#WarComics

[3lix13]

#cartoonist #kayfabetober Day 02 prompt: Golden Age - cover recreation for Foxhole Comics #1 (October 1954) by Jack Kirby - still only time for a blue line drawing today but I really enjoyed the textures on this one #SimonandKirby

 @jimruggart @ed_piskor @cartoonist.kayfabe

[shoehedd]

My fully finished Hernkyn Yeagir KT. I promised I was only going to do a minimal amount of kitbashing with them and then, well I went hog wild on a few of them. This was supposed to take all of Christmas Break and January to finish and with sick babies and work and househunting and all sorts, now it's March.

I did the thing I always do of stumbling into a theme that I haven't fully planned out which delays things later. Before I gave a KT a 3rd colour to all their gear without thinking, this time I gave everyone some kind of teal accessory to go with their chest mounted lamp and just plain ran out of stuff and had to go grab some alternate heads or kitbash some.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

As someone not playing AoS I can only be baffled how they can deal with that sort of formating. As this unit exists both in 40k and AoS it's easy to do a direct comparision. Just click on each and compare it in terms of readablilty. Absolute night and day.

The 40k one looks like an actual sensible way to display information in a somewhat orderly fashion. Meanwhile the AoS one looks like someone with a paint bucket clowned all over it.

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Reveals From the Dallas Open 2024

Alright!

When Age of Sigmar 4th Edition was revealed, I was a bit down on it. Part of this was just hearing regurgitated marketing from 10th Edition. Part of it was I didn't like the way they did the reveal show. Part of it was I didn't like the Stormcast half of the cinematic trailer (the Skaven half was awesome!). But, I've been following the reveals for AoS4, including Vince Venturella's Warhammer Weekly podcast. And, with some exceptions, I like what I've seen. I'm still worried, especially for another "buggy" launch, but I do like what they've shown. Tonight, they're doing a big reveal show from the Dallas Open, and I'm hoping to see more.

What I Expect

As almost everyone does, I'm expecting to see the launch box revealed in full. I'm pretty sure we'll get a nice presentation of all the new plastic coming, the new cover of the new rule book, and maybe a few other noteworthy inclusions (got my fingers crossed here.) I'm also expecting to see a few more rules teasers, probably unit profiles for some of the new models. And honestly, that's all I'm actually expecting to see. That's basically what we got with the full Leviathan reveal, and I think that's probably most of what we'll get here too. If we're lucky, we might get to see the two new Spearheads for Stormcast and Skaven, as they're probably in the box.

What I'm Hoping For

However, they need not stop there. First, let's talk inclusions for that big box. I'm hoping it will come with a Battle Tactics deck similar to the Leviathan deck for 40K. We've already seen that the basic Battle Tactics module for AoS4 is pretty bad. But the Battle Tactics deck coming with Spearhead looks awesome, and is very reminiscent of Leviathan. I really want there to be something similar for core AoS.

Next, it would be really nice if they actually put some terrain in the box. This is a reach, since they haven't boxed up any terrain for some time now (outside of ultimate starter sets.) But with new terrain rules it would be nice to see some new terrain. This is very much not likely, but we might see some new Skaven terrain pieces that will be sold later or possibly in some ultimate starter set.

Finally it would be nice to see a roadmap for AoS4 releases. The releases for 40K have been coming nice and fast. I'm hoping they're planning something similar for AoS.

The "Live" Show

D'oh! I it looks like another prerecorded show!

And there's all our shiny new Stormcast!

Love this Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-Stalker!

Yep its prerecorded interviews on the couch . . .

At least it feels like we're getting more of the minis this time, with multiple views and angles and even different lighting. That's an improvement at least.

"More to come." Better be more, we still got Skaven.

And here are the rats!

Yes! Rat Ogors! They look awesome!

We've already seen the Jezails and the Engineer.

Finally our big rat on a big rat!

Love this warp blaster! I'm just all about this.

And back to the interviews! "Yes, players. We here at GW also are constantly waiting for our ranges to get refreshed!" I don't know if this is all the models, but it doesn't feel like enough Skaven for the amount of Stormcast we saw. Like, I feel like there should be a lot more Skaven.

Okay, so with this book reveal, that's probably the box. But they say they're more announcements coming. Let's see what they have planned.

Looks like this box will come with a separate campaign rulebook.

Oh nope! It's the rules for Spearhead games!

And back to the couch! Here are those marketing points again . . .

Okay, these second and third points are actually new. We know they were building up interactivity in AoS 3rd, but they're trying to keep that going. And from the previews, that seems to be true.

The final point about keeping games close with lots of back and forth moments makes me hope again that we'll get some kind Battle Tactics deck. I'm always a little leery of there being too many catchup mechanics. Again, sometimes the right answer is to shake hands and rack up again. I don't want games to feel like they're scripted. It stifles strategy and can make games predictable.

Oh! We're getting a simplified version of the Generals Handsbook!

