#Less names that are just pretty more names about survival at all costs

[bonefall]

The suffix -flower is woefully underused on warrior cats, honestly.

It also shouldn't even be associated with just female cats, when I see -flower my first thought is dandelions, something extremely hardy and enduring; a name about resilience. Not something fragile and gentle.

[ktsumu]

FIFTH TIME’S A CHARM

cw: suggestive content, nudity happy valentine's day ᡣ𐭩

This year, for the first time ever, Tooru doesn’t buy flowers for his valentine. You are the only witness to the crime.

His first girlfriend, back in junior high, got roses. She got him roses, too, with a chocolate bar he ended up giving to his sweet tooth sister. They were real, shockingly, smelt good too.

They were discounted, and it’s a basic gift, but he was twelve and had only been seeing her for three weeks.

(And they broke up two weeks later, so he has no regrets about the roses that cost his mom less than fifteen bucks.)

The second girlfriend was a little more serious.

Tooru thinks he might’ve been fourteen for that one. He liked her—she was kind, pretty, had a nice laugh. He remembers holding hands in the hallway at school and their first kiss (well, peck) was surrounded by a bunch of classmates, screaming like it mattered more to them than it did to him.

He forgets how long they lasted, but he’s sure they started dating in November and made it to Valentine’s Day. He bought her tulips, her favourite, and a stuffed bear, because it was right beside it in the store. With his own money, too. 

His second girlfriend—he really, really feels bad about not knowing her name anymore—got him chocolate. He gave it to his sister again, but he kept the card she wrote him, saying she loved him three months in like either of them knew what that meant.

And to be fair, he said he loved her, too. Just not to her face. Many, many times to Hajime, though.

Tooru and Girlfriend #2 broke up in May. He wasn’t even planning on it, either. She just moved to a different country and he wasn’t looking for a penpal, and she said she didn’t wanna cheat on him.

The third girlfriend is where his small list gets serious.

He gave romance a break after the one that got away. He just flirted with people up until his first year of high school, the big leagues, which is when he actually got too much attention.

It’s a huge deal when you’re sixteen and your girlfriend is seventeen. He was crowned royalty of his class, the chosen one. The only one that could possibly score an older girl and act like it’s no big deal, and then proceed to blow her off to watch a game taping or something. On top of the world, and yet so below the standard.

She was pretty good to him. Makki always said he was a moron and she was gonna dump his ass, and Tooru probably knew that, too. Hajime said he was wasting his time, and every time he’d deny it, he’d think about how right he was.

He and the third girlfriend—Hana, he remembers—had one Valentine’s Day together, but it was so close to two that he almost wants to count it as such for the hell of it.

He got her wildflowers because she always said she hated roses and tulips. Basic flowers mean they don’t care, or something like that. He didn’t understand it fully, but he was happy when she leapt into his arms, that was for sure. It felt pretty good when she kissed him stupid and said he was the best, but that high didn’t survive the Spring Tournament the next year. 

That’s how close he was to two Valentine’s Days—January. Fucking brutal.

She dumped him and he swore off girlfriends in senior year; probably even blamed it on something stupid like ‘bad omens.’ He graduated with D1 offers, though, so he counts it as a win.

That tallies up to three successful Valentine’s Days, so far right? Yeah, right—all with flowers. 

The fourth bouquet wasn’t a bouquet at all, it was actually orchids in a pot, left on the kitchen table of the apartment he lived in when he moved. He was twenty, her name was Riko, his first almost everything. First I love you, first time—name it, basically.

He did make it to two Valentine’s Days with Riko, which is something so impressive for him that confetti emojis were everywhere in the groupchat he kept with his friends from high school. Hearts, confetti, eggplants, whatever else.

The first one was admittedly better than the second, though. The second one, he got a really serious offer overseas, and he didn’t even ask about it. He just told her that he loved her, and that he’d be in Argentina by August.

(Safe to say that he was the only one packing for that.)

That was the last time he bought flowers on Valentine’s Day, because it was the last time he consciously celebrated with someone. He sent his friends funny clips or pictures just to tease, taunted them whenever they could keep a girlfriend to celebrate with, but he gave up himself.

(It’s just so much easier to relax—he’d have no problem getting a girlfriend if he wanted one. His issue is keeping them.)

He’s twenty-seven and solo.

Mostly solo, he should say. You come around a lot, stay the nights with him. You typically collect your clothes and leave the next morning with a wave and maybe a ‘text me if you wanna do this again Friday,’ but he hates how he’s lying when he grins and says he just might.

Tooru is so used to being the one to leave, or to sabotage himself until someone else does, that he’s forgotten that it actually sucks when you don’t wanna be left alone.

The whole point of you and him is to keep it casual, but Tooru can barely keep it cool.

He likes to consider himself experienced. It’s why he gets so fucked up when he kisses you for longer than he realizes, or how he finds himself holding back words he thinks might be too much for casual sex. 

You two are functional together, at least. He just puts the system at risk a lot.

When he wakes up today, February fourteenth, he doesn’t even know what day it is. He’s naked, in his own bed at the very least, and he can see his jeans on the floor through the light of the bathroom dripping through the door left open. Dawn peeks through the curtains.

The room is quiet, the window’s open so the birds can talk to him, and to his left, you’re still here. 

“Hey,” he says, yawning.

“Good morning,” you say back, a small smile on your face as you stretch. He can’t help but smile back, with his grin and smile lines, eyes drifting to the hem of the sheets that try and cover you up. Okay, naked too. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Woah.

“It��s Valentine’s Day?” he replies in a hurry, leaning up on his elbow as he grabs his phone. Yes, very much so.

You raise your brows. “What? Got a wife you forgot about?”

“Very funny.”

“I know, I’ve been waiting,” you say. It’s your turn to yawn now, moving to lay your head on his chest, hand pushing him back down into the bed. “What’s the panic, then?”

He shrugs. “Nothing. Just … forgot. It's weird.”

“Hm. So where are my roses, huh?”

Tooru scoffs, glancing down at you as he rests a hand on your waist. “They’re being delivered, obviously.”

“I figured.” You cock your head. “What’s up with Valentine’s Day, huh?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never not gotten flowers for someone when I’ve had them.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“What, I can’t get friendly flowers?” he asks, raised brows and attitude waking up with him. “You’re naked in my bed, that must constitute something.”

The way you pout your lip in thought makes him wanna reach out for your hand. Is it weird to do that? Can I do that? 

(You do it first, but he holds you tighter.)

“No, this is fine.”

“Fine?”

“Better,” you quickly correct. “I’d rather just stay in bed and say it once. I prefer acts of service, anyway.”

Looking at you, laying on his bare chest, the sun creeping in over yours, he doesn’t care all that much about how he’s breaking tradition anymore. Maybe it’s not even tradition, maybe it’s just a cycle he’s breaking; a vicious one, at that.

You’re an unconventional valentine in the sense that you’re not even his, but maybe when the day’s passed and he doesn’t feel it looming over him, he might bring it up again.

“Acts of service, you say?”

You snicker, being pushed onto your back as he looms over you. He’s looking at you like Cupid hit him; bullseye.

“You wouldn’t happen to know of those, would you?”

“Just tell me what you want, already. Let me make up for the flowers.”

You take him by the back of the neck, pulling him down to kiss you like he means it. Tooru speaks in tongues the two of you best understand.

For the first time in four official Valentine’s Days, Tooru doesn’t buy his valentine flowers. But, for the first time in four official Valentine’s Days, it feels so right that it doesn’t even matter he’s doing it ‘wrong.’

(Next time, when you’re hopefully here again, he doesn’t think he’ll get flowers, either. This'll do.)

[jokest3r]

Matvey-Lukyan Volkov-Makarov ☀

or "Matthew Clarke," really depends on who you ask...

General Info -

Name: Matvey-Lukyan Volkov-Makarov(True Identity is on a need-to-know basis)

Age: 19

Issued Identity: Matthew Clarke

Issued Age: 23

Issued Rank: Specialist

Callsign: "Kid" until Further Notice

Status: Alive

Ethnicity: Tajik

Nationality: N/A(His parents kept his existence fairly quiet, only his mentors and his parent's closest associates knew he existed for quite some time before he went missing when he was older. His parents when he was young did debate that he may exist under a different name in the legal system in Tajikistan but didn't look into it after Matvey was disinterested at the prospect of meeting his biological parents.)

Height: 5' 7

Blood-Type: O+

Weight: 145 Pounds / 67 Kg(He came weighing less than that.)

Further Info -

"All things considered the kid came out far better than anyone would have expected given who his parents are."

Matvey was adopted a little over at two months old along the border crossing between Russia and Kazachstan on a cargo road that showed little action. He never really thought about the reason why he was there or the what how, just that he would've died if not for intervention (lucky or damning) you be the judge.

He had a pretty fair upbringing if you don't bring up visiting warehouses with his father or playing with guns at a young age. He was originally raised to be just that, a son, however it would become more skewed as the year's went on and his father Makarov's power grew. Then his role went past being only a son and more of a "good soldier." Of course, what Matvey would've called his first "failure" was failing his mentors and by proxy, his father. His mentors said he would never be a soldier and neither would he be strong enough to fight. It just wasn't in his cards. After that, his father's expectations seemed to slow down to a simmer, and his approach became to hold Matvey at an arm's reach away from the Ultranationalist Party and revolving plans. He would be protected, but not without getting trained to protect himself and escape at a moment's notice.

Though Makarov obviously wasn't his only father, his extended family mostly comes from Yuri's side of the family. Matvey obtained personality traits from Makarov but was much closer to Yuri. Yuri's a sensitive topic as is most of everything in his life. Yuri and Matvey both have something in common and that is "abandoning" or in Matvey's case "running away." Yuri left, without a word or notice and Matvey chased after him, and only realised he wasn't coming back "home" after two months on the road with Lobo, his loyal guard dog. Exact details on the first year of Matvey's lone days have not been found, but not without some prying. All he has to show for it is the bloodied patch the 141 found him holding along with his belongings.

Matvey was found along the Chernobyl exclusion zone by 141 squad members bleeding out in the hospital safe house he had rigged with traps, bleeding out from a wound that a mercenary had done to him in retaliation for murdering his partner, forgetting about the long-term reward of keeping him alive and sending him back to his father. And instead attempted killing him for revenge. He said he lived well off for what he had. With his father's hired mercenaries on his tail, he couldn't exactly pick a lot of areas. They caught his scent a month before the 141 had found him, sending an SOS through a makeshift antenna but getting help when they were finally able to trace it with spare time on their hands. Matvey really hadn't intended on surviving to the end if at all.

Combat-Style: Matvey plays dirty, real dirty, most "end up killing themselves" before they even see his face. He uses traps, bombs, chemical warfare (has an inclination for using gas) throwing knives and all sorts. Usually, he keeps to having a good distance with any target and avoids close combat at all costs, if any combat at all. And tends to favor using escape tactics he's learned over his previous training. He's known by most to be very slippery and sly if he wants something over with quickly.

If with a squad on something serious he fills a support role: and (jokest3r's opinion: his support role is something similar to Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite just without all the tears.) can find materials or target objects fairly easily since slipping through vents and getting out unseen is one of his best strengths and keeps him away from any of the serious fighting while still helping the team.

Personality: Matvey is naturally combative, moody, and "explorative" if the definition meant rule-breaking. He alternates between being quiet and isolated to being playful and rather "loud." He follows orders to a T, almost too closely like he's had past experience. He's self-destructive when it comes to most people as he doesn't want to care for much of anyone since all signs seem to point to anyone he cares for or stays with long term end up dying or disappearing one way or the other. Or abandoning him. He also tends to not understand social cues and is very affectionate even if the situation around him is dire. Warning: hugs and heartfelt conversations abound.

Allegiance: Matvey made it very clear where his loyalties lied, along with his goal to reunite with his father Yuri and gain some closure beyond bottling up all his anger and mourning for a father that doesn't seem to exist anymore. He's also seemingly gotten attached to some of the members, and would like to see them alive. When asked what that exactly meant he shrugged, thinking anyone else would've known what he meant.

As time passes the 141 hope to get Matvey out of his shell and influence him to grow and make better decisions. For now, Matvey will try to grow used to Western surroundings and hopefully, meet both his father's face to face, though he knows that it won't likely end happily. (FLAT COLOUR UNDERNEATH THE TAB)

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

ok so I actually completed SotO's new story chapters on day 1, but I've taken a little while to put my thoughts together on it. some of it's good, some not, but I did my best to be fair and direct on it.

so anyway here we go, major spoilers under the cut!

The Good

I like the map, I like the writing direction, I like the lore. I liked most of what we got, honestly. dungeon fixes, customizable character screen backgrounds, bugfixing the new 'green circles' mechanic, and adding a mount ley-line toggle are also all huge things that people have been wanting, and I'm very very glad they listened.

Peitha is shaping into an absolutely fascinating character too, and it's getting a lot more obvious why she connected to the Wayfinder so quickly... they feel very much cut from the same cloth, two strong leaders fighting to make their worlds better. and yet they're also burdened by the weight of that choice, and the sacrifices that must be made for their vision to be made into reality.

moments like this hit me like a bag of bricks; there's so much going on in the Kryptis homeworld. it's fascinating starting from the perspective of the Ward, seeing them all as just these vicious invaders... to now finding out they have names, ambitions, homes, maybe even families. we're told time and time again that their motivation is fear. the Wanderer, Irja, the little grunts we kill en masse to power the beacons, even Heitor herself.

'There's a version of this world where she joined us.'

like... just thinking about that. man. a version where Heitor hadn't lost hope so completely that by the time we come along, Peitha informs us that she wanted to die-- if only because she knew that at least we'd make it quick. it's horrifying to think about on its own, but the reality that it didn't have to be that way makes it so much worse.

it's... such a clear illustration of why their world has to change. they're fighting and dying to preserve the status quo not because it brings them comfort or privilege, but because they've been living in hell for so long that they don't believe an alternative exists. for as alien as the Kryptis seem to us, we're every bit as alien to them.

it feels like there's a really solid direction here, and I hope that it continues being solid through to the end. I could talk WAY more about my feelings on the story, but I'd better keep going.

