#as well as weapons and fighting styles if applicable

[sgt-tombstone]

CoD Military Realism References

UPDATED 05JUL24

For those of you who want to take your fic writing realism (or general military knowledge) to the next level, here is a compilation of real-world, declassified military documents ranging from field manuals to military academy graduate theses all pulled from the Internet Archive. If you're looking for something specific, I highly recommend browsing through their military collection, as they have handbooks on every military topic imaginable, including specific weapons and military operations.

All of these are incredibly outdated because all of the in-date stuff is still classified. That being said, some of these are more outdated than others. Use them at your own discretion and don’t feel obligated to make every detail of your fic entirely accurate. Fic writing is supposed to be fun for everyone involved. Don’t let the real world intricacies of the military distract you from making those military men kiss sloppy style 🖤

The resources that I personally find most useful are highlighted in blue but all of them have lots of valuable information. Read at your own discretion; the vast majority of these are official military documents and could contain shocking/triggering details.

General:

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (DoD, 2001)

Good for looking up military jargon you don't know

Acronyms: pgs 488-606

Dictionary of United States Military Terms for Joint Usage (DoD, 1950)

Basic Training and Care of Military Dogs (US Army, 1972)

Military Working Dogs (US Army, 2005)

Good for any fics including our bestest boy (Riley)

Includes overview of training, administrative details, various jobs, and vet support for military dogs

Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad (US Army, 1992)

provides doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures on how infantry rifle platoons and squads fight

chapters covering doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures, and includes a tactical standing operating procedure

State, Official, and Special Military Funerals (US Armed Forces, 1965)

Handbook for Next of Kin of Army Prisoners of War / Missing Personnel (US Army, 1972)

designed to provide important information in limited detail to the next of kin of missing and captured members in order to promote a better understanding of Department of the Army policies and procedures

unfortunately relevant for our favorite sudsy sergeant and his family :(

Communication:

Hand Signals

Radio Operator's Handbook (US Marine Corps)

Chock full of jargon and technical details that will unfailingly make you sound like you actually work with radio tech

Not recommended for anyone looking for a general overview

Tactical Single Channel Radio Communications Techniques (US Army, 1987)

See above

Combat Skills:

Combat Skills of the Soldier (US Army, 1984)

tells the soldier how to perform the combat skills needed to survive on the battlefield. These are basic skills that must be learned by soldiers in all military occupational specialties (MOS)

Great overview of camouflage, fighting positions, movement, communications, first aid, etc.

Hand to Hand Combat (US Marine Corps)

A little goofy but hey, hand to hand combat stays relevant, no matter how old the information is

Combat Training with Pistols and Revolvers (US Army, 1988)

Close Combat (US Marine Corps, 1999)

provides the tactics, techniques, and procedures of Marine Corps close combat

provides both the lethal and nonlethal close combat techniques needed to handle the situation responsibly without escalating the violence unnecessarily

Explosives and Demolitions (US Army, 2007)

the reference manual for explosives and demolitions procedures that support combat operations, as well as, peacetime training missions requiring demolition applications

Soap's favorite document (he'd probably know it front to back)

You know it's good when the table of contents is almost 20 pages long...

Camouflage, Concealment, and Decoys (US Army, 1999)

intended to help company-level leaders understand the principles and techniques of camouflage, concealment, and decoys (CCD)

Military Diving (US Army, 1999)

Likely the longest resource on this list

Incredibly in-depth; probably only useful if you're writing an entire mission underwater or involving serious diving

Combat Diving (Canadian National Defense, 2002)

contains the information required for the planning and execution of combat diving operations

A far more accessible resource for diving information than the Army diving manual (the Canadians know how to be succinct lmao)

Night Combat - Historical Study (Center of Military History, US Army, 1986)

Scouting and Patrolling (US Marine Corps, 2000)

provides the doctrinal foundation and the tactics, techniques, and procedures for scouting and patrolling from the fire team to the company level. Although the information focuses on infantry units, much of the information is also applicable to combat support units that are assigned patrolling missions

Officers:

Staff Duties in the Field (Canadian National Defense, 1995)

describes procedures for staff work prepared in support of field training exercises and for the planning and conduct of land force operations

Notes for Officers and NCOs on Methods of Instruction (School of Infantry, 1946)

A really cool teaching manual for officers and NCOs who are in charge of instructing new recruits. Doesn't outline what to teach so much as how to teach it

Army Non Commissioned Officer’s Guide (Us Army, 2002)

provides noncommissioned officers a guide for leading, supervising and caring for soldiers. While not all-inclusive nor intended as a stand-alone document, the guide offers NCOs a ready reference for most situations

people always forget that Soap and Gaz are leaders in their own right, with soldiers of their own to command (or at least they would've before joining the 141). This is an excellent guide for how they would act in a leadership position

Commander’s Tactical Handbook (US Marine Corps, 1988)

contains reference material frequently used to organize, plan, and conduct Marine ground combat operations. Its intent is to assist small unit leaders functioning at the company level and below, but it also serves as a field reference guide for all Marine leaders

Intelligence Officer's Handbook (US Army, 1998)

Probably not really relevant for anyone's fics; the 141 doesn't work in intelligence, and this handbook is for specific units within the US Army. An interesting read, though

Types of Operations:

Terrain:

Mountain Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1976)

Combat in Built-Up Areas (US Army, 1992)

Desert Operations (US Army, 1993)

Jungle Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1978)

Ground Combat Operations (US Marine Corps, 2002)

provides the doctrinal basis for the planning and execution of ground combat operations for ground forces

River Crossing Operations (US Army, US Marine Corps, 1998)

Mountain Operations (US Army, 2000)

Training for Urban Operations (US Army, 2002)

Guerrilla Warfare Tactics in Urban Environments Master's Thesis (US Army, 2003)

Not really an urban environment guide; explores whether or not the US Army needs better guidelines for urban warfare tactics

Other:

Guerrilla Warfare and Special Forces Operations (US Army, 1961)

Kill or Get Killed: Riot Control, Techniques, Manhandling, and Close Combat for Police and the Military (US Marine Corps, 1991)

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Operations (US Marine Corps, 1998)

Doctrine for Special Forces Operations (US Army, 1990)

Raid Operations (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Land Force Information Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1999)

describes a multidimensional concept used by the Army to achieve success across the continuum of operations. Information Operations (lO) is an essential combat function that must be integrated with the remainder of the combat functions to maximize combat power

describes the concept in detail, and outlines how lO relates to other combat functions and contributes to the success of commanders on the battlefield

Scout Platoon (US Army, 1999)

describes how the scout platoon conducts its primary missions, reconnaissance and security

focuses on the principles of platoon operations and on the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) the platoon uses to acquire information and provide security and protection for other units on the battlefield

covers a variety of supporting tasks and operations the platoon must perform or coordinate, either as part of its reconnaissance and security missions or as assigned by the commander

Engineer Reconnaissance (US Army, 1998)

Operations in a Low Intensity Conflict (US Army, 1992)

provides tactical-level guidance to brigade and battalion commanders and staff officers for planning, controlling, and coordinating combined arms operations in a low-intensity environment

focuses on tactical units' tasks and missions across the operational continuum just short of declared war

Counterguerrilla Operations (US Army, 1986)

Counterinsurgency Operations (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Medical/Survival:

Basic Medical Information:

Basic Medical Terminology (US Army)

Special Forces Medical Handbook (US Army, 1982)

Aidmans Medical Guide (US Army, 1973)

Medical Platoon Leaders' Handbook (US Army, 2001)

Basic Human Anatomy (US Army)

Basic Human Physiology (US Army)

Basic Patient Care Procedures (US Army)

Force Health Protection Nutrition and Exercise Manual (US Navy, 1999)

Treating Wounds in the Field (US Army)

Combat Life-Saver Medical Tasks (US Army)

Medical Interoperability Handbook (ABCA Armies, 2000)

Combat Stress (US Marine Corps, 2000)

Combat Stress Control in a Theater of Operations (US Army, 1992)

Self Aid and Buddy Aid (US Army, 2000)

