#* fighter past his prime / SELF.

[seresinhangmanjake]

Fremen Girl: Part 3

Feyd-Rautha x fremen!reader

Notes/Warnings: mentions of blood, injury, death.

Words: 1460

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Feyd POV

He can’t recall a time when nerves have taken over his body the way they do now. Normally, fighting, or the thought of fighting, or witnessing a fight pumps fire through his veins. The anticipation of bloodshed and screams of pain are like the crescendo of a good high, but today, he can’t grab hold of that euphoric feeling. It’s not there, there is nothing to grab hold of, because today, it’s you fighting. 

Feyd sits beside his uncle in the stands as he watches you enter the arena, and immediately, he recognizes his first mistake. The hand not holding your blade is raised to shield your eyes from the brightness of the sun. He should have found a way to train you outside. He should have gotten you used to an environment that is much brighter than your home planet. Though he has no idea how he could have arranged that, if the blinding sunlight is the difference between your life and death, he sees no road to self-forgiveness. 

“You think to take that one for a wife?” the Baron asks as your opponents join you in the arena. The six prisoners enter from three corners, honing in on their prey, but you’ve yet to step into your fighting stance. Your body anxiously twists in all directions to take in the men descending upon you and only you, your hand still acting as a vizor from the light. “She hardly seems capable. She’ll have a blade run through her before five minutes have passed and you will have gathered the masses to witness a bore of a show just like your useless brother.”

Feyd ignores his uncle, knowing the old man speaks only to agitate him. He doesn’t take his eyes off of you as you finally prepare yourself, spreading your legs, bending your knees, and dropping your hand so it may join its twin around the blade’s hilt. 

One of the men is bolder than the others and he runs ahead. He takes the first swing at you, but you dodge him, ducking under his knife and throwing your arm out as you pass his legs. The sharp edge slices through the back of his thigh, and he instantly drops to his knees. You turn to face his back and thrust your blade downward into the crook where his neck meets his shoulder. When you yank steel from flesh, blood sprays, splattering your thin clothes, and drains down his bare chest. Feyd can see the body heave before it falls. 

There’s the girl who killed my men, Feyd thinks as a rush of claps roars through the crowd at the first death. He knew you hadn’t shown him everything you’re capable of during training. Maybe you just needed the threat of imminent danger to display your full potential. If that’s the case, then fine. Feyd doesn’t need you to prove yourself to him, he needs you to show the people of Giedi Prime the woman they will soon be bowing to. 

The next is the smallest of the six. Skinnier, shorter, but filled to the brim with fury. His anger is his mistake and it’s clear you know it. You don’t fortify yourself. Instead, you watch as he leaves behind the other fighters and charges with a scream that echoes through the arena. A side shift of your body and a quick swipe of your blade and he pauses, his arms go limp, and he stumbles past you. A wash of dark red flows from his neck.  

You rid yourself of three more. Not without difficulty, but you manage. Their bodies are littered around you, the evidence of their demise soaking your form. Your shirt sticks to your figure from the amount of blood weighing down the fabric. Your arms are dyed scarlet from layer after layer of the red fluid. With each of your steps, scarlet prints are left behind. Exhaustion is evident, but you’re not done yet.

The final man is broader, thicker, taller than you and some of the now-dead prisoners combined. He could crush your windpipe with a squeeze from one meaty hand. He could break your bones with a sharp flick of his wrist. All you have to do is stay out of his way. You’re faster and your limbs are leaner; you should be able to outrun him, but you need to move, now, before he traps you against a wall. 

You jump back from his swing, barely evading the sheer power and force that could have cut you right down the middle. Before you can recover from the attack, he leaps at you. You fall onto your back, blade skittering out of reach. Feyd swallows hard. He refuses to blink. 

“Well, this doesn’t look good for your girl, does it?” the Baron says, sucking at his pipe.

Feyd wishes he could disagree, but you haven’t found your footing. You’re crawling backward, trying to gain some distance from the predatory stalk of a confident aggressor. A blade swipes toward your face. You turn your head, receiving a slash across the cheek, and from how quickly you bleed, it appears deep. At least your head is still attached to your shoulders. 

You kick at his knee, knocking the joint out of place and momentarily rendering him unable to take another step. With the spare second, you scurry to your knife, getting your hand on it just as you’re yanked back by your ponytail. Feyd winces at your shriek, fingernails digging crescents into his palms, jaw aching from his clenching teeth.

Your head wacks against the ground and you’re eyes pinch shut. Potential concussion. You’re disoriented. You need to move. Move, Fremen Girl, Feyd internally snaps, but you’re not moving. The man towers above you, his feet on either side of your thighs. Feyd leans forward in his seat. Your eyelids slowly flutter. 

“Move,” Feyd mutters. 

The man’s whole body goes into the downward jab of his blade. He expects the pointed tip to land right between your eyes, but when you twist out of the way at the last second, it clashes with the ground. The over-expenditure of force knocks him off-balance and he falls on top of you, his chest slamming into yours, crushing you entirely.

Jumping to his feet, Feyd rushes to the edge of the balcony. The crowd is silent. He can’t breathe. Are you breathing? You better be fucking breathing, Fremen girl.

Suddenly, your knees bend and with the last of your strength, you roll the man onto his back, your thighs straddling his hips. His jaw is slack. His arms flop to his sides. Your knife is plunged into his chest. Then with both hands wrapped around the hilt, you pull out and stab into his heart once more, this time twisting the blade. 

As the crowd erupts in cheers, Feyd finally exhales. His shoulders release their tension. 

You stand on wobbly legs and wipe the back of your hand across your scarlet cheek. You’ll need stitches, but you’re alive. Feyd turns, heading for the stairs so he can meet you at your extraction from the arena.

“Not yet, nephew,” the Baron stops him. 

Feyd glances over his shoulder to find his uncle’s gaze still fixed on where you stand. Feyd’s brow pinches and he eases back to the balcony railing as three more prisoners stumble into the arena. The crowd dies into silence. His head whips to his uncle. 

“What is this!” he spits. “What did you do! She’s done!”

“She is done when I say she’s done,” the Baron says, sucking at his pipe once more. “Now sit down and watch the show, or should she live, I will give her to Rabban.”

“You will not!” Feyd shouts. “All of Giedi Prime knows the challenge you set and she met it! She is mine now and I say she's done! Bother Rabban if you want more entertainment!”

The Baron won’t argue further, not now. People were shocked enough that Feyd’s first potential bride would have to face six prisoners compared to the three for his brother’s brides. Whispers of gossip were uncontrollable and even managed to make their way through the halls, passing from servant to servant. They questioned the integrity of the Trial if centuries-old rules could be changed for one woman, and altering them again after you’ve won would be a great disappointment to all who witnessed. The Baron’s thirst for excitement has made him forget that, but Feyd is happy to remind him. 

The crowd suddenly gasps and Feyd turns his head. You’re trying to step away from the prisoners, but those steps are wobbly. The knife has slipped from your grasp. Feyd rushes off to the entrance of the arena.

[wherearedagrapes]

Thinking about SCU Amy as Amy if the events of Sonic CD happened without Sonic. Assuming that Robotnik is sent to the past after the Eclipse Cannon explodes in Movie 3 and that he basically puts in motion the events of Sonic CD, there’s no one to rescue Amy as a little girl or Little Planet. Sonic isn’t there to save her, inspire her, become her goal, etc.

It kind of reminds me of Sonic Prime in the sense that this is Amy if she never met Sonic. At her core, she’s fundamentally the same. But she’s no doubt a little sharper, rougher, harder because she had to save herself. Without Sonic to stop Robotnik, the battle on Little Planet would probably rage for years. And in all those years, Amy never wins. Her home is destroyed. Her people are enslaved, experimented on, or worse. She becomes a fighter, a rebel, to survive. But she becomes a hero because she has a huge, bleeding heart and wants to save her people and her planet. Instead of chasing Sonic, all of her passion is channeled into this: ending Robotnik’s reign of terror. It becomes her responsibility, her burden, and nothing else matters — not her life or her desires.

Amy has to grow up too fast. There’s no time for baking sweets or shopping for cute clothes or reading romance novels or going to concerts or fantasizing about her crush or other things that game Amy enjoys that teenage girls do. As is the case with all the cartoon characters so far, it makes sense that SCU Amy would act a little different from her game counterpart. But it is so important to me that she still has these interests and personality quirks and, assuming we spend time on Earth, I need this side of Amy to be pulled out the more she pals around with Sonic and his family and gets to experience what it’s like to just be a teenage girl. Be a silly kid.

