – for a while.

She nodded. “Can you stay up?  I can get you some more.”

Kanan licked his lips and considered that. “I think so.”

Carefully, she released him. Kanan felt himself sway dangerously, but managed to keep himself upright, bracing his hands against the floor to do.  Someone – presumably the girl – had put a blanket over him while he had been unconscious; it had fallen aside when she had helped him up.

She came back to him, putting a hand on his shoulder to help steady him as he reached up for the cup and almost fell over again.  “I’m Hera,” she said.

“Kanan.”  He drank some of the water, then asked, “Why am I here?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.  They just – they just put you in here with me.  I was hoping you knew.”

It was his turn to shake his head, which turned out to be an exercise in agony.  He winced, waiting for the pain to come back down to manageable levels, and then said, “I don’t know.”

She released him when she seemed certain he wasn’t going to fall over again and picked up the blanket, folding it with quick, nervous motions while Kanan drank the rest of the water.  When he had finished, rolling the cup absently between his hands, she burst out, “Are you a criminal?”

“Sometimes.”

He considered her frightened face.  She was clearly trying very hard to keep calm, but it was obvious to him that she was scared out of her mind, which as far as he was concerned was the only reasonable response to being here.  “Are you?”

She shook her head. “My father –” she said, then stopped, looking away.

Kanan could fill in the rest; he had been around the Empire long enough to guess what her story likely was. There weren’t a lot of reasons pretty teenage girls would be in a high security black prison like the Spire instead of somewhere else, especially since she had removed “criminal” from the list of possibilities.  And Kanan could tell she wasn’t here for the same reason he was, either.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that it would be all right, but he knew very well that in all likelihood it wouldn’t be, probably not ever again, and he wasn’t going to insult her by trying to pretend otherwise.  “How long was I out?” he asked her instead.

She chewed on her lip. “I’m not sure.  The lights came back on a little while ago, but it’s hard to tell time.”

Kanan nodded; he knew what that was like.  He considered his own physical state cautiously, then set the cup aside and pushed to his feet.  Hera jerked upright, her hands held out and ready to catch him if he fell.

For a few moments Kanan thought that he would, but he managed to keep his footing.  It hurt, though – everything hurt, movement making pain spark up and down through him.  It seemed absurd that there had been a time that he hadn’t been in pain.

“You should sit down,” Hera said after a moment. “Before you fall down.”

“You might have a point,” Kanan had to admit.

Hera had to put her shoulder under his to help him over to the bunk, and he nearly fell getting there. Kanan sat down heavily on its edge, gritting his teeth against how badly it had hurt to walk a few meters.

Hera, standing in front of him, hesitated, then said, “You should tell them.”

“What?”

“What the interrogators want to know.  You should –”

“I can’t,” Kanan said.

“Why not?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “I don’t know it.”

*

Nobody came for either of them for another day – maybe two days, Hera wasn’t certain.  There were three dark cycles in that, but she didn’t think they were galactic standard.  Stormtroopers brought them food and fresh jumpsuits; Kanan politely turned his back as Hera washed as best she could in the sink and changed, and she returned the favor.  Despite his injuries, he slept on the floor and let her have the bunk, claiming that it wasn’t the first time he had slept on the floor.  Hera, wary enough of being locked in a room with a strange human man as it was, hadn’t protested.

Kanan was – not what she had expected.  Well, not that Hera had particularly expected anything; she had tentatively categorized him in her mind as a rebel of some sort even though he hadn’t said as much. Hera knew rebels: she didn’t trust them.

But he was, somewhat to her surprise, smart and funny and willing to talk to her once he got his voice mostly back, which was more than she could say for any of her classmates back at the Academy.  Hera had the disconcerting impression that it didn’t matter to him that she was a Twi’lek – not that he wasn’t aware of it, but that he didn’t care one way or another and he would have treated her the same way even had she been human.  It left Hera vaguely uneasy; she liked it but at the same time she didn’t want to get used to it, especially coming from some rebel criminal.  She wouldn’t have it back at the Academy.

They were playing by dejarik by calling out the moves to each other and keeping track of where their pieces were – harder than it sounded – when the door slammed open again, revealing four stormtroopers.  Hera and Kanan both got to their feet, Kanan bracing himself with a grimace.  He started to step forward, then stopped as two of the stormtroopers turned their blasters on him.

“You, stay there.  You move, you bleed.”