Taking Vital Signs (US Army)

Preventive Medical Services (US Army, 2000)

Food Service: Army Rations, Food Packets and Supplements (US Army, 1968)

Treatment of Biological Warfare Agent Casualties (US Armed Forces, 2000)

Physical Readiness Training for Combat (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Specific Scenario Survival:

Summer Survival Course Handbook (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Winter Survival Course Handbook (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Basic Cold Weather Training (Canadian National Defense, 1974)

Soldier's Handbook for Individual Operations and Survival in Cold Weather Areas (US Army, 1986)

Basic Cold Weather Manual (US Army, 1968)

Combat Water Survival (US Marine Corps, 2003)

Ordnance Materiel in Extreme Cold Weather 0 to -65 F (US Army, US Air Force, 1959)

Map Reading and Land Navigation (US Army, 2001)

Survival, Evasion, and Recovery (US Armed Forces, 1999)

A really cool survival guide; recommended read for anyone

chock full of fun and useful acronyms

What to Expect if You Get Shot

Finding Your Direction When Lost

Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare (US Army, 1997)

Medical Evacuation in a Theater of Operations (US Army, 2000)

provides the philosophy of and doctrine for medical evacuation in a theater of operations (TO)

Tactics, techniques, and procedures for accomplishing the medical evacuation of sick, injured, or wounded soldiers are included

Environmental Injuries: Snakebite, Arthropod Bite/Sting, Plant Contact, Heat/Cold Injury (US Army)

Snipers:

Sniper Training (US Army, 1994)

The best sniper reference on the list

Not necessarily up-to-date but provides an excellent overview of every aspect of sniping, including equipment, ammunition, marksmanship, the effects of weather, field techniques, sniper positions, observation, mission prep, communications, tracking, etc

Sniper Training Program (US Navy SEALs)

Modern Snipers (2016)

Counter Sniper Guide (US Army)

Regardless of what we may call him, the individual who is shooting at police, firemen, soldiers or citizens is certainly dangerous. In order to counteract, we must employ a trained individual whose knowledge and skill fall within the dictionary description of a sniper, whom we shall refer to throughout the manual as a COUNTERSNIPER

Super badass ngl

Sniping (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Good explanation of sniper teams, equipment, training, skills, etc with helpful tables at the end

Special Operations Sniper Training and Employment (US Army)

Useful appendices at the end

Scouting, Patrolling, and Sniping (War Department, 1944)

Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Intelligence:

Understanding and Surviving Terrorism (US Marine Corps, 2001)

Counterterrorism Handbook (2002)

Emergency Response to Terrorism (USDoJ, 1999)

Aptitude for Destruction: Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism (RAND, 2005)

Countermobility (US Army, 1985)

Counterintelligence (US Army, 1995)

Intelligence Preparation of a Battlefield (US Army, 1994)

[the-nysh]

Hi there!! I just saw your tags on the Vash marksman appreciation post and I really REALLY gotta know your thoughts on the fight choreography bc while I did martial arts as a kid I don’t remember everything and just extremely curious!! Wanna appreciate the thoughts put behind making this boyo!!

👀👀!!! Yes, hello! (Note: I'm also about 10yrs rusty out of practice in hapkido--a Korean defensive art that combines many styles from judo/aikido/etc, so while I may not remember all the formal terms and stuff, I can still SEE the very real and very sexy close combat choreography + randori/grapples/ground work they're smoothly throwing in there!) I've briefly tag-ranted on some former gifs I've reblogged here & here but OK, I can indulge into a little more detail! :D

Let's start with this gif, which is such a nice introductory tease!

The point-blank bullet dodging is some of that sick looking 'rule of cool' inhuman spice, but oh what's this?? 👀 The other dude is dumbly holding his arm out (non-defensively, since if that guy were smart about close fighting, he'd have his other hand up at the ready too) right in Vash's personal space, ripe for the taking - to which OH YES he easily blocks with the prosthetic arm and transitions right into a throw for the takedown. Where he shoves the fool over his shoulder with a lot more power (which is hard to do, esp from a standing position without a solid grip on any lapels either; woo he just goes right in for it), rather than using the dude's own momentum against him, since the guy's literally just standing there (as a stationary weight) rather than trying to punch him in a brawl. But LOOK what else Vash does!!! His block with the prosthetic becomes a grip that both holds/pulls onto the guy's arm during the throw and disarms the guy - by tossing his gun away, in one swift movement! :O Not only that, but there!! We see the first quick tease of him reverse-griping his own heavy brick of a gun into a tonfa position to strike the guy at the back of the neck for a non-lethal stun!!! That is SO cool!!! ;o; Some galaxy-brained application of his no-killing fighting style (using both arms + his revolver in his repertoire...oh wait, that already makes up the title's literal 3 guns *gets shot*) where it looks so fresh and seamlessly smooth af. Great stuff.

Then the Livio fight, despite him being double-armed with long-range weapons, is full of close-range gold from the way Vash tackles him, straddles him, and pins him to the floor with a (forceful!) choke to the throat (like whoa excuse me hello), but ALSO from the self-aware way Vash always has his guard up to keep both of Livio's guns out of the way at all times. D: Whether parrying bullets with his prosthetic, blocking/holding the guns away with that arm too (as shown), or even using his own gun defensively as a tonfa-shield to reinforce his blocks as well.

So then we get to THIS GIF, the same sequence that drove you insane for his smooth marksmanship tracking, drives ME insane for his immediate close-quarters holywhattheflyingshit did he just DO!?!?!?! 👀👀

LOOK AT HIM!!! Honestly it's kinda hard to see everything from how fast he goes, but I love the way he zips in there to grapple Livio off-balance, and ahh!! Look at the way Vash ducks and defensively keeps both arms up (this is SO important, because once you've trained you'll notice how in so many movies/comics' 'rule of cool' martial arts moves, they'll often have a character wildly swing their arms out to the sides to counter-balance kicks and stuff, but no--that's bad/unsafe form; bc if you're in a real fight you need to keep both arms up and ready at all times if you want to protect your core/face from getting blown off! Which just as you've noted, is something that needs to be practiced! The fact Vash has kept his unblemished pretty face for 150yrs is testament to that~) Vash knows how to simultaneously use his prosthetic AND his gun as needed--cause look at that, he swiftly holds it reversed as a tonfa again to block Livio's gun swing, which is a really cool way to use a gun as a shield to protect his own flesh arm from the incoming blows.

But that's not all, because ahaaa~ Fighting defensively is not all he's got up his sleeve! The little boxing jab he throws to Livio's face with his prosthetic arm makes me giggle, because OH YEAH that's a real thing! A type of distraction strike you pull - the same as stomping on a foot or kicking someone in the balls, to disorient your opponent off-guard first before you serve your real (offensive) move. Which in Vash's case leads up to a....O___O;;!?!? TF is THAT.

Here's where they're teasing in more of that inhuman spice again, because Vash holds Livio's guns out of the way (as usual) and revs up for a....fucking one-punch to the solar plexus at point-blank?!? D8 Whatwhatwhatwhat!!! Because that wasn't his gun's doing at all; he was still holding it defensively in that arm as a tonfa! That was his real arm's natural brute strength bitch!!! aaaahaha!!! wow I love it. The guy modestly says he's not much of a fighter but that's not trueeee at all, is it~ ;) I can SEE real proof of that otherwise and I can't wait for what else studio orange will show us to blow our minds.

*Ahem* So anyway did I ever mention how much I like the way he reverses the grip on his gun to use as a tonfa? (both defensively as a shield to protect himself and offensively to stun/strike his opponents with) For thematically how much it seamlessly works for his fighting style to never kill, for how the improvised (but practiced!) close-range practicality and versatility of it looks crazy awesome, and because damn, that shit's hot.

[jinsai-ish]

Random non-modern scenario headcanon I have for the boys, basically in any situation modern weapons aren't applicable.

Alfred is usually guns and aircraft. So I would translate this to Alfred as a distance fighter, mostly bow and arrow, probably on horseback, ala Plains tribes such as Comanche. As opposed to European style, where I can still see archery, but the sword becomes a lot more likely because of course sword = hero.

