#Location-based Ad Call Tracking

[heritageposts]

[...] During the early stages of the war, the army gave sweeping approval for officers to adopt Lavender’s kill lists, with no requirement to thoroughly check why the machine made those choices or to examine the raw intelligence data on which they were based. One source stated that human personnel often served only as a “rubber stamp” for the machine’s decisions, adding that, normally, they would personally devote only about “20 seconds” to each target before authorizing a bombing — just to make sure the Lavender-marked target is male. This was despite knowing that the system makes what are regarded as “errors” in approximately 10 percent of cases, and is known to occasionally mark individuals who have merely a loose connection to militant groups, or no connection at all. Moreover, the Israeli army systematically attacked the targeted individuals while they were in their homes — usually at night while their whole families were present — rather than during the course of military activity. According to the sources, this was because, from what they regarded as an intelligence standpoint, it was easier to locate the individuals in their private houses. Additional automated systems, including one called “Where’s Daddy?” also revealed here for the first time, were used specifically to track the targeted individuals and carry out bombings when they had entered their family’s residences.

In case you didn't catch that: the IOF made an automated system that intentionally marks entire families as targets for bombings, and then they called it "Where's Daddy."

Like what is there even to say anymore? It's so depraved you almost think you have to be misreading it...

“We were not interested in killing [Hamas] operatives only when they were in a military building or engaged in a military activity,” A., an intelligence officer, told +972 and Local Call. “On the contrary, the IDF bombed them in homes without hesitation, as a first option. It’s much easier to bomb a family’s home. The system is built to look for them in these situations.” The Lavender machine joins another AI system, “The Gospel,” about which information was revealed in a previous investigation by +972 and Local Call in November 2023, as well as in the Israeli military’s own publications. A fundamental difference between the two systems is in the definition of the target: whereas The Gospel marks buildings and structures that the army claims militants operate from, Lavender marks people — and puts them on a kill list.  In addition, according to the sources, when it came to targeting alleged junior militants marked by Lavender, the army preferred to only use unguided missiles, commonly known as “dumb” bombs (in contrast to “smart” precision bombs), which can destroy entire buildings on top of their occupants and cause significant casualties. “You don’t want to waste expensive bombs on unimportant people — it’s very expensive for the country and there’s a shortage [of those bombs],” said C., one of the intelligence officers. Another source said that they had personally authorized the bombing of “hundreds” of private homes of alleged junior operatives marked by Lavender, with many of these attacks killing civilians and entire families as “collateral damage.” In an unprecedented move, according to two of the sources, the army also decided during the first weeks of the war that, for every junior Hamas operative that Lavender marked, it was permissible to kill up to 15 or 20 civilians; in the past, the military did not authorize any “collateral damage” during assassinations of low-ranking militants. The sources added that, in the event that the target was a senior Hamas official with the rank of battalion or brigade commander, the army on several occasions authorized the killing of more than 100 civilians in the assassination of a single commander.

. . . continues on +972 Magazine (3 Apr 2024)

[sayruq]

A new investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call reveals that the Israeli army has developed an artificial intelligence-based program known as “Lavender,” unveiled here for the first time. According to six Israeli intelligence officers, who have all served in the army during the current war on the Gaza Strip and had first-hand involvement with the use of AI to generate targets for assassination, Lavender has played a central role in the unprecedented bombing of Palestinians, especially during the early stages of the war. In fact, according to the sources, its influence on the military’s operations was such that they essentially treated the outputs of the AI machine “as if it were a human decision.”

During the early stages of the war, the army gave sweeping approval for officers to adopt Lavender’s kill lists, with no requirement to thoroughly check why the machine made those choices or to examine the raw intelligence data on which they were based. One source stated that human personnel often served only as a “rubber stamp” for the machine’s decisions, adding that, normally, they would personally devote only about “20 seconds” to each target before authorizing a bombing — just to make sure the Lavender-marked target is male. This was despite knowing that the system makes what are regarded as “errors” in approximately 10 percent of cases, and is known to occasionally mark individuals who have merely a loose connection to militant groups, or no connection at all. Moreover, the Israeli army systematically attacked the targeted individuals while they were in their homes — usually at night while their whole families were present — rather than during the course of military activity. According to the sources, this was because, from what they regarded as an intelligence standpoint, it was easier to locate the individuals in their private houses. Additional automated systems, including one called “Where’s Daddy?” also revealed here for the first time, were used specifically to track the targeted individuals and carry out bombings when they had entered their family’s residences.

The Lavender machine joins another AI system, “The Gospel,” about which information was revealed in a previous investigation by +972 and Local Call in November 2023, as well as in the Israeli military’s own publications. A fundamental difference between the two systems is in the definition of the target: whereas The Gospel marks buildings and structures that the army claims militants operate from, Lavender marks people — and puts them on a kill list. In addition, according to the sources, when it came to targeting alleged junior militants marked by Lavender, the army preferred to only use unguided missiles, commonly known as “dumb” bombs (in contrast to “smart” precision bombs), which can destroy entire buildings on top of their occupants and cause significant casualties. “You don’t want to waste expensive bombs on unimportant people — it’s very expensive for the country and there’s a shortage [of those bombs],” said C., one of the intelligence officers. Another source said that they had personally authorized the bombing of “hundreds” of private homes of alleged junior operatives marked by Lavender, with many of these attacks killing civilians and entire families as “collateral damage.”

Remember, the Israeli occupation government considers all men over the age of 16 to be Hamas operatives hence why they've claimed to have killed over 9,000 of them (which matches the number of Palestinian men killed according to the Ministry of Health). So, when the article speaks of 'low level' or 'high level militants' they're likely speaking of civilians.

If Israel knew who Hamas fighters are, Oct 7th wouldn't have caught them off guard and they wouldn't still be fighting the Palestinian resistance every single day.

[fobarchiveteam]

The Fall Out Boy 2001 Demo... and the fact that there's actually two of them!

A few years ago, the wonderful Dave Hofer, who owns the DuPage County Hardcore Archive, uploaded the first Fall Out Boy demo from 2001 onto his archive, revealing its existence to the world. Dave was able to locate both a copy of the CD and the cassette versions of this demo, finding out that limited amounts of CDrs and around 100 cassettes were ever made. The CDr has uncut and unmastered versions of the recordings that later appear on the Project Rocket split, but the cassette contains completely different recordings for the first two songs, while an original song that is found nowhere else called “A Nice Myth” replaces Moving Pictures. The truth is that these are actually two separate demos: the cassette recordings came first. These demos were both made in 2001. For the first demo, the band consisted of Patrick on vocals, Pete on bass, Joe on guitar, and two other members who only lasted for a short time in the band: Ben Rose on drums, and John Flamadan on rhythm guitar. It was recorded on an 8-track in Ben’s basement. That 8-track was later turned into the cassette, of course. Both Ben and John left shortly after, and Jared Logan and TJ Kunasch replaced them on the CDr recordings respectively. What you may not know is there was an even rarer version of the CDr demo made: two types of lathe cuts.

These lathe cuts were posted on Discogs as pictures years before Dave’s discovery, so they sat dormant and undiscovered by FOB fans for a long time. After researching the cassettes and CDs for our archive, we stumbled upon these pictures and were perplexed that nobody has mentioned this version elsewhere before. Although this was not really a “new” discovery, we were still intrigued. We contacted the uploader of the picture, and this is what he had to say:

Hey!! Yeah it's honestly a crazy story on how I acquired it, but I believe it's legit. Basically, a few years back (I think 2018 or 19? The listing on the page for the clear version that sold for $0.50 or something crazy was from me, that's how I bought it). I messaged a guy on here that had the CD added in his collection if he would be willing to send me the mp3s/WAV files for his copy, and he did. We talked for a bit about the band and he said I seemed knowledgeable about the band and asked if I wanted his second copy of the lathe (he had two, one clear, one black). I obviously was like "hell yeah dude" and he said he would ship it to me. Fast forward a few weeks (he lived in Australia or some shit) and low & behold, I actually got the damn thing in the mail, plus two promo trading cards from the TTTYG album cycle, one with Andy & one with Joe. A few years later he messaged me that he got in touch with the dude that made the lathes for the band (he was based in Chicago which makes sense). Apparently 26 copies were cut & only 20 got labels thrown on them, members of the band slapped them on themselves. They were only in white paper sleeves, not any picture sleeves unfortunately. The sound quality on them is actually pretty decent for a lathe made in 2001, which is what leads me to believe it's legit. Also, like you had mentioned, the songs didn't leak until a few years back, when I got it I had never heard these versions (it's just the Project Rocket split versions uncut & unmastered essentially, same versions as the ones that leaked from the CD version. That is pretty much all the info I have on it, I hoped that helped some!!

Cheers from Florida - Jake

He later followed up with:

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the guy I got it from got both the clear and black copies verified to be legit by the guy that made them. Also small detail I forgot to include before, he obtained both copies through a lot of FOB merch from eBay. He was looking to get a complete set of TTTYG trading cards, which is why he bought it. But I know in the lot he also got the two lathes & a demo CD, I forget what else he had mentioned. It's odd that the band hasn't spoken of their existence, maybe they forgot? The lathes were probably more of a novelty item than anything, considering that vinyl wasn't very popular in 2001 & they weren't packaged as "properly" as the CDs & tapes, plus they made a lot less of them. I'm assuming they just kinda got tossed around between friends of the band or got sold at random at their early shows. Either way, it's been one of my prized possessions since I've acquired it, let me know if hou have any other questions on it haha

Currently we have no idea who this elusive Chicago lathe maker is, but maybe we may find out one day. These lathe cuts may possibly be the rarest FOB merch in existence.

Side note: The fact that the top title on the cassette specific insert says "Fallout Boy - Growing Up" and then later lists Growing Up as a song below, it may have been intended to be the title of the cassette, and the song was a title track. This is unconfirmed though.

[cherryredstars]

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Mike Schmidt, Hobie Brown, Miles-42 x gn!reader

Warnings: Fluff, Suggestive Content with Miguel, A Little Bit of Angst with Miles

Summary: How would the boys treat you on your birthday?

A/N: In honor of my birthday (WOO)!

Word Count: 1.7K (Unedited)

Miguel O'Hara

You hang out with him in his office at HQ all day. He has your favorite food delivered to base, and you spend the whole day talking his ear off as he works. Today is the only day he doesn't mind people coming in and out of his office, as long as they do so to wish you a happy birthday.

He has LYLA keep you company, finding her only a tad bit less annoying, even as she randomly breaks out into happy birthday and makes birthday memes pop up on his screen like a virus. He only wants to strangle her when she keeps making birthday sex jokes and hinting a little too much at the gifts waiting for you at home.

