#i managed to last two rounds and that was me using all the resources my character sheet had

[injuries-in-dust]

What concerns me with the humans are space orcs stuff oddly enough was humanity's clothing,

Looking at mass effect and other SciFi games and films the clothes suck, boring and basic design all round.

Then I look at what we wore around the 1800s, where did our sense of fashion go?

Security chief Thron frowned as they looked down at the human, classified as; "Stowaway" in the holding cell.

Xe didn't know how the conversation had spun around to this topic, but it was engaging enough to pass the hours until they reached the next spaceport to hand the human over to the proper authorities. "Human fashion is so boring."

Jupiter classified themselves as a "Hitchhiker" but after a few hours in the cell and settled on an "agree to disagree" mentality with the security chief.

They shook their head. "You've clearly not met the right humans."

Thronn shook xyr head, "I have met many humans during my service."

"Oh service," Jupiter rolled their eyes. "You can't judge human fashion based on those guys in the service. Uniforms don't count."

"It is not just humans within the service I have met. We are a cargo vessel, we bring many useful supplies to many fledgling colonies, human ones included."

Jupiter shook their head, "new colonies? You're judging fashion by what you see on the new colonies?"

"Then what of your garments? Dull colourings all over your person. Little accoutrements to be seen. Very boring. Very typical of human stowaways."

"Hitchhikers." Jupiter corrected. "You can't judge hitchhikers and colonists. They don't have the resources to waste on fancy stuff, and I've got to travel light. It's all about keeping it simple. Hardwearing stuff that lasts a long time and could be easily replaced or repaired. And the dark colours help me hide when I'm stow... hitchhiking."

Thronn decided xe would let that slip of the tongue pass without comment.

Jupiter looked xem up and down. Even in a uniform, the alien had been allowed a few accessorires of cultural significance. It certainly added splashes of colour to the usually dull grey security uniform. A small headdress with a bright embroidered pattern, a sash around the waist with a matching design, and an epaulette on the shoulder made of small conical seashells stitched onto silk and painted in bright colours.

It was certainly more than Jupiter had going on. They had a navy blue bomber jacket, dark shirt, dark khaki trousers, brown hiking boots, a black and white shemagh wrapped around her neck and a dark green and black rucksack usually slung over her back, but right now it was sitting outside the cell in an evidence locker. The closest to an accessory they had going on was a few ID patches sewn onto the jacket and bag. Name, species, blood type, and world of origin.

Photographs and memories were their souvenirs.

"Have you ever been to any of the long-established colonies? Any that have been around for a century or more?"

Thronn shook xyr head, "I haven't. The ship's duties only take us around the border worlds."

"Then you haven't seen what humans are really capable of when they get comfortable." Jupiter pointed over to the locker holding their bag. "There are some pictures on my datapad. I managed to visit Port Marinda, Alforanza, and New Barcelona last year, they're all human colonies, all about two hundred years old. Go on, get the pad and I'll show you the pictures."

Against xyr better judgement, Thronn opened the locker and retrieved the datapad. Xe opened a small hatch in the holding cell, usually used to pass meals through.

Jupiter scrolled through the pictures until they found the folder holding the pictures of their visit to New Barcelona. The pictures showed the wonderful countryside of rolling hills of silver and purple grass, scattered with trees with leaves of bright orange. Sunglasses were a must when walking in the countryside because of the risk of violent headaches, especially on sunny days. The sunsets were simply stunning, and they had amazing local fruit that looked like a red banana and tasted like raspberry and dark chocolate.

The capital city was also a sight to see. Tall, wavy and twisting buildings that looked like bright coral growing right out of the ground. Each one was a different colour so every district contained a rainbow of either bright or pastel shades.

The people were equally bright and ingenious in their clothing. Jupiter turned the screen to show Thronn a picture they'd taken of a picturesque street market.

Thronn looked at the handful of humans in the picture. One human wore a colourful dress that looked almost like millions of feathers sewn together. Even in the still image, xe could imagine how they would shimmer in the light.

Another human, a male, he wore a bright green suit, covered with silver, gossamer-like webbing which rose out of the shoulders, spreading behind him, resembling small wings.

Xe spotted a person Xe almost thought wasn't human at all until xe realised that their skin was painted from the neck down. Covering the paint was a simple dress that looked like a net. Where each thread crisscrossed with another, a brightly coloured jewel had been sewn.

One human being, who looked to be talking with a shopkeeper over some sort of food, was dressed in an elegant gown of a bright colourful fabric that looked like a sunset itself had been turned into the material that made the garment.

There was a tall adolescent human was dressed in a tight full-body outfit with an elaborate headdress which covered their entire face with a snake-like mask. You couldn't see the human and it gave Thronn an almost unsettling impression of a large bipedal reptile moving among the humans.

"You see," Jupiter said. "Forget uniforms, travellers and frontier colonies. Just give humans time to settle down, get some resources to spare and watch their imaginations fly."

Thronn had to admit it. Human fashion was not boring.

#humans are space oddities #humans are strange #humans are weird #humans are space australians #humans are space orcs #inspiration out of nowhere #just had to write something

[paxarsenal]

Organic Music, Organic Love

As requested by @mx-jester, I shall write another Wavewave fanfic! This time, Soundwave gets a bit tired from working...

~~~

Another solar-cycle passed into another mega-cycle. After Shockwave’s initial return, the work within the Nemesis grew tenth fold. Project Predicon as dubbed by Shockwave resumed continuation. The scientist’s underground project not only sucked numerous supplies and resources from the flying ship, but management became desperate and demanding. Not to mention draining every contributing bot’s Energon tank into oblivion. Recharged wasn’t a choice either.  No Transformer could escape this, not even the notorious workaholic communications officer among them. 

Soundwave limped through the hallways. He hadn’t had a dose of Energon since last 48 breems. His engine tank hissed and churned. The HUD visor screen flashed uncontrollably as a desperate call to restock his falling system. Megatron began countless affairs of servitude to the Decepticon cause while Starscream occupied himself with other tasks. It left Soundwave starved and meek, his chassis armor heaving in weight from exhaustion. His digits couldn’t even lift a rusting nail after he finished the final round of code. 

Fortunately, what seemed to be a “mess hall” came to view. Mess hall was an overstretched definition. A large hall with unordered stacks of random trinkets and tools laid in corners as numerous Vechicons crowded the space. Soundwave immediately begrudged his decision. He didn’t want dinner disturbance from the terrible gossips and chatters, no less the own voices of meddling lower mechs. 

Nevertheless, the violet bot turned to the supply table and took out a fresh Energon cube. Soundwave settled into a corner where the light won’t reach and opened his visor, quickly chugging at the drink before slamming the empty shell down. One wasn’t enough. Eventually, Soundwave found himself surrounded by ten high Energon between his desire and hunger. At the end of the cycle, two refreshments were left unscathed. 

Groups of Vechicons suddenly burst into shouts. It perked Soundwave’s attention, turning to the crowd where the one and only Knockout stood in glowing scarlet paint. That particular mech always had something to ‘go on about’ and this solar-cycle wouldn’t be his last. 

“Ah ha,” Knockout jolted slightly in barely controlled excitement. The sports car bot moved out of the way to reveal a small unfamiliar device sitting on the table. It was rusting and dull. A small antenna and loudspeaker stood out from its design. Soundwave titled his helm curiously, signaling Knockout to continue his discovery. 

“I found this machine that organics love to use as entertainment. It’s called a radio!” Knockout announced, “It isn’t like our own radio transmitters, but plays music or news! Listen and watch!” 

The red medic pressed a few buttons and static began to roll over the radio until a coherent tune played. A few Vechicons ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ while others clapped along to the music. Knockout even began to sway his metal hips as he hummed the melody, almost as if he knew the song by spark. Soundwave didn’t know what to say; he was speechless for once, even if he never said anything at all. Words couldn’t describe how much he wanted to convey… 

Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like on

A-Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, baby, kiss me

It brought him back to Cybertron. There was a refill shack down the barren streets of Kaon; Shockwave and Soundwave idly pass around and about at the bar counter, bland conversation after the next. With diluted Energon in servo, their night held up. The hangout was a few from the first, and both mechs struggled for words. It wasn’t until Shockwave introduced him to a new discovery. 

“Organic music, have you heard of it?” Shockwave said, his voicebox rough from venting in the planet’s particles of land-waste dystopia.

“Negative: Soundwave… intrigued.” 

Shockwave went on. “For mega-cycles, our scientific team detected some wave signals in search for surplus Energon. However, unlike ours, it played organic tunes and sung songs from planet Earth.”

“… Songs,” Soundwave replayed with Shockwave’s audio. 

Shockwave shock his helm. “Exactly, a worthless find but nevertheless entertaining,” he hummed. His red lens burnt a bit bright as he looked towards the violet gladiator. “Care to listen when you’re available?”

There wasn’t a next time.

~~~

The radio continued to play as it lulled to a soft jazz. 

Between the commotion and music, Megatron strode into the crowd with Starscream behind him. The Cons immediately scattered, shifting to precarious position in the mess hall whereas Knockout straightened up his gears and bowed to the warlord. Brief exchanges of information and duties were made as the mech with a bucket for helm scorched the floor. Starscream looked unequally pleased, towards Megatron or to the various Vechicons horsing around, it didn’t matter. The trio of light and dark grey plus a hint of red set forth to the control room. Soundwave assumed he wasn’t needed; Megatron would have called him over since the two exchanged brief eye contact for one another. With the three gone and most of the Vechicons returning to their initial work, it left Soundwave to temporarily freedom. He spotted the lone radio; Knockout must had forgotten it with Megatron’s unexpected visit. 

With the bots gone, Soundwave removed himself from the seat and picked up the two remaining Energon cubes. His footsteps slowed and reached for the device before disappearing out of the exit.

Soundwave strolled down the hallways towards the end-most area of the Nemesis. Unexpressive yet knowing, he thought to himself: Did Shockwave ate today? Time seemed to have past but there were no implications to how much went on. Could be solar-cycles until now. The thought only made him squeeze the Energon cube until it pulsed with glowing blue liquid.

At last, he was outside of Shockwave’s laboratory. 

“Soundwave?” His partner said upon seeing the mech enter his chambers, “What a lovely surprise.” Soundwave nodded his helm and placed the neatly stacked Energon on the lab table and slide them towards the Empurata. Shockwave gave a quick thanks before heading back to work. However, another metal click alerted the violet bot to look the rusting item.

“Ah, a radio,” Shockwave mused, inspecting the musical machine with delicate digits. “It’s a delight to see in front of me.” Soundwave nodded to his statement. He trotted to Shockwave’s berth before sitting on it. Both had became familiar again after Shockwave’s return, and to sit on his personal recharge station was another pastime for Soundwave. The action itself stood pure among the other intimate activities they did behind closed doors. 