Another stormtrooper approached with a pair of binders.  Hera, frozen in shock, didn’t protest as he pulled her arms behind her back and snapped them over her wrists.  He shoved her forward with a hand between her shoulder blades, making her stumble.

“Hera –” Kanan said.

She glanced over her shoulder to see him start to step towards her before one of the stormtroopers raised his weapon threateningly.  He stopped, his jaw clenched tightly, and said, “It will be all right.”

They hadn’t cuffed her the last time.  Hera just stared at him, barely comprehending what was happening as the stormtrooper shoved her again.  She was aware of Kanan’s gaze on her back as the stormtroopers escorted her up the steps and out of the cell, the door slamming shut behind her.

They took her out of the corridor and down an identical hallway to a turbolift, one of them keeping his hand on her shoulder the whole time.  Hera was shivering with uncomprehending shock as the turbolift descended, because she was an Imperial cadet, this wasn’t supposed to happen to her, they weren’t supposed to put cuffs on her or treat her like a common criminal, this –

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

When the turbolift reached its destination, they marched her out of it and down another identical corridor, eventually stopping in front of a door that looked exactly like all the others they had passed.  It hissed open as one of the stormtroopers tapped the control panel, revealing Agent Mircea standing at the bottom of the steps, regarding an interrogation chair thoughtfully.  An interrogator droid and a cam droid hovered by her shoulder.

Hera stumbled as she descended the stairs, still flanked by two stormtroopers; the other pair remained outside as the door shut.  Agent Mircea looked up, a slight smile curving her full lips.

“Inmate 957-1005,” she said. “You’re looking well.”

“You can’t do this,” Hera whispered.

“I think you’ll find you’re wrong about that.”

“I don’t know anything! Agent Beneke –”

“Roberto Beneke isn’t here,” Agent Mircea said, taking Hera’s chin between her fingers and forcing Hera to look up at her.  She looked at Hera for what felt like a long time, then released her with a jerk.

“But as it happens,” she went on, “I’ve decided that you’re probably telling the truth on that note. Roberto’s not that incompetent, even if he does have his blind spots when it comes to his little projects.”

“Then what do you want from me?  I have – I have classes –”

“Not anymore.”

“I’m a cadet!” Hera protested.  “My loyalty is to the Empire!  Ask anyone at the Imperial Academy, they’ll tell you –”

Agent Mircea grabbed Hera by the base of one lek, making her gasp in shock and pain.  “What you are,” she said, “is a science experiment.  One of many.  And the Empire has a better use for you right now.”

She released Hera and nodded to the stormtroopers holding her; before Hera had a chance to react he kicked her knees out from beneath her.  She landed hard on the durasteel floor, unable to catch herself with her hands cuffed behind her back and jarring her shoulder instead.  The stormtrooper hauled her to her knees, dragging her into a position just in front of the interrogation chair.

Hera was crying despite her best attempts otherwise, tears running down her cheeks to land on the orange knees of her jumpsuit.  She flinched at the sudden whirr of the interrogator droid as it came near her, photoreceptors clicking as it considered her, then receded a few centimeters.

“Look up,” Agent Mircea said.

Hera did, her mouth trembling, and saw the cam droid by the woman’s shoulder.  She knew just enough about cam droids to realize that it was recording, though she couldn’t think why.

“State your full name.”

Hera shook her head. “I’m not going to do this for you,” she whispered.  “I’m an Imperial cadet.  You can’t do this.”

An instant later she screamed as electricity coursed through her.  It went on and on and on, worse than in her counter-interrogation classes, worse than her field exercises, worse than anything, until it stopped abruptly, leaving Hera curled on the floor sobbing.

“Get her up,” said Agent Mircea.

The stormtrooper grabbed Hera by the shoulder and pulled her back onto her knees.  She stared at Agent Mircea, weeping in great hiccupping gasps, horribly aware of the interrogator droid and its electroprod beside her.

“State your full name,” Agent Mircea repeated.

Hera shut her eyes, felt the interrogator droid drift a little closer, and looked up again.  Her voice shaking, she said, “Hera Tyche Syndulla Tann Syndulla.”

“And your parents.”

Hera looked down, biting back a sob, and said, “Cham Syndulla Tann Syndulla and Alecto Syndulla of Ryloth.”

“And the date.”

“I don’t know what day it is.”

Agent Mircea told her. Hera stared at her blankly, then repeated it, realizing belatedly that her birthday had been two days ago.

“One more question,” Agent Mircea said. “Is there anything else you’d like to tell your parents?”

