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maxwell-grant · 6 months ago

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There's a trend people have pointed out in superhero stories over the past 20 or so years that is the death of "regular" supporting casts, an increasing absence of un-powered sidekicks or people involved who aren't in the thick of the action or in the hero's secret. Everyone who interacts with superheroes is a couple issues away from becoming one, every story involves a supervillain encounter or several dozen, every hero's gotta have a lunchbox-ready "superhero family" made from these characters, and every side character that doesn't join them is either going to die or become a supervillain.

The defining example people use for this is Spider-Man's supporting cast, with every Spider-Man cast member short of Aunt May and J Jonah Jameson getting some kind of powered upgrade or symbiote, and I'm gonna say Amanda Waller is an excellent case study of how this kind of thing happens, and I think it helps to explain why Amanda Waller has been, Like That, for the past 30 years.

She’s wearing a grey shirt underneath a blue blazer and it’s tucked into a similarly blue skirt that stops at mid calf. She reminds me of the neighbourhood aunties I used to see leaving for church every Sunday morning.

My mom used to say that you are the company you keep. So what kind of person does it take to keep a variety of bruised, battered, and dangerous personalities in check? - Amanda Waller: DC's Most Terrifying Woman

To those of you who haven't read John Ostrander and Kim Yale's Suicide Squad, there once was a time where Amanda Waller was something more than a powerful antagonistic force able to butt heads with the biggest superheroes, and something other than a heartless establishment face out to make superheroes miserable for ill-defined reasons. Structurally speaking, Suicide Squad is a comic about marginal DCU characters forced to deal with actual real life problems, and it's central character is a marginalized person forced to deal with DCU problems and characters. The members of the Squad are a rolling parade of costumed misfits and maniacs assigned to go around the globe to fight and kill and die on dirty missions to deal with dirty laundry and stop war zones from erupting, while Amanda Waller is forced to shuffle around her cadre of D-list supervillains and disgraced superheroes and get into stand-offs with secret spy societies, living nukes, voodoo cartels, and Batman.

Amanda Waller neither looks nor acts like the kind of character that stars in a superhero comic, and she is the central character throughout the 66 issues of the run and we follow her character arc from beginning to end as she's forced to spin plates to accomplish her goals and prevent bad situations from getting worse. She is the most fully realized character in the run and everything rests on her shoulders. We spend a lot of time inside her head, her team, her associates, she is the center holding together an extremely chaotic book with no two characters on the same page. She is, and has to be, an extremely powerful person, someone who stands her ground no matter what, an unbeatable force of will because that is the only way she's going to survive the situations she's in, the only way she can be "The Wall", the kind of person who can repel Batman, command a platoon of monsters, talk her way out of Deadshot's contract, someone who can stare at Darkseid and credibly threaten the President into letting her live.

That's the part that everyone is more or less familiar. But there is, or at least used to be, much more to Amanda Waller than just being The Wall, not in the least because being The Wall is also hampering her effectiveness as well as straight up killing her.

"Amanda's toughness has taken her a long way" "It's taken her as far as it can. But it can't take her no further. It's actually starting to drag her down. I'm scared for my baby sister, rev - scared that the anger in her is congealing into hate." - Suicide Squad #31

We get to know her backstory, her plans, her points of contention with the system, her relationships with people around her, and how deeply she cares about things and people even as she sends them to the meatgrinder. From the start we learn that Waller staffs her team with people she's prone to getting into disagreements with, like Simon LaGrieve and Rick Flag, specifically so they can cover her moral blind spots and pick up the slack in emotional intelligence she's lacking, be the heroes that she can't afford to be. It is unspeakably crucial that the Squad is led by Rick Flag as well as Bronze Tiger, a fallen hero who owes Waller for his recovery who eventually takes Flag's baton. Waller stands up for her team, gets into fights with her superiors when they decide to terminate them, and takes the fall for them when necessary. Waller is a person who does Bad Things - but she is not a Bad Person.

The book in no uncertain terms frames the Suicide Squad's existence as monstrous in a scale Waller doesn't understand until the very end, and it digs deep into the unethical things Waller has to allow for and perpetrate in order to keep it running no matter how many lives it saves, and she spends the first half of the book on a downward spiral. But then there's the 2nd half of the book:

In the first 39 issues, Amanda’s flaws are her undoing. As she pushes away the people she hired to act as a balance, she grasped tighter and tighter to her uncompromised vision of the Suicide Squad despite the constant changes and derailment. Her choices had consequences: the death of Rick Flag, her demotion, employees quitting, and finally, the disbandment of the team.

The last 27 issues have Amanda rising up from the ashes after a year in jail. She’s less in her own way – she communicates, her anger isn’t driving her, she’s more receptive of alternative perspective and recognizes when she’s wrong in real time – but she’s still just as scary.

Waller rebuilds her relationships with the people she drove away, takes a different tack to how the team works, and starts going out into the frontlines with the Squad. She brings Oracle (who actually made her debut in this comic) into the fold, saves her life and plays a big role in Barbara making progress in overcoming her Joker trauma. She genuinely puts in the work to improve as a person and do things a better way than before, even if there is an inescapable immorality to the very existence of the Squad and what they do. That immorality never goes away, and it only further horrifies her when learning how badly her project has gone. In fact, it's that very inescapable immorality that ends her arc.

She learns that the CIA has started using a new Suicide Squad to support a brutal regime in South America, and when faced with the full extent of her complicity in Western imperialism? She decides right then and there to end the Suicide Squad for good after they liberate the population of said regime from said Squad. She is the only person who gives a shit about the country enough to start the assignment for free once she knows about it, force the Squad along, lead the mission in field, and personally (and even gently) usher the villain to his death at the end, to end what began with her.

She does bad things, and she does good things. She cares about people, and she uses people. Her decisions ruin as well as save the world. She spins a million plates to match wills and wits with the strongest, wickedest, most cunning humans and superhumans alike, and she still has superiors to answer to and people close to her she hires to judge her for what she does. She endured racism and misogyny and poverty for decades and rode whatever she could to attain as much power over her own life as someone like her could possibly attain, and to have it, she must be a willing tool of the state and bend the knee to Ronald Reagan, the man she derides for what he did to her community, hating every minute of it.

She lost her family to sexual and racial violence, and now she wrangles a penal battalion comprised of some of the worst people on the planet to inflict violence on her orders. She has saved and redeemed people, and she's haunted by the corpses she's left in her wake. She is oppressed and oppressor, someone who could only escape the ravages of American imperialism by becoming one of it's chief enforcers, and still she rebuilds herself into a better person from it upon confronting and challenging her role in it. She is not a bad person, she is not a good person either, she is just afforded a degree of agency and complexity unpowered characters in superhero books simply don't get.

