#best thing about this format for this trio is you can switch around the order however you like. and it still works

[starsailores]

incomprehensible image that has been on my mind since i made a shitty edit of it a couple months ago

[lacquerware]

2020 Recap - My Year in Gaming

2020. What a year for video games. I had big plans for last year, but in the end I did very little besides play video games, and I don’t think I’m alone there since we were all stuck at home looking for a way out of reality. I wanted to do a year-end recap as I’ve done sporadically in past years, but this one will be different than the typical “Games of the Year” format because despite all the games I played in 2020, almost none of them came out in 2020, and some of the things that defined my year in gaming weren't even games. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)

RE3 was one of the only games I played in 2020 that didn’t coincide with the deadly pandemic's spread across the US. RE3 is, of course, a game about the spread of a deadly virus in Anytown, USA. It was an appetizer, I guess. 

When the Resident Evil 2 remake dropped in 2019, there were some things I loved about it, and a few things that felt like steps back from the original. I feel much the same about RE3. I had also theorized that a Resident Evil 3 remake would be better off as RE2 DLC than as a separate full-length game, and considering how short RE3 turned out, with some of the best sections of hte original cut entirely (namely, the clock tower), I stand by my theory. 

Oh well, at least Jill gets this rad gun, which for the time being is the closest thing to a new Lost Planet we can hope for anytime soon.

Sekiro (PS4)

Sekiro is the first video game I ever Platinumed. This is partly because conquering the base game was such a spartan exercise that going the extra mile to get the Platinum didn’t seem so bad, but it’s also surely a result of the pandemic. I needed a project and a big win. Who didn't? 

I wrote at length about why I like Sekiro more than every other modern FromSoft game, and also about the game’s cherry-on-top moment that reminded me of blowing up Hitler’s face in Bionic Commando. Please read them!

Death Stranding (PS4)

Release date notwithstanding, this was obviously the Game of 2020. I wrote about it here, here, and here. This game bears the distinction of being the second one I ever Platinumed. It took 150 hours. Only then did I learn I had a hoverboard.

Streets of Rage 4 (PS4)

This is the only 2020 game I played for more than a few hours. In fact, I cleared the entire game at least five times. I still don’t think it captures the gritty aesthetic of the prior Streets of Rages (nor even tries to), but this is probably the best-feeling bup I've played. Huge bonus points for finally bringing back Adam, but in the end I found it hard not to pick Blaze every time.

Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)

What impressed me about this sequel from Inti Creates was that it wasn’t just more of the same, even though that would've been fine. BMZ2 builds on its already excellent predecessor with a catchy new format where players can freely cruise the cosmos and stages take the varied form of planets—some big and sprawling, others short and sweet. Hopping at will from planet to planet without ever knowing what experiences and treasure each one held felt like system jumping in No Man’s Sky and island hopping in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, both of which felt like opening presents.

Dragon Force (Saturn)

Charming, satisfying, and addictive as a bag of chips. Unlike a bag of chips, when it’s over, you can do it all again. And again. And it’ll be different each time! This might be the first strategy game I've truly loved. Better late than never.

The PC Engine Mini

The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Mini seems a particularly justifiable mini-console for people outside Japan because so many missed these consoles entirely, the games are hard to obtain, and the lineup includes titles spanning the entire convoluted Turbo/PC Engine ecosystem—the TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM² and SuperGrafx, in addition to plain, old standard HuCard games. I myself didn’t know the first thing about these systems before. It’s like reliving the nineties again for the first time. 

Most of the titles included are simple action games that don't require a command of Japanese, but make no mistake: being able to understand Snatcher and TokiMemo does make me feel like an elite special person worth more than many of you. 

(Side note: From a gender representation perspective, the difference between Snatcher and Death Stranding is stark. Virtually every interaction with every woman or girl in Snatcher is decorated with ways to sexually harass her. Guess someone finally had a conversation with our favorite auteur.)

