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archi-playground · 4 months

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"Stealth Density", "Disguised Density", "Gentle Density"

How Architects tactfully design and pitch infill housing that responds to context and the politics of upzoning.

#stealth density #discussed density #gentle density #upzoning #urban infill #housing #yimby #missing middle #GSD

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wingedcat13 · 11 days

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Siren Call: 3

[We’ve had past and present Minerva, but what about future?]

One day, Minerva will be familiar with the island’s crags and shelves. She’ll know the way the shore slope becomes a drop off and where the sandbars are, the color and density of all the coral, the migratory patterns of the species who pass by.

Today, she knows enough to avoid triggering the sensors. Even pauses to adjust one that’s started sagging out of place.

Minerva chooses not to walk up the beach, not wanting to track sand into the - house? Facility? Building? - not wanting to get sand caked to her feet and legs. Jumping straight up to the roof in a waterspout is also unnecessarily dramatic when there isn’t a fight to get to. So she just gathers herself, waits for a wave, and urges it a little higher, placing herself at its apex.

It gets her high enough that she can reach the railing of the overlooking balcony, with enough momentum to curl and tuck her body, cartwheeling over the rail partially just for the joy of motion. Even the smooth tiles feel rough compared to the water, strangely unyielding, and she wobbles just a little as she catches her bearings. Belatedly, she realizes she almost kicked the crap out of one of the balcony’s chairs. The little swerve she does is automatic. At least there wasn’t an audience-

“Minerva.” Says Synovus, sitting on the table because they’re deranged. There’s a surprised tilt to the end of her name, like half a question answering itself. They’re wearing civilian clothes again, and some part of Minerva’s mind can’t help noting that their arms are bare. “Welcome - back.”

One day, Minerva won’t scowl at them on reflex.

Today, she demands immediately, “Were you waiting for me?”

“Y-es?” Synovus hedges, not moving. “But also no? I was - I thought you’d be coming up from the shore.”

They sound almost abashed. But that’s too close to ‘embarrassed’ and Minerva is well aware that Synovus has no shame. She may have genuinely surprised them - they’re perched on the edge of the table, and had leaned away slightly. Synovus wanting to be a problem would have chosen a much more… blatant posture. Or at least to sit further back in the shadows. The absence of either a gaudy attention grabber or deliberate stealth indicated this middle ground was not an act. Or perhaps that’s what she’s meant to think.

One day, Minerva will not have to consciously pick aside the paranoia to see what is in front of her.

Today, it takes effort - but she does it.

With a sigh, she closes her eyes, and focuses on each part of her body, bringing herself down from the mild surge of adrenaline. One hand draws back the wet strands of her hair. The other removes the mask that was a gift. She leaves her eyes closed while she rubs the red marks out of her skin.

With her eyes closed, it’s easier to skip past the defensive retort, and say instead, “You could’ve at least had a coffee waiting for me.”

“I don’t actually know your preferences in that regard.” Synovus admits, and for a heartbeat Minerva is worried this will turn into a far too blunt conversation about homecomings, but - “Do you take it black? Iced? Green?”

Minerva scoffs, but it might have just been a laugh. Even she’s not sure. “White chocolate mocha.” She answers. “One shot espresso, oat milk.”

“Ah,” Synovus says, as Minerva opens her eyes. They seem to have had a revelation. “So that’s why Alexandria likes those Unicorn frappes so much. Hm. And here I usually go for the cider.”

A smile tugs at one corner of her mouth at the thought - Synovus, dread assassin, going to a coffee shop and ordering hot apple juice with whipped cream.

Minerva sets her mask on the table. “Stand up a minute.” She tells Synovus quietly, her voice nearly lost in the sound of the waves below.

“I don’t take direction well.” Synovus replies, even as they slide off the table and to their feet, turning to face her. There’s a caution to their movements, but also curiosity, written far more liberally across the unobscured face Minerva once never thought to see.

If Minerva meets their eyes too long, she’ll lose her nerve, so she winds up staring somewhere around Synovus’s collarbone instead. There’s a scar there, hidden for now by a high-necked top, and Minerva knows that because she put it there. It had been a targeted move: Synovus had broken her collarbone the fight before.

She wants to be better at giving back things other than pain.

“Just - give me a moment. Don’t move, please.” She’s pretty sure it’s the ‘please’ that gets them. Synovus goes so statue-still that Minerva’s not sure they’re blinking. But they don’t protest. And they certainly don’t move as Minerva steps forward.

And in one of the most awkward movements of her life, slides her arms around Synovus’s ribcage, setting her chin gently on their shoulder.

This is instantly easier when she no longer has to look at Synovus’s face. Well. When she can’t look. Can’t fixate on finding and parsing the smallest of expressions, assigning meaning to the specific tilt of a chin or speed of a blink. She’s still bad at it - hugging - because she usually just lets other people hug her, and initiating it is weird, but she can’t imagine Synovus is particularly good at it either.

After all, they’re still standing stock-still, and if Minerva wasn’t currently very aware of their breathing, she might even think they were panicking.

“Not a trap.” She mutters, and feels as much as hears Synovus’s responding huff. But their arms slowly, cautiously, hesitantly come up to return the embrace, hands resting lightly on her back. The side of Synovus’s head tips gently into hers.

One day, Minerva might not feel awkward about body contact and physical affection. One day, she may find herself as familiar with Synovus’s scars as she is her own. And she just might reach a point, eventually, where one of them could make a joke about this just being an excuse to get Synovus wet and not immediately both perish from the agony of an accidental allusion to arousal.

For today, this awkward embrace is enough.

———————————————————

Minerva probably won’t ever see a crowd as something other than a threat to be monitored.

Large groups have always made her tense, and that instinct had only gotten worse over the years. Most villains respect the ad hoc agreement about making an entrance, but there are a distinct few who would kill from a crowd. And there are those who are not villains in the distinct, identity sense, but would wreak havoc nonetheless.

So she scans the mall’s sheltered internal colonnade from behind her sunglasses, and listens to her daughter tell her about her day.

“- I just told him that I’d come from further South, and he didn’t ask me any more questions after that, but then freaking Brad asked me if I was an ‘illegal’ and I know what you mean now, about temptation to cram people into lockers. He’s lucky he’s so tall; I couldn’t fold him up to fit without taking some limbs off.”

Alexandria huffs, taking an aggressive pull from her milkshake. The stress of her life is getting to her - no teenager should have worry lines, or bags under their eyes that deep - but she insists this is what she wants. Even if Minerva sometimes wonders whether Alexandria sees herself as a member of the school’s attendees, or just a spectator who sometimes catches a stray ball.

“Did you tell Brad that?” Minerva asks mildly, mostly curious.

Alexandria sighs again, “No.” She says sullenly, shoulders slumping. “I asked him if he thought the government should determine who gets to live where, and then when he started to argue with me I told him I hoped his yacht sank with him on it.”

“Alexandria.” Minerva was still learning to find the right tone. The right amount of reproach, without exasperation or accusation. She must’ve gotten close, because Alexandria just lifts one hand in a ‘not me’ gesture.

“Specifically so he’d wash up in Mexico or Hawaii and get to be illegal himself.” She clarifies. “I don’t think that convinced anyone I wasn’t an immigrant, though. Til Seanna pointed out my grades in Spanish would probably be better.”