The Sonic movies are very big on the importance of childhood, that kids have the freedom and security to mature and explore who they are and have fun — super-powered alien kids included. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles occasionally save the world, but most of the time they’re playing baseball and eating ice cream while Tom and Maddie, the adults, worry about bills and putting food on the table and the things necessary to survive. The kids don’t have to worry about day-to-day survival anymore, so they can just be kids. In the second movie, Sonic gives up having the power of a god because he recognizes that he’s still growing up and that he likes being a kid. He likes having a childhood.

I’m not expecting SCU Amy to act exactly like her game counterpart, and I’m okay with that if it makes sense given her backstory/circumstances. Those character changes only hit as hard as they do because we have seen Amy in the games. We've seen what she's like when Sonic is there to save her. She's lighter, sillier, more childish (in some games). Not that SCU Amy wouldn’t have shades of her bubbly, silly self, but she’s (probably) never had the luxury of being a child, of being immature and protected, of being safe. And I feel like a lot of people may look at SCU Amy and be like 'oh good Amy's not annoying anymore; this is so much better,' but it's tragic. It's tragic that SCU Amy doesn't get to be silly and childish. And I don’t think the movie would shy away from saying that.

Amy should’ve had — and still should have — a childhood. The space and security to have an embarrassing crush, to care about her looks, to have fun with friends, to express herself, to make mistakes. To be a teenage girl. I think and hope if the movie initially seems to remove some of the characteristics that Amy is known for and leans into the generic girlboss trope, the point would be to subvert the trope — to show Amy’s not better or more desirable without those characteristics. She definitely would not be some perfect dream girl. She’d probably be stressed, distrusting, controlling, selfless to a destructive degree, and it would be sad. And I think as you’d watch Amy bond with Sonic and co. and see her grow excited by malls, music, movies, etc. and indulge in this life she’s never had… you would want her to be that joyful, silly, romantic teenage girl. The movie would want you to want that.

And I'm hoping and praying if Sonic crushes on Amy that he only REALLY falls for her after he sees her silly, excitable teenager side, just to drive this point home.

[alduinprime]

Final member of Team Prime in my AU, Hot Rod.

What Hot Rod lacks in experience he makes up for in both skill and wits. Qualities he learned in the Cybertron Elite Guard where he was praised as a matchless prodigy, and he feels self-obliged to fulfill that potential. That grit along with his talents landed him in Team Prime as one of his top lieutenants. As a highly trained combatant and a sharpshooting archer with his energon bow, Hot Rod knows he’s one of Optimus’ best fighters, if not his most important soldier. Especially here on Earth.

Except, Prime has serious doubts about him and he worries Hot Rod’s rapid trajectory up the Autobot ranks has gotten to his head. While an exceptional fighter whose eager lead, Hot Rod has shown himself in the past far too reckless and impatient to warrant him being a commander. He possesses a fixation at achieving victory at all costs, even at the expense of his fellow Autobots or himself. This stubbornness and lack of humility leads to Hot Rod fighting with pure arrogance and Optimus fears for his well-being.

[fatuismooches]

I feel like reader would try and avoid the segment from when dottore was in the akademiya as much as they can. Reader constantly being reminded that they wont ever be the same as they used to be in the akademiya due to their illness. If it were the akademiya segments turn for readers checkup, reader would look at anything, anyone other than the segment. Just the segment himself makes reader feel melancholic. Omega, for sure, would be the first to speak up about this when in the lab during the checkup.

WHY DO YOU GUYS LIKE HURTING HIM... but oh my gosh the sweet sweet angst (to hopefully fluff, i can't deal with it),, It's not like you hate the Akademiya segment, no, far from it, you love him actually but, you just... can't bring yourself to look at him. Because this isn't four hundred years ago. You aren't the excitable and peppy person you used to be, you aren't a scholar, you aren't a fighter, much of your past self feels like it has been left behind. It hurts to think about, and when you see that segment, all of it rushes back to you. He speaks, acts, has the same interests and quirks just as you remember. You think back to all of the things you used to do and say and feel with him back then that felt so good but now it just hurts. Because it is never going to be like that ever again. So what do you do? Run away and avoid the problem, of course. (You do feel extremely guilty for subjecting the segment to such treatment, but you just... mhm. It's hard to accept things.)

No matter how subtly you try to play it off, it really ends up being quite obvious how dry your responses are to the Akademiya segment and how you can never meet his eyes,, :( (Why are you ignoring him out of all the segments? Did he do anything to you? Did he accidentally offend you? Poor guy ends up getting frustrated enough that it interrupts his work and gets much snappier than usual,, that's when Omega has to step in because now productivity levels are decreasing and Prime will not be happy 💀) (Unfortunately him bringing it up only made you antsier. You don't speak about it in-depth until Dottore finds out and has to coax the answer out of you as you probably full-on sobbed about your feelings.)

[transformers87]

How was Pax's life raised (and brainwashed ) by Sentinel? How does Pax break from Sentinel's influence and learns the truth and overthrow him avenging his lost siblings? What happens betwee him and D-16? How is Sentinel defeated/killed here?

Oh.. ok!!

This is a long one please sit tight and bear with me on this…. And I am only gunna start with the family relationship of Sentinel and Orion and only focus on how Orion met D-16.

For Orion’s siblings… I do wish the authors would put more input on the roles of each Prime… which done what and which does this and that.. etc, etc…. Cause the Primes as a whole are the children of Primus… and should have more lure within them and of their roles in playing as rulers of Cybertron.

But I’ll go with that lure some other time…. During the war between the Primes and the Quintassans… Sentinel was not only a servant towards the Primes he was also a noble general.. similar to his bayverse counter part… and was an excellent skillful fighter/leading the troops within the battle…. But he hated being a subordinate towards the Primes.

So when the opportunity of Sentinel finding the newborn Prime… he wanted to make sure that this Prime would stay as loyal to him as possible… since he’s both egotistical and manipulative… he would play as a caring father for Orion Pax… the very name he gave to him once Sentinel formed an idea of raising Orion under his wing…. He would gaslight, micromanaged, belittled and use his power over Orion…. just to keep him obedient to Sentinel… (hence the nervousness and timid self of Orion) and Sentinel would have servants constantly around the prince every day throughout Orion’s childhood and early adulthood… and like the Primes, Sentinel does keep young Orion away from prying eyes and he would make sure to silence any traitors that would try to tell Orion or try take him away from Sentinel Prime…. It’s only at night is where he kept his watchful eye off of his Prince..

We all know that canonically Orion loved mysteries and loved to solve problems… he would be mischievous as ever to venture put at night just to gather information and knowledge of how to help Sentinel… this AU version of his is no different.

But in this AU.. Orion is very timid and soft spoken and he gets easily nervous when in public places… this was inspired by his Prime verse version self… i do love a quiet meek Orion but still curious bout anything and everything… still showing off his very optimistic self bout whatever info he got from the archives and other knowledgeable resources… which is HOW Orion grew the courage to sneak out at night to go to the off limited archives just to find a way to help out…

Like most toxic parents… if Orion gets caught he is at the mercy of Sentinel’s wrath and whatever punishment he deemed fit for him…. So yeah another tactic of Sentinel’s of keeping the little Prime as loyal and obedient to him is to make sure to instill fear.

So that’s how Orion’s and Sentinel’s father son relationship is…. Don’t get me started on their training together and such.

During the Iacon 5000 race …..or I think I butchered the name of the race sorry!!… Orion was introduced to the public after Sentinel’s iconic free flight show and such… and how Orion looked is a bit different than his TF one design… but the TF one design is still in there… I’ll do my best to draw the design some other time cause right now after posting this answer I am too lazy

But long story short… Orion looked like a silver blue ray of hope… it’s supposed to look like he’s a walking ghost… beautiful as Prima Prime and regal in both power and strength… any light on his person.. he shines like a physical star…

Yes D-16 was accidentally put into the race and this is a funny idea… it was during that one Both that shoved/drove past Orion and D-16 in the cannon plot… it’s the same one that stile the first place spot but also accidentally damaging the jetpack thingy that D-16 was forced to wear and was forced to fly through… the pack malfunctioned and sends the poor guy flying with no control… and he crashes into none other than Orion Pax the Prince

XD

Cause Pax was there to hand in the three winners their earned trophies and give them their congratulations and such… Sentinel was in that chamber watching the screen and yeah… before Orion could give the first place winner bot their first place prize he was knocked out and off the platform and both crashed into a heep on the floor.