A Gaming PC

I’d threatened to transition to PC gaming for years after beholding the framerate difference between the console and PC versions of DmC in 2012, and last July I finally took the leap, buying an ASUS “Republic of Gamers” (ugh) laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU. It seems like consoles are getting more PC-like all the time, especially with all these half-step iterations that splinter performance and sometimes even the feature set (à la the New 3DS and Switch Lite), so with the impending new generation seemed like a fine time to change course.

In the half-year since, I’ve barely played a single PC game more recent than 2013, but just replaying PS3-era games at high settings has been like rediscovering them for the first time. 

I also finally experienced keyboard-and-mouse shooting and understand now why PC gamers think they're better than everyone else. Max Payne is a completely different game with a mouse. Are all shooters like this??

The USPS

Early in the year, I rediscovered my childhood game shop, Starland, which is now  an online hub known as eStarland.com with a brick-and-mortar showroom. To my delight, it has become one of the best and most modestly priced sources for import Saturn games in the country, and I scored Shining Force III’s second and third episodes, long missing from my collection, for a mere ten bucks each!  

In June, I treated myself to a trio of Saturn imports from eStarland: the tactics-meets-dating-sim mashup Sakura Taisen 2, the nicely presented RTS space opera Quo Vadis 2, and beloved gothic dungeon crawler Baroque. Miraculously, this haul amounted to just around thirty dollars total. Less miraculously, they never arrived. This was the second time I’d had something lost in the mail in my entire life, and also the second time that month. Something was wrong with the USPS, and it wasn’t just COVID pains. We would soon learn Trump had been actively working to sabotage one of the nation’s oldest and most reliable institutions in a plot to compromise the upcoming presidential election.

Frankly it’s a miracle there’s still such a thing as “delivery” at all, and a few missing video games is the last of my worries considering what caused it, but nevertheless this was an experience in my gaming life that could not have happened any other year. I won’t forget it.

*By the way, USPS reimbursed me for the insured value of the missing order, which was fifty bucks. So I actually profited a little off the experience.

Mega Everdrive Pro

I love collecting for the Genesis and Mega Drive, but I will not pay hundreds of dollars for a video game that retailed for about sixty.  The publishers never asked for that, and the developers won’t see a (ragna)cent of the money. I'm also far less inclined to start collecting for Sega CD, since the hardware is notoriously breakable, the cases are huge and also breakable, and the library just isn't that good. 

Still, I'd been increasingly curious about the add-on as an interesting piece of Sega history, so when I learned Ukranian mad scientist KRIKzz had released a new Mega Everdrive that doubled as a Sega CD FPGA, I finally took the plunge into the world of flash carts. This has proven a great way to play some of the Mega Drive’s big-ticket rarities I will never buy—namely shmups like Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer and Eliminate Down—as well as try out prospective additions to the collection. I never would have discovered the phenomenal marvel of engineering and synth composition that is Star Cruiser without this thing, but now that I have, it’s high on the shopping list.

The Mega Everdrive Pro is functionally nearly identical to TerraOnion’s “Mega SD” cartridge, but slightly less expensive, comes in a “normal” cartridge shell instead of the larger Virtua Racing-style one, and supports a single hardworking dude in Ukraine rather than a company with reportedly iffy customer service.

Twitch

Getting a PC also resolved issues that had long prevented me from achieving a real streaming setup, and much of my gaming life in 2020 was about ramping up my streaming efforts. I even made Affiliate in about a month. Streaming has been a great creative outlet and distraction, as well as a way to connect with other people during the COVID depression and structure my gaming time. Find me every Monday through Thursday 8-11pm Eastern at twitch.tv/lacquerware.  

Metroid: Other M (Dolphin)

PC ownership also gave me access to the versatile Dolphin emulator, liberating a handful of great Wii exclusives from their disposable battery-powered prison. 