Matthew is just way too suited to wetwork, mostly due to his stealth skills. (And Canadian trench raids.) He basically has an attack bear/dog as well. Blades, tomahawks, maybe war club? Regardless, much more likely to be on foot rather than horseback.

I think they'd both be reasonably good at hand-to-hand but nothing as amazing as some of the others (China, Korea, Japan, India, etc) Both also reasonably good at spear/lance/bo staff, but not outstandingly so.

I think that because Alfred comes off as more naturally aggressive, sometimes he gets cast in a more direct fighting position, but I think analyzing what modern weapons he uses really points to him as a ranged fighter. And putting him on horseback gives him the speed, mobility, and agility that matches his nature.

Close combat meanwhile requires patience and precision, skills I think Matthew is more inclined too. I always interpret him as more practical than Alfred, which in combat translates to a tendency to be more ruthless. If we're talking D&D, I'd be putting him more ranger than a fighter, but I definitely see him close-range.

Both of them would be likely to incorporate animals into their combat style however.

[swampstew]

Meet the Master Strategist ~ Wire

Wire invented the word aloof. This is a fact. He also invented the word slay. Besides being a silent giant, Wire also has the second biggest brain in the Kid Pirate crew, right behind Killer. Wire handles strategizing full stop. Schemes, plots, developments, trysts, pranks, rehabilitation, etc. Knows the ins and outs of everything somehow but won't spill on how he knows. Wire tells Killer what to do and Killer tells Kid what to do when it comes to pulling off anything, be it dinner bill dashing or infiltrating highly guarded castles. Don't let his unenthusiastic face fool you - if you're in the crew, you're his nakama, you can trust him with your life.

Meet your Vice-Captain 🡢  ☠️ Meet your Captain -> ☠️

Wire may have also coined the phrase 'ride or die' but that's still unverified. Anyways, he's loyal as they come. Most of the crew came from the same island so it may seem intimidating to join the fray, and they all do have high walls, once they get over themselves, you'll find crew more like family.

Does he know sign language? He'll shrug and then give you a vague answer with an even vaguer gesture. You'll see him make signing motions from time to time, clearly holding conversation, communicating from a distance, or maybe giving direction during tougher than normal settings. It's not until one day Heat pulls you aside and let's you in on the secret. Yes Wire can sign, and he did it purely so he didn't have to expend his energy talking to people he didn't find interesting. Not a lot of people know how to sign back so they leave him alone, just the way he wants it to be.

If he finds time to relax, Wire enjoys simple pastimes to get through the days. He plays guitar and has been known to sing sometimes, he loves board and card games, is a vicious dart shark, and he loves napping. He's one of very few Kid Pirates that takes naps but he makes the absolute most of them. He wears a sleep mask too. It reads: Fuck Off (in really nice handsewn embroidery.)

Wire is the chillest between Kid (the unbridled anger), Killer (the stoic well of anxiety), and Heat (much nicer than he should reasonably be). If crew concerns don't meet a certain threshold criteria, most internal problems get handed to himself and Heat. The thresholds being: big bastard Kid needs to kill, and any situation not cited in Killer's emergency management guidebook.

Circling back to slay - it's a double entendre. Wire has the third highest body count on the crew (for murders), he's also a fashion icon. Have you seen his fit? Mesh netting on those tits and legs, WITH whore shorts? He knows what he's fucking doing. He helps all his little queer pirate kids pick out their outfit aesthetics, he's a proud gay dad.

Wire is only possessive of two things. One of them is his beloved trident. Kid made it for him years ago and it's still his weapon of choice. He cleans and oils it daily, sharpens the points and keeps on top of maintenance for it. Kid made him other weapons over the years: spiked brass knuckles (hurts Wire's back to bend down and utilize them properly); spiked boots (better application but Kid is not a cobbler and those promptly fell apart mid-fight leaving Wire barefoot in battle); a spiked flail (hit Kid's head by accident one time and Wire never saw the flail again). No weapon is more suited for his height and style of fighting than his trident. Wire suspects Kid made it to match his favorite pointed headdress.

If you try to get in the way of his Captain's dreams OR you try to sling pot on the deck, you're dead meat. There's only one weed dealer on the Victoria Punk and that's Wire.

Welcome to the crew and stay in your lane.

[sifu-kisu]

Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

This workshop series aims to provide an in-depth exploration of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, its philosophy, training stages, and unique characteristics. Participants will gain insights from Master Kisu's extensive experience and the rich history of the Northern Shaolin style.

The training of Northern Shaolim follows the process of natural bodily development. That is also the reason why we felt that the Northern Shaolim style is one of the best system for training kids and young people.

The First stage of Northern Shaolim training emphasizes the development of the joints of the individual. In this stage, whether it be the exercise routines or the fighting forms, the demand on the movements are wide and long circular movements executed with fluidity rather than strength.

The purpose is to widen the range and mobility of all the joints including neck, shoulder, waist,hip, wrist, ankle etc. At this stage, the movements or techniques have little actual combat applications, but its movements are generally very graceful and pleasing to watch. This is great exercise for young kids for their growth.

One thing to point out though, most Northern Shaolim practitioners stop at this stage thinking this is the aim or the final form of Northern Shaolim.

What are the essential characteristics that make the Northern Shaolim Style unique ?

Most styles of martial arts emphasizes specific characteristics, techniques, philosophies, theories etc.

What makes the Northern Shaolim Style unique is that its an overall encompassing style that is well rounded and covers all aspects of training and techniques.

The styles curriculum covers techniques for all fighting ranges (long, medium, and short). It covers the applications of all parts of the body as weapons and tools without biasing on any particular means such as kicking or grappling.

Since most Kung Fu styles are developed to enhance the inventor's specialty or cover for his weaknesses, (examples are Wing Chun, Pray Mantis, etc.), the most difficult aspects of martial arts are not covered by many styles.

These aspects are speed, mobility, agility, power, and long fighting range. Just because the Northern Shaolin style is broad and covered these aspects fully, it actually became famous for these specialties.

From my personal insight, the uniqueness of the Northern Shaolim style is the natural body mechanics, the foot work, the arrow like forward attack techniques, the feather like retreat skills, and the broad variety of hand and kicking techniques.

We will be sharing Northern Shaolim Essential foundation techniques.

The Northern Shaolin style of Kung Fu as made famous by Grand Master Kuo Yu Chang is a cumulative set of Kung Fu techniques, both northern and southern styles, choreographed by the Grand Master into a curriculum that he taught both in the Nam Jing Kung Fu Institute and his Canton Kung Fu institute. His curriculum increased throughout his teaching years to include techniques of many styles. The Grand Master, being highly skilled in the Northern style of Kung Fu, emphasized the Northern style of Shaolin Kung Fu in his teachings.

Since most of the stories of martial art origins, including that of the Northern Shaolin style, are passed down by word of mouth, we can treat all of this as more a part of a legend than facts.

The Northern Shaolim style of kung fu is one of the most prominent traditional Northern styles of Chinese martial arts. The Northern styles of Gung-fu generally emphasize long range techniques, quick advances and retreats, wide stances, kicking and leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility, and aggressive attacks.

The system teaches empty-hand techniques and weaponry through predetermined combinations, routines, or movement of sets.

The students learn the basics by practicing the routines until the movements in the routines can be executed naturally based on instinct. Then, two or multiple man sets are practiced to train responses and applications of techniques learned from the sets. The practice sets/routines are not only practical in applications but are also graceful and artistic in nature. The fluidness of the movements combined with acrobatic techniques are trademarks of the Northern Shaolim Kung-Fu sets.

Northern Shaolin workshop series

With Sifu Kisu

Fifth generation disciple of Hui Clan NSKFA

Forms, Theory, Applications, Weapons

More details to follow…

[astrobolical]

A (Hopefully) Helpful Guide to What in "Hell" is Bad?