This is the idea of how Orion and Dee meets but yeah… from then onwards I am still working on the plot… so this is my best at answering your question… i hope you like it

And thank you so much for the question!! I am still open for more!!

[darkacademiaarchibist]

ahem. s2 discduo headcanons

• they both have one half of their hair completely white

• also wanted to do some symbolism with the discs - maybe make Tommy's eye color more violet to match the disk since one is green and one is violet

• they almost constantly wear flowers in their hair!

• Tommy braids Dream's hair occasionally, he wears it in a bun most of the time. Tommy doesn't know where he learned braiding (it's Techno. He used to braid Techno's hair)

• on the topic of muscle memory: both are still extremely good fighters. sometimes their accuracy during training, the aim to kill, will scare them more than they'd like to admit (they only do some training because of mobs n stuff and also just for fun)

• Dream tames a horse and names it Ghost

• Tommy has a cow named Charly

oh here comes the angst. beware. tw: scars, past torture, implied past abuse, fear/panic, memory issues, dissociation/derealization, self-hatred, depression, you know the drill - common fucked up s1 shit

• they both still have all their scars of s1

• and often Dream will wonder: "who did that to us? who did that to Tommy - he's a fucking KID for Prime's sake..." ... yeah... who would do something this cruel...

• Tommy one day admits that he is scared that whoever hurt them, whoever tortured them (he especially looks at Dream's torn skin, looking like it was cut and sewn together, only to be cut again - systematically - it scares him) may come back, to finish them off for good.

• Dream vows to himself to never let that happen.

• the thing is - they are so convinced that they've been through all this pain together, that they've been victims of the same cruel person

• I can imagine Tommy having heavy dissociation/derealization problems if he ever regains his memories since he can't see both of the Dreams (c!Dream and s2 Dream) as the same person-

• I'm not sure if dissociation is the right word here - but my point was, Tommy can't connect these two so vastly different "personas" of Dream into one person, it doesn’t make sense to him, it can't be the same person

• tldr: it's just really fucking with his head

• and Dream would just be so fucking horrified and scared of himself, of what he has done, and probably drown in self-hatred and depression and guilt-

I don't want them to regain their memories, for their own sake

[beevean]

Video game timelines be like:

Sonic: A bit messy at points, namely with stuff like many 90s side games having stuff like an abnormal number of Emeralds, or Sonic 2 8-bit with its “if you steal the Emeralds South Island will sink!” which makes no sense with the other games, combined with the fact that characters from these games such as Fang or Mighty and Ray are making come backs, which makes these game’s canonicity status a bit weird. Then there’s more recent stuff like Classic Sonic originally being presented as Sonic’s past self but later stated to be his alternate dimension counterpart which eh. But overall it’s surprisingly simple and compact for such an old and broad franchise, much more so than folks give it credit for, mostly due to most games taking place in release order and being pretty standalone

Mega Man: Same as Sonic, though the division in sub series each taking place in different time periods creates a certain illusion of there being some form of overarching narrative that technically isn’t actually there

Castlevania: The timeline itself makes sense but the process of getting there wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, given the plethora of games made in the 1990s by different teams, some of them giving their own spin on the series which didn’t always mesh well with the other games, and so it needed some cleaning up. The creation of a timeline however was also limiting in some aspects as it put a strict limit on how many times Dracula could resurrect without it feeling too contradictory with his “rises once a century” shtick

Zelda: lol

Metroid: Holy shit there are actually practically no issues here!

Reply: Where did you read about South Island sinking in S2 8-bit? The manuals don’t seem to say anything about it

Sonic’s timeline is very intuitive to me, it only starts to become a bit confused after Mania/Forces (and singular cases like ‘06 and its impact on the timeline). Games like Spinball and Fighters aren’t canon anyway lol, and Knuckles’ Chaotix was deliberately retconned

As for the rest, no notes :P I always appreciated how Metroid built its own story very elegantly for a series of its time, even if it meant that the Prime series had to be shoved between M1 and M2

[melancholia00]

I love Nocturne despite it being very small fandom but what I don’t care for is the treatment of Richter and Mizrak while holding Olrox in a pedestal which I do but not at the expanse of Richter and Mizrak. Richter’s only crime is that of his mother for killing Olrox’s lover who is a Mohican indigenous man. We don’t know what was behind Julia’s motive for killing his lover other than him being a vampire. That’s it. Olrox had every right to kill Julia and we can’t give Richter any shit for having negative feelings for Olrox.

Olrox doesn’t have any personal beef with Richter at all and he says he’s going to kill him but at Richter’s prime. Richter is only 19 years old and not there yet and still has a long ways to go. Olrox killed Richter’s mother when he was 10 which you know in child development years it’s very crucial and Olrox had utterly messed up Richter’s development years astronomically. When he saw Olrox again and Richter was a 10 year old child again who just watched his mother get killed by a big scary vampire and was unable to do magic for almost a decade. Olrox had fucked him up greatly.

Mizrak on the other hand has agency and is a fully grown man and he barely known Olrox for about a week and the two fell so strong in the relationship. As much as we can intrepid Olrox’s past we still know nothing about Olrox. We can say Olrox was a freedom fighter or has fought with the Mohicans and his lover was Mohican and fought for the liberation of every oppressed group in the 13 colonies. Who’s to say that’s even canon or it can later be revealed that all of Olrox’s motive was entirely self-serving? Again, Olrox is an enigma and so is his past and even Mizrak and his life as a Hospitaller Knight.

Mizrak calling Olrox,” An animal” has to be his callousness of leaving Richter, Maria, Annette, The Abbot, and Tera to die in the Abbey which is why Mizrak left Olrox behind to find Richter and the group.

People are reading waaaaay too much of Mizrak calling Olrox an animal which is Mizrak calling Olrox out on pulling Mizrak away from the line of fire and leaving everyone else to die and Mizrak isn’t afraid to die. Olrox doesn’t love him, the world is ending and his friends are about to die by this evil cat goddess, what does he have to lose?

[samasmith23]

The seminal scene where Batman briefly contemplates blowing the Mutant Leader into oblivion within the safety & comfort of his Bat-Tank before deciding to go outside and fight him head-on perfectly encapsulates the interpretation of TDKR’s version of Batman as a “Byronic Hero.”

In literary terms, assistant professor Vinod Kumar Mahawar describes the Byronic Hero as, “an extreme variation of the Romantic hero archetype. Traditional Romantic heroes tend to be defined by their rejection or questioning of standard social conventions and norms of behavior, their alienation from larger society, their focus on the self as the center of existence, and their ability to inspire others to commit acts of good and kindness. Romantic heroes are not idealized heroes, but imperfect and often flawed individuals who, despite their sometimes less than savory personalities, often behave in a heroic manner.”

While Miller emphasizes Batman’s Byronic defiance of social norms & inspiration of others through the various talking news heads and Carrie Kelly adopting the mantel of Robin, Batman’s imperfections and “less than savory personality” are on full-display in both the tank & subsequent fight scene. Here we see that while Batman refuses to kill the Mutant Leader, he’s not doing it out of moral righteousness, but rather for self-centered wish-fullfilment since he envies his younger foe’s physical strength and pleasures the thought of potentially overpowering him. YouTuber Just Write also derived these specific characteristics from this scene and discussed them greater detail in relation to the Batman mythos as a whole in his “What Kind of Hero is Batman (Part II)” video.

In essence, Miller portrays Bruce Wayne in a far from altruistic manner, portraying him as an embittered old man who’s addicted to the adrenaline rush of near-death experiences, and seeks to reclaim the past glory of his youthful prime.

But while this characterization of Bruce easily lends itself to pro-fascist interpretations (especially since the text simultaneously glorifies Batman’s vigilantism whilst critiquing it), Franky-Boy was at least self-aware enough back in the 80s to convey the limitations & shortcomings of the Dark Knight’s Byronic heroism. These shortcomings are expertly communicated through Batman’s arrogance as the elderly crime-fighter quickly realizes the futility in attempting to outmatch the much younger Mutant Leader’s raw brute strength during their first encounter.

