#clearing and direct entry options

[joe-talks]

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#clearing and direct entry options #cost of studying medicine #English language requirements #funding opportunities #international medical students #international student accommodation #life in the UK #study medicine UK #top UK medical schools #UCAS application process #UCAT and BMAT exams #UK medical school requirements #work experience

[bonefall]

For Riverstar’s Heir, do you have any idea where you want to land themeatically? Because from my reading of the possible themeatic directions, with the whole story being about this crisis of politics and succession, it feels like the character who “should” become the next leader of RiverClan narratively should be the Most ruthless/aggressive/willing to resort to dishonorable methods of dealing with rivals (reinforcing RiverClan’s entry into/building up of the early Clans’ emerging systems of battle society)

The alternative “most interesting” option I can imagine would be one that is least likely/least aggressive/some otherwise sort of underdog candidate (maybe not even technically “legal” depending on what qualifications there are for heirship?), but I’m not sure exactly what themes that would play into, other than maybe how the pursuit of power can change someone?

That said, your themeatic instincts are strong enough that I can see you having a strong idea for a “middle-of-the-pack” candidate winning out over the others just as much, so— I am genuinely curious what your thoughts are for where you Want this crisis of succession to end, narratively, even if you don’t have an exact cat picked yet.

Good ask because I'd not been clear about the theme yet, I think. What Riverstar's Heir is trying to get at, at the heart of the issue, is that this is a bloodbath caused by naiive optimism and greed.

The commandments to establish borders and prevent killing are nice, but not enough. You can't just have a society on good will, not when POWER is up for grabs in the scramble. It's about collapse, and how innocent, well-meaning people get caught up in the devastation. Not JUST the troublemakers.

Riverstar was an EXCELLENT king, beloved and wise, but if you don't prepare a proper successor, everything you worked hard to build might crumble to ruin.

Something unique is lost in this shuffle. It's no longer the River Kingdom, and the Wind Coalition also becomes WindClan at this point. For better, and for worse, they both lose a bit of what made them special. Redscar's choice at the end also solidifies the early political power of Clerics, which is eventually broken many generations later with Larkwing's Strike.

So, fragment time,

At LEAST three "heirs" end up getting killed.

So, because these ones are gonna die, I have Three Heir "Slots" that I'm committed to and just need to fill;

The Eldest, Riverstar's oldest living biological child.

The Chosen, Riverstar's adopted heir, a rather meek prince easily pressured into backing off his rightful claim. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Mossfire.

The Firstblood, directly descended from Riverstar's FIRSTborn child. This one is likely going to be the BB! version of Jumpfoot.

I also have two tentative slots.

The Accomplished... who is a blood relative of Riverstar, but more of a "puppet" for WindCo. Someone they're intentionally propping up hoping for power.

The Diplomat, from WindClan, who is a lot like WindCo's puppet but this one is more subtle about it. Poetic. Happy to purr and remind the world of the wonderful, deep ties that had existed between King Riverstar and Thunderstar.

And, LASTLY, there's The Deputy. The most qualified choice, who served Riverstar, but was no relative.

It feels right that the Deputy is the one who is chosen in the end... hm.

Anyway

After a smaller conflict near the start of the story, either The Eldest or The Firstblood seems to be the favorite to win... but decides to wait for the morning to set out for the Moonstone and take their lives.

In this time period, without selecting a successor, this heir is assassinated.

In fact it might be VERY fun if this heir, being so much like King Riverstar himself, decided to throw a pre-emptive celebration.

Meat! Merriment! MURDER!!!

Having them go out via poison would be a fun way to send a character off.

This is going to be why the "DEPUTY BEFORE MOONHIGH" rule is established, but it's also what kicks off the bloodier parts of the plot.

Thinking about it... a cleric and/or the deputy should probably tell this heir, "Hey, buddy, you should really get going" and they're ignored.

With Eldest Heir gone, the small conflict from earlier becomes an LARGE conflict.

And, like they did back in DOTC, families start to rally together. Especially Eldest's offspring, who think they're just as entitled to the Throne as The Firstblood/Jumpfoot

King Riverstar used to encourage cats to enter the River Kingdom freely. The borders were essentially open, and everyone was allowed in, as long as they were willing to cross the river.

(maybe I'll even have him pull down the tree from Riverstar's Home intentionally, happy to accept other cats into his Kingdom. Then he defends it from Skystar, specifically, but refuses to destroy what he built.)

This had allowed River Kingdom to grow large and powerful, but it also meant everyone in River Kingdom had connections to the other Clans.

Which meant there were cats supporting OTHER bids to the Throne, like the one from WindCo and the one from ThunderClan.

Smelling a way to grab power, Duststar supports his favorite heir, and Whitestar of ThunderClan also begins to stick his nose in.

Each Heir tries to run the River Kingdom, and things start to get hostile. If there's more than just the three heirs, even more of them start to get openly attacked, chased out, killed, until there's only The Chosen and The Firstblood left.

Somewhere around here, River Kingdom is invaded. Probably by the leader of SkyClan at the time, claiming that they don't even NEED an heir to take what these cats clearly don't deserve.

And that's when the internal conflict becomes a FULL-BLOWN WAR between four Clans.

In those days, the camp was at Sunningrocks, right in the middle of the river.

ThunderClan jumps in to help its "Ally" against SkyClan, just like historical precedent, but they have NO IDEA who they're fighting against, because the whole Kingdom is divided. It's not as simple as it was in DOTC anymore.

WindCo came to support its favorite heir, but its cats don't obey Duststar's orders when it comes down to fighting their own friends and family, meaning they're functionally fighting EVERYONE and losing a TON of cats

SkyClan is getting pummeled because EVERY group is pissed at them as well as each other, getting a painful awakening that they are NOT being run by Skystar the War God anymore and they're no longer the biggest, baddest bananas in the bunch

(shadowclan is watching all of this and eating popcorn. moisturized. in their lane. unbothered.)

The climax here, between The Chosen and The Firstblood, is a battle that matches the chapter from COTC. They launch at each other, in a battle to the death.

The first Sunningrocks Battle.

They both wear "crowns" on their head, one custom made for Mossfire's short-furred head, and traditional, braided into Jumpfoot's long, lush fur.

As they claw, bite, and tumble, they plunge into the river.

Fighting and hissing, they try to pull apart to rise up for air-- and can't.

They're STUCK

The crowns became tangled in their skirmish, and neither one can work with the other to bring them both to shore, against the current.

Both heirs, the last with a proper claim to the throne, drown together in the river.

At the end of the bloodbath, the tone is very somber. The rules were meant to prevent The First Battle from ever happening again... but The Second Battle had just taken place.

The body count wasn't AS high as the First Battle, but it was still a bloody loss. Every Clan lost warriors. Even ShadowClan, who hadn't even been IN the conflict, checked its ranks to find that powerful warriors had run off to go fight with their Kin.

Now they could be buried with them, too.

And now, there was no proper heir. If any descendants were still kicking around, they were refusing to take a throne that so many cats had died for. Jumpfoot and Mossfire never emerged from the River, their bodies, and their legendary crowns, were never found.

At first I'd been considering Redscar being swapped to become a RiverClan Cleric, but now I'm thinking it actually makes sense he's still from ShadowClan. ShadowClan was the ONLY neutral group-- it's reasonable for the clans to turn and request their partiality.

So, Redscar peruses the options, having followed the situation from afar.

His choice, in the end, was The Deputy. The most experienced advisor who knew Riverstar, and probably tried to stay at his adopted daughter's side as well. The closest thing they'd had to a leader all along.

(Thought: Maybe this character will be the POV. Make it like a bit of a fake-out title, you THINK Riverstar's heir is Mossfire. But it's actually been this one all along.)

He creates his famous false sign, and from there, the five groups discussed how they could prevent this from ever happening again.

They create the Law of the Deputy, commanding that ALL Clans have a single Deputy who will inherit the Clan after the leader passes away, ending dynasties in WindCo and River Kingdom and centralizing power in the other 3.

With the massive losses that WindCo and River Kingdom experienced, they also restructure, forced to accept a lot of help from ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

The borders began to close up, leading to the sentiment that would lead to Commandment 4, the Law of Loyalty, in just one more generation.

#better bones au #BB!DOTC #Riverstar's Heir #I feel like I need to add in more 'human' moments #But it's also a very broad overview type thing #Having the Deputy be the POV will help immensely I think once I get into the details #Since she'll be thinking about how to keep the Kingdom together. How to feed people. How badly it's all crumbling #And how distracting the violence all is #But this is a broader draft of the major politics when the REAL meat of this story is in the minutia. #(Ottoman Empire ass drama in the background) ``no time for that goku. its fall. the salmon r coming.`` #Unsure if this is Flowerstem or Maplewhisker.... #The Eldest would make sense as Mothpelt #Again: COTC my beloved

[bigmilkagenda]

Of the many, many plates of pancakes* that were offered to the listener in magp 1-07, this one may be my favourite

[ID: A screenshot of an unofficial transcript to The Magnus Protocol. CELIA is saying "Yeah. I mean, it's an old system, but it could have been worse. It's not like we're wrestling with tape recorders and manila folders." /end ID]

When we meet TMA-Celia for the second time, she's lost her name. She was Lynne Hammond, and now she's not. She doesn't seem to remember Martin, either, but it's not clear how much of herself and her life from before the change she does remember. She's freaked out by the tape recorders that start showing up, and there's no indication that she associates them with the Institute specifically.

If Celia Ripley is, as we are clearly intended to believe or consider, the same Celia as in TMA, why is she making knowing comments about manila folders and tape recorders? Tape recorders in particular are hardly standard equipment at what seems to be mostly a text data-entry and cataloguing job. She could have said typewriters, or carbon paper. Fax machines, if we're dunking on Freddy specifically.

She says "tape recorders and manila folders." Celia Ripley is referencing The Magnus Institute, particularly the outdated technologies in use in the Archives.

Maybe she learned more from Melanie about what the recorders were and did at the Institute, sometime after MAG 190. Maybe she has those specific memories of giving her statement in MAG 100, and little else. Maybe Martin grew an apocalypse beard and she remembers everything, but just didn't recognise him out of context and in a tunnel and during A Pretty Weird Time Overall.

Maybe she stuck around with Melanie-Georgie-Basira for a while after things returned, and that's how she learned about the particular significance of tape recorders.

Maybe she found some tapes and listened to a couple hundred of them.