“I’m impressed, you remembered,” the Empurata hummed, “How long ago was that? Do you recall?” 

“Negative.”

“I’m not surprised.” Soundwave chuckled at that.

Shockwave pressed a button on the device as it played, almost like it was filled with genuine compassion. He motioned himself to Soundwave where he sat quietly and obediently. 

Fill my heart with song and let me sing forevermore

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true

In other words, I love you

Both idly listened. Their visors gazing over the other for an answer. Shockwave was the first to avert his gaze, Soundwave followed. A heavy wave of exhaustion suddenly occurred within Soundwave’s frame. His helm drooped before tiling back up. 

Shocked noticed.

“Soundwave… Comms to Soundwave,” Shockwave said softly, his large figure hovering over Soundwave’s fatigued body. A gentle sharp servo cupped his helm as Soundwave swatted it away embarrassed. Of course, Shockwave didn’t know that. 

“You seem exhausted.” 

His partner fought to say no, yet his protoform betrayed his mind as he swayed once his pedes attempted to get up. Just in time, the scientist caught him in his gun arm. Perhaps he was, Soundwave concluded.

“Rest, you can borrow my berth for tonight,” Shockwave insisted. It took a few seconds before he added: “I won’t be too nosy.” 

Soundwave measly laid on the berth as told. He listened to Shockwave work. The soft music took any tension left unscathed and that helped him rest. Soon, the mech felt at peace for the first time. No code, no war, and no annoying Starscream buzzing to keep him awake. His HUD visor turned to Shockwave, his back facing him yet the purple con recognize that silent treatment.

“Soundwave… do you think this war would end?”

“…” 

“Is that a ‘Stand By’?”

“… Affirmative.”

“How illogical of an answer, but I suppose as a scientist—not a time traveler, your answer is most definitely logical.”

Fill my heart with song

Let me sing forevermore

You are all I long for, all I worship and adore

In other words, please be true

In other words

In other words

I love you

#wavewave #shockwave #soundwave #tfp shockwave #tfp soundwave #shockwave x soundwave #soundwave x shockwave #transformers #maccadam #tfp #transformers prime #short fan fiction #short fanfic #fanfic #tfp megatron #tfp knockout #tfp starscream #fluff #mentally tired #Soundwave remembers his partner's vows

[cts-games]

Breakheart: Dev Diary 3

The strengths of Fused System games

Last week dev diary (moving took more out of me than i thought, as did dealing with a very persistent TERF harassing me over on my main tumblr, I talked about Fused Systems and how to achieve synergy between the two systems used in the game. As a reminder, 'Fused System' is a term I entirely made up, to describe the TTRPG design niche of taking two games and jamming them together with duct tape, and 'Synergy' is just a buzzword for my game design neuroses and making sure certain things line up (such as using a consistent resolution system), even if no one else seems to care.

This week, I'll be expanding on the Synergy I'll be adding to the game, and why I chose Anima: Prime and Last Stand specifically as the basis for this project.

As mentioned before, the thing about ICON that made it feel like it falls short, was the lack of connective tissue. It felt too obvious in play that you were just switching between two different games.

Last week dev diary, I pointed to the dissimilar dice of the two games as part of the issue, and indeed, it can be part of it. However, it's far from the full story. A game doesn't NEED to use the same mechanical resolution across both of its modes. Indeed, the split between Combat Resolution and Out-of-Combat Resolution mechanics are one of the praised aspects of Stars Without Number.

However, in SWN you are still working off of a single character sheet. In ICON you are working off of two seperate character sheets, one for combat and one for out of combat. Nothing between the two sheets are shared (outside of XP and Dust)

The actual cause of this lack of synergy runs much deeper. NOTHING between the two sides of the game interact with each other. How would one go about fixing this for ICON? I'm not so sure. The two systems don't seem to actually get along. It's a large part of the reason I don't think it's viable to just take any two games and mash them together.

Resource Management in Anima: Prime and Last Stand

As the heading suggests, Anima: Prime and Last Stand both have a shared focus on one particular part of their gameplay: Resource Management.

In Anima: Prime, players have 3 Resource pools they keep tokens in (usually just the dice you will be rolling, because tokens are spent to gain dice 1:1), called the Action Pool, Strike Pool, and Charge Pool.

Each pool has a specific use for what it allows the player to do with their character. Action Pool dice are spent on Manuevers, the big flashy attacks that look pretty but don't actually move the narrative forward on their own. After a Manuever, dice that rolled a 3-5 are moved to the Strike Pool, and dice that rolled a 6 go to the Charge Pool.

Strike Pool dice are spent to make the kinds of attacks that DO push the narrative forward. The attacks that inflict lasting Wounds, and drive the opponent closer to defeat. They are also spent on Achievement actions that allow you to accomplish Goals during conflict, changing your relative narrative positioning, or even offering alternative win conditions for a conflict.

The Charge Pool is used to fund abilities that enhance the effects of your strikes. Many of the games powers use Charge Dice to offer a variety of effects, from healing to adding elemental damage to attacks to inflicting status conditions. They are hard to obtain but can be used to great effect.

Last Stand, on the other hand, only has a single Token Pool, but does have a highly recommended optional rule for a second pool, which ties into the initiavite system. Initiative in This second pool, the Combat Bribe, gains one token at the start of every combat round, and at the start of any round players can choose to delay their action until after the NPCs all act, to add all the tokens in their Combat Bribe to their Token Pool. This helps improve the token economy while also adding more tactical depth to combat by choosing when you actually gain those tokens.

Finding and Creating System Synergy in Breakheart

All of this comes together to demonstrate why I chose these two systems, and why I'm hunting this synergy. After all, what's the point of hunting for these compatibilities between systems if there isn't a way to utilize it? TRICK QUESTION: I design games for fun, and you don't need an ulterior motive to have fun. Though, luckily, in this case there is an additional benefit.

DESIGN SPACE!

Design space is a nebulous term, made all the less clear by the enshitification of Google leading to any attempts to look up the term to instead redirect you to CNC machines (as in the machines that cut stuff into specific shapes, not half the trans gals I follow on tumblr).

I layman's terms, design space is just a description of how much a developer can do with their own system, with the limitations they have placed. For example, Breakheart only uses 10-sided dice, and doesn’t use them as percentile dice. This limits my design space by preventing me from doing things like "Add an extra d4 to your roll" or having effects with a percentage chance to trigger (unless that chance is a multiple of 10%).

Again, just changing both systems to use the same dice isn't enough to create synergy on its own. It creates consistency, sure, but it restricts your design space and limits your games potential. Instead you need to find places where the design spaces of both games overlaps, and elements from both games can contribute to each other. For Breakheart, the focus of this synergy is in two places: Wounds and Resources.

Wounds

Wounds are fairly basic and easy to grasp. In Anima: Prime, players have 3(ish) Wounds that they can take before being taken out. In Last Stand, players have about 20(ish) points divided across 4 stats that determine how strong they are, but also use these stats as HP. If a stat is reduced to 0 then you lose your bonus when rolling that stat.

Obviously, 20 and 3 are not numbers that are close together, and would be hard to mesh together. Sure, you could finagle it so that wounds applied some amount of damage, or receiving a certain amount of damage will count as a wound, but this is insufficient in my view. Again, it feels two much like playing two entirely separate games. However, 4 and 3 are MUCH closer to each other. Just have wounds tied to eaxh stat. This also helps provide some clarity for an oft misunderstood mechanic in Last Stand, where players think they use only their current HP as a bonus to their rolls, which is incorrect.

Now, when a stat is reduced to 0 that stat becomes Wounded, and Wounds are what negate the bonus on the roll. Outside of combat you don't need to focus on the minutiae of tracking individual HP, and so instead you just deal directly with wounds. This also means enemy statblocks can be compatible with both subsystems without needing to have two different sets of stats for each mode of play.

Resources

The other place the games overlaps is in their resource management. By combining aspects of each system, both games benefit. Players have 3 pools, now renamed to Action, Attack, and Amplify, because I am not immune to the draw of alliteration. Tokens are moved between these pools or spent when activating various abilities. However, these tokens ALSO have their own Innate effects that activate while they are in a specific pool.

Tokens in your Action Pool represent your stamina and you draw from this pool to fill the other ones. Tokens in the Attack Pool represent your ability to harm others and are spent to make attacks in both Conflict and Combat phases. Tokens in the Amplify Pool represent your ability to aid others or enhance yourself, and are spent on additional effects in Conflict phases and on non-damaging effects in Combat phases.

In Conflict phases (the Combat portion of Anima: Prime), tokens generally flow from the Action Pool into the Attack Pool, with the occasional token going into Amplify instead. This supports those scenes strengths, focusing on intense but fast Combat that still has a tactical element through its resource management.

In Combat phases (the combat portion of Last Stand), this flow is switched, with tokens now flowing from the Action Pool into the Amplify Pool (functioning as the Combat Bribe mechanic from Last Stand), and from there either being spent or moved to the Attack Pool. This leads to the more drawn out and thoughtful combats of the grid-based combat. It's also my hope that by making non-damaging actions easier to build resources for, those actions will become more attractive and the game will promote a more collaborative team-based style of play, as opposed to just a focus on maximizing damage output.

Tokens can also have their own effects, just like in Last Stand. This is where the design space of Breakheart REALLY shines through the strongest in my opinion. Each non-basic Token now has 2 tags on it, as well as a passive effect. The first tag determines what phases the token is active in (Conflict or Combat, though theoretically there could be some that affect Character scenes as well), and the second tag determines what pools the token is active in (Action/Attack/Amplify/All).

Tokens can also have different effects in different phases. Poison is a status condition present in both games, and is mostly the same for both, but with some minor changes to account for how the systems interact. A Poison Token would have the following effect:

[Combat - Attack] At the start of your turn, take 1 Poison damage.

[Conflict - Any] At the start of your turn, lose 1 Token from your Action Pool.

This opens up some fun new design spaces that weren't previously possible in either game. You can have enemies with a 'Slow Acting Poison' attack that adds Poison counters to the players Amplify Pool. Now players have a choice. Do they move the tokens into their Attack Pool causing it to activate immediately but letting it fuel their stronger attacks? Do they use their actions for some non-damaging action to spend it before it starts causing trouble? Do they leave it where it is and try to find a way to get rid of it before the next Conflict where it will activate regardless of what Pool it's in?

An extremely basic attack leads to a huge split in possible options for the player. Creating design spaces like this, in my opinion, is where Fused System games can really excel and are something I would love to see more often. The overlap of these systems can offer so much potential, and I am so excited to explore it.