I’ll also admit that I absolutely loved the subversive nature of Batman & the Mutant Leader’s first fight when I initially read TDKR back in high school. I was initially nervous that the book was about to jump the shark, thinking to myself, “Oh no… we’re really not going to see an old man easily outfight a muscular monster, are we?” Only to be shocked & engrossed by the realism & brutality of Batman being beaten near to death as a consequence of his flawed hubris.

From Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #2 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, & Lynn Varley.

[skrunksthatwunk]

yknow i forgot how prominent age as a theme is within the dark tournament semifinals. like they really emphasize it a lot in the leadup to toguro and genkai's confrontation and the reveal of their past. makintaro doesn't really contribute to this much (regeneration of the body as a theme? focus on a quick, bloody death in young age? idk), nor does kuromomotaro (changing forms in response to moves is a form of learning incorporated into the body (i.e. muscle memory), and that's something that can happen with age + experience, but it's not the clearest connection), but the other three fighters hit on that theme very consistently.

uraurashima's idunn box causes weakness through youth, and in the case of kurama showing the power that his age and past demonic life give him. in a way, kurama is older as shuichi than as yoko, though the appearances and demeanors of each contrast this. reliving his youth briefly makes kurama stronger, but more cruel. he softened with age, with becoming a human child. it's goofy basically.

and then one of shishiwakamaru's first moves was to reveal genkai's identity, and her age is the key sticking point. she is unable to be the same masked fighter the audience saw during the dr ichigaki fight because she is an old woman, and the "other" masked fighter was not. her weakness and her age are associated here, both as a form of ageism and as an acknowledgement of the simple truth that bodies get weaker as they age. so we're brought to the core conflict between her and toguro, in the latter running from aging to keep himself safe from sudden, tragic loss. that sudden loss in one's prime can be seen in toguro's students, in makintaro, even in kuwabara, as his youthful ignorance and bravado is what leads to him getting teleported out of the ring twice (head in my hands. c'mon kuwabara). shishi is also struck down in youth by genkai reflecting his power, by using his (youthful) strength against him. shishi hitting on her in the end because she's young and beautiful reinforces the shallowness of his value system. shishi wants to be a star (notably not a legend, but something more ephemeral). he calls kuwabara ugly and he calls genkai ugly and he's defeated by the life experience (bygone youth) of genkai. he sees her for her young, legendary self and wants her. but only if she stayed young forever. he resembles toguro in this, to some extent (toguro wanted her strength and survival, shishi wanted her beauty).

the fight with suzuki is also fairly obvious. the barbs kuwabara and suzuki-as-onji exchange are largely age-based, much like shishi and genkai's. kuwabara once again loses due to his impatience and thoughtlessness. when suzuki fights genkai, he says he disguised himself as an old man because he finds age revolting, and he hoped it would fuel his rage to immerse himself in it. suzuki is a master of disguise. he is a faker. his pretend-age is also pretend-wisdom and pretend-experience. he is also shallow, self-centered, and arrogant. he overlaps with shishi in a lot of respects, so i'll try to explain the differences i see. shishi wants to achieve stardom, something brief and glamorous; suzuki wants to achieve immortality by being preserved through retellings of his exploits. suzuki wants to be remembered in his youth, but not quite as he was, so the people's imaginations will elevate him to perfection. shishi wants to be celebrated for what he did in the present, for present attention and glory; suzuki wants to be remembered post-mortem. again, suzuki's all about image, while shishi's image is a tool to get him fame-bought luxury. genkai wins by goading suzuki into using only his physical strength, something he hasn't honed properly, and something she has. genkai beats shishi by using his youth and power against him, as guided by her many years of experience as a fighter, and looks briefly like she's in the middle of those fighting years because of it. genkai beats suzuki by using his laziness and pride against him, by taking advantage of his lack of physical training and self improvement and goading him into not using his crutch in the form of flashy trinkets or techniques.

it's these fights that lead up to genkai and toguro's encounter before the finals, and which happen during genkai's final test for yusuke. she's passing the torch to him and getting substantially weaker for it because she's already getting weaker due to age. she says he's able to do more with the same chunk of condensed power because of his youth. she's passing the product of decades of intense spiritual and bodily training on to yusuke as part of his graduation. it's a coming of age. yusuke's growing up (like keiko said on the sidelines during the shishi/suzuki fights, like yusuke said before his test or the semifinals began).

idk what i'm trying to say here exactly but my point is you can't get away from the theme of aging and what people will do to avoid it, and how people squander their youths or fail because of them. toguro ran from that fight and he's looking to yusuke, a young fighter with as much of genkai's experience, wisdom, and skill (all products of age) as he could carry loaded into him, to punish him for that choice, and to end his indefinite youth. loss and death are horrible, but to run from them is cowardly. to run towards them is foolish. and as yusuke and his friends are always running towards death, it seems their opponents are always running from them. and in the middle of it all genkai stands still. waiting.

anyway this round's really interesting bc everyone's kinda comedically cheeks but it's really important for pitching the themes the finals, pre-finals, and aftermath're gonna knock out of the park. genkai's prominence 1) increases attachment to her 2) drives home her drop in power after passing the spirit wave orb on to yusuke and 3) shows how capable she is without it. this means that 1) we're gonna feel the loss of her much harder, and that's coming up next. 2) we fear for her much more than we otherwise would when she faces off against toguro, and understand it as her knowingly marching to her death. 3) she's not so weak that we think there's nothing she can do. she's still impressive in this state, which makes it suck so much harder when toguro absolutely bodies her like she's nothing. it makes the audience feel like she's helpless, much like fawn-legged pre-tourny yusuke was helpless (and during-tourny yusuke tbh). 4) haha bonus but it makes us think well, maybe if she hadn't given up the orb she could've managed. and that's the kind of thinking genkai's trying to get yusuke to reject. chasing power for fear of death and loss is gonna lead you to do some awful shit, and she doesn't want that for him. it raises the question genkai begs us to answer her way, no matter how tempting toguro's response may be. it puts us in yusuke's shoes. yeah thumbs up

anyway idk if any of this makes sense and im not editing it so like. have this

sweet sweet dark tourny content

[ao3wasntenough]

There's other I thinking au for Sam, since it's kind canon Merlin is exist in bay. And let's make the knights are more likely guardian of artifacts and optimus is part of knights because he protect Allspark and he is a prime, so his past as low caste and not fighter still exist, optimus became knights same time when he became prime.

And well turn out Sam is from witwican bloodline and they in sense have magic. What if Sam have magic too? And well while he can feel supernatural stuff, he not aware about alien so he clueless about it when he see bumblebee in his car mode.

And of course it's something secret and well wile government short of knowing they can't do anything about that (I am no want government drama)

But of course Sam dragged into cybertron war so he must doing anything to still live and that meant showing his secret. His magic while not using wand, Sam must saying it in Latin and old english. With magic can be dangerous enemy for Decepticons. But like Harry Potter he hide among normal human and his kinsis hiding too and they not really have magic government per se, they follow like fairy court or any supernatural court in their place.

Also I thinking that when he first time seeing Autobots he still shock but not terrified because he saw many supernatural shit, and he will demand Autobots to showing that they are not from other dimensions / interdimensional being and Really from other planet but same dimension like him. Sam will demand them to showing his their blood because different dimensions different vibe, this will make he and Ironhide argue but after Sam sure Autobots are alien , Sam Start freak out.

I am gonna call it witwican au. Do you think the story will different if Sam have magic?

I think the implications are actually so unintentionally fantastic!

like the idea of generationally the witwician's have been trying to bullshit their way though life with cybertronians and other people build up an image of them to be strong awe inspiring leaders while they've just been so in over their head.

like even before the idea of merlin and the witwican clan, I long thought about the minor mention of his great, great grandpa who first found Megatron, going "insane" due to the glyphs and information being a generational trait of Schizophrenia which Sam during his allspark shard induced madness was thought was the problem and not aliens because he was sick of aliens.

I absolutely love the idea this lineage has the most love hate relationship with Cybertron before modern history knew of Cybertron.

I honestly couldn't see Sam with magic being a huge change aside giving him more agency and self power, and maybe a different feelings to the autobots and Optimus prime. Ye'old Knight finally reunited with thy wizard

I loved the designs of the knights so much, so cool, Imagine if in the last knight cade and the other humans after learning about the witwican clan, discover Sam had gone missing trying to find the knights and following his family's foot steps?

i love that idea more then the actual nothing ending he got with a cameo photo implying death.