*

Hera was numb with shock as the stormtroopers took her back to her cell.  She was aware, vaguely, of how much she hurt, but that seemed secondary at best.  She didn’t want to think about or feel anything.

Kanan got to his feet as the cell door slid open, his eyes narrowed as he waited for the stormtroopers to uncuff her.  One of them shoved her and Hera slipped on the steps, barely caring if she cracked her skull open.

Kanan caught her, his hands gentle on her forearms.  “Are you all right?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

His concern undid her. Hera started to cry in gasping sobs, stumbling forward into his arms as he drew her against him.  She leaned her head against his shoulder and wept.  He didn’t say anything, didn’t try to tell her that it would be all right, just held her, and for some reason that made Hera cry even harder.

She didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually Hera ran out of tears.  She felt wrung out and raw, painfully self-conscious of the fact that she had cried all over someone who was very nearly a stranger, and a human at that.

Kanan didn’t protest as she drew back from him, wiping a hand over her swollen eyes.  “Are you hurt?” he asked again.

“No,” Hera managed to say, stumbling over the words. “No – not – not really.”

She started to shake again. Kanan put a cautious hand on her shoulder, then, when she didn’t protest, drew her over to the bunk, sat her down, and put the blanket around her.  He knelt in front of her so that she didn’t have to look up at him, his expression earnest.  “What happened?”

Hera hiccupped around her urge to start crying again. “My father –” she began, then stopped.

Kanan’s brows drew together. “Is he here?”

“No.  That’s – that’s what they want.”  She couldn’t even muster up the energy to be angry. Instead she just felt sick and exhausted, trying and failing to get her head around this new reality.  It couldn’t be real.  It just couldn’t.  That meant that it had all been for nothing, for a lie, that the past three years had just been marking time.  A science experiment.

She couldn’t tell Kanan that.  He had to think that she was a rebel like her father, the kind of person who was expected to be an Imperial prison, not a cadet – not that she was a cadet, not anymore. She was exactly who he thought she was now, she realized, sick to her stomach.  Exactly what the Empire thought she was.  They had made certain of that.

Carefully, Kanan took her hands in his and turned them over.  Hera didn’t understand what he was looking for until she realized he was checking her wrists for the telltale bruises left behind by the restraints on an interrogation chair; Hera had seen them on his own wrists.

“They didn’t do that,” she said dully. “That’s not what they wanted from me.”

“I’m sorry, Hera.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I’m sorry it happened.” He didn’t release her hands, but held them so lightly in his own that she could have pulled away without effort.

Hera didn’t, just stared at him.  Belatedly, she realized that it was the first time anyone had touched her for any reason other than necessity since the colony.  He hadn’t even hesitated.

“I want to sleep,” she finally said in a whisper.

He nodded and started to draw away, but Hera closed her hands around his. “Don’t –” Go, she almost finished, but it was a small cell; there wasn’t exactly anywhere for him to go to.  It was a ridiculous request.

“I’ll stay,” he said.

Hera released him. She curled up on the bunk with her face towards the wall, aware of Kanan’s presence beside her as he sat down. He put a hand hesitantly on her shoulder, enough to let her know that he was there, that she wasn’t all alone.

[wanderingstoryteller]

New Elite Specs: My Thoughts

Another weekend, another demo! There’s no new lore to overanalyze, unfortunately, but we did get access to the new Elite Specializations. And I, naturally, spent the whole weekend fooling around with them. 

Now, as someone who traditionally sucks at PvP... this was a tough time for me. I spent the past three days being repeatedly punched, stabbed, shot, burned, kicked, and... whatever it is Mirages do. But I suffered bravely through all of it, for you, my dear followers. So that I might bring you my firsthand thoughts on the new specs. 

I’m not exactly an expert on these things (I’m more of a lore guy), but I did throw a lot of time into the demo, and spent at least a couple hours on every class. If you were indisposed this weekend, you might find these hot takes useful. Without further ado... 

Do you enjoy being delightfully confused? Wondrously confounded? Kicking someone’s ass without having any idea how you pulled it off? Then good news, friend -- The Weaver is the class for you!

With the attunement system, Elementalists like myself have always had a ridiculous number of skills. Now, with the addition of a sword and the ability to mix and match different elements, Arenanet’s added about two dozen more. Want a crazy amount of damage? Use Fire and Air skills at the same time! Want to be a nigh-unkillable tank instead? Mix Earth and Water, baby! This is the Elementalist on steroids, with even more versatility than the base class.