I also like the Convergences; they're fun and I hope they survive. having public vs private instanced content seems to cause issues with publics staying populated long-term though, which... concerns me. I STRONGLY prefer publics just because you can bring Jade Bot protocols in, which makes it easier to travel freely and keep boons.

and now that I've dug into all that, uh... let's get to the less fun stuff.

The Bad

there's a lot of things to like about this release, but there's also a lot to... Not. the main 'drop' for Convergences outside of raw essences are Concealed Unstable Kryptis Essence Coffers... lootboxes which can only be opened with an Unstable Kryptis Motivation, which at the moment costs... upwards of 10 Gold per pop if you buy them off the TP. the only other way to get them is grinding tier 2 and 3 rifts, and good luck getting one because they're RARE.

I do not like this direction, for a LOT of reasons. the biggest one should be pretty obvious: it's making a portion of the victory rewards inaccessible to players who can't shell out the gold or the rift farm time to get the keys OUTSIDE the Convergence. the other is that the rewards aren't even worth 11 Gold anyway, so the coffers are dropping rapidly in price while the keys stay high. at this point it's arguably better to just sell the keys on the TP than to ever actually use them. the market on these is gonna get wacky I'm sure.

I don't want to see that become a trend. just.......... no.

the other main gripe I have is that... there's no portal of entry in and out of Inner Nayos. no, really. you can't get in and out at all without porting one way or another. it's right next to the Wizard's Tower but there is no entry point connecting these two maps. I thought I was going insane at first so I turned on the story again while in the Wizard's Tower to see if it'd point me towards a door. nope! it just sticks the story star icon on the Inner Nayos map and calls it a day.

aside from making travel in and out unnecessarily irritating and costly, this also means that you can't easily get alts into the dang map without a TP to friend. otherwise you have to do the story on them, whether you're ready and willing to or not.

I don't like that shift either, and really hope they remedy it when the 'under construction' gate opens in the future. that said, that should have been made available as soon as you finish the story.

and now the final segment, you know where this is going.

The Ugly

it's... short. really, really short. like, no, really. I finished all the story chapters in an hour and a half tops. now at maybe three, four days in I already have enough mastery points to top off the last mastery in the new line. I've map completed the new zone twice. both of the new Vault tasks are done. everything went so so so so fast.

and for reference: this cycle is going to last even longer than the last, based on the Vault reset time period.

additionally, the weaponmaster training underwent a stealth change: the new weapons can no longer be equipped on characters under level 80. this was not listed in the update notes. while that didn't affect me, it does seem kind of cheap to pull the rug on that when a lot of players were using that to level their characters since, well... a lot of core weapons just aren't that great. I can't really blame anyone who would rather use weapons that don't hit like a wet paper towel.

there have also been some... interesting bugs on release, of which the biggest one was unlimited hero's chests per day from the Inner Nayos meta. some people got a month's worth of chests in one day before they turned the chest drops off entirely to fix it.

they're back now, but that was still... something to behold.

I've also heard rumors that the new Legendary Kit from the Vault may be bugged; some players are reporting opening the kit and getting nothing out of it. I can't confirm how frequent that issue is, but... yeah that's a little concerning. I'll hold onto mine for now, just to be safe.

Overall Impression

despite the many sore points mentioned, overall I'm... okay with it. I like what we got, but I wish there was more there to like. from the much smaller Vault selection, to the shorter story, to the single-waypoint but otherwise very cool map that feels like it could have more going on in certain areas... I dunno.

but on the other hand... if my biggest complaint is that I like it enough to want more of it, that's an alright problem to have when we know we're going to get more. I'd be more worried if what we got was a miserable slog and I didn't even want to return to the maps-- and in fact, the opposite is true! I want to return to the map frequently and I want more to do in it-- and mostly I want easier access to it.

my hope is that the slowdown is an indication of resources being put into other backend work, such as the dungeon fixes, the character select screen, and so on. because, realistically, if they can fix up the core more, that would streamline their workflow a LOT and make it easier and quicker to work on things in the future.

I guess in short, my impression is... tentatively optimistic.

that's all I've got on it for now, maybe I'll talk about story more in-depth in the future though because boy I do have a lot of thoughts on that-- which... is part of why I had to redo this post like 6 times. it kept getting way too long and rambly over story. (oops)

[lakesbian]

If Mono and Six landed on the infinity train how big do you thin their numbers would be and what arc do you think they’ll have?

unfortunately the basic premise of this question doesn't work because of the dissonance between how infinity train handles character arcs and how little nightmares handles character arcs.

the basic premise of infinity train's worldbuilding is that it's real life except for the addition of the train (and obligatory subtraction of branded items, hence the fictional gas station chain &c). every passenger is written as mundanely and intricately human. they're all Just Some Guy You Could Meet On The Street, which is to say they have intensely complex psyches, nuanced and storied personal problems, and unique personality traits. tulip eats raw onions because she tried one as a kid and was too stubborn to admit to her parents she didn't like it, holds strict worldviews based on narrow/immature ration about the world and struggles to accept changes that don't fit into her preconceived frameworks, and wears a kinda stupid looking tights/skirt combo because she's 13. jesse is still attached to a song about learning to be nice to people he learned in kindergarten, is a serial social masker because he's convinced people will only like him if he's being exactly what they want him to be, and gets character development from talking honestly about his relationship to swimming. and so on and so forth. grace is a cult leader but she's also just, like, some girl who blows raspberries when she's thinking or excited. the depth of the characterization is inextricable from infinity train's narratives, because each narrative is, by dint of the show's most basic premise (follow these people while they fuck around on a train that kidnaps you and only lets you off if you achieve what it deems to be Personal Growth), entirely fueled by rich characterization and character arcs.

little nightmares, by contrast, actually hinges pretty heavily on vague/fuzzy characterization. it's actively difficult to catch a peek of six, mono, or runaway kid's face. the children you play as have names that are less names in the sense we're familiar with and more markers of isolation-induced anonymity: low, alone, and mono. in runaway kid's case, he doesn't even have a name--he's defined entirely by the fact that he's trying to escape. (from what? the world. does he succeed? no.) we don't know what any of these children like or dislike. we don't know where they came from. they don't have favorite colors, or hobbies, or even dialogue outside of the occasional--almost always barely-audible--"hey"s six and mono exchange to get each others attention. all of these children are defined by one thing: the fact that they are young and small and the world wants to eat, change, or destroy them. what most distinguishes each child from one another is the unique way in which they are hurt: six survives, but at the cost of the part of her that knows how to play and hold onto her friends. mono grows into a man who directly perpetuates the cycle that harmed his childhood self. runaway kid is clever, but unlucky, and never makes it out. and this is all because little nightmares is a visceral, but very nonliteral representation of the nonsensical cruelty of childhood. on a narrative level, the huge scope, mystery, and unfairness of the world the kids live in--and how it hurts them--is all-consuming.

all of which is to say that there's no grounded, detailed characterization that could be used to put six or mono on the train. numbers are calculated based on how far a person is from solving the problem that landed them there, and the train doesn't pick people up for problems that can't be addressed by individual development. six and mono don't need individual development--their only problem is living in a society that views them as worthless and in need of breaking (or consumption or destruction and so on). fundamentally impossible quastion to answer due to the differences in how inftr and ln approach characterization. sadly. :(.

[sea-side-scribbles]

Solas wakes up in the strange new world of his own making and it terrifies him. Ridden with guilt, he joins the Inquisition and begins his lonely research in order to correct his mistake.

He doesn’t expect to find consolation in the presence of a human who wields ancient elven magic without knowing it. Who is way too gentle for an elgar’thanelan, but doesn’t know that either.

Solas, for his part, doesn’t know how to stay away.

Dorian wonders if the mysterious elf just enjoys playing with a Tevinter. He wouldn’t expect anything else.

_____________________

Chapter 1- 13 | Right after uthenera, Solas is found by a Dalish clan. This goes well until it doesn’t. (Basically my excuse for world building and hilarious misunderstandings.)

Chapter 14 | Solas joins the Inquisition.

Chapter 20 | Dorian appears in Haven.

Chapter 22

When Solas finally saw Warden Blackwall again, he spotted him on the way through the soldier's camp, training young recruits. Solas didn't need to watch the man for long to notice he was right in his element. Neither did he attempt to scare the recruits into obedience nor did he paint the battle in glowing colours to blind them with its beauty. He acted like an experienced warrior who didn't waste any time or energy, who knew the costs of war. Who would honour the fallen but not glorify the battle itself. And most notably, he seemed to care for his recruits.

Solas watched the human, fascinated to see all these rare qualities in him. He was reminded that those were the people that disappointed their gods.

When the recruits left, Blackwall's gaze fell on him. “Ah, Solas”, he said calmly. “The Seeker's been looking for you.” Solas didn't like to be remembered of this, but he kept a straight face. “I have heard of it. Sadly, I would not have been much help. My knowledge of time travel is lacking. I did not know it is possible.” Blackwall crossed his arms and shrugged. “I guess that's not a shame. Even the Tevinter was surprised it worked and he helped researching this stuff.” “The...Tevinter....”, Solas repeated carefully. “I suppose you mean the man named Pavus?” “Right. You didn't meet him yet. But you heard of him?” “Yes. Varric gave me a summary.” The man nodded. “I bet he gave you a more exciting story than I would. Not quite the storyteller myself.” “What do you think about him?” “About Varric? He -” “No, I mean the Tevinter.” “Oh. Well...the less I think about him, the better. He's a...typical noble. Spoiled and full of himself and not ashamed to show it. I wonder how he survived that long camping in Ferelden, but I guess magic helped.”

Solas fell quiet for a while. No matter how he looked at the information, it didn't sound like good news. If there could be any good news at this point. So far, he knew the Tevinter was a mage with knowledge of a new kind of magic he never heard of. And he was arrogant, supposedly. Not a great combination. With a heavy heart, Solas realized he didn't know how to get himself out of this situation.

“Do you think he will stay with the Inquisition?”, he asked Blackwall. “Er, probably not. I don't think he likes Haven or any southern village. Guess he'll deal with that cult and then return to his comfy warm home.” Solas nodded quietly. That or he goes back to find out who his mysterious visitor was. Would it matter so much to him? Solas hoped it wouldn't.

“Don't worry”, Blackwall interrupted his thoughts, “if he stays here, he won't get his hands on you, or any elf. Firstly, because I'll break his pretty bones if he tries, and secondly, don't forget the Herald is an elf, too.” Solas gulped at the Warden's choice of words. He was surprised by his sudden outburst. The man must've noticed his discomfort. “I am glad that you think so”, he answered just to say something. “Naturally. Everyone can be a Grey Warden and do great things. Sadly, the scholars only focus on the human side of history. Did you know that Warden Garahel, who ended the fourth blight, was an elf? Most only remember his name, but not who he was. And he gave his life for them.” Solas always felt uneasy hearing about the Grey Warden's oh so sacred mission, but he was thankful for Blackwall's point of view. It felt like they both could look at Thedas from a different angle.

“Did you ever wonder what went wrong?”, he felt like asking. “Between our peoples?” Blackwall shifted, clearing his throat. “Er...don't you elves have a legend about it?” “Yes, but it is vague at best. Humans simply appeared in the world and destroyed everything for no reason. The Dalish believe that their ancestors began to age solely because of your presence.” Solas didn't hide what he thought of this legend. “Well...every time I'm in a room with Madame de Fer, I do feel like I'm aging faster.” Solas needed a second, but then he had to laugh at the unexpected joke. Blackwall joined him shortly after. “But honestly, I don't think I should be the one to ask about this. All I see is that countries naturally hate each other. Not the people mostly, but the nobles. And sadly, they are the ones to hold the reigns. Look at Orlais and Ferelden, they don't go well together at all. Tevinter and Orlais even less. It's all about power and gold. I can only guess that ancient elves and Tevinter didn't go well together, either.” Solas looked at him. “It is a good guess.” “You think so? Huh. Sadly, we'll never now the truth.”

Solas shook his head. These people abandoned hope so quickly. And they forgot their history even quicker. “Hey, uh, would you like to play some Diamondback later in the evening when we're done training?” “If I do not have to bring real diamonds with me?” The Warden laughed. “Do I look like I'd have diamonds on me? No, it's a card game.” “I don't know. You could be saving them for Wintersend. Then you get out your Pink Jubilees and Beau Sancies and Briolettes...” “Together with my white sea silk robes and snoufleur skin shoes ...” They chuckled together. “So, you're coming? The rules aren't too complicated and I'll go easy on you of course.” “That is very generous of you, Blackwall. I am looking forward to it.”

And indeed, Solas enjoyed the evening. Diamondback depended more on skill than on luck and it reminded him of a game that had been popular for a while in Elvhenan. Because he didn't feel like he needed to hide his skills, he won many rounds, much to the Warden's astonishment. The game made him forget about his various problems for once.

When the Herald finally came back from her fateful journey, Solas and Blackwall watched the welcoming ceremony from afar. “Here come the rebel mages”, the human muttered. “She won't like to hear it, but she worked another miracle.” Solas guessed he meant Ellana. And he was right. She had won a race against time. And supposedly an ancient source of power that wielded said time like a weapon. Because of that, he dearly hoped that she was truly successful. And he craved to hear her story.

Unlike Blackwall, he wasn't able to focus on the Herald or the mages at first. He was drawn to the man he had wished to never meet again. His aura shone bright, unlike any other in the party. For a short moment, Solas merely watched it react to his attention, swirling and changing form. He gasped as he finally pulled back and concealed himself. It was what he should have done all along and now it might be too late. As a consequence, Solas couldn't see the man's fire any longer, and for a second, he dearly missed it. Then he became angry at himself. Like a moth drawn to the light, stupid enough to burn itself.

It was frustrating. Every time he thought he was prepared, he made another misstep. And this one could cost him his stay in the Inquisition. Unwillingly, his hands curled around his staff, his knuckles turning white.