Minerva’s sigh is more restrained, but she points out, “There are other languages in South America. Brazilian Portuguese, for example.”

She’s not sure why she’s entertaining this, really.

“That’s true.” Alexandria ponders that for a moment, drinking more of her milkshake. “I mostly just meant to imply I was from one of the towns that got fu- uhhhh, screwed up by the power grabs.”

Minerva briefly leaves the conversation, remembering that shell of a place. The layouts, the dressings of a town, not quite abandoned yet but with nothing else to bleed.

Judging by the nudge she receives under the table, Alexandria isn’t totally oblivious to her distraction. She’s also changed the subject.

“So.” Alexandria is saying, drawing one syllable into three, “How are you and my godparent getting along?”

‘Godparent’ has become Alexandria’s favored way of referring to Synovus in public. It’s a joke on multiple levels, some of which Synovus seems to appreciate. But Minerva thinks it also makes them slightly uncomfortable, in a way they refuse to express to Alexandria.

“It’s fine.” Minerva replies, on rote. Her eyes flick to Alexandria, then back to the crowds. “What is it?”

“What do you mean, ‘what is it,’?”

“You wouldn’t have asked if you didn’t want something in particular.”

Alexandria’s mouth twists down, “Can I just get an answer without fishing for it, for once?”

Startled, Minerva looks at her again. Takes a better assessment of her daughter’s body language, the tension there. She knows she’s also gone tense.

Anger creeps into Alexandria’s voice, replacing the annoyance. “I’m not going to lose control. I’m not-“

She cuts herself off, abruptly looking away. Her fingers relax around the plastic cup, deliberately demonstrating that her strength won’t get away from her.

Minerva has a suspicion of how that sentence might have ended. I’m not like you and dad.

Reaching out physically feels like the wrong move here. So does stiffening up further and refusing to talk about it. Be better, she thinks to herself desperately, her mind flicking back to an image of a person with one foot in the water, one on dry land.

“We still… disagree, on some things. Some major things.” Minerva makes herself say. She still doesn’t like that Synovus kills people. She doesn’t like that Synovus has ostensibly killed for her, or for Alexandria. But she also feels relief that Synovus did, and a sense of gratitude she can’t quite smother. It makes her feel dirty, oily, and she hasn’t found it’s root.

Taking a breath, Minerva continues, “But… I don’t think they mean either of us harm.”

Alexandria has relaxed a little, absorbed by what Minerva’s saying. And probably having to pick through it for what she isn’t saying either.

“Would you say that you, I don’t know, maybe, trust them?” Alexandria prompts.

Minerva’s grimace is answer enough.

Alexandria sighs, “Mom.”

“It’s complicated, Alexandria.” She says, but it’s not the abrupt conversation-closer it would have once been. More… beseeching.

“Do you trust anyone?” Alexandria asks, “And like, I don’t even really mean me, here, but like. Anyone?”

Minerva remains silent.

“Do you trust yourself?” Alexandria asks, sounding a little alarmed.

Minerva hesitates - but she can’t really answer that one either.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, just the background roar of the mall’s crowds between them. Minerva hates this. She hates feeling like she can’t actually control herself, can’t master the emotional impulses she’s forcibly crammed into a box for years. She hates that Alexandria is having to pick up the conversation, make the overtures, do the work.

But any time she tries to think of a way to do it herself, her mind shies away from it. The words wilt and die in her throat. Because what if she gets it wrong?

What if she has more to lose?

Eventually, Alexandria looks at the melted remnants of her milkshake, and asks, “Can we stop at the Hot Topic before we leave.”

One day.

———————————

A week later, Rosie pokes her head into the common room Minerva’s reading in. “Minerva?”

She’d finally been asked point blank by one of them what she wanted to be called, because Athena no longer seemed accurate. Committing to Naiad hadn’t felt right either, so she’d given up her civilian name. Synovus already knew it, what was the point?

(It had occurred to her, later, that the small thrill she felt at being addressed by it was possibly what Alexandria felt at being addressed by her chosen name.)

(Also, it would’ve made Albion furious.)

“What is it?” Minerva asks now, letting one finger hold her place in the book as she sits up.

“There’s a fight drifting our way - Zephyr and a few others against the Eye. He’s made another floating platform again.” Rosie rolled her eyes, providing her professional opinion.

Minerva tilted her head, hesitating. Zephyr was a hero she’d worked with before, though they had never gotten along. He’d offered to take her flying, she’d taken that as flirting and shut it down, they’d never really overcome the resulting awkwardness. She had no idea who he’d be working with.

Eye, in contrast, was Eye in the Sky - a villain obsessed mostly with surveillance, and not being observed himself. He was a center point of several conspiracy theories involving the NRA, CIA, and a number of international organizations. She’d never fought him before, just heard the stories.

“What’s the protocol?” Minerva asks, rather than offer any of that information. She was certain this group of people knew far more about everyone involved anyway.

Rosie smiles, “Not much of one, just a lower alert status. Doll and I will make the rounds and check on everyone, Synovus is going to suit up just in case, but we won’t get involved unless territory agreements are breached.” She added, “Alexandria’s still on the mainland, we’ve made sure she knows to be suited if she makes her own way home.”

Minerva taps at the cover of her book, thinking. She feels adrift, still. This isn’t an actual fight, unless she wants to go and be Athena, and the idea of that is physically uncomfortable. It would also invite too many questions. Naiad would-

Hm. “Does Synovus want me in uniform?” She asks, sardonic.

“I didn’t ask and don’t plan to.” Rosie replies flippantly. “If they want you to do something, I imagine you’ll hear about it directly.”

Somehow, that isn’t the response she wants. “I don’t-“

“They also haven’t given any orders that you’re to be stopped.” Rosie points out, cutting her off. “The rest of us will be either in the operations room or up on the roof to watch. Klaxon if there’s trouble.”

She gave Minerva another smile, twiddled her fingers, and withdrew. Minerva shifted, and opened her book again.

She made it through two more paragraphs, then left it unceremoniously on the floor.

———————————-

On the roof, Synovus was pacing.

In a way, that’s reassuring, because even Minerva knew by now that if there was imminent danger, Synovus would be stock-still. The sun glints off the dark helmet, and threw the matte black of the rest of the suit into stark relief against the sandy-colored rooftop. Wind off the sea ripples through the cape, keeping it blown back, perpendicular to the path Synovus is walking.

The sun is kinder to Minerva’s costume, and there is no cape to blow. The dark mask helps keep her from being blinded by the sun. Athena wouldn’t be of much use here; Naiad might be.

Doll - the larger, Russian man who Minerva thought of as Synovus’s second in command - stood up here too, a viewfinder raised to cover his face. He’s looking into the direction of the wind, angled out and up, and Minerva follows that direction.

There it is - flashes of distant, shimmering silver in a cloud bank that’s thinning. Some masking device, most likely, now disabled. There’s tiny flashes of what must be powers or weaponry at use, but she can’t make out more than that.

“How bad is it?” She asks anyway, brisk and businesslike.

“The wind isn’t in our favor.” Doll comments. He’s always answered her as if she’s a coworker, and she appreciates that. “I can’t tell how much of it is powered and how much of it drifts. If there’s been damage to it -“ He lowers the viewfinder to make a hand gesture. “It might not be able to control its direction anymore.”