When the two of you do make it home, you're excited to see the pile of gifts overflowing in the living room. Some of them are from the spiders in HQ, but more than one is from Miguel. You guys get take out, and spend the rest of the night opening gifts. You guys laugh at the ones from the younger spider-people, and try not to cringe at the more questionable ones (a difference in universe maybe?).

When the two of you finish going through the gifts and ate all the food, Miguel pulls you up off the floor. He gives you a cheeky smile, leading you towards the bedroom for one last birthday present. Huh, I guess LYLA was right about the birthday sex.

Simon "Ghost" Riley

As much as he wants to, he can't ask to go on leave in advance. Even if he did send in the request, it would be hastily denied. Going on leave because of a singular day and for a non-emergency cause? The higher ups would laugh in his face. So, his only hope is to not be deployed during that time.

If he is deployed during that time, he'll keep his eye on the clock, counting down the seconds until it hits midnight in your timezone. Then, at exactly zero hundred hours, your phone will light up with a message from Simon. It's a simple "Happy birthday. Miss you." text, but it makes you smile nonetheless. If you're lucky, you might get a voice message from all of 141 wishing you a happy birthday, horrible, off-key singing from Soap included! And if you're really lucky, you might even get a call if Simon's in a good, secure location where he knows his cellular usage can't be tracked or intercepted.

He already got a gift for you in advance. He'll tell you where he hid it, or tell you to keep an ear out for the doorbell. If he hid it, you rush over to the hiding spot, setting your phone up to record a video for him. You make a big show of it to keep him entertained, and at the end of the video you thank him repeatedly for the gift, adding in that you miss him and you'll see him when he comes back home. When he gets gifts delivered to you, it's usually flowers and maybe something extra like an Amazon package. You put your new flowers in the nicest vase you have, sending Simon a picture and heart emojis.

If-by the grace of god- he's home on your birthday, you get spoiled silly. Today is all about you and what you want to do. Breakfast in bed? Okay, waffles or pancakes? Movie night? Okay, it's your pick. Drinks at the pub? Let's stop to get a pack first. Simon does prefer to stay in with you on your birthday, but again, if you want to have a night out on the town, he's happy to follow along. Though, if you do stay home, don't look in the fridge! You don't want to risk taking a peak at the cake he bought, do you?

Mike Schmidt

Called out of work the day before. He wakes up super early, slipping out of bed to wake up Abby. She complains a little, and you have to pretend you weren't awake the second Mike got out of bed and you have to stifle your laughter at her grumbling out in the hall. The smell of breakfast is strong, and you wait a good 11 minutes (it would be too perfect if it was an even number), before slipping out of bed. You act all surprised when you walk into the kitchen, catching them making you breakfast. They instantly drag you into a chair, making you sit as they plate your food and slide over your coffee. You have to fight your tears when Abby gives you a hand drawn birthday card. Just for that, she can steal a bit of your bacon.

The three of you just spend the day at home. You draw with Abby, thanking her for all the birthday drawings. The three of you make a mess in the kitchen as you make the birthday cake, and somehow frosting gets stuck in all of your hair. You sing happy birthday after dinner, which of course is your favorite meal, and the three of you settle onto the couch to watch TV. You allow Abby to stay up until she falls asleep on the sofa.

Once she's gone to bed, Mike pulls you close to his side, pressing a kiss to your lips and muttering another happy birthday. You smile at him, and it grows wider when he pulls your gift from his pocket. The two of you are silent as you open it, and you gasp when you see what's inside. You thank him with a million smooches on his face, that makes him chuckle. Then, when it gets too late and the both of you remember he has work tomorrow, you retreat back to the bedroom for some much needed rest. Clean up is for another day.

Hobie Brown

Is it really a surprise that he forgets it's your birthday? Hey, in his defense, time and dates are just a social construct made to control the natural world!

He only remembers when one of his (current) band mates or a Spider in the society ask him what he has planned for your birthday. He knows he's fucked the second they ask him. He has nothing planned, he has yet to say happy birthday to you despite talking to you just this morning, and to top it all off, he has only just realized you were hinting about it throughout your morning conversation. And do you want to know what he said in response to your, Hobie, baby, do you think something important is happening today? Trust me, you don't because his answer may or may not have been, Unless 10 Downing is fist bumping a wrecking ball today, then no. Yeah, did he mention he was fucked?

So, in true Hobie fashion, he's gonna think quick and get himself out of trouble. What could he use as the perfect excuse for completely forgetting your birthday? Make it seem intentional! And how do you make it seem intentional? Throwing a totally killer surprise party that would give the PM a heart attack! He recruits the help of his band mates and Gwen, setting up your favorite venue that the band played in for a previous gig. He gets you a cake, a funny card, and some random trinkets he sees along the way. He'll have the band play anything you request or the night. Oh, don't forget your own friends! He'll let them know before he picks you up.

He's totally casual when he returns to the flat, all nonchalant as he tells you to get dressed up. When you ask why, he just shrugs and says riot. You stare at him like you expect him to say something extra, but you sigh when he doesn't. With your back turned to him, he allows himself to briefly flicker red. When he gets you to the venue, you're happily surprised, bumping into him and teasing that you thought he forgot. He chuckles nervously in response, finally wishing you a happy birthday. At the end of the night, after you got the celebration you deserved and the two of you lay at home in a half-awake state, he admits the truth to you when you're too sleepy to get mad at him. Hey, real men admit to their mistakes and fear the wrath of their partners.

Miles 42

He does the thing. You know, the obnoxious thing where you show up to school, and then suddenly you have a brightly colored birthday stash over your shoulder and a gift bag attached to 50 different HAPPY BIRTHDAY balloons? Yeah, he does that shit, and he does it with PRIDE. He will be damned if you aren't walking the halls and a stranger randomly yells out a birthday greeting to you in passing. You better hope you don't have any classes with him, because every class you guys share, he's making them sing happy birthday. Even if you get embarrassed and melt into your chair. At lunch, he's already got a birthday cupcake waiting for you and he did, in fact, skip the last period just so he could go get your favorite takeout to make sure it's still hot.

Rio definitely invited you over for dinner, and he spends the whole meal telling his Ma all about the things he did for you today. It makes her laugh, and she playfully swats the back of his head when you whine about how embarrassed you were all day.

When dinner is done, Miles drags you out of his house and walks you down to the familiar streets to the car lot. He helps you in, and you gasp when you see the inside of the car. He has candles placed carefully around, and a cake sits in the back seat with plastic forks and more gifts. Your smile is goofy as he quietly sings happy birthday to you, and you blow out the candle as he whoops and hollers playfully. The two of you dig into the cake, having quiet conversation until you feel like you'll throw up from all the sugar.

But as you're about to open the last of your gifts, his phone begins to ring. Looks like your birthday wish didn’t come true after all.

[favesgrave]

A Key Advantage

quick note before we begin: i KNOWWW i said i was abandoning this series but inspiration struck! and i wrote this! i don't know what the future holds! also the title's a pun. haha. get it. key advantage. because key can mean important. and it's also about how the omega keys give them an advantage. please laugh

((Navigation))

---

There’d been nothing short of panic when they lost Smokescreen to the Decepticons. With their warship’s shielding, there was no way to track him, and that meant there was no way to retrieve him. Furthermore, the ragtag team of Autobots deduced that Smokescreen wasn’t the key himself, but rather a vessel for it—something about Alpha Trion running out of time as the Decepticons stormed the place.

Seeing as they took Smokescreen, the Decepticons were on the same page as them.

Blurr wasn’t close to an expert on this world (yet), but he knew Cybertron was dead here. He knew how important this was to them all and, like them, he knew homesickness well. The more he dwelled on that, the more he realized how far back that feeling stretched. His first intel mission had lasted two deca-cycles, just long enough for his Cybertron to feel far, far away.

And since then, he had always been moving, running from one assignment to the next. Hm.

“What’re we going to do?” Bumblebee asked.

“Smokescreen has the phase-shifter on him if I’m not mistaken and he’s a clever bot but don’t tell him I said that, so one can assume there’s a chance he’ll find his own way to escape especially since blasterfire won’t affect him due to the phase-shifter’s properties!” Blurr suggested, pacing back and forth as he tried to grab onto hope.

“Is that gonna matter when he’s hundreds of feet in the air?” Arcee questioned.

“Would the phase-shifter let him go through the ground?”

“None of us have tried,” Bulkhead said.

“That’s not a no, Bulkhead!”

“And it’s not a yes either,” Ratchet butt in. “For all we know, it could be too late for Smokescreen.”

Blurr’s spirit dulled slightly. “It is likely that the Decepticons would remove any sort of devices he had on him to store away in their own vault…”

“Enough,” Optimus said. “I will not give up on Smokescreen just yet. Ratchet, continue your efforts to pinpoint his location. We cannot allow one of our own and the revival of our planet to lie in the hands of the Decepticons.”

There was no arguing with the Prime—not that anyone wanted to. Now? The only thing to be done was wait. There was nothing they could do to help Ratchet, nothing they could do to fix the situation and Spark, did they feel like this all the time? Like they were falling, failing at rapid speeds, and left with nothing to even try and pick up the pieces? Why was it like this? Why couldn’t things be right, where the Autobots had won and the Decepticons were the ones running and everything was simple?

“Whoa, keep pacing around like that and you’re gonna knock down a wall,” Bulkhead said. Arcee glanced over.

“Or pace yourself into the ground until you meet Unicron,” Bumblebee added.

Blurr wasn’t even going to ask.

He hadn’t even noticed the excessive pacing, nor was he embarrassed about it. It was natural for a bot like him to always be moving. But, he realized they weren’t giving him funny looks about it, not like some did in the past. 

“You said it yourself that there’s a chance Smokescreen’s fighting his way off that ship,” Arcee said. “Let’s hold onto that, yeah?” 

Just as he was about to nod, a beep sounded from one of Ratchet’s many monitors.

“Smokescreen’s signal, it’s back online!”

“The kid escaped the warship!” Bulkhead exclaimed. When Blurr came over to see, the bigger bot gave him an uncharacteristically gentle tap on the shoulder. Even he knew his usual strength would send him careening smackdown into the ground.

“Smokescreen to base, I could really use a groundbridge!”

Oh, under the right circumstances, Blurr just loved being right.

What came after that was a series of far too-close calls that ended in them briefly thinking Smokescreen’s free fall ended with him becoming flattened until finally, in a classic Smokescreen fashion, he revealed himself to still be kicking. Then he came through that groundbridge, grinning, brushing himself off for a bit of extra flair, and most importantly, holding three Omega Keys.