Okay, we already knew about Spearhead, but here are the Skaven and Stormcast Spearheads. As expected, you can make them out of the launch box.

Sneaking in some new ones too, or at least teasers for them.

Looks like they're going to try to keep the stats the same, even if the rules are unique, so it's somewhat easier to go from Spearhead to the core game. Already had a little difficulty taking new players from Combat Patrol to 40K.

Don't know if these are from the Vanguards but we've got images of some Nurgle vs. Seraphon.

Okay! We still have some more! Maybe I'll get some of my wishlist tonight!

So here's the full boxset reveal.

Yeah, 24 Stormcast to 50 Skaven doesn't quite seem right. That is a lot of minis though. These are just all fantastic models. We'll be going through those on their own in a bit.

Wow! There is a bit, even if only a little bit, of terrain in the box! I'm honestly surprised!

And with that! Hi Adam! Hi Paul!

Okay, other than some Spearhead teasers this was honestly just the boxset stretched out into a 30 minute show. We did get a lot of looks at the miniatures this time, but that's basically it. There were a couple of different tidbits in the interviews, but honestly nothing we haven't already gotten from WarCom.

This really was just 30 minutes of one box.

Oh well, the WarCom articles should be up soon and we'll go through them one by one.

The Miniatures

While the show was honestly stretched out a lot, and didn't really have anything new other than the box contents, there were a lot of miniatures. And we got some loving shots of them this time!

Lord-Vigilant on Gryph-Stalker

Absolutely fantastic piece! While Stormcast helmets can be kind of bland, the crown is nice and the Gryph-Stalker looks incredibly regal.

Lord-Veritant

They Gryphs don't stop though! Here we have a kind of blind seer look. Again, this model drips character. And there's something about that Gryph-Hound that looks like they are done with your nonsense.

Lord Terminos

The model for our perspective character from our new cinematic looks absolutely fantastic. They look like they're waiting in silent meditation, along with their attendant, for that moment that Sigmar determines they're needed. I love the details on the cloak too.

Knight-Questor

Another model that left the helmet at home, this one has a very grizzled veteran look that goes well with their lore.

Reclusians

Some of our line Stormcast, also with mortal attendants. Again, amazing amount of detail on these miniatures.

Prosecutors

Here we get my first miss. Most of this is the faces. There's something about them that has kind of that exaggerated, Dredd style faces I've never been particularly fond of. Also the flames coming out of the wings aren't working for me. It feels like they were trying to depict feathers made of magic flame, and I just don't feel they got there.

Liberators

On the other hand, the Stormcast mass melee has never looked better! These models look absolutely fierce!

And with that, those are our Stormcast models. Now let's look at our rats!

Clawlord on Gnaw-Beast

Look at him! Look at him! He just looks so awesome and that gnaw-beast looks so nasty! I would not want to get bit by that! Just glorious!

Grey Seer

I absolutely love this, but I'm having trouble coming up with why. There's a very sinister aspect that's definitely helping. But then I see those rats coming out of the cracked bell. Absolutely awesome!

Rat Ogors

Possibly my favorite new models. What can I say? I love my big monsters. But seriously these look epic!

Ratling Warpblaster

I love steampunk, and Skaven tech (as well as Kharadron) have a very nice steampunk aesthetic. The goggles and his intense aiming also remind me a bit of WoW style Gnome/Goblin engineering. And it's all contrasted by the absolute raggedness of the Skaven pushing the machine.

Warlock Engineer

And here's one that's a slight miss, emphasis on slight there, but I honestly can't tell you why. I think maybe they look just a bit too dignified? I'm really struggling to explain why this isn't working for me.

Clanrats

And here they are! Our new clanrats! And they're an appropriately motley crew. Lots of fun here!

Warplock Jezzails

I've seen these already too, and I still love them. I like the design of the shield and brace. And I absolutely love the sinister expressions on these rats, befitting a sneaky sniper assassin.

Final Thoughts

So this was all box and miniatures, as I said, stretched out over 30 minutes. We really didn't get a lot of new info, save for some teased Spearheads and the surprise of a Spearhead book and GHB in the box. Oh yeah! And somehow I got my wish for a handful of terrain for this launch box!

Miniature wise we're a little bit more than Leviathan, though there were a handful of really big kits in that box. We technically did get two books in Leviathan, as the Leviathan book included the Leviathan Crusade book. The hardcover Spearhead book will be nice, though I'm pretty sure that will be available free online.

But Skaventide is also including a lot of play aids, including cards for both the Warscrolls and GHB rules. On the balance I think they'll be mostly comparable boxes.

And I love Skaven! I love villain factions that are full of character and personality, and Skaven have it in spades! And I really do love the new Stormcast models too. But I'm a little sad that GW has decided to keep using Stormcast as their launch faction. I know they're the poster child for AoS, but I feel that things like this have a huge effect on how factions are perceived. New factions in launch boxes experience spikes in popularity. Where as if one faction is constantly focused on, well just look at all the Ultramarines memes.