“Sloppy.” The comment is out of Minerva’s mouth before she can stop it. It draws Doll’s attention, if not Synovus’s. At the slightly raised eyebrow, she sighs and continues, “Disabling propulsion or navigation creates unnecessary risk to everyone involved. The only time it becomes necessary is when there’s weaponry that absolutely must be disabled, and you don’t have either the training or the time to sort out different power systems.”

Doll nods, offering her the viewfinder. “It could be self-inflicted,” he points out.

“Possible, but suicidal. That would require an exit strategy. Do you think Eye has one?”

“He’ll have three, only two of them will work, and none of them will be enough to keep him from getting captured.” Synovus breaks into the conversation abruptly, annoyed. Or perhaps professionally offended. “They’ll be personal craft.”

Meaning the rest of the platform’s crew would be left to die. Incentive for the heroes to try and rescue them rather than pursue, but what a waste.

The viewfinder lets Minerva get a better sense of the platform’s size, and also an estimate of its height and distance. She can make out a glimpse of a gray-shaded costume, diving through the clouds: Zephyr.

“If you interfere,” She asks, while her view is disconnected from her surroundings, “What would that look like?”

There’s a hesitation. A gust of wind snaps at Synovus’s cape. The distant battle continues.

“If they cross the boundaries, there must be consequences.” Synovus says reluctantly. “I will destroy the platform. Survivors will become my prisoners. If the heroes protest, I’ll fight them.”

Minerva lowers the viewfinder, and returns it to Doll. Synovus has stopped pacing. “You don’t have the facilities for a mass casualty event.”

“No.” Synovus agrees. “I don’t.”

————————————

Rosie has come out to join them on the roof by the time there’s significant change. The wind has died down some - likely a marker of Zephyr changing it, finally reaching their shores. The air feels thick and dead without it.

They’ve mostly stood in silence, watching. It feels longer than it has been, and Minerva knows it’ll be worse for those actually fighting. She’s surprised she hasn’t felt more of an urge to intervene.

Though she has been keeping watch for anyone falling to the water below.

It’s hard to say which of them notices first - their attention is collectively on the sky platform, and not each other. But there’s a decided tilt to the mostly-exposed metal monstrosity now, and in very short order, it begins to fall.

“Catch it.” Minerva finds herself murmuring. “Catch it. At least slow it-“

But no one does.

The platform hits the water at the full speed gained from a several thousand foot drop, slamming into the ocean. Those watching know that the metal will crumple on impact, water at that height and velocity worse than slamming into concrete. The surface area only makes it worse; tilted in at a slight angle, it displaces the water in a specific direction.

Towards the island.

Minerva had studied the ocean as much as she could. She knows this phenomena, and can cite times in the past it’s occurred. Not caused by the shifting of the ocean floor or tectonic plates, but by a sudden mass displacement.

They call it a super-tsunami.

Synovus is a statue beside her from the moment the platform starts to fall. Doll catches on once the surface of the water rises - and then doesn’t fall again.

“Three minutes.” Minerva calculates, based on distance and the probable speed of the wave. As many miles to cross. Much taller. “Evacuation?”

“The Jet is under repair, we can’t get it into the air in time.” Rosie answers, grim.

“Seals on the inner portions of the facility might hold, but we don’t know how long we’d be underwater.” Doll says, hitting the klaxon anyway. “The fridges?”

“Only as good as long as the power lasts.” Rosie replies. “Alexandria?”

“Still on the mainland.” Doll growls, running a hand through his hair. “Even if she could reach us in time, we’d have to get everyone onto the plane-“

Synovus has, so far, said nothing. Minerva is the only one close enough to catch when they choke out a strangled, “-fucking submarine -“

Minerva had expected Synovus to have a plan. A power, a strength, a defense mechanism. The realization that they don’t is like a fire’s been lit at the base of her spine.

She doesn’t remember grabbing Synovus’s collar, or dragging them to face her. She does remember saying, “I can stop it.”

Synovus doesn’t hesitate. “What do you need?”

There is no questioning of if she’s sure, or recommendation that she go into the waves to ride it out. No suggestion of running.

“Get me in front of it.”

Immediately, Synovus has one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders, and they’re running. Off the edge of the roof, not quite flying, flickers of shadow beneath their feet. Minerva doesn’t have time to question it, because her attention is on the big damn wave.

When she had said she could stop it, she had spoken with a bone-deep certainty. But she’d never actually tried to divert a tsunami before, let alone one of this size. The largest amount of water she’s worked with has always been as much as she needs to accomplish her goal, and nothing more. Diverting some rain-induced flooding is nothing compared to the power of the tides.

But she can feel the ocean beneath them, as Synovus clears the island’s coast. She can sense the oncoming wave, so fast to them, but to the ocean like a flinch in slow motion. The ocean doesn’t know how to control a fall.

But Minerva does.

The trick is in grasping the majority of the wave without over extending. She doesn’t need every droplet, every molecule, but she does need the vast majority of them.

It’s like trying to get a grip on something flat with only the pads of her fingers. It’s like misjudging a stair and finding herself both plummeting and ramming into an outside force. It’s like taking the first breath of rain-rich air in the early morning, and feeling life enter her lungs again.

Minerva twists the top back over itself, breaking the wave in the wrong direction. She cuts it down the middle, diverting it off to the sides. She forbids it to go forward, as though it’s met a cliff. And as the water falls, the wave collapsing, so does she.

It takes a brief second to put together that the body that had been holding her aloft is now limp, twisted slightly as though to put itself between her and the wave. Synovus is unresponsive, the shadows gone, only the cape whipping around them as they fall. Minerva is able to catch them, now, grabbing on before they can drift away.

She reaches for the water below them, calling it up to catch them with less than bone-breaking force. It’s easier, somehow, but also harder, and she’s having trouble fixing a direction in her mind for where the wave was and where the shore should be. Hot air, harsh wind, cool water and the dimming depths as they’re both drawn down.

And she remembers, finally, that Synovus can’t swim.

—————

The disorientation has mostly worn off by the time Synovus wakes up.

Minerva had managed to follow the upset currents, but hadn’t wanted to risk trying to shape and change them. Or to fight them overmuch, with her cargo. So they’d wound up washed not to shore, but to a small opening into one of the partial lava tubes at the island’s base.

Outside, saltwater rain is still falling, though it will stop soon. The ocean’s roar sounds, to her ears, slightly confused. The sun is still shining, and the wind has picked up again. ‘Calm’ is a subjective definition, but they’re approaching it.

Minerva had been relieved to find that Synovus’s helmet was intact, even with the impact to the water. She’d managed to find its clasps, and to remove it, making sure the seals had also held and that Synovus wasn’t drowning in their own personal fishbowl. They’re propped up against her legs, which are folded beneath her, and she’s prepared for a violent awakening.

But Synovus’s eyes blink open, and Minerva is able to watch their facial muscles work as they come to terms with their surroundings.

“You fainted.” Minerva informs them.

Synovus squints at her, but doesn’t immediately protest. They also don’t try to move much, other than a slight squirm that Minerva recognizes as a full body check. Do I still have my appendages? Do my fingers and toes all work?

“Yeah.” Synovus concedes. Their voice is raspy with saltwater, even though they didn’t get much of a chance to drown. This time.