#breakheart #dev diary #ttrpg #ttrpg dev #sorry this one is so late

[elis-corner]

Scar x reader

dl

Reader and Scar are in a secret relationship

Anon, I may have gone a bit overboard?

This is barely proofread, and there are probably a few inconsistencies, but this is good enough I have exams due in a few days-.

WARNINGS: Slight angst, extremely not canon, no shipping intended but could be read that way, blood tw. If I've missed anything let me know :)

Secret Soulmate

If you were caught, you’d be dead. Even your soulmate wouldn’t hesitate to kill you.

You stared at the bucket filled with water that rested in your hands. Your face was reflected onto it, distorted by its rounded sides and dents and scratches from all its wear and tear. And yet the eyes were not yours–the reflection you saw was of two red orbs. The bucket you gripped so tightly… It was a gift from your first night.

You closed your eyes, hands hung loosely by your sides as you waited for him to make his move. You wanted him with you more than anything–for the world to prove to you both that no one else would suffice. You let the sensation of his fist against your shoulder envelop you whole as you hoped, as you prayed, for him to be yours. You opened your eyes to meet his gorgeous olive green ones, and yet they were downcast, refusing to look at you. The world was against you.

‘Y/n?’ You jumped slightly at the sound of your name, and you barely managed to keep yourself from crying out. ‘It’s me. Nothin’ to worry about.’ You turned around to face the man behind you.

‘Scar,’ you exhaled, opening your arms slightly as a sign to come closer. He stooped down to hug you, his arms constricting your ribcage. ‘I was starting to think you weren’t coming.’

‘I’m sorry, darlin’. It took me a while to get Grian off my back, but he’s finally gone to go “resource gathering”. It’s not like I don’t know he’s seeing BigB.’ He went quiet. ‘I should mind, but I can’t bring myself to anger. It’d be hypocritical of me to be angry at him for having a secret soulmate.’

You rest your head against his shoulder with a sigh. ‘My soulmate would kill us if they knew I was meeting with you–the last green duo on the server.’

‘No one thought I’d make it this far.’

‘I did. I always had faith in you.’

He stood up straight, scratching the back of his neck. His eyes were downcast–and yet they were downcast–as he spoke. ‘Even you must have been glad when we weren’t… partnered,’ he spat the word, ‘Just in case something stupid happened. You can admit it; I’ll take no offence.’

‘There’s nothing to admit. You know how much I wanted to be with you, Scar. Otherwise why would I meet you?’ You stood up straight to press a kiss to the sharp edge of his jawbone. You hear him cry out in pain.

Scar stumbled backwards, grasping his shoulder where blood slowly drenched his shirt. An arrow was plunged into his shoulder, painfully tearing at the skin as he tore it out. Your mind was a blur as your soulmate dove from the top of the tree you stood under, their diamond sword striking your love across the throat. Scar fell to the floor, a look of horror haunting his eyes. A look of betrayal. The grass beneath him was growing steadily stickier as he bled onto it, scarlet blood staining the dirt. You fell to your knees beside him as your soulmate watched on, a sickening grin on their face.

‘Scar,’ you whispered, entwining your hand with his. ‘I’m so sorry– I swear I didn’t know…’

His grip loosened, and his chest fell still, and you were left to try and find words for the loss of a man you more than knew.

#goodtimeswithscar x reader #gtwscar x reader #gtws x reader #hc x reader #hermitcraft x reader #mcyt x reader #dl x reader #double life x reader #third life x reader #3l x reader #traffic smp x reader #my writing #tw blood #blood tw #tw angst #angst tw #anon ask

[hananoami]

[02/26 - 03/10] SHC season notes

doing a quick run through to see how far i can prog with auto battle using the memories and protocores i currently have equipped. a clear before the timer runs out will still reward me with 20 diamonds even if i don't earn a medal from the round. i'll see what i can do to improve on since there's 13 days left in this season.

first run through: 13/36 ; 200 from diamonds from medal reward + 180 from round clear rewards + 1x energy capsule: vigorou (60 stamina). not bad at all.

[02/26] (5/12) Ngl I wish I had Fluffy Trap to use instead of me using A Day of Snow... 97 shards away from purchasing the 5-star from the wishing well exchange and the urge to pull more just to snag it before it falls out of the monthly rotation is high, but I will exercise some restraint for now. I might consider it if they introduce a new limited time banner.

[02/27] I ended up snagging Fluffy Trap from the shop. My perma banner gave me another copy of his Lightseeking Obsession, so that is now at Rank 2. I was praying to get Rafayels myth but at least it was a myth card instead of something else.

[x] shards to ascend and exp level up A Day Of Snow to Lv.50

[1] emerald shards to ascend and exp to level up Fluffy Trap to Lv.60

[02/26] (6/12) I can totes 3 medal R1, maybe R2 as well-- just need to manually fight the battle. Can probably cheese R3 into a 3 medal since clear requirement is HP based. I might be able to 1medal R4? It's not high on my priority considering resources for that will be super duper expensive. update: (9/12) LET'S FREAKIN GO! Managed to all medal R1-R3!

[4] get gold to ascend Fragmented Dreams to Lv.60 + exp.

[02/26] (2/12) My violet/pearl memories are always so behind >.< R1 I could probably 3medal. Can def earn at least 1 medal in R2 -- just need to group them together for the aoe dmg. I don't think I have enough dmg rn to clear R3 and bc of that I can't even get into R4. Will probably be throwing my resources into this. Need to cook more on that.

[2] ascend + EXP Radiant Halo to Lv.60

[2] ascend + EXP Radiant Heart to Lv.60

[x] exp Ivory Nightfall to Lv.60

*note use the double drop bonus for violet shards/gold

[03/04]Rafayel’s Deep Sea Promise came home. [03/08] As of writing this, there are 2 days and 10 hours left. I don’t think I will be progressing any further than what I currently have since I’ve been throwing all my of my resources into leveling up Rafayel’s solar myth pairs to level 70. It’s expensive stamina wise so it’ll be difficult for me to level any lunar memories.

Since my last update I managed to clear additional stages for Team A (Xavier’s Emerald/Amber) and Team C (Rafayel’s Violet/Pearl). Here’s the breakdown of my progress.

Xavier (6/12)

earned 1 medal in Round 3

Rafayel (6/12)

earned two medals in Round 2

cleared Round 3, earning 1 medal

#senior hunter contest #;senior hunter prog #;sakura snapshots #;not me rambling into the void

[wizardlyghost]

something about dnd that bg3 has really managed to capture is the absolutely wild and lightning-fast shift between having a fun silly old time and slamming into defcon one because you're about to fucking die.

for instance: right before the party sequence, i decided to go for a wander and do some sidequests before continuing with the campaign, having assassinated all three of the goblin's bosses and not yet expended all of my resources. i decided to burn my last short rest and fast travel to the closest teleportation circle to my destination, which happened to be in the goblin stronghold. it did not cross my mind that the fact that i had literally just murdered all three of the goblins' bosses might have made the goblins a wee bit mad at me.

me: heehoo fun old time party tonight, just gotta run some errands first!

the entire goblin market:

me: Oh Kay! Mistakes were made, but I can still make it through this probably! I've just gotta get back to the Teleportation Circle... which can't be used in combat. Welp, fuck it, we ball! Karlach's on her last Rage, so I've gotta keep her in melee, which shouldn't be a problem. Her Berzerker ability to physically pick up and toss motherfuckers out of opportunity attack range twice on her turn has never been more useful. Sanctuary on both of the Clerics, if they go down that's all she wrote, they have way too few spell slots left so I'll have to make each one count. Thankfully I made Tav a Life Cleric, so they have their Channel Divinity in addition to spells. I had been mildly regretting my decision to multiclass Shadowheart into Oath of Ancients Paladin, but as it turns out that decision is about to save literally everyone, since she still has her own Channel Divinity, her Lay On Hands pool, and the Protection fighting style, which thank the fucking stars doesn't count as an aggressive action that would dispel her Sanctuary. Keeping her in arm's reach of my two bruisers so she can deflect a few hits. Two of the Battlemaster manoevers I gave Lae'zel are completely useless here, as I can't afford to waste actions or Superiority Dice, but the Rally bonus action is going to be absolutely clutch, especially on Karlach, who's the only other non-Sanctuaried target right now - giving her one hit point is like giving anyone else two. Her Sentinel feat is also going to be a game changer here, as it allows her to get a second hit in each round as only a fourth-level Fighter. Okay, I need to get the hell out of this corner. The only spot relatively in reach is up this wall to the left, maybe get a little bit of cover-

#astonishingly i did actually survive though! #it was an eighteen round knock down drag out slugfest but nobody even had to be revivified! #honestly the most engaged i've been in a video game in A While #this situation perfectly managed to grab my hyperfixation by the hair and say 'strategise for your goddamn life' #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

[kyndaris]

Mother Knows Best

For someone that plays video games as much as I do, you begin to pick up on a lot of common themes and tropes that are often used in the medium. What took me by surprise was facing Lilith in not one but two games in such quick succession. It's not often that I face the exact same antagonist. After all, both were demonic entities seeking the destruction of the world. Both were referred to as 'Mother' throughout the in-game dialogue and banter. And both had a connection to the playable character.

But while Lilith in Diablo IV gave birth to the Nephalem, the progenitor to humanity in the world of Sanctuary, she could only connect to the playable character due to a ritual involving her blood petals. Lilith in Marvel's Midnight Suns has a much more direct connection to the playable character, known only as The Hunter, as their birth mother. The other major difference here is that in Diablo IV, Lilith is trying to rule over Sanctuary while in Midnight Suns, Lilith serves as the agent of Chthon, a slumbering Elder God hoping to destroy the Earth and recreate it in its image.

Coincidences aside, Marvel's Midnight Suns was a game that I picked up in December last year and was one of the many tactical role-playing games I'd intended to get through before reaching the meat of the 2023 gaming experience. Alas, travelling and being bombarded left, right and centre with lengthy games distracted me from it until about 8 months later.

And when I finally booted up the game on my PlayStation 5, I found myself asking why I was indulging Firaxis's attempt to recreate what they had with XCOM but with a Marvel skin. What immediately struck me were the character models that I felt were less than stellar. Nor was I that impressed by the voice acting.

True, it was not like the game studio were going to bring back the actors of the MCU films to reprise their roles for the superheroes (or use their likeness), but I wanted something more than the somewhat janky character models that we received. In fact, I almost put down the controller, unsure if I wanted to continue with the game.

But persevere I did.