One of the Wii games I fired up on Dolphin was Metroid: Other M, a game I’d always wanted to try but had been dissuaded by years of bad publicity and the fact that I never had any goddamn batteries. I know I should temper what I’m about to say by acknowledging that I was playing at 1080p/60fps on a PS4 controller so my experience was automatically a vast improvement over that of all Wii players, but I’m increasingly confident Metroid: Other M was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Metroid game. I haven’t decided yet if I’m willing to die on this hill, but I will just say that if you like the Metroidvania genre in general and aren’t particularly attached to the Metroid series’ story or its habit of making you wander aimlessly for hours, there’s a very high chance you will enjoy Other M—especially if you play it on Dolphin.

Don't Starve Together (PC)

Don't Starve is the only game my friend Jason plays, so last year I tried to get into it with him. I respect this game's singular devotion to the concept of survival, but make no mistake: every session of Don't Starve ends with you starving to death. Or freezing. Or getting stomped by a giant deity of the forest. The entire game is staving off death until it inevitably comes. Even when death comes, you can revive infinitely (in whatever mode we were playing), which means even death is not an end goal. There is no end goal. You don't even have the leeway to "play" and create your own meaning as you do in similarly zen  games like Dead Rising. 

Don't Starve is a game for people for whom hard work is the ultimate reward in and of itself. Don't Starve told me something about Jason. 

G-Darius (PS1)

In the early fall, Sony announced they were dropping PS3, PSP, and Vita support from the browser and mobile versions of their PSN Store, and since the PS3 version of the store app runs like a solar-powered parking meter in Seattle, I decided this was my last chance to stock up on Japanese PSN gems. 

Among my final haul, the PS1 port of G-Darius proved an instant favorite. Take down the usual cast of mechanized fish in a vibrant, chunky, low-poly style that perfectly inhabits the constraints of the original PlayStation hardware. I believe this is the first Darius game that lets you get into giant beam duels with the bosses, which is quite definitely one of the coolest things a video game has ever let you do. The PS1 port is also surprisingly feature-rich, including some easier difficulty levels that present an actually surmountable challenge for non-savants.

This one’s coming to the upcoming Darius Cozmic Revelation collection on Switch alongside DARIUSBURST, a good-ass romp in its own right.

Red Entertainment

In my effort to shine a tiny spotlight on some of the unsung Interesting Games of gaming, I found myself drawn again and again to the work of Red Entertainment. First there were cavechild headbutt simulator Bonk’s Adventure and twin shmups Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder on the PC Engine Mini. Then I streamed full playthroughs of the PS2’s best samurai-era, off-brand 3D Castlevania, Blood Will Tell and the Trigun-adjacent stand-‘n-gun, Gungrave: Overdose. Then I was dazzled by Bonk’s Adventure’s futuristic spin-off cute-‘em-up, Air Zonk, which was also sneakily tucked away on my PC Engine Mini in the “TurboGrafx-16” section. It turned out all these games were made by the same miracle developer responsible for Bujingai, the stylish PS2 wushu game starring Gackt and a household name here at the Lacquerware estate. How prolific can one team be???

Month of Cyberpunk

In November, I started toying with the idea of themed months on my Twitch channel with “Cyberpunk month.” It was supposed to be a build-up to Cyberpunk 2077’s highly anticipated November release, but holy shit that didn’t happen, did it? Still, I always find myself gravitating toward this genre in November, I guess because I associate November with gloom (even though this year it was sunny almost every day). A month is a long time to adhere to a single theme, but cyberpunk is such a well-served niche in gaming that I could easily start an all-cyberpunk Twitch channel. The fact that we’re so spoiled with choice makes Cyberpunk 2077’s terrible launch all the more embarrassing. Here are just some of the games I played (and streamed!) in November:

Ghostrunner Shadowrun (Genesis) RUINER Remember Me Transistor Rise of the Dragon (Sega CD) Shadowrun (Mega CD) Cyber Doll (Saturn) Binary Domain Shadowrun Returns Blade Runner (PC) Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Observer

Shadowrun on the Genesis gets my top pick, but the two most recent Deus Ex games are great alternatives for those looking for something in the vein of 2077 that isn’t infested with termites.