Minerva should probably start somewhere else - like making certain they’re okay, or assuring them about the conditions outside, that the wave had been averted. Instead, she all but demands, “If you’re so terrified of water, why in the hells did you build on an island?”

She can see the balk in Synovus’s expression: a furrowing of their brow, a twitch of the nose. Synovus lifts a hand to consider covering their face, eyes the sand on their glove, and lowers it again.

“I already know you can’t swim.” Minerva says flatly.

“I can swim.” Synovus shoots back, annoyed. “I cannot swim well, there’s a difference.”

They sigh, and move to sit up. Minerva doesn’t stop them. She doesn’t expect an answer, at least not without further prompting, but Synovus continues:

“It’s… easier. The isolation. Clearly defined borders. This is mine, everyone else fuck off. And it…” Synovus shakes their head. “It serves its purpose.”

Once, Minerva would’ve accused them of grandstanding. Of the island being a show of wealth and status. She knows better now - knows that while that is true, there’s other reasons, layered beneath.

And she thinks about everything Synovus has ever told her about self control.

“It contains you.”

Synovus hesitates, partially grimacing, but nods. “Serves its purpose.” They repeat quietly.

The two of them sit in silence, in the dark shadow of the cave. They listen to the water, and the waves as they return to normal.

“Thank you.” Synovus says, into the silence.

“I don’t require thanks.”

“But I feel you deserve it, and it’s mine to give.”

“And if I don’t want it?”

“Refuse it. I will survive the disappointment.”

Minerva has the uncomfortable feeling that they are not discussing only gratitude. Rather than address that, or continue the discussion, she says instead: “I don’t know what I believe anymore.”

Synovus doesn’t reply. They tilt their head, studying her in the dark. Minerva’s dragged them into a cave and confronted them with truths after they passed out from fear doing something on her word, she should give them a break. She doesn’t.

“I should be out there looking for survivors, or recovering the dead. I don’t want to. I should’ve involved myself in the fight, reminded them to be careful of the platform’s vulnerabilities. I didn’t. I don’t feel guilt. I feel… annoyed. Angry. Because they should’ve known better.”

Synovus just turns a bit, to rest their back against a rock. “And that in turn makes you feel..?”

“Foolish. Arrogant. A bad hero, and a worse teacher. I should be patient. Forgiving.”

“They nearly killed you.” Synovus points out dryly. “You’re allowed to be angry about that.”

“And more would’ve died if the wave had reached the coast.” Minerva grits her teeth. “But that anger should be - I can’t control them. I cannot fix them. But I didn’t even try to intervene until it was almost too late.”

“But you did intervene.”

Minerva gestures, attempts to pinpoint the logic fruitless and frustrated. “Am I a hero or not?” She demands. “Do I act for others or only my own skin? I’ve spent years - decades - so sure of the answer but now -“

She raises her hands, half-fisting them in her hair. The sensation provides a little bit of grounding, enough of a distraction she doesn’t think about the words before she says them. “- now you make sense to me, and the things I thought I believed in enough to die for are - are hollow or gone or dead. And I let you kill them. I let you kill him.”

Abruptly, she draws her knees up, burying her face in them. “I let - I made - my child - our child -“

Minerva can’t tell if she’s crying or not. Her breath is coming in gasps, and her face feels hot, and this was always the part of weeping that she hated the most; the lack of control, the inability to communicate. Her eyes burn. So does the center of her chest, her stomach.

And Synovus is here, as her witness. Why not? They’ve seen every other ugly part of her, every other failure. She’s spent a good portion of her adult life fighting this person, exchanging scars, only for them to pick up the pieces and try to protect her. She’s finally had the upper hand, proven that she does have power, that Synovus now owes her in the brutal calculus of lives, and instead of reassuring her it’s broken her.

Because Synovus doesn’t trust themself either.

But Synovus trusts her.

“Do you wish I wouldn’t have killed Albion?” Synovus asks quietly.

The answer is as simple and certain as the water. “No.” She says honestly. “No I - I don’t.”

There’s a pause. Then, “Do you wish I would’ve killed you too?”

That answer isn’t as clear to find. “I - some days.” She says hoarsely. “I committed the same crimes.”

Synovus exhales, across from her, and it isn’t quite a sigh. “Alexandria feels differently.”

Minerva stops breathing.

Of all the answers Synovus could’ve given, that’s the one she can’t counter. She can’t afford to do this. To wallow in self recrimination. Her daughter is out there. And while maybe - maybe her morals are falling to pieces, and she doesn’t know who she is, but she knows that whoever she is loves Alexandria.

“Is it pathetic?” She asks Synovus, in the dark she can’t see through and Synovus can. “To need someone else to determine who I am. What I believe.”

She can hear the twist in Synovus’s expression as they reply, “That’s… inherently not a question I can answer. But, Minerva?” Synovus doesn’t hesitate, so much as pick their way across uncertain footing, “I don’t think you would’ve been able to turn back that wave if you weren’t… as much as you are.”

It’s clumsily phrased. Wavering and uncertain. But Minerva, whether because she’s reading what she wants to from it, or because it’s actually Synovus’s intention, understands.

She takes a deep breath. Then another. Then she stands, and offers a hand in Synovus’s general direction. Her voice is much more certain, calm, when she says, “I need to go organize a search party.”

——————

Minerva may not ever come to terms with her role in her ex-husband’s death, or the harm she caused her daughter. She might not ever find the rock-solid beliefs that she once thought she had.

But she might - just might - come to terms with that uncertainty. The ocean doesn’t have roots either.

She’ll have good days and bad days. She’ll need to make decisions about who she wants to become, and how she feels about who she is. But as both Naiad, and Minerva, she has that freedom.

She’ll never touch the Athena costume again.

And one day, while she’s working on a laptop in one of the common rooms, Synovus on one of the other couches and Alexandria sprawled on the floor, Minerva will say, “I have an idea. Something I’d like to do about the Pacific garbage patch.”

And Alexandria will roll over to look at her, and Synovus will glance up. And Minerva will add, “It’s not precisely legal.”

And Synovus will say, “I’m listening.”

——————————

[And so ends Siren Call! This took much longer than it’s other pieces, and there were things I debated including and things I wanted to cut, but in the end, this was the flow the story took. I’m not saying I’m *done* with Synovus and co, but I will say that I’m glad to have this chapter closed and tied off.]

[As per usual, a copy of this will go up on Ao3 soon, and I’ll find out how long it is, because I’ve once again written directly into tumblr drafts. It’s where the Synovus muse lives, apparently.]

#synoverse #synovus #siren call #siren call 3 #tw: tsunami #as someone whose stress dreams manifest as dreams about tsunamis #HOO BOY did I not like writing that scene much #but it was what needed to happen #and I’m happy with how it turned out #dont @ me about the physics I will not be studying any more about those damn things #it’s magic I ain’t gotta explain shit

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carionto · 7 months

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Everything dumb happens in the 3130s

This popped up on Pinterest, it's 4AM, obviously there can only be one path:

______________________________

Space walks are a necessary part of any civilizations early days in the path to becoming a space-faring one. The hazards of space demand extensive protection, which reduces the practicality of individual space suits in favor of robots and drones. Everyone still has them, of course, but everyone always prefers to avoid exposing themselves to radiation and the simple danger of drifting away.