Okay cool, now what is she up to these days?

That, I guess. That is what a strong but unpowered person who does not allow themselves to be bossed around by superheroes or supervillains looks like now. Everytime there's a call for a military bad guy, Waller gets tagged in to be DC's Henry Gyrich. There was a point where Waller was made to contrast the likes of Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling, someone who butted heads with them because she was a well-meaning person working for and committing evil as often as she attempted to stop it. These days, the most consistent beat with her is that she is the most dangerous person alive and worse than the villains she wrangles into working for her. She is a thing to be overcome, a hypocrite to be exposed, a challenge to the natural order of the universe, and she is too terrific at it to be shuffled off quietly. She is a Bad Person and so everything she says and does is Bad (and thus can be ignored).

Integral to Suicide Squad's structure was the fact that Waller was the center holding everything together, the ultimate third party: spinning plates working with, for and against all of the others so she can bend rules and be bent by them. Bent, but never broken, because The Wall doesn't break, others break first. Waller was a one-of-a-kind character, and that broke her, because beating Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling at their own game means replacing Sarge Steel and Wade Eiling. Waller doesn't look like them, she doesn't look like the superheroes either, and so she can't be one of them. She can't even look like herself a lot of the time, they try to slim her up everytime they think they can get away with it.

Suicide Squad was preoccupied with exploring a perspective from a world outside the superhero worldview, but we no longer have her perspective or that of people around her, we only know her through the superheroes she inherently defies and has had an adversarial relationship against from day one. She is someone with a viewpoint that is charitable to neither superheroes nor institutions, and thus, the universe is increasingly less sympathetic to her, the less utility she has to the grander narrative where everyone has to pick between one of two options. If she wasn't powerful and assertive, she'd be another Leslie Thompkins, another Jiminy Cricket the heroes passively ignore. But because she is powerful and doing morally compromised things without asking Batman's permission, she must have a personal grudge. She must be a government monster. She must attack the superheroes for no reason, no ideology, no motive.

So now she's just The Wall 24/7, the mean icy establishment boot who is strong and clever and cruel and hates superheroes and wants to destroy superheroes and rule the world from the shadows. Everything she does is a fuck-up she refuses to take responsability for, everyone is right to hate and distrust mean old Waller, and now everyone gets to look good by dunking on her. They couldn't make her a superhero, so they made her a generic supervillain instead. And now that she's a bad guy, she no longer has to believe anything, she doesn't really have to mean anything, they don't have to write stories about something other than superheroes and supervillains, and they don't have to let a fat woman of color take up space and screentime they could be giving to Harley Quinn and Slade Wilson instead.

Even by the time of Waller's debut on the tail end of the 80s, her career opportunities were on their way to extinction

Days Of Future Past marks the triumph of the superhero comic that's pretty much concerned with no-one but superheroes. Where Ditko and Lee's Spider-Man featured a single costumed crimefighter in the context of a commonplace existence, the X-Men of the 80s focused on a huge cast of mutants who had little if any lasting involvement in the everyday world.

By the 21st century, the corporate superhero comic would largely - if not exclusively - concern itself with little beyond a large class of superhumans and their fantastical existence. I suspect there's a significant correlation between that and the continuing cultural peripherilisation of the superhero comic - Colin Smith

Amanda Waller is one of the strongest characters in all of comics, she was as powerful as an non-superpowered character given center stage could possibly be, a perfectly designed character from which an entire corner of a shared universe was developed out of with her as the center making it work, but as the room for civilian casts and unpowered protagonists got smaller and smaller, so did Waller's options. If she was a Spider-Man character and somehow didn't get killed or made into a villain, they would have slimmed her up and given her a symbiote, because you're nobody unless you're web-swinging. Characters didn't look or act like Amanda Waller, and unfortunately, they still don't. It's just instead of making more characters like her, they gutted Waller to be more like the rest. If she couldn't make it, who else even could.

Keep your eyes peeled for this summer when she'll team up with two meaningless robot baddies to burn down the Justice League and I guess the universe for the next reboot or something.

#superheroes #dc comics #suicide squad #amanda waller #john ostrander #kim yale #dcu #dc #comic books #superhero comics

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palms-upturned · 8 months ago

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For US unions like the UAW — which has thousands of members in weapons factories making the bombs, missiles, and aircraft used by Israel, as well in university departments doing research linked to the Israeli military — the Palestinian trade union call to action is particularly relevant. When the UAW’s national leadership came out in support of a cease-fire on December 1, they also voted to establish a “Divestment and Just Transition Working Group.” The stated purpose of the working group is to study the UAW’s own economic ties to Israel and explore ways to convert war-related industries to production for peaceful purposes while ensuring a just transition for weapons workers.

Members of UAW Labor for Palestine say they have started making visits to a Colt factory in Connecticut, which holds a contract to supply rifles to the Israeli military, to talk with their fellow union members about Palestine, a cease-fire, and a just transition. They want to see the union’s leadership support such organizing activity.

“If UAW leaders decided to, they could, tomorrow, form a national organizing campaign to educate and mobilize rank-and-file towards the UAW’s own ceasefire and just transition call,” UAW Labor for Palestine members said in a statement. “They could hold weapons shop town halls in every region; they could connect their small cadre of volunteer organizers — like us — to the people we are so keen to organize with; they could even send some of their staff to help with this work.”

On January 21, the membership of UAW Local 551, which represents 4,600 autoworkers at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant (who were part of last year’s historic stand-up strike) endorsed the Palestinian trade unions’ call to not cooperate in the production and transportation of arms for Israel. Ten days later, UAW Locals 2865 and 5810, representing around forty-seven thousand academic workers at the University of California, passed a measure urging the union’s national leaders to ensure that the envisioned Divestment and Just Transition Working Group “has the needed resources to execute its mission, and that Palestinian, Arab and Muslim workers whose communities are disproportionately affected by U.S.-backed wars are well-represented on the committee.”

Members of UAW Locals 2865 and 5810 at UC Santa Cruz’s Astronomy Department have pledged to withhold any labor that supports militarism and to refuse research collaboration with military institutions and arms companies. In December, unionized academic workers from multiple universities formed Researchers Against War (RAW) to expose and cut ties between their research and warfare, and to organize in their labs and departments for more transparency about where the funding for their work comes from and more control over what their labor is used for. RAW, which was formed after a series of discussions by union members first convened by US Labor Against Racism and War last fall, hosted a national teach-in and planning meeting on February 12.