With time, I grew accustomed to the character models and the voice acting. After all, the cast is pretty stack with the likes of Yuri Lowenthal (reprising his role as Spider-Man from the Marvel's Spider-Man games), Erica Lindbeck, Courtney Taylor, Josh Keaton, Laura Bailey, Steve Blum, Darin de Paul and Matthew Mercer to name but a few.

Once I managed to get over that initial hump in the road, I started to enjoy the time I spent hanging out with a few of Earth's Mightiest Heroes and their more supernatural compatriots, the Midnight Suns.

Like many Firaxis games, Midnight Suns is a tactical/ strategy game. One that would have been better, in my personal opinion, as a handheld game. However, given that the playable characters are heroes with a multitude of abilities, Firaxis mixed up the traditional tactical/ strategy gameplay with the use of cards to denote special abilities and skills.

Gone were percentages detailing whether or not my character would hit the enemy. Gone, too, were Overwatch abilities that would allow my characters to attack an enemy as they dashed across the screen. Instead, Firaxis introduced a card deck system which was drawn up to a maximum of six at the end of each turn. Cards could comprise of attack, skill or heroic abilities. Many of them also included a variety of status effects to buff or debuff both allies or enemies, bringing with it another layer of strategy as most of these ended within a round of combat.

But the most important ones were those that refunded cardplay like the 'Quick' effect. Other cards allowed you to draw additional cards and these were important especially if you didn't have a good hand. Redraw too, was a resource that could be expended to power up abilities or to replace unwanted cards.

While it sounds complicated in theory, the gameplay of Midnight Suns was simple. You played three cards each turn (occasionally four) and tried to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible.

What was important to note was that while you were limited in the number of cards that could be played each round, your heroes could also deal damage via the environment. Unfortunately, to perhaps balance the use of environmental attacks, such actions were gated behind another resource: heroism (which were also used for heroic cards).

This meant that players had to carefully consider which cards to use when and where to maximise the damage on enemy Hydra agents and Lilin creatures and reach objectives for each mission.

Firaxis, though, are not content to simply sit on their strategy/tactical gameplay. Like many of their other games, Midnight Suns also included base management. Simpler than their incursions into the XCOM universe, Midnight Suns allowed players to research particular upgrades that could give their heroes an edge for their next battle against the forces of evil.

More importantly, though, Midnight Suns also allowed for team bonding. And as someone that wants to be friends with everyone, I spent many hours trying to boost my friendship levels with each and every hero that was recruited to the cause of stopping the rise of Chthon by giving them gifts or hanging out with them in an activity that they liked.

Heck, I was even looking up a Steam guide to know which dialogue options that each character preferred.

What was most unfortunate, though, was that there was no way to romance any of the superheroes. Why did Blade and Carol Danvers have to get together when I wanted both of them to myself as The Hunter?

Admittedly, I did think the romance between Caretaker and Agatha Harkness was great. The Hunter and their two mums. Who could ask for more except for some more lesbian representation in media please. True, some might argue that it did have a 'bury your gays' trope since Agatha is dead, but she comes back as a ghost and seems to be fine chilling around in the library. Something that Caretaker doesn't really take issue with after the Grey Seneschal ritual that binds Agatha a bit more to the land of the living (though still in spirit form).

Beyond that, I liked being able to explore the Abbey grounds and uncovering the secrets of the past, along with discovering new chests that could present me with another cosmetic for either The Hunter or the other heroes in my roster.

Still, what didn't make sense was that although the Abbey had a Forge and CENTRAL ops, a training yard and pool to lounge by, it had no kitchen or bathrooms. Given that Robbie Reyes had installed a TV to watch movies and play video games on, WHY WERE BASIC AMENITIES MISSING?

The fact that there was no kitchen also made it confusing when an upgrade to The Hunter's bedroom left a plate of bread and fruit on their bedside table.

Why? What? How?

From a plot standpoint, I felt like much of the conflict came from poor communication skills between Hunter, Sara (Caretaker) and your mother, Lilith. If Lilith could have explained her plan better, maybe she and the Hunter would have stood beside each other from the start instead of fighting against each other.

Caretaker, too, needed to learn to trust the wards under her charge instead of holding grudges.

But without these factors, of course, there would be no central conflict. Which, in turn, wouldn't have brought all of America's Mightiest Heroes (with the occasional Transian witch and Russian mutant) along for the journey. It wouldn't have allowed me to simply chat with these characters and watch them grow. Nor would it present me with an intriguing plot to drive me ever onwards to the end.

And that's another thing that I take issue with. The fact that a majority of Marvel's heroes are Caucasian. True, we have Robbie Reyes's Ghostrider, Eric Brooks and Nico Minoru showing off minority representation but almost all of the other heroes are blue-eyed Caucasians!

And they're all American. Or, at the very least, live in America. With most of the missions revolving around New York and the American South-West with only the final act in the fictional European country of Transia.

Now, this isn't an issue with the game, of course, but rather the state of affairs when it comes to superheroes in general. Yes, I know that there are heroes and villains from all over the world but the vast majority of them are Americans. Which, in all honesty, is likely to stem from the fact that a vast majority of comic book writers are American. And consequently, they write from an America-centric viewpoint.

But I've noticed that in many of the games I play, America also serves as the be-all and end-all for settings as well. Take Horizon: Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon: Forbidden West. Or even The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto, Fallout, Days Gone, Saints Row and a myriad of other games.

In any case, Marvel's Might Suns was an interesting take on a mishmash of genres that worked well with its superhero aesthetic. While I feel like it might have been better if they could increase the cardplay usage or the damage the heroes dealt for certain (we are talking about superheroes here, not foot soldiers), I enjoyed trying to figure out how best to place my heroes to deal with the enemies before me so I could put an end to Lilith's plans.

Soon, I'll tackle Fire Emblem: Engage. I promise. Just a few short games and it's the long haul for me.

I swear it won't be for too much longer!

And then I can tackle all the other triple-A video games that released in 2023...

#video games #marvel #midnight suns #caretaker x agatha #loved captain marvel in this game #the hunter x scarlet witch #I know it was meant to draw away suspicion but I would have shipped it

[whitherwordswither]

Logs from the Starfields, III

Captain's Log #0.03:

After some heavy trading in New Atlantis, I picked up a contract from GalBank to get some con-man who defaulted in his loan to pay up. This had me heading out to Tau Ceti.

Of course, I can't just go somewhere with something else cropping up to distract me, now can I? As soon as I hit the system I picked up a distress signal. A local settler was having spacer trouble. So, naturally, I went to go see if I could help. Any day I can unload a few rounds in to a hostile spacer trash is a good day, I say.

Turns out him and three other families in the system are having a bad time of it. And on top of that they've been feuding with each other, or as it turns out, the guy who sent the signal for help had initially been kind of a colossal asshat to the others. But at least he's level headed enough now to admit his mistakes and wants everyone to legitimately survive. So not only do I have to get these grump dirtworkers to vibe together again, I got to deal with mucho spacer trash.

I set off to repair three satellites to restore communication lines between the families. Sadly, it looks like one family was already removed from the galactic equation. Each stop I made I blew some spacers out of the cosmic skies. Good riddance. The repair jobs weren't too difficult. I don't know why the spacers didn't just blow the transmitters up entirely. But I guess maybe they were gonna move in after their prey was hung up to dry? I don't know. Ain't no point in thinkin' too hard about it.

After getting all three family heads to meet up and cooperate, we made a joint run against two groups of spacer ships then almost immediately went all in for the kill and took out their base of operations aboard a derelict station. Another ton of haul this go. And the extra creds from the settlers was a nice boost.

Luckily, my initial contract is nearby in the system so I make a stop there to negotiate before heading back to New Atlantis. The target had himself holed up in a sparsely populated military outpost near a mostly abandoned mining facility of some sort. Not a whole lot of resources of note on the planet either. I manage to scan everything of worth on a short trek around the zone. Lady Luck must be on my side today. I was able to avoid a painful confrontation with the target and get him to pay what he owed without incident. Sometimes I'm amazing at my own talkin' skills. I'm glad he wasn't dumb about it. I hate to shoot someone, even if they give me a reason 'cause they got their head too far up their own ass.

As I'm leaving the planet I run in to some old friends of mine, coming to collect the bounty on my head. Jokes on them though, 'cause I've had enough excitement for one day. I ignore their comm hail and charge up my grav drive. While they're scrambling to get a target lock I'm skipping out of the system and back toward New Atlantis.

Sorry, boys. I got more creds to acquire and I don't feel like playing with ya'll right now.

Once I'm touched down at the Atlantis port I jog over and give the GalBank man his credits and get a nice little sum for myself. I might come back and take another job. Not that I enjoy helping the big bank corps or anything, but. My ship ain't gonna last forever and I'm gonna need every spare cred I can get to afford a new one. 'Cause god damn is they expensive.

I dump my haul at the local Trade Authority down in The Well, then head back topside. I run in to the scientist I helped the other day, who wouldn't you know, could use a bit more help! Heck, why not friend. I'm right here after all. And all he needs me to do is talk to an associate and get some data. Now, this associate don't like him much for whatever reason. Ain't any of my business. And as I'm talkin' to his associate friend… gosh dang. I'd really just like to punch him in the face. I almost had to to get that data. To think… he wanted me to break in to the apartment of his MAST supervisor and falsify his records so he could get a promotion. Boy. You just told me you got terrible performance reviews and you want me to make you look like a golden shiny apple? I don't think so. I had to a get a little grumpy with him, but I got the data. From the sounds of it, my scientist friend is on to something and may need my assistance again in a few days. I look forward to it! (Apparently something downright awkward is going on with this certain species of trees in New Atlantis and it could spell trouble for lotsa folks if something ain't done about it. So, of course, I'll help where I can.)

Now… I been doin' a lot of work around the New Atlantis area. I'm thinkin' I'm gonna head out and check out one of the other main hubs. See what else is out there. Atlantis is a nice enough place but. It may just be a little posh for my blood. And I'd like to, y'know, get my own place. Never owned a spot outright before and… I'm thinkin' maybe for once… I'd like to.

I'll catch ya up later.

End log.

#creative writing #queer writers #writing community #sci-fi #space #starfield

[captainsophiestark]

M. Carter

Daniel Sousa x Peggy Carter

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for day seven of Peggysous week, hosted by @peggysousweek​ ! That’s the last one for 2022 y’all! Woohoo!

Fandom: Marvel

Day Seven Prompts: Ghosts, Michael Carter, Meet the Family, Wedding

Summary: After months of work, the team at the SSR have finally tracked down the man who shot Jack Thompson. Daniel and Peggy are responsible for bringing him in, but the mission might be a little more complicated than they first anticipated.