Part 4 - Unit Types, Elements, Battle Boards & Battle Tips

Last Updated: Oct 31, 2023

I have a mild love of documentation (okay, it’s a problem) and I find it fun— so here we go! I’ve hopefully written out most of the options you’ll encounter while playing, as I know it’s been a confusing start with the game coming out in the state that it did.

And let’s be real here, most gacha-style games can feel overwhelming at first, especially if you’re new to them overall. It happens, and with all the questions I’ve seen floating about, I wanted to maybe help someone out, as well as have some fun. Or this’ll flop, either way, still fun.

There will absolutely be things I’ve missed, or glossed over— or even gotten wrong— so feel free to ask about anything, tell me things, or correct me.

For full transparency— I have spent money on this game, but I have not “whaled” whatsoever. I wanted to test certain things, and I have a strong sense of curiousity.

Looking for another part of the game? Check out the other parts:

Part 1 - General Overview, Achievements and Contracts

Part 2 - My Devils, Levelling, Skills and Artifacts

Part 3 - Chapters, Levels and Dark Sanctuary

Part 4 - You Are Here!

Part 5 - Shop, Secret Shop, Inventory and Management

Part 6 - Secret Club (Adore), Secret Club (Unholy Board), Hell-Oh! Talk

Now, let's keep going!

Battle - Unit Types

We talked about it before when looking at the "My Devil" screen (very briefly), but each devil has it's own style of fighting and element applicable to it.

For all units, always look at their normal attacks and ultimates (passives as well if applicable) before levelling them or putting them on the field. You’d be surprised what some of them can do.

Types of Units

Defense

Devils: Mammon (Selfie) (L), Bimet (S), Valefor (A+), Eligos (A+), Undertaker (A), Caine (A), John Cena (B), Booker T (B), Rob Van Dam (B),

These units are the bulky boys of the game-- the best example being Mammon (Selfie).

These units are intended for longevity on the battlefield, being bulkier than other units with their health

They also stop multiple enemies-- typically 3 at once, whereas other units can usually only stop one

They have a small range-- usually 3x3

Keep an eye on their health— bulk doesn’t mean invulnerable, especially if you’re fighting stronger enemies

Close-Range

Devils: Beelzebub (Selfie) (L), Naberius (S), Amon (S), Bael (S), Dantalian (S), Stolas (A+), Gusion (A+), Bathin (A+), Phenix (A+), Renové (A+), Toto (A), Max (A), Bella (A), Leo (A), Molly (A), Gaejuki (A), Harumon (A), Bob Marley (B), Lucy (B), Bailey (B), Urupapa (B),

These are DPS devils, attack-based units that require the enemy to be up close and personal.

Depending on the devil, can be a little squishy, so it's best to let them hide behind defense devils, or to the side, if you're a little under leveled

Small range, usually 3x3 but can be a little larger

Usually these can only stop 1 enemy at a time

Marksman

Devils: Leviathan (Selfie) (L), Leviathan (Bath) (L), Satan (Selfie) (L), Minhyeok (S), Paimon (S), Sitri (S), Leraye (S), Belial (S), Foras (S), Zagan (A+), Ppyong (A+), Astaroth (A+), Barbatos (A+), Glasyalabolas (A+), Ppang (A), Ppam (A), Ppungppung (A), Ppolppol (A), Ppyongppyong (A), Red Ragnarok (B), Nightslave (B), Fishball (B), Darkness Weapon (B), Oni (B)

The long-range units! These boys will pick away at the enemies from a distance. Very squishy— keep them safe.

Their range varies more widely than the other types in the game, but are always good to have in the back or to the side of a lineup

Some like Belial and Leraye have very long ranges, while some like the Leviathans are a bit shorter— make sure to look at their respective ranges when you’re selecting them for the field!

I said it above, but keep them out of harms way, as they can be taken out with relative ease— especially if they’re under leveled

Healer

Devils: Marbas (S), Morax (A+), Buer (A+)

These are the boys’ who’ll help keep you alive— but there’s certain ways to use them to make them actually valuable. There’s limitations to what they can do, and often damage can outweigh the minimal health they give without finding ways to utilize them.

As you can see, there aren’t many healers in the game at all yet, and they vary pretty widely in what they can do

In many cases, you probably won’t use your healers… the numbers they give back to you are quite minimal compared to the damage enemies do— but they’re not entirely useless

If you’re pacing the enemies and allowing your healers time to do their work, they can be pretty beneficial

Be sure to look at their range of attacks, too— and keep in mind that Marbas cannot attack at all! (In exchange though he constantly heals in a small area that moves with him, and his ult that releases it charges very quickly and you need only use it once)

Battle - Elements

I’ll be very honest here— I don’t pay that much mind to these, and usually battles go pretty smoothly. That said, my team is mostly the Light element, so that might have something to do with it.

But, here we go! Good old fashioned strengths and weaknesses— think Pokémon, but incredibly simplified.

Each element has a weakness and a strength— pitting a weaker element against the stronger means your devils are gonna be in for a time.

What are the elements in WHB?

The available elements currently are: Fire, Water, Grass, Light & Dark(?)

There are currently no units available for “Dark” so I can’t double check— I’ll update that when I can or if someone can let me know what it’s meant to be called. Regardless of it’s name, we can still take a look at what it does!

It’s pretty basic—

Water is strong against Fire

Fire is strong against Grass

Grass is strong against Water

The edge cases are Light and “Dark”— as they are strong against one another, and neutral against the other elements.

I’d love to say if you’re having a hard time in a level just try changing your elemental lineup, but in the early game that can be difficult. Eventually level 20s will be too squishy to survive or deal enough damage to be useful, and promoting them is costly. That said— you can get through a good chunk of the game with all level 20s with one level 40.

Battle - Battle Boards

There is a wide array of gridded “boards” that your battles will take place on— all with their own limitations and paths, so I won’t cover every variation here. However these can be divided into three overall “categories.”

Story Battles

Story Boss Monster Battles

Dark Sanctuary Battles

They all have similarities, though, so lets go over the basics. When you enter a battle, you’ll be shown the map layout and a list of your devils along the left side— you can select six of these devils to go to war for you. You can choose to only see certain rarities or just supports during your selection, but there’s no other ways to sort them— so you’ll need to scroll through each time.

Note: To see your stats like I am in the screenshot above, just press and hold on the devil you want to see the details of!

What can you view right off the bat?

Stage Number - The name/number of the stage you’re currently on (4-50, indicating I’m in Chapter 4 Level 50)

Angel Wing Icon - How many angels you’re dealing with in this stage. Each level will vary (39 in this case)

Heart Icon - That’s that big red heart’s on the left’s health — that indicates you! If three angels touch this, you lose

Paw Print Icon - This indicates how many times you may move your devils once the level has begun — you don’t need to worry about it during the setup phase seen above, but keep an eye on it once the battle starts and you begin to move around as needed!

x1 / x2 Icon - Your current battle speed— angels move slow, and on levels your confident speeding them up is definitely nice. Just tap it to do so. Tap it again to return to x1, if you’re feeling overwhelmed

Pause Icon - Pause the level!

Door Icon - Leave the level

Devil Select List - A list of all your devils (press and hold to see details), drag and drop up to six of them to fight for you! You can only narrow down by rarity and support, so you’ll need to scroll each time

Let’s Roll Button - Start the level! You’ll be warned if your devil count is below six, but you can still start if you want to

Okay, wait, huh? What do I do?

Basically, you’re going to drag and drop six of your devils onto the grid— sometimes, a square may not be allowed, and it won’t let you, so you’ll need to select another one (this can be frustrating).

If you’ve beaten the level once, it’ll remember your team for the next time.

As you drag your devils onto the board, you’ll be shown their range of attack— keep that in mind! Place your units carefully to support one another, and keeping your squishy units out of harm’s way.

If you change your mind about a devil, drag them down to the blue area in the lower right, and it will take them off.

Okay, good to know. What should I expect from these maps?

That depends on what board you’re on, and differs per level. Let’s delve into those three board “types” I mentioned earlier.