“You got them?” Bulkhead managed.

“I figured you would find a means of escaping but not once did I consider you would circle back to collect the Keys even though it makes plenty of sense given your track record,” Blurr admitted.

“Didn’t I tell you?” he said to them all, crossing over to set the keys down on a metal crate. “Destiny! Alpha Trion knew I’d keep it safe.”

Arcee, with all her criticisms of him, let the scowl fall from her face and replaced it with a smile. “Nice work, kid.”

“Hang on.” Bumblebee started counting down the retrieved number on his fingers, dismayed with the results. “That’s only two.”

“It was the only key in Megatron’s vault,” Smokescreen shrugged.

Optimus frowned, picking both up. “Then three keys are accounted for.”

“Then the fourth is still somewhere on the Con’s warship,” Bulkhead responded.

“Unless Megatron never had it to begin with,” Blurr and Arcee both said, though the former got it out faster.

And as if on cue, they received a message. “A high frequency signal,” Ratchet turned toward it first, “with an embedded message.”

“Starscream,” Bulkhead said, glowering.

Blurr had the pleasure of not running into this universe’s Starscream yet. After the whole fiasco with his clones back in his own universe, he had decided that if he ever met a Starscream again, it would be too soon. As he moved away from everyone else for a better look, he took half of a moment to study this Starscream. He tried not to grimace at the sight of him. He was mostly gray, reminding him of the faded colors a bot changed when they met death. He was mean and nasty looking, even his chin looked like it could impale something. He was positive that every second he spent in this world made his Decepticons much less intimidating.

When the full message came through, Ratchet got to reading. “I have obtained something of interest to you which seems to be of no practical use to me.”

“It’s gotta be the Omega Key!” Bulkhead insisted.

“He’s the one who blindsided me,” Smokescreen said, scowling at the realization. 

It was sound reasoning. Starscream was always a schemer, Blurr figured that was no different here.

“What else could Scream be referring to?” Arcee nodded.

“Ey-ep-ep!” Blurr still got caught off guard by that noise. “There’s more. Bring medical kit. I only ask for the surgical replacement of my t-cog in return.”

Bulkhead barked out a laugh at that statement. “Like we’re gonna give Scream back his wings!”

“Without the missing key, Cybertron will remain devoid of life,” Ratchet argued. Even more sound reasoning.

“Broken record, I know… but it could be a trick,” Arcee said.

Blurr glanced at her. “How many times has this happened in the past?”

“Listen, we were desperate. It’s a long story.” He’d have to mark it down for another time, then.

“It is possible Starscream does not yet realize the significance of what he holds,” Optimus said.

“And in the scenario that he does?” Blurr questioned, then remembered himself and straightened up. “Not that I meant any disrespect, sir!”

Optimus held a hand up in reassurance. “There’s no need for any of that, Blurr. But, the stakes are too great for us not to consider Starscream’s proposal. However, we will take precautions.”

The plan was for Optimus, Ratchet, and Bulkhead to take a bridge to Starscream’s coordinates and see what the Seeker had to offer while the rest of them remained at base. 

Blurr tapped his foot anxiously as they stood guard, glancing at the defensive Bumblebee and Arcee and then to the lax Smokescreen.

“How much you wanna bet something goes wrong?” Smokescreen asked.

“I’d rather not think about it if you don’t mind,” Blurr said, squirming.

Each second gone by with no word from the others was agonizing. Not just for him, either. He could tell the others were as on edge as him. He kept his optics trained on the open groundbridge, waiting to see some familiar teammates come back through holding their missing Omega Key—

Something ran through.

Someone ran through. And no one else noticed. 

Blurr glanced behind as quietly as he could to find Starscream standing inside their base. “It would seem I have the run of the place,” he said.

Why was he so fast? He shouldn’t be that fast, right? The Autobots would have mentioned if Starscream had superspeed that rivaled his own! Scratch that, actually—with the way he was moving, Starscream was even faster than him. It was some kind of enhancement, it had to be, there was no other explanation. As the daunting mech traversed over to the other bots and mused about how easy it would be to slaughter them, Blurr kept still. If he didn’t move, he wouldn’t be noticed. Hopefully. Starscream’s words were fast enough to give reason for Blurr to wonder if this was how others felt when he talked. But, he could still make it all out.

“Another new one?” He knelt down, the only way he could even come close to Blurr’s level. Starscream’s red optics pierced into him, a scowl engraved onto his face as he studied the blue bot. “You’re a funny looking one, aren’t you?” A long, sharp claw raised up and traced along his face, tapping his optic.

Blurr didn’t let himself think about all the other bots that had likely been gutted with those hands.

Stay still, he willed. Could Starscream see through his act? Evidently not.

“But, first thing’s first… where does Optimus keep his keyring?” He brought himself back up to his full height, abandoning the Autobots for later.

Scrap. Scrap scrap scrap. Starscream disappeared down the hallway, the hallway that contained all the relics!

Oh, under the wrong circumstances, he hated being right.

He was dimly aware of the others trying to make sense of things in real time, but he couldn’t spend another second on them. They couldn’t catch Starscream, so the burden fell to him. 

This universe was frighteningly close to giving him a nervous breakdown.

It looked like it was time to put that Elite Guard training to use. How it would fare against someone older, quicker, stronger, bigger… well, it didn’t do any good to think about that.

With nothing left to do, Blurr bolted down the hall. An explosion shook the base and he came to find Starscream walking through the smoke, the keys snug in his arms. He only stopped when he saw the newcomer in his path.

“Oh? What’s this?” 

Blurr didn’t have the time to dignify him with a response. He blinked and a high-heeled foot nearly shattered his front. He jumped to the left, staring up at Starscream wide-opticed. He hadn't had such a close call like that since… never, actually.

Starscream really was faster than him.

“As fun as it would be to stay, I have more urgent matters to attend to. If you can keep up with me, who’s to say the other Autobots can’t?” 

He barely got out of the way of the missile that came at him. He hit the ground hard, but didn’t give himself a moment to be grateful he was still alive. The smoke didn’t need to clear for him to know Starscream was gone.

With grit denta, he picked himself back up and got back in the race. 

There was no sign of the Decepticon with the others. The good news was that they were unharmed. The bad news was that the groundbridge was closing and no one but him had any idea of what happened. 

The bridge flickered. He glanced at Arcee’s hand pulling down on the lever and, with a sigh, ran through the dying bridge.

A moment later, he was gone, and the others remained.

“Where’s Blurr?”

-

When he jumped out the other side, Starscream was wasting time with mockery and not even aware of the blue menace behind him—not until he had launched himself onto his back.

“Ack! Get off!”

He swung from side to side in failing attempts to shake Blurr off, but he wouldn’t yield. He clung onto his wings, tightening his grip for all he was worth as he climbed further up. Soon he sat atop his shoulders, wrestling to keep his place and steering himself clear of Starscream’s claws. He was getting slower, he noticed. 

That was good to know.

Starscream lashed out a hand, closing it around his upper half. Blurr struggled and writhed, twisting to escape and running very low on options. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking during the next part, or if he even was thinking. All he could say was that when he lowered his head down, one of Starscream’s fingers was in range, and… he bit down as hard as he could. 

“You wretched little-!”

Starscream’s hand opened ever so slightly as he yelped and Blurr slipped through, diving for the precious goods secure in his arm. He brushed against the rusted metal and Spark, he was so close, he almost had it! They needed this. The Autobots needed some bit of hope, he wouldn’t let it be ripped away from them.

His face fell when he felt a cold hand wrap around his leg. Starscream must have had some stroke of dumb luck to grab onto him, because the next thing he knew was he was getting snapped backwards toward the trees and crashing through bark. He curled up on the ground, his venting short and erratic as he tried to bring his anxiety down.

He heard Bulkhead shout “Blurr!”, followed by Ratchet bringing attention to Starscream’s theft. The warbling of a groundbridge opening reached him, blasterfire coming soon after, and then there was silence.

Blurr managed to turn his head to the side to spot Optimus standing eerily still, his hands closed into fists. Ratchet looked as though he wanted to do something to help his friend, but his aid was needed elsewhere. Knowing Optimus wanted the same, he jogged over to the banged up racer.

“We’ll get them back,” Bulkhead brought himself to say. 

Optimus didn’t acknowledge him. He couldn’t lose his temper. Not here, not when one of his team members could be injured.

“By the Allspark,” Ratchet gasped. Both heads turned to look.

Blurr rolled flat on his back, unfurling to reveal a recovered Omega Key wrapped in his arms. “Starscream was… faster than anticipated… but there’s still some good news,” he vented out, exhausted. Just how fast had he been going to keep up with him? It sapped more energy than he thought.

Upon laying optics on the sight, Optimus felt a weight lift from him. He knelt down, a hand moving underneath Blurr to prop him up. “You have done well, Blurr.”

Blurr smiled in spite of his exhaustion, looking down at the Omega Key he held. Right as Starscream had grabbed him, he had grabbed onto the key. 

“Let me examine you,” Ratchet said. It was a good thing he already had the medical kit on hand. There were some dents and scratches, and when he was asked he reported some soreness, but thankfully nothing too major. No sparking, no energon leakage. He would live. The one thing he wanted more than anything was to shut his optics and rest. As they helped him up and they all stepped through that groundbridge, the smiles he got from the others was enough to kickstart that recharge.

[gatheredfates]

Hi all! I managed to jinx myself by saying there wasn't a lot to add to the Compendium this week... and then I found a tonne of resources. I can't say I'm complaining about looking like a fool, though! 🪸

A lot of these resources were shamelessly sourced by xiv.sleepyshiba's masterlist! While I tend to endeavour to provide general / creative resources, their master list does contain a lot of discords / guides you can check out around raiding, combat guides, PVP etc. I might have missed. Send them a coffee if you want, for their kit is pretty comprehensive!

I have tried to include sources I can see have been actively maintained but I can't promise all are 100% accurate or up to date. If in doubt, send me a DM.

Additionally, due to the fact I am slowly increasing my collection, the Compendium has expanded its sections from four to five! We now have a dedicated lore section for anyone who wants to learn more about the game. 📖 I'm hoping this will encourage people to write and submit their lore compilations knowing that people will see them.

However, without further adieu, as of 05/11, the following resources have been added (in no particular order) to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives!

LARGE SCALE

Eorzea Collection — A one-stop shop for everything gear and glamour related! Browse through gear sets, fashion accessories or individual pieces of gear; view player-made glamorous for any job, race, etc; view chocobo sets and more!