Tomorrow we go back to the grimdark future. But I don't feel like reacting to another of the prerecorded shows. I think I might, emphasis might, watch it, but then just look at the miniatures on WarCom. I want them to go back to actual live shows with at least some audience interaction.

[loge2718]

Lt. Hans Golem Blaustein Doodles

[my-orly]

WAR IS COMING RUN NOW!

Tanks and missiles bring prepositioned in the north being readied to move in and to take out all of Hasbullah. “WARNING RUN NOW”

[cam2d]

They got featured on Warcom yesterday but I’m thrilled to show you more angles of Iridan the Witness! This might be my favorite model I’ve painted all year. Thanks to Games Workshop for the preview copy. Read a full review over on Goonhammer!

[titanomancy]

When WarCom started doing the Ecstatic Epistle, I figured that it would be an irregular feature but I didn't think it would be dropping every other Wednesday. If they keep up this pace, Emperor's Children could be a summer release.

[shoehedd]

GUESS WHI JUST BOUGHT A LIGHTBOX

[lore-pls]

Havocs ^^

Warp Talons ^^

Jakhals ^^

Khorne Berzerkers ^^

Drukhari Scourges ^^

Dark Apostle with Disciples ^^

Idly poking at the hobby bingo that got posted on WarCom earlier this month. Which of the following units (that I already own) should I paint for the "unit of 40k minis" square?

*Yes, one of these things is not like the others; I wanted a Nefertari.

[toxic-stargod-apologist]

"Hey Jim, have you seen how some 40k fans reacted to female custodes? It's wild. They've come up with a whole conspiracy theory about how Jeff Bezos is blackmailing us into making our games woke. We should probably make a statement to make our position clear."

"Yeah, you're right Tim. Let's write a long, detailed explanation of the reasoning behind the change. Then we'll put it in a footnote at the bottom of a warcom article about a mid-season Warhammer Plus episode."

"Great, I'll get to work on... wait, what?"

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer 40,000 Adeptus Mechanicus Changes for June 20, 2024

AdMech have proven to be the greatest balance issue of 10th Edition. Only Deathwatch has performed worse, and AdMech has recently fallen below them. They've gone from an army of fragile but skilled warriors wielding some of the most deadly weapons in the galaxy, to what feels like raw recruits with pea shooters. They don't have rules, and they don't have datasheets. All they have is the commitment of a small cadre of veteran players that are used to needing every ounce of their skill to get results from the army. Arguably Tyranids were worse off, as AdMech frequently outperformed them at the top tables. But Tyranids have the advantage of being a relatively beginner friendly army with really good discount boxes, which helped bolster their player base. Meanwhile AdMech has been relying on the cries of a small dedicated fanbase to try and get the attention they need as their army keeps getting more and more expensive.

But GW has finally answered those calls for aid! As vaguely discussed in the WarCom article, there are a ton of rules changes for the faction. Nearly the entire second page of the Dataslate is dedicated to the AdMech rules changes, with only a small piece blocked out for Sisters and Custodes. Let's start with the big one.

Army Rule

The original Doctrina Imperatives interacted with your weapons and deployment zones, granting a special rule and a buff depending on which one you picked. The special rule was always welcome. With the reduction to hitting on 4s, granting Heavy to your units camping objectives or firing lanes is always nice. Similarly when you're surging out to seize those positions, Assault is always welcome. However, the buffs were not as useful. Protector Imperative made enemy AP worse against units in your deployment zone while Conqueror improved your AP against enemy units in their deployment zone. This was extremely limiting, and often meant you just didn't get the second part of your Imperative.

Now Doctrinas have gotten a second buff that is just always applied to the units that benefit, as well as a third that works much like many of the Skitarii support rules. This brings the AdMech's main synergy system into its Army Rule and makes it much easier to claim all the buffs of an Imperative.

Protector Imperative

Still grants Heavy as it did before, but now grants a flat +1 to BS (not Hit) to all Doctrina ranged weapons. This means your AdMech forces can potentially be hitting on 2s when you declare this Imperative. This is a significant boost to your firepower just by itself. Finally, your Doctrina units will also gain a -1 to Hit in melee if they're Battleline or within 6" of a Battleline unit. While this isn't as good as -1 AP, it's still a nice defensive buff that you can get where you need it. It also synergizes a bit more with Skitarii Invulns. This means that once you've surged forward and claimed the ground you want, not only will you hit much harder but you'll be harder to shift too.

Conqueror Imperative

Just as with Protector, this Imperative still grants Assault as it always has. But now you also get +1 to WS for your Doctrina units. This means when you have to shift the enemy off of a point, you'll be much more deadly in melee. But the third point is really nice, granting +1 AP to all Battleline units or Doctrina units within 6" of a Battleline unit. That's ranged and melee too! So AdMech just gained a lot more stopping power on the assault.