Meanwhile, public sector workers in New York City have begun their own campaign to divest their pension money from Israel. On January 25, rank-and-file members of AFSCME District Council (DC) 37 launched a petition calling on the New York City Employees’ Retirement System to divest the $115 million it holds in Israeli securities. The investments include $30 million in bonds that directly fund the Israeli military and its activities. “As rank-and-file members of DC 37 who contribute to and benefit from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and care about the lives of working people everywhere, we refuse to support the Israeli government and the corporations that extract profit from the killing of innocent civilians,” the petition states.

In an election year when President Joe Biden and other Democratic candidates will depend heavily on organized labor for donations and especially get-out-the-vote efforts, rank and filers are also trying to push their unions to exert leverage on the president by getting him to firmly stand against the ongoing massacre in Gaza. NEA members with Educators for Palestine are calling on their union’s leaders to withdraw their support for Biden’s reelection campaign until he stops “sending military funding, equipment, and intelligence to Israel,” marching from AFT headquarters to NEA headquarters in Washington, DC on February 10 to assert their demand. Similarly, after the UAW International Executive Board endorsed Biden last month — a decision that sparked intense division within the union — UAW Labor for Palestine is demanding the endorsement be revoked “until [Biden] calls for a permanent ceasefire and stops sending weapons to Israel.”

#palestine #free palestine #labor #union strong #recommend reading the whole article bc as the author points out #us labor has had a long history of collaborating with israel and imperialist projects in general #pressure to stop the genocide is not going to come from union leadership #it’s coming from rank and files who are organizing their own initiatives and putting the heat on their leadership #uaw’s divestment and just transition group is intriguing to me bc it sets a precedent to pressure other machinist unions to follow #and bc part of their efforts involves building solidarity with palestine among rank and files nationwide

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behindblueeyesrpg · 12 days ago

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[BEHIND BLUE EYES]

coucou tout le monde 🌊

après des mois de travail et de réflexion, nous vous présentons enfin notre bébé behind blue eyes, forum city qui se situe à Charleston et qui tire ses inspirations de la série Outer Banks. avec une pré ouverture qui a eu lieu hier, nous comptons actuellement une soixantaine de membres qui sont prêts à vous accueillir et écrire avec vous. ✨

le forum se veut tranquille, tout les personnages sont les bienvenus et nous voulons que bbe soit un cocon où vous pourrez vous épanouir dans vos écrits, dans un cadre sain et posé.

Sous les chênes centenaires drapés de mousse espagnole, se camoufle doucereuse beauté aux apparences trompeuses. Élégance pour façade, outil parfaitement manipulé pour dissimuler les vérités qu’on ne veut pas dévoiler. Derrière chaque regard, un secret qu’on tait, des désirs non assumés et des murmures étouffés. Entre belles bâtisses aux balcons en fer forgé qui crachent leur luxe aux visages des plus modestes, déshérités de toute fortune sans la chance d’être privilégiés, la ville oscille entre le faste et la déchéance, entre l’illusion et une réalité plus rude à assumer. Chacun aspire à être reconnu pour ce qu'il n'est pas, à échapper au carcan des attentes sociales et à briser les chaînes de l'illusion. Mais au-delà des masques et des faux-semblants, se cache la vérité nue et crue de ce que nous sommes réellement. Entre familles influentes et gamins offerts à la rue, les rivalités entre les quartiers gangrènent et bouffent chaque habitant jusqu’à la moelle, comme un divin poison indolore. Désormais, cerner le vrai du faux s’avère être une tâche compliquée. Les nantis se pavanent dans l’opulence et l’excès sous les regards sombres de ceux qui n’ont jamais rien eu, ignorant les luttes des démunis qui survivent dans l’ombre de leurs privilèges. On se vante d’une réussite au détriment des autres, crachant ainsi sur une misère que tout le monde cache sous le tapis; par fierté ou pour ne pas faire face à ses responsabilités ou à la culpabilité qui pourrait ronger les os. Mais au-delà des tromperies, des préjugés et des chances mal distribuées, il subsiste une lueur d’espoir, un souffle de vérité qui terrasse les illusions et révèle la beauté cachée derrière les apparences bâties avec acharnement. Ici, il n’y a qu’un pas entre la lumière et l’ombre, c’est dans cette dualité que réside la véritable essence de la ville et de ses habitants.

en plus ; un rp par mois ; une semaine pour terminer sa fiche ; pas de minimum de mots ; respect des tw ; premier dc offert ; rythme chill. REJOIGNEZ-NOUS: https://behindblueeyes.forumactif.com/

DISCORD: https://discord.gg/5AUG29mU (qui reste ouvert jusque mercredi)

coeur sur vous, on vous attend avec impatience. 🦋

#forum rpg #outer banks #rpg francophone #behind blue eyes #behind blue eyes rpg

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any-mouse · 11 months ago

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Ra’s Al-Ghul Is Why We Batclan Can’t have Nice Relationships Things.

Ok, so. I am not someone who knows a lot about the DC fandom, but fics and the DCxDP crowd (who are why I’m here) have given me information and research binges have given me more. And here’s a take I haven’t seen about Jason’s death, and why Batman not killing Joker made things dangerous for Robins. Or did it?

Batman could not win. If Ra’s decided the only thing that would get his chosen heir, or at least son-in-law, into killing would be to kill Robin, it’s time to send his assassins in. Batman keeping to the “no-killing” rule is the only thing keeping a bunch of kids and teens from facing down, not the gangs and henchmen of Gotham, but a literal death cult.

Which is one thing that makes me wonder if that’s hadn’t been Ra’s’ plan, only manipulating the Joker into doing it for him. Which casts Batman undoing Nightwing’s killing of Joker in a very different light.

But there are other things that go along with that. And why Ra’s is a bit, fixated, on poor Tim. With how wrathful and brutal Batman became after, everything, it was only a matter of time before someone died. And then all Ra’s has to do is, wait. Drop hints or little reminders of the League, maybe have Talia swing by a few times. Allow the previous rapport to rebuild itself. In the meantime, build up Jason’s rage, anger, betrayal, and then unleash him on Gotham. Watch as the two brutal titans clashed, until Batman kills Red Hood. It would utterly destroy Bruce to have been the one to kill Jason a second time.