Except Humans. Many of them like going out in their dense and sleek suits for some "hands on workmanship". Manned suits also do posses certain stealth capacity as it only needs to maintain life support while the Human inside provides all the locomotion. And there are other practical benefits that crop up from time to time.

Then there's the group of Humans known as, named by other Humans by the way, "Crazy Death Surfers".

They suit up, hook themselves up to a drone they remote control, and release themselves within an asteroid belt. They also add these high density long alloy strips to their feet. Some use one large "board" some use two thin ones.

Then they engage the drone thrusters and hurl towards the gigantic space rocks at ludicrous speeds. Not by them, at them. As in they intend to impact the asteroids.

Once close enough, they divert the drone to change their course to be at an angle, still on a collision course though. Right as they're about to hit it, they turn their board to match the angle of approach and slam into it and continue to slide along, throwing up dust and small stones. Sometimes they quickly redirect the drone towards another asteroid, other times they make it go around the whole thing, see if they can leave a clean line fully across.

The Crazy Death Surfers do this for hours, and always return with the biggest smiles on their faces, thoroughly exhausted, often bruised, it's ridiculous none of them have actually died so far.

When they first came up with this idea, the Coalition station was also a "surf track" once. After their boards did more damage to the station, and almost caused a hull breach from a particularly sharp angle hit, they were heavily fined and a new law was enacted banning all unsanctioned space walks around any Coalition stations or ships.

Unlike some other Human introduced activities, asteroid surfing will NOT catch on.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space oddities #humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humanity fuck yeah #carionto

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lemmegettamcpictwo · 2 months

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I love imagining how terrifying guardians are.

Imagine: You've done something wrong. Something deathly, terribly wrong - you've got a bounty on your head that a guardian's lookin' to collect for some extra cash. You're not too sure if you'll come back dead or alive, but you're not going to figure out that either, so you run. You run for days. You're exhausted, and it pursues you tirelessly.

You're scared for your life. Does this hunter ally themselves with the Vanguard, or could it care less about the vitality of a human life? It's not like it has personal experience; Guardians exist in a limbo between life and death, trampling the line that separates them with it's very existence. They hold incomprehensible power given by a god of unknown stance. Titans wear armor heavy enough to shake the earth when they walk. Warlocks hold enough knowledge to be the envy of libraries (who knows how much of that knowledge is about killing?). Hunters lerk in shadows and have unmatchable speed, and even more unmatchable stealth.

At the end of the line, backed into the wall, you grab your gun and shoot through the armor of it's skull. It takes a few bullets from the density until it falls dead. You breathe.

And then that mf comes BACK.

#or something. im not a poet #destiny 2 #destiny #destiny the game #destiny writing #guardians #guardians destiny #titans destiny #warlocks destiny #hunters destiny #d2 #d2 warlock #d2 hunter #d2 titan

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fruit-salad-ship · 1 year

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BNHA AU: Pro Heros.

Known as 'Royal Flush' when working as a team, this trio perfectly balance each other out, called into battle when all else fails. They take difficult jobs no one else wants, because they pay better, and prove theyre one of the best teams around.

Kingslayer (Peach) Quirk: Density A notorious ball of rage, her quirk was once thought to be an anti-gravity skill, but the older she got, the more stress and anger crept in, and it became obvious that she actually changes object density, not the way gravity works around it. If calm and collected,and happy, she can float items both living and not, making them less dense than the air around her target. This is great for rescue, stealth to float into guarded areas, and to drop her whole team into a location undetected. Unfortuntly shes prone to anger, bouts of irritability and lethargy, which makes her quirk increase density of things. She has learnt to use it offencivly, fighting the biggest heaviest villains with a solid defence to take the hits making herself slow and thick skinned, and boosting swings with increased weight and heft when in close combat. Her ult is a 15ft radius density field, making anything and anyone within this range so heavy they cannot get off the ground. This does however push her body hard too, and can backfire, leaving her vulnerable to attacks after.

Queen-B (Plum) Quirk: Melodrama She'll say it stands for something else, but her team mates like to reitterate that the 'B' stands for Brat. They arent wrong. Her quirk forces those she touches to experience specific emotions, only one at any given time, and up to five targets. These feelings can be used to subdue and distract foe, or rally her team. This is particulalry useful to politely ask villains to release hostages, making them smitten, calm, suggestive, and they could very well do what she says. Her ability to extract information is top notch, and she's able to keep civilians calm and safe with it, making sure theyre not in a state of panic during emergencies. Her ult is a overdrive, and can only be used on one target at any time, pushing them to fight for her in a blind rage, as if they would lay their life down for the little woman, and can last up to an hour unless she dismisses it. Quite devestating but the cool down is drastic, her quirk becoming all but useless for a short while after. To combat the lack of physical strength, Queen takes a lot of time to practice with rifles, whips, and various other weapons that give her range. She however alwasy has a bat on her person, as a way to protect herself, along with flash grenades, smke bombs and various little items that aid in missions. Shatter Jack (Grey) Quirk: China Bull His left arm is fragile, resembling porcelain, able to touch a target and pass on a brittle property to foes. His right arm is however very robust and strong, with the power of a raging bull packed in. The combination of both makes for devestating offensive power to even the hardest individuals, and most solid defences. The down side is his left arm is also incredibly vulnerable to attack, both a strength and a wekaness, and because of the distributions of skill between them, he is somewhat easy to predict when fighting alone, but has learnt to use misderection in his strategy to counter this somewhat. His disposition makes him calm and level when forming a plan, and so he is the natrual leader of the group, as the other two can get distracted or caught up in competition/rage. He has fair stamina, but no ranged attacks, so he chips bits of his porcelain off and sends it to be made into throwing knives. Because it is made of the same material he is, he can transfer his quirk through it, as far as he can throw. It is however not selective, and if he hits one of his own, they become vulnerable and brittle for a short while. The duration and spread depends on how long he touches someone. If he can keep his hand on a foes body for five straight seconds it can sink through a whole limb. A seconds can brittle a bone, or make skin shatterable. His ult turns a target fully brittle, whole body, but his own durability also drops, making him vulnerable.

In tandem the team is pretty well balanced. Plum can put peach into a full blown rage to increase her damage output, or when the stress is too much and she needs to be fast and evasive, calm her down to make floating things far easier and more effective. Grey shatters but if peach can touch his arm, she can grant him density, making it harder to break during a fight, and if he usues his ult, she can boost his defence to help combat the lack of it he has for a short while. Plum is vulnerable to attack, but she can make her dense enough for bullets to bounce off, or make herself dense and stand in the way of harm and not take nearly as much damage. When grey needs an emotional boost, plums there, the moral the group needs, because lord knows hes exhausted some days.

Grey and Peach went to school together, buddies for a long time, she was a year above him but they alwasy walked home together, and trained when possible, their quirks worked well together and eventually they got signed to the same agency. Peach's PR however was awful, and so they brought in Plum as a ways to wrangle her, and give the company a better image in the publics eye. with them balanced, there have been less issues, though the girls do fight, it never lasts long, and has become more loving over the years.

additions:

I need to do greys one. I will.

Black diamond motif, weakness to long range attacks, brutal.

#ive been thinking this over for a long while #BNHA au #my hero

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theleaderinblue1 · 11 months

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Here’s a distraction:

Tell us every space fact you know! Or as many as you want.