“Something wrong, Solas?”, came the Warden's deep voice. Before he could answer, Blackwall did it for him. “Ah, the Tevinter. I'm surprised he's back. Maybe he is genuine about this after all.” Maybe. Or he returned for a completely different reason. “Him and the Herald get along better now, look. He doesn't look like he'll try anything funny with elves.” Solas exhaled loudly. “You have an interesting way with words”, he informed the Warden. Blackwall needed a second to think, before he burst into uncomfortable laughter. “I didn't mean...I...Oh Makers hairy balls. I better keep my mouth shut...”

Solas had to chuckle too, just as uncomfortably. But he looked at Ellana. She smiled, seemed more relaxed than before. Unfortunately, he couldn't draw hope from that alone. They could all play a game: Clan Lavellan, Tevinter, the Hands of the Divine, the Chantry,...and he lacked the power to call them out. He had to play along, make do with small acts and hide himself away. And then there was the actual threat lurking in the shadows, that he still hadn't found. Suddenly, he felt very tired.

“I appreciate the effort”, he said anyway. The party was now dismounting. “Maybe we should go and say hello?”, Blackwall offered. “I will speak to the mages first”, Solas decided quickly. “They would want to know about the reinforcements.” Blackwall didn't argue. He went to see Ellana. It was hard to get through the masses of cheering villagers, but once they figured he was the Grey Warden, they made room for him. The elven woman eventually spotted him and grabbed his hand, happily mimicking human behaviour. Blackwall smiled as they greeted each other.

“Glad to see you back, Herald – er, I'm sorry, I mean Ellana.” She gave him a thankful smile. “Savhallan, Warden Blackwall. I hope everything is going well?” “It's going just nicely. No rifts so far.” “I'm glad. You won't believe what happened in Redcliffe. It's going to be a long story and I'll have to tell it at least twice.” She rolled her eyes. “I plan to invite everyone to a dinner in the Chantry for this evening.” “Everyone? That's a big lot.” “I mean only the inner circle. The people that travel with me. The group is growing fast and I want them to get to know each other. Please, will you come?” “Of course. I'll go tell the others.” “Thank you. By the way, have you seen Solas again?” “Yeah, he's fine. Talking to the mages right now.” She looked relieved to hear it. “I'll tell him too...” “Thank you.” She didn't have time to say much more because she had to move on with the group.

In the evening, Blackwall told Solas about it. The elf didn't look too fond of the idea, but went along. Actually, Solas felt beyond nervous about this meeting, but he saw no way out. He had already drawn attention to himself by irrational absence. Tonight, he needed to act unobtrusively. At least there was hope that he could stick to the Warden. The man didn't appear to be a party animal. And he could leave early. Pondering this, he followed Blackwall into the Chantry.

It looked like the Herald had spared no efforts for her special dinner. A round table was placed in the apse that usually served as consultation room. Hundreds of golden candles illuminated the place and a bard played her lute silently in the background. Surely the ambassador had been helpful for such preparations. The other guests were already present and talking to each other with hushed voices.

When they entered, all heads turned to them and they were greeted by numerous “Ahs”. Sera held up her arms and moaned: “Finally, I'm starving!” “Fashionably late”, Varric commented with a smirk when Solas sat down next to him. “Like opera singers.” The Warden placed himself between Solas and Sera. Solas' heart skipped a beat when he noticed the Tevinter sat right next to Varric. His gaze shortly brushed the man, who currently lowered his head to say something to Madame de Fer. He noticed white silk robes – the irony – with stitchings of golden thread. “Did we miss anything?”, Blackwall asked into the group. Laughter ensued while Sera whispered something in his ear that made him cough.

Amidst the mutter, Ellana tapped her spoon against her glass, so everyone fell quiet and turned their heads to her. She shortly exchanged glances with Josephine before she said: “Good evening, fellow Inquisitors. Thank you for following my invitation. I am so glad that we're finally meeting each other in one place. So much happened in the past … month? And many new people joined to help this common cause. It's still a bit overwhelming for me. It looks like...we are the only people who get up off our arses and try to save the world. The sky could explode any moment and everyone else is just bickering... I'm not exaggerating, right?” “Absolutely not, my dear.” “Not at all, Boss.” A spontaneous round of applause followed. Ellana looked at the group and a smile flashed over her face. Solas noticed that she really looked more comfortable now. Her gaze lingered a while on the Tevinter, implying that the man had won her sympathy, too.

“Right...” She paused shortly, putting her hands down. “So before we begin with the dinner, I would like to ask you to introduce yourselves to everyone...” She gestured around. “...because we probably haven't all met each other yet. As the host, I will begin myself...” Vivienne interrupted her: “That is hardly necessary, my dear. You are the most beknown person in this organisation.” “That is the problem. You think you know me”, Ellana replied, holding up a finger. “But all you know about me is that I fell out of the fade and I have this...thing on my hand.” Everyone could see the green glow as she gestured. “But in reality, I'm just a woman. My name is Ellana, I was born in Clan Lavellan and I am Keeper Deshanna's first apprentice, that means I have the gift of magic and I'm educated by my Keeper.”

“A gift that isn't to be underestimated, as you've proven in Redcliffe”, Dorian Pavus chipped in with a smirk and a voice like silk. Ellana smiled at him and pressed a hand against her chest. “Why, thank you, Dorian. I could say you weren't so dusty either, but it's not your turn yet.” “Already jumping the queue, Sparkler?”, Varric said, followed by a few laughs. “By no means. Please, continue.” Ellana waited for the group to fall quiet again. “Anyway, My clan sent me to the conclave to watch the negotiations because if they failed, it would've had consequences for my clan, too. And...you now how it went and I...” She sighed and looked at her hand. “Well, at least this helps me close the rifts.”

Bull knocked against the table and another round of applause followed. Ellana ripped her gaze off the unwanted mark and looked to the left. “Cassandra, would you please continue?” The Lady Seeker huffed, cleared her throat and began, sounding annoyed by herself: “My name is Cassandra Pentaghast...” “Actually, it's Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast”, Leliana corrected her happily. Over the amused whistles and “oohs”, the Seeker made an annoyed noise. “Of course you would know that, Leliana.” “You're so modest, Cassandra. Just show off a little.” The group gave another applause while the Seeker looked as if she wanted to crawl under the table.

The introductions went on while Solas just glued his eyes onto the talkers, avoiding the Tevinter. He could swear he felt the man's gaze on him. Now and then, he whispered to Blackwall or Varric, but always took care of where his eyes wandered.

“I'm Sera and I'm bored!”, the elven rogue threw her arms up again. “And I swear, the next one who's bragging about all their titles is getting a cake in the face!” “My dear, if you had achieved anything in your life, you would understand.” “Go achieve yourself! Doesn't sound like fun!” Vivienne sighed and wiped her brow. “How about the Red Jennies? You could talk about them”, Ellana tried. “Ph, yeah. It's just a name. The Red Jennies, that's different people. One in Montfort, one in Kirkwall, three others in Starkhaven and some more elsewhere and we stick it to the nobles. We're no cloaks or spy kings or Remy Rascals, but if you piss us off you risk your...” She snickered. “Look, someone little always hates someone big. And unless you don't eat, sleep or piss, you're never far from someone little. So, we help and everyone's happy.” “Could you repeat that middle part?”, Cullen asked in all honesty and gained laughter. Sera stuck her tongue out ot Vivienne while Ellana nodded at the noble. When she opened her mouth to speak, Sera leaned forward. “Strawberry pie. Whipped cream. Chocolate sauce. Three layers!” Vivienne went through her speech as quickly as possible.

When it was Dorian's turn to introduce himself, Solas understood what Blackwall meant. The man stressed every word as if he expected the group to throw flowers. Solas bit his lower lip until he noticed he looked tense. Out of all people he could've come across, it had to be this one. For his own speech, he mostly used the story he told Lady Nightingale. He was aware that her eyes scanned him as he spoke, but he wasn't the only one to be vague with his backstory. Cullen, Blackwall and of course the Tevinter had been superficial in this case, too. By all happiness, this was another game. Varric came right after him as the last one of the group. He was one of the few who were comfortable with this game and also already known by most members.

As the last round of applause faded, Ellana clapped her hands over her head and colourful sparks rained down onto the guests. “May the feast begin!”, she announced happily. Servants hurried into the room, bringing plates and bowls that were filled to the brim. Josephine excitedly listed all the meals she had ordered for this evening. It was a diligent selection of meat, fried vegetables, baked and candied fruits, bread rolls, cheeses and sweets, all served in one course. Sera grabbed a plate, but Blackwall held onto it before she could lift it. It was a delicious looking pile of whipped cream, honey, nuts and berries. Sera plucked a strawberry out of the cream and shoved it into her mouth, grinning. Blackwall eventually let go of the plate. Vivienne didn't grant the scene any glances.

Solas helped himself to his meal while chatting with The Iron Bull, who told him, Varric and Blackwall about the events in Redcliffe, occasionally with disgusted comments by Sera. When the Tevinter joined the conversation, he proceeded to Cassandra, surprised that he got away with it so easily. Pavus seemed to avoid him as well. Perhaps he had the decency to not make a scene. He showed no other attempts to use the odds for his advantage, either. His intentions obviously lay elsewhere. Perhaps that was worse.

Dorian, however, only felt vindicated. Exactly what he had feared did happen, because it was simply how it always went. The elf didn't look at him or speak to him at all and avoided him so cleverly, he might've done this before. Dorian could almost convince himself that he was lucky because he didn't become the laughingstock of the group and their night would forever be forgotten. The fact that the whole event had been highly unusual, not only because of the glow, remained engraved in his mind.

[pokemon-card-of-the-day]

Pokemon Card of the Day #2827: Typhlosion (Neo Genesis #17)

Each of the Johto starters had both a good version and a bad version in Neo Genesis. This was the good version of Typhlosion (though this time the bad version wasn’t awful), where the goal was to get a bunch onto the Bench and accelerate Energy onto strong attackers. This could help deal with the tendency for Fire-types to discard Energy. The issues to worry about here were the coin flips required to accelerate and the need to set up a bunch of Stage 2 Pokemon to do so. With the game slowing down significantly in the shift to the Rocket-On format, there was a pretty good opportunity to get these slow set-ups to work.

100 HP was one of the standard numbers on a Stage 2, not being too vulnerable except for against the strongest hits (say, from Blaine’s Arcanine in a mirror match). The Water Weakness was truly awful. Feraligatr was everywhere during Typhlosion’s peak (early in the Rocket-On format before Entei was released), and that, along with the later Dark Feraligatr for anyone still using Typhlosion then and the lesser used, but still dangerous Kabutops and Dark Blastoise, could all get a KO due to this. The Retreat Cost, at 2, was pretty average. It was nice to have a Warp Point or two around if you could fit it for this and the Blaine’s Arcanine you’d want to use with it.

Fire Recharge was one of the few forms of Energy acceleration this early in the game. You could use it once per turn, and a coin flip was needed. A heads flip let you attach a Fire Energy from your discard pile to 1 of your Fire-type Pokemon. The play here was to get multiple Typhlosion in play for some sort of chance to routinely power a Blaine’s Arcanine up, then use the attack on that Pokemon to KO anything out there. Typhlosion survived in the format with all that Feraligatr simply because Blaine’s Arcanine could hit something for 120. It was a bit luck-based due to the coin flips, but before the release of Neo Revelation this really was your only option for acceleration to Fire-types. With 3 Typhlosion in play you had a pretty decent chance of keeping up, and hiding behind Cleffa made bigger set-ups possible for all sorts of decks back then.

Flame Burst wasn’t going to take down a Feraligatr, but it still wasn’t the worst by any means. 60 damage for 4 Fire Energy was still pretty expensive, though you had other Typhlosion to help chain things together if needed. The coin flip would either add 20 damage with heads or deal 20 damage to Typhlosion if tails. Relying on another Pokemon to attack tended to be better, though if facing something like Grass-types or Pokemon with 60 HP or lower going through Typhlosion was a reasonable play.

Typhlosion was the engine that let Fire decks actually hold their own in the Water-infested early Rocket-On format. It was odd that it enabled a Pokemon with a Water Weakness to be one of the few Pokemon to just KO Feraligatr, but that’s where it ended up, and it had some good tournament results. Use of Typhlosion fell off a ton once Entei was released in Neo Revelation, as the acceleration was far more explosive and needed less set-up in exchange for an attacking turn. The loss of a turn and the one-time nature of Entei still gave Typhlosion some niche, and it was arguably still better with Blaine’s Arcanine even though the game diversified a good bit after that and Magcargo, which did better against things not named Feraligatr, needed less discarding on average and could work better with Entei. You had to look out for bad coin flips, to be sure, but Typhlosion was a solid mid-tier option in the Rocket-On format.

[anneapocalypse]

Mark Darrah's Memories and Lessons from Dragon Age 2

Mark Darrah, former BioWare developer and Executive Producer, talks about the development of Dragon Age 2.

Summary of key points below the cut!

EA closed the sale on BioWare right before Origins shipped. At the time, MMOs were seen as the future and EA wanted Star Wars: The Old Republic, which was currently in development and scheduled to ship in 2009, but delayed several times. Because of the delay, EA told BioWare they needed to ship a game in fiscal 2011 to "plug the hole." It was decided that Dragon Age 2 would be that game.

Darrah says you can never be sure how real the threats are from higher up, but this one seemed pretty real, and if they hadn't shipped a game, EA likely would have demanded cost-cutting measures for the studio.

The original plans for the second Dragon Age game looked a lot more like what eventually became Inquisition. That concept wasn't possible in the time they had.

Preliminary work had been done for another expansion pack for DAO, and much of this concept got rolled into DA2. However, Darrah resists the idea that DA2 was "built out of an expansion pack" because he feels it minimizes how much work the team did in a short period of time. It is true that David Gaider had already laid a lot of groundwork for the expansion, but there were also no assets or levels created yet.