[kalahannikolai]

My original Megatron design, in his Present form (left) and a sketch of his Civil War form (right). Easily both my best Transformers art yet, and also my favorite designs I've ever executed. He is truly my magnum opus, it's amazing.

Lore and story below!

Lord Megatron, former leader of the Decepticons and now a shadow of his former self. Once upon a time, he and his sister Arcee had been masterful gladiators in the Pits of Kaon. They were the ultimate fighters, but Megatron found himself wanting for a better life for the both of them. He sought it out beyond the gladiatorial pits, and climbed his way past the obstacles of society to call for a better Cybertron.

But one's path doesn't always go the way they originally intend.

As followers came to his side, rallied by his call for the Senate's dissolution, Megatron would find himself losing his way. Glory and conquest would wet his appetite, and give him a craving for more. The Decepticons he'd founded, gathered under the desire to break down their oppressors, began to wholly relish in destruction. Megatron himself began to laugh during battle, engaged his combat that made him feel the vigor of the pits again.

But Megatron's bloody path would not proceed without an obstacle in its way. The young Orion Pax had been chosen, raised to Primehood and ready to fend off the Decepticon hostilities. Thus was the Autobot Resistance forged in opposition to Megatron's own ambitions. And oppose him they did, so fiercely that they would lead Megatron to fall on a last resort.

Megatron tapped into the dark forces of the universe, and found the gaze of the Destroyer fell upon him.

Unicron himself overwhelmed the Gladiator's true wishes, and began to seed the Decepticon faction with darkness. Seeing his own men reduced to bloodthirsty monsters opened his eyes to what they'd already become. Unwilling to see their people become slaves, Megatron called for a true between the Decepticons and Autobots. The deliberations mediated by Vector Prime himself, it ended with Megatron stripped of command and sentenced into exile.

He took the fall from grace with honor, and left Soundwave as leader in his place.

Today he lingers in exile as he wanders the fringe wilds of Fódlan. Unwilling to interfere in history anymore, but unable to keep himself away, Megatron has found his fate intertwined with a one Byleth Eisner. He watches her journey from the shadows, nudging her when necessary in the right direction; to become the hero he knows she can be. After all, it had taken a hero to defeat him once upon a time. Byleth will need to become a proper one to be what the world needs her to be, and the once and glorious King of Kaon will ensure it.

[deck16]

I ran the first chapter of a homebrew Guild Wars 2-themed campaign in Pathfinder Second Edition. This post talks about how it went.

Overview

The time: 1325 AE, around the time that Guild Wars 2's Personal Story begins.

The place: The Stronghold of Ebonhawke and surrounding areas.

The starting premise: The heroes are adolescents living in a long-term refugee camp inside Ebonhawke, consisting mainly of those displaced by the Ogre Revolt. The heroes will start with small quests to help out the camp, and in doing so, discover and face greater threats to Ebonhawke.

I tried to keep close to the Guild Wars lore, but I'm certain I will have made some mistakes.

The first chapter dealt with these major themes:

The difficult road to peace. Animosity between charr and humans, featuring Separatist and Renegade forces. The heroes confronted hatreds both violent and more subtle.

Complex moral choices. When is it right to do harm for a greater good?

Found family.

The first chapter ran over approximately 30 sessions over the course of about 6 real-world months. Characters went from level 1 to 4 in that time.

We played using Foundry. The screenshots in this post depict actual Foundry scenes, albeit with post-hoc recreations of character positioning.

The Player Characters

I won't name names because I don't want to over-share characters that aren't mine. I will instead refer to them in this post by class. The party was:

Male charr fighter

Male charr kineticist (fire)

Nonbinary sylvari druid (art source)

Female human cleric

Female human psychic

(See more about the Guild Wars races here).

I made custom rules for these ancestries:

Humans were PF2e humans, with a few extra Guild Wars options added.

Sylvari were lightly-modified PF2e ghoran, with a few extra Guild Wars options added.

Charr I created as an ancestry from scratch.

No asura or norn. No-one chose those races, so I didn't need to make custom ancestries for them.

No custom rules were made for classes. Some were natural fits: kineticist as elementalist, psychic as mesmer, fighter as warrior. Cleric and druid did not fit the game's classes so well (unless you include the Guild Wars 1 monk), but in my opinion they fit the game's genre just fine.

All PCs were refugees living in the camp. Non-sylvari characters were aged around 13-16 years. The humans were twins, who emerged from the Ebonhawke asura gate with no memory of their past.

They started out as a group of friends, and that developed as they adventured together.

Player Character Arcs

Fighter

Fighter was the group's self-appointed leader. He called them "The Great Warband". He was brashly over-confident, optimistic, cheerful, and naive. This personality would be worn down by harsh realities of the world.

Of most impact, he wanted to be able to join Psychic and Cleric in a human-only public speaking competition, going so far as to appeal to the human government. This would lead to double tragedy: his request was officially denied by a harsh panel of Ministers, despite an emotional appeal. Worse, Separatist thugs would ambush the party and beat Fighter badly for daring to make the appeal, causing him to lose an eye (on the player's suggestion!) and some amount of his childish innocence and optimism.

Supported by the twins, fighter makes his case to Lord Faren and a number of human ministers.

Kineticist

Kineticist was stoic and sensible. Devoted to Mara, the camp, and his friends, he worried over intra-group tensions. He kept his fire-magic a secret from non-party onlookers, lest he be mistaken for Flame Legion.

Moral but pragmatic, he was tested when he had to perform dark deeds for the greater good, the prime example being when he was forced to kill a Flame Legion charr cub who was moments away from activating a dangerous flame effigy.

Kineticist moves to kill a charr cub before she can light a flame effigy.

Psychic

Psychic was head-strong and confident; and a skilled talker. She was independent, always wanting to tackle problems directly rather than seek aid. She resented the deference other members of the party had to adults, thinking her comrades were as capable as any adult.

While far from being evil, she was the party member with the least compunction when it came to doing harm. To her, the ends justified the means. She fiercely protected her sister Cleric. Sometimes this would put her in trouble the rest of the party would have to help her out of. Other times this led her to cruel acts, such as killing a non-combatant Separatist child who sneered with delight at the party being in danger.

Cleric

Cleric was kind and hopeful, but also a realist. She accepted that dark deeds sometimes were needed, but did everything possible to avoid them. A devotee of Dwayna, she sought to help those in need.

Non-confrontational and empathetic, she clashed least with other party members. Pragmatic and phlegmatic, she was affected least by the dark moments of this first chapter, as she was always motivated to do measurable good no matter how small that seemed in the grander scheme.

Sometimes I would use maps that were more "mood-setters" than actual battle-maps. Here's Gwen's courtyard. Druid's animal companion Thunder was a Krytan Drakehound that originally belonged to Gwen. Gwen was happy enough to give the animal away to a better owner.

Druid was non-violent and carefree, even to the point of taking a mostly-support role in combat. Though technically younger than the others, Druid believed themselves wiser, and sought to guide the party. Mainly, they wanted the party to be less hot-headed and less risk-taking. The advice wasn't always welcomed: to some characters at some times it felt more scolding than sage advice. Late in the chapter, Druid decided to shed some of their more idealistic ideas for a harder stance, the ramifications of this as-yet mostly unseen.

Story Arcs

Several story arcs were interwoven together chronologically. I am going to present these by theme, to be less confusing.

Some elements of the story are not fully explained; I am only including things the players are aware of! No spoilers here for the next chapter!

In an early adventure, the heroes were sent to gather scrap metal from a charr war machine. They needed to fend off Gwen's gang who were hoping to do much the same.

Chores

A charr called Mara Trenchleap was the group's defacto parent figure. Leader of the refugee camp in Ebonhawke, she assigned duties to the PCs.

Early adventures dealt with doing chores to help the camp. Collecting devourer eggs. Chasing away pesky skritt. Helping members of the camp. Fairly innocent stuff.

Many of the chores would lead into the story arcs below.

Later they would help Mara prepare for an attack on an Inquest lab (explained below). They would help her find old comrades, and help secure weapons and equipment.

A skritt called Rikkitiktikka shows the party to her then-abandoned scratch. Don't worry: the heroes would go on to rescue the lost skritt from an Inquest lab, find them meaningful employment with the charr legions, and collapse a cavern that links the scratch to an area populated by dangerous Destroyers.