-Ria

Ooh, okay, give me a minute to think!

It's theorized that Neptune formed closer to the sun and moved away from it!

Neptune is my favorite planet in our solar system; did you know it has 6 rings?

It's estimated that over 2 trillion things exist in the Oort Cloud!

The galaxy m87 has a jet coming out of its supermassive black hole!

The supermassive black hole has a mass of around 3.5 billion suns!

M87 is surrounded by hot gas!

There's a collection of galaxies that kind of look like a chain called Markarian's Chain!

The temperature of space is like 270.45 °C! I have no idea how I didn't die when my helmet broke after the stealth ship exploded.

There's an estimated 2 trillion galaxies in space!

One million Earths can fit inside the sun!

The sunset on Mars is blue!!!

There are more stars than grains of sand on the Earth!

It takes nine years to walk all the way around the moon!

We won't see Halley's comet again until the year 2061!

Theoretically, the opposite of black holes exist, called white holes! Does that mean they have no density and push things away? I wanna see one!

That's all I'm going to share for now, have a nice day!

#teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2012 leo #tmnt 2012 #tmnt #leo rambles #leonardo hamato #leonardo #roleplay account #tmnt roleplay #tmnt rp #blue asks #outer space #space facts #galaxy #universe

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pallanophblargh · 2 years

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Are Pallanophs capable of swimming?

Also your stuff was randomly recommended to me and I spent hours going through your amazing art!

Pallanophs can swim well enough: I’d been pondering their ability for years (initially I’d thought they’d be poor/reluctant swimmers due to their muscle to fat ratio) but that just doesn’t sound like that would be the case. They do however still sit very low in the water and don’t fair well in any strong current, but they have long strong limbs to propel them and in riskier situations, they make rafts and floatation devices to aid crossings. I imagine they could use something akin to a body/boogie board as well so they don’t need to use as much energy to stay above water. They mostly employ strokes similar to the classic mammalian “doggy paddle.”

However, the density of pallanoph bodies does lend itself to diving and underwater swimming. It’s uncommon that they hunt this way as they’d lack both speed and stealth, but crustaceans/mollusks/vegetation would be gathered this way.

Mostly, pallanophs wade. They do love water; but are very cautious and understanding of dangerous conditions.

I’m sure I’m missing some details/thoughts/conclusions and I’m kind of blaming that on the fact that swimming isn’t my forte, I’m a bit of a rock myself.

#pallanophs #pallanoph questions #sketchbook #creature design #swimming #good ol reliable doggy paddle gets the job done #I wanted to give them my weakness haha #having arboreal ancestors makes it a little tricky but they retain those instincts #I have two modes backfloat or underwater swim #pallanophs have better lung capacity than I do so they got that going for them

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warsofasoiaf · 1 year

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What army do you think is the most overrated in history?

As with all questions about "overrated" and "underrated," the question is, who is doing the rating? Being "overrated" or "underrated" means evaluating someone's judgment, while being "bad" or "good" means evaluating performance. The latter is far easier to evaluate.

Take for example, the Mongols. The Mongols were an exceptionally good army, one of the best in history for a whole host of reasons including their highly exceptional C2 system. But in "The Death that Saved Europe," Cecelia Holland argues that Ogedai Khan's unlikely death was the only thing stopping the Mongols from conquering all of Europe to the Atlantic Ocean, and this just doesn't stand up to scrutiny when evaluating their performance in Hungary and Poland. The Mongols struggled with European stone-walled castles, and moving further into Western Europe would only see the castle density increase. They're still incredibly good, but that's a clear case of overrating.

Or by contrast, take the Red Army in the Winter War. By all conventional metrics, the Red Army was absolutely abysmal in performance - poor tactics, poor leadership, poor equipment. Yet Adolf Hitler thought that they were so garbage that all he would need is a swift kick in the door for the rotten foundation of the Soviet Union to collapse like old scaffolding, and it very clearly did not. Clearly, that was a case of underrating the army. By contrast, modern non-military historians frequently overrate the performance of the Red Army in the Second World War to the point of parody, omitting the exceptionally high levels of unnecessary casualties stemming from poor military performance.

But if I had to pick, I'd either pick the Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein or the current Russian military, which has largely inherited its weakness from the Red Army.

The Iraqi Army of Saddam Hussein was considered the 5th strongest army in the world, with a formidable array of tanks, aircraft, and missile defense systems. Using primarily Soviet equipment, it was believed to be by far the most powerful regional hegemon in the region despite it's rather lackluster performance against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. In practice, the officer corps was extremely nepotistic and poorly-trained. The T-72 was shown to be an underperforming tank compared to modern Abrams, the Soviet missile systems proved unable to detect stealth fighters or handle Wild Weasel SEAD missions, and the aircraft were poorly maintained and their pilots even worse. At Medina Ridge and 73 Easting, Saddam's ground forces were poorly organized and sent into complete disarray. Far from being a million strong legion that could enforce its will on the region, it was a hollow, rotten tree trunk about to be struck by lightning.

I've already spoken at length about Russian weakness in the current Russo-Ukrainian War, but it's extremely indicative of systemic weakness when a so-called Great Power army is incapable of performing multi-theater combined arms warfare in the 21st century. This has been a staple of warfare and an overriding design feature of military equipment for decades now. Russia's much-vaunted hypersonic missiles are being intercepted by old Patriot AD systems, turning them into yet another Wunderwaffen. Their technology is not even comparable to last-gen systems and their troops incompetent. For a military that was vaunted as the second-most powerful in the world, its diminished capacity has shown it to be far inferior than numbers would suggest. Its vaunted tank fleet are vulnerable to old anti-tank weapons down to bargain-bin fwoop tubes. Its aircraft can't be stealthy and can't secure airspace even against a vastly inferior airforce. It's sole aircraft carrier is more of a floating environmental disaster whose maintenance log reads like an SCP entry. The T-14 Armata and Su-75 Checkmate are vapor-ware projects established primarily, it seems, to embezzle money for more dachas and yachts. Worst of all, its logistics corps are so deficient that countless Russian soldiers are dying from easily treatable injuries. This was supposed to be the mightiest army in Europe and the military leader of the non-Western world, the lynchpin of the "new multipolar world order," the army that was to defend the Motherland against NATO. It's losing badly to an army that wasn't even ranked in the top 20 by military observers using a combination of legacy Soviet equipment and the stuff that NATO found in the back of the toolshed.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

#history #russia #iraq #desert storm #russo ukrainian war #mongols #red army

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anim-ttrpgs · 7 months

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Shortened Version: Vampire PCs in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, part 2 of 4. Dark Powers

Monsters in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy are made up of two Traits, which leaves them room for more regular Traits as well. Here is the first vampire Trait, Dark Powers. This is the the summarized version that goes on the character sheet to save space. Click here for the full version.

Walk on shear walls and ceilings as if they were floors.

Can instantaneously change their position at any point when in near total or total darkness, though the endpoint must also be in darkness and within ‘sight’ of the startpoint, it cannot pass through solid objects.

Effortlessly transform into a small bat, large wolf, or smoke/mist.

As a wolf, gains a +2 bonus to all Athletics, Stealth, Senses, and CQC rolls (within reason), and their melee attacks double in damage. Additionally, their base movement speed is tripled. For vampires, the stat bonuses only apply if they are weakened. Otherwise, just use the other Dark Powers modifiers.