Keyword Datasheets

Next we have the addition of Doctrina Imperatives to several datasheets. Cawl, Electro-Priests, Tech-Priests, and Technoarcheologists will now all benefit from your Doctrina Imperatives. In particular, I'm betting the Electro-Priests are really going to enjoy Conqueror Imperative. But this made all your Cult units much more deadly.

Units

This is just the start of the changes for AdMech, and we're already off to the races. But AdMech has also suffered from underwhelming datasheets. Many of these have now been improved to make them much more deadly.

Belisarius Cawl

In addition to getting a new keyword, the Archmagos has received a speed boost to help him move around with his oval base. The Core Rules now also grant him the ability to move through Ruins.

But his abilities could use some love too. Mantra of Discipline is the target of this pass. In addition to granting Cawl an Aura of +1 to Leadership Tests, it now gives him the Battleline keyword. This allows him to both benefit from and trigger the new improvements to Doctrinas while also triggering all those Skitarii enhanced abilities.

Ironstrider Ballistarii

AdMech's famous chicken walkers have often been needed to prop up their damage. But these kits are expensive and only deadly in large numbers. To help them punch appropriately hard they've lost Twin-Linked and had their shots doubled. Since they still have Sustained Hits 1, the double attacks make it twice as likely to spike and get some disgusting damage off. It's a trade off, but I think with the rules changes it's a considerable improvement.

Skorpius Disintegrator

A small but meaningful buff here for the Ferrumite cannon, giving it +1 to Damage. Again, combined with the buff to Doctrinas this should make this gun much better at dealing with enemy armour.

Sicarian Infiltrators

Infiltrators have also benefited from a boost to their Attacks, going from 2 to 3 with either of their melee weapons. While this is beneficial all around, it could make the Taser Goad a more interesting choice since, again, it makes spiking the Sustained hits more likely.

Sicarian Ruststalkers

Ruststalkers, on the other hand, have all had both their attacks and strength increased by 1. This puts them at a much better break point against enemy Infantry. Combined with Conqueror Imperative, these will likely blend any Battleline units they hit now.

Onager Dunecrawler

Again, this is mostly a buff to the number of attacks each of their weapons get. The Daedalus now gets a second missile, the eradication beamer has gone to 2D3 instead of D6, and the Onager itself has gone to 12 attacks while still retaining Twin-Linked. The neutron laser, however, gets +1 Attack and Damage but loses Blast.

Huh! I also seem to recall that they were going to give the Dunerider Firing Deck. Unfortunately I don't see that here, so that must not have made the final cut.

Points Changes

These rules changes aren't free though. The WarCom article warned that they would be bumping up the point costs for AdMech to make up for their gained power. However, this may actually be the first time players will actually cheer nerfs. AdMech armies are currently hovering around 1 pts/dollar. That means a competitive AdMech army will run you around $2000. That's also a ton of painting on what were designed to be ornate, often centerpiece style miniatures. Let's see how badly they got hit.

And yeah, that's a lot of red. Most of the characters went untouched, which is good because Cawl especially is a joke at 150 pts. But Enginseers and Manipulus went up 15 and 10 pts respectively. Despite their buffs, Infiltrators went untouched. Destroyers, Skystalkers, and Raiders also were passed over by the nerf bat.

The three Archaeopters all went up 10 to 15 points. Honestly that's pretty restrained given how much GW has been hating on Aircraft. Gaining Imperatives have cost Electro-Priests 2 pts a model for Corpuscarii and 3 pts for Fulgurites. Ballistarii have gone up a whopping 20 pts per model while Dragoons have gone up 10 pts. While Destroyers were untouched, Kastelans and Breachers have both gone up 5 pts each. The Dunecrawler has gone up a massive 30 pts for having so many weapons buffed. Meanwhile each Skorpius only went up 5 pts. Pteraxii have gone up 2 pts a model, Ruststalkers have gone up 3 pts, and Serberys have gone up 5 pts/3 models. Finally, your Battleline units have both gone up, half a pts for each Ranger and 1 pts for each Vanguard.

Here's the thing though. Many of these values are much closer to where GW originally put them when 10th Edition started. So while these are definitely all nerfs, they're much closer to where AdMech was intended to be and the kind of army they were supposed to represent.

Edit: Errata

Whoops! I forgot that many armies are getting updated FAQ and Errata! This is where that Dunerider Firing Deck went! Sad it's only Firing Deck 2.