The team originally wanted to call the game Dragon Age: Exodus, which Mark still believes would fit the game better and would have helped it find its audience better. The implication that DA2 was a direct sequel to DAO set a lot of expectations that were not accurate, and they set people up for disappointment that was in some cases, he feels, unjustified. The name "Dragon Age 2" was a mandate from above; the executive at the time insisted that "Dragon Age 2" would sell better, would fix everything, would "probably cure cancer," and so that was the title. "They were wrong," Darrah says, but the team couldn't override the exec.

Darrah likes the frame narrative, both for the punchy opening it allows and the unreliable narrator:

I love unreliable narrators in general. Dragon Age uses unreliable narrators for everything. The reason I love unreliable narrators is that it allows you to present information through the lens of someone who could be wrong, or intentionally misleading. 'Brother Genitivi says…' is how most lore in Dragon Age: Origins is presented, and what that allows you to do is have him be wrong, mislead the player on purpose, or sometimes just give yourself the flexibility to change your mind, in order to change the lore, change the universe around that established lore without actually violating it, because it's an unreliable narrator.

But the cool thing is, you actually get all of that while also deepening the sense of your setting being lived in by real human beings. When information is presented by an unreliable narrator, it's presented by a person within the setting. It's not just sterile information dumped into a Codex; it comes with this implication of story and life that doesn't come from other ways of presenting information. To my mind, it's actually win-win across the board; it gives you extra flexibility, while also making the setting feel more alive.

A frame narrative can have the problem of draining some of the tension, because you know that the narrator has to survive. DA2 gets around this by having Varric narrate; you know Varric lives, but Hawke could have died.

Darrah acknowledges that the trick where they increased Bethany's bust size in Varric's exaggerated prologue was juvenile, and while he thinks it's in-character for Varric, he also doesn't think it adds much to the character and says that they probably wouldn't do that today.

They were able to control scope on the project by making DA2 a story told over time, instead of over a lot of space. This allowed them to get more story out of less area.

DA2 had very little peelable scope, which refers to having elements that are easily removed when cuts need to be made. Nearly everything that was initially conceived was conceived as necessary; everything that could be cut was cut right away.

The idea of Act I was a metaplot about gathering enough resources for the expedition, so that it could grow or shrink as needed. But they ended up needing to introduce a lot of plot points and character-establishing quests in Act I, so the "raise enough money" plot became secondary, because by doing the other essential quests, you would earn the money as a byproduct, which made Act I feel less open and exploratory.

Darrah feels that DA2 in some ways shows why constraints are important, because it's a great example of a team rising to the challenge to work within the space they're given to make a good game within that box.

Tactical camera was set aside for DA2. Darrah doesn't feel that it's a core feature of the series.

Things he does feel define the series are teamwork, choices with consequences, and power with a price, among other things.

"It's about the characters, stupid":

The primary reason that I think Dragon Age 2 is the Dragon Age game that’s very fashionable to like now is because it’s the first BioWare game that intentionally puts the characters first. I still don’t think we’ve actually said it out loud, that "It’s about the characters, stupid," that BioWare’s secret sauce is characters and followers that you can have these relationships with. I still don’t think that we’re really acknowledging it. We’re doing it because we have no other choice. Characters are fast to write; characters don’t require as many re-writes, typically; characters can often do their plot in whatever level is hanging around. So they are perfect for a highly constrained situation.

As you go beyond this game, as you get even past Dragon Age: Inquisition— yeah, the reality is, is this is what makes BioWare games special. Characters that are interesting, that have interesting interactions, that have arcs and evolution and wants and needs, that you get to have a story with, that you get to hang out with, that you get to potentially romance. This is the secret of BioWare games and it’s, in retrospect, kind of mindboggling that it wasn’t until a post-Dragon Age: Inquisition world that BioWare was really able to say this out loud and say "It’s about the characters, stupid. It’s always been about the characters, stupid." Why did we allow this to be an incidental feature that was special in spite of the intention that was being paid to it? So I think Dragon Age 2 is the game that shows the way to what made BioWare special in the first place, and what continues to hopefully make BioWare special in the future. That’s the special thing in Dragon Age 2.

Darrah thinks the level reuse in terms of telling a story through time in the same city is fine, even if not everybody likes it; it's upfront about what it's doing. The generic warehouse isn't ideal, but it's okay. The one he thinks is less defensible is the cave, because the cave is too distinctive, despite being identified as a different cave every time, and it's not just recognizable as reuse but "rubbing your nose in it." A more generic cave would actually have been better.

In terms of art direction, Dragon Age 2 was pushed toward a more distinctive look. In part, this is a response to the engine itself, which is very good at pushing polygons and large amounts of mesh, but less good at surface effects and textures. So between "push more polygons," and a vision of "Kurosawa in the Northern Renaissance," the art style of DA2 took shape. Darrah likes that DA2 has a distinct aesthetic that you can recognize from a screenshot.

Another major change from DAO was “the philosophical approach to combat.” The underlying combat engine is the same; it’s just packaged differently. Origins uses a combat balance known as “perfect symmetry”—enemies do the same amount of damage as the player character and allies. DA2 throws out the idea of symmetry. The player character and party members have fewer hit points and do more damage; enemies have more hit points and do less damage. This opens up more possibilities for player abilities, but creates problems if you want to turn party member against the player or have enemies join the party. Darrah thinks DA2 pushes it a bit too far because it makes the combat herder to understand numerically. Dragon Age: Inquisition tried to strike a blance between the two: not perfectly symmetrical, but not so dramatically asymmetrical. (He notes that D&D went through a similar transition between 3e and 5e.)

“EA has always had trouble marketing BioWare games.” For DA2, the marketing was intended to be two-pronged, one prong aimed at the “tree house” (the established fans) and the “frat house” (a new, mainstream audience). Right off the bat Darrah cautions about using reductive labels like this. In the end, he says, pretty much all the marketing ended up targeting the “frat house,” so that was all the marketing the fans were consuming and that made them worried that the game would be “dumbed down” and more console-focused. This set up the core audience to reject the game even harder than it deserved. More targeting of the core audience might have helped, but Darrah also points out that your devoted core fans are going to consume all the marketing, whether it’s intended for them or not.

The marketing team for DA2 did a lot of things to “juice up” the preorder numbers, which gave the impression that the game was going to sell a lot better than it did.

Darrah’s greatest regret for DA2 is that the ending forces you to fight both bosses either way—which he’s pretty sure was his decision, but he believes it was a mistake. It was felt that Orsino wasn’t worthy of being an end boss by himself, so it was decided that the player would fight Meredith either way, which he thinks is defensible. The problem is that they also make the player fight Orsino either way. Darrah says there’s often a desire to have the player consume as much content as possible, because it can feel like “waste” otherwise; he argues that players not consuming all the content isn’t a problem, and is actually a good thing.

Despite the backlash, over time DA2 has become the one that it is “fashionable to like.” With some distance from the marketing and the initial backlash, a lot of people came to appreciate what was good about DA2, particularly the strong focus on characters.

DA2 has Darrah’s favorite box art, even though it does commit what he calls the “cardinal sin” of RPG box art in locking down the player character into a single default appearance. He says that box art doesn’t matter as much as it used to, but he believes it’s still important.

The Dragon Age team became a true team through the work on DA2. Darrah wouldn’t recommend the kind of rush DA2 had, but he likes what it forged the team into and wonders whether that experience could be replicated in a different way.

What would Mark do differently?

If they had stay within the same constraints:

Adjust the marketing and make sure there’s better messaging to the core fanbase to mitigate the negative reaction.

Call the game Dragon Age: Exodus.

Don’t make Orsino a mandatory bossfight.

Make a more generic cave for reuse.

If they had more time:

Ship the next fiscal year, damn the consequences.

Cut or simplify the main plot parts of Act I and bring back the focus on making money for the expedition.

Make a second cave.

Reduce the asymmetry of the combat system a bit.

Mask out the unused parts of reused area maps.

The game is still very different from Origins, and that’s okay, just communicate with the core fanbase to help them understand why.

[x-cl-br]

it's Friday, and tomorrow is...

TABLETOP NIGHT AT MY APARTMENT

so I'm doing another one of these posts about my custom ttrpg system that i run for my friends. it's been a bit, so to recap: the system was modified from Call of Cthulhu's mechanics, with the express purpose of reducing the importance of numbers and math. my players just want to roleplay a bunch, so removing those barriers lets them do what they want without worrying too much about crunchy numbers, making the whole thing a lot more immersive.

last time, I talked about the players stats: Physique, Motorics, Stealth, Mind, Rhetoric, and Shivers. Everything is binary pass/fail, and players have to roll better than their stat value for a success so that they can still hit those huge nat 20s. As for the weird stat names, the game's vibe is intense horror, so I wanted the stats to feel less like your own attributes and more like a disconnected evaluation of a person's faculties, kind of like an autopsy. the goal is to make it feel a little off-putting and cause just a tiny bit of discomfort before the session even starts.

now, onto the new stuff:

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: WILLPOWER

so this is a secret extra stat that I didn't share in the last post! it works very different from all the other stats because it's more of a consumable meter, like mana, in a way.

What does it do?

players start with 25 willpower (or WP), and can use some of it to buff their rolls. it's meant to be this "power of the human spirit" kind of thing, where through sheer force of will, the characters can alter fate. kind of like when you drop something and catch it before it hits the ground, or like any anime scene where the mc calls on his heart or whatever.

What can you spend WP on?

for a few examples, players can use 2 will to push a roll, meaning they can reroll a failed check, but if they fail again, the consequences will get much more severe. this one's ripped straight from CoC, but I like it a lot so I put it in the wp system.

there's also the higher cost options to REALLY power through a check if you desperately need that success- 5 WP can allow you to retry another players failed roll before the consequences hit or give yourself advantage on your own roll. these can be combined, too- I'm not too picky on it, because none of my players have broken the game using the system, but we'll see what they do this week!

finally, as a last ditch option, 6 willpower can be used to shrug off a non-lethal hit for 0 damage, OR to barely survive a lethal one with 1hp.

it's not perfect, obviously.

these costs are a little finicky, and very much not final- I'd love to tune them a bit more as well as adding a lot more options to use WP on, but that'll come with more play testing with the system. currently, though, I think it's in a good place: players are using it often, and they seem to like how it feels! but there's definitely one question left:

what keeps them from using all their willpower (and how do you get it back)?

so I've been working on this for a bit- there used to be willpower damage from encountering scary stuff or seeing someone die, but that just made it so nobody wanted to burn WP on anything so i axed it. currently, if you run out, you get all your stats debuffed by 2, so it's not super severe, but still pretty bad. to that end, WP comes back from resting, taking medication, or making progress in the story, kind of like a measure of the teams morale. if they're doing good and making progress, their willpower increases.

all in all I think it's a really fun system that I'm very proud of at this point, I love letting the players have those intense hero moments where they can pull through a hard situation with their fighting spirit. it definitely needs work, but im iterating on it almost every session.

Thanks for reading!

I'll be back next week with another one of these because I'm bored at work and don't have much else to do lol

[twistedisciple]

deep dive character sheet

stolen from: old dash game courtesy of Mirae tagging: you!

NAME: GRISS

BODY

height: 177cm / 5′ 9

strength ★★☆☆☆ (physical strength is real bad; magical strength is a different story though)

dexterity ★★☆☆☆ (also surprisingly not great)

health ★★★★☆ (more or less physically healthy, still young enough to not have notable illnesses or disabilities yet; 3 more years though and he becomes a senior citizen)

energy ★★★☆☆ (has that earth-sign tendency for laziness when left to his own devices)

beauty ★★★★☆ (definitely naturally good-looking, with or without the tattoos and piercings and mullet)

style ★★★★★ (has A style even if it's not The style of the mainstream; puts effort into how he dresses)

hygiene ★★★☆☆ (oily hair and no personal routine costing him points)

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ (much more observant than he comes across; sharp eyes)

communication ★★★★☆ (blunt to a fault but you'll always know where you stand with him; unafraid of asking questions if something doesn't make sense)

persuasion ★★★★☆ (by sheer persistence, "grabbing someone by the neck can be very persuasive" <- reused from fáfnir's form)

mediation ★★☆☆☆ (the answer is always simply fight it out)

literacy ★★★☆☆

creativity ★★★★☆

cooking ★★☆☆☆ (good fucking luck)

tech savvy ★★★★☆ (probably, he'll poke at things until he figures it out)

combat ★★★☆☆ (not bad per se, but hard to judge a guy's combat ability when he's constantly trying to get hit)

survival ★★☆☆☆ (self-destructive, on the flip side a full 5 stars for having not gotten himself killed yet)

stealth ★★★☆☆ (when he wants to, the problem is that he gets bored of it after a while - pspsps come here celly)

street smarts ★★★★★

seduction ★☆☆☆☆ (lmao)

luck ★★☆☆☆ (probably goes hand-in-hand with his survival thus far)

handling animals ★☆☆☆☆ (don't think he's really an animal guy; his energy probably freaks horses out)

pacifying children ☆☆☆☆☆

MIND

intelligence ★★★☆☆ (sharp and pragmatic, though his openness when caught off guard or confused tends to distract from this)

happiness ★★★☆☆ (generally speaking)

spirituality ★★★★★ →  ★★★★☆ (starting to have some doubts, not really thinking about them though)

confidence ★★★★★ (read: shameless)

humor ★★★☆☆

anxiety ★☆☆☆☆

patience ★★★☆☆ (not hard to tell him to wait for something)

passion ★★★★★ (goes hand-in-hand with spirituality)

nice         ☆☆☆★☆ mean (aggressive? yes. hateful? not usually. this answer is more like an absence of niceness than the presence of meanness)

brave       ★☆☆☆☆ cowardly (bravery implies that fear exists; griss just isn't afraid of anything)

pacifist     ☆☆☆☆★ violent

thoughtful ☆☆☆★☆ impulsive 

agreeable ☆★☆☆☆ contrary (generally pretty chill if he doesn't have a reason to be aggressive)

idealistic   ☆☆☆☆★ pragmatic

frugal        ★☆☆☆☆ big spender

extrovert   ☆★☆☆☆ introvert (perfectly fine being alone as long as it's in short bursts)

collected   ☆☆☆☆★ wild

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist <- (none of these really work for him)

SOCIAL

charisma ★☆☆☆☆ (he's not making any speeches that's for sure)

empathy ★★★★☆ (arguably empathy is at the core of his love of violence)

generosity ★☆☆☆☆

wealth ★★☆☆☆

honest  ☆☆★☆☆ deceptive (has no issue lying but tends to be honest more often than not)

leader   ☆☆☆☆★ follower

polite    ☆☆☆☆★  rude (what are manners)

political ☆☆★☆☆ indifferent (political only when the politics are intertwined with theology)

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★★★

fate/destiny ★★☆☆☆ (doesn't think about it much, fell religion probably taught that individuals can take whatever they want but are all destined to meet the same end)

magic ★★★★★

soulmates ☆☆☆☆☆

good and evil ★☆☆☆☆ (leans more toward believing order vs chaos, altruism vs egoism, than good vs evil)

luck ★☆☆☆☆

PRIORITIES

family ★☆☆☆☆ → ★★★★☆ (fully believed family was only those related by blood, thinks of it differently now thanks to zephia)

friends ★☆☆☆☆ → ★★★★☆ (see above)

love ★★★☆☆

home ☆☆☆☆☆

health ★☆☆☆☆

praise ★☆☆☆☆

justice ★☆☆☆☆

truth ☆☆☆☆☆

power ★☆☆☆☆ (likes it as a side effect, but doesn't pursue it)

fame ☆☆☆☆☆

wealth ★★☆☆☆

others' opinions ★☆☆☆☆ (only very specific people matter to him and they can be counted on one hand)

[greaterbalrogcat]

Would it be cool if we got a Bora unit review?