Lost Planet 2

Every year. I played through it twice in 2020.

Dead Rising 4

I slept on this one too long. While it's a far cry from the original game, it's easily the most fun I've had with a Christmas game since Christmas NiGHTS. This is the game a lot of people thought they were getting when they bought the original Dead Rising with their new Xbox 360--goofy, indulgent, and pressure-free.

Devil May Cry 5: Vergil (PS4)

Vergil dropped for last-gen consoles in December and breathed a whole lot of life into a game that was already at the head of its class.

Nioh 2

I’ve only played a few hours of Nioh 2 because I promised my friend I’d co-op it with him and wouldn’t play ahead. But he’s a grad student with two small children. Nevertheless, Nioh 2 is my Game of 2020.

And that's it! Guess I'll spend 2021 playing games that came out last year, and maybe eventually getting vaccinated? Please? 

[hancockstan]

Ok so here is my promised examination on why The Citadel and all its warboys got so immediately popular while The Legion are mostly hated as a group despite both post apocalyptic factions being patriarchal and the foundations of both are based on slavery.

I want to start by saying that obviously not everyone likes the warboys and not everyone despises the legionaries and that anyone who enjoys making fanworks or dunking on either are completely valid in doing so.

Spoiler warning from this point forward for both franchises.

The first thing I want to start with is Joe and Edward themselves as well as their high command. The two leaders have a lot of similarities at first glance; costumes of their own design, sicknesses that neither have the means to cure, misogyny out the wazoo, a cult of personality centered around them, empires built on military conquest and subsequent exploitation of the conquered people, the list goes on. (Also, more of an opinion but they always struck me as just a little beyond their pay grade in terms of actually leading a thriving society.) The difference I want to focus on is the fandom reaction and interpretation of both of these characters. A large portion of Fallout fans make killing Caesar one of the most important moments in their fanworks and relatively few ships involving him exist, let alone with any popularity. In contrast while Joe’s death is also a staple of character examinations and (at least in my experience) considered completely cheer worthy by audiences, its also not hard to find Immortan fans. At its peak, the Fury Road fandom had an active sub-tag called the gigadumpster which included any works (especially nsfw) featuring Immortan Joe, Bullet Farmer, or People Eater. Now it stands to mention that while Caesar himself doesn’t tend to be popular, Vulpes, Joshua, and Lanius have a decent following, at least enough to rival the popularity of the Gigadumpster trio. Which brings me to my next comparison: the Bullet Farmer and Joshua Graham. Both helped establish their factions and were close enough to their leaders to be in high positions of influence and power. Both even called their leaders their brothers. But more importantly, both eventually failed their respective leaders although Bullet Farmer didn’t live to face the consequences this may have held for him. I think that this is the first key to understanding the popularity of The Citadel. We know that for his failure Josh was set on fire and pushed into the Grand Canyon. His character allows for many different interpretations on how this has changed him. Some people take his word in the dlc that he has changed and found god again while others see him as the same man except opposed to Caesar now. Alternatively, Kalashnikov didn’t live to face the repercussions of his actions, an important distinction. When left to imagine how Joe may have reacted to the Bullet Farmer’s failure if he had lived but still failed to bring back his wives or even more extreme; accidentally killed one, the fandom tends to imagine him more forgiving than we should perhaps give him credit for. In a deleted scene (if we can assume this is what canonically happened to Miss Giddy given that nothing in the theatrical release contradicts it) the teacher who Joe has trusted enough to allow her to live with his wives was subjected to torture at the hands of the Organic Mechanic and then left in the desert to die with Splendid’s corpse. While I’m not suggesting that Miss Giddy would be anywhere near equal to the Bullet Farmer in terms of freedoms Joe allows them I am saying that we have at least one example of The Immortan not being the most forgiving guy. In addition to this we never see a scene where Joe mourns for Kalashnikov as he did for Angharad. This suggests that canonically he cared more for either this enslaved woman or the idea of having an abled son to carry on his legacy than he did about K.