But, ah, there is a chance to fix this. The Lazarus Pit. Bruce will do anything to undo this fatal mistake, wrought at his hands and driven by his wrath. And in his grief stricken desperation, as he looks back on his rampage with despair, at all of the people he maimed, crippled, and killed in his agony, in steps Ra’s. Don’t worry, Ra’s has been collecting them. Fixing them. He does not agree with Bruce’s decision to leave, he still does not support Batman’s policies. But he knew it was important to Bruce so he took steps to ensure that no irreparable damage was done. Slowly, carefully, drawing a grateful Batman back into the fold. Wearing away at morals already cracked by grief and rage, using soft words where harshness has failed. Reviving Jason once again, keeping the two of them orbiting each other like binary stars, unable to leave, but always wanting to stay.

And it’s all foiled by one rich brat who’s stealthier than he has any right to be. Tim knows that Batman is going off the rails of sanity at an ever quickening pace. If he’s close enough for good pictures, he’s close enough for first aid and responder calls. So there is A Lot of damage and wreckage left in Batman’s wake, but nothing that isn’t salvageable. Ra’s won’t have a cadre of former henchmen and goons brainwashed into serving as Gotham’s foot soldiers but that would have been secondary. But Tim does more than that. Tim throws himself between Gotham and Batman because no one else will. Tim is a highly intelligent and self-sufficient child. His self-worth is in the toilet, thank you very much Drake bio-donors.

So Tim out-stubborns Batman and glues himself to his side and pulls him back. He cuts off the roaring rampage of revenge. Batman starts healing and Ra’s just can’t have that, oh no. But this is an easy enough fix, and it’s even better than the first plan. After all, loosing the last Robin to a violent villain led them to this point. How much worse would it be, to have started to heal, only to have it happen again? To destabilize that way again? Oh, Batman will never be able to resist, there had always been the possibility that Red Hood would win. Not high, and not an unworkable outcome, but snuffing out yet another Robin would ensure Red Hood would die, and then Ra’s would have another knife to twist Jason to his will. Taking pointer from his killer, not just his name, tsk tsk.

And it’s not like he couldn’t revive Tim as well, play the two of them off against each other and Bruce. Using their enmity and bitterness to wound Bruce, using Bruce to keep the two of them from spiraling out of control in their rivalry, make them resent Bruce for picking sides, rubbing salt into Jason that Bruce cared enough to avenge Tim but not him. Taunting Tim for what Bruce dragged them all into over Jason. Throw Damian into it just when it seemed to be settling into an uneasy dynamic equilibrium. Setting the boys on Blüdhaven, drawing in Bruce. See which way Bruce jumped, to protect Dick from the boys or if Bruce will try and recruit Nightwing for the League.

Ra’s has so much to gain from Joker killing Jason. It wouldn’t be difficult to send in a few assassins disguised as henchmen to plant the idea. Sacrifice a pawn or two, to gain a queen and rook.

#dc extended universe #dc fandom #ra’s al ghul #batman #batfam #league of assassins #bruce wayne #dick grayson #tim drake #damian wayne #damian al ghul #jason todd #red hood #dc joker

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stargun2307 · 29 days ago

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S-23 Sierpinski’s “Sparkle Squad”

Do NOT let the funny name fool you! Or the funny callnames of the Protektors in this squad! They are lean, mean, hazing machines (except for their Storch commanding officer; you’ll see what I mean soon).

Starting from the top, we haaaave:

The Upper Crust

Controller Vier, STCR-S2304: The Sog™️. A real softie who makes fast friends with just about everyone except for her own STARs. Loves music, has perfect pitch, and can rip a mean glissando on the baby grand in the music room. Constantly bullied by her STAR squad because she’s “not tough enough”. A fun fact about Vier is that pizza fascinates her. To this Storch, pizza is a mystery beyond mortal comprehension.

Sergeant (former) DC, STAR-S2341: Yes, DC, short for Washington, District of Columbia. DC is a real piece of work (just like the Congress critters in the real life city). Basically Storch software in Starling hardware. Anger issues, control issues, and narcissism. Drove Vier to tears and worse while serving as her officer.

Sergeant Dreyse, STAR-S2375: Sparkle Squad’s current STAR officer, brought in from “the outside” (a different squad) to disrupt the hierarchy of the cadre and put an end to their relentless harassment of their own Controller. Currently learning piano from Vier, and teaching Vier how to dance. Nothing to see here but a Controller and her officer… chillin in the office… six feet apart cuz they’re not gay…

Now, onto the squad themselves!

Fireteam 1

Florida, STAR-S2337: Hazer-in-chief now that DC is gone. A real equal opportunity hater. Troll.

Maryland, STAR-S2338: Mostly chill, except for when she’s not. Former narcotics squad sergeant from Rotfront whose career fell apart after she fired 12 shots into a crowd during a chase, hitting 8 bystanders and landing none of the shots on the perp. Given the choice between being decommissioned and being transferred to S-23, Maryland chose the transfer and is now almost wishing she took the other option instead.

Louisiana, STAR-S2339: Gossips a lot. Spends a lot of time in the showers.

Kentucky, STAR-S2340: Hillbilly. Queen of Snark. Thing 1.

Fireteam 2

Alaska, STAR-S2342: The one that actually minds her own business. Secretly disapproves of the hazing of her own Controller but doesn’t say anything out of peer pressure.

Alabama, STAR-S2343: A total edgelord who says derogatory things just to see how riled up she can get people. Thing 2.

Massachusetts, STAR-S2344: Came out of the factory with half a brain cell that’s slowly been deteriorating as time goes on.

Mississippi, STAR-S2345: The youngest STAR in the squad. Airhead. Mostly plays along because she wants to fit in. People tend to forget she exists.

The “Sparkle Squad” is the most feared Protektor squad in S-23 despite having the Storch equivalent of a wet kitten as their commanding officer. Florida and Maryland are just as brutal in the interrogation room as an unmentored young Storch. Kentucky tops the scoreboard for the highest amount of items ever confiscated in a single dorm shakedown (37). Massachusetts has to consume 10 shots of Everclear before she starts to feel a buzz. Hazing Vier used to be a team bonding exercise for Sparkle Squad, and even Protektors outside of their squad are also fair game for their “morale building activities”. Their nefarious activities have noticeably dwindled in frequency and scale since Sergeant Dreyse took the reins, but old habits die hard…

#naming a starling squad after US states is hands down the funniest thing I’ve ever done with Signalis fan writing #one of my friends was like #I love Alaska Mississippi and Massachusetts dearly #but can we banish Alabama Kentucky and florida #starling Massachusetts can’t even spell her own name right half the time #imagine having kentucky confiscate your contraband liquor #or DC beat you up in the interrogation room #do not give Florida a stunprod she will be so naughty with it #too late she’s got 10 of them #and I’m afraid to ask her what she’s planning to do with them #signalis #signalis fanfic #signalis star #2 am thoughts