UNIT REVIEW: BORA/BAZIBASTRA

stats are at level 50 because i have decided that using stats at level 60 was kinda cringe of me, y'all ain't spending 15 dark eyes on catman lmao

bazibastra, henceforth referred to as bora (due to first form being named bora and i hate typing out bazibastra), is an alien nuker and part of the nature's guardians elemental pixies uber banner, commonly referred to as elemental pixies or just pixies. this is one of the most straightforwardly good units in the game.

bora's 8k dps (66.9k dph) and 85.6k health outside of its target trait are decent enough to survive in mixed stages, and against aliens, these quadruple and quintuple respectively to 33341.08 dps (267840 dph) and 427950 health. it also has 100% barrier breaker, as is consistent across all elemental pixies (as of 13.0) and warp immune, both to make it viable against starred aliens. its three knockbacks are standard, giving it decent survivability without sacrificing too much durability, and 390 range allows it to outrange a solid amount of aliens while being able to tank anything it can't outrange. speed and cost are roughly average, with cost being slightly lower than the typical uber but about standard for a pixie, and cooldown is decently low, giving it very solid mobility.

bora, as with most pixies, is at its best in into the future (itf) and cats of the cosmos (cotc). both itf's common aliens (hyppoh, maawth, helmut krabbe, lemurr, mistress celeboodle) and major threats (cyberhorn, imperator sael, ursamajor, nimoy bore, bun bun symbiote, all three moon bosses) will either get outranged or tanked by bora and then murdered. cotc's aliens tend to have warp or barrier, both of which bora nullifies, and the threatening itf enemies brought back to cotc continue to get crushed. cotc's high pushing power and reliance on CC to stall big threats don't exactly help bora, but its low cooldown helps a lot with getting another out after the first goes down, and the only real issue with bora in cotc is the rare non-alien threat and restrictions that deny you the use of bora.

bora's relevance continues into UL and advent stages, where its high stats make it more useful in a less CC-based meta. while alien threats are much rarer than they were in the alien-based story chapters (obviously), starred aliens tend to have much higher stats than the average enemy (increased to counteract cotc treasures), and the high stat fast pushers of star peng and mesocosmocyclone can be countered by bora fairly easily, as long as you meatshield them enough. the occasional overbuffed cyberhorn or nimoy bore will go through the same. advent bosses such as wanwan, queen b, and puffsley are made much easier by bora, and some advent stages (such as wahwah revenge and zonel) have use for bora despite the boss not being an alien, due to problematic alien peons. ZL consistently bringing back advents may lead to bora seeing increased use in endgame as well.

bora is arguably the best elemental pixie. in a set where only two or three ubers can be considered "bad" (aer, bliza, tekachi (the new pixie that's fat and turns into a thwomp, posted a video of him here)), this is pretty damn impressive. the only three units that can challenge this title are lumina, the legend rare, gravi, an incredible tank with great waving ability, and voli, a 100% freeze anti-alien with solid uptime and low cooldown. thing's busted

tl;dr: great anti-alien nuker, good compatibility, will carry through itf and cotc, keeps working even into lategame

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #13P: Robin Hood

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re rebuilding Robin Hood in Pathfinder 2e! Last time I rand into some complications with how to build Gil. I am very grateful for the people in the comments who gave me some tips, but boy am I happy that Robin’s a bit less involved. Making a thieving rogue a Thief Rogue is a snap. We’ll also pop into the Archer, Snarecrafter, and Poisoner archetypes to make him the crossbow-wielding saboteur we all don’t know and love.

Check out his build breakdown below the cut, or his character sheet over here!

Next up: Cat! I’m a kitty cat! And I dance dance dance, and I dance dance dance.

Ancestry and Background

Unless you’re addicted to Disney, Robin Hood is a Human, specifically a skilled human, giving him a boost to Dexterity and Intelligence as well as free training in Thievery, with expertise at level 5. You also gain some General Training off the bat to become a Pickpocket. This means that you can steal closely guarded objects without the usual penalty if it’s something easy to nick- you can even do so against a creature in combat if you’re a master thief, though it comes with a penalty and takes two actions.

At level 5 you become a Clever Improviser, letting you add half your level (or all of it past level 7 to untrained skill checks. You can even use training-required actions! You live out in the forest, you have to be pretty good at just about everything.

At level 9 you can use Group Aid to help out your merry men, using the same aid action to help multiple people do the same thing, like using your hands as a boost to scale a wall.

Speaking of merry men, at level 13 your Advanced General Training makes you one hell of a Hireling Manager, giving your hirelings a bonus to all skill checks without affecting the cost of their services.

Finally at level 17 we’ll get more general training to execute an Expeditious Search, letting you spend half as long to search any given area. Also, once you hit legendary in perception that time gets cut to one fourth.

Robin also fights against illegitimate kings a lot more than your common pickpocket, so I’ve decided to make him an Insurgent. This gives him a boost in Wisdom and Dexterity, training in Deception and Warfare lore, and the Lengthy Diversion feat- critically succeeding in creating a diversion means you’ll still stay hidden for at least one more round. More than enough time to put some distance between you and the sheriff of Nottingham.

Class Levels

1. Yeah, yeah, the man’s name is Robbin, obviously he’d be a Rogue. This gives you training in Stealth, Acrobatics, Nature, Survival, Athletics, Diplomacy, Medicine, and Forest Lore, as well as Performance, Society, Intimidation, and Arcana as your intelligence increases. On top of that, you’re also trained in unarmed and simple weapons, as well as the rapier, the sap, the shortbow, and the shortsword, as well as your Class DC and Fortitude saves. You’re also an expert in Perception, Reflex saves, and Will saves.

You also get an Ability Boost in Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom, and you’re good enough around traps to function as a Trap Finder. This gives you a +1 bonus to find traps, as well as a bonus to your AC and Saves against traps. You’re also able to find traps automatically without searching. You can also disable traps that need a rank higher in thievery, and once you’re a master you get a +2 bonus to boot.

You also pick up your Rogue’s Racket- your subclass, basically. As a Thief, your Key Ability is Dexterity, giving you another boost there, and you can use that dexterity while making melee finesse attacks. You also would get trained in thievery, but we’ll grab Crafting instead. That’s a secret tool for later.

Later is now, btw. You can use Crafting for Snare Crafting, letting you add recipes for four common snares to your formula book. Now You’ve got sabotage ready to go! For example, a trip snare can make a creature flat-footed, which feeds right into your next feature, Sneak Attack. Hit a flat-footed creature with an agile/finesse melee attack or a ranged attack, and you deal an extra 1d6 precision damage. That’ll grow as you level up, but even if you haven’t set up your snares you can always make a Surprise Attack if you used deception or stealth for initiative, since all creatures acting after you are flat-footed as far as you’re concerned.

2. At second level you can use a Quick Draw to attack and draw your weapon with the same action. You’re not exactly Billy the Kid, but playing fair was never your strong suit either. For further sneakiness, you become a Terrain Stalker to move through the Underbrush of Sherwood Forest a lot easier. While undetected, you can sneak without a check as long as you move 5’ per turn and don’t get too close to enemies. You can get up to 15’ without an issue, but more importantly you can use this to sneak away without worrying about a nat 1. We’ll still bump up your Stealth anyway though so we can get No Face May King. Eventually.

Finally, you may have noticed that rogues don’t get proficiency with any sort of crossbow, which puts a crimp in our plans. Or it would, if not for the Archer Dedication giving us proficiency with all Simple and Martial bows, plus the critical specialization with bows we’re an expert with. Unlike D&D, crossbows are the same kind of weapon as regular bows, so now you’ve got your signature weapon, along with any other bow you’d like to try.

3. At level 3 you can Deny Advantage to flanking creatures who are lower level than you are. Those random guards aren’t really a threat to you, conservation of ninjutsu and all. You’re also Streetwise, so you can use your society bonus to gather information, and you can recall knowledge to gather info from settlements you regularly hang out in. One huge benefit to the Merry Men- you have eyes and ears everywhere.

Sometimes you need to figure stuff out for yourself though, and Shadow Mark makes it easier for you to do so by giving people a penalty to notice you’re following them. We’ll also make your Crafting a bit stronger for more impressive sabotage.

4. At level 4, you can finally Poison Weapons, like your crossbow! It takes an action, and then you have until the end of your next turn to use the poisoned weapon, wasting the poison on a critical miss. You can also make your level in injury poisons each long rest. They only last the day, but hey it’s free poison.

You can also Quiet Allies while you sneak, letting you all use the same roll while sneaking. Again, natural ones suck, so the less chance you have to roll them the better. You get better at Deception, and you can make a Point-Blank Shot, adding a +2 bonus to damage against nearby enemies when you use your crossbow. Robin has some crazy damage for a 3-star, so we’re picking up hurt wherever we can this build.

5. At fifth level your Ability Boost bumps up your Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom. You also get a lot better at living in the woods, growing your Nature skill and becoming a Forager. If you use survival to subsist, you always get a success, and you can provide food for yourself and up to four creatures, or twice as much on a success. This’ll also double every time you increase your proficiency in survival, to eight, then 16, then 32. For now it’s just four though.

As far as weapons go, you learn some neat Weapon Tricks, making you an expert with rogue weapons (and bows), and now you can use the critical specialization of all of them! You only get the rogue CS when they’re flat-footed though. That being said, sticking a creature to the wall with an arrow is a classic Robin Hood move.

6. You’ve gotten so good at setting up ambushes that now you can Anticipate Ambushes by moving half your speed while exploring. If you do so, you use your perception for initiative, and any creatures using stealth take a -2 penalty to the roll.

You also learn how to put on a Quick Disguise, spending only 5 minutes to hide yourself, and getting faster each time you level up your deception. We’re leveling up Society right now though, but your deception’s also pretty good.

Finally, you are a Crossbow Terror, giving you another +2 bonus to damage with crossbows, and if you’re using a simple crossbow (like a hand crossbow is) you can bump up the damage die from a d6 to a d8! So even ignoring sneak attack and poison, your bolts are already getting pretty hefty!

7. Seventh level rogues get Evasion regardless of which game you’re playing, though here it makes you a master at reflex saves and your successes are always critical.

You also gain some Criminal Connections from your Merry Men, letting you make a society check to meet up with important criminals and ask for favors if you’re in a settlement you’ve made connections in.

You’re also sometimes a noble? Or maybe you’re just pretending to be one. Either way you have Courtly Graces, letting you use society to make impressions on nobles and impersonate them. Admittedly you still need deception to hide as a specific noble… and also your deception’s good anyway… but still, it’s in character.

We’ll also take a moment to make you a master in Stealth with your skill increase, as well as perception thanks to your Vigilant Senses. Finally, your Weapon Specialization lets you do even more damage with weapons you’re good with. Hey, like crossbows! At this point you’re doing more flat damage with your crossbow than dice damage.

8. At level eight your Improved Poison Weapon doubles the damage of those piddly damage poisons you’ve got knocking around, and critical failures don’t get rid of poison on a weapon. You can also Swift Sneak around at full speed to keep your distance after delivering some of that sweet sweet death juice.

Finally, you’re a master at Crafting now, which will help as we pick up the Snarecrafter Dedication, which lets you make up to 6 snares per day for absolutely free. Now you’ve got a properly impressive number of ways to mess up someone’s day.

9. At level nine you get the Debilitating Strike free action, which you can use while dealing damage to a flat-footed creature, either reducing their speed or enfeebling them for a round. Looks like I spoke too soon last level. Now you have an impressive number of day-messing-up techniques.

You also have Great Fortitude, making you an expert in fortitude saves, and you’re also a master of Thievery. Finally, you can now make Discreet Inquiries, since being obvious about asking around on how to rob a rich guy is liable to get you thrown in jail. When you gather information, people trying to gather information about you gathering information have to beat your deception dc to do so. Don’t worry, we’ll get to deception next level.

10. Tenth level rogues get an Ability Boost in Dexterity, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. You also get a lot sneakier this level as a Sneak Savant making you auto-succeed on failed sneaks, and you can Foil Senses while stealthing to auto-take precautions against special senses. No Face May King is nothing to sneeze at. Also don’t actually sneeze, that might give you away.