Word Count: 1,842

Category: Angst, Fluff, little bit of Humor?

A/N: I've never been able to get this interview with one of the Agent Carter creators out of my head. This is a product of that.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Alright, you got all your gear ready to go?" asked Daniel, looking Peggy up and down to check for himself.

"Yes. And you?" Daniel nodded, and Peggy took a deep breath. "Alright then. Let's do this."

Daniel quickly pulled Peggy in for a kiss, and then the two started backing towards their separate paths.

"Be safe, alright?" said Daniel. "We've got a date at the end of an isle in a few months that I don't want you to miss."

Peggy smiled. "Trust me, Daniel, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll see you shortly."

With that, the pair turned and were on their way.

After months of work, the SSR team had at last managed to track down the person who'd shot Jack Thompson. Peggy and Daniel had come all the way to Europe, setting up a careful sting mission, to capture the man in question. Jack, for his part, still wasn't completely back in fighting shape after his near-death experience, so he had to wait at the airstrip with the extraction team. He hadn't even been allowed to play the role of getaway driver, much to his frustration.

Despite months of research using all the SSR's resources, the team still didn't have a name for their mystery person. They knew enough about his track record, however, to know he was incredibly dangerous. The man was a ghost, and had been operating in Europe as a ruthless mercenary and shadow of death since before the end of the war. Peggy and Daniel would be doing a good deed for more than just Jack Thompson if they managed to catch him today.

They could do this. They'd taken on Dottie Underwood, after all, and there was no way this guy was worse than her.

Daniel crept through the dim, deserted building he and Peggy had tracked their target to. The plan was for him to come from one direction and for Peggy to come from the other, leaving the mystery man trapped between them with no way out. Daniel focused on steadying his breathing as he rounded a corner, then stopped at the end of a long hallway.

He could see into the room ahead of him, where he and Peggy planned to pinch their target. As planned, the man in question stood there, his back to Daniel and unaware of his arrival. Daniel's heart almost dropped out of his chest, however, when he saw Peggy on the other side of the room, standing in plain sight very decidedly against the plan and staring at the mystery man like she'd seen a ghost.

"Michael?" Daniel heard his fiancée breath the name from across the room. He frantically racked his brain for why the name sounded familiar, then almost had to lean against the wall for support as the realization rocked him.

Michael Carter. Peggy's older brother, declared dead in the early stages of the war just before Peggy joined the S.O.E. And apparently standing before them now.

The man–Michael Carter–sighed heavily.

"Hello, Peg. It's been a while."

"Michael... what in the hell are you doing here?" Peggy demanded, voice rising rapidly as she snapped out of her shock. She stormed across the room towards Michael, but he didn't move an inch, even as Peggy approached him with a fury that would've made most men run and hide. "I thought you were dead! We all thought you were dead-"

"You were meant to."

Peggy came to a screeching halt. Daniel could just see her face around Michael's frame, and the horror, rage, and devastation made him want to rush across the room to embrace her. Only years of training made him think twice and keep his head.

"I was meant to... Michael Carter, you had better explain yourself this damned second and it had better be a very good explanation!" cried Peggy, not quite able to keep the sound of tears out of her voice. Michael just stared back at her, the slightest hint of remorse shining through his otherwise unbothered façade.

"Come now, Peggy, you're a smart girl. I'm sure you've figured it out by now. You just don't want to face the reality."

Peggy scowled at Michael, breathing heavily as she tried to process the rush of emotions washing over her. Tears threatened to fall, but her red-hot rising temper was enough to keep them at bay for the time being. Michael, for his part, just watched her mind work, the picture of calm, cool, and collected with his hands in his pockets while he waited.

"The M. Carter file," Peggy finally managed to choke out. "It's yours."

"Spot on," said Michael. Daniel felt another heart attack coming on. Jack's not-so-fake file that he'd tried to use to blackmail Peggy, the thing that had gotten him shot in the first place, had contained a real record of war crimes and criminal activity all along. The M. Carter in question just hadn't been Margret. "I'm just sorry you got dragged into all this. I never wanted it to be this way. Do me a favor and delegate this to someone else after this, will you?"

Peggy scoffed, disgust clear on her face. She opened her mouth to start yelling at Michael again, but before she could, he took his hand out of his pocket and dropped something on the floor. Before Peggy could react, smoke exploded in the room and Michael took off like a shot.

He'd have gotten away clean if it were just Peggy. But as it was, he ended up running right into the waiting arms of Daniel Sousa.

Daniel moved just in time, reacting from his hiding place and whacking Michael in the shins with his crutch. Michael cried out as he went sprawling, and Daniel quickly moved to block his exit once more.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" demanded Michael as he got back to his feet. He squared up and faced Daniel, and Daniel did the same.

"Daniel Sousa. SSR Chief and your sister's fiancé."

Michael laughed, the genuine smile on his face making him look more like an old friend than a new enemy. Daniel braced for whatever attack might be coming, but Michael turned away from Daniel, whirling just in time to block an attack from Peggy as she came rushing out of the smoke from his smoke bomb.

"Peggy, darling, I know this might not be the moment, but I honestly can't tell you how happy I am to hear that you didn't marry that pigheaded idiot Fred you were engaged to before I left," said Michael with a grin even as he traded blows with Peggy. "This one seems a much better match for you."

"Michael, I swear to GOD!" yelled Peggy as she went after him with renewed force. The fight continued like that for a few minutes, with Peggy too sloppy due to anger to end it and Michael apparently holding back and looking for an exit instead of trying to land a serious hit. Daniel bobbed around and shifted, looking for an opening he could take advantage of. Finally, as Michael had to focus on Peggy to deflect an especially aggressive flurry of blows, Daniel got his chance.

Michael managed to shove Peggy back and away from him, then took a step backwards as the start of his retreat. Daniel used his crutch to sweep Michael's legs out from under him again, but this time, Daniel got him covered with a gun before Michael could get back to his feet.

"Not bad at all," breathed Michael, a wild look in his eyes as he watched Daniel. His chest heaved and any hint of calm composure was gone as he said, "Go on then. End it."

"I just did," said Daniel. He was having none of this. "Peggy, come on, let's get him tied up and then get the hell out of here before any of his friends show up. We'll deal with... everything... once we're safely back on our own turf."

"You're telling me you're not going to kill me for everything I've done? You read the file, didn't you?" said Michael. He watched Daniel carefully. "And even if you didn't, you know I tried my damnedest to kill your little blond friend. You have no guarantees that I won't do it again."

"Michael Carter, there is no way in hell you are leaving, dying, getting killed, or doing any other damned thing that gets you off the hook before I'm through with you," huffed Peggy, anger lacing her every word as she tied Michael up. "Especially not after faking your own DAMNED DEATH."

"Yeah, and I've tried plenty hard to kill Thompson before too," added Daniel. "You're not special."

Michael huffed a disbelieving laugh as his sister and future brother-in-law hauled him to his feet. They headed quickly for the door, Daniel covering Michael with his handgun and Peggy holding her brother just above his elbow with a death grip to keep him from running off. The couple didn't speak as they ushered Michael out of the building and into their waiting getaway car, both breathing a sigh of relief as they loaded up in the back and their driver pulled away.

"So. Am I invited to the wedding?" asked Michael. He stared down Peggy and Daniel from his seat on one side of the van, clearly not intimidated by Daniel's gun still being trained on him. Peggy seethed in her seat, and let out her feelings by giving him a hard kick in the shins. "Ow!"

"I'm just going to jump in here before this gets out of hand," said Daniel. He passed his gun to Peggy, letting her cover Michael for a moment while he tied a gag around the man's mouth. The last thing any of the SSR agents needed was Michael and Peggy getting into a wrestling match in the back of the van.

Michael scowled as Daniel sat back in his seat and took back the gun. His scowl made Peggy smile, and she gave Daniel a grateful look.

He rested his free hand on her knee in silent support. None of this was going to be easy to deal with. Daniel could see and feel the turmoil, hurt, and betrayal written all over his fiancée's face and knew this next chapter in their lives might be the hardest yet. But he knew they could face it together. He was far from the first person to pick up complicated in-laws as part of a marriage, after all.

They'd handled everything life threw at them, back to back with each other the entire time. And as Peggy put her hand over Daniel's and squeezed, they both knew they'd be able to handle this challenge together too.

#peggysous week 2022 #agent carter #peggy carter #daniel sousa #peggysous #peggy carter x daniel sousa #jack thompson #michael carter #agent carter oneshot #agent carter fanfiction #agent carter imagine #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel one shot #1940s #ssr #chief jack thompson #chief daniel sousa #agent peggy carter

[actionsurges]

Do you have any advice / resources / ancient magics to make, like. Combat flowcharts or something of that nature to streamline decision making?

We're coming into the final battle of our campaign and the DM asked us to find ways to help make combat smoother – we're averaging an hour per round, with dozens of abilities and items each, and us DPS rolling upwards of 20 dice per turn. Obviously by now we've found ways to streamline (pre rolling, side chat, etc) but if we hit a snag on WHAT to do bc of a Counterspell or silence or someone going down, it comes screeching to a halt.

IDK you feel like someone who probably has an excel spreadsheet accounting for every possible scenario :P

funnily enough i have been toying with the idea of switching my own personal technique for combat tracking as a player to a spreadsheet which i recently did with encounter tracking from the DM side, but I haven't really dug into that at all because I know it would make me lose my mind trying to set up the automation while making it look aesthetically pleasing.

that being said, i have two pieces of commentary and i'll also share a few of my own strategies as well as two personal anecdotes to try to explain what i mean:

a) don't make a flow chart. no clue if you'll see these posts but as of writing this (12pm EST July 13th) I've just gone on a minor rampage talking about how I don't think flow charts are worth it even though that's the one of the current pieces meta in online TTRPG spaces because of aabria / laerynn, which is fine if it works for her and it IS fine if it works for other people.

however, in my opinion, i think flow charts will do a bad job of preparing anyone for the unpredictability of combat and will actually pigeonhole you into using the same strategies over and over again because they look good on paper and are written down in front of you. i don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to write down cool combos or have information in front of you (spoiler alert, i do that) but i think the term flow chart and the idea of an 'if/then' structure is going to be fundamentally useless and stress inducing.

b) speaking as someone whose been on both the player and dm side of this, if your rounds of combat are taking over an hour, this is an entire table problem. this is on the dm for their encounter design / the pace they take as the opposition (whether it's managing too many NPCS/monsters; too complicated statblocks, or indecision) as well as their need to keep things flowing at the table. It also largely depends on party size, if you're a big party, a longer round is normal, but everyone should be moving fairly fast. i'd ask your table as a whole what they think the issue is and and how to remedy it as a whole, not just one 'side' of the table.

now onto my strategies for both of these things. i'm going to explain my version of 'flow charts' last because it'll have screenshots and get long and i want to put something else before i slap in a readmore

my #1 tip for how to pay attention in combat and how to be better at combat is use other players turns to develop your strategy.

use their turns. pay attention to what they're doing so you can base your next turn off of the current state of the board, listen to what they're doing so you can remind them 'hey you've got a bardic' or if you can throw a reaction to counterspell, throw it then. otherwise: this is the time to look up your spells or other complicated abilities and make sure you've read the fine print. that way when it gets to your turn in combat you have the most informed, updated plan of what you can do.

now i'll throw my pc combat tracker under the cut as well as some personal anecdotes for why i think flow charts aren't the right choice

i've made an extensive post about how i think the best thing someone can do when designing a character's combat strategy and options is think about your action economy.

now, ignore anything that looks not RAW, this was a oneshot with funky combat rules (everyone had action surge and extra attack regardless of class; dm is insane for this) and i was using a homebrew warlock subclass, but the fundamental layout is the exact same i use for any character, I just like this example because it's not too crowded

fuck a flow chart, all you need is your abilities laid out in front of you. I think it is much more helpful to sort via action economy and leave shorthand for myself on what things do and use another document or something like 5etools to keep all of the fine print for when I need to look into them.

