#tech manticore

[aurora-eos]

Given tumblr trend names, manticore should be a trend of some sort. Maybe the aesthetic of dangerous monsters?

And for specifically cybernetic or robotic dangerous monsters’ aesthetic, @bellasboneyard already came up with techmanticore!

They’re drinking energy drinks in a dystopia? Chromanticore.

Dangerous monsters are pretty cool and have awesome aesthetics and we need to appreciate them for it!

[astromechs]

oh it's that time again. obsessed with my own au.

[vexwerewolf]

If we talk about the aesthetics of technology in Lancer, we can divide each of the Big 4 along lines of form and function.

IPS-N: Pure Function

IPS-N cares only what a mech does. It doesn't need to look good or pretty doing it - it only needs to be able to do that thing well. It's notable that the Raleigh, arguably the most form-oriented of the IPS-N frames, is also considered to be the company's biggest commercial failure - they strayed from their core design principles and got punished for it.

Harrison Armory: Form Follows Function

Harrison Armory still leans pretty heavily towards the functionality side of things, but it isn't satisfied with doing a good job alone. Yes, the mechs have to perform well, but they also have to look good doing it. There's no practical application for the Sherman's sleeveless coat or the Tokugawa's dainty little tassels, but they don't hinder combat functionality and they make the mechs look dashing. In comparison to IPS-N's coarse, industrial, almost unfinished look, HA mechs look stern, austere and imposing. There's a smoothness to them that you just don't get on IPS-N frames.

SSC: Function Follows Form

SSC is where we start to plunge into aesthetics-forward mech design. The Death's Head isn't six-legged because it's a sniper - the Death's Head is a sniper because it's six-legged. SSC came up with a mech design and asked: "what would this do best?" A six-legged chassis provided a more stable firing platform for precision weaponry, so that was what it did. Shapes and appearances are invented, and then a use case is discovered for them.

HORUS: Pure Form

It might seem weird to classify HORUS as "pure form" when their mechs largely don't have a consistent visual identity outside of the examples in the book. However, if we look a little deeper at the definition of "form," the explanation becomes clear: in some ways, HORUS is in the business of making statements, not mechs.

For anyone who's actually played a HORUS mech in Lancer, you may have noticed how awkward they are to actually pilot. Their statlines are, on paper, often very poorly suited to the sort of work they have to do. The Gorgon is built to attract attention and draw fire but has no armor. The Manticore is meant to be a front-line fighter but is quite slow. The Minotaur is meant to be a tech platform but has a low sensor range. The Pegasus' one functional trait doesn't apply to any of the weapons in its equipment package!

This is because HORUS mechs are designed purely as a testament to a certain discipline of technology. I remember expressing irritation with a friend's NeoGeo-for-X-Box emulator once, that you couldn't reconfigure the controller mapping so that it was easier to play with the X-Box controller. He remarked that it was meant as a historical preservation tool that perfectly duplicated the functionality of the NeoGeo, and that the only reason you could even play games using it at all is because that was a function of NeoGeo arcade cabinets.

That's how HORUS mechs are - their usability as chassis is broadly a side-effect.

[horsegirlwithnoname]

okay we can all agree the Manticore is fucking weird, right?

Like, look past Castigate, which is mostly a meme (I've seen players say 'the enemy doesn't know whether it's online or not and you can play that psychologically to influence enemy behaviour' but that seems so GM dependent), what the fuck is this thing's deal?

Well, it's tough-ish. 8hp, 2 armour, 7 heat cap, 10 e-def. That's ... the same as a Tortuga??? With +1 heat cap??? 3 repcap (low, but the same as the Gorgon or Napoleon, and like them it has damage mitigation tools) so you're less resilient across multiple scenes but I think a lot of people get so caught up in Castigate they miss that the Manticore's stat line is really similar to the Tortuga's, including (unfortunately) speed 3, which means your movement/positioning needs to be pinpoint if you're planning to play up close.

Also like the Tortuga, it's got +1 tech attack but unlike the ever-popular hacktuga it actually has invade options on its license. Like ... four different invade options, which range from decent-if-niche to amazing.

So it's a hacker, then? Problem solved.

Except

all its license weapons are CQB

Charged Exoskeleton, EMP Pulse and Lightning Generator want you to be up close

Beckon is a completely absurd tool for getting close

So you're what ... a close-quarters hackerbrawler? Who wants to overheat as much as possible. Its kit likes it when enemies group up and Summon lets you force them to group up. Since it's already decent at hacking it works well with licenses like the Goblin that let you play with enemy movement to bring them into your hellzone.

People love the hacktuga but the Manticore tends to get pushed into meme territory despite being something really similar. You're a close-combat guy who's also slow as hell so you use hacking tools to bring the enemy to you.