Or maybe she's simply an AU Celia, with a knack for oddly specific and kind of clunky comparisons, drawn into this through the powers of metafiction and string theory.

Or maybe someone filled her with spiders and sent her to finish the job of spreading Fear to this particular world.

And the reason this particular plate of textual pancakes** (short stack, butter and nightmare syrup) is one of my favourites from "Give and Take" is because I genuinely have no idea! None of these are theories because there isn't enough evidence to point me in any particular direction. It's a mystery!, Jon voice, etcetera.

If you cornered me and paid me to have an opinion about it I could say which options I thought were more likely, I guess. But the odds are high that I'd be wrong, and I think the boat for me getting paid to interpret texts probably sailed fifteen years ago, besides. I'm in this for the love of the game.***

November is the true spooky season in the northern hemisphere.**** Yeah, October ends with Halloween, but you know what month starts with Halloween? Mmhmm. By November of 2019 TMA had been on my list for a few years, and someone I was getting to know and really liked recommended it to me specifically in the days after 159 aired. The conditions were correct for me to get into something new, is what I'm saying. I still remember listening to "Anglerfish" for the first time, walking home from my office job in the blustery November dark. I got home starry-eyed and red-cheeked and thrilled by the story I'd just heard.

It took a couple of months for me to catch up, and though I loved having so much to listen to there were times when I wished I'd started earlier, to have the experience of seeing things unfold.

And now we're back at a beginning, and get to experience the horrible joys of finding out.

[ID: A screenshot of an unofficial transcript to The Magnus Protocol. LENA is saying "Of a sort. I hope you're as ready for it as you think you are. Consider yourself "in." /end ID]

*Sabrina pancake meme

** the best kind, especially if it's a contest between textual and fluffy pancakes. Keep those spongy bastards away from me, I'll take the kind with a typeface instead

***Being a huge nerd

**** For more of my opinions on November, see https://www.tumblr.com/almostmolly/188799234276

#tmagp #tma #the magnus protocol #celia ripley #celia tmagp #lynne hammond #tmagp meta #loosely. this is neither litcrit not analysis nor speculation in the sense that i don't subscribe to any of the possible paths as true #and also realise there could be a dozen other things i haven't talked about here #i know I've said spiders celia twice but I'm kind of like a person who makes red string boards for the aesthetics #it's part of the decor y'know? #sorry for the link to my tumblr poetry blog but also: I'm not bad at it so. not that sorry #pancakes (derogatory)

[nocturnowlette]

Fun Hypnotic Ideas #2: Memory Play

My next few entries into this series will be re-iterating some things I've talked about before, so apologies if you have read all of my former posts before now.

First off, if you’re the subject, MAKE SURE that you trust your hypnotist. This is something you only wanna do with someone that you know would not abuse it. Not everyone is affected enough to where its easy to do such a thing, but that’s not a gamble you want to take if you find your hypnotist even slightly iffy. This is, undoubtedly, the dangerous side of hypnosis.

If you’re a hypnotist, be sure to inform your subject of all of this and take things very slowly at first. Make sure that they want to continue before doing more, and make sure of those things out of trance while the person is fully sober and aware. Part of hypnosis a lot of the time is some aspect of role play, but you need to discuss what each party wants and is okay with beforehand. Install safeties to make sure that if something is happening that the subject doesn’t vibe with, that your suggestions can be rejected easily by them.

That all being said, from what I’ve found, you cannot make someone forget information they’ve already taken in. Our brains are quite stubborn in that regard. That being said, there are ways to both limit information coming in and also ways to deal with recalling information.

So, here are some ideas:

Suggest as a trance begins to direct the subjects focus on your words, focusing so much on each new word that it’s hard to remember what was said just a bit ago, going right to their subconscious instead of their conscious memory.

Focus on redirecting their memory when attempting to recall something specific. My hypnotist introduced me to this one, where any time you try to recall what happens during trance, the thought redirects to whatever the hypnotist wants. A trigger is the simplest, perhaps something that clears their thoughts like a bubble pop or something similar. In my opinion, it’s important that what their thought is directed to is something specific like a visual for it to be effective, instead of something abstract like “you will drop when you try to think.”

Another option is to suggest that the subject doesn’t want to recall or think about the trance. This is most effective if a lot of your suggestions focus strongly on obedience and devotion. Your subject willingly wanting not to do it can’t hurt.

The last option I have seen used well is to suggest that whenever you specifically ask your subject if they can remember something, it suddenly becomes impossible to think about or remember whatever you said. It can be a nice way to demonstrate the power of your suggestion and make it feel more legitimate and possible, which will then make it more effective.

However, the most effective practice, and the thing that will really put you over the top, is combining multiple if not all of these. If you have 5 traps set in place, even if some fail, each layer has a chance to intercept the recall.

And, of course, the most important part of all of these is to reinforce. Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. I do not see enough hypnotists reinforce their suggestions enough. Reinforce them during the one trance, reinforce them during multiple trances after them. Give suggestions that it will keep getting stronger, and keep reinforcing after that.

Those are all of my thoughts on the topic for now. I've done some memory play with subjects and if they're strongly suggestible to you already, it can be a lot easier than you may think to make it very difficult for them to remember anything.

Be safe, and good luck.

#owlette #hypnosis #text hypnosis #memory play #mind conditioning #mind control #hypnosub #hypnok1nk

[sins0fthefather]

Cravings Run like Water.

Entry II- J.I.N

It felt like ages since he had tasted a proper meal.

The smell of autumn was cool on his tongue as the crunch of leaves pervaded the deafening sting of the air, a chill running up the spine of anyone less protected. A chill he could not feel, nor see, nor taste. It had been ages since he had felt just about anything.

Well, anything besides the ache in his stomach.

His hands reached out to hold against the bending of tree lines, grasping and trembling for anything that could guide him along. It had been dark for a long time. Far too long. His limbs croaked with each movement in an unfamiliar urgency, much like a piece of himself that didn’t truly belong to him. He didn’t know where his feet had taken him— he didn’t bother to ask. It mattered very little in the end where his hunger took him, it wasn’t as if he had a semblance of control over it after all. He let his body have it’s way with him, much as it tore him apart. The smell of flesh pierced through his senses, granting him the briefest sense of direction. The presence of civilization was more filling than the former option.

I will not starve.

It wasn’t a request or passing comment, it was a command of a highest order. A slave to the being hidden away behind his mask, he was at his core torn from his own senses of morality. The legs that carried him stalked forward with a slow trudge that could only be compared to the wariness of a wild animal. He could no longer tell if he was the predator or prey. He would sacrifice anything to rip his mind away from his body’s actions, away from the eradication of beauty that he was responsible for, yet the hunger only drew him further and further. His hands reached out against the ridges of bricks and the grooves of wood, each stepping stone letting him stalk behind the outer limits of the town his other half had dragged him to. The scent of blood unlike his own filled his senses, presenting itself to him like a full course tray picked to his tastes. Would his trembling hands grasp at the throat of a son? A daughter? A family? A sacrificial lamb? Much of it was up for debate, left to the devices of the him inside of him.

Without much thought— much resistance— he had felt his way through the panel of a nearby window. Cold. Much like himself. His body slumped against the floor with little effort, the muffled squeak underneath him failing to showcase just how overbearing his form had become. The scent was unbearable, teasing him further throughout the domain that did not belong to him. Each step into foreign territory was hesitant, feeling around for furniture and obstacles his eyes could no longer perceive. Before long he had slinked his way up the structure of a staircase, the carpet underneath his skin almost familiar. Yet, it wasn’t, and the shadow that encroached as he followed his senses made it clear. Every step was torture, a breathless please escaping the confines of his mind with each thump. Yet, his other half refused to listen, much like the unfeeling being it was.

The low creak of an unkempt door rang out so clearly to him as he pressed against the wooden structure, a sound so loud to his ears and only his. It was sharp. Foreboding. Similar to the shifting of grass underneath his heel when paired with the elements. Yet it was a sensation unnoticed, one that many would excuse for something lurking around the corner in a bad dream. This case would not be so simple. He crept further, further, feeling, sensing, smelling for any hint of what his body craved. It was only when his legs teetered against the surface of a bedpost did he realize his instincts had carried him there, watching as he had trembled.

He could hear breathing underneath him, steady in it’s slowness as the calm remained. From the scent, he could pick up the fact that it was a female. He had cursed himself every step of the way, but the crisp clarity of undeniable hunger prevailed against all other odds. He didn’t register how his body had leaned forward on it’s own, his hand sliding into a nearby pocket for the familiar edge of a sharpened scalpel. The image of what he was doing was unclear, until the soft hitching of uneasiness caught his attention.

He could not see it, but he felt it crawling against his skin. The figure underneath him had awoken, her stare piercing in the fear that overtook it. Fear of him— of what he had become.

“… J—.. Jack?”

The sound of her voice was quiet, yet oh so jarring. He felt his hands freeze under such a simple plea, second guessing himself. Did this person know him? Was he unknowingly targeting the livelihood of his own familiarity? His kin? Even then, he couldn’t escape the sinking feeling that followed him. He felt her fingers brush against him, searching for answers just as desperately as he was. It was only when her hands found his ID wrapped around his collar did his stomach sink further into himself.

Of course she didn’t know who he was. That would’ve been too easy. She was merely reading off of what was provided to her, fumbling for any sense of security within the darkness. A low rumble left him in response, a hand traveling up to raise the mask that had hidden his more horrific features. Even if he had prayed for another outcome throughout the entire journey, a beast’s hunger still belonged to the heart of one. The cold handle of his blade reminded him of the fact that he was, at the end of the day, a beast all the same. His voice came out pleading, begging— asking for forgiveness long in advance. Yet, no amount of forgiveness would sway his hunger.

“… I’m sorry.”

#hes so fun to write #desperation in a physical form asf #eyeless jack x reader #creepypasta #creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta headcanons #creepypasta x reader #creepypasta/you #character study #character intro #eyeless jack #ej

[fatehbaz]

The link between warfare and technological innovation has been well documented [...]. World War II was a particularly intense crucible of technological change, and the repurposing of military technologies and industries in the forging of a new post-war consumer [economy] is crucial [...]. Processes of technological bricolage turned the machines of war onto the natural world as global powers competed to cement their economic and imperial hegemony. In Great Britain’s post-war “groundnut scheme” in its East African territories (1946–51), this collision of nature, military hardware, and technical expertise was part of efforts to both produce more fats for the British diet and to demonstrate to the world (most importantly the United States) that, through a newly energized science-led developmentalism, British colonialism still had a “progressive” role to play in the postwar world.