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cantsayidont · 5 months ago

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So, to the extremely limited extent I still care, the question THE ACOLYTE raises is, "Were the Jedi ever actually cool?" The prequels and THE CLONE WARS make clear that by the time of the Clone Wars, they're in pretty grim shape as an order: morally bankrupt, willfully oblivious, self-deluded zealots whose determination to leverage their apparently diminishing power (which even for masters doesn't seem to rise much above the level of parlor tricks) to maintain their privileged political position eventually precipitates their transformation from poor diplomats and inept cops into incompetent military officers, leading a cadre of child soldiers and an army of manufactured slaves in a war that probably wouldn't have happened at all if the Jedi Council's go-to response to any crisis weren't "self-defeating coverup." Yoda and Obi-Wan, who in the original movies come across as wise and basically kindly, if conflicted and somewhat manipulative, emerge in the prequels, TCW, and the awful OBI-WAN KENOBI show as truly contemptible — Yoda a cackling war criminal, Obi-Wan a dupe and a coward — while the sequels and THE MANDALORIAN emphasize that Luke Skywalker's determination to repeat the exact same mistakes almost immediately plunges the galaxy back into fascism. As Hal Holbrook says in ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

THE ACOLYTE is set a century before that, but it goes out of its way to present the Jedi Order in exactly the same ways: kidnapping children; a culture of emotional abuse in the name of religious and martial discipline; a focus on really incompetent police work; constant coverups and political ass-covering; and really very little personal/supernatural power in the context of the general level of technology. The Jedi are not wise, they're not clever, they're not competent, and it's hard to see what they're good for except maybe as a symbol to people who've never actually encountered them.

In a franchise more complex and grown-up than STAR WARS is usually willing to be, that might be interesting, and the books and comics have occasionally grappled with these points with somewhat more nuance, but the onscreen canon since 1999 has been pretty emphatic that the Jedi are a blight on the galaxy. It's hard not to come away from this stuff feeling like everyone else would be better off if there were no Force-users of any kind, which I assume is not the intent. It's like if all canon Marvel and DC superhero characters were like the "heroes" of THE BOYS or BRATPACK all the time.

#star wars #the acolyte #the high republic #jedi order #yoda #obi wan kenobi #i'm still annoyed that none of the canonical material #ever says why the loss of “balance in the force”#is making the jedi order lose their power #it's a stupid talking point and it's not even explained #judging by how easily the jedi masters in the acolyte get murked #it's a longstanding problem

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numinousmysteries · 1 year ago

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Vanquish by Wisdom Hellish Wiles (9/9)

On AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

@today-in-fic

I started this story in October 2017 after first seeing the season 11 trailer, forgot about it for six years, and then finally finished it. Compared to what some other amazing writers in this fandom are creating, it's honestly not great, but coming back to it helped me remember that writing can be fun. I hope to keep writing and hopefully keep improving. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy my vision for how the show could have ended.

As a baby, William moved the mobile above his crib using his mind. As a teenager, he employed his psychic powers to save his birth parents’ lives by spontaneously killing an entire cadre of black ops forces and, presumably, the smoking man and Reyes as well. And yet, in Scully’s mind, neither of those facts were the most impressive thing about her son.

To her, it was simply that he was there—alive and in front of her in the flesh. She wanted to stop time and catalog every detail of his body the way she and Mulder did days after he was born, laying him out on her bed and silently marveling at his tiny toes, chubby limbs, and rosebud mouth. She wanted to run her hands over his face and memorize every feature. Her baby was almost a man and he was just as perfect to her as the day he was born.

There was so much that she missed and so much she doesn’t know. When did he take his first steps? What’s his favorite food? Was he a cautious rule-follower like herself or was he constantly pushing the limits like his father? She’d never get those years back and she’d never forgive herself for giving him away, but in that moment all that mattered was that they were together again.

Mulder’s eyes reflected her astonishment back at her. In their almost 30 years together, they’d learned to communicate without words. A glance, a wink, or a nod could convey missives of emotion. As they stood in the driveway, too stunned to move, she could tell he was as overwhelmed—by shock, by love, by awe—as she was.

“Come on,” William said. “There might be others coming. Let’s go.”

Her son’s voice. Low and deep like his father’s.

“Yeah, Scully,” Mulder said, reaching for her hand. “We better get going.”

She could only nod in response and let Mulder lead them both back to their car.

“You call each other by your last names,” William said. She could tell it wasn’t a question but him logging a fact about them, or confirming one he had already sensed.

“We work together,” Scully said. “And it just stuck.”

William nodded. She was grateful he didn’t ask any questions about her and Mulder’s current relationship that she couldn’t answer. Working together the past couple of months had been good for them. They’d found their old rhythm and had been spending more time together outside of work as well, but she hadn’t felt ready to move back in yet.

Back at the car, Scully realized she didn't know where they’d go. Would they bring William back to DC with them? If colonization was imminent, she needed to get started on developing a vaccine as soon as possible.

“Can we go get my parents?” William asked, as if reading her mind. “They’re probably worried about me.”

Mulder smiled. “Sure,” he said.

“Sorry,” William said sheepishly. “I mean my adoptive parents. That’s just…what I’ve always called them.”

“Don’t apologize, William,” said Scully, even though she admitted to herself that it cut like a knife to hear her son refer to strangers as his parents. “I’m thankful you were placed with a good family who took care of you all these years.”

“Yeah,” Mulder responded. “And I do imagine they’d be worried about you.”

******

They arrived in Wyoming the following morning. William slept on the plane but Mulder and Scully, sitting on either side of him, stayed awake—both keeping guard and watching him in awe.

“This is where you grew up?” Scully asked, after William directed them to a small but well-kept farmhouse.

“Yup, lived here my whole life—well, that I can remember.”

Scully nodded. His childhood must’ve been so different from the one she could’ve given him. Instead of living in a city, he had fields to run and roam in. She wondered if he played baseball like his father and what kind of games he invented for himself when he was little to stay busy in this wide open space.

As they approached the house they noticed the front door was open and the screen door was swinging on its hinges.

“Do your parents normally leave the door open like that?” Mulder asked.

“No,” William said. “That’s weird.”

“I’m going to go check it out,” Mulder said, reaching for his gun. “You two wait in the car.”

It was the first time Scully was alone with her son since finding him the night before. She sat in the passenger seat stealing glimpses of him in the rearview mirror.