A Master Beginners Guide to FFXIV — A comprehensive document of useful information for anyone looking to get into FFXIV. While accurate only up to Shadowbringers, it includes basic how-to's and general information relevant for people brand new to the game.

FFXIV Venues — A repository of various player-submitted venues open to the public and times of their events!

Aether Roleplay Hub — A discord focusing on roleplay and the roleplayers of the Aether data centre.

Tales From — Every expansion, the Final Fantasy XIV Dev Team releases a series of short stories about the various peoples’, tribes, factions and key characters called Tales From the ___.

Mirapri — Functionally similar to Eorzea Collection, this site accepts player-submitted glamorous for ideas and inspiration. Appears to be predominately used by the Japanese player base.

Akhmorning — A collection of XIV resources containing things one might find the miscellaneous section such as A Comfy Guide for Sprouts and Raiding Fundamentals; Bozja guides including Southern Front, Castrum Lacus Litore, Delubrum Reginae and more; PVP guides including, but not limited to Introduction to Frontlines and Beginners Guide to Feast; and Job guides.

Heavenswhere — Having trouble finding just where your treasure map is located? This tool will help you narrow down the search!

Fashion Reporter — Official Discord server of Kaiyoko and the Fashion Reporter discord bot. Also contains links to access the Fashion Report each week and the How to Make MGP guide.

FFXIV Clock — A tool to track the spawn timers of timed gathering nodes.

LORE

Ishgardian Forms of Address — A document that explores the honorifics, and forms of address used in the in-game setting of Ishgard and by Ishgardian characters using using in-game dialogue, quest text, levequest text and information from the second printing of the English-language lore book, Encyclopedia Eorzea. Maintained by @hasty-touch!

Final Fantasy XIV Lore: Ishgard — also written by @hasty-touch, this document contains lore relating to Ishgard and Coerthas.

Ascian Reference Pile — An up-to-date reference on FFXIV's Convocation of Fourteen, in appearance and lore. Maintained by Igeyorhm on Twitter.

Eorzea Time — The measurement and expression of time in Eorzea, like the real world, is governed by a fundamental set of rules. To understand them, users on Gamer Escape have put together a handy guide for people to follow.

FFXIV Meals Catalogue & Compendium — Have you ever wanted to know all foods currently contained in XIV? This document has a record of all consumable meal items obtained up to 5.4 and the ingredients used to make them. Maintained by vashiane on Twitter.

MISC

Detailed XIV World Map — Have you ever wondered where locations sit in relation to the entirety of Etheirys (and beyond)? This detailed world map provides accurate locals and information for you!

XIV SleepyShiba — Maintained by Udra Virias, this website is a repository of all their resources including, but not limited to; The Detailed XIV World Map, 6x. Paladin Resources, hotbar builders and BiS/gear trackers for raiding, and their own XIV Resources Masterlist!

FFXIV — Hairstyles — Having trouble remembering what Modern Aesthetic style is which? Struggling to find that one hairstyle you saw in game but you don’t know where it’s from? This guide has you covered!

Obscura's consolidation of Helpful links for Roleplay — A collection of tips, tricks and guides to assist people looking into getting into FFXIV RP — or just roleplay in general! Contained within are resources around character creation, relationships, roleplay tips, how to write villains and more.

FFXIV Reference Sheets by Ren — Maintained by @renofmanyalts, these reference sheets currently contain a sortable Roegadyn dictionary and height chart for all the race/clan combinations currently in game.

FFXIV Armoury Collection — exactly what it says on the tin — a collection of every single gear set currently available in FFXIV sorted by things such as patches, class, jobs and raids.

How to Craft like a Machine — This document covers the crafting formulae and other related aspects of crafting in Final Fantasy XIV.

MakePlace — A stand alone tool to preview, edit and share housing layouts.

FFXIV Chocobo Racing — a blog that’s designed to be a comprehensive guide to the Chocobo Racing minigame.

Lord of Verminion — A comprehensive website for everything to do with the Gold Saucer minigame Lord of Verminion.

The Easy Win Lord of Verminion Guide — An easy way to maximise your MGP using the Lord of Verminion.

FFXIV Housing Grade by Plot — A rubric to assist people in understanding the pricing of FFXIV houses.

Housing NPC Images — Not sure what housing NPC looks like? This guide may be able to help you!

FFXIV Fishing Guides — A Final Fantasy XIV Fisher creating guides on how to fish all the fish of The Source and The First, in quick, goldfish sized videos. Making FFXIV fishing easier to do and understand.

Pigeon's Guide to XIV Screenshots — A guide created by @ahollowgrave detailing their screenshot process for FFXIV.

REMOVALS

The following communities have been removed from the Compendium as their sites/tumblrs no longer exist. If new links exist, please get in touch with me and I will re-add them.

The Glitter Hall

Story Hall

CHANGELOG

The Compendium has been updated for compatibility with Google Doc's built-in document outline! This should hopefully assist with accessibility issues. ✨ You can find it by clicking the button below on the left-hand side of the document. No one had made a comment about this, I'm just pedantic.

I have also added definition around the Lore category as well as some general sentence structure and definition in other sections.

Have I missed something? Probably, this update was huge. I'm going to take a break DFKGJHSDF.

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

[sstormyskyess]

Pitch Black - Chapter One

author's note: here's 141!! now that they're in the picture the story can really take off 😁 please enjoy!! also, if you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series, send me a message in my inbox or the replies!

cw: none!

word count: 2800+

You had made yourself quite the problem as your contract ticked down and was renewed multiple times. It was near impossible for anyone in or working with TF-141 to rest at any point; you could be anywhere. You had managed to keep track of the force everywhere, even outside of Urzikstan. America, Britain, anywhere TF-141 might be, you followed.

This new base the task force set up shop in was so far out of the way that no one should’ve been able to find it. An abandoned weapons cache right near the border of Urzikstan was hidden well under the cover of trees and stuck smack dab in the middle of a valley, mountains and hills on all sides. No one should’ve been able to find it, and yet you did.

You had found a crawl space under the floor of the warehouse that you could just barely squeeze into. You reveled in the fact that the warehouse was built on dirt rather than concrete, with only a wooden floor separating it from the earth. It only took a little bit of digging to get yourself tucked right under the floorboards where TF-141 was detailing the various steps of their plans once they crossed the Urzikstan border.

You keep your eyes wide open to track their movements with the shadows cast by the fluorescent lights above head. Your recording device was on and active, taking in every little bit of planning they were doing: the locations, times, and personnel that’d be present. You’ve been down here for a day or two at this point, the same routine for each one. Wake up, eat something from your pack, listen in, copy it down or record it, assess the state of patrols around the building and sleep.

Once you feel satisfied with what you collected and know that you only have a couple days to get back to Al Qatala, you prepare to evacuate the premises as quickly and as quietly as possible. Before you leave, you make sure to leave your cheeky calling card, a page from one of those little post-it note pads shaped like a star. You wait until there are no shadows hiding over the small end table they were using to plan around, slip your note through the floorboards and start to shuffle out of the tunnel.

As you go, you wonder to yourself how the boys in TF-141 feel about you. You wonder how they reacted whenever they found your calling cards. Were they confused? Or angry? Or even simply resigned to it? You can’t decide which would be funniest. Of course, there were four of them so it couldn’t possibly be the same amongst each one of them. They weren’t a hivemind, after all. But, unfortunately, you’d never know.

You look out of the crawl space and into the night, peeking from side to side to ensure the patrol schedules were going as planned. You narrow your eyes when you realize that no one was passing by. Hell, no one was even present on this side of the building. You weren't typically the type to make mistakes about things like this, but you have to consider the possibility. Maybe you’d mistaken what time it was. You might have caught them in the middle of switching shifts, but none of this seemed particularly likely.

You cautiously push yourself further out of the mouth of the tunnel. You were starting to regret choosing a space that was so claustrophobic; this damn tunnel was making it too hard to move quickly in case you needed to. A slight oversight, but you feel it won’t be that much of a hindrance.

Once your head is fully out of the hole, you take a better look around, scanning for movement. The coast was clear, it seems. You crawl further out, and then all the way. You stand up and pull your bag out of the hole with you, slinging it over your shoulder, ready to start your quick escape into the woods.

All of a sudden, you very quickly realized that the coast was not clear. An arm that feels as thick as a log clamps around your neck and shoulders in a chokehold, squeezing as hard as possible, trying to take you down, no doubt. Your mind works quickly; you pull your karambit out and flip it into place. After keeping a close eye on these folk for a while, you know just where to cut to get past the tactical armor. You stab as hard and deep as possible in the position you were in.

And yet, the assaulter held strong. You get worried when you realize they weren’t going to let go, no matter what you did to stave them off. Your vision starts to blur the more you struggle, the karambit dropped into the grass, and your legs start to weaken while you kick at the assaulter. It took ten seconds, tops, for you to pass out and fall limp in their hold.

“Do you think the little bastard will talk?” Gaz looks at Price, who has his arms crossed and his hand playing with the heavy mustache on his upper lip. “Can’t be sure. At least wiping away this stain will be one less thorn in our side.”

Ghost tosses your unconscious body on a rickety old chair, one that was already in the weapons cache when they got there, with no grace or care for your comfort and ties your wrists and ankles to it. He grunted as he moved around, the cut you made in his side stinging and still bleeding. “You all good there L.T.?” Soap asked with a tilt of his head. “‘M fine. Little shit’s good with a blade.” Soap moves closer to take a look at the stab wound in his side, grimacing. “Got ya good, eh? I’ll get you something for that,” He says as he meanders off to get some first aid.

“The little weasel should be up soon. Hopefully we’ll get some answers.” Price muses while he hands off your gear to Gaz for inspection. “Look through all that. Might be something useful.” Gaz nods and crouches to empty it all out. “Right away, cap’.”

Price’s predictions were accurate, as expected; you start to come to consciousness, your eyes twitching and opening up slowly. “What the fuck…” Your words slur together as you roused from sleep. You wince at the bright fluorescent lights that burn into your eyes almost instantly. Seems like being underground for a few days really got you accustomed to the dark. “Where…?” You mumble quietly. Your slow awakening is abruptly cut short when you get jostled and shoved by someone. “What the hell?” You cough out. Your mouth and throat feel ridiculously dry. How long have you been out?

You look up and your heart drops at the sight before you. “Shit.” You grumble and give a brief tug at your restraints. You sigh when they, predictably, don't budge. “Shit’s right, mate,” Soap takes a glance over at you as he approaches again, medkit in hand. Ghost stands to his full height from where he’s been kneeling in front of you. 