There's not a lot here, but there are a few things. In addition to the afore mentioned Firing Deck, the Skitarii Marshal is getting a few changes. The first is a new standardized wording for Redeploys. The second is a change to Servo-skull Uplink to reflect the changes to Stratagems. Now, the ability is a once per battle end Battle-shock. Finally, the Dunecrawler is getting a Scuttling Walker ability similar to the one on Defilers. Combined with the new movement rules should help its mobility a bit.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, I think this is all good news. I think most AdMech players will happily cancel some painting projects to get a smaller, more elite army on the table. Yes, their units cost more now. But those units are going to be hitting on 3s more often, occasionally hitting on 2s, with more attacks and a bit more damage. Defensive and reactive AdMech players will find their firepower much more consistent while their models are harder to shift. Aggressive players or players that "gotta go fast" will find they can much more easily take the fight to the enemy and clear opponents off objectives. The faction is still pretty fragile, but they're back to being a glass cannon instead of just glass. I think AdMech players actual have an army they can play with now.

[clems-grove]

FAKE ASS BUG FANS say shit like “ohh I love bugs but JUST THE PREFTY ONESSS and most are icky and ugly and should die forever😍” when the great wizard warcomes I will kill you. With my blast

[toppyflygon]

IT BEGINS GUYS! GO CHECK OUT MY NEW COMIC NOW!

Welp here begins my new comic! And its looking like something about to happen 0_0 Note that following this page, I upload one page per week (on mondays)

[betabites]

(Descriptions in alt-texts)

Generally, painting terrain isn't interesting, just tedious. Case in point, I didn't even bother taking pictures of the wattle fencing I just painted because no one cares. It looks fine from 3 feet, and that's all that matters. So this was an attempt to making this terrain interesting: I printed out a punch of tiny posters and glued them on, and added pop colors to a few of them.

And then I kind of painted the RWBY mural from RWBY Beyond. Special thanks to @sedlex for their work in getting a reasonably straight-angle of the mural.

Extremely long list of poster sources after the cut.

Round hut:

The Cube is a Lie! by Raven Cruz (vanished off the internet)

Perfect Food Egg from Ryoko Kui's Delicious In Dungeon.

Brouha on Mustafar & Hooha on the Death Star from NRobinson77.

Obama-style Luke and Dalek are most likely the result of one of poster-creators back in the day, because I can't find any trace of them.

Concern Necron from RuoYuArt.

Do Not Feed Metroids from Shinaz (who was not the original creator either, but we're already back in '05).

Square hut:

Dalek 'To Victory': Doctor Who official art, apparently.

Soldiers of the Imperium, Kill Team, and Makari's Wanted: Dead posters are all Warhammer 40K official artwork from the Regimental Standard.

Primaris Akira from Sgt-lonely

Hey, have you tried cheese? is so popular I literally had it as a tea towel.

Enlist Today (with Darth Vader, not that you can see that) by Cliff Chiang.

Actually yeah, maybe today Satan is a Nancy comic. Mercy only knows if it's a real comic or fanart, because I can't find it.

Commissar 'Do It For Him' is AdeptusRidiculous.

'Strawberry' B1-battle droid is cnv99.

Death Star Gunner pin-up is Adam Warren.

Asami eyeing Korra's rack is IAHFY (who is amazing).

Annoyingly placed 'Game Over' Cinder Fall is MrOrbs.

'I apologize for nothing' Hedonism-Bot was from etsy Woodcut Emporium (now gone).

France-Destroyer 9000 is from Borghest.

Quark's Root Beer is from Maggie Muldoon (it's insidious!).

Cantina:

The tiny dwarf is from the Dwarf Fortress community.

'We Do Bones Motherfucker' is from lunglessart.

Korra Vs Tahno is from Janet Sung.

Korra 'Change' and Sororitas 'Hate' are likely more poster-creator products.

The Mechanicus poster underneath the Korra poster and 'Join the Astrum Militarum Today!' are from WarCom's Regimental Standard.

Mordred's 'Welcome Back... Assface!' is from Tamamita.

Kuat Drive Yards is official art from Star Wars Insider 86.

No Shields, All Guts from gattadonna.

'We are short-staffed... this place is not a place of honor' was a photo from (presumably) a store window.

[siilvan]

OC File: Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

gorgeous renders by the amazing wonderful phenomenal lovely @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot <33

finally posting my oc to cope with mw3... i've had her since november '22, didn't even mention her name to anyone until august lol. i've never had the confidence (or skill) to do this, so i'm thanking all of my mutuals with their wonderful ocs for giving me the strength to do it, even if they don't know it <3

note: despite petra being reader's callsign in bloodsport, it is not intended to be my oc. so far, the only fics that petra properly appears in are desideria and fortuna redux. i know it's confusing and i'm sorry 😭 more of her (and others) in the future!

very long post BTC...

edit: completely forgot to include this— credit to cptnprice for the file!!

GENERAL

Name: Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

Nicknames/Aliases: Petra, Doc, Bravo 0-5, MEDINT 5, Leni (by friends/family)

Rank: Lieutenant (since 2015)

Gender: Female

Birth Date: June 29, 1990

Nationality: Dutch

Affiliations: Royal Netherlands Army, Korps Commandotroepen, Task Force 141, Coalition (Warcom), SpecGru

Birthplace: Rotterdam, Netherlands

Current Residence: The Hague, Netherlands

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Golden Brown

Eye Color: Blue (right), Green (left)

Height: 5'7" (1.70 m)

Weight: 160 lbs (72 kg)

Build: Athletic, hourglass (hips. That's all.)