Story Battles

These are the battles you’ll be undertaking between actual story. The maps vary widely, but tend to be the same for at least a few in a row before changing again.

Keep an eye on where the spawn points are— remember, enemies come in waves, and not all at once

Boss Monster Battles

Note: The bosses can obscure spawn points for small enemies! Be aware that what you see may not be all of it and don’t be surprised if suddenly an enemy comes out from under or beside it.

Welcome to the big boys— these stages have large enemies just like the Dark Sanctuary, with big AOE or wide-scale attacks (usually). Alongside them will be normal enemies, but in exchange for the big-bad, you won’t have to deal with the hoards you usually see in the regular levels.

Dark Sanctuary Battles

Note: Just like Boss Monsters— these guys can obscure spawn points. Be mindful! Actually, they can be worse for it (I mean look at that tentacled behemoth)!

These are very similar to Boss Monster Stages— but this is all that Dark Sanctuary is. At lower levels it will just be the boss monster, but as you go up in difficulty it will add in the normal enemies as well— be careful!

What happens if I lose? Or if I want to quit?

Nothing! As of right now, there’s no real repercussions. If you lose or quit a level, you don’t even lose AP— so try all you like.

What about enemies? Anything to say about them?

I’m not going to breakdown each individual enemy (unless you guys want me to, in which I can create a new part, I guess), but here’s a few things to keep in mind.

Each enemy model has three variations: white, red and black, and the colours represent (I believe anyway) the difficulty of the creature

Each enemy has a range! Some, like the slime-like-blobs, need to be right on your devil to do damage, but many have a further range and they can be difficult to deal with (especially with the moving devils glitch that’s currently in the game)

They tend to come out in batches of certain enemy types — i.e. if you see one slime, chances are there’s another one or two behind it (or more), before the enemy type will switch again from that spawn point (it’s not a set in stone rule, though!)

Enemies spawn spaced out from one another, usually when the one on the field is 3-4 squares away from the spawn point, but this varies

Enemies have elements, too— hence the triangle of weaknesses we talked about earlier

Battle - Ultimates, Tips & Tricks

Let’s start at square one - Ultimates

Each devil has an ultimate move that takes time to be able to use— it will build through the battle beside their icon at the bottom—the purple bar beside their health— and the icon will glow when they’re fully charged up.

When you want to use them, tap their icon— this will slow time for you so you can aim— and you can see a crown above their icon along with a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass will explain what their ultimate will do if you don’t already know— but to use their ult you tap and hold on the crown, then drag it onto the battlefield to see its range of effect. Let go to use it!

The enemies in range will be brighter than those out of range. Once you’ve let go, you’ll see a little animation and hear a voice line before the ultimate hits the field!

Note: Don’t actually use Leviathan’s ult on a single enemy if you can help it— stun it, build them up by keeping a distance. He’s got such a wide range you may as well take out as many as you can.

You can cancel using your ultimate by dragging it down to the blue area in the bottom right!

Battle - Tips & Tricks

Okay, here’s a couple things I’ve found help, or that I tend to use while I’m playing— hopefully they help! Some are probably obvious, but you never know.

Don’t stress about ‘Required Levels’ that the stages tell you— often you can with with lower levelled units despite the recommendation, play around with placement and see what happens

Don’t spam your ultimates as soon as you get them! Especially with units that stun (Belial and Mammon for example)— it can be pivotal in a harder fight to give yourself a moment to breathe

I actually can’t recommend stunning enemies enough, it helps so much with grouping up enemies and giving your units time to recover health if you want to go that route

Try to aim to hit as many enemies as possible per ultimate (if applicable) — I usually aim to have 3 or 4 enemies within range at least before using ultimates such as Leviathan’s (stun is also good for this, keeping them grouped up)

If you want to bring a healer, I recommend Marbas or Morax over Buer— but honestly bring who you like— but keep in mind you NEED to give your devils space between enemies for them to be helpful at all— healers are SLOW at healing, and give MINIMAL health back so if you’re swarmed with enemies, they just can’t keep up

I actually use Marbas, despite that he can’t attack. I rotate who’s in his AoE and move him as needed flipping who’s under fire and allowing the others to recover with his constant healing

Crowd control ultimates are beyond helpful— getting rid of large amounts at once can save your battle if you’re in a tougher level

Don’t be right on a spawn point if you can help it (sometimes it’s just not easy to avoid), give your range units time to pick away at health bars before they reach your close range/defence units to save them from losing too much health

Ranged enemies are ANNOYING— get rid of them asap. They probably won’t be as bad when we can freely move our units without risk of breaking the level (see below)

This may eventually be patched out, but right now after the battle begins you can often move your units to spaces that were designated as unavailable during the devil selection— and I utilize it as much as I can— being able to place units wherever is incredibly helpful

IMPORTANT! Be extremely careful right now when moving your characters around— there’s currently a glitch that causes them not to move properly, and leave an invisible phantom of themselves where they once were.

This causes issues like:

Accidentally swapping your characters when you move one to where another once was, eating up your limited movements to fix it

If your units DIE while in this state, the enemies will glitch out and soft lock the level, forcing you to start it over

In Part 5 we’ll over the Shop, Secret Shop, Inventory and Management!

[beardedmrbean]

“Antisemitic writings” were found in a search of items belonging to the shooter who opened fire Sunday afternoon at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, according to law enforcement.

The woman, identified as 36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, was carrying an assault-style rifle with the word “Palestine” written on it, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.

A motive is still not clear, but police said they believe Moreno acted alone. A dispute between Moreno and her ex-husband’s family, some of whom are Jewish, may be related to the shooting, Houston Police Commander Chris Hassig said in a news briefing Monday.

The shooter also made several statements during the course of the incident, but the officials declined to describe them. Law enforcement officials added that Moreno previously went by multiple aliases, including using both male and female names.

Moreno also brought her 7-year-old son with her to the church, the officials said. During the incident, the shooter stated she had a bomb, but a search turned up no explosive devices, officials said.

Preliminary tests done of chemicals found at the scene concluded that the materials did not pose any risk, Houston Fire Department Chief Sam Peña said at the Monday news briefing.

“The products on their own are benign, and they’re common products that we would see in other applications,” Peña said.

Law enforcement records show the shooter had at least six arrests since 2005, including unlawful carrying of a weapon, which she pleaded guilty to; evading arrest; and assault on a public official, which was pleaded to a lesser charge.   

Moreno has a documented mental health history and was placed under an emergency detention order by Houston police in 2016, Hassig said.

Maria Scott, who lived four doors from Moreno in the city of Conroe, roughly 40 miles north of Houston, said she did not know her well, but “people talked about her because she was wreaking havoc.”

She said a couple of years ago Moreno knocked on her door at 7 a.m. “insisting I go get my dogs out of her mother’s yard,” said Scott, 57. “She was just very stern and very, very angry for someone at 7 a.m.”

Scott said she heard from talk in the neighborhood that Moreno carried a firearm.

Another neighbor, Linda Giutta, wrote on Facebook that she and others from the neighborhood had raised concerns about Moreno with local law enforcement and the city council.

"No one could offer any kind of help," Giutta said in the post. "We are told to see something and say something but nothing gets done until it is too late."

Neither the police department nor Conroe's five council members immediately responded to requests for comment.

Police have publicly stated that two off-duty officers at the church returned fire, striking the shooter and killing her at about 1:50 p.m. Her son was also struck in the head during the incident and was in critical condition.

Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference Monday that the 7-year-old boy is “fighting for his life.” Police previously said the boy was 5 years old.

Another person who was injured, a 57-year-old man, was released from the hospital, Finner added.

He added that one of the off-duty officers is an agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the other is a Houston police officer.

Officials are investigating a wide range of possible motives given the writing on the weapon, but cannot yet conclusively say what led to the shooting. They have not ruled out terrorism or hate crime-related motives.

The shooting happened between services, as people were arriving for Spanish service, Osteen said. About 45,000 people attend services there every week, making it one of the largest megachurches in the country.

Osteen said that he was “in a fog” after the violence and that he was keeping the injured in his prayers.