Isn't that cool? Isn't that so much more interesting than the way the playerbase tend to treat it? Like I'm trying to figure out what A Complete Manticore looks like and it's so much weirder than I was expecting. Melee hackertank who wants to cook their own reactor and wants to bring the enemy to them, right? So:

-- HORUS Manticore @ LL12 -- [ LICENSES ] HORUS Manticore 3, HORUS Goblin 3, SSC Metalmark 3, HORUS Balor 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] The Lesson of Thinking-Tomorrow’s-Thought, The Lesson of the Open Door, Integrated Weapon, Full Subjectivity Sync [ TALENTS ] Hacker 3, Executioner 3, Hunter 3, Nuclear Cavalier 3, Pankrati 3 [ STATS ] HULL:4 AGI:2 SYS:6 ENGI:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:22 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:9 REPAIR:5 TECH ATK:+7 LIMITED:+1 SPD:4 EVA:10 EDEF:16 SENSE:10 SAVE:18 [ WEAPONS ] Integrated: Fuel Rod Gun INTEGRATED WEAPON: Shock Knife FLEX MOUNT: Shock Knife / Shock Knife HEAVY MOUNT: Nanobot Whip [ SYSTEMS ] H0R_OS System Upgrade I, Beckoner, Lightning Generator, Scanner Swarm, Swarm Body, OSIRIS-Class NHP

Am I completely off base here?

[tiredarts-sketchbook]

A Pilot and his Everest I played in a oneshot yesterday! Ten fatalities, no structure damage, one Reactor stress from excessive Overcharge, and a deployment passed with flying colors :D

(build below the cut)

—READMORE BYPASSED—

Requires [SAIS] and [CORSAIR Gruntworks]

» Owan West // GREENLIGHT «

Criminal, LL6

[ SKILL TRIGGERS ]

Assault (+4), Feel the Rythym (+4), Get Somewhere Quickly (+6), PUSH BOUNDARIES (+4), Take Control (+2)

[ GEAR ]

Mobility Hardsuit, Medium Signature, Light A/C, Stims, GALVORN-Class CA-VI, Sound System

[ BOND ]

THE HARLEQUIN

Powers: MOCKINGBIRD, EXUENT, SLIP

***

[ TALENTS ]

Brutal 3, Combined Arms 3, Nuclear Cavalier 3

[ LICENSES ]

HORUS Vampyr 1, C-GW Khutulun 3, HORUS Manticore 1, HORUS Gorgon 1

[ CORE BONUSES ]

Integrated Weapon, The Lesson of the Open Door

[ MECH ]

« [TRACKSHREDDER] »

GMS Everest

H:1 A:2 S:2 E:3 SIZE:1

STRUCTURE:4/4 HP:15/15 ARMOR:0 STRESS:4/4 HEAT:0/9 REPAIR:5/5

ATK BONUS:3 TECH ATK:2 LTD BONUS:1 SPD:5 EVA:10 EDEF:10 SENS:10 SAVE:15

[ WEAPONS ]

INTEGRATED MOUNT: Fuel Rod Gun

INTEGRATED WEAPON: Kinetic Impact Driver

MAIN MOUNT: Assault Rifle

FLEX MOUNT: Catalyst Pistol / Pistol

HEAVY MOUNT: Heavy Machine Gun

[ SYSTEMS ]

Jackrabbit Turbo, Mimic Mesh, PATTERN-B CONCUSSION CHARGES, Sentinel Drone, Armament Redundancy

[loisfreakinglane]

I located a guy claiming to be a med tech on something called Project Manticore, which was using recombinant DNA to produce a superior human... a warrior... an advanced infantry soldier.

[terkmc]

Horus Asp

A Horus dead simple "grunt" type mech, because other manufacturers all got one (Everest, Tortuga, Metalmark and Gilgamesh)

Also, Apep lore, because Manticore brought it into the lore and refuse to elaborate :P

It is meant to be a pretty "basic" mech-with-a-gun with a slight Horus twist, a challenge for myself to make a standard infantry type mech for Horus without putting any tech stuff in its license. Works well out of the gate with just the basic Fragment Signal which I think is criminally underated, as well as talents like HGunner, Infiltrator, Centimane, Orrator, as well as sources of on demand cover like the basic GMS smoke grenade, Skirmisher, Combined Arms etc.

[ungrateful-revolutionary-bastard]

<You might not want our gifts, but are you truly in a position to refuse? Violence, it's necessary. A shield and a sword. Take a sword, for now.>

Accompanying the message is a manticore

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

>>Connecting to the Omninet..

>>Encrypting broadcast..

…

>>Encryption Complete.

>>Connection secured, details below.

>>Current Solar System - [REMOVED]

>>Location - Crosslands

>>Terminal - [REMOVED]

>>Broadcasting message..

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

“Look here, ya damned fish. Of course violence is necessary; always has been. I'll be the first to say that. But one's tools are theirs to choose, an' frankly, I ain't much of a fan of Horus bullshit. Doesn't usually end well in my case. Only time I work with it is when other Ungratefuls have it 'round, or if payed well enough."