I only played for a few hours, and didn’t even scratch the surface of what the Weaver can do. I leaned hard into the “nigh-unkillable tank” option, and the end result is a class that just Will. Not. Die. And I’m not even playing it properly -- I’m just throwing out random spells and hoping I don’t get crushed. In the hands of someone that actually knows how to play PvP, this thing will be a holy terror. 

Of all the new specs, this is the one I’m most excited to play in the open world. The possibilities are endless, and I really, really love my new sword. 

The Deadeye, it turns out, wasn’t nearly as OP as everyone said it would be. While the idea of a Thief getting a long-range sniper rifle might be pretty scary on paper, remember that it’s only effective when it’s used at long range. The rifle’s best abilities require you to be immobile. Once the enemy closes the ground and you’re forced to move, you sacrifice all that raw damage and become just another glass-cannon Thief.

That doesn’t mean the Deadeye’s not dangerous, though -- not if you’re thinking a few steps ahead. After experimenting a bit, I realized that the Deadeye excels at hit and run tactics. Seek out a 1v1 between evenly-matched players and shoot the enemy in the back. Capture an unguarded point and lay in wait for the first unsuspecting victim that tries to reclaim it. Bring someone down with the burst damage and run like hell... leaving a Needle Trap behind for your victim’s overeager teammates.

All the mobility of a Thief, now with an absurdly long-range weapon. Deadeyes aren’t invincible (especially once you start to plan around them), but it’s a lethal combination once you figure out some clever ways to exploit these advantages. More importantly, though, it’s fun. Of all the Specs they released, this one might just be my favorite. 

So... if the Deadeye isn’t the most OP thing since sliced bread, the question remains: “What is?” To answer that query, please put your hands together for the bane of my existence this past weekend... The Holosmith.

The Holosmith is, to put it simply, a living can of Red Bull that’s been chugging twelve-packs of Sunny D. Fight one head-on, and you’ll be locked into a neverending chain of pulls and knockbacks, being kicked helplessly from one end of the arena to another while receiving absurb amounts of damage. Now, this is supposed to have drawbacks -- if a Holosmith goes on like this for too long, they’ll get overloaded and eventually start doing damage to themselves. But trust me, you’ll be dead long before that becomes a problem for them.

It takes a while to figure out this class, because like all things Engineer, it’s pretty complicated. But once you do, you’ll be nigh unstoppable. Most encounters will be over quickly thanks to the front-loaded burst damage, but if the battle drags on, Holosmiths bring plenty of survivability to the table. Utility skills like Spectrum Shield and Hardlight Arena make Holosmiths hard to take out in an even fight. 

Enjoy it while you can, guys, because as awesome as the Holosmith is, it’ll be nerfed into the ground within a matter of weeks. 

The Scourge was... I’m honestly not sure what I think, actually. Necromancers got a lot of cool toys to play with this expansion -- not just a torch, but an entirely new set of skills that replaces the old Life Force bar. Now you channel Life Force to summon Shades, stationary ghosts that damage enemies and shield allies.

On one hand, their ability to support and sustain their team allows the Scourge to dominate a teamfight. A good Scourge can give their allies the survivability they need to turn the tide in the team’s favor. Problem is, they’re pretty useless outside that one specific niche. 

Scourges can be pretty intimidating, sure. Nobody wants to enter the Scourge’s AoE Funhouse of Doom... until they realize that Scourges still rely mainly on conditions to deal damage, and the new batch of Specs is filled with condition cleansing. Then you start getting dunked on by an entire team of Spellbreakers. Worst part? Because you can’t use your Life Force as a secondary health bar, those Spellbreakers will tear through you like paper. 

I feel like Scourge is something I’d have more fun toying with in PvE. Like the Druid before it, the Scourge is designed to fit into a support role, and those don’t have much of a place in structured PvP. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Quick: what’s the coolest thing you can do with a shortbow? If your answer was “Fire a hail of burning arrows through tiny portals that strike your foes at various angles”, you are not only correct, but also a fan of The Renegade. 

The new Revenant Spec is very exciting for lore nerds such as myself. Channeling of the spirit of Kalla Scorchrazor, legendary charr war hero, you gain Kalla’s incredible sharpshooting abilities... and the ability to summon members of her warband when you’re in a jam. Unsurprisingly, it’s pretty difficult to master, and I certainly didn’t come anywhere close while I was playing. But I did run into some decent Renegades during the demo, and they were able to deal a lot of damage, very quickly. 