Blood Type: O-

Marks: Various tattoos (pictured below), scar on cheek

Faceclaim: Rianne Haspels (Carlotta Champagne for body)

DETAILS

Sexuality: Unlabeled (prefers men)

Languages: Dutch (native), English (C2), Spanish (A2), French (B2), German (C1), Danish (C1), Russian (B2), Arabic (B1)

Education: Biochemistry BS from the University of Amsterdam, Biochemistry MSc from the University of Copenhagen

Preferred Hairstyles: Low bun or Dutch braid for missions, 3-strand braid or loose for everyday

Preferred Mission Attire: Anything from jeans and a turtleneck, to slim cargos and a tank top, to proper combat fatigues. Dresses for the weather, but hates anything baggy. Prefers to wear black and green, occasionally wears white, tan, or blue. Very athletic style.

Preferred Civilian Attire: Usually dresses fairly casual. Jeans, cargos, leather pants, leggings. Plain t-shirts, henleys, turtlenecks, off-shoulder tops. Wears bomber jackets or hoodies. Mostly wears black, green, or white. Likes feeling comfortable but cute when she's off the clock.

Favorite Color: Evergreen

Favorite Flower: Magnolia

PERSONALITY

Myers-Briggs Type: ENFJ-T. Extraverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, and turbulent. Petra prioritizes the better of the group over personal benefit and strives to have a positive impact on the world and the people around her. Happy to lead or follow, but preferring to guide others, she is a self-identified humanitarian with a pipe dream of world peace. Reliability, tolerance, passion, and altruism ultimately conflict with overthinking, stubbornness, perfectionism, and indecisiveness – Petra is both helped and hindered by the idea of what things can be or could have been.

FAMILY

Father: Colonel Hendrik "Chimera" Scholten de Ridder. Former KCT commander and military legend-turned terrorist. (deceased)

Mother: Johanna Scholten de Ridder (née van den Bos). Former MEDINT analyst for the BVD and MID. (deceased)

Brother: Sergeant Emiel "Nightfall" Scholten de Ridder. KCT operative and specialist in anything covert; never misses a shot. Ally of TF141, rarely stays in any one place for long due to the nature of his assignments.

Uncle: Unnamed paternal uncle. Father's younger brother, civilian military engineer. Lost his life in a terrorist attack in the mid-1990s. (deceased)

Aunt: Special Agent Merel "Songbird" van den Bos. Mother's older sister, former agent for the BVD and MID. Specialist in foreign relations and espionage. May or may not be living in the USA and married to Frank Woods (spoiler: she is).

Grandfather: General Emiel Scholten de Ridder. Paternal grandfather, former commander of the Royal Netherlands Army. Yes, her brother is named after him. (deceased)

SKILLS

Fighting Style: Adaptable, but prefers to keep her distance. Studied kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Krav Maga in her youth – CQC is influenced by these.

Weapons: Can use whatever is available. Is oddly talented with a quarterstaff despite none of her training involving it.

Preferred Weapons: M4 (Hightower 20" Barrel, Schlager PEQ Box IV laser, Cronen Mini Pro optic, Corio Precio Factory stock), X12, Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, karambit, throwing knives

Special Skills: Specializes in MEDINT analysis, trauma/medical care, chemical warfare, hostage rescue, asset protection, and foreign military assistance. Can act as a translator. Has received training in sniping, espionage, and stealth combat from allies. Is notorious for her strong fortitude. Very versatile.

Hobbies: Art, cooking, baking, reading, sports (baseball, climbing, kickboxing, swimming, ice skating), music (drums), studying languages

Former Hobbies: Did ballet and gymnastics in her youth. Still enjoys both, doesn't have the time to practice either. Has decent equilibrium thanks to them.

TRIVIA

The name Mylène can mean "merciful", Scholten refers to a schout (government official that handled administration of justice), and de Ridder means "the knight".

Her callsign Petra means "rock, stone" and is not implying that she's a stony person! She earned her callsign due to her high tolerance and endurance; she's also uniquely durable, often recovering from or withstanding injuries that would leave others in worse condition. It's a bit supernatural, don't worry about it.

Was introduced to drumming by her Uncle Frank when she was little. It's canon to me.

Mylène looks like a carbon copy of her aunt, sans some details like hair and eye color. She's also more well-built than her aunt thanks to being in the military.

Has a bunch of small rituals, habits, and very specific ways of doing things thanks to her OCD – nothing too crazy (she has no choice but to manage these thanks to her career), but you'll start to notice them if you're around her enough.