“We don’t understand why all these things happen,” the pastor told reporters Sunday. “But we know God’s in control.”

In a subsequent statement on Facebook, Osteen urged his congregation to lean on their faith to cope with the anguish.

“Our community is devastated by today’s events and grateful for the swift actions of law enforcement,” he said. “Together, we will rise above this tragedy and stand firm in our commitment to love and support one another.”

[madellinehatter]

Fanfic Idea

So as I understand it, bnha is just our world if 200 yrs ago superpowers came into being, right? So what if a female Izuku found the RWBY series and got the idea to try to emulate the different fighting styles and weapons displayed.

Just imagine an eight yr old izuku learning how to build support gear just to make Rubys scyth gun. Saving her allowance to take gun safety classes and to buy the materials to make the scyth herself.

And then she shows it off during the entrance exam (she filled out an application for 1 support item. Nezu approved it just to see how well it works.) and she only uses the scyth part up until the zero pointer where she plants the scyth in the ground and braces herself before opening fire on the robot, each shot either blowing off small pieces of it or pushing the leg back away from Ochaco. And as the bot topples, the teachers can’t help but stare in disbelief. (Snipe is excited to teach a fellow gun junkie who follows basic safety rules)

At the battle trials izuku is forbidden from using it on students due to its force, but she can use it on the environment around her and she uses it (in combo with her new rocket powered skates her hero costume came with) to literally zoom up the outside wall to get her and Ochako to the room to surprise the villain team. (Rest is canon except less injuries)

And imagine shiggys face when a little girl fires high caliber rounds into the nomu.

[lunarsilkscreen]

The complexity of "The Incredibles"

Buddy Pine looked up to Mr. incredible as a father figure, and instead of teaching this kid exactly how to help people the right way; as he was inspired to do. He stated outright that the burgeoning Eminem was an inferior person not capable of helping anybody and should just go away.

Bob Par treated him like the poor little red headed step-child he saw him as.

Exactly how to help people, what counts as helping people, and what is the right way in which to help others is the *key theme* to this movie. And while working at his soul crushing job, Bob lost his temper and took it out on his boss.

Of course; his boss didn't know he was a super. The Supers were all in witness protection. From his perspective; Gilbert Hugh was protecting Bob from his *own* mistakes.

Par on the other hand was a direct cause in the firm he worked for to lose a lot of money; because he didn't follow the protocols, and authorized every claim that passed by his desk.

He never verified if any of his customers were at fault; as far as Gilbert knew: Bob was a lazy worker who didn't do anything besides approve the applications on his desk.

This comes to a head, when Hugh stops Bob from stopping a mugging. This scene is framed as the Boss going on a power trip against somebody who is superior to him. Bob felt like a dog on a leash. But Gilbert was protecting him from himself (and racking up his own insurance bill the company would have to pay for.)

And there's another take; Bob didn't know if this "Mugging" was self-defense and he didn't care to find out.

He just wanted to live out his "Hero" Fantasy. The same attitude he had when Incrediboy got in his way.

Why were the supers all in witness protection you ask? Because they had a habit of doing damage first and asking questions later. Living this sleek nighttime fame, while taking on none of the responsibility or consequences for the negative outcomes of their actions.

The government was essentially paying them to stay out of the way and to stop doing damage. That was their Job.

<aside>Let's take a step back and admire the naming choice "incredible" as in "Not Credible". It's an excellent naming choice.</aside>

<aside>If this sounds familiar to another movie by Mike Judge; "Office Space" you've got it. Where the unreliable protagonist abuses the power he's entrusted with.</aside>

<aside>This style of messaging being purely entertaining to kids, but attempting to appeal to parents and older audiences with much deeper messaging and imagery is really an amazing construct that is prevalent in all of Judd's work.</aside>

And this extends well past this; after losing his job, Bob is contacted by a secret organization in order to "relive his glory days" and jumps at the chance to do so.

However; this is where the story loses coherency. We as the audience don't actually know what is the right thing anymore. We start to see the entire plot through the eyes of the unreliable narrative.

Because Bob sees all of these things as his own person enemy, and worries about how he's getting old and obsolete. And starts literally fighting the future that will make him obsolete; we as the audience can no longer discern right or wrong and we root for the good guys.

Because Syndrome, and his monstrosity literally built to make Supers obsolete, becomes a weapon for evil as far as the story goes.

But if we look at it from an alternate perspective; Syndrome had worked his whole life to protect the world. He started at a young age, and when he was rejected by his hero; he started seeing the world differently. He started seeing the damage and the reckless behavior that Supers routinely displayed in the pursuit of the clout that comes from being "The Hero".

He was protecting the world from the threat supers demonstrated, and something even stronger than they were. Possibly even stronger than Jack -Jack.

Syndrome didn't have the experience or wisdom that the Incredibles had, but he still showed a work ethic and dedication they did not. He probably shouldn't've called child services on them though... That was a bad move.

After tearing apart his dreams, treating him awfully, Mr. Incredible [terminated] his biggest fan, without any evidence at all that he was the cause of the other Super's death.

<aside>A lot of the spin-off stuff tries to create a solution for this, including creating a kind of jumping point for "brain in a jar" or matrix style world building. But the truth is; Bob didn't even know how old the deceased were, as far as he knew he was watching simulations of heroes who died of old age in Incredibles 1.</aside>

Instead of helping out the next generation of superhero; the Incredibles showcased a war between generations. One that Bob Par started with his inability to let go of the feeling of superiority and being the only one who can do the right thing.

What did Syndrome do? He created a situation where the supers, and his Hero didn't have to live in hiding anymore. He played the heel because despite the Par family's intense self-absorbed nature; they were in fact being treated like second class citizens.

He created a world where people were free to be Super. Just like he said he would, and unlike Mr. Incredible; he didn't do it for the clout.

"Oh noo, I've lost control of my custom built robot with millions of safe guards against this exact thing happening. WHATEVER WILL I DO?" - Syndrome Sarcastically

[primal-savagery]

Get to know my Tav!

Velvela Dyre || She/Her || 422 || Seldarine Drow || Circle of the Moon Druid/Battle Master Fighter/Cleric of Eilistraee

Tagged by @kelandrin! Thank you so, so much! 💞 Saw this format popping up and was eager to fill it out now that I have a day off!

Not sure who has or hasn't been tagged and I'm still learning names, but for now I would like to tag Vel's shareholder, @bonusactionrage, and anyone else who sees and would like to participate! ^^

What is your Tav’s…

favorite weapon: Quarterstaff + Shield.

style of combat: Up close and personal, whenever applicable. Though she may not be as much of a tank as some of her companions, her menstrual rage drive to lead and protect simply will not allow her to fight her battles at a distance. Luckily, she can be a heavy hitter, and a tough target to dent.

most prized possession: Honestly? It's probably that adamantine shield she made at Grymforge. She's never felt more invincible than in the moments immediately after that fight, but she comes reasonably close every time she blocks a blow with that shield.

deepest desire: Freedom. True freedom. Not the watered down, domesticated kind she learned to tolerate over the last two decades.

guilty pleasure: My first reaction to seeing this phrase was skinny dipping, so I guess it's that now. Also occasionally partaking in whatever illicit substances she may have picked up in a blind looting frenzy.

best-kept secret: Vel is not well versed in surface dweller history despite her age; thus, she had no idea who Jaheira and Minsc were in the beginning and felt rather stupid since everyone else seemed to. She learned what she needed to by listening to the others talk.

greatest strength: She slips easily into a leadership role and isn't intimidated when she has to take control of a situation. In fact, she's quite comfortable being in charge.

fatal flaw: ...But, perhaps a little too comfortable. She can be outright domineering, and it takes very little for her to develop something of a superiority complex when she finds herself in the company of those she considers to be less experienced. Has outright told fellow members of the Wormskulls that she's the best chance they have and cringed at her own behavior a few days later.

favorite smell: Warm pine forest. She just doesn't enjoy having to stand out in the heat to smell it. So her second favorite is wet and cold pine forest.

favorite spell or cantrip: Primal Savagery. It isn't healthy at all, but sometimes it turns her constant frown upside down when she can bite someone and watch their skin partially corrode away. (No, she's not a Durge. She's just like this.)

pet peeve: When the sun is constantly in her eyes. The entire existence of daytime, really. She likes to stand behind anyone taller than her and use them as a portable awning.

bad habit: Picks her teeth literally whenever she wants to. As someone who used to have to carry herself with an immense amount of poise and thinly veiled contempt for everyone around her, she understands why people might find it gross. She simply doesn't care. It can very quickly turn from gross to outright disturbing after she's just bitten someone.

hidden talent: She can play the violin, which I don't think anyone ever really expects from her. It just seems a bit...Artsy, for someone who spends half of their time in dire wolf form.

leisure activity: Napping in the middle of the day.

favorite drink: Mermaid Whiskey. Though she's lived in the remote wilderness for the last 20 years, it seems it's done nothing to humble her more refined palate.

comfort food: Cinnamon rolls. The messier and more difficult to eat, the better.

favorite person: My friend @bonusactionrage has a character named Buckle, who Vel knows as a very specific combination of closest friend, adoptive son, moral compass, and parole officer.