We promised last level, so you’re a master at Deception now.

Finally, you can use Quick Snares, letting you craft any minute-long snare in only 3 actions. You work good under pressure.

11. At level eleven you become an Incredible Scout, giving your allies a +2 bonus on initiative while scouting ahead. You know, like archers do in actual FGO. You’re also an expert in your Class DC, and your Slippery Secrets means even mind reading can’t figure you out. That’s the power of wearing a piece of cloth over your face baby!

Finally, we’ll make you a little better at Acrobatics so you can swing across gaps on makeshift ropes better. Again it’s an oddly specific thing but I think you do it a lot.

12. At level 12 you learn how to make Bloody Debilitations, packing even more damage into a single shot by dealing persistent bleed damage after making a debilitating strike. You can also use Nimble Crawl to get into position unnoticed, letting you crawl at half speed, and you’re now a master in Society for even more convincing disguises against nobles.

Finally, your Powerful Snares can have stronger DCs, either taking their own or your Class DC, whichever is higher. The big downside of a lot of equipment in D&D is how it doesn’t scale- in pathfinder, it does. Time to break it.

13. Thirteenth level rogues get Improved Evasion, making you a legend in reflex saves, and you don’t get critical failures any more. Instead, regular failures mean you take half damage. You also have Incredible Senses, making you a legend in Perception as well. Also your armor is expert now, but that’s less impressive, and so is being a master in weapons.

We’ll also bump up your Forest Lore to expert, but the only new thing this level is your Underground Network, which you can make over the course of a week normally or a full day of downtime. When you use society to gather info, you can contact one of your network in about an hour, gathering information with less public scrutiny. It also gives you a +1 bonus to your next recall knowledge check if it involves what your merry men were talking about.

14. At level 14 you learn how to use a Defensive Roll to avoid dropping to 0 HP. Once every ten minutes, you can use this free action to halve incoming damage from the attack that would knock you unconscious. Now we… kind of? have May King’s in-game use. I mean really you’d only use evade when you’re about to die anyway, so it’s probably fine.

You can also Quick Unlock locks in only one action now, and your Acrobatics are a little better than before, so you can move at full speed while prone.

Finally, we pick up our final archetype, the Poisoner Dedication, giving you the Infused Reagents class feature to make your own reagents, and the Alchemical Crafting feat to add four alchemical poisons to your crafting book.

15. At level 15 you get an Ability Boost in Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, and your Double Debilitation means you can add two options to your debilitating strike instead of one.

You also become legendary at Deception, and your Doublespeak lets you speak to your merry men without arousing suspicion from any sheriffs nearby. It’ll also work on any allies who’ve traveled with you for at least a week.

You can Kip Up as a free action to stand from prone without provoking reactions. You might be fast while crawling around, but you’re still flat-footed, which as we’ve found out by now is really bad.

Finally, your Greater Weapon Specialization helps you do even more damage with weapons you’re good with.

16. We’re in the home stretch now! Let’s get silly. At level 16 you become a Blank Slate, so any and all detection, revelation, and scrying effects ignore you entirely unless they can counteract level 10 effects. No Face May King means no face. You’re also legendary in Thievery now, which is why you’re a Legendary Thief, letting you steal items that are actively being worn over the course of a minute. You have to keep hidden the whole time, but that’s not exactly a problem, now is it?

Finally, you’re an Expert Poisoner, so now you can craft poisons up to 3 below your current level. For example, one kind of level 13 poison is Purple Worm Venom, which has a DC 32 save, lasts up to 6 rounds, and deals several d6 per round while enfeebling its prey. You can just. Make that now. It’s yours.

Wild what a game can do when it bothers to actually make rules involving poison, huh?

17. At level seventeen we’re popping back to a low-level feat to make you a Confabulator, completely negating the bonus most creatures would get from you trying to lie or cause a diversion multiple times.

You also have a Slippery Mind, making you a master of Will saves and criticalling all your successes. Finally, you’re now legendary in Crafting so you can make up to 8 snares per long rest for free, and even more terrifying poisons.

18. Did I say eight? I meant 16, thanks to Plentiful Snares. You can also Craft Anything now, so you can get up to level 18 poisons. Unfortunately the only level 18 poison doesn’t work with a crossbow, but we’ll keep you updated.

You’re also legendary in Society now. That’s not quite as flashy, but you use Society a lot so it’s a good skill to have.

19. I don’t think NFMK actually gives you True Perception, but when will I get the chance to use this feat again? Besides, something something “you’re good at deception so you see through others” means you now have a permanent True Seeing spell attached to your eyeballs.

You become a master in rogue armor as well as your Class DC, and you can use a Master Strike as a free action, adding another effect to your sneak attack once per day per creature, which forces a fortitude save. If they succeed, they’re enfeebled for a bit. If they fail, they’re paralyzed for longer. Finally, on a critical fail the target either gets paralyzed, knocked unconscious for 2 hours, or straight up dies. This is it, this is Robin’s NP from before they fixed his damage scaling.

Also, for some out of combat stuff you can make Quick Contacts in a single hour, basically you’re just rolling up with the merry men and they’re taking care of everything. You’re also legendary in Stealth, something we probably should have done earlier but w/e most games don’t hit level 19 anyway.

20. On your last level you get a last Ability Boost in Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom, and you also become a Hidden Paragon. Once per hour as a reaction you can become invisible for a full minute, even while attacking. Spells can’t reveal you (they couldn’t anyway), but people can still find you the old-fashioned way. Theoretically. Because you’re also a Legendary Sneak, letting you hide and sneak without any cover at all, and you avoid notice automatically while traveling.

We’ll also bump up your Survival skills a bit for better hunting, and pop back to Archer real quick for a Mobile Shot Stance. Spend an action, fall into a stance, don’t trigger attacks of opportunity while making ranged attacks. You can also make attacks of opportunity with your own crossbows if you’d like, that’d be fun.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

You’re great at stealing things, which is not only fun but a great way to get a leg up in the economy game. You can even straight up steal weapons out of your enemy’s hands, which is a funny little trick to pull. And of course, you can always reverse steal stuff to pin one of your many, many crimes on another person, getting them out of the way without ever having to fight them at all.

On a semi-related note, you’re also great at not being seen. You are impossibly stealthy, with several ways to bypass rolling entirely, and even succeeding your stealth rolls on everything but a critical failure. It’s almost like you’re robbing people while wearing some kind of clothing that hides you from viewers. A “robbing hood” if you will. Wait…

Also tying into point number two- poisons. You have a lot of them, and you can make some really nasty shit. Add in using your crossbow as a delivery system, and you become a terrifying force to be reckoned with, using a ranged attack to deliver deadly poison and immediately disappearing into thin air. The only thing stopping you from being even better at offing people is not being an assassin.

Cons:

If you’re playing to character, you might find fighting someone in close range can be a bit of a pickle, especially since we don’t pick up mobile shot stance until level 20. Rogues aren’t super beefy, so letting enemies get extra attacks on you is not a good move.

Poisons are Expensive, especially if you want the top shelf shit. You do get 20 injury poisons and 20 alchemical reagents a day for free which is nothing to sneeze at, but if you want to hit someone hard you’re going to be spending a lot of that “to the poor” money getting ingredients.

Despite being a lying roguish guy, you’re not that charismatic, so actually disguising yourself might go south if you aren’t careful. Better play it safe and stick with disappearing entirely.

[c4rdsharp]

     RUMORS SPECULATING ON THE ‘PROFESSION’ OF A HANDSOME OUTLANDER.

from a bartender at the Angel’s Share :

     “ that one? you don’t know him? that’s Mr. Luck Gandor. he’s a . . . regular of Mondstadt, you could say. he’s no local of ours. yeah, he looks the part -- compared to most people from Fontaine, he dresses pretty modestly. and, since he tends to hang around here for some business or whatever, most people are pretty familiar with him & his company. although, the young lass with the swords is pretty new . . . gotta say, i’ve never seen him correspond with a lot of women. especially on a professional basis, so i’m a little surprised . . . hey, word of advice? i know you’re capable of handling yourself, but since you’re a friend of master diluc, i’d feel pretty bad if i at least don’t give you the warning : you should stay away from that guy. he looks pretty friendly, but he’s one of those types, y’know? the kind that acts like all is business, but the business they’re in is one of trouble . . . just, don’t stick around him, if you can. i’ve seen & heard enough to know that people who associate with him don’t tend to last very long. “

from a regular at the Cat’s Tail :

     “ hey, shhhh! not so loud! you don’t want that guy to hear us, right? don’t give me that look, that guy’s got ears everywhere! don’t believe me? fine, you go blabbing his name out in the middle of Mondstadt, and see where that gets you. don’t come running to me when you find yourselves awake at the bottom of a casket . . . listen, i have a friend who owed that guy just a bit of a cash. nothing much really, just . . . y’know, an amount. and, they fell a little bit behind on the day they promised to pay up. they really did mean to, they just were short a bit of Mora, but that didn’t matter to him now, did it? almost got my friend pummeled to an early afterlife! the sisters had to nurse their wounds for weeks, and the guy still had the audacity to demand my friend to pay up. it cost ‘em every bit of Mora not to get sent there again. i don’t think they would’ve survived, if they were . . . point is, you shouldn’t be asking about him. shouldn’t even be here, bringing it up! if you know what’s good for you, you should wash your hands of everything this guy is. don’t talk to him, don’t talk about him, don’t go to his establishments, don’t go to any -- what? no, i’m not telling you. no, that’s a death sentence. just, forget i even said anything about, alright? the only places you should go to get a drink are the Angel’s Share or the Cat’s Tail. in fact, as far as i’m concerned, those are the only places to get a drink in town. get away from me before you get a target on my back! “

from a resident of Yujing Terrace :

     “ hm? why, yes, i’m familiar with that young man. Mr. Gandor, is it? he owns quite a sizable property here. possibly one of the few non - locals who can afford such a luxury. i find him . . . an interesting character. most people are scared stiff of the gentleman, and for good reason -- i’d be quite naive to say i don’t see his more problematic elements. but, he’s a true professional! and quite the intellectual, at that! i’ve had the honor of dining with him for a night. oh, i assure you. it was all above board. i have no interest investing myself in his less savory affairs. we were discussing a sale of valuable materials i had acquired through trade. i didn’t have a particular use for them, so i was interested in selling. as it turns out, Mr. Gandor was interested in buying, so i naturally pushed aside my reservations. besides, i was curious. i wanted to know what such a man was like and, to be quite honest, my expectations weren’t very high. surely, a man with that sort of reputation ought to be less than refined, correct? well, as it turns out, quite the opposite! Not only was he professional & well - versed in all manner of topics, but he turned out to be quite charming & affable. Perhaps a tad too shrewd for my own liking, but that was only because i was so determined to make a profitable sell. i’m sure under more casual circumstances, he’d be quite delightful. not that i suggest getting too familiar with him, of course, but an occasional conversation shouldn’t hurt you. if anything, i think you’d learn a thing or two. “

from an employee of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor :

     “ Mr. Gandor? of course i recognize that name! he’s one of our most important & frequent customers, after all! not that we’ve ever struggled with business -- people die all the time, and they will always need to be taken care of, but it would certainly be harder for us if Mr. Gandor didn’t use our services! in fact, i think both the Director and Zhongli are quite fond of him. or, at the very least, they speak very highly of him. i can’t say i ever really met Mr. Gandor myself, save for the occasional run - ins, but he seems pleasant enough. i’m well aware of what people say about him, and perhaps his frequency in our services should be alarming, but he doesn’t strike me as cruel. i’ve been in this line of work long enough to know when people respect the dead & when they don’t, and Mr. Gandor certainly does. there’s an air to him that feels very much like a funeral itself, like Death is right beside him. Or, that he is Death. i’m sure to most everyone else that sort of personality is uncomfortable, but in a funeral parlor such as ours, it’s one we feel quite at home by! if you see Mr. Gandor, please do tell him to give us a more casual visit some time! “

from a clerk at the Yae Publishing House :

     “ oh, yes, that young man has been dropping by for quite awhile now. is there something you need from him? oh? dangerous, you say? oh, i’m not quite sure about that. if he was, Lady Yae surely would’ve done something by now about him, wouldn’t you think? besides, i can’t really find anyone who buys light novels like he does all that intimidating . . . you seem confused? he doesn’t strike you as the light novel type? no, he certainly doesn’t, does he? but, aren’t we all full of surprises! there are a number of people who drop by to pick up books that i would never think in a million years would be the type to read something like Onibudou, so his appearance isn’t all that shocking to me. although, his selection is rather interesting. i mean, for sure, looks can be misleading, but it’s not every day you have someone collect the kinds of books he does. there is your usual light novel faire, of course, but then he proceeds to pick out & ask about various poetry collections and lengthier books that get a sale about every once a month, if they’re lucky. i’ve never seen someone with such a wide range in book tastes . . . now that you mention it, i did hear him mutter something about a friend once. could it be . . . ? well, now i can’t find him scary. if he’s buying these sorts of stories for a friend, i have to think he’s got a kind soul, wouldn’t you agree? it’s hard to consider someone a villain when they do little things like this for people. “

from an officer under the Tenryou Commission :

     “ hey, you know anything about this outlander? huh, why you asking me? isn’t it normal to be suspicious of your lot? well, i’ll admit, this guy reeks of trouble. even by outlander standards, he’s got guilty written all over him. we haven’t received a complaint or anything yet, but c’mon. that guy is obviously up to something bad here. look, between you and me, i’m glad the Almighty Shogun had lifted up the Sakoku Degree & all that, but it does invite a bit of trouble, doesn’t it? sure, some foreigners want to do business with us & that’s all fine and good, but what about those who’s business it is to promote villainy? i don’t care how the general public perceive him. eh? yeah, he’s real popular with the folks around here for some reason. i don’t know why ; maybe it’s ‘cuz he’s so well - traveled or something. after all, most of us have never left Inazuma in our lives, but still, it’s weird, right? like, there’s got to be more there. look, i’ve overheard him & that katana - wielding girlie talking about some ‘business’ or whatever, and it didn’t sound too good. it’s not enough to prosecute either of them, but i still think it’d be good to keep an eye on them. they’ve already been in a few scrapes, but that was with ronin & they both claim self - defense to the whole thing. i don’t know what they’re up to, but nobody goes out looking for trouble like they do, you know? “

[carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich]

please do 💀

Apologies for the delay in answering this anon!