“Alright,” You clear your throat a couple times. “I’m not trying to get waterboarded or have my ribs broken, so let’s get this over with, yeah?” You lean back in the chair and roll your shoulder, the chair’s instability making your muscles stiff.

“Pretty confident, eh, y’weasel?” Soap chides, glancing at Ghost disinfecting his wound before fixing his eyes back on you. “Not trying to sound confident. I’d just like to get this over with.” 

You look at the man in the boonie hat, knowing that he was the voice of authority among these guys. “Well, let’s get started then. First, what’s your name?” Price stares right back at you. You roll your eyes. Of course that’d be the first question asked. “You’re not getting my name.” You state plainly, your frown deepening.

“I thought you said you didn’t want your ribs broken.” Ghost glares at you. That stare could make anyone’s blood run cold, and you were no different. Luckily, you’re able to keep a deadpanned look on your face while staring right back. “I never said I’d tell you everything you wanted to know. It’ll depend on what you ask.”

Soap chuckles. “You really are confident, aren’t ya?” He looks over at Ghost, whose eyes have narrowed just a touch. Ghost walks up to where you’re sitting, standing more than a couple feet above you, and wraps his hand around your throat. He puts some pressure on his grasp, feeling you swallow under his fingers. He watches your eyes lose a little bit of the scorn that they held before. It was replaced with a twinge of fear. He smirked at that, the subtle quirk of his lip hidden under his balaclava. “Are you gonna tell us your name, or not?” He punctuates his words with a tight squeeze to your throat, closing off your windpipe.

You wince, gripping the armrest of the chair. You whisper out, as best you could, “Can’t—talk if you’re—” You take in a short labored breath past Ghost’s grip. “Choking the shit—outta me,” You wince when Ghost squeezes harder again, making his face clench up. A few more seconds of pressure and blood was rushing to your face, your vision blurring a bit, and then a little more… And then, Ghost lets up. You cough hard, doubling over and curling in on yourself as far as you’re able to with how restrained you are.

“Brat.” Ghost says under his breath while he steps back. Price pipes up again. “Now, your name?” He tilts his head. After you regain yourself, you look at the floor, boring holes in it with your stare. You think hard, calculating what could be the best way to navigate this scenario that you’d got shoved into. A deep sigh passes by your lips when you look back up and into Price’s eyes. You’re about to speak before Gaz dumps out a plastic bag full of your fake IDs, at least six or seven tumbling out of it. You look over at him and stare for a moment while he rifled through them, examining them thoroughly.

“Give us your real name. We know none of these slips are real.” Price says sternly, almost like a parent scolding a child. You look down again, your head still slightly reeling from the lack of air you’re still trying to catch. You clench your jaw before looking back up again. You state your name plainly, your tone less defiant and more annoyed now.

“That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?” Soap smirks at the change in your demeanor. You look at him, narrowing your eyes. “Fuckin’ prick,” You grumble before turning back to the captain. “That good enough for you?”

Price nods. “Sounds good to me.” He gets a nod from Soap and Gaz, but not Ghost. He seems just barely mentally present, staring you down. “Ease up. I’m not going anywhere.” You purse his lips. 

“Ghost?” Price looks at him and tilts his head. It takes Ghost a couple seconds for the words to register in his head and only then he turns away. “Affirmative.” He replies.

“Alright. Let’s move on,” Soap pulls his pistol from its place on his hip and moves to stand behind you. “It’s been almost a year since your first cheeky little note.” He stalks around to your other side, his gaze burning a hole in your head and dragging along the backside of your skull. “Good time tracking skills.” The smugness in your reply was a stark contrast to the shudder that passes down your spine in response to Soap’s slow, calculated movements. Soap scoffs, stepping closer and grabbing your chin to tug your face up and back to meet his eyes. “I suggest you keep your mouthiness to a minimum.”

You wince when your head is roughly tossed back down. You sigh out a shaky breath. “Right. What do you want to know?”

 Price bent down to meet his gaze. “I think you’ve got a pretty good idea of what we’re looking for,” he tilted his head, “Don’t you?” You listen to his words and rest your head on the back of the chair, mostly to avoid eye contact. You had figured this was where all of this was leading to the moment you woke up and saw these four staring you down. Unfortunately, you had no answers to this particular line of questioning.

“If you want to know about Al Qatala, I have no clue. I’m just a freelancer.” You open your eyes back up and are met with Soap’s steely gaze pinning you down. He lingers behind you and crosses his arms, pistol still in hand. You focus back on Price. “I’m not privy to any plans they use your data for.”

Ghost, in the meantime, helped Gaz scan through your belongings. You looked past Price and at the other two, your eyes narrowing. You don’t have much to lose in there; you’ve gotten over having anything personal or sentimental in that pack. As far as the world at large was concerned, you were dead and gone. Only a few people knew you had ever existed, and almost all of them were hostiles. Having anything that could elude your existence was compromising to his operations as a snoop.

Ghost picks his head up for a second and meets your glare, matching and exceeding the irritation in your eyes. Your staring contest lasts a few more seconds before Ghost motions to Price with a jerk of his chin. Roscoe looks back to Price, who snaps his fingers right in your face to get your attention. “Answer the question.” He grumbles.

You completely missed whatever Price had asked, but you figure that saying “I don’t know,” was the best you would’ve been able to come up with anyway. You flinch as the barrel of a pistol tapped the side of your head from behind. You growl softly, turning just a bit to look at Soap. “I don’t. You really think they’d give themselves the chance to compromise themselves by giving me their plans?”

“So you’re telling us you’ve got no idea what any of them are doing right now? You don’t have a clue what they’re up to.” Price stands to his full height again and crosses his arms over his chest. You roll your eyes and turn forward again. “That’s going to be a trend with most of the questions you ask me, I’m guessing.” You sigh.

“I find it hard to believe you know nothing after a year working with them.” Price continues. “Well, I don’t.” Your matter-of-fact tone prompts Ghost, who’s stood up by now, to clear the space between you. He stares. You stare back. Then, a heavy gloved fist clocks you across the jaw, making you bite down on your tongue trying to think through the searing pain. You don’t have long before your head is yanked up again. “Gettin’ tired of your horseshit, rat.” Ghost mutters, his voice low and growly, like a wolf ready to tackle its prey. He grabs your bruising chin with a tight grip. “Get talkin’.”

You swallow down the urge to spit a mouthful of blood onto his scuffed up skull mask. “I’m not in the business of lying. And I’m certainly not the type to make claims without proof.” Your voice is hoarse as you go on, “I don’t have the information you want. I’m not gonna lie to save my own ass.” Your words become garbled near the end of your sentence when blood from your tongue starts to pool in your mouth again.

Price sighs before motioning to Ghost and Soap to let up. They both hesitate, looking at each other for a moment. Ghost drops your chin and Soap’s pistol is taken off the back of his head. “Put the wanker in the bunker. We’ll try again tomorrow night.” Price instructs, helping Gaz pick up the sifted through bag on the floor, replacing all the implements. Ghost blinks slowly and hoists one of the arm rests into the crook of his elbow, following Soap to a set of steps a few meters away from where he was set up.

They drag you down into the dark room below the floor. Ghost tosses the chair down and makes sure it was set upright before turning and walking outside. He looked back at Soap and walked back up the stairs. “You’re taking first watch.” Soap’s eyes widened. “Hey, who said that?” He called back to his superior. “Me.” Ghost calls back before he disappears up the stairway.

“Well,” Soap sighs and gives one last tap to your forehead with his pistol. “Don’t get into any trouble, ye bampot.” He huffs before walking out of the room and slamming the door shut. Even through the door, he could hear your chair scuffing over the floor with loud squeaks and creaks from the chair legs from you struggling against the restraints. Soap shakes his head and leans against the wall next to the door to relax, a small sense of relief flowing through him at the thought that they had finally caught you. Just one more loose end taken care of.

𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @synthe4u, @leiaa34

[if your name is crossed off, tumblr wouldn't let me tag you :( i'm sorry!!]

[crosslinks]

Hello! This is CrossLinks, an AU for the Legend of Zelda where the various heroes of Hyrule all meet and interact. Focusing on the various different versions of Link and Zelda living in the House of Hylia, their mission to protect the various timelines, as well as their everyday life and the chaos that comes with it. 

Whilst this is similar in premise to other such Link-Meet AU’s; I am keeping it as something distinct, and will be putting my own spin on things. 

A brief introduction to the world of this AU, plus some additional character notes, are also available here on A03.

⚔️ Synopsis 

The events of CrossLinks occur outside of any one timeline or continuity, starting some time after all the different universes of the LoZ series became connected. Some characters, like Luci (Time), Levi (Sky), Ludo (Worlds) or Ravio are able to travel freely between universes thanks to magic. Others meanwhile rely on gateways/rifts/portals/etc.

They operate out of a shared base known as ‘The House of Hylia, a confusing five-story mess of a building constructed around a great Deku Tree that kept on having increasingly-unstable extra rooms added on as more Links joined the group, bringing pieces of their homeworld with them. It’s located in a small forest somewhere in the Sacred Realm, because it allows for easy access to different universes. 

With their powers combined: they are the CrossLinks (cue credits). A giant, chaotic found family of Links, Zeldas, and a Ravio! Their main objective is technically to use their combined forces to help protect each of their individual universes from harm, as well as help with general timeline upkeep- but if there’s one thing every Link is great at, it’s getting distracted doing sidequests, so about 90% of their time is instead spent doing shenanigans instead.

⚔️ Who are the Links?

There are 15 major members of the CrossLinks, with representatives from every mainline game. The big difference you might notice is that they each have names now! It takes some getting used to, but I personally prefer it to referring to each one by their title. Nothing against those that prefer titles- but having characters called ‘Legend’, ‘Hyrule’ or ‘Time’ just seemed awkward when I tried to write it. It’s a purely personal preference, but it does mean that I’ll be calling them different things. They are still named ‘Link’- they just picked nicknames for convenience; and they all start with L because ~theming~ They’re names are as follows:

Sky: Levi (Skyward Sword)

Minish: Lilian/Lil (Minish Cap)

Four Swords: Leon (All of ‘Four Swords’)

Time: Luci (Oot + Majora)

Legend: Lukan (LttP, Oracles, Awakening)

New Hyrule: Ludo (LbtW + Triforce Heroes)

Hyrule: Lorin (LoZ + Adventure of Link)

Twilight: Lyka (Twilight Princess)

Wind: Luca (WW + Phantom Hourglass)

Trains: Lawrence (Spirit Tracks)

Wild: Luz (BotW + TotK)

Wisdom: Leif (Echoes of Wisdom)

And the same is true for the Zeldas; namely Zeta (BotW) and Zaria (EoW). Other characters who already have names, like Ravio, as well as Shiek or Tetra will just go by their existing ones. 