"I'll hand this off to @radiofreesanjak; they'll get more use out of this thing than me. Hope y'all folks don't mind. The tech's nice an' all, always like more things to be fiddlin' with. But a manticore? No thanks. Now if ya don't mind, I got some damned drones to catch, an' some faces to punch.. why do I do this shit-"

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

>>Broadcast terminated.

>>Good hunting.

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

[bakawitch]

idea for a boy-coded show, specifically the "mature" one. The story is about a boy who is the youngest in his family and his story is about escaping from and eventually fighting against them. The main character's family is made up of his father, mother, three older sisters (they're triplets), and two older brothers (they're twins). The family is toxic, and while they love each other on some level they are still a mess. Also their powerful magic users who tyrannically rule over their lands from their castle estate. The father has violent anger problems and can lash out easily and the main character has been on the receiving end of the anger quite a bit. The father is also Odysseus levels in love with his wife, and while he loves his kids they usually on the receiving end of his violent outbursts. The father has super strength, endurance, and can turn into a manticore. The mother is the kinder of the parents and a source of security for her children but often makes excuses for the father, also she's in and out of sickness due to some health problems that were caused by complications with the birth of the youngest (which why the father lashes out at the youngest and why the father's angry outburst usually kine up with the mother's sickness spells), she can summon and command mothes and butterflies that she uses to spy on people and find things and people. The sisters are based on the Dimitrescu sisters. The eldest sister is quiet but with a strong head on her shoulders and can be pretty cruel (think like Reiji from Diabolik Lover) and has mind controlling powers. The middle sister is ruthless hunter & has big don't fuck with me energy, she she can either shape-shifting into animals or take on the traits of animals. Surpirsingly the middle sister is closest to the main character/her youngest brother. The youngest daughter is the most delusional aka airhead, daydreamer, and often off in her own world. She either has the power to temporarily manifest fairytale of story characters and monsters/creatures into reality. A for the twin older brothers one is the golden child (along with the oldest sister) and a daddy's boy, he is very determine to have his dad be proud of him and often teases the main character. He can cause hallucinations and use people's fears and insecurities against them. The older twin brother is a tech nerd/inventer and can control metal and nicer than his twin, and close to his younger brother/the main character. Out of all of them the hunter sister and inventor brother are more likely to turn against the family and join the main character. The main character starts out with no powers since they haven't developed yet, but he eventually has either sun magic or moon magic.

Sorry, this went long, free to change stuff if this is more mature than what you wanted for the prompt. I think I went a bit too far with some of this.

Oooh this is really fun! Kind reminds me of all those revenge isekai manga/manhwa! (Not that one... You know the one...)

I think this is a pretty solid story as is! I could see this as a longer 1 season or 2 slightly shorter seasons long anime on MiraNex. Might get a film cut for the final saga where the boy finally puts a plan into action during which he finally explains... Picture this with lots of Love is War/Death Note monologues and mind games going on.

Let's call this My Wishful Salvation (僕が望む救い/Boku Ga Nozomu Sukui/The Salvation I Hope For). The tale of a boy who is warned of his imminent death by a magical creature if he stays in his abusive household.

I don't really have much stuff to add to the plot rn, because this is already incredibly detailed, but I can suggest some names for the characters (with the addition of a few)!

Cereus Desjardins, the main character, eventually develops moon magic, reads a lot, withdrawn, no title yet due to age

Dill, a creature disguised as a regular house cat who warns Cereus of his imminent doom, they fulfill the role of basically a Ryuk, doesn't interfere much, but the mc can explain his thought process and plans out loud to them

Calendula Shae, a maid in the manor who often assists Cereus and eventually gets involved in the escape plan, might be doomed by the narrative, still a stepping stone :(, has minor telekinetic powers (think Inko Midoriya)

Grand Duke Viscum Desjardins, the father and head of the house, enhanced strength and endurance, can turn into a manticore, serious anger management issues, loves his wife

Grand Duchess Salvia Desjardins, the mother and lady of the house, managed the manor more actively before growing weaker, can spy through butterflies/moths she an summon, (un)intentionally emotionally manipulative, kind of a control freak, secretly loves the attention her sick spells get her

Lady Marigold Desjardins, quiet, headstrong, cruel, mind control powers, probably turns Calendula against Cereus once

Lady Lithop Desjardins, ruthless hunter, doesn't take shit, closest to Cereus, can take on traits of animals, sorta has blood lust

Lady Gardenia Desjardins, airhead, daydreamer, more dangerous asleep than awake, sleep walks, manifests her dreams when sleeping

Lord Alyssum Desjardins, booksmart, inventor type, also close to Cereus, most reasonable, generally kind, controls metals

Lord Datura Desjardins, golden child, wants to make his father proud, pretty much the most active bully, thinks being cruel to Cereus will get him more acknowledgement from his father, can cause hallucinations, mostly horrible ones

Sir Kudzu Takenoko, head butler, undying loyalty to Viscum, teleportation powers

Ivy Knotweed, Salvia's personal maid who gets negligent when her Mistress falls sick and steals stuff has invisibility powers, knows all the gossip

TBA?