For this ask game

☠️ - If you were sent to the Sakamaki brothers as a sacrifice, based off of first impressions only, which one of them would you pick as a keeper and what do you honestly think your fate would be?

Okay I know my answer to the first half of this question because I vividly remember playing the HDB prologue about 3 years now and if that was my introduction to the Sakamaki family, I'd pick Shuu with basically no hesitation because all of the others come across as unhinged. Also, if I'm being entirely honest, he'd probably be my top choice based on looks alone, even without factoring the brothers' personalities into account.

As for how it'd go... I'm not entirely confident I'd survive the boys for that long but I do have a couple of points in my favour, namely that I'm definitely somewhere on the do-M spectrum, I'm generally pretty quiet and on the whole I'm incredibly conflict avoidant and will often capitulate if I think pressing a point is going to be more trouble than it's worth. Admittedly with someone like Ayato, I'd probably end up boring him and get killed off before too long, but with Shuu, I might just survive for a bit.

I suspect I'd start out trying to avoid him and everyone else, and not even because they're vampires, but because I know from experience that I can get quite bad social anxiety when faced with new housemates.

(side note, I have no idea of what the boys would make of:

Diaboy: Hah, you're trembling, are you that afraid of having your blood sucked?

Me: Oh no, I was scared you were about to try to start a conversation.)

At some point, I'd probably start to realise that unless I actually went through with my choice then I'd be liable to be preyed upon by everyone in the mansion, at which point I'd try to stay in Shuu's presence as much as possible in the hopes he'd act as a deterrent (even at the cost of some blood). Tbh it'd probably end up a lot like Shuu's HDB route, but with less conversation and as much as I'd like to say that I wouldn't end up in a situation where I'd have to physically move him around, I know what I'm like and I suspect I'd reach a point where I felt duty bound to do something (definitely the bathtub scene because the lack of hygiene would bother me massively and I'd worry about him going mouldy or something).

The only thing is I don't see myself developing feelings for him because I'm a lot more emotionally closed-off than Yui so I suspect I'd just get stuck in some sort of purgatory until one of the brothers got tired of my presence and decided to drain me dry RIP

Sorry that got so long but thank you so much for the ask, I hope you have a good day!

[thrythlind]

People bled and died to create the highways and bridges that connect us but the credit was given to the people that sit in offices. Then these constructions were left to just sit and rot except for the most famous of them. Now our streets are cracked and full of pot holes and hearing about a bridge collapse is no longer an isolated incident.

Houses are built by people who will never live inside or know the people who are there. They are purchased by people with more money than they need and left empty as an investment. People are priced out of their homes and the solution our governments have for homelessness is to criminalize feeding the homeless or making the environment hostile to dwell in.

Companies make engineers, craftsmen, and artists sign over their rights to claim the results of their effort. Bury their names away and make sure no one ever associates a product with anything other than a brand name. While the actual creators are paid a pittance and often told they need to get a "real job".

Restaurant workers, store workers, delivery drivers, workers in food processing plants, and industrial farmers work under dehumanizing conditions and treated as if they are subhuman for pay that doesn't even come close to meeting the basic cost of living expenses a person has in this day and age.

The business environment is designed so that small-scale businesses, family farms, and any thing where the owners are able to keep a close connection to their customer base and employees just can't survive. Some owners fold and go to work for corporations, others take short-cuts and begin to mistreat their employees or customers. And in the end it only takes longer for them to fail.

Companies only care about their shareholders. That's their customer. The consumer is a cog in the machine. They are product. Revenue. The entitled jerk may come in screaming "the customer is always right" and they wrong on multiple accounts, especially that they aren't the customer. The employees get paid subsistence wages and given zero authority or power. They pretty much exist to be yelled out by people so that the share-holders and company execs can live without being bothered by their complaints or existence.

Few of us any longer own our own homes. We're a population of itinerant workers just some of us travel less than others. We're prevented from ever setting down a permanent presence and at the whim of a landlord or employer we can be kicked out to the road.

And we're told by our governments to blame this all on each other. Blame it on people who are different. Blame it on fellow victims.

[weyrwolfen]

Eidola: Chapter 01 - CT-6157 Helix

Rating: T

Characters: Gen, Clone Trooper OCs, Captain Rex, Ahsoka Tano, and other canon members of the 501st/332nd

Warnings: canon-typical violence; references to self-harm, injuries, and substance abuse; PTSD; it’s post-Order 66 and nobody is having a good time (but they’re all working on it)

Summary: The mission was never to bring down the Empire. Not really. The mission was to save every single one of their chipped brothers. But if doing do helped break the Empire’s stranglehold on the galaxy? Well, that was just a bonus.

“Pretty sure I’ve picked up a tail.”

Helix leaned over from his post by the boarded-up window and rapped his knuckles on the table, plastoid cracking sharply against the scuffed, metal surface. When Flick and Vault looked up from their game of sabacc, he tapped the side of his helmet, over one ear.

“Took you long enough. Description?”

“Human male. Blue coveralls, prosthetic left leg. Using the scrap cart for cover.”

Additional designation numbers started to appear in the lower left corner of Helix’s heads up display, Reapers coming online one sealed helmet at a time. Vault and Flick had both stood up from the pieces of rubble they’d been using as seats. The sabacc cards had disappeared somewhere under Vault’s decidedly un-regulation cloak, as had the small stack of credits that had been riding on the game. Tough break for Flick, as usual.

“Got him. Kriff, Clip, you really know how to pick ’em.”

“Figured he could use the credits.”

“No kidding.”

“Less chatter, more details, Dart,” said another voice, cutting across the comms chatter. Designation CT-6873 rolled to the top of the list, paired with the Republic cog designating the officer in charge of this mission. Ridge.

“Sorry, sir. Clip’s picked up a promising mark. Sloppy, definite civilian, about six blocks southwest of Reaper Two’s position and closing.”

“Your call Clip, should we expect company?”

“I’m feeling pretty solid on this one.”

“Alright. Team leaders, everything ready on your ends?”

“Reaper One, standing by,” Mimic said, his designation taking its turn at the top of Helix’s display.

One of these days, they’d figure out how to replace everyone’s numbers with their actual names, but being unable to access the military’s centralized backups made tinkering with their armors’ programming a risky proposition.

Helix pressed the button on his wrist comm to transmit and said, “Reaper two, ready and waiting.”

“Reaper Three, popping the seals on the stasis tanks now, sir,” said Shrike.

“You heard ‘em, Clip. Bring your new friend home to meet the family.”

Helix ducked out of Flick’s way and waved Vault over to help tip the heavy worktable on its side. It was the only piece of furniture remaining in the derelict building, and it probably had only escaped the looting of the rest of the neighborhood by virtue of how karking heavy it was. The chances they’d have to use it as cover from blaster fire were vanishingly small, but the Captain had drilled into every Reaper the need be working on plans C through H while executing plan A. Troopers who didn’t take that lesson to heart usually ended up cycled onto less dangerous mission teams.

Or dead.

“Three blocks,” Dart says over the comm channel. “Slow down, your buddy’s balking now that you’ve turned off the main drag.”

“Anything?” Helix asked, drawing his DH-16 and thumbing the selector switch from safe to stun.

“Nothing yet,” answered Flick, his own blaster already in hand. He had taken Helix’s previous position, covering the building’s only functional door and watching the street through the cracks in the badly patched window.

The little workshop had once had a small apartment attached to the back, but someone had taken it into their heads to bomb the local refinery during the war, and the surrounding neighborhood hadn’t survived the incident unscathed. Apparently the old facility hadn’t been worth the cost to repair in the interim, nor had the damaged homes and storefronts surrounding it.

Helix wasn’t about to complain though, not when the dilapidated, abandoned wreckage gave them so many options.

Vault had posted up next to a gap in one of the room’s collapsed walls. It’d be a tight fit in full armor, but the hole was well-concealed by some strategically shifted debris in the neighboring alley and could provide an alternate means of egress if things got dicey.

“Two blocks,” Dart says.

“I’ve got eyes on Clip,” Flick says across the open comm channel.

Everyone was tense. Waiting.

“One block.”

“Do you have a visual on the civilian?” Helix asked quietly.

Flick shifted, scanning the street as best he could through the rough slats. His left hand, the one not holding his blaster, flashed the sign for, “Not yet.”

The scuff of boot treads, and oddly enough, a soft chirping sound outside announced Clip’s arrival, even before Dart sent the confirmation.

“Clip’s new friend is hiding around the corner of that last side-alley. Reaper Two, he’s all yours.”

The door rattled, mostly for show. Someone must have pried out the locking mechanism years ago.

Flick signed, “Target in sight.”

Helix hand flashed a confirmation as the door swung open.

Clip stepped through the door, bringing with him a cascade of late afternoon sunlight and a woven haversack full of… something. Several somethings, from the sound of it, and all making little peeping sounds.

Everyone waited to react until the door swung closed, hiding them all from any unfriendly eyes.

Helix gestured at the bag and signed a quick interrogatory as Clip lowered the container to the floor, much to the apparent irritation of the haversack’s occupants.

“Food,” his fingers flashed. He pulled back his hood to reveal a slightly lopsided smirk on his face.

Ridge himself had given Clip a small bag of credits and instructed him to use his best judgement spending them while trolling the markets for a likely target. Food was a reasonable purchase, but Helix hadn’t been expecting anything so… lively.

Clip pulled back the flap from the top of the pack and gestured for Helix to look for himself.

Helix stepped forward and found several dozen sets of hatchling reptavian eyes looking back up at him. He only barely managed to stifle a startled bark of laughter.

Sure, yeah. Food.

“Mark’s on the move again,” Dart’s voice dragged them all back on task. “I’m in pursuit.”

Flick watched at the window for a long moment before finally looking back at the others and saying, “All clear.”

“Suit up,” Helix said to Clip, whose armor was neatly stacked against the wall, right where he had left it that morning. “Vault, we need your eyes up top.”

Vault picked up his blaster rifle, but he paused for a moment to look at the chirping sack. “What’s in the bag?”

Helix did snort then. “You heard Clip. It’s food,” he drawled.

“Right,” Vault said, dragging out the word in dubious sarcasm, but he did head back to the hole in the wall, twisting to maneuver his armor through the awkward space.

“You know Shrike’s going to hit the roof if those things get loose on his ship?” Helix felt obligated to say.

Clip had already shrugged out of his loose, concealing cloak and was unlacing the purloined set of civilian boots he’d been wearing over his dusty, black body glove. He just shrugged, tugging the first boot off and dropping it unceremoniously to the floor. “Kix has been after us to figure out a supplemental source of protein,” he said, unlacing the other boot. “Besides, the Commander will love them.”

And weren’t those just the magic words to dry up any additional complaints? Fact was, the Commander would love them, fresh meat being rather hard to come by in their line of work.

“You want me to carry those boots?” Flick asked dryly, still watching the street intently.

“Nah,” Clip said, pulling on his boots and greaves, latching them in place with something resembling relief. “Pretty sure they’ve given me blisters.”

The heavy tread of booted feet on the cracked roof sent a fine layer of dust down on their heads. “How’s the view up there?” Helix asked Vault over the comms.

“Beige,” came the grumbled reply. From the sound of things, he was settling down in the sniper’s nest they’d prepared overlooking the street.

“Let me know if that changes,” Helix said.

“Anybody got a spare ration bar?” Clip asked, tugging his cuirass over his shoulders. He had to stop awkwardly, half-way through the procedure though, when his modified comms system caught on the circuitry inside the plating. “And a wireless earpiece, maybe?”

Helix walked over and carefully released the trailing wires. “You should have let Pipes tape that mess down,” he said, tugging Clip’s armor into place.

“Easier to rip off this way,” Clip replied, snugging down his cuirass against his plackart and then starting on his vambraces and gauntlets. “Plus, I figure we need the medical tape more elsewhere.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong there either.

Helix waited until Clip had secured his remaining armor to his arms and buckled his utility belt and green-trimmed kama around his waist before handing over a wrapped ration bar.

Instead of eating it himself, as Helix had half-expected, Clip walked it over to the haversack and pulled out the first of two wire mesh cages by a crude, twisted handle.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Flick said, eyeing their new cargo for the first time.

“What?” Clip asked, setting the first cage on the floor before pulling out the second one as well. The little reptavians screeched. “They can survive off of just about anything, breed like swamp rats, and once they get older, they grill up nicely. I’m told their eggs are pretty decent eating too.” He crumbled up the ration bar and sprinkled the pieces over the two cages. True to his words, the tiny animals ravenously snapped up the processed nutrients.

Flick stared for a long moment, before finally shaking his head and turning back to look out of the window. “You’re explaining this to Ridge.”

“Sure thing,” Clip said cheerfully, straightening up and dusting his hands together to scatter the last few morsels of food. “On second thought, maybe do take the boots,” he said, looking over at Flick. “They’ll probably eat the leather too.”

Helix was retrieving his vibroblade from the improvised target on the workshop wall when Dart finally commed in with an update.

“Looks like we got somebody’s attention. There’s a troop of twenty-five stormtroopers and one uniformed officer heading your direction. ETA in twenty minutes.”

Clip’s low whistle pretty well summed up Helix’s feelings on the subject. Twenty-five stormtroopers. The biggest group they’d managed to pull previously was thirteen. Was the local commander just an unusually paranoid sort, or had the Imps finally put two and two together with the scattered uptick of clone deserters, unusual criminal activity, and outright kidnappings across the Outer Rim? There was no telling with their current intel, but the Captain wasn’t going to be happy, either way.

“Looks like we’re in for a party, boys,” Ridge said. “Reaper One is in position. Reaper Two?”