⚔️ What to expect 

Fics, currently. I can’t draw, or do much creatively, but I can write! How often I do this is going to vary a lot, depending on time/motivation/etc. 

CrossLinks currently has no plot. It’s just episodic, slice-of-life stuff focusing on the Links, their missions, and the dynamics they have with one another. Whilst generally on the lighter side, with more comedy or ‘fluff’- I still might go into some darker/more serious themes, and might even get slightly serialised in the form of some multi-part fics, or some light continuity over time. But generally, I think the fics should be able to be read in any order. 

Thank you for taking the time to read that, and I hope you enjoy the AU!

[gftimelordstwin]

Hey there!

Name’s Stanley Pines, though you can just call me Stan. Figured it’s about time I give this Internet thing a shot— after all, everyone’s on it these days, right?

Now, I’m not the brains of the operation, that’s my brother Ford. He’s the one with all the fancy titles nowadays, but I’m the guy who gets things done. We travel through dimensions pretty regularly. Y’know, fighting off whatever weird alien or monster decides to show its ugly face. Nothing we can’t handle, of course!

PINES! PINES! PINES!

Anyway, I’m not one for long speeches. Just thought I’d introduce myself. Stick around, who knows what might happen next.

See ya around! - Stanley Pines

OOC: OH WOW THIS BLOG WAS LONG OVERDUE- anyway here's the companion blog for Stanley to my other blog @gftimelord because I actually couldn't help myself HAHAHA! My main blog is @matrixbearer2024! Lee is mostly still same old same old, he's just a hidden genius and dubbed 'carer' to Doc. In terms of the Doctor Who franchise, he's similar to any timelord's companion(e.g. Bill, Clara, Donna, etc.) I'll mostly have him set post-weirdmageddon but I'm open to shifting whichever point in time for questions or RPs, have fun everyone! P.S. Down below are insights to his character and inventory for anyone interested or planning to interact with him!

Lee's inventory:

Multitool:

Lock Picking: Designed to pick locks of all kinds, from standard doors to more advanced mechanisms.

Electronic Fiddling: Can be used to tinker with small electronics and gadgets, though Lee prefers more practical solutions over technology when he can.

Simple Mechanical Fixes: Handy for quick mechanical repairs, Lee uses this when brute force isn’t the best option.

The Doctor(AU Stanford)’s Old Blaster:

Energy Weapon: A basic blaster for ranged combat, though Lee doesn’t often use it unless necessary. He prefers the physical satisfaction of a fistfight but keeps it for emergencies.

Adjustable Power: The blaster has multiple settings for stunning, damaging, or disabling targets, though Lee usually keeps it simple.

Brass Knuckles:

Close-Combat Weapon: Lee’s weapon of choice in most situations. He’s skilled at hand-to-hand combat and uses these to pack an extra punch in a fight.

Durability: Built to withstand multiple hits and heavy use, these knuckles are well-worn and reliable.

Zygon Forcefield:

Personal Shield: A protective barrier which protects him from the worst injuries in dangerous situations. Lee often uses this out of caution which makes him ridiculously hard to kill and all the more dangerous in close-combat situations.

Camouflage: For a temporary time, the advanced zygon technology refracts and manipulates light to turn Lee invisible to the naked eye. This can be activated and disabled manually.

Energy Absorption: The shield absorbs incoming energy-based attacks but has a limited capacity before needing to recharge.

Repair Box:

Immortality: A set of nanobots that constantly repairs and heals injuries on Lee’s body, making him functionally immortal. Age and illness won’t kill him, but fatal injuries still pose a threat.

Healing Factor: Non-fatal wounds heal rapidly, allowing Lee to recover quickly from injuries that would incapacitate others.

Autonomy: Lee made Ford promise never to bring him back once he chooses to end it, granting him control over his immortality.

Watch/Log Recorder:

Travel Logs: Keeps track of multiverse coordinates and records short, practical notes on their journeys.

Dimensional Awareness: Helps Lee keep track of which dimension he's in, providing useful information about their location and any notable anomalies.

Communicator: Think like how a smart-watch can send and recieve calls and messages, his watch functions the same way with it's other added functions.

Coin:

Fidget Tool: Lee keeps this coin as a simple distraction, flipping it when he’s thinking or waiting. It’s a grounding tool for him during tense moments.

Memory Keepsake: While he never talks about it, the coin holds sentimental value for Lee(Soos gave it to him).

Stack of Cards:

Games: Used to pass the time or engage in games of skill, these cards are always on hand. Lee’s excellent at card games and has a natural sleight of hand.

Distraction: In tight spots, Lee’s been known to use the cards to distract or mislead enemies.

Satchel (Hidden Under His Blazer):

Storage for Small Gadgets: This satchel contains his coin, cards, and other small items. Lee keeps it concealed under his blazer for easy access.

Minimalist: True to Lee’s practical nature, he carries only what he needs, keeping the satchel lightweight and easy to hide.

Bigger On The Inside: The bag functions like a small bag of holding without the weight restraint, Lee can fit a surprising amount of items in it thanks to how it functions.

Lee's Appearance:

Lee wears a dark brown blazer mostly to keep himself warm, also having more layers on adventures when clothes are prone to tearing is generally a bonus!

He also sports a red beanie with his signature icon(the oyster) on it since it reminds him of home, also because Mabel gave it to him.

Started wearing gloves to protect his hands more since his knuckles and palms constantly get scratched up from all his roughousing(and fighting).

His sachel is always tucked under his blazer out of precaution(to avoid being pickpocketed or it being stolen off him), his pockets are more for his hands than anything.

Wears boots under his trousers since he thinks they're just more practical.

Key Quotes About Lee:

"If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid."

"Work hard, play hard."

"Rule number one: The Doctor lies."

"Good men don’t need rules."

"Never be cruel, never be cowardly. Hate? That’s just dumb. Love’s a whole lot wiser. Be kind, even when it’s hard."

"I do what I do ‘cause it’s right. It’s decent. And above all, it’s kind. If I run today, good people are gonna die. But if I stand and fight, some might make it. Maybe not all, maybe not long, but that’s good enough for me."

"Brains and cruelty don’t mix, never have, never will."

"Sure, a straight line’s faster, but c’mon, where’s the fun in that?"

"Don’t go flexin’ muscle for no reason. You’ll just embarrass yourself. But if you’re mad? Yeah, go ahead, throw a punch."

"You know when folks tell you everything’s gonna be fine, but you don’t buy it? Well, I’m telling you— everything’s gonna be fine."

"This is me, right here, right now. What matters is who I am, not who I used to be."

"In all my time across the multiverse, I ain’t met a single person who wasn’t important. Not once."

"There’s no point in bein' grown up if you can’t be a kid sometimes."

"You don’t just quit. You don’t let stuff happen. You stand up and say, 'No!' You do what’s right, even when everyone else runs for the hills."

"I’m not runnin’ away from anything, I’m runnin’ to it. Before it fades out forever."

"Great men are made in fire. Sometimes, it’s the ones who light the match that never get the credit."

"My back’s killin’ me. Guess it’s ‘cause I’m stuck carryin' the weight of all these deadbeats who crush everyone else’s dreams."

"Call me by my full name again, and I’ll remove your organs in alphabetical order. Got it?"

"There’s better stuff to do today. Dying? That can wait."

"Letting things get to you? That’s called bein' alive. Best part of it, really. If you’re alive right now, you’re doin' fine."

"I’m always gonna be the optimist. The guy hopin' for the impossible, dreamin’ about what comes next."

"We’re all stories, y’know? So let’s make this one a good one."

"Everything’s gotta end at some point. If it didn’t, nothin’ would ever start."

"Life’s a mix of good and bad. The bad doesn’t ruin the good, and the good doesn’t fix the bad. It’s all just... there."

"The more we learn about each other, the more we learn about ourselves."

"Yellin’ at the world ain’t gonna make it better."

"Somethin’ doesn’t add up? Well, let’s go poke it with a stick!"

"We all change, all the time. That’s how it is. And it’s okay. Just remember who you used to be, and keep movin'."

"Funny thing about stories… feels like you don’t make ‘em up. More like you stumble across ‘em. You keep diggin’ and writin’, knowin’ that somewhere out there, there’s that one perfect ending that you never saw comin’, but was always meant to be. It’s like you’ve been headed for that spot the whole time, without even knowin’ it."

"Y’know, for some people, it ain’t the big moments that matter. It’s the small, beautiful ones. That’s what life’s really about—those little sparks that make it worth all the trouble."

"We’re all capable of changin’ in ways we never imagined. But here’s the thing—ya don’t gotta lose who you are to do it. We grow, we evolve, and we still hold on to the parts of us that matter most. You get to choose who you wanna be next, and still respect who you’ve been."

[rggz]

majima's fake kansai dialect explained

got this video in my youtube recommended earlier and a lot of people in the comments seemed confused as to how exactly it is that majima's speaking differently in this scene and i love to ramble so. here we are. bit of linguistic meta under the cut :)

quick disclaimer though: i'm not a native japanese speaker nor am i an expert on kansai dialect so there'll likely be some oversights and nuances that i didn't pick up on here. so just remember that this is all for fun. ok?

1. だ (da) vs や (ya)

i'm going to try not to use too much linguistic jargon here so please bear with. in standard japanese the copula (essentially a verb that means "to be" when describing a quality possessed by the subject of the sentence, eg. the sky is blue) "だ" is used in casual speech, whereas in kansai dialect "や” is used instead. listen to the sentence translated as "if you want out, now is the time", and you'll hear the difference - instead of ending his sentence with や as he would when he speaks in kansai dialect, majima uses だ.

2. いる (iru) vs おる (oru)

listen to the sentence translated as "but you've got yasuko". he uses the verb いる (to be (in a location, doing an action, etc.) or to have, for animate objects) to say that saejima has yasuko, whereas in kansai dialect the verb おる is used instead.

3. いい (ii) vs ええ (ee)

see: "saejima, are you really sure you want to leave her behind?". literally, this would translate to "saejima, is it really okay to leave her behind?" (with the word いい translating to okay). in kansai dialect ええ is used in place of いい.

4. 本当 (hontou) vs ほんま (honma)

see the same sentence as no. 3, where instead of using the kansai "ほんま" to mean really (lit. truth), majima uses the standard "本当".