[tegu-the-tegu]

Flavoured Artificer Concepts

Artificer is by FAR my favourite class in Dungeons and Dragons, primarily for how customisable they can be with regards to their flavour; because of the ability to cast through any tools you are proficient in, it gives a LOT of range to how your magic works. As such, I will put some ideas I have had to build unique Artificers.

An Artillerist that uses woodworking to carve totems; they are flavoured as a tribal shaman that summons the spirits of magical creatures to aid in battle. Their flamethrower turret conjures a dragon spirit to burn their foes, their protector turret calls the spirit of a unicorn to protect the virtuous, and their ballista invokes a manticore spirit to pepper distant foes with spikes. Their other spells can also be flavoured this way, such as Thunderwave being flavoured as an Aerosaur spirit emerging from a totem and flapping its wings to blow enemies away!

A Battlesmith that uses leatherworking to create a horrific stitched Frankenstein's monster for their steel defender. Every time they kill things, they skin the corpses to repair their hideous flesh monster. Or, if you prefer, you could stick with the shamanistic theme from the Artillerist entry, and use leatherworking to maintain the pelt of the first wolf you killed; its spirit inhabits that pelt, and defends you to this day!

An Alchemist that uses chef's tools to create supernaturally delicious food that cures illnesses and grants supernatural abilities. I have actually played this, he used brewers supplies to create caustic acidic drinks, had peppers so hot that it made your breath ignite to cast fire spells, and he would spray sticky toffee over the area for web. He would make food puns, and was named Guido Fiero.

An Armorer that uses jeweller's tools to create bling that imbues them with magical powers. A circlet that grants a force field, a ring that shoots lightning, a pair of bracelets that create thunderous shockwaves when brought together. Then, when you hit level 9, you can have distinct infusion tied to each one! A circlet or diadem or whatever for head armour, necklace for chest armour, anklets for boots, and bracelets or rings for the weapon! Perfect for a wealthy nobleman artificer who wants to broadcast their glamorous lifestyle.

There are loads of other things you can do with each tool proficiency, and it's a shame that the class is so easily pigeonholed into "The Tech Class". Not to say I don't like the gnomish tinker that creates fantastical and crazy gizmos to mimic magical effects. Hell, my character in the campaign I'm not DMing is exactly that, an autognome (Flavoured to look like a normal gnome in the face, so they appear normal when wearing their clothes) that woke up one day in a tinker's lab next to his deceased creator, and then left to try and find a purpose in the world. He has an insect motif, so all of his spells and things are flavoured as small clockwork insects he makes.

But the point is, while that's a staple of the Artificer class fantasy, there are loads of other ideas to flavour it! A calligrapher that writes arcane runes in the air, a potter with a terracotta soldier for a steel defender, a weaver that knits arcane circles, a painter whose drawings become magical effects, a glassblower whose glass figurines come to life, I can't think of one for cartographer's tools, but I bet there is a dope idea in there somewhere!

Even as I mentioned before with leatherworking, you can have the exact same class, the exact same subclass, and the exact same tool, and STILL have wildly different flavour! One is Doctor Frankenstein, the other is a mystical shaman with a spirit guide!

Anyway, that's today's rambling. I would also do a thing on subclasses the Artificer could have, given they only have four, but that's a whole other rant. Besides, this is already a thesis.

[colinmkl]

Kamen Rider NRV Lore Dump!

Manticore

Manticore LLC is a major medical technology company. Publicly, they are most known for their artificial organs and limb prosthesis as well as several other medical devices and equipment used in hospitals worldwide. Less widely publicized are their numerous military contracts, developing cutting edge medical treatment technologies but also advanced weapons, drones, and other offensive hardware.

Nanoderm

The scientific breakthrough that lead Manticore to dominate in the field of med-tech is the invention of micro-sensors that are capable of reading brain signals in the nervous system and translating them into data a computer can interpret with absolute precision. These microscopic sensors can be integrated into programmable nanomachines that interlock in a mesh that forms durable skin-like material called Nanoderm.  If an exposed section of human tissue is covered in Nanoderm and then allowed to heal, the Nanoderm will become integrated with the tissue like a layer of natural skin. Any impulses or signals sent by the brain to that part of the body will be received by the Nanoderm and translated into data. That data can then be read as motor commands by a Manticore prosthesis. Basic prosthesis models can receive this data via magnetic nodes embedded in the surface of the Nanoderm but more advanced models, capable of finer dexterity/expanded functionality, require a “bone spike,” a rod-like data plug that interfaces with a port in the Nanoderm area that is connected to more advanced sensors. The socket and sensor hardware is imbedded in the body through a surgical procedure.