Then, the ability tracker is key. Not only does this help you keep track of what resources you've expended, it keeps everything super close together. i left the attacks / item information section in this screenshot because it shows that this is quite literally the only thing i'm looking at in combat 95% of the time. my health and AC is at the top of my sheet because that's how my sheets are structured but frankly, if i switch over to spreadsheet pc combat trackers they'll be smushed in here as well.

this gives you all of your fundamental information laid out in front of you so you can develop your strategy on the fly and make the most of every single piece of your action economy you have. I also enjoy having the miscellaneous actions section because again, sometimes i forget they exist and they're quite good. also occasionally i'll use item information or ability tracking to keep little notes for myself when i have something like bardic inspiration or want to remind myself to cast a spell.

why i find this more useful than a flow chart is that it lets you rely on your own intuition and the situation at play instead of a set strategy, which really just doesn't work for dnd in my opinion.

why i think flow charts aren't a great idea i've already talked about but here are two personal stories from recent combat that i think summarize it with an actual play example:

Curse of Strahd, Yester Hill Fight. The gimmick of which was that the druids were concentrating on summoning animals that were whooping our ass and were super spread out. we needed to crush their concentration as fast as possible. In one turn, I beat the concentration out of two different druids a bit over 150 ft. apart. How? I was hasted. A situational thing that you couldn't plan for in a flow chart. I also had no idea WHAT the encounter would look like to plan for it. I had to rely on what the circumstances were and what I had on my character sheet in front of me. Ophelia uses Dhampir stats so i had a 35 ft. movement speed, with haste that's 70 ft. + a hasted action. I used blood cursed of the mark to deal extra damage and gain advantage (bonus action) and my first attack (action) to make a bite attack against one druid. It hit, and because I'm a mage slayer they have disadvantage on their concentration check. I also used bite empowerment (free action) to get a bonus to my next ability check or attack roll. I then used my hasted action to dash, moving 140 ft towards the other druid, to make my second attack (still of my attack action), with a +7 (i believe) additional bonus to hit, and used lunging attack (free action) on my chainwhip to get the 15 ft reach necessary to hit the second. The attack landed, and the druid again, had disadvantage on concentration. Both druids dropped concentration. This is a turn you cannot replicate on a flow chart. There's no logical reason in a vacuum to take one attack, dash and move 140 ft away and take your second attack. There's no way to even know you could move that far. Why I was able to do this was because I was able to look at my action economy and all of my abilities in a condensed way and calculate how to use every single thing I possibly could to do what we needed to do to get control back over the encounter.

The Frayed Mind. This is an example from Gestalt game so ignore if the abilities sound absolutely bonkers powerful, they are, but the same theory of planning a flow chart around 'the most optimal choices' isn't helpful. Rualinn's build is primarily based around stacking upcasted shadow blade (psychic damage) and smites (radiant). The boss we were fighting, the Frayed Mind, as well as most of the enemies in this area, were immune to psychic damage. This meant my character's primary strength and what she was built to do wasn't going to cut it here. Which is fine, I love a challenge, and I think DMs SHOULD challenge what they know their players can do to make them think outside of the box. So what I had to do for this entire arc was realize: I could not play Rualinn optimally the way I built her to fight, however, I still had a ton of versatility and options to readjust as needed. I started relying more on physical damage she could do as well as using her spellcasting for more than just smites. I used her radiant consumption for the first time, used my action surge to cast Fly for maneuverability on the battlefield instead of extra attacks, used Watchers Will for the first time as well. It was a super fun area and boss fight even though I was getting my ass kicked, it made me play to the other strengths of the build I put together. If you put together a list of just the most optimal choices, you won't ever see what the unoptimized choices are. And frankly, most of the time you'll have to make 'unoptimized' choices. Combat is about making due with the situation and the the best you can do the moment.

tldr; i think using flow charts pigeonholes you into options that sound good but could end up not being applicable / keep you from being prepared for things going wrong, the individual challenges of boons of combat you can't predict, etc.

if you want to get 'good' at combat, know your action economy, track your abilities, and use other players turns to plan your strategy as the encounter changes and develops. your plan on the wizard's turn might change by the time you hit the cleric's turn because the fighter's now been knocked and you're the person who could get them up fasted instead of attacking, etc etc.

#d&d advice

[nossumusmanus]

so the wiki states that "Quintus was severely injured, losing his ability to wield his weapon" after fleeing from the capital to the train station. what kind of injuries do you think he had? how were the Ist legion able to handle his wounds with such limited resources? (do you think, had he known of alphinaud and co's ability to heal - or even their medical supplies they brought to broken glass - that it would have swayed his decisions at all? he couldn't have been the only one wounded.)

OKAY SO STRAP YOURSELF IN FOR A LONG RIDE HERE. As you know, my Quintus's primary weapon is a greatsword. Don't get me wrong, he's skilled with a myriad of weapons, but the greatsword along with guns are the ones he is by and far the most proficient with, though he ordinarily reserves his revolver for a last resort.

My headcanon is that he was injured while trying to keep the Tempered, and Vergilia in particular, occupied so that his remaining troops could escape the city with what civilians they had managed to save.

Vergilia basically uses Menenius from Bozja's moveset from his duel, with a few missing skills(thankfully including the fucking landmines); likewise, her gunlance is the same model that Menenius's was. Even in her Tempered state, she still utilized her full arsenal and tricks, including things like the various types of ammunition.

Now, don't get me wrong, I also headcanon that Quintus was able to go toe to toe against Vergilia, because I like to believe that the two were both pretty evenly matched. But Vergilia was Tempered, which means she had no inhibitors to limit her. No emotions like fear, nothing to make her hesitate, no pain threshold to make her stop. That's the crucial difference between her and Quintus. No matter how hard he fought, he wouldn't win, because she would wear him down over time.

So to answer your question -- given the fact that Vergilia uses a gunlance, and retains her tactical prowess even while Tempered(if the instanced battle with her is any indication), I just headcanon that she managed to stagger him with a well-timed explosive ammo round, slashed at his legs with Giga Tempest more than likely to incapacitate him, then gave him another good slashing and impalement in the abdominal region. He would have died from his wounds if a group of his men hadn't gone back to try and help him, and thus rushed him to the safety of the train station where everyone else was gathered.

Why did Vergilia not finish him off? Because he was already as good as dead. She'd done her job of eliminating the threat to Anima's orders, there was no further point in toying with Quintus.

All of that being said, my Quintus suffers injuries to at least one of his legs, but the primary and most grievous wounds are the ones on his abdomen. Those ones specifically are why he isn't able to wield his greatsword anymore; greatswords are heavier and require at least a fair bit of core body strength to swing around, not to mention the amount of stamina and endurance needed to use them effectively, which Quintus now lacks because of those injuries in particular. His leg wounds are the icing on the, forgive my bluntness, shit cake of the situation.

The Ist Legion did what they could for him, but given that they had very limited medical equipment to work with at that moment, the primary concern would be to disinfect the wounds and dress them so that he wouldn't die of infection. (I headcanon that they probably had to rely on things like alcoholic drinks as their primary source of defense against this.) Sutures would have to be rationed between all of the wounded as well, which means that even someone like Quintus would only be able to receive the bare minimum surgically to ensure his survival. Which is fine -- he himself would want it that way, preferring that even those supplies used to stabilize him go to helping someone else instead, though that desire or command was not heeded.

The short of it is, he'd need to be exceedingly careful, because his injuries could and would very easily reopen. So even if his abdominal muscles weren't damaged or destroyed, he still wouldn't be able to wield his greatsword, given that he no longer has the stamina or endurance to keep up with swinging it effectively, and doing so would cause him immense pain and reopen his wounds.

He definitely wasn't the only one who was wounded, on top of those who were falling ill from the stress of the situation combined with the harsh cold from lack of proper heat. However, I don't think his opinion would have changed had he known about the twins' healing magicks, no. Even while injured, he's still incredibly prideful and mistrusting of both outsiders and magick, not to mention the glaring issues of his insistence over not putting themselves in a situation where they'll owe outsiders for their assistance and his negative beliefs towards magick. These stubborn stances along with his immense pride on the matters make him short-sighted to the suffering of the very same people he ordinarily would be so caring towards -- and so he would prioritize self-sufficiency and their survival when it comes to matters of dealing with the sick and wounded, as well as taking back the capital. (It also leads him to choosing to prioritize taking back the capital over taking care of his charges, but that's another story for another time.)

He would, ordinarily, rather die than accept outside help, and doubly so when it comes to being healed with magick.

#Reports #peachbelli #not more of me wordvomiting all over your Dashboards #I AM SO SORRY THIS ENDED UP BEING AS LONG AS IT IS #Headcanons

[lilyblackdrawside]

I really like timeout spellcards. They're often some of the hardest parts of any given fight simply because you're forced to endure. My big example of this is Shinmyoumaru. Overall not the hardest final boss. Her Shining Needle Sword is a bit of a handful, but other than that it's all very managable. And then there's the timeout spell where she fucks with your hitbox. To be fair, it'd be difficult if it was set up as a regular spellcard too, because you're thrown into such cold water. Your hitbox is an eternal constant and now it's changed. I have a firm feeling for it and even if its relative size is still the same, it still messes with me really badly.