The aim was to produce millions of tons of peanuts across Tanganyika using the latest methods of advanced scientific agriculture. The environmental conditions in the north, where the scheme was to begin, were known to be especially trying, not least the dry climate [...]. But faith in the power of mechanized agriculture was such that any natural limits were thought to be readily surmountable.

The groundnut scheme was to be, as its Director put it in an interview with the Tanganyika Standard, a “war” with nature, and an “economic Battle of Alamein” waged over some three million acres by an army of colonial technicians -- many recruited from military ranks -- and local laborers, for many of whom the scheme represented their first entry into the wage labor market.

---

But it wasn’t just the rhetoric of war that was repurposed.

Lancaster bombers were kitted out to survey and discover “new country” in East Africa for agricultural development. [...] [T]ractors and bulldozers from military surplus stores in Egypt proved unable to tackle the hard ground and tough vegetation, so the planners turned to a novel solution: repurposing surplus Sherman M4A2 tanks. The Vickers-Armstrong factory in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne set about rearranging key elements of the tanks’ construction [...]. The tractors, christened “Shervicks” for their hybrid origins, were [...] thought to be particularly suited to large-scale earth-moving and to the kind of heavy duty “bush clearing” that was required in Tanganyika.

Officials sought to dismiss concerns that large-scale bush clearing would have wider environmental consequences, using the well-worn colonial trope that any observed changes in local climate or erosion patterns were due to the “primitive” agricultural practices of the locals, not to the earth-moving practices of the colonists. 

Albert Walter, who had directed meteorology in East Africa since the 1920s, had been appointed as an advisor to the scheme and warned the other technical advisers of the low rainfall levels. [...] As the plants continued to wilt in the sun, Walter’s dense network of rain gauges made for an ideal field laboratory [...].

The stakes were high. As John Rosa of the Colonial Development Corporation put it in a letter: “Our standing as an Imperial power in Africa is to a substantial extent bound up with the future of this scheme. To abandon it would be a humiliating blow to our prestige everywhere.”

The only option left was to try and bend the weather itself to the scheme’s will, by seeding the clouds for rain. The scheme was nonetheless abandoned by the British government before charcoal burners could be lined up to seed clouds upwind of the growing area. But the experiments carried on under the aegis of the local colonial government and its meteorologists.

“Balloon bombs” (photographic film canisters tethered to weather balloons) and a repurposed Royal Navy flare gun were used to target individual clouds when the burners proved imprecise. [...] The rainmaking experiments lived on too, as a reference point for those who, to this day, seek to engineer the skies.

The scheme itself has survived as a cautionary tale of governmental hubris, but it is instructive too as a case study of how technologies of war have been turned against other foes.

---

All images, captions, and text by: Martin Mahony. “The Enemy is Nature: Military Machines and Technological Bricolage in Britain’s ‘Great Agricultural Experiment.’“ Environment and Society Portal, Arcadia no. 11. Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society. Spring 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[maxphilippa]

The Misinterpretation of Taco's and Mic's relationship. [An toxic "friendship" analysis.]

Today I bring another analysis that yes, was an option on the pool I made, and I do know that other option won, but I'll do that post once I feel like it (most likely tomorrow since I find it rather easy to do). But today I will be talking about one of the most sugarcoated relationships in the fandom, and that is Taco's and Mic's relationship.

And before you read this and get angry at me: it is not my problem if you view them in a different way, this is an analysis, nothing more, and this is what I realized meanwhile rewatching S2 again and again as time paases. I am not asking for opinions if you will come as aggressive towards it and I apologize if this comes as mean, but I am very tired of how some people might act whenever someone shares a different point of view.

However, in this post we'll be discussing topics such as: manipulation, self esteem issues, and such. If any of these topics are complicated for you, just a heads up as well.

Alright. Let's start with the basics.

Their first interaction(s).

Okay, for starters, their first interaction was already started with a left foot, with Taco reading Mic's dairy out loud and pointing out the entries in which Mic felt the most vulnerable as a whole, let's take in count the fact that Mic was already struggling a lot with everything and how her own team leader was treating her, so hearing someone list all of her insecurities outloud in a careless tone was certainly not the thing that she needed in such an complicated emotional moment.

She was, in fact, so stressed and felt basically worthless, that she started crying just from hearing that, since it does count as "making fun of her struggles" in a way.

She's obviously affected by this, again, this is THEIR FIRST CANON INTERACTION.

And Mic is obviously hurt by this, her voice even breaking a bit.

And she quickly takes an defensive stance the moments she sees Taco as well. Of course she would, she was in an emotional moment and she just touched sensitive topics for her.

And here we go, my favorite part! Taco belittling Mic and making fun of her! (It is not my favorite, if you can't tell, I hate it.)

Okay, so as we can get from their first interaction, what Taco does is essentially use a mix of flattery and making fun of Mic so Mic would listen to her. Taco tells Mic that she's bold and that her playing method is diverse, but however, what she needs is direction on what she does after all. Again, she says this as she then insults Mic again, and basically tells her that she would be nothing without her help, and makes her doubt herself as well.

Let alone that Taco's intentions are pretty clear ever since they first interact, her main interest being half of Mic's gainings if Mic won the challenge thanks to her. Taco clarifies that it is for bussiness matters, nothing more. And she makes sure that Mic has doubts over her decision.

So if you realize she still continues the flattery + making fun of Mic as a person, and then, Taco ends up telling her "well, but that's your choice"

That's.

That's an manipulation tactic.

To make the person feel guilty over the things they did and reconsider their own choices. The cherry on the top is that after Taco crosses Mic's boundaries, tells her that she is PATHETIC (and that's an strong word), she ends up telling her that she can be much more.

You would thing that things could get better? Answer is no.

Let's take a look to Mic as an character. She's selfless. In Brian's own words, Mic goes under the radar always, but she always wants to make things fair for everyone as much as she can.

So she felt guilty and uncomfortable over the whole first interaction Taco and her had.

She is uncomfortable and doesn't know what to do after this whole interaction, and you can realize this by the way she talks and shows herself to others, she's clearly stressed enough.

Mic didn't want to be alone after what happened with Taco, and Nickel telling her "especially you, Mic, you're kind of an wildcard" was something that made Mic angry as well.

She didn't want to be alone after that happened.

When Fan and Mic are talking about Spoiled Lemon "A Party" song, Mic says "So everything he does is decided by someone else? Nice message", and that's foreshadowing to what Taco does to Mic shortly after.

When it comes to the words of gaining, even Mic shows her distaste at Taco's words. She's not having it and she's tired. And yes, I do know that the scene plays it out as an small joke, but Mic still says it.

And in their next interaction- the first thing Taco does is insult Mic and basically tell her again that she needs her.

So. You guys can see an small pattern here. But that's somewhat obvious, after all, Taco herself said that she likes to mess with people.

The Line At Spoiled Lemon's Concert falling on them.

"She made me feel like I needed her."

Taco's manipulation towards Microphone happened. Taco made Microphone feel like she needed her in order to succeed in the game, despite Mic trying to have her own voice, this also goes down to their final interaction on the show, Mic finally breaking up their contact.

Because Taco hurted her in ways that are profound. Mic never needed her to begin with.

Pushing Mic's boundaries.

Let's begin with an small fact. Mic started to trust in Taco because Taco actually did help her on the maze and their small interaction at SL's show shows it. However, just because Mic considers Taco an associate now, a friend even, doesn't mean that Taco's behaviour goes on a better direction. Even though she... "stops" belittling Mic at times, she still uses flattery for Mic to stay next to her side. Because that's the main thing with Mic.

She gets attached to those who show that they care for her. She got attached to Soap, and even got somewhat invested on Cheesy after seeing how her opinion actually mattered a lot for her.

Taco made Mic think that she needed her, and that's explicit, though Mic even questions it.

"But it can't be manipulation if she's conscious of it"

It can be. But the thing is that Mic started trusting Taco. That's why the tactics seem to be not there, but Mic's discomfort and uncertainty remains despite everything.

Taco pushes Mic's boundaries and gets angry when Mic "threw away" her gift (the taser), but just as Mic was TRYING TO EXPLAIN HERSELF (imagine explaining yourself to someone as to why you couldn't hurt someone that has ultimately helped you, that's not healthy), Taco quickly does flattery again, and that reassures Mic that she's doing something good.

Taco is telling Mic what she wants to hear.

The thing is that Taco is doing to Mic what she did to Pickle.

It isn't downright explicit until Ep 14 + once you rewatch those scenes after what Mic says, but you can tell in a way. Taco accomodates her working style according to Mic's personality and behaviour.

Because Taco later on does take a friend-lier approach, but that is because Mic considered Taco a friend, and if acting like a friend is what would make Mic stay, then so be it. Kind of like what she did to Pickle, she acted as his best friend until the very end, and when she failed to get what she wanted, she said stuff to him that marked him forever.

Now she knows what and what not to do to make sure that her plan goes well.

Mic is sensitive and naturally has an heart of gold. So she has to adapt herself to that. Taco becomes softer, yes, but she's still manipulating Mic during it.

And let's not forget a very VERY important fact about them too, and it's how Knife was the one that reached out/noticed that something was wrong.

Knife, Pickle's best friend.

Knife, who has seen how Taco hurted Pickle on the past and saw how she admitted that she was just playing around and everything.

Knife, who saw the damage that Taco did.

Yes, Knife was the main factor on Mic's growth alongside Taco, but the thing is that Knife was there to make Mic realize that Taco was using her.

And now, that means something too. Knife is part of Taco's past. Let's not forget the fact that Mic knows little to nothing about it, but after what Knife tells her about Pickle, she reconsiders her choices for a brief minute. But Mic defends Taco. Because Taco finally has what she wanted: Mic believes in her, therefore, she won't leave her side. Mic defends Taco despite everything because she genuinely thinks that she's changing and found it nice when Taco admitted that she wasn't being completely honest.

But let's also talk over the fact that Taco has been constantly pushing Mic to hurt/let her friends get hurt in many ways, and meanwhile Mic managed to make it up for the Balloon situation, Mic straight up stopped everything just to save Knife and tried as much as she could to get him on their side.

It gets so bad to the point where even after she tells Knife that Taco's changing and if he doesn't want to join them, that he could at least not say anything, but Knife gets emotionally vulnerable with her.