The catch with the Nanoderm system is it must be applied to the body before the exposed tissue heals over and the exposed nerve endings have a chance to close off, or in other words, while the wound is “fresh”, otherwise the healed tissue must be cut away and a fresh wound made. This means that in emergency situations a patient or their next of kin must make a snap decision to undergo the expensive Nanoderm compatibility surgery as part of their emergency treatment. Of course some insurance plans will cover some or all of this cost. Additionally Manticore has deals with some insurance providers that the surgery come standard with higher end coverage plans, forgoing the need for patient consent. Manticore has exclusive patent rights to the Nanoderm system, meaning once you are Nanoderm compatible, you are locked into the Manticore ecosystem of prosthesis and devices. Additionally your devises can only be serviced by Manticore certified technicians and only Manticore doctors are trained in Nanoderm patient care.

Remote Command (RC)

Manticore is a sprawling corporation with many secrets. One such secret is the Remote Command program. A project Manticore has been working on behind closed doors, the Remote Command program involves research into sending brain signals over great distances without a physical connection between the sensor and the receiving devise. With RC a person could control a prosthetic arm in another part of the world as though it were part of their body. This is achieved by broadcasting the impulses across a proprietary electromagnetic wave length to the receiving nodes. The signal travels point to point and back again at light speed. The potential RC has for the future of drone warfare is staggering, not to mention the potential for profit.

Sensitive as this information is, there’s another layer. All Nanoderm currently in use by people around the world is capable of receiving Remote Command. With the right inputs it can reshape its self, self-replicate, and even, under certain conditions, send signals back to the user’s brain, causing brain damage or, theoretically, controlling them. Whether this functionality of Nanoderm was an intentional feature or not is unknown to anyone currently employed at Manticore but the company has no pans currently to use the Nanoderm in this way. What is known, however, is that if this function ever becomes public knowledge it would be disastrous for Manticore, not to mention the chaos that would ensue if a bad actor were to exploit this function for malicious purposes.

Manticore Special Security (Spec-Sec)

Manticore LLC has secrets, and it has enemies. To protect its secrets, combat its enemies, address the threats to public safety those things pose, (and protect its corporate interests), Manticore formed the Manticore Special Security Division. More than just your standard private security outfit, Spec-Sec is a fully equipped task force and strike force designed to identify, target, track, confront, and nullify any threat to the company and its assets. Thanks to Manticore’s history of generous donations and good standing with local police forces, the Spec-Sec Division is able to operate with a certain degree of discretion, allowing them to carry out operations without interference from police or the legal system. Lead by Special Security Director Sloane, her hand-picked crack team of Special Officers have carried out dozens of high risk operations with ruthless efficacy and, so-far, minimal casualties. Spec-Sec utilizes the most cutting edge technology and weaponry Manticore has, often before it’s even close to market ready. In some cases necessity dictates that Spec-Sec operations serve as ad hoc field tests for experimental equipment.

Core Drivers, Data Boosters, and the Kamen Rider program

The Core Driver is a piece of technology that was developed as part of research into the use of Nanoderm to enhance a soldier’s physical performance on the battlefield. The concept was to temporarily cover the user’s entire body in a layer of Nanoderm mesh that could respond to the signals from the user’s brain in such a way that would increase their strength, speed, perception, and reflexes. The solution was the Core Driver, a device that would house the billions of Nanoderm nanomachines and serve as the computational core for the whole mesh network. Along with the Core Driver was the Data Booster, a flash drive-like device shaped like a syringe. The data booster contained the information that told the nanomachines to deploy from the Core Driver and cover the user. Additionally the Booster came with its own payload of nanomachines that, when the plunger of the syringe was depressed, would also be deployed through the Core Diver and take the form of armor and weapons. Basically, a user need only insert the Data Booster into the Core Diver, clearly speak a voice authentication phrase, and depress the plunger and they would instantly be wearing a powerful yet flexible armored body suit. The project was called the “Kamen Rider program” after the masked visage of the user’s armored faceplate (“Kamen” being the Japanese word for “mask”).

The Project had its drawbacks, however. For one a user would need to already be Nanoderm compatible for the suit to work at all, meaning, practically speaking, the user would need to be an amputee, and the prospect of convincing soldiers to sacrifice a limb to use the Driver was deemed a “hard sell” and the idea of a approaching a freshly maimed soldier with the offer of further combat, well, that wouldn’t be a good look either. The second and most important drawback was the simple fact that the Kamen Rider program was far, FAR too expensive to be profitable, and the thousands of man hours it took to produce just one Core Driver meant mass producing them to sell by the battalion, as Manticore had planned, was simply out of the question.

The Kamen Rider Program was not completely abandoned, however. The first completed Core Driver, designation SVR (Special Versatility Rider model or “Sever” colloquially) is currently coded to Director Sloane of Spec-Sec, who happens to be a double transfemeral amputee. With the Director’s input, the device and the suit itself have been modified heavily over its years of use. It now features the ability for additional Data Boosters to be employed, loaded with weapons and tools in the form of appendages that attach to highly advanced versions of Bone Spike sockets on the suit at the amputation sites of the Rider’s body. The nerve signal enhancing properties of the suit allows the Rider to manipulate these complex, non-human-like appendages with a natural ease and minimal adjustment period.