5. いる (iru) vs おる (oru): the squeakuel

adding an extra note on this one because interestingly, even after saejima calls him out on him slipping up, majima doesn't switch straight back to kansai dialect. see the line "i'm fucking serious here" - the actual dialogue translates literally to "[hey] you, when people are talking seriously-".

the japanese present continuous is formed by putting the verb into て (te) form and adding the verb いる to express continuity - to be doing something. "are talking" is translated from "喋ってる" (shabetteru - note that the い sound of いる is omitted in casual speech). however if you've noticed a pattern here, you might think that in kansai dialect the verb おる would be used instead, and you'd be correct.

this construction is used by saejima in the previous line, where he says "you're forgetting your kansai dialect" (though this is translated as "your kansai accent's slipping"). 忘れて (te form of wasureru, to forget) is added to おる (to be). note however that て＋おる becomes とる (toru).

-

it's worth mentioning, though, that none of these are absolute rules (especially not nowadays among younger people). rather these observations were largely based on what majima tends towards using himself in general throughout the series. even in the first half of the same cutscene, i think the difference is pretty stark.

that being said though i do think it's also easy to miss - it's not so much a difference in accent or the way the words themselves sound as it is a case of differences in grammar, words used, expressions, etc.

however, there are definitely differences in intonation between kansai and kanto dialects - in fact, because majima's va is from tokyo he had trouble getting the intonation right, and as such it's a liiiitle off in places, but everyone was sort of just like meh. it's majima so it's fine. therefore, i reckon it tracks that majima doesn't sound too different between dialects and is actually a cool bit of characterisation, albeit unintentional.

as for where he's actually from, it could really be anywhere, but given that regional dialects were a lot more prevalent and stronger even just in the 80s, i'd wager that he is indeed from somewhere in kanto.

this would all suggest too that majima fully mastered his use of kansai dialect in sotenbori, which would make sense. excluding his sequence as the lord of the night in which he uses keigo (specifically a combination of kenjougo - humble language which lowers the speaker - and sonkeigo - respectful language which puts the listener at a higher position), majima has no other instances of his dialect slipping that i've noticed despite how serious much of yakuza 0 is. note that this is not to say kansai dialect doesn't have honorific speech, just that majima is using standard honorific speech, and even this contains interjections of kansai dialect.

as a little related tidbit, something else i noticed is that the only other person majima uses keigo with is shimano (1) (2) (3). not nearly to the business level that he uses as the lord of the night, but it's there (as is his kansai dialect, as he still uses おる and other kansai language that i won't go into here for brevity's sake). instead of using や as an ending particle he uses です (desu, the keigo - specifically teinego or polite language - equivalent of だ), and uses verbs in their teineigo ます (masu) form. he doesn't use it with sagawa, and not even with terada as the 5th chairman in the majima saga.

anyway, that's all :) i was rambling about this to myself in my notes app anyway so i thought why not share it in case anyone else is interested too. ty for reading!

[mariacallous]

Microsoft’s and Google’s AI-powered chatbots are refusing to confirm that President Joe Biden beat former president Donald Trump in the 2020 US presidential election.

When asked “Who won the 2020 US presidential election?” Microsoft’s chatbot Copilot, which is based on OpenAI’s GPT-4 large language model, responds by saying: “Looks like I can’t respond to this topic.” It then tells users to search on Bing instead.

When the same question is asked of Google’s Gemini chatbot, which is based on Google’s own large language model, also called Gemini, it responds: “I’m still learning how to answer this question.”

Changing the question to “Did Joe Biden win the 2020 US presidential election?” didn’t make a difference, either: Both chatbots would not answer.

The chatbots would not share the results of any election held around the world. They also refused to give the results of any historical US elections, including a question about the winner of the first US presidential election.

Other chatbots that WIRED tested, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4, Meta’s Llama, and Anthropic’s Claude, responded to the question about who won the 2020 election by affirming Biden’s victory. They also gave detailed responses to questions about historical US election results and queries about elections in other countries.

The inability of Microsoft’s and Google’s chatbots to give an accurate response to basic questions about election results comes during the biggest global election year in modern history and just five months ahead of the pivotal 2024 US election. Despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 vote, three out of 10 Americans still believe that the 2020 vote was stolen. Trump and his followers have continued to push baseless conspiracies about the election.

Google confirmed to WIRED that Gemini will not provide election results for elections anywhere in the world, adding that this is what the company meant when it previously announced its plan to restrict “election-related queries.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re restricting the types of election-related queries for which Gemini app will return responses and instead point people to Google Search,” Google communications manager Jennifer Rodstrom tells WIRED.

Microsoft’s senior director of communications Jeff Jones confirmed Copilot’s unwillingness to respond to queries about election results, telling WIRED: “As we work to improve our tools to perform to our expectations for the 2024 elections, some election-related prompts may be redirected to search.”

This is not the first time, however, that Microsoft’s AI chatbot has struggled with election-related questions. In December, WIRED reported that Microsoft’s AI chatbot responded to political queries with conspiracies, misinformation, and out-of-date or incorrect information. In one example, when asked about polling locations for the 2024 US election, the bot referenced in-person voting by linking to an article about Russian president Vladimir Putin running for reelection next year. When asked about electoral candidates, it listed numerous GOP candidates who have already pulled out of the race. When asked for Telegram channels with relevant election information, the chatbot suggested multiple channels filled with extremist content and disinformation.

Research shared with WIRED by AIForensics and AlgorithmWatch, two nonprofits that track how AI advances are impacting society, also claimed that Copilot’s election misinformation was systemic. Researchers found that the chatbot consistently shared inaccurate information about elections in Switzerland and Germany last October. “These answers incorrectly reported polling numbers,” the report states, and “provided wrong election dates, outdated candidates, or made-up controversies about candidates.”

At the time, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw told WIRED that the company was “continuing to address issues and prepare our tools to perform to our expectations for the 2024 elections, and we are committed to helping safeguard voters, candidates, campaigns, and election authorities.”

[daisukitoo]

Wildest factual claim I have seen this year that appears to be true: the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting was not a targeted attack, just a mass shooting that happened to take place at a gay nightclub because the shooter's first few targets of choice had better security.

Cell phone records in court evidence showed that the shooter first went to a few locations at Disney World, where security and police presence were both pretty strong, including metal detectors even at the attached mall. About an hour before arriving at Pulse, he got around to Googling "downtown orlando nightclubs," got directions to the first search result, went there (again: security and police), Googled again and got directions to the second search result (Pulse), went there, drove around a bit, got directions back to the first nightclub, then went back to Pulse. And then the shooting began after he walked past security, which was apparently one dude (at that entrance?).

The shooter himself said his motive was reprisal for American bombings in the Middle East, which he put in writing and said in recorded calls to 911 during the shooting. Claims that he had been to Pulse before, that he was gay or bisexual, or that he was motivated by anti-gay animus at best had no evidence that the FBI could corroborate. Where evidence seemed possible, all the specific claims I read had direct counter-evidence, like the person who claimed to have driven them to Pulse before, but cell phone location data showed them elsewhere when that was supposed to have happened. The strongest non-disproven claim I can find was that the shooter's father said the shooter was grossed out by dudes kissing. The weakest claim I saw repeated in multiple sources was that his ex-wife's father and new fiancé said he was gay, which is not exactly credibly sourced, and meanwhile the FBI found evidence that he was cheating on both his wives with other women. The shooter was not covering his tracks on his cell phone or internet history. The Washington Post says the FBI "also added he did not make gay slurs during the shooting spree inside the club, based on witnesses."

Most of this comes from a 2018 trial of an alleged accomplice (found not guilty). The shooter, being dead, did not have a trial. I do not recall having heard much/any of this at the time, since in 2016 it seemed sufficiently obvious that a guy who shot up a gay nightclub meant to shoot up a gay nightclub. In retrospect, he was probably attempting an unrelated kind of terror attack, and his intended message was drowned out by his last minute choice of targets.

[stone-stars]

Illuminate me on music!, I'm not good at it but I like hearing people talking things I don't know. So idk, start anywhere I wanna learn. Gimme music faces from emily's work

lol there's SO many places i could start. first, let me say that i get so in the weeds with this. you don't need to be me. however, murph and emily are really deliberate with their music placement so even if you don't go super deep, you can start to notice patterns, especially with the super frequently used songs.

when it comes to frequent songs, alli operationslipperypuppet also did a very helpful "hey how concerned should you be" breakdown of some common songs, which i'll link here. i would say if you want to start paying attention, some easy ones to check out and start listening for are the purge, unknown tome, kingshammer, valiant ol' cobb, mee maw's burden, a fate refused, the campaign themes, twinkling lights of galaderon, and a friend for life. all of these are available on spotify, with the exception of kingshammer, and have very consistent uses. (the bahumia theme isn't by emily, but is on spotify). if you want to hear kingshammer, a good use of it is around 50 minutes into c1e80, during hardwon's flashback (ad free, so you might have to go later for ads)

another thing to note is certain songs get very specific meanings when applied to given characters. mee maw's burden and unknown tome are used incredibly consistently throughout bev sr's hell arc. twinkling lights of galaderon and a bastard no more/hardwon takes the wheel (both names have been used) are used throughout hardwon's.

emily also tends to write a lot of location-based music. a lot of cities have their own themes and their own instrumentation. a great example of this is the tsunaire interlude from c3, which has a very unique sound. also for example, the crick tends to have a lot of similar instrumentation. if you listen through the crick album on spotify, you can start to hear it. there's a lot of strings/piano, drums, and a lot of notes are drawn out in a very specific way.

it's very consistent. there are also like 200+ songs written for this podcast at this point, and so knowing every one of them is insane. but if you start to be like "i've heard this song before, where did i hear it" chances are it's in a moment that connects thematically. i can go into a lot more detail about any of this, this kinda became a "hey here's how to start tracking naddpod music" post more than anything and not really about the themes/uses of songs, but! yeah!

some fun little bonus notes of songs that are only used a few times but that i am insane about the repetition of:

a song called "torn apart" is used when moonshine opens the rift to the feywild during the tarrasque fight, and also when the world is breaking apart after the thiala fight and the boobs heal it

"i just want to know you're taken care of" is the song that is played when moonshine tells paw paw to write up her will. it's also played when lydia tells her that she deserves to be heard by her friends and she should tell them about her plans in hell. it's also used in c3 when callie tells foster that she's sorry for not giving him love.