Any normal spellcard is unlikely to take more than thirty seconds if you're not driven to the sidelines and unable to deal damage. It might feel longer, but it's usually a brief affair. But it's not just that you can't simply burst timeout spellcards down by dealing damage. It's also not just having to hold out for such an unusually long time, it's that they're usually designed in a way that regular spellcards aren't. Since you're not able to attack the boss anyway (short of very few exceptions (I can name two)), it doesn't have to be laid out in a way to allow you to line yourself up with the target. The boss will often be positioned in the center of the screen instead of at the top, move all over the place or just be gone entirely and you're then forced to also move all over the place. Stream targeted stuff all around the area, handle projectiles from every direction and such. Attacks that come from above or diagonally above are the easiest to dodge. It's the most common angle of attack and you're the most used to it. As soon as bullets come from behind or even from the sides, it shakes me up. It's unfamiliar. But that's what's so good about them. In being allowed to chase you across the entire playing field, timeout spells can have a lot more different patterns. Often very thematic ones too.

Just think of Koishi's Youkai Lie Detector, where she scans a line around the screen that generates bullets relative to your position and to pass through it you have to make sudden, jerking motions to create a gap. You have to trip up the lie detector.

Or Nue's Nightmare of Heiankyou. The way she traps you in a grid and then chases you around with a big laser slug is really nice. It's also terrifying, because you're on her second to last spellcard and UFO isn't one of the games that has Spellcard practice (it only came back with Ten Desires after its one-time appearance in Imperishable Night) and this innately high tension rounds it out quite nicely.

The way you're surprised with the Saigyou Ayakashi Reflowering timeout was great after fighting Yuyuko, who already has more spellcards than the average final boss. Mountain of Faith has one as early as Stage 4, on Aya, who steadily ramps up the pressure and forces you to the bottom of the screen, which is always scary.

The way timeout spells gradually up the pressure over time is also something that's usually limited to Stage 6 or Ex Boss final spellcards, which up the challenge at specific health thresholds and it's really nice. They start out pretty manageable. You get a feel for what it's going for and then it gets harder. More density, extra layers, already used aspects combined but as the timer ticks down you also see the spell circle shrink. It's a much more easy to see timer than the actual timer in the corner of the screen and it always gets so tense when the spell is about to expire and you're at the height of focus, especially if you managed to not make a mistake yet and then it ends and you breathe a sigh of relief. This is especially potent when the timeout spell is the final one like with Reflowering or Danmaku Bounded Field.

Of course there can also be a lot of bad feelings with these. If you just don't vibe with a timeout spell, it's bound to seriously drain your resources or be a total roadblock for you. If it goes on for a minute, you're going to have to sink an unreasonable amount of bombs and/or extends into it and I think that might be a reason why there haven't been any timeouts outside of Extra Stages in recent games. It's understandable, but I think having some on earlier bosses could be nice. That way they wouldn't have to be too taxing or last too long but we'd still get them. Aya's Illusionary Dominance is pretty threatening, but even if you're not that good at handling it, as "just" a Stage 4 spellcard, it's not the worst.

Timeout spells can show their user's personality and style in a way that regular ones can't and I'd like it if there were more of them sprinkled here and there again. Could even do what IN does and have them as stakeless attacks after the fight is over that are unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions. If it's like that it lacks the tension that I like so much in them, but there won't be any bad feelings.

#touhou #long post

[utilitycaster]

I was thinking more about how both buffs require a bonus action, and they both have costs. Transformation can have a narrative cost (not always a good idea to do it around people) and Crimson Rite has a health cost. It seems to me like everything outside of prepared dungeon crawls or planned one off battles Transformation won't be as powerful as it should be because Crimson Rite will usually be done first.

So just as a note in my ongoing efforts to try to have a normal one today in the inbox, but also assume as good faith as can be reasonably assumed: I have a history of getting mechanics questions where someone really wanted an answer in which I agreed with them, and then getting some variety of pushy or hostile responses when I didn't. I am not saying you are doing this or going to do this. I am saying I recognize a decent number of the hallmarks of when this is potentially about to happen in this question. So: it's cool if you disagree with me, and you do not need me to agree with you for your opinion to be valid, but I do think the action economy and balance of this class is completely fine and I do not expect that opinion of mine to change.

Anyway, having a cost is something separate from action economy and that's, to be honest, kind of the game, and especially the game of playing a class that uses dealing damage to one's self as a mechanic. I think it's absolutely a challenging class to play, and that it requires a player who is pretty strong on mechanics and won't get hung up on "is this exactly optimal" because there often won't be a singular correct choice. However, transformation will still be just as powerful; it just won't necessarily happen in the first round. Or at all, for that matter! You don't actually need to use crimson rite - or hybrid form - in every battle. I think that's an interesting part of the class, that you can choose to lean heavily on your hybrid form, or you could choose to largely fight with a sword, crimson rite, and blood curses. (Also: technically you could just always have crimson rite up after each rest. It lasts for the whole rest without any limitations on being knocked out or concentration. I think that's silly but like, you could). It's a class with a lot of flexibility and I would not assume that the player wants to activate both of these things every combat anyway. And, again, they're still able to do damage both turns because that's an action; I don't consider "doing slightly less damage" to be a terrible drawback.

On some level, every class that has finite resources or abilities one must activate is going to have a cost. A cleric who casts inflict wounds has one less spell slot with which to heal. A ton of ranger spells are concentration and clash with Hunter's Mark. A lot of AOE spells risk hitting the party. Resource management and balancing the things you can do with your limited actions is just...what D&D is, and having two abilities that each take only a bonus action to engage, can be simultaneously up and are long-lasting with relatively few requirements to maintain (compare to rage or things like Hunter's Mark or Hex) seems like a pretty good deal to me.

#I do think Matt tends to lean on the gain a benefit from taking a drawback dynamic rather heavily #and I don't always like it but he did a good job with blood hunter #d&d mechanics

[anonymousewrites]

There's a Soldier; There's a Savior Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Mall Escapades

            “Whatever your op is, bury it,” order Gogol to the agents standing in front of him. “This is Level One. Contact DOT. All traffic lights in the district go red. Shut all runways at BWI, IAD, and Reagan. All security cameras in the city go through this monitor right here. Scan all open resources, phones, computers, PDAs, whatever. If someone tweets about this guy, I want to know about it.”

            “With all due respect, ADA is conducting manhunt for Agent Arahabaki, a hero renowned world-round.” In the silence, Tachihara spoke up. “We deserve to know why.”

            “Because he lied to us,” said Fukuchi, entering the room. “Agent Arahabaki has information regarding the death of Director Fukuzawa. He refused to share it with us. As difficult as this is to accept, Agent Arahabaki is a fugitive from ADA.”

l

            Pulling his hoodie over his head, Chuuya walked up to the vending machine of the hospital. His eyes widened in alarm as the USB drive, which he had hidden inside behind chocolate, was gone. Someone had taken it.

            In the reflection of the glass, (Y/N) appeared. She met his gaze and calmly finished eating her chocolate. The brand that had been hiding the drive. Chuuya turned and shoved her into an empty room, eyes narrowed and muscles tensed.

            “Where is it?” he hissed.

            “It’s safe,” replied (Y/N) calmly.

            “Tell me where.”

            “How did you get it?” she murmured, trying to read his furious face.

            “Why would I tell you?” he growled.

            She cocked her head. “Fukuzawa gave it you…” deduced (Y/N). “Why?”

            “What’s on it?” demanded Chuuya.

            “I don’t know,” answered (Y/N).

            “Stop lying.” Chuuya held himself back from slamming his head into the wall.

            “I only act like I know everything so people don’t question me,” said (Y/N).

            “I bet you knew Fukuzawa hired the pirates, didn’t you?” hissed Chuuya.

            (Y/N) frowned. “If he did, he must have had a reason. And it does make sense. The ship was dirty, Fukuzawa needed a way in.”

            Chuuya tightened his grip on her. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

            “I know who killed Fukuzawa,” said (Y/N), her voice growing cold. It dampened the flames of his wrath in a moment. “Most of the intelligence community doesn’t believe she exists. The ones that do call her the Soldier of Death, the Reaper. She’s rumored to have complete over twenty-four assassinations in the last fifty years.”

            Chuuya scoffed. “A ghost story? That’s what you came up with? You need to stop spending time with Dazai. His craziness is rubbing off.”

            “A few years ago I was escorting an informant to Yokohama,” said (Y/N) somberly. “Someone shot my tires out near the port. We went straight into the water. I managed to pull us to shore. But the Soldier was there. The Reaper shot the informant through me.” She lifted her shirt, showing a scar on her stomach. “All black slug. No rifling. Bye-bye bikinis.”

            “Yeah, I bet Dazai would hate you in them now,” said Chuuya sarcastically.

            (Y/N) sighed. “Going after her is a dead end. I tried to find her, but there is nothing. She’s a shadow among shadows.” She held up the USB drive after finishing her warning.

            Chuuya took it back. “You’re just going to give up, then?”

            (Y/N) smiled. “I didn’t say that, did I? We’re two people with great wills. And where there’s a will; there’s a way.”

l

            The pair walked through the mall calmly. Chuuya still wore his grey hoodie to blend in with the crowd while (Y/N) had a dark green sweater. He had a beanie while she wore glasses to give some level of mask to their faces. They walked into an electronics store and headed to an open computer.

            “The drive has a Level 6 homing program, so as soon as we turn this on, ADA will know exactly where we are,” said (Y/N).

            “How much time?” asked Chuuya.

            “Nine minutes from…” She pushed the drive in. “Now.” (Y/N) examined in the information on the screen. “Fukuzawa was right about that ship. Someone’s hiding something. An AI is protecting the information. It’s rewriting itself to counter my commands.”

            “Can you beat it?”

            “The person who developed it is as smart as me…” (Y/N) smirked. “Just barely, though.” She typed code in quickly. “I’ll try to run a tracer. This is program ADA developed to track hostile malware, so if we can’t read the file…”

            “We can figure out where it came from,” finished Chuuya, nodding in approval.

            “Can I help you guys with anything?” asked a worker suddenly. She had black hair and wore her uniform’s apron overtop her student uniform.

            Thinking quickly, (Y/N) linked her arm with Chuuya. “Oh, no, just looking at honeymoon destinations.”

            “Congratulations! Where are you thinking of going?” chirped the employee.

            Chuuya coughed. “Well, I like Paris, but she’s thinking London.”

            “You like the romantic ambience?”

            “No, the wine.”

            “Ah…” The girl furrowed her brow and looked at him. “You mind me of someone…”

            Shit, I didn’t really act that well…At all… thought Chuuya.

            The employee brightened and smiled. “Oh, yeah! My brother. He has the exact same red hair!”