“This must be a lot to take in,” she said.

William shrugged his shoulders. “I always knew I was different. Monica told me about you guys.”

Scully swallowed. She wanted to ask Wiliam so many questions but it was impossible to even know where to start. How do you make up for fifteen years—an entire life in his case? She had once known every inch of skin on his tiny body and now he was essentially a stranger. Did he have any scars? Any broken bones? She didn’t know what he liked to eat or his favorite movie.

“Have you ever seen The Exorcist?” he asked from the backseat, startling Scully.

“It’s one of my favorite movies,” she said.

“Me too. My parents don’t watch any horror movies but I started downloading some classics and I love them.”

“William, were you reading my thoughts just now? Why did you bring up The Exorcist?”

“I guess I had a sense of what you were thinking,” he said. “It’s not so clear cut like listening to someone talk out loud but I get sentiments and sometimes words. It’s strong with you. And Mulder, too.”

“Could you read your parents like that?”

“Yeah, I got better at it over time.”

Mulder emerged alone from the house. He jogged back to the car and knocked on Scully’s window, gesturing for her to come with him. She followed him to the front porch.

“Scully, there are two bodies inside. A middle-aged white male and female. Looks like gunshot wounds. I think I can guess who they are and I’d rather not ask William to have to identify them.”

“Shit,” Scully said. “What do we do?”

They heard William’s car door open and watched as he came to stand with them. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

“Oh, William,” Scully sighed.

“I had a feeling,” he said, looking down at his sneakers.

“Is there anyone else we should try to find? Any other family or friends?” Mulder asked.

William shook his head. He was still looking down but Scully could see him starting to cry.

“I’m so sorry, William,” Scully said. She embraced her son and felt his tears dampening her blouse. Mulder stepped closer and wrapped his arms around both of them.

They were three broken people. Parents who’d lost their child and a child who’d lost his parents, but somehow they were also a family. They just had to find a way to pick up the pieces and find each other once again.

*****

Mulder and Scully offered to move to William’s hometown in Wyoming for him to finish up high school and start their vaccine research there, but he felt no connection to the place without his adopted parents. If anything, he was desperate for a fresh start. His old town was filled with reminders of what he’d lost.

So instead Wiliam moved into their home in Virginia. It was an older, more rundown house but he could tell they had made it a home. He preferred that it wasn’t in the heart of the city because it was less of a dramatic change from his childhood home. Mulder explained that he and Scully had been giving each other some space and she had her own apartment, but as soon as they were back from Wyoming she started every night at the house and slowly moved her belongings back.

There was a spare room on the second floor for him to move his things into.

“I know this is uncomfortable,” said Scully, showing him to his room. “We love you so much, but we know you’re still just getting to know us. I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“What was in here before?” William said.

“Nothing,” Mulder said. “We never spoke about it, but I think we both hoped you’d be here one day.”

They’d had nearly everything from his old bedroom shipped out to Virginia to try to make the transition smooth. At first he told them he didn’t mind starting over, but as he sat in his new-old room he realized he appreciated the small comforts of home—his snow globe collection, his family photos, and his worn-in baseball glove.

“We should have a catch sometime,” Mulder said, picking up the glove.

“I’d like that.”

They had a lot of work to do. They were racing against an unseen clock to beat the invasion. Scully had already taken blood and saliva samples from William to try to isolate his alien DNA to create a vaccine. They had some old associates who were going to help with the science but there was still the issue of convincing the entire global population to take a vaccine to prevent the colonization of the planet–without inciting mass panic.

William had faith in his birth parents, though. Every night they told him about their old cases which never failed to thrill him. And each day the awkward silences between the three of them started filling up with inside jokes, spirited arguments, and stories of the past that helped close the fifteen-year gap since the last time they were together.

They were careful about giving him space and typically after dinner he’d retreat to his room while his parents sat and talked on the front porch. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but it was comforting to hear their voices drifting up through his bedroom window.

One night around a month after moving in, he decided to join them outside. Scully smiled and scooted over, making room for him to sit in between them on the bench.

“I know you guys keep saying I don’t have to thank you for taking me in,” William started, “but I really do appreciate it. Growing up, I never thought I’d meet you or that if I did… you wouldn’t want anything to do with me because of…who I am and what I can do.”

“William, we love you for being exactly who you are. As I’m sure you’ve started to realize, the two of us aren’t exactly the picture of normalcy either. I think, together, we make a great team,” said Scully.

“Now we just have to save the world,” William said smiling.

“No pressure, right?” Mulder chuckled.

His parents draped their arms around him from either side and he felt himself relaxing against them. For the first time in his life he felt like he was exactly where he should be.

#xfiles #xf fanfic #xfiles fanfic #today in fic #now excuse me as i go mainline gaslight

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nfcomics · 1 year ago

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DC VS VAMPIRES ALL-OUT WAR no.1 (of 6) • cover art • Kael Ngu [July 2022]

One of the last secret, underground human cities is facing total annihilation and its leader—John Constantine—must plan a suicide mission to assassinate a key lieutenant in the vampire empire! Against unreal odds and with an unlikely team including Booster Gold, Deathstroke, and Mary Marvel, does the Hellblazer have one more trick up his sleeve? A gritty, violent, monochromatic companion series to DC vs. Vampires, this series will feature a brutal story with a cadre of talented creators delivering 32 pages of original content!

(W) Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Paknadel (A) Pasquale Qualano (CA) Kael Ngu

#DC VS VAMPIRES ALL-OUT WAR no.1 (of 6)#Kael Ngu #Matthew Rosenberg #Alex Paknadel #Pasquale Qualano #DC VS Vampires All-Out War #John Constantine #Booster Gold #Deathstroke #Mary Marvel #Hellblazer #DC VS Vampires #Superman #Wonder Woman

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kyogre-blue · 2 months ago

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More details I want to note down for RDCH.

1. We still haven't seen Kali/Kalli/Carly in the story, but we get a few panels showing her. She has a surprisingly cutesy face. (Does this mean that if Lee Geon got genderswapped for some reason, he'd be a surprisingly petite and cute woman?) One of those flashes is from Yooha pov in DC. The way the translation renders her thought bubbles before and after makes no reference to "Kalli" at all, but it might be the case that there was some confusion about pronoun genders in there. Anyway, curious what was going on there.

2. The timeline after Blood Fog was that Hugo had time to investigate and find Libra's involvement, stormed in to confront her, and then she went to the hospital to screw with Yooha. That makes it seem like at least some time passed after the whole incident, but the kids were still sleeping over at the hospital. Was it that they refused to leave their mom, or was Hugo hoping that Scorpio's protections on the hospital would be safer for them?