Gwen Thackery-Stubbs

Gwen Thackery-Stubbs was an NPC and daughter of a noble. She was about the same age as the party. Skilled with her father's pistol, she led a small gang of children. She and her gang would often rival the PCs during early sessions.

The party kept things from escalating, so this rivalry did not escalate beyond non-lethal fights. In fact, Gwen would later seek the party's help as her father was investigated by Ebon Guard for smuggling weapons. The party helped destroy some evidence, but it was not enough to keep her father free.

Ultimately, her father was arrested, and Gwen chose to live with the PCs in the refugee camp. Now devoid of money, her old gang had little interest in her, which cemented her allegiance with the PCs and especially Psychic who she looked up to. She even joined them as an NPC party member (at the player's insistence) in the final dungeon, where she did well as a gunslinger.

Later in the chapter, the heroes assaulted the main Separatist HQ in Ebonhawke. The Separatists were away, leaving younger delinquents from Gwen's old gang to guard the place. Despite being badly outnumbered, the party prevailed thanks to the advancements they had made since first tussling with these gang-members. It was mostly a fiery slaughter at the hands of Kineticist.

Separatists

The party interfered with some Separatist plans, especially those to smuggle weapons. Mostly this involved infiltrating various Separatist hideouts within and without Ebonhawke. The PCs also stopped crazed Separatist gunman, and managed to sabotage a Separatist public rally for support.

The party parleyed with Flame Legion. No good; it ended in a fiery fight. Despite outnumbering these Flame Legion five-to-two (there are two non-combatant cubs pictured), these were adult charr and so more mighty than the adolescent PCs.

Flame Legion

Curiously, a Flame Legion shaman was acting this far afield from Flame Legion territory. This shaman had displaced a group of skritt by causing volcanic activity and fire creatures to appear in their cave system.

The party destroyed a large Searing crystal held by the shaman. They killed the arrogant and dangerous Shaman and his Bladestorm comrade in a close battle. In a less-dangerous but darker battle, they killed one of the shaman's cubs as she tried to activate a flame effigy; leaving the shaman's mate to flee with the remaining cubs.

By collapsing the cave system in a bottleneck, the party sealed off the dangerous fiery areas of cavern, allowing the skritt to safely move back in.

The party confronted an icebrood Son of Svanir out on a frozen lake. Knowing this was far too dangerous to fight, they disrupted the ice beneath it, causing it to sink into the chill waters.

The Sentinels and the Inquest

The party would discover that the Sentinels were working with the Inquest to study the Brand. Inquest researcher Materialist Zirri was operating from Sentinel's Perch and used a private asura gate to travel to various Inquest labs.

The party took a job to investigate why one of those labs was not contactable. This lab was in the Far Shiverpeaks, and was unpowered. The party dealt with escaped troll specimens, restored power to the base, reprogrammed golems, and even dealt with some icebrood outside the facility. They rescued surviving Inquest researchers and freed a number of skritt.

During this, the PCs learnt more about Zirri and her research. It quickly dawned upon them she was Inquest -- a fact she had not mentioned. Moreover they discovered evidence and journals that the lab was experimenting on live branded specimens, including from Mara's old 'band: Trench Warband. They told Mara about this.

Mara's history was presented as a little combat, where players took the roles of Hastati, Mara, charr troops, and even branded monsters and the brand itself!

Trench Warband

Part-way through the chapter, Mara told the PCs about her history.

During the Ogre Revolt, she was a part of Trench Warband. Some of her warband were on patrol on the far side of the newly-created Brand. Her Legionnaire -- Hastati Stormtrench -- set out to rescue them, and ordered Mara to collect weapons and the rest of her 'band mates as reinforcements. When she did so, she detoured to help humans stop branded from entering Ebonhawke, knowing that the Branded could spread like a disease from creature to creature. This delay left the Legionnaire without reinforcements, leading to loss of life in the rescue mission.

During all this, Mara's leg was injured and was amputated to prevent her from becoming Branded. While she could still walk with a prosthetic, her reduced mobility saw her removed from the warband.

The PCs met Stormtrench in passing. They became wary of him due to his Inquest allies. They became highly suspicious of him when they met him outside the caverns of the Flame Legion shaman (see above), seemly waiting for some liaison with the shaman. Hastati became irritated when he believed the PCs had fragments of the Searing crystal (which they did), and demanded them. He and his soldiers chased them through the cave, but the PCs managed to lose him.

In Nolan's recreation of Regent Valley, the heroes worked with Mist-exploring asura to force a dangerous aatxe back through its portal deeper into the Mists.

Nolan Mullenix

Nolan Mullenix was a nobleman from Divinty's Reach, and a philanthropist who donated to Mara's camp. To express her thanks, Mara had the PCs do chores for him.

Nolan took a particular interest in the twins, due to their strange origin and their magic talents.

Early on, this included a journey to the ruins of Rin, where the party saw the ghosts of Ascalon. They also ventured into an old Ascalonian tomb.

Later on, they entered Nolan's "sanctuary" in the Mists, which he had modelled to look like pre-searing Ascalon. He tasked them with clearing out some Mist-entities from a corner of his sanctuary. In doing so, the PCs met a group of asura Mist-explorers and after a brief confused combat about who were the real Mist creatures, they teamed up to banish a nasty aatxe and some its shadow-minions.

Later, the party participated in a two-person-team magic duel, as well as a public speaking competition. Fighter lost his eye in challenging the human-only nature of this competition (see "Player Character Arcs" above). The twins won the Ebonhawke regionals, going to the finals in Divinity's Reach. Much of their preparation they did in the peaceful environs of Nolan's Mist Sanctuary, with his permission.

Nolan was friendly to everyone, including the PCs. But they were wary of him, largely because of his power. Not only could he carve out areas of the Mists for his own use, but on a number of occasions the PCs witnessed him using powerful mesmer abilities.

Vistawhiff

Castella Vistawhiff was an Ash Legion spy who was initially encountered when she was investigating Gwen's father on suspicion of arming Separatists.

Vistawhiff would take a liking to Fighter, as Fighter would volunteer any information when asked. Their relationship spoiled when Vistawhiff requested help from Fighter, but Fighter would not abandon the twins during their public speaking performance during the Ebonhawke regionals.

The Necromancer

Early on, the PCs found evidence of a necromancer named Kofi Duskwynn working as a mercenary in the Ebonhawke area. They eventually discovered she was working both sides -- Separatists and Renegades -- taking money and corpses from each to assail the other with necromantic minions.

The PCs explored a dungeon where she had operated from, and witnessed her deal with Separatist forces on a few occasions.

She worked with the Separatists on a new plan. Using a number of special amulets, they planned to create Risen within the charr camp inside Ebonhawke. This would leave the Ebon Guard little choice but to shut the camp down.

The PCs caught wind of this plan, but it would not come to fruition as Kofi abducted Separatist children. Equally furious and scared, the Separatists abducted charr cubs to offer in exchange. They marched on Kofi's lair, hoping to trade, but prepared to fight. The PCs were close behind on all of this, following the Separatists to across into Shiverpeak Foothills to Kofi's lair.

Kofi had not just abducted Separatist children. She had taken Renegade children too. Both Separatist and Renegade forces met outside her dungeon and fought. This was Kofi's plan: the dead would become her army, which she would grow with conquest, all to please Zhaitan who she was sure would conquer all of Tyria sooner or later.

The PCs dove into the fracas to save the charr cubs. From there, they entered Kofi's lair, encountering more squabbling Separatist and Renegades, rescuing more children, and ultimately killing the Necromancer.

In the final battle against the necromancer, Dorothea sneaked ahead with invisibility, allowing her to get the drop on the necromancer when combat broke out.

Chapter End

The story ended with the party split, though this was as-per their choice.

The twins, along with Fighter and NPC Gwen, went to the public speaking competition finals in Divinity's Reach, and won. The prize was a large stipend which could be used for their education.

During their competition, they witnessed Hastati Stormtrench lead a century of charr soldiers through the streets, escorted by Seraph. Announcers calmed the crowd, saying they were heading to the Ebonhawke gate to apprehend "the renegade Trench warband". Though concerned, none of the PCs left the competition.

Meanwhile, Mara was preparing to attack the Inquest lab with some of comrades. She hoped to free her Branded comrades by killing them. Kineticist and Druid were helping make sure the camp would operate as normal without its usual leader.