Has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). She's learned ways to lessen the symptoms and has an IUD that helps immensely, but it's why she still has a decent amount of fat on her body despite working out religiously. (Not projecting my issues shh)

Doesn't date often due to her career and personal reservations. Prefers someone older, though. (I'm not projecting shh x2)

Keeps a journal on her at almost all times. Inside of it is anything from basic medical info for her allies, random drawings, important notes, etc. Likes to pretend it's organized, but it's not. At all.

Skipped a year in primary school, hence why she graduated at 17 instead of 18 despite attending a VWO school.

It was painfully obvious that she learned her Russian in school before she met Nikolai. After he laughed at her, he taught her how to sound more "natural" – AKA, he taught her almost exclusively profanity.

Bouncing off that, she's Mrs. Worldwide. Petra's unintentionally picked up so much slang from her coworkers.

Her favorite genres of literature are romance and philosophy. She can read outrageous smut with a straight face, but blushes and grins over fluffy stuff. Tries to read books in other languages to practice, too!

Will not touch any drug with a 10-foot pole. Same goes for tobacco, she's the type to dramatically cough if the team smokes around her. She's very health-conscious!!

TATTOOS

source 1 source 2

Tattoo One (Hands) I'm not going to lie... originally gave Petra the tattoo (two, actually – she has it on both hands) because I loved Freya's tattoos in GOW and the design is inspired by those. From an in-universe standpoint, it was her first tattoo (age 17) and she just wanted something simple that could be hidden under her gloves to prevent fading. Has to get them touched up every now and then.

Tattoo Two (Right Arm) Full sleeve of willow branches, florals, and butterflies. There's a lot of symbolism in this one. The butterflies represent transformation, hope, and rebirth; the willow branches symbolize a new life, protection, flexibility, and adaptability; the flowers embody anything from growth, joy, transience, hope, love, and death.

source 3 source 4

Tattoo Three (Left Bicep) Two-headed snake with flowers! I don't think I need to rhapsodize about the florals again, so I'll skip to the snake. Depending on the culture, a two-headed serpent can represent wildly different things. It's a symbol of rebirth and resurrection, with each head representing earth and the underworld. It can symbolize indecision and conflicting ideas. Duality, balance, power, healing, insight, and deeper awareness; snakes were often seen as a spiritual messenger, and the dual nature of a two-headed serpent represents learning from both positive and negative experiences. (if I see any "heehoo konni" comments, I will blow up the sun, this ain't about him babygirls 😔)

Tattoo Four (Left Inner Forearm) Compass with an arrow! The symbolism is pretty obvious, I think... Direction, guidance, and navigation; the compass arrow combines the arrow's representation of direction and forward movement and the compass' symbolism of finding your way and staying on course. Together, it represents the idea that, no matter how far away you are, your arrow will always hit its target – even when losing your way, you'll always be able to overcome adversity and find your way back.

BACKGROUND

⋆ CW: themes of child abuse, violence, SA (marked with ***) and overall mary sue levels of tragedy

Born on June 29, 1990 in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Hendrik Scholten de Ridder and Johanna Scholten de Ridder, Mylène had a normal – if not privileged, thanks to her family's prominent histories – early childhood. At the age of 3, her brother, Emiel, was born. Known to be a clever, compassionate girl, Mylène took to the "big sister" role with ease.

Her father was a captain from a distinguished military family with the callsign "Chimera", who ascended to the rank of colonel and commanded the Royal Netherlands Army’s special forces unit, the Korps Commandotroepen. Her mother was a medical intelligence analyst for the AIVD and MIVD (then-known as the BVD and MID) with a family history in government and politics.

In the late fall of 1999, when Mylène was only 9 years old, she came home from school and discovered her mother's corpse, having been killed by enemies of her father originally seeking to hold the family for ransom. This event, paired with the traumas he sustained over his years in the military, drove her father to "near insanity" as he became consumed with paranoia and grief. The rest of her and her brother's adolescence was defined by the trauma of her father's abuse; he subjected the siblings to rigorous physical and psychological training in order to mold them into "perfect soldiers" and prevent any further loss.

Despite this, her father was publicly viewed as a war hero. He would often leave the two alone when he was on deployment, forcing Mylène to care for herself and her brother with nothing more than a roof over their heads and grocery money provided. The siblings developed an unbreakable bond during this time that would extend into their adulthoods, rendering them a synergic duo both at home and in the field.

After finishing secondary school at 17, Mylène enlisted in the Royal Netherlands Army. She also studied at the University of Amsterdam – taking online classes – and eventually graduated with a BS in Biochemistry. She spent 3 years serving in various military hospitals, clinics, and field units under the 400 Medical Battalion, until she joined selection for the KCT in 2011. She was swiftly recognized for her high tolerance, natural interpersonal skills, and advanced aptitude for MEDINT analysis; she passed selection with top marks, setting several records during the infamous "hell week" exercise.