Helix slid his vibroblade back into its sheath, then lifted his wrist comm and said, “We’re all in place except me, sir, and I’m heading out right now.”

Clip tossed Helix the last of their rough-spun cloaks. It was an awkward fit over full armor, but under Hadros’s two waning moons, it’d provide at least a little camouflage. More than semi-reflective, white plastoid, at least.

“Reaper Three?”

“Engines are warming up as we speak.”

“Alright Dart, get back here on the double.”

“Already en route.”

“Reaper Two, you guys are our eyes out there. Let us know what you see.”

“Will do,” Helix said, then dropping his wrist and glancing over at Clip. “Try not to get shot.” Maybe that wasn’t the most rousing pep talk he could have selected, but the sentiment was sincere.

Clip’s teeth flashed bright green in Helix’s night vision. “I’ll do my best.”

Helix cuffed a hand against the ARC trooper’s under-armored shoulder. His pauldrons, like his helmet, were waiting for him with Reaper One in the ambush site. “Vault, any reason I can’t use the front door?”

“All clear.”

That made things easy enough. Helix shouldered his blaster rifle and ducked out into the abandoned street, easing the wooden door closed behind him. They’d plotted paths along the rooftops days ago, and his assigned vantage point was across the street, overlooking Clip’s current position and the approach to the bombed-out refinery.

He darted towards the door of the empty apartment building, sharply aware of how much he stood out in the dim blue light of the twin moons, but Vault had been correct. He didn’t see anyone for blocks in either direction. He hopped through a hole in the building’s wall, completely bypassing the front door, and skidded to the left, taking the stairs to the upper floors two at a time.

He slowed his pace, crouching low as he exited the stairs and entered what had been an open common area, unslinging his rifle as he reached his destination. He'd set out a little cover for himself the evening before, just a broken door, tilted over a crumbled section of wall. It was enough to lie under and disappear into the shadows.

“I’m in position,” he reported, flipping the scope on his blaster open and settling down to watch the street the incoming stormtroopers should be taking.

A figure appeared out of a patch of deeper darkness on the roof across the street and took off down the building at a quick jog: Vault, moving further up the planned route to his next vantage point. Flick was already overlooking the final approach to the refinery, having already delivered Clip’s ‘food’ to Reaper One just after sundown.

All the parts of the trap were in place, ready to spring.

They didn’t have long to wait.

Helix heard the stormtroopers before he saw them, synchronized boots, tramping through the dust. When they rounded the corner, coming fully into view, he switched on the open comm line, “Targets in sight, four blocks to the south. Clip, get ready to move on my signal.”

“Formation?” Clip asked.

“Three abreast, uniformed officer taking up the rear.”

Closer, closer. Helix looked at the officer through the scope of his blaster rifle, cross hairs centered on the man’s forehead. He was tall and thin, too pale and too angular to be familiar. Not a clone then.

Not one of Helix’s brothers.

“Three blocks away, officer at the rear is not one of us,” Helix whispered into his com, shifting his line of sight back to the front row of stormtroopers and easing his fingertip onto the blaster’s trigger. “Clip, move in five. Four. Three. Two.

“One.”

The wooden door swung open and Clip stepped out, hood down and face bare for anyone to see.

The troopers staggered to a halt, stunned at the abrupt development. For one, frozen heartbeat, Clip stood still, the perfect picture of an eopie in speeder lights.

In the next heartbeat, he was running, tearing off down the preordained path, followed by shouts and the rattle of blasters being brought up into firing position.

Helix waited for the covering shouts from the officer and the sizzle of blaster fire before slithering out from under his door and sprinting across the roof.

“They’re taking the bait,” Helix reported to the other teams. “Vault, take over.”

He was far enough from the edge that he shouldn’t be visible from street level, but that meant that he couldn’t watch the events unfolding below either. The mission was progressing entirely according to plan, but that fact didn’t blunt the razor-edged awareness of how spectacularly this could all go wrong in an instant. Their chipped brothers shot like droids, and the new recruits like headless nuna, but long, painful experience had taught him that all it would take was one lucky shot.

“Clip’s rounding the first turn,” Vault picked up where Helix had left off. “Reaper One, expect them to be coming in hot.”

Helix ran, sprinting across uneven rooftops and leaping over fallen debris that couldn’t be avoided. Vault’s running commentary was a constant presence in Helix’s ear.

“I’m coming up on your nine, Helix,” Dart’s number popped to the top of the HUD’s feed.

Helix spared a glance over his left shoulder, and sure enough, there was Dart, skipping awkwardly, arms out for balance, across a narrow board they had positioned to bridge a gap between buildings which was just a little too wide to jump. He jerked a nod in acknowledgement and kept running.

“Take over, Flick,” Vault said, right on schedule.

“Final approach is all clear, Clip,” Flick’s designation flickered in Helix’s vision.

The wall surrounding the refinery put Helix and Dart’s rooftop shortcut to an end. They skidded to a halt, securing their gear before leaning over the edge of the roof. There was a balcony jutting out over the street from the building’s second floor. Helix dropped down onto it first, Dart following quickly behind, the racket they were making largely unnoticeable against the hail of blaster fire a block away from their position.

They were inside the building, making their way down to the ground floor, when the sound of blaster fire outside died abruptly.

“Lost my visual on Clip,” Flick reported. “Reaper One, you guys have him?”

“We’ve got him,” Mimic replied. ��What’s the word on our guests?”

“Lots of milling around and pointing going on, hold on,” Flick said, and in the ensuing silence, Helix noticed Clip’s designation number pop into place, indicating he’d reached his helmet and the rest of Reaper Team One. “Looks like they’re splitting into two groups. The officer’s staying outside with six candidates. Everyone else is advancing.”

Helix raised his wrist comm to his mouth and said, “We’re closing in on your position,” right before he and Dart slipped out of the building and sprinted across the street to a patch of deeper shadow.

“I see you,” Vault replied. “You should be good on your current approach. The main group is entering the refinery now. Of the seven staying put outside, only one is watching their six.”

Better and better. Helix ran his thumb over the selector as he ran, making absolutely sure by feel alone that it was in the stun position. They were close.

Flick said. “Vault, you’re in the best position to drop the officer.”

“Already got a bead on him,” Vault replied.

Mimic’s designation scrolled to the top of Helix’s HUD, partnered with a series of clicks that meant, ‘Team One, on my signal.’

Dart slipped in front of Helix as they neared the corner of the building around which their targets were waiting.

A rapid-fire series of clicks came across Helix’s headset, immediately followed by the muffled sound of blaster fire erupted again, muffled by the refinery’s walls. The pitch was different, slightly lower in register. The group of stormtroopers in the refinery had clearly wandered into Mimic’s kill box. Except that wasn’t really the right name for it. Stun box, maybe?

Dart put his shoulder against the wall at the building’s corner, and Helix fell in line behind him, blaster angled low against the wall. Helix transmitted his own set of ‘in position’ clicks to his team, and then placed his right hand between Dart’s shoulder blades.

“Alright, on my shot,” Vault said.

Dart glanced at Helix over his shoulder and jerked his helmet in a quick nod that needed no formal translation. ‘See you on the other side,’ it said.

Vault’s blaster shot cut through the relative quiet. It was followed by a commotion of startled shouts and a peppering of blaster fire sent, apparently without much thought to aiming, down the empty street next to Helix and Dart’s position.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, an artifact of the clones’ training, or the Kaminoans genetic tinkering, or maybe just instinctive human reflex in the face of mortal peril.

Dart pushed himself away from the wall, extending his arm to measure the distance he would need to allow his rifle to clear the corner. Helix shuffled behind him, his hand never leaving Dart’s back.

The blaster fire didn’t cease, but abruptly none of the new shots were whizzing past the corner concealing the two clones.

Flick had started firing.

Two pats in the middle of Dart’s back, hard enough to be felt through plastoid, were the signal to move. Dart ducked out of concealment first, dropping to a knee and immediately firing. Helix was an instant behind him, still standing, his HUD’s targeting system picking out potential marks.

There weren’t many left.

Helix stunned one stormtrooper and started to swing his blaster rifle to target the last one standing when the man was hit from two different angles by blue rings of light.

 The entire exchange had lasted just a few seconds.

Time stuttered back up to pace.

Helix stepped further out into the street, clearing the way for Dart to stand up as well. Together, they advanced on the fallen group, blasters still up and ready to fire at a moment’s notice if any of the stormtroopers so much as twitched.

None of them did.

Vault’s blaster shot had caught the officer in the back of his head. The man had been dead before he had hit the ground. The remaining stormtroopers were all stunned, an unconscious tangle of limbs and blasters.

Helix lifted his wrist comm to his mouth. “Reaper Two is clear,” he reported.

The blaster fire from inside the refinery continued for at least half a minute more before it too fell silent.

“Reaper One is clear,” Mimic announced over the comms. “Bring ‘em inside, Reaper Two. Let’s see what we’ve harvested.”

Dart went ahead and slung his rifle across his back, grabbed the first stormtrooper by the wrists, and started dragging the man towards the refinery’s wrecked front gate. Helix waited until Flick and Vault had rejoined them at street level before grabbing the next fallen stormtrooper.

It took them two trips to get everyone inside. They left the officer for last.

The members of Reaper Team One were already pulling helmet after helmet from the unconscious bodies, silently sorting wheat from chaff. Helix and Flick dropped the officer’s body in the growing line of Imperials, but it was the other group that drew his immediate attention.

There were five clones lined up near the magnetic rail line that had once carried raw ore into the main building to be refined. Chipped still, yes, but brothers.

Five. And they weren’t done sorting.

They’d typically count it as a highly successful mission if they managed to bring home two clones.

Helix wasn’t the only one who was staring instead of getting on with the work of stripping weapons and other useful tech from the Imps. Even as he stood, transfixed, two Reaper One team members carried a sixth clone over, gently lowering their brother at the end of the row.

Six.

Ridge had taken a knee next to one of their unconscious brothers, orange-painted helmet tucked under one arm. The clone in front of him had an elaborate tattoo: symmetrical, geometric patterns covered his chin and marched up either side of his jaw line, continuing down his neck to disappear into the high collar of his body suit.

“What’s his number?” Ridge asked Tanner, who had plugged a datapad into the clone’s helmet to download any information it held, including the designation of its owner.

“CT-7261,” Tanner replied, scrolling down the readout of the pad.

“Link,” Ridge said, sounding as if he was confirming something he had already known.

Mimic, who had stepped up behind Ridge during the exchange, asked quietly, “Are all of them from the 501st?”

Ridge stood, looking down the row of unconscious bodies. “I think so,” he said.

Oh. Oh kriff.

None of them had escaped Order 66 unscathed, but some had had it worse than others. The 501st was up there with the worst. Being forced to turn on your own jedi was bad enough, but killing kids? Mowing down room after room of defenseless younglings? Helix had his own demons from before his chip had been removed, before his brothers had freed him, but at least he didn’t have that on his conscience.

“Gonna be kind of tight quarters,” Vault said, walking up to stand next to Helix. “If we stick with our usual decoy protocols.”

Helix snorted, trading one set of dark thoughts for another. Standing orders dictated that they should take two Imp bodies for every rescued brother, to conceal the real reason for the disappearances. There was no way they could fit that many bodies in their stasis chamber, and bunking down with dead Imps wasn’t anybody’s idea of a good time.

They’d do it though. Their missions were too important to compromise on account of anybody’s delicate sensibilities. Besides, they wouldn’t have to hold on to the extras for long, they could always space the spares in the vast emptiness between stars.

“Come on,” Helix said, dragging himself away from the tableau of their rescued brothers. “Nobody’s going anywhere until we finish the job here.”

Flick and Clip, who had lost his ragged cloak and regained his pauldrons along with his helmet, were unloading one of the crates, stacking a motley collection of items on the ground next to the skimmer. It looked like the salvage teams had really outdone themselves this time. There were numerous blasters, the kind of cheap garbage pirates loved and troopers disdained. There were also a few crushed cans sporting the logo of a popular Mandalorian energy drink, an Ithorian translator, some kind of beaded sash, a bag full of half-smoked death sticks, a bundle of cheap vibroblades, and not one, but two camtonos of tainted spice.

They had to make room for Ash and Ricochet, from Reaper Team Three, who were unloading the two dead Imps which had been stored in the ship’s stasis chamber since the last mission. Between those distinctly out-of-place bodies and the bizarre mixture of evidence they were about to plant, the local Imp investigators would hopefully be puzzling over the scene for a good long while.

Sorting through the items and arranging them around the refinery’s main floor provided ample distraction from the scene unfolding behind them. Half of Reaper Team One was gathered around the line of stunned Imps, stripping the bodies of weapons, armor, and any other useful tech they had about their persons. Then, one of them would shoot two blaster bolts into the Imp’s head and the group would then move on to the next body in line.

It wasn’t clean work by anyone’s estimation, and it was one of the main reasons for the high turnover in the Reaper teams, but without a system of courts and jails to fall back on, what else could they do? They couldn’t leave any witnesses, they couldn’t take prisoners, and the bodies would serve as much-needed distractions both here and on their future missions. It was necessary, even if it wasn’t honorable.

At least none of the Imps were awake to see the blasts coming.

They were quick about their work, and within the half hour, two heavily overladen skimmers set off back down the access tunnel, towards the abandoned bauxite mine, where Shrike and the rest of Reaper Team Three were waiting to fly them all to the rendezvous point in the asteroid belt beyond Hadros’s orbit.

Helix and Flick were perched precariously on top of one of the crates of freshly acquired equipment, freeing up just a little more room for their more precious cargo. Ridge was across from them, standing watch with blaster in hand. The painting of the Commander’s facial markings gave his helmet an uncanny facsimile of a grave expression as the Reapers kept vigil.

Eight chipped brothers, all from the Commander’s and Captain’s old legion, lay in the floor of the skimmer between them.

AN: Other chapters are available here

Dividers by freesia-writes using helmets by lornaka. More designs available here.