This is another one of those Specs I can’t wait to try out in PvE. I couldn’t do much with it in the arena, but in a less stressful environment, I feel like it’ll be incredible. 

I hope you brought a good book, because The Firebrand is about to get literate on your asses. Remember that Tome mechanic the Guardians had way back at launch? Well, it’s back, and just as awesome as you remembered. Massive AoE heals and conditions can be pumped out in the blink of an eye. 

Like the Scourge, Firebrands are excellent in teamfights, putting pressure on the entire enemy team while supporting their own. But unlike the Scourge, the Firebrand still retains the tools that have served it well in PvP before -- namely, its uncanny ability to tank anything you throw at it. Even when they’re caught in a bad situation, a well-built Firebrand can survive, and that’ll make them a common sight in this game mode. 

Personally, I can’t wait to use the Firebrand in World vs World. In the midst of a massive zerg, it can probably do some absurd things.

For reasons I’ve never really understood, some Ranger players really, really want a Spec that lets them play without a pet. While I don’t get the logic -- aren’t pets the main draw of the Ranger? -- Arenanet, apparently, does, and they’ve listened to your feedback. Now, with the addition of The Soubeast,  Rangers don’t just play without their pets -- you merge with them, Voltron-style.

Indeed, Arenanet has taken animal cruelty to the next level, as you eat your beloved sidekick to absorb their power. This’ll definitely be a welcome addition in PvP, where pets are constantly running headfirst into massive AoE attacks and getting knocked quickly out of the fight. 

Like the Weaver, I didn’t really know what I’m doing while I was playing the Soubeast, so I can’t really say anything about its place in the meta or stuff like that. But I do know that my enemies kept breaking under my dagger-waving onslaught, so I figure I must be doing something right. 

The Mirage is the Mesmer in its purest form. They don’t do fair fights -- they overcome their obstacles by tricking, confounding and generally irritating the hell out of them until they give up and leave. Mirages are masters of this. Their new powers help them blend in with their clones, hiding in plain sight while they beat on their enemies. Do you want to bring her down with burst damage? Choose wisely, then, because there’s a one-in-four chance that you’ll unload your best abilities on the wrong target altogether. 

Even though Mesmer is the class I’m least familiar with, I had a surprising amount of success with the Mirage. I think it has to do with me taking the clone gimmick as far as I possibly could. I didn’t just summon clones -- I tried to mimic their behavior, too. AIs in this game are pretty simplistic, and it’s pretty easy to figure out which Mirage is the real one when only three of them are following the simplistic movement and attack patterns. To really blend in, you’ve got to commit to the role and act as much like a clone as possible. Otherwise, you’ll be identified almost immediately, and Mirages don’t survive for very long under direct fire. 

Even so, the sheer amount of AoE can make things very difficult for you. With all the Firebrands and Holosmiths running around, clones will die almost as fast as you can summon them... which, as you might imagine, makes blending in with them pretty difficult. Once it gets buffed a little, though, I think PvPers will appreciate its unique fighting style.

It’s no secret that in the past couple seasons of PvP, condition damage has ruled the meta. But now, ladies and gentlemen, burst damage has returned, and it is through The Spellbreaker that it has reclaimed its rightful throne. 

Spellbreakers, on paper, are simple: they hate magic. All magic. And they’re all about purging magic from allies and enemies -- buffs and debuffs alike. The days of stacking a bunch of Might on yourself and running roughshod over your enemies are over. Under the watchful eye of the Spellbreaker, they’ll make sure both sides are fighting with nothing but their raw stats, as nature intended. 

This Spec is an odd little duckling, because on its own, it’s not really overpowered in and of itself. It is, however, uncannily good at countering builds that are. Spellbreakers are the only class I saw regularly standing up to Holosmiths, stunning them to take away their momentum or stripping away boons they rely on to survive in a prolonged fight. And as for the aforementioned condition builds? Shut down before they could even get rolling. 

However the meta might develop in Path of Fire, I’m dead certain Spellbreakers will be a key component. They’re set to be the superpredators of the meta ecosystem, keeping all the traditionally overpowered builds in check to maintain a level of balance. If you’re a big PvPer, you may want to invest in this guy. 

So... those are my thoughts. What did you guys think about the new batch of Elite Specs? I’m interesting in hearing from the rest of you guys, especially if, unlike me, you actually know something about this buildcraft stuff. As usual, feel free to send me asks or reblog with your own opinions. 

Whatever you think, I hope you enjoyed the demo as much as I did. <3