Low-density objects that have been in contact with the body for a long time(essentially clothes, wallet, possibly car keys) will transform with them. Denser objects and objects that have had less time to ‘assimilate’(usually guns, Armor, and most other things too big to fit in a pocket) will not transform with them. Mark these somehow in the inventory sheet.

Transform into a massive bat-like beast that has 35 of both types of HP and does 4 Penetrative damage with melee attacks.

In this form, must consume a human worth of blood every 5 minutes, or else suffer 5 damage.

Percentage HP values remain consistent across transformations. Round decimals up. Weaknesses still apply.

Failing an Injury roll while under the effects of a debilitating Weakness will revert vampire back to human form.

Due to claw-like nails, can deal Penetrative damage with unarmed melee attacks.

When not exposed to a debilitating Weakness, 2 Penetrative damage.

When mildly exposed to a debilitating Weakness, 1 Penetrative damage.

When severely exposed, 1 Superficial damage.

Vampires can see well in the dark with even a miniscule source of light. Total complete darkness, however, will still blind them.

Vampires do not ever sleep, though they may lay dormant for long periods of time after being “killed.”

Only need to breathe for the purpose of speaking or smelling.

No fingerprints, no DNA evidence.

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coffeecakecafe · 2 years

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Knox is both the stealth guy and the comic relief guy for the Guardians of Atlas. He starts off helping because when Aerin asks it just kind of sounds like fun, but ends up really loving his teammates and shifting his priorities in life through the story. More under the cut!

Aerin - Riley - Wallace - Milo - Knox - Lucy

Knox is Aerin's cousin, and he lives in the basement apartment of her duplex with his older brother Marcus. He's a very dedicated dance student, but when Aerin asked him to start the Guardians with her he thought it sounded like fun. He doesn't really start taking things seriously enough until he runs into his first very personal danger, and his nonchalant attitude can be both a blessing and an annoyance for the others.

His powers are invisibility and density shifting; he can make himself and anything he's touching more or less dense, which he typically uses for passing through walls and enemies. He does have trouble with metals and other super-dense materials, which is why he personally doesn't have any piercings (also why Milo won't let Knox density shift him). He's really flexible and athletic, and dance has given him a level of physical control that would make him the team stealth expert even if he wasn't invisible. Like with the density shifting, Knox can make himself and anything he's touching invisible. The touch limitation does mean that he can only ever affect two other people at a time.

Knox's mom and Aerin's bio mom are twin sisters, and his dad is French! He speaks both French and English and grew up traveling the world for his parents' work as archaeologists. He's studying ballet and contemporary dance, hoping to join a fairly elite studio that's local to Atlas.

He's cocky and confident and incredibly sarcastic, and greatly values his friends and family (and his boyfriend, Izzy). His cheerful personality does mask some deeper anxieties, but it's nothing he can't handle with all of his people around to lean on.

#my art #my ocs #knox fontaine #echo goa #guardians of atlas #character sheet #character reference sheet #ref sheet #someone in the discord said he has cake and i'm still tickled about it #Lucy is next! and then Zach

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gear-project · 3 days

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Annon-Guy: Batman Arkham Scenario

I suppose to wrap things up about who's able to face the Combat and Predator (Stealth) Maps.

Jack-O', Haehyun, Answer, Nagoriyuki, Giovanna, Goldlewis, Chaos, Bedman? and Asuka/Asuka#.

Guest appearances by Chimaki, Fanny, Leopladdon and Judgement.

Jack-O' plays similarly to Harley Quinn, actually... i.e. she sets traps for targets (her servants do the work, basically). She's very acrobatic, so combat's not a big deal to her, she was forced to learn stealth from Asuka to keep herself hidden from the Merciless Apocalypse early on.

(Side note: Aria Hale is nothing like Jack-O'... she had a high intellect but it was not based on Computer A.I., and her physical capabilities were very limited... she was just an ordinary lab geek when she dated Frederick.)

Kum Haehyun is very combat-oriented due to family techniques, but Kum's pride as a Tuner gets in the way of "stealth" so she's not suited for it. She's better off as a Doctor/Healer like she currently operates as. She'd rival Batman in terms of medical techniques (Bruce Wayne's father was a surgeon by the way... probably not as good as Faust was, but still...)

Answer is a Ninja, so Stealth is a given, he's not AS gifted as Chipp is in the combat talents, but he's been training, so maybe one day he'll catch up. He spends a lot of time on the phone though, so not much time for heroics unless Chipp calls in a favor.

Nagoriyuki was buried under a BUILDING for 60 years, that's pretty stealthy if you ask me! Aside that, his combat abilities are second to almost none save Sol. In terms of stealth technique he's a Vampire, so his potential is probably very high... but his pride as a samurai probably prevents him from taking underhanded "stealthy" measures... so I'd assume he prefers to confront people directly.

Giovanna works for the United States Secret Service... that's pretty stealthy work in and of itself, though she much prefers to relax on the job, she's still a professional in both combat and stealth.

Goldlewis: his background is VERY STEALTHY, but he won't tell you anything even if you ask. The guy is all about black ops, despite his rotund size. Combat wise, it's easy to see why he's the SECRETARY OF ABSOLUTE DEFENSE.

Happy Chaos: Stealth and magic are his fortes, though originally he knew next to NOTHING ABOUT COMBAT... he basically used the Backyard to download the knowledge in to his brain and learn from there. He isn't really a fighter, but his skill with a gun will make people hesitate to draw. Whoah... he knows Gun-Fu!

Bedman? The 8th Generation High Density Bedframe was built with Romeo's specs (and powers) in mind, so being a combat machine that can fight Gears (and even Vampires) seems to be part of what it was built for... in terms of Magic potential it can only do a limited amount of things via Bedman's influence, otherwise it's a hunk of junk without that Magic power driving it. The fact it's heavily damaged means things like combat and stealth are very limited for it.

The only reason the Bedframe is still decent at combat is because of its drive to protect Delilah. By the way, Delilah is very good at Stealth and Magic power, but combat is something she's still scared of, being 12 years old isn't easy.

Asuka # "Sharp" Being a "combat clone" of Asuka Kreutz, you'd think combat would be second nature to him, but you'd be incorrect... neither Asuka or Asuka #R are very good at physical combat... in fact they BOTH get tired very easily!

The fact Asuka R. Kreutz is also over 170+ years old with a body that got reduced to the youth of a child for a few months means he's not really built for physical activity in the first place. Of course, he probably still needs the exercise.

In terms of Stealth, all Asuka would need to do would be to cast Invisibility and that'd be the end of that. His Magic makes everything ELSE look very easy. Asuka Sharp is no exception either.

Still, between the two of them, I wouldn't expect either of them to play vigilante any time soon... they're better off sticking to Science.

Switching Gears... Fanny was an old assistant to Dr. Faust a great many years back and was still searching for him last we saw in GG Petit. She's a sweet young girl, stealth and combat really isn't her thing, though she probably has techniques to keep up with Faust at least.

She inherited her giant Needle weapon from her mother, who was also a Nurse years ago.

Raymond (Judgement) was originally a Scientist who worked for the P.W.A.B. and Sacred Order, so combat was something he observed on the daily, but this also made him deranged.