Vistawhiff had told Legion authorities about Mara's plans, as relayed to her by Fighter. Stormtrench mobilised to strike first, and Mara's plans were halted by his unexpected presence. Mara confronted Stormtrench. Druid tried to help Kineticist escape the scene, but Kineticist would not abandon Mara. Druid's interference led to Druid being skewered by some strange phantasm-like charr conjured by Stormtrench. (Druid would later be stabilised by a charr soldier.)

Kineticist offered himself and the Searing crystals to Stormtrench in order for Mara to not be executed. Little did Stormtrench know that one crystal was left behind, in a hiding place behind the hiding place.

Time Skip

Some time will pass before Chapter Two begins. Probably many months or even some years. What have the players said their characters might do during this time?

Fighter turns vigilante, carving "S" or "R" onto any Separatist or Renegade he can find. He specialises in finding those that try to flee from Ascalon.

Kineticist was spared from execution. Hastati sent him and Mara as prisoners to different work camps. Kineticist was unable to seek Mara, but will have some contact with any who might come to his work camp.

Psychic and Cleric both use their competition prize to study. Psychic studies under Nolan. Cleric seeks a more political angle, and manages to find a position working as Count Anise's assistant.

Druid wandered Tyria, trying to comprehend all that happened.

The Setting

I've always liked Guild Wars as games. I know the setting fairly well. Both of these things made it a good choice for use as an established setting.

It's also a setting that is expansive, yet with plenty of regional detail. It has a living history but with a fairly slow burn, and not a break-neck cavalcade of different world-ending threats. This gives me, as GM, a lot of work with.

A dungeon opened into a secluded valley where moa foraged at a river bank. This valley was purely scenic.

Exploration

One thing I love about Guild Wars 2 as a game is the sense of exploration it fosters. (Check my retrospective if you want to hear me harp on about that.) It was something I wanted to capture in this campaign.

I put vistas into some of the adventures. Literally, I slapped the icon on certain maps. It was fun as a cheeky reference, but it also spoke to the exploration aspect of Guild Wars 2, which I really wanted to capture.

Capturing a sense of place and space is hard in a TTRPG. This was something I tried to do. I went to the effort of getting still shots for many minor scenes. Some screenshots, some not. I curated some of the more iconic music themes from the game. I think it paid off.

A simple cross-the-bridge-in-the-storm scene proved very dramatic. Excellent mileage for something I quickly whipped up with PF2e actions like Crawl, Balance, Grab an Edge; along with Hazard rules giving some random nasty effects to the swaying bridge. The party enjoy a Vista after completing the crossing.

Expository Shortcuts

My players had a mix of Guild Wars 2 experience, from near-zero to quite extensive. This actually worked well both ways.

Working in a well-known setting allowed me, as a GM, to take expository shortcuts. In a typical homebrew world, every person, place, or thing is an unknown to the players, at least initially, and GMs have to work to establish those backgrounds. In a known setting, there's so much to work with that comes "pre-installed" with meaning.

The players learning they were in an Inquest lab meant nothing to the players unfamiliar with the lore. But to those who were, it opened up a whole new bevy of thoughts and concerns. All without me having to lift a finger.

The other fun aspect is that the players that know can explain the lore to the players who don't know in-game and in-character.

This simple mood-setting scene was used a few times. It's a screenshot from Guild Wars 1, in pre-searing Ascalon, and despite dated graphics it still conjures a certain peace. As a scene, it was used for travel, to allow a bit of light role-play between scenes. Later, I'd use this scene after Fighter's brutal beating at the hand of Separatists. He narrated taking the party out of Ebonhawke to the sight of his mother's grave, where he gave a heartfelt speech.

Arcane Influence

There were two major influences for this campaign. The first obviously being Guild Wars 2. The second being Arcane. Arcane's influence was mainly in the story structure: an initial chapter where the characters are adolescents, a time skip, then a continuation of story with them as adults. The first chapter has been the adolescent arc.

Duration

I didn't intend for this first chapter to take as long as it did. As mentioned, it ran over approximately 30 sessions over the course of about 6 real-world months. I think my initial idea was to do half that.

Was it a problem? Not really. While I would prefer my estimations to match reality it was never really the case that the campaign was dragging its feet or meandering without direction.

Part of the of the problem may have been down to my desire to run sessions even when there's known to be low player presence. I made more than one "side quest" adventure for just two or three players. While that makes for a less tight campaign, I think routine and reliability-of-play are imperative for a healthy TTRPG group.

The biggest problem was that PCs went from level 1 to 4 over this chapter. I didn't want to go much higher with them as still adolescents. That's a long time to languish in lower levels, especially for the casters, and that's a mistake I apologise for.

Levels

I am developing a philosophy with PF2e that somewhat mirrors one I settled on way back in 3.5 edition Dungeons and Dragons. Adult humanoid NPCs are, on average, about level 4.

(Yes, this even works with non-combat NPCs. In D&D 3.5e that could be handled with NPC classes. In PF2e, non-combat levels are the way to go.)

I think I kept this sense of scale well. At first the heroes could only contend with other juvenile foes, like Gwen's gang of delinquents (in fact, her gun was quite the frightening novelty in such battles). Later, the heroes could tussle with adults, but they would have to outnumber any that had decent combat training. The PCs might be able to take on some of the weaker "weekend warrior" Separatists, but they could not contend with properly-trained Separatist or charr adults without outnumbering them.

I think it's important to do this sort of thing so the players can intuit what's dangerous and what's not. It seemed to work: they knew serious threats like Sons of Svanir, ettins, and ogres just by seeing them, and either fled or approached with extreme caution.

It's also great for a sense of progression. When, nearer the chapter end, the heroes were able to trounce Gwen's old gang it was clear how far they'd come even with only two levels.

Monsters are a bit of a mixed bag. I wanted a bit of variety, so I did allow some monsters that I thought would be ordinarily too powerful, but just made them weaker versions: that devourer is a juvenile, that spectre is faded, that elemental is lukewarm. I think that's forgivable.

In an especially dark moment, Separatist forces return a charr cub hostage to Renegade forces, along with an armed and timed explosive hidden on her body! This drove home to the heroes how duplicitous the Separatists could be... whether driven by desperation, racial hatreds, or both.

Darkness

Guild Wars 2 is, mostly, a hopeful setting (it's in the theme tune!). As explained above, this campaign was fairly dark.

Partly this was the Arcane influence. The time-skip needed to happen with some uncertainty and looming troubles. Player characters needed to be challenged and maybe even broken. Mentor NPCs needed to meet bad ends.

Overall I do not feel I was wrong to use a darker tone, but I do feel a bit bad about it. It was just a bit overpowering. I don't think there needed to be less darkness. I think there needed to be more lightness: more clear wins, more happy NPCs, more nice moments. A softer mix that could provide a harsher contrast.

Conclusion

Overall, I am glad I ran this campaign. It was a fun TTRPG romp. And there were some memorable moments and powerful RP scenes along the way.

I am always glad when a campaign of mine reaches a chapter-point. To me, it's that same relief as when you see that little "Saving..." notification after a brutally difficult stretch of video game. The progress is "locked in".

I don't like to see campaigns fizzle out, with stories and character arcs left forever hanging. A chapter-point brings enough finale to a story to mitigate this fizzle-factor.

But that doesn't mean I'm content to leave the story there. I hope one day to return for Chapter Two!

[ragnar0c]

Did these for the OoS crew... it took a really long time for some reason BAHAHA....

Brainrot underneath the read more as usual. But the pics themselves speak volumes if you know the characters... the brainrot is just in case you don't know, how each character reminds me of each oc. But mainly so I can get the brain worms out of my head!!

EOCs: (Hana, Alope, Ignis, Enid, Tank)

Hana:

Korra, Elise Liedl, Alice (Pandora Hearts), Rita Mordio, Frieren, and Edward Elric

Most like: Elise, Korra, and Rita.

She's desperately trying to prove herself as a Zodiac (Korracore) and has massive dreams of grandeur she'd do anything to fulfill. (ELISE) She likes to think she'd sacrifice anyone and acts cold but really is afraid of connections for the same reason. As a result she's overly attached to the object of her research since she can't hurt it and it can't hurt her. (Rita)

Very reminiscent later on (like frieren) but acts headstrong and louder (like ed or Alice) when she feels passionate enough.