A second Core Driver has just recently been put to use in the field at Spec-Sec. The first Kamen Rider designed from the ground up with Spec-Sec modifications. Designation NRV (Neo Rider Variant or “Nerve” colloquially) is encoded to the Division’s newest member, Special Officer Nat Agbayani. A right shoulder disarticulation amputee, he was promoted to the Special Security Division from the internship program in the research wing by the COO of Manticore himself… wait what? That can’t be right…

The existence of any other Core Drivers, in use or otherwise, is classified.

Thanks for reading

[regaliasonata]

Manticore Dustin - Hexverse AU💛✨💛✨

Without his jacket👌🏾

With Hunter side by side❤️💛❤️💛

@skyland2703 @themundanemudperson @lordkingsmith @augment-techs @mahi-wayy @estel-eruantien @crxssjae @theonewhonothingknows

[wenalena]

I'm going to create a little HC thread on which Witcher school best matches of the Bad Batch members ! I totally base this of my HC with the lore of the game, not the book or the series. (and because the Witcher 3 is one of my favorite licence and because I want to do a crossover The Witcher x The Bad Batch.

Hunter belong to the Wolf school. The disciples of this school are versatile and above all have the reputation of being reliable and professional. Although there is no code of conduct forcing them to do so, they are inclined to do what is right. They hate conflicts and prefer to stay away from it.

Crosshair belong to the Viper school. (I have hesitate with Cat school). The members of the Viper school are convinced that the end justifies the means. They are disciplined, cold and ruthless. They prefer to remain neutral, but have no hesitation in killing in cold blood.

Wrecker is the one I had the most difficulty placing. I see him to the Bear and Griffin school ! The Bear school place little value on camaraderie and brotherhood, But it could be interesting to have a Witcher with a totally different mentality in this school. They don't have a strict code and do not serve their own interests. But Wrecker can totally belong with Wolf school too. Very hard to choose for him :').

The most obvious for Echo to me is the Griffin school. They maintained their neutrality in any circonstance. They have great respect for habits and customs and place a high value on morality. People of this school maintain close ties between them.

That was not easy for Tech too, BUT, I think he belong for the Manticor school. Accustomed to facing monsters and venomous creatures, they have an unpredictable fighting style. They must learn to spot and hit their opponents' weak points. They must also develop greater resistance to the poison of the creatures they fight.

And for Omega, well. For me, she's totally belong to the wolf school with Hunter. Impossible to dissociate both.

And I will not lie, I think the relation between Hunter and Omega are very close to Geralt and Ciri. Two men who live only for their vocation but find themselves overnight with a child they didn't want but with whom they can no longer imagine their life without them. And who teach them everything they know so they can defend themselves and fend for themselves.

[luddic-butch]

I finally put together a Path compliant fleet that can handle 1 and 1/2 Ordos without severe losses. Which I think is as good as its going to get.

The Prometheus Mk 2 is the star of the show. I started this run mostly because I liked the way this ship looked and wanted to make it work. Autogenerated LP Fleets appear with laser equipped Sunders, which is why I'm allowing myself to use things like the High Intensity Laser and the Monitor. The Prom2 is a very fast capital ship (for low tech, anyway) equipped with a burn drive. I used three of these to establish combat zones and act as anchors for my hounds (not the ship).

Here's the primary hound. While the Prom is the star of the show the LP Manticore certainly wins best supporting actor. These things can put an insane amount of pressure on a single location very fast. They're great for harassing the enemy flank and picking off high value Destroyers.

I typically paired the Manticores with Eradicator (P)s. Continuing the aggressive hunting dog theory behind this fleet these quick cruisers burn to the flanks and tease apart the enemy formation.

While the combat ships encourage the enemy fleet ball to break itself into its component parts this little fella just waltzes right towards the most powerful capital ships in the area. The Monitor is superb for drawing fire and holding enemy attention while the rest of my fleet secures map control.

I love this set up. It feels very fast and very effective. When I had to face down particularly nasty stations I brought along an XIV Onslaught or an Invictus. Outside of that though, this compostiion has stayed with me for the entire game.

May the Path you tread be Righteous!

[msweebyness]

Miraculous Second Gen- School for Monstrous Youths (My Characters)

Hey, ya’ll! These are the first set of kids from the Monstrous Youths AU! I figured I’d let Artzy post the kids for their OC couples on their own time! Enjoy! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

Polycule:

Emma:

Voodoo Doll/Human Hybrid, Adrinette

She/Her

Age 15

As clumsy as her (bio) mom

Still has a ton of energy, but must be more careful due to voodoo powers

Struggles with some OCD

Influencer for monster-made products

Louie:

Vampire/Dragon Hybrid, Lukagami

He/Him

Age 14

Can see people’s auras

Musician like his (bio) dad, super mellow

Struggles with hoarding like his bio mom

Kinda the family therapist

Will They/Won't They with Darius

Hugo:

Voodoo Doll/Vampire Hybrid, Lukanette

He/Him

Age 10

Emerging Himbo still

Wants to play sports, but can’t do contact due to voodoo powers

Sometimes forgets about said powers

Loves going bat mode

Best friends with Hector

Alison:

Dragon/Human Hybrid, Adrigami

She/Her

Age 6

Only hoards items that symbolize significant memories

As stoic as Kagami

Intelligent for her age but doesn’t talk much

Scariest dragon glare ever

Alyno:

Cecily “CeCe”:

Ghost/Stein Hybrid

She/Her

Age 16

Super driven, like her mom

Has a bit of a problem with remembering to knock before phasing through a door

Runs a monster activism news site

Always arguing with her brother

Loses track of her limbs often

Cody:

Ghost/Stein Hybrid

He/Him

Age 16

Gives off ectoplasmic static when excited

Really chill, but does meditation to help with anxiety

Plays the keyboard, and writes a comic series about a group of hybrid monster spies

Really wants to ask June out

Julerose:

Marek:

Vampire/Angel Hybrid, Bio Mom Juleka with a donor

He/They

Age 17

Incredibly shy like Jules, but has a love for all things cute

Flying helps him calm down

Learning guitar from his uncle

Will stab someone who threatens their loved ones

Dating Vicki

Myvan:

Juniper “June”:

Plant Monster/Yeti Hybrid

She/Her

Age 16

Mega blunt like her father, but with her mom’s caring demeanor

Has a fierce yeti temper and WILL throw rocks

RBF for days

Activist for the environment and monster rights

Gets tangled in her vines

Wants to ask Cody out but nerves are a thing

Hector:

Plant Monster/Yeti Hybrid

He/Him

Age 10

Gentle giant like his dad

Speaks too quiet to hear most of the time

Loves working with plants and animals

Fidgets with his vines when nervous

Best friends with Hugo

NathMarc:

Elicia:

Moth Creature/Werecat Hybrid, Bio Dad Marc with a surrogate

She/Her

Age 17

Sassiest lil missy, must be the werecat genes

A very talented sculptor

High-functioning autism, limited emotional expression

Spooks at loud noises, like Marc

Has a crush on Destiny

Kimdine:

Victorique “Vicki”:

Aquatic Monster/Werewolf Hybrid

She/Her

Age 17

Has the energy of three people

Fastest swimmer in the region, and a track and field star

Models for Mari’s fashion label, has a good number of fans

Herbo, but like, book-smart

Dating Marek

Nicolette “Nikki”:

Aquatic Monster/Werewolf Hybrid

She/Her

Age 13

Much more subdued and reserved than her fam

Voice of reason mixed with deadpan snarker

Really tech savvy, makes her own software

Really fast swimmer like her sister, and super agile

Besties with River

Sabrinelmar:

Darius:

Zombie/Ghoul Hybrid

Age 14

He/They

Adopted at 7

Very into organization and a good leader

Active in the monster rights movements, wants to go into politics

Can speak zombie and other languages

Huge crush on Louie

Alix:

River:

Manticore, Adopted at 1

They/Them

Age 13

Snarkiest lil shit, it’s why they and Nikki get along

Daredevil like their mama, they do extreme sports together

Really smart, makes top grades

Wonders about their birth parents sometimes, but loves Alix and wouldn’t trade being with her

Has to be careful with their tail spines

Breckvie:

Destiny:

Centaur/Siren Hybrid

She/Her

Age 17

Only one of the three with the power of siren song

Loves to sing but has to be careful with her powers

Proper lady like her mama, manners are impeccable

Sweetest girl alive, takes care of people out of instinct

Has a crush on Elicia

Reagan:

Centaur/Siren Hybrid

She/Her

Age 12

Only one with the full lower body of a horse

School’s sprinting champ

Herbo™️

Crazy good cook, big Kronk vibes

Daddy’s Girl

Milo:

Centaur/Siren Hybrid

He/Him

Age 9

Wants to be a vet, adopts random animals

Ray of sunshine 24/7

Has hooves and wings, and a good singer

Very perceptive for his age

Jessthony:

Warren:

Daemon, Adopted at 3

He/They

Age 15

Super shy, but has a quiet snarkiness

Mari’s design protégé, fashion sense is on point

Always fidgeting, usually has stim toys

Starting a foundation for abandoned daemon kids like himself and his Dad

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs! Enjoy the monster kiddies!

[livestosave]

The Extent of James' Prosthetics

Obviously some tw for fairly graphic injuries and blood and medical things.

Even before losing his left arm at Beacon, James' body was - technically - more than half made of prosthetics, though much of that extent was not obvious even if one were to see his exterior prosthetics.

The trouble came from the sheer extent of the damage that was done, and how experimental prosthetics like James' were at the time. And nothing to the extent that James required had been done before. He should have died in the snow before he was found and brought home. But even when they started, they ran into a problem.

Much of James' right side was shattered beyond repair, bones broken in so many places from a long fall with no aura and a manticore biting down on his torso. His hip was collapsed, his lung little more than shredded meat. His internals had been exposed to the icy elements for over a day without an aura, and frostbite had settled deep into the tissues, including parts of his intestines and his liver. His spine had broken in the fall and left him paralyzed on the right side and mostly below the waist.