And that's something she didn't exactly expect.

Hearing Knife mention how Trophy manipulated him, when they're talking about Taco, made Mic think too much again.

In fact, Mic is sad + stressed after what Knife told her.

Then yes, on the next episode, Mic does joke about what Knife told her, but we know that she really wouldn't do that at all- she wants to think that Taco is her friend, and jokes around like you would do with one, but even then Taco did drop her after Mic said it.

Which is ironic, because Mic dropped Taco first before Taco could do a Pickle again.

Episode 14.

The ep 14 has many Mic and Knife interactions and shows the down fall of her friendship with Taco, but let's talk about the Knife scenes first before getting to the fall of their friendship.

Knife reaches out once again and tells Mic to stop doing that to herself- to have some dignity, that is, because Mic can do better, but Mic once again decides to defend Taco because... Taco's her friend, right? She has a voice here, no one is shutting her down, no one is dragging her...

Right?

The timing of what Taco is doing to MePad as Mic speaks is intentional as well. It is what Taco has been doing to Mic since the start.

Literally. She literally shut Mic down by touching her voice button the first time they met. Like. It's right there.

Again, Microphone's body language whenever she's with Taco is rather awkward, and of course she's not a big fan of the fact that Taco harmed one of her hosts to do something. Mic has always been trying to do things without hurting others directly, so Taco being able to hurt someone is something that she doesn't like.

Also, adding to the fact that Mic wanted Taco to promise that she wouldn't hurt anybody once they go to save Fan, and yet decided to believe Taco when she said "not necessary, teamwork prevails".

But of course, as all things... the wolf in sheeping's clothing will eventually show it's true self.

She got herself INFRONT of an species she doesn't know, TO PROTECT THEM, instead of trusting Taco

AND THAT SAYS A LOT AS WELL.

It's not only because Mic realized the truth, but because she puts everyone else first before her own person, she's too selfless and didn't even question trying to protect The Shimmer, she just did because she wouldn't get behind what Taco did any longer.

And now, with the end of their friendship...

"See? This is what happens when you listen to me, Mic. Delectable, isn't it?

Finally, a taste of recognition, finally, I can finally-"

It's the realization sinking in.

It's Mic finally realizing that Knife was right.

That Taco was using her the same way she used Pickle.

The same way she used her once best friend.

She never had a friend in Taco.

And Mic even says it- it just proves my point again of "Taco accomodating herself in order to maintain Mic by her side", MIC HERSELF SAYS IT.

"Making him feel like he was doing what he wanted? Like he was heard? I thought I gained a friend. Turns out? I gained nothing."

And when Taco says "surely it couldn't have been nothing-" is her denial- because she couldn't just mess up like she did with Pickle, right?

But she did. She was alone, again.

And Mic shows it via turning her gain down.

Which is a nice call back to Taco saying "it's your game, you have so much to gain", Mic has nothing to gain after that.

Mic's Elimination and The End Of Her Character arc.

This part is the most explicit one when it comes to how toxic their friendship actually was.

How Mic started doubting about herself, how she started explaining that she didn't make the best choices, how she felt guilty over that.

Goddamit, even Mic says "I heard it so often... that I never heard myself.", when referring to the voice in her head.

The realization of Taco's true self was so bad that Mic started having an identity crisis and started doubting if everything she did was because she wanted.

And it's not even doubting either, she affirms that.

And the aftermath is complicated since Mic is still having troubles accepting it. She still cares for Taco because she thought of her as a friend, yes, but she knows that what Taco did wasn't okay and how badly she hurted her.

But Dios mio, Knife even says that Mic looks relieved after cutting ties with Taco because she is. She no longer has to be around someone who lied to her, who made her feel like she was special when it was all just sugarcoated lies.

And she warns Knife about Taco afterwards. Mic wanted a friend, and she might have lost Taco, but she knew what to do thanks to Knife. He was the friend she needed the most.

Of course then Taco shows up and seems to have regrets as well. Do I think that she regrets it? Yes, in a way, the same way she regrets what she did to Pickle, but saying sorry won't fix anything either.

Microphone doesn't want to know anything about her, the same way Pickle does.

After all, that's why she left the show and decided to start over.

And with that, I'm done.

#inanimate insanity #ii #inanimate insanity invitational #ii 2 #ii 3 #inanimate insanity season 2 #inanimate insanity microphone #inanimate insanity taco #inanimate insanity knife #inanimate insanity pickle #ii knife #ii microphone #ii pickle #ii taco #microphone ii #pickle ii #taco ii #knife ii #object show #max overanalyzes lore

[zhaoly]

UGH I was trying to hold off on commenting further about my disappointment with Halsin until I finished the game but my damn itchy fingers can't stop themselves

Okay so like... I'm just mind-boggled so far about what direction they were even trying to go with him. Even ignoring the lack of character development, what we did get has just been so unsatisfying and strange. LONG thoughts ahead about my general dissatisfaction with his character and some gameplay elements.

(Spoilers ahead)

First of all, the impression I got when I initially met Halsin was this wise, sort of sagely archdruid with many, many years under his belt (and indeed it has been 350 years!) who's been through a LOT and witnessed a lot of terrible things. You know, like the whole Shadow Curse thing. But he hints at a lighter side to him through dialogue options, teasing the possibility of getting past that serious, wise exterior as you get to know him more. He's got the whole gentle giant thing going on and has a good heart but is obviously a powerful druid. I rescued him after I had already killed Kagha, but I saw a clip of how he reacts to her if she's still alive when you rescue him. And it's really cool! He basically shows off the authority and gravitas that I expect to see from the archdruid. He shows mercy but makes it clear what his stance on what she did is.

However--and this is relevant later--the game fails to explain why the shadow druids are "bad," exactly. My own experience was me just having to sort of infer from everyone's shocked attitudes that they are, well, "really bad." Why, exactly? I could only guess. They have "shadow" in the name, which means they must be unfathomably ~evil~, right? Maybe there was a book entry I missed, but considering you need to make a decision about the grove's fate and have the side tasks of dealing with Kagha, this type of information should be easier to access for the player.

Well, fine. Let's just make our own inferences about the baddy badness of the shadow druids and move on. Now Halsin needs our help battling against the Shadow Curse while we make our way to Moonrise. He repeatedly emphasizes that he wants to come. He chills in our camp while we finish up stuff in Act 1. But for some reason... doesn't actually come with us when we finally make our way to the Shadowlands?! This part is really strange to me from a gameplay standpoint. Why have the character say things like he'll accompany you there and talk about how terrible this whole Shadow Curse thing is and then not even have him recruitable at that point? Why is he just hanging out at camp while we're picking our way through the Shadowlands on our own? It makes no sense and is a missed opportunity for him to introduce us to the land and the history of it. It really does his character a big disfavor by having him tell us this whole spiel about the Shadowlands and Thaniel and then sitting at camp the whole time we're trekking through the area.

Well, fine. We find Art Cullagh. He mentions Thaniel. We go back to camp to tell Halsin. Halsin finally leaves camp!... to go sit at the inn, and for some inexplicable reason, we're once again left to our own devices to find a way to wake Art. HUH? Narratively, this whole thing makes no sense! Halsin should be in the party, not waiting for us to do all the work. Again. Is this not an issue near and dear to his heart? Is he not a powerful archdruid with a personal link to Thaniel? Then why the hell is he afk at the inn while we're risking our asses out there??? HELLO?

Fine! We find the lute to wake Art up. I can't remember exactly, but I think it's at this point that Halsin joins our party. Finally! I'm willing to let all that other narrative inconsistency slide for now.

We get some flirt dialogues, sure sure, can ask a few questions, cool. A decent start. I can't actually romance Halsin yet because he's focused on the Shadow Curse, okay, I get it. It's killing me to have such slow progress but I get it, I guess. Fast forward to me completing the Act 2 plot and boss battle and... that's it? There's no real payout regarding Halsin's character. The whole thing was sort of like, yeah let's get rid of the Shadow Curse, hooray we did it! I realized that there was really little more than that to him throughout the entire arc. Well, maybe now I can at least romance him, right? Wrong! "In due time," he says. Bro wtf it's been 100 hours, I cleared the Shadow Curse after doing your dirty work, ISN'T IT DUE TIME?

I'm mentally gritting my teeth as we make our way to Baldur's Gate. Surely any day now. I long rest. We get ambushed by githyanki and meet the Emperor. Okay, maybe next evening. I long rest. Another fucking Emperor dream. I long rest. Another Emperor dream or something, I can't even fucking remember at this point, or maybe it was the Mizora cutscene. Wait the Emperor is fucking flirting with me for some reason, what the hell? Just let me romance Halsin oh my GODASDFLKAS:DLGKasl;d'fasd;lfkas;'ld

We're going through the city. Halsin randomly drops some dialogue about how disillusioned he is with the way the city is handling refugees and says maybe the shadow druids were right. Wtf? That was some quick 180 after all the drama over them in Act 1! Also, why won't anyone tell me what's so horrible about the shadow druids and why this is apparently such a moral dilemma?! All Halsin really says is that they want to cut themselves off from civilization... which is like... is that supposed to be an extreme viewpoint coming from the naturey tree people? He laments about his inadequacies as a leader, and I'm privately thinking, this is REALLY late in the game to be realizing this, isn't it? This probably should have come way sooner, maybe like... when you left your role as archdruid all the way back in Act 1?!

At some point we meet the drow twins in the brothel. Out of left fucking field Halsin's like, "this reminds me of my youth!" and basically says he's interested in a foursome. ???? What??? Bitch you haven't even slept with my Tav yet but you're down for a foursome with her + the drow twins? HUH? The twins then turn Tav down because she doesn't have a lover yet to participate (even though Halsin literally said he would, yeah it makes no sense to me either)... AND I'M LIKE YEAH I KNOW RIGHT 'CAUSE THIS GUY ISN'T LETTING ME ROMANCE HIM YET. I'm thinking this scene is proooobably supposed to take place after you've already triggered Halsin's romance, but there are so many damn cutscenes during the long rests at the beginning of Act 3 that I just don't see how unless you deliberately avoid talking to the twins until then. OR, and this is probably more likely, I presume many people romanced other companions and apparently have the option for an orgy with the twins and Halsin, from what I gathered? But from a gameplay standpoint with a mono Halsin romance, this was just bizarre and extremely dissatisfying for a romance, especially considering how LONG you have to wait to even trigger it at all ARGHHHHH anyway and then from a characterization standpoint, this was... also just bizarre because it felt so utterly random coming from Halsin given that his character had really shown little proclivity for such things and had basically spent the ENTIRETY of the game up until this point turning down Tav (at least for the mono romance--from what I've gathered, the experience is way different in a poly one).