He later took his research to Isene Island and did diabolical experiments there to the poor residents, so despite becoming a cool-looking character, his morality is really suspect.

He also died not long after due to his miscalculation on Inus' powers as a Demihuman (Underworld King).

If he'd managed to survive though, Combat would come very easily for him, but I doubt he'd be all that interested in Stealth as a concept.

Moving on, LEOPALDON:

A large Megadeth Class Gear who "hides" in the Antarctic continent. That's pretty stealthy despite their size.

Leopaldon used to rescue humans who got stranded in Snow Storms on the continent, and it's semi-unclear if the P.W.A.B. even knew he existed or not.

Sol apparently met him once, but that's all we know, honest!

Sentient Gears aren't exactly geared for combat, as they are pacifists in nature (despite being built as weapons, they dislike being treated like weapons).

Still, make no mistake: LEOPALDON IS A MEGADETH GEAR.

That means Leopaldon's combat potential is immense, enough to level a city in minutes if not seconds. Somehow a group of thugs surrounding Leopaldon would be the height of folly.

Leopaldon does his best not to get noticed by humans, so he's gotten pretty good at stealth, but it might be only a matter of time before he gets fully discovered... maybe Ky can help him out one day?

Lastly, CHIMAKI:

A prideful Mononofu Samurai if ever there was one.

His sword is nothing to laugh at.

But, in terms of tactics or stealth... or even thinking...

Well... don't expect much.

Don't mess with Chimaki's topknot and you'll be just fine. He'll leave you alone in peace.

Unless you offer onigiri... then he may follow you home.

#Character Analysis

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paperanddice · 27 days

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Dust diggers resemble massive starfish, with exceptionally long and thin arms and a rough, spine covered exoskeleton. They have barbed, tubular cilia that help it burrow and grab prey to be transferred to their jagged, beaked maw. Ambush predators, they spend the majority of their lives buried below the sand, waiting for prey to pass within reach so they can collapse the sand, dragging their victim in and devouring it.

Dust diggers are asexual creatures, reproducing by budding off 3 to 4 young over the course of their lives. These young are around four feet across, and quickly burrow away from their parent to avoid being eaten, travelling at least a mile away before settling in and digging out a lair. Typically it will remain there for the rest of its life, rarely moving more than a few hundred feet away, and the natural food density of the region decides whether or not the young dust digger survives or starves.

Dust Digger Creature 4 Large, Aberration Perception +10; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 60 feet Skills Athletics +11, Stealth +6 (+12 while in its sinkhole) Str +3, Dex +0, Con +4, Int -4, Wis +0, Cha +0 AC 18; Fort +14, Ref +6, Will +8 HP 75 Speed 10 feet, burrow 20 feet Melee beak +13, Damage 2d8+5 piercing Melee tendril +13 (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 2d4+3 bludgeoning plus Grab Beak Transfer [1 action] Requirement The dust digger has a creature grabbed. Effect The dust digger transfers the grabbed creature from its tendril to its beak, or vice versa. Create Sinkhole [1 action] Requirement The dust digger is hiding under sand and a creature that hasn't detected it is within 10 feet of it. Effect The dust digger deflates its body and causes sand and loose soil to shift and slide. All creatures within 10 feet of the dust digger must attempt a DC 19 Reflex save. All ground within 10 feet of the dust digger becomes difficult terrain. Critical Success The creature is unaffected. Success The creature is clumsy 1 until it moves. Failure The creature moves to the nearest space adjacent to the dust digger and falls prone. Critical Failure The creature moves to the nearest space adjacent to the dust digger, falls prone, and is restrained. Swallow Whole [1 action] (attack) Medium, 2d8+4 bludgeoning, Rupture 12

Dust Digger Huge 4th level blocker [beast] Initiative: +6 Thrashing Tendrils +9 vs. AC (3 attacks; can target nearby enemies) – 10 damage. Natural Even Hit: The target pops free from each enemy and moves next to the dust digger, which engages and grabs it (the digger can grab up to 4 enemies simultaneously). Beak +13 vs. AC (one grabbed enemy; includes +4 grab bonus) – 15 damage. Quick Use: 1/turn, as a quick action. Burrower. Sinkhole: The dust digger can burrow itself into loose sand and set up a hidden sinkhole. If it has the time to do this before a battle starts, it has a good chance of springing an ambush on inattentive PCs travelling through the area. When it has an ambush like this set up, PCs can attempt a champion tier skill check (usually DC 20) to notice the signs of the trap. Those who fail to spot it are targeted by the following attack when the dust digger rolls initiative: [Special Trigger]C: Sinkhole Collapse +9 vs. PD – The target is stuck and hampered (save ends). Natural Even Hit: The target starts the battle engaged with the dust digger. AC 18 PD 18 MD 14 HP 194

D'ziriaks are mysterious visitors from the Overworld, strange human-sized insectoids. They live in deeply shadowed areas of the Overworld, in great hives lit by alchemical fire and their own natural glowing bodies. They remain neutral in most of the conflicts of the Overworld, making them generally safe ports for those travelling into that mysterious world but their unknown and obscure goals are a point of caution. Occasionally a team of d'ziriak make their way down into the world on strange missions, hunting creatures or objects, or even attempting to establish a new hive on the surface.

They average taller than many humanoids, around seven feet, with four arms and a termite-like abdomen. Their bodies are covered in strange runes that glow with a faint light. These runes also note the d'ziriak's role and ranking within its home hive and can be changed by special rituals as they ascend to new positions. They've also mastered rituals that let them bind this light into solid form, infusing it into artwork that decorates their cities and is a major source of their trade.

D’ziriak 2nd level spoiler [humanoid] Initiative: +4 Claws +7 vs. AC – 6 damage. Natural Even Hit: The d’ziriak grabs the target. C: Dazzling Burst +7 vs. PD (1d3+1 nearby enemies) – The target is hampered (save ends). Natural 14+: The target is hampered and dazed (save ends both). Natural 18+: The save becomes a hard save (16+). Limited Use: 1/battle. AC 18 PD 16 MD 13 HP 34

Inspired by the Pathfinder 1e Bestiary 2. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

#pathfinder 2e #13th age #homebrew #my homebrew #monster #aberration #beast #humanoid #pathfinder level 4 #13th age level 4 #13th age level 2 #long post

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materialsscienceandengineering · 1 year

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Simplifying the production of lithium-ion batteries

MIT spinout 24M Technologies designed a battery that reduces the cost of manufacturing lithium-ion cells.

When it comes to battery innovations, much attention gets paid to potential new chemistries and materials. Often overlooked is the importance of production processes for bringing down costs.

Now the MIT spinout 24M Technologies has simplified lithium-ion battery production with a new design that requires fewer materials and fewer steps to manufacture each cell. The company says the design, which it calls “SemiSolid” for its use of gooey electrodes, reduces production costs by up to 40 percent. The approach also improves the batteries’ energy density, safety, and recyclability.

Judging by industry interest, 24M is onto something. Since coming out of stealth mode in 2015, 24M has licensed its technology to multinational companies including Volkswagen, Fujifilm, Lucas TVS, Axxiva, and Freyr. Those last three companies are planning to build gigafactories (factories with gigawatt-scale annual production capacity) based on 24M’s technology in India, China, Norway, and the United States.