Now to switch gears a little bit I’d like to point out the difference in the roles of women in the Citadel vs the Legion. Both have explicitly shown that women are treated as property and experience sexual violence. Furthermore, both the Legion and Citadel philosophies state that every person is a servant to their power structures, emphasized especially when the wives toss Nux out of the war rig and tell him he’s an old man’s battle fodder. To address the elephant in the room, one of the most powerful positions in the Citadel, under the Immortan’s family and the other two warlords, are imperators. The only named imperator in the film being of course, Furiosa. This in and of itself suggests that while extremely rare (she’s visibly the only women in their society holding any power) it is possible. Also, as others have pointed out some of the overall wearing warboys in the war party are played by stuntwomen. Miss Giddy doesn’t seem to hold any sway in the Citadel’s chain of command but she is afforded the “privileges” that the wives are in the vault as well. Educated, allowed to teach the wives, and afforded some level of comfort in comparison to the wretched at least, she’s another example of a woman in the Citadel that has more nuance than rag wearing slave. The only woman in the Legion that might be a good counterpart comparison is Siri. As she was taken from her home before she could complete her medical training and forced to serve the Legion as a doctor she is very careful not to do or say anything to get in trouble. Miss Giddy is introduced when her character is well passed the point of caring about consequences and points a shotgun at Joe while yelling, “You can not own a human being! Sooner or later someone pushes back!” It’s fairly easy to say which of these portrayals is more satisfying.

Finally, what might be the most obvious reason the warboys are loved and the legion remains its game’s least popular faction. The warboys are shown sympathetically. Namely, Nux. After being forsaken by his leader he takes a lesson in humanity from Capable and does his best to help the warrig family escape and later take the Citadel. It actually starts earlier in the film than some people may have noticed though, while Furiosa drove through Buzzard territory, our titicular protagonist was still strapped to the front of a car. While we weren’t revealed Furiosa’s motives yet the movie is framed in such a way that encourages us to root for her over the buzzards when she turns down Ace’s suggestion to turn around and run them into their backup (the warparty sent to capture her). During this scene we see Morsov get shot with a crossbow. There’s a short lull in action as Nux quietly encourages, “Get up, you can do it.” Finally he does, in order to leap to his death, destroying the Buzzard car along with him. And so it is revealed the warboys purpose. Obviously, the movie format doesn’t allow for choices like a video game. The Legion is at its biggest disadvantage in this regard because in order to learn anything humanizing about them you have to decide to play the legion route.

Anyway, that’s my analysis. Please yell at me for overlooking things and tell me how much you hate the warboys or love the legion. I’m only accepting comments in the form of bullying right now. 

[rayroute-clear-saeran-text-sound]

Requests and Asks!!!

I have my own ideas for future fics, but it really helps if I get requests in my ask box! I want to write what you guys want to see, so this is just a guide for that I guess! (It’s also a hopeless plea for requests but shh)

Yes!

Ships! If you submit basic info about yourself (personality, hobbies, etc., more than just your appearance), I will ship you with a MysMes character! And who knows, maybe I’ll write a short lil somethin-somethin to go along with it ;) 

 Oneshots! I’ll do both requested character x Reader and a ship between canon characters. If you request these, it’s preferred to have a specific idea you want done (i.e. something more than just “a V x Reader”). The idea can be as vague or as detailed as you like, such as “A 707 x reader where they plan their wedding” (more on the vague side, I’ll be taking more creative liberty with requests like those), or “A Vanderwood x 707 oneshot where...(insert key dialogue lines you want to see, the order of events planned out to the nines). Oh, and when you ask for Saeran, PLEASE specify which Saeran you want! He has a long list of personas, such as Unknown, Ray, Suit/Dark Saeran, SE Saeran, and GE Saeran. 