We long rest, goddamn it fuck I forgot to stop the press, okay NOW we long rest, Halsin laments again about the way the city treats refugees. Maybe this was actually the conversation where he brought up shadow druids and his inadequacies as a leader, I don't even fucking remember anymore. I'm getting whiplash from how fast his character's tone is switching. I also then see spoilers that after you actually sleep with the drow, he casually drops the bomb that he was KEPT AS A SEX SLAVE FOR THREE YEARS. BRO???

and is apparently quite cavalier about it. What?? Who is this person???? Why does this feel like a completely different character from the one in Acts 1 and 2, lacking in depth though he was? Why is his character switching tones from one issue to the next so quickly? I'm just so utterly mind-boggled right now. He already lacked the character growth granted to the origins companions, but come Act 3, what existed of his character seemed all over the fucking place.

They really had a missed opportunity with the shadow druids. They could've done something, anything with it. They could've given him a less than flattering past with them that no one in the grove knows about. You know, a big, dark secret that is a staple of every fantasy companion. Something. And it could've given him actual reason to have a moral dilemma or struggle about his role as the archdruid and the trust people put into him. Maybe he had to make a tough decision back then "for the greater good" in that first battle against Ketheric Thorm. Cliche? Yes. But I'll take cliche over the nonexistent depth we got and the way his characterization is getting pulled all over the fucking place in Act 3.

Shadowheart had a lovely arc that's still ongoing (I haven't found her parents yet, and her story has spanned meaningfully across all three acts). Her thing is this identity crisis and a lifelong dream/belief she's had getting flipped on its head. While I benched Wyll and Gale, they've got some storied pasts as well and clearly have some opportunity for change through the story. I kicked Astarion pretty early on (lol) but I've seen glimpses of spoilers of some tragic past he has, and I'm guessing his story is something along the lines of helping him get past that? Lae'zel obviously has the whole thing with her undying belief in Vlaakith and her peoples, and while I ended up killing her in this run, I think it's pretty obvious to see that her story could take a similar turn to SH's where you help her figure out an identity different from what she's known her entire life. In future runs I plan to go through all the remaining companions' stories thoroughly and test that theory out I guess.

I won't go into my issues with Jaheira and Minsc--imo you get them WAY too late in the game (I haven't even picked up Minsc yet) to be invested. I don't think I'll ever pick up Minthara, but I've seen some similar dissatisfaction with her character. It's quite clear that the origins characters had way more development (with the exception of Karlach).

I don't know if this whole thing is even coherent. I feel like as I kept typing I just started devolving into annoyed rambling but I JUST HAD TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST ARGHHHHHH I'm so utterly fucking disappointed with what they did with Halsin! I was really, really expecting something more out of it. Karlach was my second favorite and her character story is "find some pieces of infernal iron." Whoohoo! I've seen some light spoilers saying that she doesn't have any good endings or something so that's fucking wonderful too.

#I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS AND IDK IF I ARTICULATED THEM PROPERLY UGHHHHHHH #we do be writing essays about video games out here #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #halsin #halsin romance #should anyone else have any thoughts.......

[isabella-kr]

Prologue

THIS STORY WILL INCLUDE MATURE THEMES, PLEASE ONLY READ IF YOU ARE 18 YEARS OLD OR OVER.

IF YOU ARE UNDERAGE, YOU CAN READ THE WATTPAD VERSION INSTEAD AS IT WILL CONTAIN NO SMUT.

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION AND DOES NOT REPRESENT THE REAL ARMY!

Chapter Synopsis: Being locked away in a glorified prison isn’t fun. So, when she is given two dreadful options to choose from, she picks the one that will get her out of her own, personal hell.

Pairing: John Price x Female!Reader (This used to be an Original Character, and whilst I revised this chapter, I might have missed something; if you notice any physical description of the reader, please let me know!)

Genre: Enemies to Lover / Slow burn

Warnings: Swearing, imprisonment

Word Count: 1.1K 

Series Masterlist  I  COD:MWII Masterlist

Next Chapter

GIF not mine

The sharp tip of the shovel clinked against the hard soil. A stone bounced away. The shovel hit the ground once more, and finally broke through the surface before being pushed further down.  

A boot was slammed against the top of the metal, stomping it further and further into the almost frozen ground before turning the dirt over. The large clump of soil was kicked apart, the brown breaking into small pieces and flying in all directions. The shovel was moved further up the garden and the action repeated, creating a long strip of disturbed ground.  

She let out a deep breath as a drop of sweat rolled down her temple. Her biceps flexed with every hit of the shovel, a small grunt leaving her parted lips as the ground protested, the stone-like texture preventing entry.

Her breathing formed into small clouds in front of her face, the cold, early November prickling the skin on her cheeks. Her nose was beginning to turn numb, and her fingers had long lost feeling, but she paid the uncomfortable feeling no mind; she continued to abuse the ground as if it was her worst rival.  

It was only when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her that she turned around. Her eyes were narrowed and breathing hard – panting from the physical exertion – when she shared a look with the intruder.

“Laswell,” she leaned the shovel against the wooden fence, sarcasm lacing her words when she spoke again, “Whatever do I owe the pleasure?”

The older woman looked from her and down to the ground, brows raising at the sight, “Bit late for gardening, don’t you think?”

She let out a humourless laugh, “The soil needs to breathe, which it can’t do when it’s flat and frozen over, can it? Besides, what else am I supposed to do here, hmm?”

Kate shrugged, “Go on a walk?”

“Where?” She laughed, “Around the garden? D’you want me to walk in circles like I’ve lost my mind?”  

“Right,” she muttered, taking in a sharp breath, “How about we go inside and talk?”

She shrugged in return and gestured at Kate to follow behind. Wordlessly, she opened the back door of her home and let her in, the inside air immediately enveloping them both in a warm hug.  

“Shoes off,” she ordered.  

Kate obliged, swiftly pushing the shoes off her feet before following her into the living room. With a stiff smile, she sat down on the sofa and watched as she sat opposite her, making herself comfortable on the plush armchair.  

“Forgive me if my people skills are rusty,” she began, “I haven’t spoken to anyone except Bobby the cat in almost three years.” The smile on her face didn’t match the tone of her voice; the words came out harsh and spiteful, a certain venom lacing every syllable.  

Laswell opened her mouth to say something, but in the end didn’t comment on her remark. “They want you on the field,” she told her instead.  

She raised a brow, “Oh, did I become a burden?”

Kate didn’t beat around the bush. With a nod of her head, she confirmed, “Yes and no. You passed your Psych Eval - you’re permitted to go on missions.”  

She raised a quizzical brow, “I’m not a soldier, Laswell. And last time I checked, I was identified as a terrorist by the Government.”  

“You were – you are,” she corrected, “They want to put you to good use; your skills could benefit us.”  

“Right,” she hummed, “So it’s either I stay here in this glorified prison, or I go out there and risk my life for people who’d pay to see me dead?”  

“It’s a second chance,” Kate argued, “If you prove you’re with us – that you’re on our side – you’ll be pardoned for your crimes. And maybe, after a couple years, you’ll be able to leave this place without supervision.”  

She shook her head with a small laugh which lacked any humour whatsoever. She didn’t reply, a sour look forming on her face as she digested the woman’s words.

“This is the best I can do, A,” Kate leaned forward, a serious look on her face.

She knew it was true. She knew the woman before her couldn’t do much more to help, and yet she couldn’t help but feel disappointed, a part of her hoping she would be given a choice. But alas, it seemed as though she was destined to follow the path of death and destruction.  

“Alright,” she spoke quietly, in almost a whisper, “I’ll do what you ask; anything to get out of here. Who’ll be supervising me?”

“John Price,” Laswell replied.

Her brows furrowed. The name sounded familiar, and she was almost certain she had met the man before. Yet she couldn’t remember where. Perhaps he was one of the officers who often came to make sure she wasn’t up to anything suspicious, or maybe he was one of the Generals who sentenced her to this dreaded existence. Or maybe-

“He’s the one who caught you,” Laswell told her, “The one who was ordered to capture or kill you.”  

“Ah,” she leaned back, “The lieutenant?”  

“Captain,” Laswell corrected.

“Why him?” She questioned.

“He fought you once and won. He’s seen how you operate. He-“

It all seemed clear now, “He will know how to take me out if it comes down to it,” she said.

Kate took a small breath, pausing her words before nodding. “Yes. He was ordered to kill you the moment he suspects you’re planning to betray us.”  

“Makes sense,” she admitted, biting onto her bottom lip in thought, “Okay. When are we leaving?”  

“In 30 minutes,” Laswell suddenly stood up, “pack the necessities and meet me out front when you’re ready.”  

Kate was gone before she even had the time to answer. Left to her own devices, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, a nervous feeling slowly creeping up on her.  

She rubbed her eyes – hard – until she began to see stars and colourful shapes behind her eyelids. She was unsure whether she should be glad to finally be out of the suffocating house, or devastated that her normal life – or as normal as her life could get – was about to be torn away from her.  

Returning back to the chaos of the battlefield wasn’t ideal, and she wasn’t excited to face the man she had almost killed during their last encounter. Yet a part of her was excited – not for the chaos that was bound to unfold, nor the disgusted looks she was sure she’d receive, but to finally get the chance to socialise with someone who didn’t purr or meow in return. Even if all she received was an insult, or a simple nod, she was just happy to be amongst people again.  

And so, with a small smile, she ventured to her bedroom and packed everything she knew she would need. She was out the door not even 10 minutes later, eagerly getting in the black car that was already waiting for her.  

Tag List (Comment or message me if you’d like to be added)

@jxvipike 

#john price #captain price #captain john price #cod modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare #cod mwii #cod mw2 #call of duty price #call of duty mwii #call of duty modern warfare ii #john price x reader #john price x you #john price x female reader #captain price x you #captain price x female reader #captain price x reader #captain john price x reader #captain john price x you #captain john price x female reader

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough - House of Hope

Man I’m getting legit sad I’m getting so close to being done.