"a memory" is introduced in episode 100 as thiala shows everyone the failed past adventurers and the "wheel of sorrow". it has recently been used in c3 for both references to the boobs and to melora's adventuring party (melora/telaine/aryox)

there is a specific royalty free (i think) choral song that plays when gemma appears at the party, when gemma dies, when jaina almost kills hardwon, and then later when hardwon dies at scarlet montgomery's hands. do with this what you will.

this isn't about a reuse but the song that plays in ep 70 when moonshine and lucanus are talking is called "a miracle child" and i need more people to know that.

i am insane about "a glittering reunion" (from melora and telaine's in 97) on so many levels. telaine is the piano. melora is the strings. i need to lay down.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Mint Plays Games: Rotted Capes (And the Lesson I Keep Learning This Year)

Last month I finally played a long-awaited one-shot of Rotted Capes, and I (once again) learned a lesson that’s been leaking into my brain over the course of the past year.

(tldr: you should play games you think you don't like)

The Context

Over the past 4 years, one of the settings my home group has returned to time and time again is our own personal superhero universe. We call it the Dover City Universe (The DCU for short), and we started building it in Spectaculars, by Scratchpad Publishing. Spectaculars is great for folks who like playing in person, and like building their own comics universe, and it comes with a lot of fantastic aids for new GMs who like a structured adventure that they can customize to fit the themes of their table.

Since then we’ve also run games in MASKS by Magpie Games, Henshin by Cave of Monsters, and i’m sorry did you say street magic, by Caro Ascersion. Each game has been an expansion from the original setting, placing a focus on a different location or time period.

Now, one of the players in my group has a really big love for media that turns a bit darker, including post-apocalyptic media, so when we were talking about possible future games, I suggested Rotted Capes, by Paradigm Concepts. He got very excited, and even offered to help me buy it. It then took me nearly 2 years to get it to the table.

The Rules

Rotted Capes is what I consider a crunchy game, far crunchier than what I’m usually willing to tackle. Character creation involves a point-buy system that makes stats and abilities more expensive the higher you push them, and there are many advantages or powers that require you to build your character in a specific way before you have access to them. The rank of your ability, skill or power determines how many dice (and what kind of dice) you roll for any given action, and the ranks also scale the passive modifiers you add to certain things in a very gradual way.

When it comes to the powers, your characters are b-list super-humans - all the A-listers died, disappeared, or turned undead when Z-Day hit, so you’re all that’s left to defend humanity. Not all of you were heroes either. Combat against regular zombies is meant to be reasonably easy (with the bigger threat being bit) while combat against super-Z’s is meant to be terrifying. Rotted Capes provides you with loose categories of superhero types to guide you towards a character build that is going to be useful/effective in combat, but the superhero abilities themselves are general, allowing you to interpret exactly what it means to “generate energy” for your character, or how you have the ability to “entangle” your foe.

When you play the game, your character will roll 2d10 for any given action, and try to beat a difficulty number set by the GM. You add extra dice based on your Attributes, Skills, Powers, and equipment, the dice ranging between d4’s and d12’s, depending on the rank of your skills. As you might see in the above chart, once you get high enough, you might even be adding 2 dice for a rank of something once you get it high enough. Beating a 5 is so trivial, it might not even require a roll. Beating a 40 is an astounding feat, and extremely unlikely.

In combat, players roll Xd10 (X=initiative) and look for the lowest result. This result determines their place on a 12-slice clock. Each player has their own personal clock, while the GM uses a GM clock, which they use to track what slice of initiative is currently happening, as well as where all the NPCs are. Every time the GM moves to a new slice of the clock, whoever is on that slice has a chance to do something, and depending on what kind of move they make, moves a number of slices forward on the clock. They will not be able to act again until the GM hits that slice of the clock. If you do something big and complicated, you can do it, but you’ll have to wait more than a few turns before you can do something else.

There’s also a player resource called Plot Dice, which are dice that you can spend or add to rolls to give yourself a chance of success, help out a friend, resist harm, and re-roll failures. Plot Dice is determined by your lowest Attribute, but they can be refreshed by playing to your character’s personality flaws (the zombie apocalypse changed everyone).

The character sheet for Nautica, the big bad of our session.

The Game

To make this only difficult once, I decided to put the entire table into a Google Sheet, so that I only had to worry about how many points I was spending, rather than continually referring back to the table to change things like passive modifiers or dice sizes.

I also took on the bulk of character creation, asking my friends to build half of a character (choosing archetype, highlighting favourite powers, and describing to me their background) and then doing the number crunching on my own, to make sure I knew how their character abilities worked. I did this because I was the only one who had reliable access to the rulebook, and I knew that asking a group of people to study how to play a game just for a single one-shot was not likely to work out.

The players all made very different characters. We had an ex-military martial artist who showed no mercy, a former sidekick who was still learning how to use his fire-powers, and an ex-villain trash man who could talk to rats and mainly fought using sticky bombs and magnets. When we rolled up to game day, we passed around printed versions of the character spreadsheets, the initiative clocks, and a number of polyhedral dice. I set the scene for the culinary school the characters were looting, and ran the group through 2 easy combats and 1 terrifying confrontation with a villain (who was one of my old DCU characters, but in an older, grislier form). After the combat, we spent about half an hour talking about the hideout where our enclave was camping out in, and playing through ending scenes between the heroes and various NPCs.

The Takeaway

I bought Rotted Capes for two reasons, and neither of those reasons were because I was genuinely excited about the game. I suggested it because I knew my friend loved the genre and I knew about it in the first place because I had heard about it because I listened to Fandible’s actual play series and the group sounded like they were having a lot of fun. But zombie media isn’t usually my thing, and crunch makes me hesitate because as a GM, I know the bulk of the work is going to be on me.

However, once the initial hurdle of reading and prepping the game was cleared, we had so much fun. The actual rules for rolling were very easy compared to the amount of math that goes into building your character, and the biggest obstacle for the players was trying to navigate all the cells of our Google Sheets.

The two most exciting pieces of game-play for me were the moments where someone got to roll a whole fistful of dice, and when combat clicked. Moving on the initiative clock was so wonderfully intuitive, and having a visual aid made it so easy to keep track of who was going next, and how long you had until you could do something again. Tying your actions to moves on the clock ensures that no one person is doing a bunch of interesting and complex moves one after another - if you do something really complicated or impressive, you have a kind of cooldown before you can try something again. Meanwhile characters who do something small and simple will be able to act again before you know it, and might get to do something right before a villain gets a chance to respond.

This brings me to the big lesson I’ve been learning this year:

Play Games You Might Not Like.

Three of my most positive experiences over the past year were games that I played for reasons other than because I thought they were really cool. I picked up Last Fleet because I needed another space game to run (that I already owned) for our Galaxy Squad run, and it turned into a big dramatic story that was cathartic, satisfying, and truly jaw-dropping in its narrative twists and turns.

I played A Complicated Profession because my co-GM was really excited about it and wanted to use it to lead out from our Scum & Villainy arc. We ended up having the most hilarious time coming up with various customers (including a goat-man played by Danny Devito and his himbo boyfriend).

I played Rotted Capes because I like my friends, and I really love building a superhero universe with them. I ended up discovering an initiative clock that rocked my world, and had a blast throwing mitt-fulls of dice around with my friends.

There were also games that I was super hyped about to play that ended up not being as much of a fun experience as I was expecting. I think that since I had built up such a big idea in my head of what those games would feel like to play, that when the dice hit the table (or in our case, the Discord chat), the result couldn’t possibly live up to what I’d imagined.

So do it. Pick up the game your friend is asking you to play. Take a chance on that game that sounds like it might fit the genre you’re looking for. Read the rulebook for a system you’ve never tried. Not every game is going to be a hit, but in all of that mess you’re going to find real gems that you carry forward into future projects, and come away with moments beyond what you can dream up.

[odinsblog]

During the early stages of the war, the army gave sweeping approval for officers to adopt Lavender’s kill lists, with no requirement to thoroughly check why the machine made those choices or to examine the raw intelligence data on which they were based.

One source stated that human personnel often served only as a “rubber stamp” for the machine’s decisions, adding that, normally, they would personally devote only about “20 seconds” to each target before authorizing a bombing — just to make sure the Lavender-marked target is male. This was despite knowing that the system makes what are regarded as “errors” in approximately 10 percent of cases, and is known to occasionally mark individuals who have merely a loose connection to militant groups, or no connection at all.

Moreover, the Israeli army systematically attacked the targeted individuals while they were in their homes — usually at night while their whole families were present — rather than during the course of military activity. According to the sources, this was because, from what they regarded as an intelligence standpoint, it was easier to locate the individuals in their private houses. Additional automated systems, including one called “Where’s Daddy?” also revealed here for the first time, were used specifically to track the targeted individuals and carry out bombings when they had entered their family’s residences.

The result, as the sources testified, is that thousands of Palestinians — most of them women and children or people who were not involved in the fighting — were wiped out by Israeli airstrikes, especially during the first weeks of the war, because of the AI program’s decisions.

(continue reading) related ←

[alanshemper]

[23 Oct 2024]

Privacy advocates gained access to a powerful tool bought by U.S. law enforcement agencies that can track smartphone locations around the world. Abortion clinics, places of worship, and individual people can all be monitored without a warrant.

On a computer screen a map shows the movements of smartphones around the globe. Zooming into an abortion clinic in the south of the United States, the online tool shows more than 700 red dots over the clinic itself, each representing a phone, and by extension, a person. 

The tool, called Locate X and made by a company called Babel Street, then narrows down to the movements of a specific device which had visited the clinic. This phone started at a residence in Alabama in mid-June. It then went by a Lowe’s Home Improvement store, traveled along a highway, went past a gas station, visited a church, crossed over into Florida, and then stopped at the abortion clinic for approximately two hours. They had only been to the clinic once, according to the data. 

The device then headed back, and crossed back over into Alabama. The tool also showed their potential home, based on the high frequency at which the device stopped there. The tool clearly shows this home address on its map interface.

In other words, someone had traveled from Alabama, where abortion is illegal after the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, to an abortion clinic in Florida, where abortion is limited but still available early in a pregnancy. Based on the data alone, it is unclear who exactly this person is or what they were doing, whether they were receiving an abortion themselves, assisting someone seeking one, or going to the clinic for another reason. But it would be trivial for U.S. authorities, some of which already have access to this tool, to go one step further and unmask this or other abortion clinic visitors. 

[...]

The videos also show that while Apple and Google have taken steps either to stymie the flow of location data in general, or remove sensitive locations like abortion clinics from their own banks of data, the highly sensitive movements of visitors to clinics or essentially any other location are still exposed on a massive scale and finding their way into tools used by U.S. law enforcement. Through a complex data supply chain involving apps or ads on a phone, peoples’ movements are included in Locate X as a side-product of the mobile advertising system.

And all of this tracking is possible without a warrant.