Mylène operated as a combat medic until August 2013, when she worked with the British SAS's Unit Bravo under the command of Captain John Price. Despite the joint team being greatly reduced in number and separated after a series of heavy artillery attacks from enemy forces, Mylène managed to provide emergency medical care and calm leadership as her party made its way to the rendezvous point that Price's group was defending.

After the joint operation concluded, Price took an interest in her, deciding to train her as a sniper and teach her how to better use her skills in combat. The two quickly developed a close relationship built upon mutual trust and a desire to fight for what's right, regardless of rules or orders. At some point after this, her unflappable nature and composure when faced with challenging conditions earned her the callsign "Petra".

*** By 2014, Mylène was in a several year-long relationship with a National Reserve Corps (NATRES) NCO named Florian Van Aller. On February 14 of that year, he suddenly came to her with an idea that left her speechless: "sharing" her with his unit. Despite his insistence and attempt to pressure her into it, Mylène refused, ending the relationship. They met on base the next day after Florian messaged her claiming to want to apologize – when she came face-to-face with him and his mentor, Captain Jozef Daalmans, she realized what she had been told was a lie.

*** Although the captain's only involvement was restraining her and watching, Mylène felt violated by both men. She was left at the scene, battered and ashamed, until the last person she expected to help found her – Colonel Hendrik Scholten de Ridder. In a rare act that she now describes as "the last time she ever saw her real father," he comforted her and took her to the hospital, where Mylène received treatment for the injuries she sustained in the assault. She never spoke of the incident afterwards, leaving herself, her father, and her attackers as the only people privy to it.

In early 2015, an assault team led by Chimera and Petra on an enemy submarine revealed that there was a traitor within the unit. The entire team, save for Chimera and Petra themselves, was killed onboard the vessel. The traitor was eventually discovered to be Chimera himself, with Petra as the only witness to his admission and subsequent attempt to bury her, and any incriminating evidence, at sea. With her father in the wind and knowing that her word alone wouldn't be enough to implicate him for his crimes, Petra contacted Captain Price, telling him: "You're the only person I can trust."

An unsanctioned operation to capture or kill Chimera was planned by the two, with the help of her brother – now a KCT operative nicknamed "Nightfall" – and Nikolai, a trusted contact of Price's. The small team managed to track the Colonel and his supporters to a base deep in the Alps, where they successfully wiped out the entire group and killed Chimera. After this mission, Petra felt indebted to Price and Nikolai, considering them two of the few people she could trust implicitly.

From then on, Petra lent her services to various humanitarian groups in an effort to provide protection and medical care on missions around the globe. With expertise in frontline trauma and medical care, hostage rescue, asset protection, medical intelligence analysis, chemical warfare, and the training and advising of foreign military units, Petra proved to be an elite operative capable of remaining calm in even the most dire scenarios. She’s been awarded the Military William Order, the Bronze Lion, the Bronze Cross, and the Cross of Merit for both covert and overt operations, establishing herself as a minor legend within the elite commando corps.

However, a little over a year after the unsanctioned operation in the Alps, Petra was captured and imprisoned by Ultranationalist forces. She was regularly tortured during her captivity, often by Vladimir Makarov, whom she now sarcastically describes as "a lovely man."

Sometime in mid-2017, Petra was yet-again assigned to a unit led by Price, tasked with infiltrating and securing an Al-Qatala base located in Kastovia. Another member of the unit was Nightfall, serving as the team's scout sniper. During the mission, while providing overwatch, Nightfall's radio was suddenly cut off. When the rest of the team finally reached his location to investigate, several IEDs planted in the area went off and forced the group to retreat. Petra attempted a rescue, but was prevented from doing so by Price, as it was too dangerous. Demolition teams cleared the area the following day. Once it was safe to extract Nightfall, however, the recovery team found nothing.

With her brother declared dead in absentia, Petra chose to abandon the special forces. She went back to school and earned an MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen, refusing to contact any of her former allies so as to avoid being dragged back into the military.

In April 2019, Petra was tracked down in Denmark by Price, who informed her of Vladimir Makarov's plans in Verdansk and urged her to join the SAS team being sent to stop him. After thorough convincing, she agreed to come back for one more mission, seeking revenge against the man that tortured her years ago.

Petra was later handpicked for the task force Price established alongside CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell following the death of General Roman Barkov in November 2019. She was once again sought out by Price – and Nikolai, who was the "final nail in the coffin," according to Price – and convinced to join the team as a commanding officer.

About a month later, Laswell pinpointed the location of a prison in Georgia believed to be used by Al-Qatala to hold POWs. Reconnaissance of the prison confirmed this and the identity of several of the prisoners; Nightfall was identified as one of the POWs. Petra, leading an elite KCT unit, raided the location shortly thereafter, securing the captives, Nightfall, and intel about Al-Qatala's plans.

Between the invasion of Verdansk, Las Almas, and a burgeoning war with Konni group... Petra has fully committed herself to Task Force 141, willing to save the world or die trying.