Unpopular (?) opinion - I have read people explaining up and down and back and forth about how pressed they are that Haarlep says Raphael is bad in bed, how Haarlep is unreliable because he hates Raphael, how he’s an incubus so his standards must be very high, how Raphael is probably purposefully doing this or that because Haarlep is a spy keeping an eye on him for daddy so of course he’s not going to appear vulnerable in any way, even how sad and conflicted Raphael must be, being a cambian…

Honestly - I have zero trouble taking Haarlep at his literal word. 100%. Raphael’s house is literally full of paintings and statues of himself. He wrote an entire book that’s nothing but descriptions of different scenarios of him being crowned with the crown of Karsus. His diary entries are absolutely insufferable. He is the textbook definition of hubris and vanity. I have zero problem believing Haarlep literally. And I say all this affectionately, by the way: Raphael is one of my favourite characters in the entire game. But it’s kind of like how everyone wants to soften out all the rough edges on Astarion - I like him like this. I think it’s hilarious that he’s so vain. His hubris is so funny. His opinion of himself is so high and his confidence in his victory is so complete, but his personal incubus is sitting here lounging in his bed absolutely roasting his ass to complete strangers with very little prompting. I think he’s a great devil character and I don’t want to make up excuses for his behaviour in order to humanize him. I definitely do love complicated antagonists who have more to them than it first appears, but honestly I just do not get that vibe from him. And I love him for it.

Haarlep was so funny btw. I just love it when actors are having fun. That must have been so funny to come in and voice the character, like, ok so for today, you’re doing the same voice as before, except make it slutty and bitchy this time. It makes sense I guess that Haarlep can change into a female form if you want, of course he can, and I think it’s funny that even when Raphael wants to shake things up a bit, it’s still with a version of himself, but myeh, that whole thing felt to me like a “hey don’t worry if you’re icked out, we have a girl option too that we can totally switch to if you want.” Maybe I’ve just read too many forum arguments about how there’s too many gay people in this game and people are crying to have a toggle to turn it off, and it makes me hostile to anything that smacks of trying to soothe people’s hurt heterosexuality. (because like, theoretically there could be lesbians who object to the scene as well?) Oh well. Still funny in the end. I was going to go through with just sleeping with Haarlep to avoid a fight, because that’s the direction my tav generally likes to go, but then Astarion got very concerned and made me feel bad, so I changed my mind.

Well this whole area was fun. I loved Raphael’s house. I loved all the details. I loved the debtors, the tacky ostentatious bullshit in every corner, I loved the rotten banquet. Is that its natural state and he charmed it to look fresh when I arrived? (disgusting, I love it) Or has he just been so pissy about whatever went wrong with the skeleton folks at the table that he’s never bothered to have it cleared and has left it there in a temper tantrum as a lesson? (ridiculous, I also love it) I love how absolutely, singularly obsessed Raphael is with my party. I know it’s because we are the means by which he thinks he is going to get that crown, but it also feels personal and weird and uncomfortable. I love that my contract has this place of honour in his archive. It’s almost touching, if it wasn’t my fucking soul. I love how absolutely self-assured Raphael is, how confident he is that his plan is going to work, how the possibility of a failure or a trick, like, he doesn’t even have the capacity to consider that a possibility. It SO GODAMNED FUNNY to kick his ego-inflated ass when he was SO FUCKING SURE that he would win. Raphael you are such an insufferable idiot. I love him. I’m so glad the VA won a Bafta.

The Raphael fight is tricky, but honestly, half of the trick is that before you even get there, you have to fight your way to the foyer past the most annoying enemies. I guess Hope’s divine intervention which can restore your spells and HP helps to balance that out though.

It was surprising to see I was able to get Yurgir to side with me in the fight - I had assumed he’d be SO fucking pissed after I tricked him in the Shar gauntlet. Now I have an additional ally in the big brain fight! …except he really wasn’t all that helpful in the Raphael fight, not at all. He’d go invisible, pop out of invisibility, knife someone for maybe 7 HP, then pop invisible again. I guess every little bit helps but…? Come on dude. At least stay visible so you can soak some hits.

Apparently it’s possible to make Korilla survive the fight? I was… NOT able to do that. You get some extra dialogue if you do, but the fight is hard enough to win even without trying to manage a hostile NPC who is usually the first one Yurgir targets. Sorry Hope, sorry Korilla. How come you can cast Otto’s Irresistible Dance on Raphael, and it will incapacitate him, but it won’t make him actually boogie? I was so excited to see him dance, and then he didn’t, he just stands there.

It doesn’t even need to be said - Raphael’s fight song is of course amazing, chef’s kiss, perfection.

Anyway, bard vs bard fight, very fun, when you kill him Raphael crumples dramatically to the ground, I love the big boss fights in this game.

Coming back, I got a stupid lecture from the Emperor about how naughty naughty I was being. Sure asshole, lecture me about trust, that’s really rich coming from the guy who didn’t trust ME with anything, and I had to pry the truth out, unwillingly, in stages. I can’t fucking wait to doublecross that guy.

If you attack Helsik, Raphael’s boss song also plays? That was… a little bit strange! I wanted to see what was in her basement, but the fight with all the gilded imps and Minotaurs and whatnot was such a pain I didn’t bother. Apparently you can access the basement through Dammon’s basement anyways, if you really want to see it, so. I DID make sure to pickpocket those gauntlets back off her cause I want them.

Mannnn. I’m almost done the game. WTF. All I have left to do is go give Mol her contract, talk to Voss in the undercity and piss off the Emperor, get my poop in a group and… that’s it. I’m off to fight the brain. I’ve been playing this playthrough for six months, and I’m almost done.

#bg3 #bg3 raphael #bg3 playthrough #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate 3

[starry-phoenix-finds]

Sims 3 Mods Masterlist

Lag Reducing/Game Improving Mods

Nraas MasterController- Adds countless options that allow you to easily control and change just about anything about Sims in your town. Featuring a robust filter system to allow you to find the Sims you want to target and execute actions on. Nraas ErrorTrap- This is a core-mod intended to catch and correct data corruption errors that can render a save-game unloadable. Nraas DebugEnabler- This mod exposes EA debug commands so they are usable in game. Nraas Overwatch- The primary purpose of this mod is to act as a periodic clean up system for correcting errors and eliminating junk that accumulates over a regular play-session. Nraas Register- This mod alters the rules governing role assignment in the game, allowing sims to maintain regular careers without losing their roles. Nraas Careers- This mod is used to load custom careers into the game. Nraas Traveler- This mod replaces the travel code. Ability to travel to any world. Nraas Porter- This mod adds a custom version of the import and export system used to create Library families. Nraas GoHere- This mod replaces the "Go Here" interaction, with one that can be stacked in the queue, allowing the user to better direct the route of a sim. Smooth Patch 2.1- Greatly reduces lag in all areas of the game. No Foot Tapping While Waiting For Clear Route!- Greatly improves routing for sims. Catalog Search Mod- Adds a "Search" button to Buy and Build mode. Additional Entry and Exit Routing Slots to Reduce Door Crowding- Greatly reduces sims crowding around rabbithole entries. No Intro- Disables the intro videos. No Route Fail Tantrum Animations!- No tantrum animation when a sim fails to route. No (or fewer) automatic memories- Stops the memory scrapbook from filling up with memories. Faster Elevator Moving- Improves the animations and time it takes for sims to get on and off elevators.

Babies/Toddler Gameplay Mods

More Toddler Interactions- New interactions for toddlers. More Baby Interactions- New interactions for babies. Napping Mat- A napping mat for toddlers. Toddler Food and Snacks- Adds two interactions to the high chair to feed toddlers meals or snacks.Toddlers will love, like or hate certain foods. Just Like My Parents! Costume Face-Paint for Toddlers- Toddlers put on play makeup. More Play! Playmat- More additions to the baby playmat from the store. More Activities Activity Table- More activities for the Activity Table. Mixed Feelings About Pregnancy- Replaces the default pregnancy moodlet with a custom version that has no mood effect, and adds two new moodlets. Sleeper Footies- Sleeper footies for babies. Little Wisps hair- Hair for babies.

Kids/Teen Gameplay Mods

100% Prom Chance + 3 Day Cooldown- This mod makes it so that prom happens every week. After School Activities- After school activities for kids/teens Teen Jobs- Part Time jobs for teens User-Directed Scolding + Other Punishment Tweaks- Tweaks parts of the punishment system from Generations. Tooth Fairy Mod- This mod gives child-aged sims the chance to lose their teeth and get money from the Tooth Fairy. 'No Stretch' Children can Series- Children can do more in game. Children can care for their lil' siblings- Allows children to carry toddlers. Teens Hangout- Teens can hang out with each other and sit on the floor and talk. Faster (and Slower) Homework- Changes the amount of time it takes to get homework done. Coloring Books for Kids- A coloring book for kids. New Scholarships- Adds various scholarships.  Acne Mod- Adds an acne system to the game. Cheerleading Mod- Cheerleading club for teenagers.

General Gameplay Mods

Missy Hissy Custom Careers- Custom Careers. Lot Population Mod- Teleports more sims to community lots, making them more populated.  Nraas StoryProgression- The purpose of the mod is to simulate a life-like balance amongst the inactive members of town, while providing the user the option to disable functionality they do not want. Custom Vehicles- Custom vehicles. Postal Mod- You can send post to any sim in town. Social Clubs Mod- Create custom clubs for your sims to join. Hairdresser Mod- Play as a hairdresser or a client. No Fridge Shopping- Replaces the meal-making interactions on the fridge with custom ones that check whether the Sim has the required ingredients to make the meal or snack. Business As Unusual Bistro- Modifies EA's store content bistro oven splitting the chef and waiter roles in two and allows you to set shifts for them. The Sims 3 Open For Business- Create a store, hire employees, set objects for sale (without rugs!), restock objects, earn XP on sales to increase your rank and more! Flower Arranging- Adds flower arranging skill to the game. Knitting for TS3- Adds knitting skill to the game. Attend University Online- This mod allows sims to work towards completing a university degree on the computer. Yoga Mod- Brings the yoga activity from The Sims 4: Spa Day to The Sims 3. Ice Cream Stand- An ice cream stand to buy ice cream. Exercise Bike- An exercise bike, (better mesh). Pool Jobs for Lifeguards- Makes it possible for sims in the Lifeguard career to be offered and perform jobs on pool lots as well as the usual beach lots. Buyable Beach Towels- Makes the Island Paradise beach towels purchasable in game. Set The Table & Call To Meal- Replaces the "Call To Meal" interaction on group servings with a custom version that has the performing sim set the table with individual portions of food BEFORE summoning sims to eat. Seasons & Barista Bar Beverages on the Coffee Machine- Lets sims make or serve the hot beverages from Seasons and UL on regular coffee machines. Ferris Wheel- A functional Ferris Wheel ride with custom animations for your sims. Buy Takeout And Order Food At Restaurants- Buy prepared food at the diner and bistro or have it delivered. Housecleaning For All Sims- The Clean House interaction will show up when you click on the ground for all sims. All Bars Serve All Drinks- Makes all drinks available at all professional bars on community lots. Fewer (or More) Credit Hours For Degrees- Complete a degree in one trip to University. Add Any Lot Size- Will allow you to add any lot size (from 1x1 to 64x64). Buyable Bunch o' Gifts- Unlocks the Gift Pile in buy mode, so your sims can buy their own Gift Pile for their family without having to throw a party. Book of Talent- Alter both main skills and hidden skills for your sims. No More Zombies Generated At Full Moon- Prevents the game from generating any zombies at the beginning of full moon. Throw Bigger Parties whenever you want!- No party limit on guests invited to parties and throw parties at any time.