 Preferences/Scenarios! Submit a scenario such as, “RFA + minor trio (could be any characters such as adding Rika, or just RFA, whatever you want) and Hand holding”. It could be simple and basic, like wearing their clothes, sad and angsty like death or a break up, or out there and strange like switching bodies or something. I’ll then give a long bulleted list of details for each character for the prompt, which is the standard format for these on tumblr. More traditionally written prompts in paragraph form are better suited to places like Wattpad and Quotev. And for Saeran in these, I’ll be writing for ALL of his personalities, because I like to be thorough (this includes GE Saeran, SE Saeran, Suit/Dark Saeran, Ray, and Unknown).

 Headcanons! Basically the same as preferences/scenarios, but headcanons work best when it’s just one character and you want something more detailed, possibly in paragraph form. If you’ve been around the fanfic community on tumblr, you know how these work.

 Rarepairs! I will write for almost any ship! Vanderwood x Seven? I love that! Yoosung x Seven? Not rare but I’ll write for that too! V x Believer #28428? Sure! MC x Prologue Guy? Fuck yeah, baby! All I ask for is that you don’t bash anyone’s ships.

That’s Gonna Be a No From Me

Anything that isn’t Mystic Messenger. As you know, this is specifically a MysMes fanfiction blog. Though, you could request AUs, but the characters must be from MysMes.

 Explicit smut. I will write limes, however, or things with the implication of explicit content. Maybe in a couple of years lemons will be on the list, but as of now, that’s going to be a pass.

 Vague ships. Like mentioned above, if you don’t include more detail about yourself than just your appearance, that isn't enough to go on; I will not complete your request if it only contains “brown hair, hazel eyes, tall”.

 Illegal ships. Any pedophilic ship or incest is a big no from me. Yoosung x Rika is a hard pass, and I am almost 99.99% sure that I will never write for Saeyoung x Saeran. It makes me uncomfortable, and if you ship it that’s fine, I just don’t want to write for it.

[flipomatic]

Reason to Stay: Chapter 4

Author Note: Onward we go!

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

After getting everything in order, Sayo found herself at the castle stables. She had gone to the inn after they split up to get the rest of her belongings and to speak with the innkeeper. Since she already paid for another night, Misaki told her she could use that one night when she returned to town.

This annoyed Sayo a bit, since perhaps the woman was bidding on her dying on this mission in order to keep the money, but ultimately it didn’t matter. If she died then she wouldn’t need the money anyway. She agreed to the terms and then went to practice archery. There would be bandits to fight on this journey and being rusty could get her killed. Sayo found a clearing just outside of town and practiced on a tree. It wasn’t the ideal target, but it was good enough to hone her skills and make sure she was ready for the task to come.

Sayo then went to the castle and asked the guard how to get to the stables. The woman looked at her as if she’d grown another head, but gave the directions she asked for. When Sayo arrived at the stables Yukina and Lisa were already standing in front of it, talking to a shorter woman with hair a lighter shade of blue than Sayo’s. Lisa was carrying a shield significantly larger than the one strapped to her hip that morning and Yukina had an additional sword strapped to her back. Another girl stood with them as well, the girl with pigtails who Sayo saw the previous day. She was a whole head shorter than the others present, perhaps a teenager. There was an additional gate near the stables, taller than the one in front of the castle.

“I got enough rations for three days.” The pigtailed girl was saying, handing a sack over to Yukina.

“Good work Ako.” Yukina acknowledged her as she accepted the bag. Sayo noted the girls name, Ako, in her mind. “Stay out of trouble while we’re gone.”

“Of course I will!” Ako puffed up her chest, not seeing Lisa chuckling beside her. “Though the forces of darkness can’t always be controlled.” She laughed darkly.

Sayo was tired of eavesdropping and closed the distance between herself and the others, making her presence known.

“Hey Sayo!” Lisa greeted her warmly. “We’re just getting ready to head out. This amazing woman is our stablemaster Kanon.” She gestured with one hand and then turned towards the blue haired woman. “Kanon, this is Sayo. Is there a horse she can borrow? It’s only for a couple days.”