Alope:

Bolin, Rose (Tales of Zestiria), Denji, Mae (Fire emblem echoes), Kanami (Log Horizon), Luz (TOH)

Most like: DENJI

Alope doesn't have a last name or parents it seems. She's stuck in someone else's debt... (Denji) shes poor but it doesn't stop her from being silly and kind initially (Bolin) She does what she needs to do to get jobs done while people hesitate. Along with a strong sense of justice... poor common sense while in conversation tho. (Rose++ Also Alope is scared of ghosts just like her too. )

one thing comes to another and Alope goes from that loud kind girl to someone who's been traumatized and feeling at fault... Wrestling her self doubt and resentment but at the same time will still do anything to right her wrongs. (LUZ MY BABY)

Mae and Kanami are there for vibes. They radiate Alopenergy

Ignis:

Niren Fedrock, Kento Nanami, Vander, Optimus Prime, Hohenheim, Lukas (fire emblem echoes)

Most like: Hohenheim.

An ex knight who follows a strict code of chivalry... he's kind, takes the helm with things are chaotic and is a good leader (Optimus, Lukas). It could be seen as a sort of facade though. Considering he left his past behind and this is sort of his last attempt to relive/fix it but better and older. (Hohenheim)

He's aloof and calm at first which gives him a cold look. But is notoriously sensitive when you know him. (Hohenheim) cares deeply for his family and guild (Vander. Niren). But is especially estranged from them at times with the whole aloof... reliving his past thing.... (HOHENHEIM. Lukas a little)

Nanami is on there bc his principle that adults should do things and not children is something Ignis strongly believes too. It's why he's so concerned about the girls.

Enid:

Reki Kyan, Okappa (Plastic Nee-san), Kisara Nanjo, Enid (O.K.KO), Brunhilde (Record of Ragnarok), Chastel and Hisca Aiheap (Tales of Vesperia: First Strike).

Most like: Reki Kyan.

A Monk whose emotions fluctuate constantly. (Brunhilde) They try to be levelheaded initially but are si passionate about others it spills over in excitement or anger (Reki). Prone to comedy violence when pissed (Okappa). Watches over the guild like how the twins (Chastel and Hisca)... so like nagging sisters BAHAHAH.

A skilled fighter, but has a soft side. (Kisara) they are trying to tap into it, but neglecting their fighting skill, something that was a big part of their identity seems to have made them doubt themselves and envy the others. (Kisara. Reki.)

Enid O.K. KO is the literal inspiration for Enid's name and a littleeee bit of their voice too. I crushed on Enid O.K. KO pretty hard and love the name bc her.

Tank:

Shikamaru, Raven (Tales of Vesperia), Lavi (D-gray man), Maes Hughes, Jake the dog, Saber (Fire emblem echoes)

Most like: tbh. I thought initially that Tank's board was the craziest but all these characters are so much like him I can't pick.

A guy who seems laid back and lazy and complains about work. Does anything to "avoid" it. Who always puts on a huge show so people don't suspect a thing from him. In reality, Tank is very meticulous and picks up on things about his guild before the others do. And despite his complaints about work will always pull more than his weight when he has to. (Literally all of them)

Though he's shady, he stays beside Enid and treats them like a sibling. (Saber) Though at times his treatment of them is dubious and he gives them counter productive advice (Jake)... He sees Enid as an idealist and would do anything to protect her (Hughes). He tries to keep his distance from everyone else, but the longer he stays the harder her finds it as he nature picks up on all the little things about them they don't know. (Lavi) Seems to have some unspoken backstory that affected him and changes his motives. (Raven and Shikamaru)

[vikkb]

Social media actors and the best practices of posting.

What I learnt about the best social media practices in module 1 was, you have to put effort into your online content. Being mindful of how you post, what you post and to who you are posting to. Based on these practices, the two instances I have chosen for my blog are from Ye and Logan Paul.  Firstly, Ye, in the past few years has become a very controversial individual due to many of his posts on X. From looking at the self brand infographic chart from module 1, Ye ticks off many of the requirements. He has a very charismatic personality, has a passion for music, and has only become so big due to his talented abilities. Ye most likely does not follow the 5th strategy for personal branding. He often posts in a very impulsive manner, and often very offensive or unfiltered content. These unadvised posts have made him a very polarizing figure in the entertainment industry and on platforms like X. He also doesn't follow the second principle of online netiquette. In the below tweet made by Ye, you can tell by his tone and the way he is typing in all caps, that he is emotional and the tweet feels like he has a superiority complex. This shows that he most likely does not know his audience, which goes against the best practices of social media. With the above mentioned information, and this example post, it shows that Ye is a prime example of not following the practices. Speaking of prime, Prime is a popular hydration beverage co-owned by YouTube personality Logan Paul. Logan Paul was a popular youtuber and vlogger in the past, and now is an entertainer in many fields and a business owner. From module 1, I learnt that social media branding often requires authenticity from the uploader. Being an energetic, chaotic youtuber for the young audience he had, and later becoming a boxer and WWE fighter required him to put up a character / inauthentic persona.  In 2018 Logan Paul uploaded a video of himself and friends visiting the Aokigahara forest in Japan, in which he found and horrifically displayed a deceased body. The 10th principle of online netiquette says that once something is posted, it is almost impossible to get rid of it on the internet. While this video was taken down, there are still copies of it that exist on the internet. This would be expected as the original video was on YouTube’s top trending page and Logan Paul was already a massively successful Youtuber at this point. Based on this information, Logan Paul is also an example of not following the best practices of social media. While they may have created “clear blue water” with their posts (distinguished themselves), they certainly didn't do it for the right reasons.

[bharatpractice]

Bhagat Singh Shaheed Diwas

Bhagat Singh Shaheed Diwas

Shaheed Diwas: A Tribute to the Principles of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. Every year on March 23 in India. Shaheed Diwas, or Martyrs' Day, is a commemoration of one of three young freedom fighters: All got hanged by British colonial rulers in 1931--some of the greatest martyrs in the struggle--they were Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar.

Their martyrdom awakened the passion for independence and stayed afresh and fruitful in the minds of the people of India.Shaheed Diwas

The Trio of Revolutionaries: Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev.

A young Sikh whose date of birth was September 28,1907, could see the nefariousness of the British rule, especially after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Those events prompted him to join HSRA, and what he did from there in the cause of freedom is well-known to all.

The boy belonged to Maharashtra-Shivaram Rajguru. He was an expert shooter and a devoted patriot in the struggle for India's liberation. Sukhdev Thapar, from Punjab, was an important figure in organizing revolutionary activities and was a close companion of Bhagat Singh.

The Lahore Conspiracy Case and Martyrdom

The trio, in an act of extraordinary audacity against the oppression of British colonial laws, decided to take revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, who was killed after he was badly beaten up by the police during a demonstration against British rule. Theirs was a plan to kill J.P. Saunders, a British police officer, in 1928. They were arrested and charged in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Though there were widespread appeals and protests against it.

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev had been sentenced to death. They went to the gallows on March 23, 1931, chanting "Inquilab Zindabad" (Long live the revolution).

Lasting Legacy:

The martyrdom of these young revolutionaries galvanized the Indian people, inspiring countless others to join the struggle for independence. The ideals of bravery, sacrifice, and patriotism still resound, a touchstone for generations to come.

Observing Shaheed Diwas

Every year on Shaheed Diwas, people from all over India come together to pay homage to these martyrs by holding ceremonies and other functions. These include all sorts of initiatives through education systems, ranging from debates, plays, and lectures to serve the cause of making youth aware of the sacrifices made for the freedom of the country. The thrilling ocean of social media tributes keeps the hopes high that in the digital world, this great contribution of heroes would never die out.

While we commemorate Martyrs' Day, it is also time to remind ourselves of the great sacrifices made for the freedom we enjoy today and to ascertain once again the values of justice, equality, and patriotism as personified by Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev.

Conclusion

Shaheed Diwas is a reminder of the huge price of freedom and an eternal spirit that clashed against oppression. Through the remembrance and honoring of these martyrs, we will not only pay tribute to their incommensurable sacrifices but also encourage our future generations to ascend to the light of courageous selflessness while dealing with kingdoms of hardship.

This is yet another bright day devoted to the remembrance of martyrs who have come forward to give their lives for this great land. We reflect on our past selves, pay tribute to those heroes who literally unwound the land, and bill the intense knacks with self-commitment to all that they have stood for.