#ts3 #sims 3 #the sims #sims 3 mods

[onyxbird]

My experience playing Baldur's Gate 3:

Get up from crash. Meet/recruit Shadowheart. Explore, loot some bodies/crates, forage for herbs. Tangle with some live Intellect Devourers and struggle fighting them with my 2-character party; reload from save and decide to explore in a different direction.

Find big, important-looking "Ancient Door" (clearly important because it has its own entry on the map). Pick lock. Explore/loot abandoned temple, disarm some traps, etc. Push button in Dark Crypt, revealing important-looking room and murderous skeletons. Die. Reload from save. Die. Reload from save. Die. Decide to leave the button alone and circle back later. ☹️

Find/climb secret ladder to top of ruins and discover first live people since the mind-flayer ship! Yay! Potential help/information! Go talk to them. Get murdered by looters. Reload from save. 😢

Sneak past looters to explore different area. Rescue Lae'zel (sniping NPCs from hiding due to paranoia after looters) and level up. Go in search of Emerald Grove. Complete various quest tasks and recruit Wyll. Formulate a plan for which quest thread to chase next.

Have discussion with a mutual who asks if I got "Withers" yet. Find out this is who is behind the death-by-skeletons button and briefly explain the history of why I skipped the button (and looters). Mutual: "ah, you went in from the bottom." 🤨

Return and defeat skeletons without huge difficulty. Go back up top, deal with Intellect Devourers and explore the rest of the area, meeting Astarion, before returning to successfully deal with the looters and reach the rest of the ruin. 😐😐😐

Reflect on the fact that 1) rogue is only one of many possible PC options, 2) non-rogues would only have one available after finding Astarion (i.e., at least 2 allies available), 3) Lae'zel was roughly in between Astarion and the ruins (could form full 4-person party on the way back to the ruins), and 4) there were a lot of looters, but conveniently separated into manageable groups.

Realize maybe, just maybe, "Pick the lock of the Big, Important Door before exploring any other options" was not, in fact, intended to be THE obvious path forward at that moment.

🤷 If the gods didn't intend my rogue to pick locks, they wouldn't have given him lockpicks. How does my amnesiac rogue know it was the gods who gave him lockpicks? Well, they were in his pockets, and he certainly doesn't remember buying any.

(To be clear, I am actually enjoying this game immensely, but in hindsight I think I probably did circumvent a planned build-up in difficulty and party strength by casually picking that lock. 🤦 And I am learning to save frequently.)

#baldur's gate 3

[tmnt-tychou]

Here is the beginning of my entry for the Trick or Kink Challenge posted by @turtle-babe83​ Original post found Here.

Summary: Name (insert the name of whatever OC/insert/reader you like) and the boys go out one foggy Halloween night in search of an old abandoned cemetery where four mutant turtles can go out at night and not be spotted by the living. But, as they split up to inspect the place, they find more than they bargained for. A choose your own adventure/turtle type story.

Rated PG-13 ish for spooky stuff.

It Hides Within The Fog: Part One

A massive garbage truck with the words “Tartuga Brothers” painted on the side drove through the foggy night. The strong headlights were barely bright enough to see the road. No street lights out here. It was nothing but gnarled trees and darkness on either side. A perfect Halloween night if there ever was one.

“Man, that's some fog,” Leonardo commented from the passenger seat. “How you doing, Donnie?”

From the driver's side, Donatello kept his eyes on the road. “I think we'll be fine. The road's narrow, but we haven't seen another car for miles. This place is really out there.”

“I told you,” a female voice came from the back. “Completely isolated. No one's going out this far. We'll have the place all to ourselves.”

“If there's anything out there,” Leonardo said with a small frown. “Are you sure we're still headed the right way?”

Name poked her head into the front area showing him the GPS tracker on her phone. “It says we're still headed in the right direction.”

As they all looked at the screen, it went blank, followed by a message stating all service was lost.

“Well, crap.”

“The truck's GPS is out, too,” Donatello said as he tried to drive and fiddle with the buttons at the same time.

“Focus on driving, Donnie,” Leonardo said. “The last thing we need is to get stuck out here.”

“You getting' us lost, Short Stack?” Raphael asked from the passenger seat next to Name.

“I don't think so. We're still going the right way. We should pass it soon. Either way, we'll be having an adventure. Right, Mikey?”

“You got it, Babes,” the smallest brother called from the back where he was happily eating some of the snacks they packed. “Everywhere we go is an adventure with you.” He winked and tossed another chip into his mouth.

The paving of the road suddenly ended and the truck bounced on the rocky, uneven terrain.

“Easy, Donnie!” Raphael barked.

“Sorry, sorry,” Donatello called back as he pressed on the brakes.

Leonardo frowned out the window. It felt like the trees were moving closer and closer. Leaning in. Reaching for them with gnarled branches. The fog barely allowed them to see more than a few feet in front of them, despite the strength of the massive headlights.

“I don't like this. Maybe we should go back before we don't have any room to turn around.”

Donatello kept driving, but it was clear he was considering their options.

“There it is!” Name cried as she popped her head in the front seat, pointing a finger forward.

As the truck rumbled to a stop, its lights illuminated a crooked, rusted gate.

“Dudes! Holy shit! It's like straight out of a movie!” Michelangelo announced as he too somehow managed to get his head into the front.

Leonardo and Donatello shared a look. Both were secretly relieved they found their destination.

“Told you guys I knew where we were going,” Name said proudly as she hopped out of the truck and stretched.

“Our navigator hasn't failed us yet,” Raphael agreed with affection as he climbed out after her.

The rest of the turtles all stepped out and looked around. Not that there was much to see at first glance. The fog was still thick as ever. To really see what was beyond the gates, they would have to go inside.

“There's nothing out here,” Donatello said as he fiddled with the tablet on his arm. “No signal, no power lines, no signs of modern civilization. Nothing.”

“No people,” Name pointed out. “No one to see us. We can do whatever we want out here.”

In response, the baying of a single coyote rose from somewhere in the distance, making them all stiffen as an iciness hung in the air.

“OW OOOOOW!” Raphael nearly jumped a foot as Michelangelo howled back as loud as he could.

“Mikey!”

“You heard the lady,” Michelangelo bantered back. “No one can hear us, Raph. We can do whatever we want.”

“Not whatever we want,” Leonardo said. “A little respect, please. This is still a cemetery.” Then his ice blue eyes seemed to brighten. “But we're definitely looking around.”

Everyone pulled out flashlights and Donatello locked up the truck. Raphael hefted the heavy, rusted gate open. The chain that had once kept it locked fell off as soon as the largest brother attempted to move the door. It squealed with a horrifying noise, loud enough to wake the dead as Raphael forced the ancient gate open. The others covered their ears against the horrific squeal of old metal.

“Well, if there was anyone around to hear us, they know we're here now,” Donatello quipped, though he was the first one to stroll right inside while the others hesitated.

Name hurried to catch up with him while the other brothers, she noticed, flanked her on all sides. Michelangelo and Leonardo to her right and left with Raphael watching her back. Being protective was second nature to them. Even though they were in a place that should be completely safe, they were always careful, always alert.

“Man, look at this awesome place,” Michelangelo announced as he swept his flashlight around. It was a very old cemetery long forgotten by time. Neglected, overgrown and eerie. Large, ornate headstones with crying, moss covered angels and gated mausoleums overrun by twisted vines.

“So cool,” Donatello breathed.

“So you guys want to pick a spot and tell ghost stories?” Name asked.

“Not yet, we gotta check this place out first,” Raphael said.

“For safety?”

“Uh, yeah. For that. Right.”

A look at all four brothers, she found them all bright-eyed with curiosity. It certainly wasn't everyday where the turtles found themselves in an open, above ground playground where they were free to be themselves, free to walk in the open without worrying if someone would see them. Add a bunch of spooky headstones and a thick blanket of fog and it was a ninja's wonderland.

It was almost simultaneous when each brother's flashlight landed on something interesting and they all split off in a different direction, their protective circle now broken. Name glanced at the disappearing shell of each one as the fog reached out to swallow them. Oh hell no, she was not going to stand around in this place alone. Quickly, she picked a turtle and hurried after him.

Part Two: Michelangelo

Part Three: Raphael

Part Four: Donatello

Part Five: Leonardo

Thus begins our cemetery Halloween adventure. Pick a turtle, choose your fate.

I’m going to try so hard to get three, hopefully four turtles done by Halloween. (At this point, I have no idea what the rating will be for the chapters. I write every rating.) Anybody else who wants to write their own chapter of this prompt, feel free to do so and substitute “Name” for any OC/self insert/reader you wish. Gender neutral or male character is fine, too. I had the Bayverse in mind when writing this, I feel that’s the spirit of the original prompt, but you can write for any TMNT universe and give it any rating from family friendly to adults only.

Please tag me. I’ll read all of them! If you want me to tag you with updates, let me know.

#tmnttrickorkink #tmnt #tmntbayverse #TMNTtober #TMNTtober2022

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 4 - Character Creation Part 2

This Dev Diary is a direct follow-up to Dev Diary 2!

So once you’ve selected your character’s Departments and defined their Identity with Traits, we move on to fleshing out their actual mechanic character.