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Cuddling; especially the kind when someone is laying their full body weight on her and resting their head against her chest. Or vice versa.

fondest childhood memory: ...Sometimes she would have vivid daydreams about being an only child.

[kopivie]

🍌 and 🍍 with your ATLA OCs for the ask game?

-🎻 anon

sorry i'm so late! violet kinda drained me 🥲

link to the ask game!

🍍 ~ If you had to get rid of one MC in your WIP, who would it be and why?

mmmh, probably ying? the little fox spirit airbender. not because her character is bad, but because as the story is set up right now, she doesn't fit. i think it's a matter of timing.

🍌~ What are your ocs weapon of choice and why? (if applicable).

well first of all, i've changed their names so many times that i could be getting it wrong. (especially since once i revisit this, the names are bound to change again.) but...

keika, the avatar/fire nation princess: she's trained in kenbu, which is a traditional japanese dance done with a sword and a fan. so she can use swords with ease, but she actually prefers to use a spear (yari).

i feel like this is also a good time to mention that she picks up waterbending with so much ease due to her training with sword dancing -- and just dancing in general. the art of using your strength and agility to your advantage, channeling strength and fluidity through your body.. keika's a natural when it comes to waterbending.

keiji, keika's brother's aide/best friend: he prefers to dual wield sai. he's an earthbender and a lavabender so you'd think he's be more overt with his fighting style when not using his bending, but he's actually very quick on his feet and prefers to use weapons over his bending. he's very much the assassin-type, but he's still clumsy.

keiji often carries his sai openly, but he also conceals and carries many small daggers and throwing knives for intimidation.

MAN I'M EXCITED I WANNA REVISE THIS AU AGAIN

i actually saw someone wrote an original book series based on prince zuko and i'm considering turning this into an amalgamation of all of my interests (mythology, gemology, atla, etc.) to make something completely original but.. the scaffolding isn't done yet. i'll cross that bridge when i get to it eventually.

[howtofightwrite]

One of my characters is a strong swimmer and a highly skilled ballet dancer. He’s also very accustomed to riding horseback due to it being the main source of travel on his home island. What kind of skills would he have that would transfer well to battle-style combat?

Additionally what kind of weapon or fighting style would suit him best (whether battle-style or one-on-one)? He’s well balanced with a very strong upper body and core, and around 5 foot 9/10.

And if I can push for one more question, where dyou think his weaknesses could lie?

The big advantage here is physical and mental conditioning. We've said before a few times, but there's no direct crossover between ballet and martial arts. But, there is an indirect overlap, if you have experience with ballet, then you already have the ability to commit to physically strenuous training. You're already used to keeping yourself at a higher level of physical fitness than (nearly) any martial art will require.

To an extent, swimming is just more endurance training. Again, as with ballet, you're talking about something that is beneficial for its physical fitness routine, and may offer some significant mental discipline going in, so that will help them learn to fight, but on its own it won't help your character be a better fighter.

Weapons are, “whatever.” None of this determines what weapons your character could be trained in.

Horseback riding has applications, specifically, if your character fights from a mounted position. That can also inform weapon choices, specifically weapons that can be used effectively from horseback. But, if your character is on foot then the horseback riding isn't going to be an especially relevant background.

Now, a, “best weapon,” question can be a little tricky in cases like this, because there's one very critical piece of information missing: How advanced is the technology? Because I'm pretty sure your character wasn't planning to carry a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range. I can make a guess, Ballet dates to the Renaissance, so probably 15th-16thcentury. Which, in turn probably means a light dueling blade, maybe a rapier or espada, possibly also with a flintlock pistol as an additional weapon, though that could be expensive. This is all guesswork contingent on: I really don't have enough information to answer this part of the question, the technology of your setting (especially if your setting had something called, “ballet,” at a much earlier level of technological development), means you could be talking about a bronze age character who would be picking between a kopesh or xiphos.

As for weaknesses, time and age are going to be brutal. The harder you use your body the faster you wear it out. Over time, as you age, the injuries you sustain and the simple wear and tear you suffer, will become harder to heal from and eventually they will start stacking up. If you want to make ballet your career, you have maybe 15-20 years as a dancer before your body is so wrecked that you can't do it anymore. Martial artists in their 30s will start to suffer serious joint issues. Simply put, when you commit to that kind of training, it will tear your body apart. Add actual combat to the mix, and it gets significantly worse, as that wear and tear, even without actual injuries, adds to the overall strain.

I don't personally have a lot of information on exactly how much swimmers suffer from this. Though if they're engaged in serious, competitive, swimming, expect that this is an even further strain on their body. Incidentally, if this is ocean swimming, that can be extremely dangerous, depending on the geology of the region, which, in turn, could result in even further physical strain (assuming it doesn't kill them outright.)

Stacking all these skills together might sound like an ideal way to “min-max,” your character, but they come with real costs. Any time your character spent learning ballet, riding around the island, or swimming off the shore is time they didn't spend learning to fight, or do any of the other three things. In fact, it could result in someone who is a bit scattered, flitting from one diversion to another without really committing to (or benefiting from) any of them.

The more things you try to do with a character, the less time they have to do any of them, and as a result, the less they can specialize in the things they're doing. A character who spent ten years studying dueling with a rapier, will be a better fighter than a character who spent ten years studying ballet, dueling with the rapier, swimming off the coast, and horseback riding around their idyllic, tropical paradise. Now, the latter will be a better rounded individual, with a more diverse range of knowledge, but they will an inferior fighter. That's fine; that's the tradeoff they made.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get early access to new posts, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

[historicalfightingguide]

"For as we are not all of a single nature, so we also cannot all have a single style in combat; yet all must nonetheless arise and be derived from a single basis." - Joachim Meyer. ca. 1537

Here’s a masterpost of sorts of Meyer content on this blog, and here’s another one about the provoker-taker-hitter concept within dussack,  Here’s also a recent post on the usage of the concept of provoker-taker-hitter in sparring with longswords.

Here’s another one on other fencing masters of his time and the city he lived in.

And another on grappling moves present in his system being used in modern times with examples.

In case you’re interested in historical forms of grappling and wrestling check out

Ringen discussiongroup! as well as  HEMA Grapplers  and Scholars of Fiore dei Liberi.

For anyone who hasn’t yet seen the following links:

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Some advice on how to start studying the sources generally can be found in these older posts

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Remember to check out  A Guide to Starting a Liberation Martial Arts Gym as it may help with your own club/gym/dojo/school culture and approach.Check out their curriculum too.

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Fear is the Mind Killer: How to Build a Training Culture that Fosters Strength and Resilience by   Kajetan Sadowski   may be relevant as well.

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“How We Learn to Move: A Revolution in the Way We Coach & Practice Sports Skills”  by Rob Gray  as well as this post that goes over the basics of his constraints lead, ecological approach.