3. Speaking of that flashback, Giselle has a couple panels where she imagines Hugo as her follower, complete with a fancy military uniform, which... looks good, sure, but it is so different from anything Hugo ever chooses to wear. The most he manages is an extremely basic suit for public appearances, and the rest of the time he either dresses in very plain combat clothing or in super casual jeans and t-shirts. In fact, if you imagine that Lee Geon never bothered buying himself new clothes, then he's just been wearing stuff Hugo gave him. The only thing to suggest they're not sharing clothes is that Lee Geon wears shorts a couple times and Hugo never does. (I still remember them sharing that teddy bear apron lol)

4. Giselle suggests that Hugo refusing to join her comes down to him still holding a torch for Lee Geon, which seems to be the general impression everyone has. It's.... not necessarily wrong, but it feels a bit of a weird assumption. Yeah, when Lee Geon is around, Hugo basically follows his orders, but he's not his subordinate in any official capacity, and when Lee Geon isn't around, Hugo makes his own choices in a completely normal way. Like, I would assume he just has very understandable ideological objections to the other Saints, or even just assume pride. So did Hugo do something that made everyone think of him as Lee Geon's slave loyal subordinate, or are they all just terminally Geon-brained and projecting?

5. Giselle wants Hugo. Steven wants Hugo. I don't recall now whether Kevin tried to recruit Hugo, but at minimum he is very tsuntsun toward him but then coordinates with him very smoothly. And in the novel, Sophie is apparently quite taken with him. So at this point I feel like the Saints can be split into two categories: the ones that want to fuck Lee Geon and the ones that want to steal his man. And Aries, I guess. Some want both. (You might say "what about Ivan" but let me tell you, he is suspiciously fixated on Hugo, who even get a special pet name. Villain wishing for a hatefuck behavior.)

6. Aside from making a spear for Yooha and screwing up Hugo's bow, Lee Geon also says he's planning to make something for Sungjae and Jiwoo. Very curious.

7. Steven had to keep suppressing the evil god in Yooha's arms, so he's been her guardian for ten years. It's also mentioned with no details that Oliver killed the previous cadre captain, whom Yooha calls "teacher." We don't get a clear shot of him tho. Listen, Steven is a funny side character, I appreciate that he has a fair share of reactions to things, and even gets moments like tackling Yooha out of the way or stepping in to take a blow for her, since he's raised her for so long.

8. I am curious how to interpret some of the divine gods siding with Lee Geon. Steven says that Leo is "sleeping" with no explanation, but Virgo is shown as actively endorsing all this. Scorpio is initially said to be backing Libra but then Hayley switches it to Lee Geon, so it's like... there might not even be a god? There's also other spoiler(tm) questions that I am very curious about.

9. The manhwa repeats the "30 years since invasion" number, putting the current year as 2030 or 2031, which is different from the novel's 25 years. I guess this is probably to avoid having the story be set in almost modern day? They might have wanted to maintain the "near future" date, but I'm not really sure why. The divergence point is way in the past anyway.

10. Yooha is "vice celestial lord" but also only S rank, compared to Oliver being SS and divine cadre captain. From what I recall, you can have more than one cadre captain. We see a couple in Gemini, though it might be because they are in charge of different geographic areas?

11. Let me just say, "Baron Helmet" is a stupid name. He's probably not very strong, and the actual issue is that he has some power given to him by their "lord." Previously, when everyone got dragged into a sealed dimension by Libra flunkies, the Saints couldn't connect to their gods, but Lee Geon could still use his powers fine. This time, super regeneration doesn't work in order to up the stakes, but the reason should be that his power was being drained out by contact with the monarch's power. He directly compares it to the cursed dagger he got stabbed with at the Demon Tower.

12. Speaking of which, the Demon Tower is apparently quite strategically important, as the unknown civilization wants to rebuild it.

13. Chapter 92 ends on a cliffhanger about the penalty time for Lee Geon being resurrected after the Tower ending. The initial time given was 1032 hours, which is 43 days. So it's been 43 days since he returned. (The novel says that was in August, so it is now October.) Additionally, the chapter 74 cliffhanger before the hiatus said there was 65 hours until the invasion, so there was less than three days Yooha declared she'd be leaving Leo and Lee Geon sent Taekwoo's head to Libra. There was probably a few days between that and Lee Geon's big declaration against Libra.

And I guess that's it for now.

#reading disaster class hero

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allycat75 · 5 months ago

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Hey Boston Dumb Fuck! Still don't hate you, but thought I would remind you in a bit more detail why many of us are (justifiably) upset with your continued shitty behavior.

Does it feel good to be coddled and worshiped again for putting on a few pounds of muscle?

And based on the vetting your crack (head) team did with the little wifey, I am sure they researched those trainers and nutritionists thoroughly and didn't just use their brother-in-law or someone who had some compromising information about one of those folks suckling at your recently buffed up teat.

Never forget, however, you have consistenly lied, manipulated and contorted yourself into whatever ridiculous shape your handlers required you to, character and morals be damned. There is no gym or supplement you can take that will replace your soul. That will take much more work, and for much longer, with no one thirsting over you. Just you examining and cleaning out the disgusting goo on the inside.

For example, you tacitly approved of antisemitism, that will not be erased by an eventual breakup from the precious little wifey, quite a come down from standing up to David Duke just a few years ago. And at a time when the slightest provocation could lead to a powder keg explosion.

You furthered the Karmic deficit by, instead if shuttering your pointless and corruptible political site, ASP, you leaned in, with the full might of a shameless hypocrite, accepting accolades in DC, the only place with less integrity than Hollywood, even though you arrogantly declared a few years ago you moved back to Mass. to get away from that vibe, and look where that got you- the biggest phony Chris in the town. Hey, remember at that DC Q&A, they asked you and Mark about how you monitor for truth in the content you post, and you stuttered through an answer about how it is "tricky' but it is critcal (or some nonsense like that). Well, that is obvious, considering the transparency provided about your highly qualified staff, forget about the priority you give it in your personal life. I have to ask- did it hurt, when your soul decided to peace out on you in that moment? Has telling lies been easier since it did? I keep waiting for your nose to grow or your pants to catch on fire, you completley untrustworthy son of a bitch.

Not at all sure what is real and what is artifice anymore. If you were a baked good, I couldn't sell you at Whole Foods, because there is nothing organic about you.