Personal Information

The first section of your character sheet is the fairly boring normal stuff; your name, pronouns, and age. There’s a few neat bits here (there’s naming convention suggestions, a chart of example neopronouns, and a summary of what the human generational politics look like in 2169) but mostly this is straightforward.

The last section of personal information is to ask what flags your character has on their uniform. A Star Patrol uniform has space on the sleeve for two personal flags, and we offer you a bunch of options along with their meanings, as well as guidance for your own. There are multiple different options for flags of the Star Union, national flags (of nations future and current), and the flags of the political movements mentioned in part 3. 

Flags let you state, right on your sheet, the opinions and identity of your character; they literally wear their perspective on their sleeves.

Some of the flags you might wear; the old Solar Union flag, the Neo-Trotskyite and Cybernetic Democratic flags, the flag of Proxima Colony, and two Lunar cities; the Star Union’s capital of Armstrong City, and the POW camp turned alien enclave Camp Aldrin.

Personality Impulses

Next, characters define their Personality Impulses. This is a short list (12 entries) of narrative triggers your characters might face; things like “Generous: When you make a sacrifice for a stranger” or “Logical: When you lay out and follow through on a plan”. 

You select three Impulses, then cross out three others to create Blocks. Fulfilling your Impulses is the primary way you generate Unity, the narrative resources you use to reroll dice, clear Stress, and power psychic abilities, while Blocks create Stress when you have to do them. 

Your Impulses act as narrative handholds to encourage roleplaying, and as Unity is a global resource, the whole team gets stronger when people enable one another to play to their strengths.

Traits

We brought up Traits when we discussed character Identity, and we might go into it further later, but in short, Traits are special rules you apply to your character to give them flavour and represent their unique characteristics. They can be physical (a heavyworlder’s strength or the Nariene preference for warm climates), developmental (a Spacer’s comfort in zero g, a familiarity with your home climate), social (do you have a dark history? A streak of exes?), and personal (do you work better alone or in groups? Are you an anxious perfectionist or have a short temper?).

You can do a lot with Traits. You can make up aliens, play as robots, silicon-based life, shapeshifters, sapient computers, genetic augments, cyborgs, and so forth, but you can also use it to represent a wide variety of mundane circumstances like having medical dependencies, being good with machines, or being a plural system. Whatever kind of character you want to make, there’s a Trait for it, and just about any imaginable character will have at least a few Traits to make them interesting.

Traits are self-contained and self-balanced; if they have a distinct advantage, they always have some kind of drawback built into them as well, often a predictable logistical cost or inverse circumstance where you struggle. That means there’s no limit to the number of Traits you can take, and no points cost or anything. If you need ten Traits to represent what you have in mind, go ahead!

Finally, Traits are not fixed. Our rule with Traits is that you can always change your Traits if you justify it in the narrative, so you can always reveal your dark history as a twist mid-season or say “wow, I really got hurt in that disaster, I should come back as a cyborg!” 

The game even has a pharmaceutical crafting system which lets you manufacture these justifications as needed, as well as temporarily embrace many Traits. You can, with a bit of work, make a pill that makes you learn languages quickly, gives you hyperfocus, or grants night vision. 

With sufficiently advanced technology, you could even craft a treatment that’ll make you into a robot. Finally, HRT 2.0.

Relationships

During character creation, you go through and figure out the way everyone feels about one another. Relationships are unidirectional, asymmetrical declarations of how your character sees others; are they best friends, do they have a crush, or are they rivals? These will change over time, but it lets you immediately set up future interpersonal drama, if you want it.

Or you might just all be professional comrades and stay on task, with no space kissing at all. That’s okay. Doesn’t make me sad at all.

Aptitude

Finally, the important part. The stats.

We call skills in this game Certifications, because that’s what they are; they’re a certificate saying “hey you’re qualified to do the thing!” from Star Patrol U. ‘Certs’ are structured as jobs, rather than as individual skills; rather than ‘Medical’, it’s job titles like “Paramedic” and “Pharmacist”, and the Cert covers all the things a paramedic or pharmacist might do. Overlap exists and is totally fine; a missile plotter and a flight planner basically do the same thing, one of them just decelerates!

Certs are ranked; they are Untrained, Novice, Skilled, and Expert, corresponding to a 6+, 5+, 4+, and 3+ success target when you roll dice. You’re automatically Untrained in everything, and you gain Certs through character creation and over time.

We divide Certs into three sections. The first four are the ‘Universal Certs’, which is to say the things everyone does; we called them Wild Animal, Physical Instrument, Social Being, and Cosmonaut. You can fall back on these when no other Cert fits (such as rolling Physical Instrument if you just need something lifted), and you also roll them for the various ‘Shock Checks’ after taking damage; we’ll talk about that later.

The second section is Languages. We treat language aptitude as something like a Charisma stat; it's closer to your rhetorical ability with that language than strictly your fluency. Most characters will speak a number of languages, and you can learn quite a lot of them over the course of a game. Even with a universal translator, learning languages is useful; knowing the language an alien is speaking actually makes the translator work better.

Finally, the departmental Certs cover most of the Certs you’ll actually be rolling during regular play. Every Department has 4 Certs which cover all the things that Department might be called on to do, and characters are generally Skilled at all of the ones in their Department, as well as Novice at the really basic Cert of all the other departments. Every Star Patroller is, at least a little, an Observer, Paramedic, Diplomat, Programmer, Artillery Officer, Soldier, Flight Planner, and Damage Controller. Something something that bit in Capital about the division of labour.

Finally, rounding out the system are Electives, freeform Certs divided into Specialities and Hobbies. They both work the same way (lower success targets by 1 if any of them apply to a check), but Specialities are typically jobs and Hobbies are… well, hobbies.

Specialities let you get really specific about what your character is good at. They’re mastery of particular tools and narrow fields of expertise, letting you really be the best with multitools, be a crack shot with the ACER pistol, or really letting you get into the mindset of a 4N-2F tokamak fusion reactor. Hobbies let you define your character’s interests; maybe you paint, play piano, repair antique electric cars. Somehow, those hobbies always seem to come in clutch when you would least expect it!

Finally, advancement is structured so that you’re always improving your core departmental Certs at a fixed rate, freeing you up to explore other Certs and Electives at your leisure, so don’t worry about ‘wasting’ points on characterful choices; you can have both.

That’s it for what actually makes a character, but you aren’t done there. You have to make a program and the rocket that goes with it!

#torchship #ttrpg #Dev Diary

[hypergamiss]

Any tips on developing a career without a degree?

I’ve got one year worth of experience in Finance/ the investment side- currently working on getting more.

Thanks🤍

What do you want your future to look like? Create a journal entry that walks the reader through what your dream life is like and include your ideal routine in it. Use this as your North Star to guide you when making decisions during your journey.

Having a degree gives more of a clear direction because you can think to yourself “I studied x, y, and z, so I can work in x, y, and z field.” Without the degree it’s like you have less of a direction and so you need to brainstorm more on discovering different ways that will lead you to your end goal. For example, if your end goal is to be a CEO, then you need to either focus on climbing the corporate ladder or starting your own business. If your end goal is to retire younger than usual then you need to focus on long term investments or businesses that can be automated with little day to day involvement on your end. There are so many options so stick to your North Star.

Lastly, continued education doesn’t always mean having a degree. You can continue to study and educate yourself in different areas so that you can be very knowledgeable in your own field. This is very common with entrepreneurs and investors. They will skip most of the (general) classes that everyone else takes that do not apply to their career at all and take only the ones that will benefit them. I have done this before and I have extra college credits that just sit on my transcript for no “degree seeking reason”, but the ROI was worth it. And then of course there’s conferences, work shops, literature, mentorship, etc.

[nephblrus]

without spoiling anything what does mr big splatoon think of side order

i cannot possibly give my proper thoughts WITHOUT spoiling anything so this is your warning

spoilers for splatoon 3 side order dlc

gonna be kinda going through multiple aspects and analyzing them, this is just my opinion don’t punt me into the sun please

starting off, im overall not a fan of rougelike games. so that has definitely biased my opinion. i didn’t like all the repetition and i got frustrated at it a lot, its just not for everyone! i found it became a lot easier once i figured out which colour chips and hacks helped me the most (drone boosts were big).

it took me a bit to actually finish my first run because the palettes i kept getting were weapons i’m awful at (brella, splatting, charger, BRO CMON) but i cleared my first run with the brush surprisingly. i understand how rougelikes work but it still felt kinda short and underwhelming.

the gameplay itself wasn’t terrible, the levels were interesting and i liked how you could choose the difficulty and rewards and such. colour chips and the drone were a really neat addition and i had fun getting used to it.

the lore was meh. kinda disappointed. i’m glad we got to see more of ahato/acht, just wish they got a bit more spotlight and development aside from the diary entries (they got lots, i’m just a diehard fan lmao).

the storyline in general was… a little lame to me? it felt like it didn’t really build off of much and it doesn’t give much room to expand from it (at least personally). felt a little predictable imo.

REWARDS! not bad! inkopolis square was expected, and it’s not my preferred area so it won’t be my default but i think it’s really neat and i’m excited to see it again for splatfests. really liked how we got the exact gear from the dlc as well, and the replica weapons (no tri slosh </3)

the final boss was COOL. very fun to play and much easier than i thought! (why was F28 harder than the final boss lmfao) the cut scenes were awesome, esp before the final phase. music went hard.

also. where is agent 4. cmon. cmon bro.

overall, meh. didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.

the main letdown i had was how the game actually played out vs. the concept art and how it was teased. it seemed like it was going to go in a much different direction, which is fine, just a little bit of a bummer. thought it would be a little darker like OE. side order was really hyped up and for me it just, wasn’t all that!

for me there was a lot of comparison to OE, i kinda expected/hoped for it to have the same hype. with that comparison it felt a little boring and short, ESPECIALLY in terms of rewards. it’s pretty hard to top unlocking PLAYABLE OCTOLINGS. OE had a LOT of brand spankin new stuff, levels characters plots all of it was so fresh and exciting, because before we only had basically 2 copies of the same story mode.

another thing i was talking about with sem was how in OE, since you didn’t need to beat every level right away to beat it, there was lots of new to go back and finish, AND most had multiple weapon options to 100%. SO has something similar, but again, feels repetitive to me. don’t have any motivation to do another run.

my ranking for story campaigns go:

Octo Expansion, Splatoon 3, Splatoon 1, Side Order, Splatoon 2.

#splatoon #side order