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Another useful book to check out is  The Theory and Practice of Historical European Martial Arts (while about HEMA, a lot of it is applicable to other historical martial arts clubs dealing with research and recreation of old fighting systems).

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Trauma informed coaching and why it matters

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Why having a systematic approach to training can be beneficial

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Why we may not want one attack 10 000 times, nor 10 000 attacks done once, but a third option.

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How consent and opting in function and why it matters.

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More on tactics in fencing

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Open vs closed skills

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The three primary factors to safety within historical fencing

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Worth checking out are this blogs tags on pedagogy and teaching for other related useful posts.

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And if you train any weapon based form of historical fencing check out the ‘HEMA game archive’ where you can find a plethora of different drills, focused sparring and game options to use for effective, useful and fun training.

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Check out the cool hemabookshelf facsimile project.

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For more on how to use youtube content for learning historical fencing I suggest checking out these older posts on the concept of video study of sparring and tournament footage.

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Consider getting some patches of this sort or these cool rashguards to show support for good causes or a t-shirt like to send a good message while at training.

[quirkwizard]

What are some ways to expand on Dupli Arms? Any kind of skills to make the most of it?

As much as I like "Dupli Arms", I think it's difficult to expand on with how linear and simplistic its growth is. It makes body parts, and then it makes more numerous and efficient body parts. And Shoji already uses it pretty well. However, there is always room for growth. If I wanted to get into more out there ideas, he could always push how his body parts are improved, like making mouths with super screams or applying that fusion ability we saw in his fight with Spinner, making giant versions of his body parts for greater applications. I think the best way to grow would be for Shoji to apply his greater manual abilities and senses to new skills and talents. For example, stuff like safecracking and lockpicking requires greater hearing and finesse would be easy. He could apply first aid to dozens of people at a time. And imagine if he trained with Ojiro and Aizawa and came up with a fighting style suited to his many arms. Basically, anything that relies on external body parts, he could take advantage of. He could then cover his body with tools to take advantage of this, like lock picks and first aid supplies. Though I honestly think Shoji should be armed to the teeth, at least with smaller weapons like brass knuckles and throwing knives. Imagine how deadly those would be in his many hands, applying the greater strength and dexterity to his weapons.

[plusultraetc]

Going back through notes I made when I was first watching the Joint Training arc and I want to talk about it again because you know what I was right. And no I'm never going to get tired of talking about JTA, it literally has everything. Vlad King. 1-B. Shinsou. Bakugou being a bakubro. Tokoyami & Aoyama being the funniest duo to ever live. Hawks teaching Tokoyami flashback. Low stakes high energy. EVERYTHING.

So something MHA will occasionally do so well I wonder if it's even intentional is 'show, don't tell.' The Joint Training arc, and specifically Shinsou's role in it, is a really great example of this. Obviously, when 1-A sees Shinsou at Ground Gamma, everyone (including the viewer) is like "Oh, hey, he has a scarf just like Aizawa's!" And we get to see that Shinsou has been learning Aizawa's combat style and support weapon. So fun, but also, not the only on-screen results of his training!

During the Sports Festival, Shinsou uses his Quirk the way one would imagine Brainwashing would be used: telling people to do whatever will help him move on to the next round, such as carry him through an obstacle race or walk out of bounds during the tournament matches. Fast forward to the Joint Training arc, and that changes. Shinsou brainwashes a couple of 1-B students during his first match, but notably, unless I'm severely misremembering, he never actually gives them any commands while he's using his Quirk. Rather, he uses the kind of blank, default state of Brainwashing to freeze or incapacitate a target before he or one of his teammates engages them. And wouldn't you know, that's exactly the function of Erasure: neutralizing a more powerful opponent to give yourself the upper hand in a fight, primarily by relying on combat skills and a capture weapon. Not only has Shinsou gotten more creative with the applications of his Quirk (his Persona Chords are also evidence of this), but his entire approach has shifted to be more in line with Eraserhead's methods. And I think that's neat!!

[sifu-kisu]

This workshop series aims to provide an in-depth exploration of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, its philosophy, training stages, and unique characteristics. Participants will gain insights from Master Kisu's extensive experience and the rich history of the Northern Shaolin style.

The training of Northern Shaolim follows the process of natural bodily development. That is also the reason why we felt that the Northern Shaolim style is one of the best system for training kids and young people.

The First stage of Northern Shaolim training emphasizes the development of the joints of the individual. In this stage, whether it be the exercise routines or the fighting forms, the demand on the movements are wide and long circular movements executed with fluidity rather than strength.

The purpose is to widen the range and mobility of all the joints including neck, shoulder, waist,hip, wrist, ankle etc. At this stage, the movements or techniques have little actual combat applications, but its movements are generally very graceful and pleasing to watch. This is great exercise for young kids for their growth.

One thing to point out though, most Northern Shaolim practitioners stop at this stage thinking this is the aim or the final form of Northern Shaolim.

What are the essential characteristics that make the Northern Shaolim Style unique ?

 Most styles of martial arts emphasizes specific characteristics, techniques, philosophies, theories etc.

What makes the Northern Shaolim Style unique is that its an overall encompassing style that is well rounded and covers all aspects of training and techniques.

The styles curriculum covers techniques for all fighting ranges (long, medium, and short). It covers the applications of all parts of the body as weapons and tools without biasing on any particular means such as kicking or grappling.

Since most Kung Fu styles are developed to enhance the inventor's specialty or cover for his weaknesses, (examples are Wing Chun, Pray Mantis, etc.), the most difficult aspects of martial arts are not covered by many styles.

These aspects are speed, mobility, agility, power, and long fighting range. Just because the Northern Shaolin style is broad and covered these aspects fully, it actually became famous for these specialties.

From my personal insight, the uniqueness of the Northern Shaolim style is the natural body mechanics, the foot work, the arrow like forward attack techniques, the feather like retreat skills, and the broad variety of hand and kicking techniques.

We will be working with:

Northern Shaolim gorm No. 8 – Open-Space Fighting Combinations (Leaping Steps)

 

This form is the essence of long-range fighting.  The techniques are geared for a prolonged fight with many opponents in a wide-open field.  The techniques are long strikes with many long advances and extensions to reach distanced opponents.  They are also meant to ‘ward’ opponents away so that they are not crowding’ into you.  All techniques were emphasize the use of ‘circular and regenerative’ movements, which economize on energy as well as providing the continuous and unending deliveries required for a long and sustained fight.  When executed well, this set is a graceful and fluid performance.

The Northern Shaolin style of Kung Fu as made famous by Grand Master Kuo Yu Chang is a cumulative set of Kung Fu techniques, both northern and southern styles, choreographed by the Grand Master into a curriculum that he taught both in the Nam Jing Kung Fu Institute and his Canton Kung Fu institute. His curriculum increased throughout his teaching years to include techniques of many styles. The Grand Master, being highly skilled in the Northern style of Kung Fu, emphasized the Northern style of Shaolin Kung Fu in his teachings.

Since most of the stories of martial art origins, including that of the Northern Shaolin style, are passed down by word of mouth, we can treat all of this as more a part of a legend than facts.

The Northern Shaolim style of kung fu is one of the most prominent traditional Northern styles of Chinese martial arts. The Northern styles of Gung-fu generally emphasize long range techniques, quick advances and retreats, wide stances, kicking and leaping techniques, whirling circular blocks, quickness, agility, and aggressive attacks.

The system teaches empty-hand techniques and weaponry through predetermined combinations, routines, or movement of sets.

The students learn the basics by practicing the routines until the movements in the routines can be executed naturally based on instinct. Then, two or multiple man sets are practiced to train responses and applications of techniques learned from the sets. The practice sets/routines are not only practical in applications but are also graceful and artistic in nature. The fluidness of the movements combined with acrobatic techniques are trademarks of the Northern Shaolim Kung-Fu sets.

Northern Shaolin workshop series

Huntington Station NY 11746

With Sifu Kisu Fifth generation disciple of Hui Clan NSKFA

Forms, Theory, Applications, Weapons

May 18-19 Long Island Wing Chun 10am-4pm $160

257 Broadway