“Umm…” Kanon held her hands together nervously, eyeing a spot over Sayo’s shoulder. “I think Neko might be available.” She wrung her hands in a repetitive motion.

“Fantastic.” Lisa beamed. “You’re the best!” She put one arm around Kanon, patting her on the back.

A light pink dusted over Kanon’s cheeks. “It’s no problem.” She muttered quietly. “We should go get the horses.” She stepped away from Lisa’s grasp and led the group into the stables. Sayo’s eyes adjusted quickly to the dim light.

Yukina and Lisa each went to a different stall, likely the ones containing their horses. Ako stuck with Yukina. Sayo followed Kanon to a different section of the stables, stopping in front of a stall with a dark brown horse in it.

“This is Neko.” Kanon opened the stall door and Sayo stepped forward. “She’s a good horse. You should umm, introduce yourself. I’ll be right back with the supplies.” She vanished to accomplish that task, leaving Sayo alone with the horse. She felt mostly confident; her track record with horses was around 75 percent.

“Hello.” Sayo said lowly as she reached one hand towards the horse’s neck. “I’ll be riding you for the next couple days, please be kind to me.” The great beast barely reacted as Sayo touched it, gently running her fingers down the side of its neck. This was a good start; they were going to get along well.

Kanon reappeared behind her, startling Sayo slightly. “Excuse me.” She said just loud enough to hear, and Sayo backed out of the stall to let Kanon take her place. The woman brought a saddle, bridle, saddlebags, and what Sayo assumed to be a bag of feed for the horse. Sayo watched as she put the saddle on, cooing gently at the horse in the process.

After a few minutes, the horse was ready. Kanon led her forward out of the stall, and handed the reigns to Sayo. With one last thanks, Sayo accepted the reigns. She walked the horse out of the stable, to where Yukina and Lisa had already mounted up. They rode matching light brown horses, with tan spots in different places. Ako stood nearby and was chatting energetically with Yukina. Sayo quickly stowed her belongings along with the feed in the saddle bags. She didn’t have that many things, so it didn’t take long.

Sayo lifted herself up onto the horse. It had been a while since she rode one, but she was competent enough at it to manage for a couple days.

“I’m ready.” She called over to the pair of knights.

“Let’s go then.” Yukina said as she started her horse walking, with Lisa and then Sayo following behind.

Ako waved as they left the side gate. “Bye!” She called after them, before shutting the gate behind them.

The trio took a side road towards the east gate, moving at a walking pace and taking care not to injure any civilians. Yukina took the lead as their horses walked in almost single file. The group soon reached the gate and emerged onto the open road. They stopped and dismounted for a moment to double check the map and make some plans.

“The lake is about five kilometers east of town.” Yukina pointed to it on the map. “And I think our best strategy would be to attack in the early morning, before the sun rises.”

“That’s a good idea.” Sayo found herself agreeing. “They won’t be expecting it.”

Yukina nodded. “Exactly.”

Lisa’s eyebrows scrunched up. “We’ll need to find a place to camp then.” She leaned over the map, placing one finger down about a kilometer west of the lake. “If I remember correctly, there’s a clearing near here.” It was impressive that she knew the area well enough to know that.

“That works.” Yukina marked the spot. “As for riding formation, I’ll take the lead.” She said as she rolled up the map.

“No way.” Lisa protested with the first frown Sayo had seen from her. “I’ll be in the lead, and the two of you should ride side by side behind me.” She made a little triangle with her fingers to show the formation.

Sayo, for her part, didn’t want to ride in the lead. Since she didn’t carry a shield, she should be somewhere in the back. She also wasn’t sure why these two were arguing about it; it seemed clear to her that Lisa, who carried a larger shield, should take the head of the party. If they encountered danger then she would be most likely to survive a frontal assault.

What kind of odd knights were these that they would fight about something such as this?

They went back and forth for a few minutes, each insisting that they head the group. Their words remained at a regular speaking volume but increased in ferocity.

After ten minutes Sayo just couldn’t take it anymore.