It was...a lot of damage to repair. Had they not replaced much of it, he would have had serious quality of life problems, including strict diets that would have left him quite unable to maintain the muscle needed to be a huntsman or soldier.

So, Goodkind authorized the use of experimental prosthetics. If James might die anyway, or have such a hard life after, he wanted to have tried everything he could. Part of this agreement means that James' prosthetics are also case studies, and while his name isn't on those studies, most doctors who work on him and see the prosthetics tend to know who he is.

As a result, James has some very visible prosthetics...and some some very hidden. His entire digestive tract is mechanical, as is his liver and one kidney. It means he can eat almost anything and extract what he needs, he actually has a more efficient digestive system than most humans or fauni, but his poison filtration is also far better...which functionally means alcohol and most oral medication don't work on him. It makes him almost impossible to drug through normal means.

His right lung is also a machine, and when the panels of his chest are opened it can be hooked up to external machines to either keep him 'breathing' even while paralyzed, or can be removed to allow replacement should it take damage. Because of this, if he takes a serious blow to the chest without his aura, he can actually cough up various fluids like lubricant and oil.

While it's crude, and James never speaks of it, he also does not have a penis anymore. He could if he wanted to, and these days Atlas tech would make it pretty cool, but he's never felt any need for it. He just doesn't. One of his prosthetics supplies the hormones that he would otherwise have produced down there, though he does require regular visits to the doctor to ensure such production is adequate as he ages.

Because of this, James' right side also doesn't have any blood or biological fluid in it, and is functionally less a prosthetic than a full cybernetic/mechanical replacement. While he has some ability to sense pressure along his fairly crude synthetic nerves, it's nowhere near the level that a more modern replacement like Yang's would provide, and he can only feel vague pressure. He also cannot feel temperature along that side, meaning he has more than once miscalculated what a normal person would be able to touch.

As a result of the synthetic nerve load and the connections they required, his spine also required full replacement. There are connectors and the full thing can be removed for maintenance, leaving James fully paralyzed aside from his head. His neurotransmitter primarily communicates with his spine to control his limbs, mimicking a normal brain-spinal column relationship rather than directly communicating to his limbs. This is mostly a limitation of the time as well, as the neurotransmitter was the most experimental of what was put into James' body during that initial period. Because of that experimental nature, he suffers chronic migraines as a result of the neurotransmitter's connection to his brain and spine.

Separate from the initial wave of prosthetics, James survived an assassination attempt early in his tenure as Headmaster (and General) that resulted in his heart requiring replacement. This was comparatively simple, and while there is a scar across his chest from the initial stabbing that caused the replacement, this prosthetic is more modern and easier to handle. His heart ticks rather than 'beats' but otherwise this prosthetic is easily missed.

All of this has resulted in a few other chronic physical issues and side effects, some of which are obvious and some are subtle.

Negatively, James has significantly less of his body powered by organic fluids, and he has much, much less blood than a man his size should. When his aura breaks, he has to be very mindful of any bleeding, because he can very quickly go into shock as a result of comparatively little damage. He suffers chronic migraines, as mentioned, and headaches are so normal he barely remembers being fully clear-headed. Chronic fatigue and insomnia make a potent cocktail, and as half his body doesn't fatigue the same way as normal man's might, he can struggle to get to sleep. He also - despite being very warm to the touch - very rarely feels warm, as a result of the amount of metal fused to his body. He suffers near-constant phantom pain that flares regularly, and because he cannot take most oral medication, most medications that might help with it don't work on him.

On the flip-side, his already extreme strength is now inhuman, letting him accomplish feats most people can only imagine. His blood-pressure only raises with physical exertion or emotion, preventing him from suffering most heart-related complications, and his blood filters very well keeping him pretty healthy. His mechanical lung means he can almost always breathe pretty steadily and get good oxygen, barring contaminants in the air. He can eat basically whatever he wants within some reason, so long as it isn't totally unhealthy, as his digestive system can handle anything humanly edible with ease, and even some not-humanly edible things. He also suffers significantly less from the ills of age as he gets older, as half of his body is somewhat unfailing: his right hand will never become arthritic, he'll never struggle to get on his feet, he'll never throw out his back, his posture will never screw up his spine, and his heart will never give him trouble. Hells, half of him will never even go numb/"fall asleep" like most folks might in certain bad positions.

All of this results in James feeling very disconnected from his humanity in a lot of ways, despite his personality being that of a protector and defender. Advice he gives to students, soldiers, and friends to rest and eat rarely seem to apply to himself, as his body will handle almost any abuse he puts it through. And, if he survives any particularly terrible thing...he knows he'll likely just. Add more metal to his body.

On a good day, he might even crack a joke about being a living Ship of Theseus, to a close friend. On a bad one, he thinks his worst nightmare is what might happen when he eventually takes so much damage that they might replace the rest of him, rather than letting him just die.