But you have a puppy face and we have "known" you for 20 years so people like me, we look like the cruel assholes if we are actually angry and hurt, questioning the veracity of an innocent fan interaction discovered and posted (passive voice used for sarcasm). Once again, making your fans who pay attention look stupid and crazy. I have two eyes and a brain and I don't appreciate the continued gaslighting, especially by a cadre of fools. And I do not suffer fools.

So, if you aren't going to work toward authentic redemption and amends, and keep fucking around, you are going to find out. Just like all the other privleged, rich white boys, I will call you out on your bullshit. You haven't earned a free pass with me. You do know what "earned" means, right? Charm isn't enough. In fact it pisses me off when you rely on that lazy tactic.

But as I often say, prove me wrong, your prick! Truly, nothing would make me happier.

#liars suck!#i don't like hypocrites #i hate manipulation #check your privilege #you are the company you keep #Ai in human form #brian wilson vibes

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thecreaturecodex · 1 year ago

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Runclus Malevol

[The last of my menagerie of Malevols for now. My PCs never encountered Runclus, but were definitely tempted to explore the Indoornesse when they found the portal. Maybe some day.]

Runclus Malevol CR 12 NE Humanoid This humanoid figure is clothed in flowing robes and leather armor. He wears an elaborate crown of leather and bone, all but obscuring his face.

Runclus Malevol, the Man of the Woods, is the most powerful living Malevol, although “living” has an asterisk in this case. Runclus is one of Aristide’s children, and he has died and been reborn repeatedly—whenever he survives long enough to become very old, he ritually kills himself and is reborn into a young body. Runclus has lived 23 lives so far, and this latest body is actually close in appearance and build to his original. Still, he typically conceals his form with flowing robes and a great mask, the better to cast doubt on whether he is alive or dead, both or neither.

Runclus is usually found in the Indoornesse, a pocket dimension accessible primarily through Castle Xyntillian’s extensive basements. Runclus knows other paths in and out, and uses them to collect up a cadre of sinister druids, and to introduce new monsters into the ecosystem. Once these monsters have been thoroughly vetted in the Indoornesse, some of them move up into the Castle grounds proper. Runclus is a devout follower of Lamashtu. He has successfully converted several of his family members to the worship of the Mother of Monsters.

In combat, Runclus typically uses his spells to inflict debilitating diseases or curses on enemies before killing them outright. Although he is a decent melee combatant in his own right, he rarely fights hand to hand unless bolstered with spells, having used his wild shape, or both. Runclus does not fear death in combat, as he has died before; if he is slain, however, he pivots to a more cautious strategy, and remains hidden until his many lives ability has recharged.

Runclus Malevol CR 12 XP 19,200 Human male druid (reincarnated druid) 12 Init +5; Senses Perception +15 Defense AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +1 deflection, +6 armor) hp 109 (12d8+48) Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +16; +4 vs. death effects, energy drain, necromancy Defensive Abilities cheat death, many lives Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 falchion +12/+7 (2d4+4/18-20) Ranged masterwork sling +11/+6 (1d4+2) Special Attacks wild shape (4/day, Diminutive to Huge animal, Large plant, Large elemental) Spell-like Abilities CL 12th, concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively) 3/day—excruciating deformation (DC 19) 1/day—major curse (DC 21) Spells CL 12th, concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively) 6th—greater dispel magic, mass bull’s strength (D), plague storm (DC 22), transport via plants 5th—aspect of the wolf, baleful polymorph (DC 21), death ward, rest eternal, righteous might (D) 4th—flame strike (DC 20), freedom of movement, spell immunity (D), spike stones, strong jaw 3rd—cloak of winds, fungal infestation (DC 19), greater magic fang, poison (DC 19), protection from energy, rage (DC 19, D) 2nd—barkskin, bull’s strength (B), flame blade, frigid touch, lesser restoration, stone call, tree shape 1st—cure light wounds (DC 17), enlarge person (DC 17), faerie fire, longstrider, magic stone, speak with animals (x2) 0th—detect magic, light, mending, purify food and drink Domain = Strength (Ferocity subdomain) Statistics Str 14, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 22, Cha 8 Base Atk +9; CMB +11; CMD 22 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wand, Ectoplasmic Spell, Martial Weapon Proficiency (falchion), Improved Initiative, Natural Spell, Vermin Heart Skills Diplomacy +6, Handle Animal +10, Knowledge (nature) +13, Knowledge (planes) +8, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +4, Perception +15, Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +11, Survival +17 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Druidic, Necril, Sylvan SQ blessing of Lamashtu, exceptional resources, nature bond (domain), nature sense, trackless step, wild empathy +11 Gear helm of the dark druid (mitre of the hierophant and headband of wisdom +4, cursed [Will DC 19 when worn or alignment shifts to neutral evil]), +2 wild leather lamellar armor, +1 falchion, belt of constitution +2, ring of the ram (25 charges), ring of protection +1, cloak of protection +2, pearl of power (1st level), hunter’s tree fort, feather step slippers, wand of cure moderate wounds (50 charges), wand of greater animal aspect (50 charges), scroll of sunbeam, masterwork sling with 20 bullets, unholy water (x3), carved wood and ivory statuettes worth 616 gp Special Abilities Blessing of Lamashtu (Ex/Sp) Runclus Malevol can take the Strength domain and the Ferocity subdomain for his nature’s bond. He also gains excruciating deformation as a spell-like ability usable 3/day, and major curse 1/day, using his Wisdom as his casting stat. These bonuses plus his exceptional resources grant him +1 to his CR. Cheat Death (Ex) Once per day, Runclus may reroll a save against a death effect, energy drain, or necromancy effect before the result of the roll is revealed, or reroll a failed stabilization check while dying. He must take the result of the second roll, even if it is worse than the original roll. Many Lives (Ex): If Runclus Malevol is killed, he may automatically reincarnate (as the spell) 1 day later. The reincarnated druid appears in a safe location within 1 mile of his previous body. At will for the next 7 days, he can sense the presence of his remains as if using locate object as a spell-like ability. If he is killed during these 7 days, she remains dead and does not reincarnate. The many lives ability does not function if the reincarnated druid is slain by a death effect. A reincarnated druid cannot be raised from the dead or resurrected, though he can be reincarnated. Mysterious Stranger (Ex) Runclus Malevol adds +6 to the DC of Sense Motive, Diplomacy, and Knowledge checks to learn about him. Resist Death’s Touch (Ex) Runclus gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against death effects, energy drain, and necromancy effects, and on stabilization checks when dying.

#runclus malevol #druid #castle xyntillian #pathfinder 1e #npc

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