            Oh, thank god, thought Chuuya.

            “One reason I like him,” said (Y/N), smiling as she worked on the computer.

            How does she act so easily? Chuuya fought to keep a decent smile on his face.

            “Well, if you guys need anyone, just let me know! I’m Naomi,” said the employee, giving a final grin before walking to another customer.

            Chuuya breathed a sight of relief. He glanced at (Y/N). “You said nine minutes. We need to hurry.”

            “Got it,” said (Y/N).

            Chuuya’s eyes widened at the location. Suribachi Base.

            “What is it? Do you know the place?” asked (Y/N).

            “I did once…” Chuuya shook his head. “Let’s just go.” He pulled out the drive, and they walked into the crowd outside the store. He glanced around. “You see any?”

            “Standard team. Two behind, two across, two in front,” murmured (Y/N), glancing about.

            “If they make us, I’ll engage; you’ll take the south escalator to the subway,” said Chuuya.

            (Y/N) sighed. “Put your arm around me and laugh at something I said. Keep our cover.”

            Chuuya did as she said and mustered a chuckle. He withdrew his arm instantly. “What would Dazai say to you, acting chummy with another guy?” he teased.

            “Honestly, he’d probably flirt with you, too,” said (Y/N), shrugging.

            “Sounds like of an old friend of mine,” murmured Chuuya absently.

            (Y/N), smartly, did not press him. They stepped onto the escalator and began heading down. Below, Fyodor began riding the one next to it up.

            “Shit,” said (Y/N). “Dosteovsky. We need him to look away.”

            “Well, we might as well continue with our plan now,” said Chuuya before pulling (Y/N) in and kissing her.

            Fyodor didn’t even bother checking who was kissing. Grossed out by the PDA, he (and others) looked away. (Y/N) stepped back in surprise and blinked.

            “Huh. Psychologically weirding people out. Nice,” she said.

            Chuuya deadpanned. “I kissed you, and that’s all you have to say?”

            “What, was I supposed to be impressed?” teased (Y/N), stepping of the escalator and walking away.

            Chuuya scowled. “You should be honored.”

            “Ha! I would be honored if Dazai kissed me.”

            “That idiot? You have terrible taste.”

l

            Several hours of driving (in a stolen car) later; they stopped at the abandoned Suribachi Base. Night was falling as they climbed over the fence and dropped onto the barren ground of the base. The wind blew dust across the dirt paths as Chuuya, holding his shield in case enemies appeared, and (Y/N), undoubtedly hiding some weapons on her person, crossed to the building that housed the home of the information on the USB drive.

            “This is my old base,” he said. “It’s strange that it didn’t change much.”

            (Y/N) let him reminisce in peace as she scanned the surrounding area. “Damn.” They must have bounced the signal through here. “There’s no life forms.”

            Chuuya looked around one last time and frowned. “Let’s check there.” He pointed at the ammunition storage.

            “There?” (Y/N) raised an eyebrow.

            “Army regulations forbids storing munitions within five hundred yards of the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.”

            (Y/N) grinned. “Let’s find out why.”

#there's a will; there's a way #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs oc #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #bsd fanfic #bsd fic #bsd #bsd dazai #dazai osamu x reader #dazai x y/n #dazai bsd #dazai #dazai x reader #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #bsd oc #oc #chuuya #bsd chuuya #chuuya nakahara #original character #chuuya nakahara x oc #chuuya x oc

[writingintheocean]

How many email accounts do you have? Not the accounts your work or school forces onto you, real accounts that you made on purpose, with intention, to be used. Most people say one--One account for professional and personal correspondence and a well-honed junkmail filter. Or maybe two, a real one for all the important things like contacting your congressman or sending Christmas pics to family and a second one for online giveaways you don't actually think you'll win, but it couldn't hurt to enter. A normal amount of emails.

I have 6.

I was raised by paranoiacs, concerned with Trojan horses and stranger danger. This feels normal to me. This IS normal to me. The idea of "cultivating an online persona" is a red flag with its own soundtrack, pealing alarms that would send a sailor into overdrive. How many horror story firings have to stem from cursing in a tweet, being 'too sexy' on Instagram, supporting the 'wrong group' in a post before setting all of your accounts to private and unsearchable and locked down?

Searching for [NAME REDACTED] will only net you fistfuls of community news articles about plays I've directed. This tells you I have a dedicated hobby. Will this be a boon of loyalty or a vice of distraction? Am I a freelance project manager or a liberal-leaning liability? Every company's HR department is a black box and I never know which wire to cut to prevent my own demise. Does anything mean anything? Is what I do real? Am I a person or an investment or a resource?

I hope my shielded life says I prefer privacy; I hope it says I would rather gamble than commit fraud. Or maybe it says I'm not willing to smile and wave and step in line, that I'm of unknown quantity and quality and not willing to play the game. 

I could finish the personal website that's been languishing for a year, the one that aggregates my theatrical accomplishments. But that means showing REAL employers that my interests don't lie at their bottom line. I could join LinkedIn, create a beautiful profile outlining scattershot jobs that I can't seem to keep for more than a year, and have them thinking I'm not worth the time to train. Or maybe I can be loud and proud about my successful union organization efforts, the ones that got me fired from my last job, and never work again.

Aren't you tired of playing pretend? I direct people on how to move, to speak, to portray false scenarios and trigger specific emotions. I know how the game works. Send a thank-you note to show that you were 'paying attention' in your interview, or to show that you're desperate. Fill your resume with enough buzzwords to trick the computer scanners into approving you, but not so many it annoys the human who eventually gets to look at it. Emphasize your volunteer hours because it means you're well-rounded and charitable, or sweep them under the rug because activities outside of work mean you're unfocused and wishy-washy and not committed to 60 hours per week, overtime exempt. Step on landmines until you get lucky.

I'm supposed to be playing the game, and it's humiliating to roll the dice. 

I don't think this says anything good about me, potential employee.

#homework assignment with prose good enough for posting

[daniellew150]

Things of 2023, Part 1, Books.

I enjoyed sharing this last year, so trying to make it a tradition. Managed a few more books this year, and there are some I bought but didn’t have time to read, so I guess they will make it into next year’s list. 

So let’s get into it. 

Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: Good Omens.

Not a new one, but quite possibly one of my favourite books of all time, I think this is the third copy I’ve owned over the years. It’s fun, dark, and the characterisation is just wonderful. I always enjoyed Newt’s journey of trying to find who he really is, but I think that is probably true of all the major characters.

The adaptation on Amazon was brilliant, and season 2 has set up the finale nicely, really looking forward to finding out what Terry and Neil came up with.

Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho.

Rivers of London was a recommendation from a work friend, was a great call, part supernatural thriller, part police procedural. It’s got plenty of laughs, some proper scares. The main characters are superbly rounded and made me want to read the rest of the series. Managed book two, Moon Over Soho, and it follows on brilliantly. It has plenty of ongoing themes, but with a great new mystery (or two) to deal with. Will definitely be looking at the rest of the series (I think I have another 8 books to go!). 

Hiron Ennes: Leech

Wasn’t sure if I should include this one as I haven’t finished it yet, but decided I would definitely have finished it by new year, so counts towards 2023. Very creepy and dark, with a bit of body horror but a really intriguing plot. Can’t wait to find out what happens.

Erin Morgenstern: The Night Circus.

This one didn’t make it into the picture as I’ve lent the book to someone. This was another recommendation and was mind blowing. A centuries long magical battle, which is also a love story. Not just between the protagonists, but people who they meet along the way. The description of the circus is so vivid that it really comes to life. If I get my copy back, this is one I will definitely read again and again.

Neil Gaiman: Sandman (book 1).

I’d obviously heard about this for years, and really enjoyed the Netflix series last year, so decided I should go look at the source material. Definitely worth it. Great stories and wonderful illustration. Another one where I will have to get the rest of the series at some point. 

Robin Ince: Bibliomaniac.

I’ve read a few of Robin’s books now, and I love the narrative style. This one is a tour of Britain’s bookshops (the book tour for The Importance of Being Interested that I read last year). Couple of bits that really made me chuckle, one about my home town, quoting another author as “a dull spot which even drink can’t enliven much” . Another was Shakespeare themed pun shop names (a chiropodist called Two Gentlemen of Verruca for example). 

Matt Parker: Humble Pi. 

Another one that didn’t make the photo, I was lent this one, and have now returned it. This is right up my street, stories of maths and engineering and how they can cause problems if not used properly. Feels like a book version of the Well There’s Your Problem podcast. 

Cariad Lloyd: You are not alone.

Feels reductive to call this a spin off from Cariad’s podcast, but that is definitely the starting point. A fantastic book on grief and grieving, interwoven with Cariad’s own story of her father’s death when she was a teenager. I found it so useful to process some of my own emotions around death of family members, but also other forms of grief (loss of relationships). This is an amazing resource, and remember the five steps of grief were never meant for the way they are used today.

Mattie Lubchansky: Boys Weekend.

I came across Mattie as a guest on various podcasts, and their cartoons on The Nib, so when Boys Weekend came out I ordered it immediately. A great graphic novel about navigating old friendships as a trans person, but also giving capitalism an absolute kicking. Loved it, and recently heard there will be a sequel in 2025.. stay tuned.

Julie McDowell: Attack Warning Red!

Another book from one of my favourite podcasts (Atomic Hobo). An amazingly well researched book on Civil Defence in Britain as it came out of the Second World War, and into the potential atomic horrors of the Cold War. A wonderful mix of whimsy and terrifying details. 

Jake & Hannah Graf: Becoming Us. 

I’ve read quite a few biographies of Trans people at this point, but this is two stories in one, with a proper happy ending. Reading two very different lives, but both with a common thread. A chance encounter leading to a wonderful family. It really is a book about hope. 

Munroe Bergdorf: Transitional.

Another Trans life story, but with a really interesting twist, how life is change, and everything is a transitional state in many ways. Wonderfully written with again a huge amount of joy. So many of these books have changed the way I view myself and how I approach the world, this is another one that has moved my mindset again. 

Garbage: This is the noise that keeps me awake.

A proper coffee table book. A lovely object, that charts the history of one of my favourite bands. Garbage mean a lot to me, they are one of the groups that helped me realise I could be myself. I love the inclusion of the band cocktail recipes. 

James Hetfield: Messengers, The Guitars of James Hetfield.

As a Metallica fan, and a guitarist this is a fantastic book. Some band history, some truly fantastic photography and just some wonderful guitars. Will always love the ESP V with the Hot Rod flames, but seeing an authentic 1958 Gibson Explorer is brilliant. 

#books #trans rights #guitars