“We’re burning daylight.” She scowled as the pair both turned to her in surprise. “Just let Lisa take the lead so we can get out of here.” Yukina’s frown deepened at her interjection, but Lisa regained her smile.

“See, Sayo agrees with me.” She said firmly and, seeming to consider the conversation over, returned to her horse. “Let’s go, I’ll take the front.”

Sayo remounted as well, ignoring the angry golden eyes following her every move. Within a minute they were ready to move out and set off down the road at a trot. It would take a couple hours to reach their camping location at this pace, but they had plenty of time and didn’t need to burn out the horses.

They rode in silence for the first ten minutes, with Sayo taking up the back left corner of the triangle. She kept her eyes alert for danger, which would become more and more likely the farther they journeyed from the city.

The small talk caught her off guard.

“Where are you from, Sayo?” Lisa asked from her hard fought for spot in the front, turning her head back towards Sayo to be heard.

“Haneoka.” She replied, only providing the basics. She kept her eyes on the horizon as they rode.

“Wow,” Lisa seemed satisfied with the answer. “You’ve come a long way to Circle then.”

“I suppose.” Sayo mused, thinking about all the detours that brought her here and the reason she left home on the first place.

Lisa continued speaking, somehow able to make conversation even out of the barest of responses. “Yukina and I have lived here our whole lives, we joined up as pages when we were kids.”

“Interesting.” Sayo responded levelly. “So you’re both close combatants then?” Considering the weapons they carried, this was a safe assumption.

“Yes.” Yukina contributed to the conversation for the first time. “I prefer the longsword.” She reached up with one hand to touch the hilt of the blade on her back. “Lisa uses a short sword and shield.” That matched what Sayo assumed based on their equipment, and she was glad Lisa was riding in the front.

“I’m primarily an archer.” Sayo looked between the two of them. “But I can also use a short sword.” She didn’t add that she was only mediocre with the sword.

“When we encounter them, we’ll charge in.” Lisa added from the front, thankfully switching out of small talk mode and into strategy mode. “You can hang back and shoot.”

“I’ll aim for the archer first.” Sayo said with a nod. “And then support you against the others.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Lisa shot back a thumbs up.

The rest of the ride continue in scattered conversation, mostly between Lisa and Yukina. They talked about all sorts of different things, some castle gossip and other topics. Though they had been arguing earlier, Sayo thought they seemed close.

They reached the designated camping spot around early evening after venturing off the road. It was a small area clear of trees that would serve well enough for one night.

Sayo followed the others lead in tying her horse to a tree, setting up camp with them. They couldn’t light a fire since the bandits were so close and would see the smoke, so they merely took out the rations supplied by the castle.

Yukina divvied up a portion to each member, starting with a set of sandwiches. Sayo ate it quickly; she was hungry after riding through the afternoon. It had some kind of meat inside, perhaps some of the rabbits she caught the day before? Whatever it was, it was well seasoned and delicious.

As they ate, the sun started to set in the distance. They discussed who would take which watch, with Sayo volunteering to take the first one. The other two didn’t object, so Sayo agreed to wake Lisa at the designated time.

She sat on one side of the clearing as they took out their bed rolls, watching and listening carefully for danger. Yukina and Lisa lied down right next to each other, with barely ten centimeters of space between them. Sayo kept her bow at the ready while she kept watch.

Her shift was only for the first part of the night, but she still might have trouble sleeping near these two knights. As close combatants they would have an advantage if they turned on her, so she had to be careful. They seemed trustworthy so far, but not everyone was as they seemed.

Next Chapter

[silavut-the-wizard]

Silavut the Wizard, Chapter 40

The beasts attack. They escape. There’s a reunion. And they give Lady Anielle a chance to redeem herself.

Kind of a long one this time, it just kept going and going.

The Reunion

Back in the throne room, Silavut was trying to devise a plan to escape. First, he would need to neutralize the stasis field. How to do that was going to take some figuring out considering he didn’t know the first thing about the mechanics of the room. Lady Anielle said she had it specially designed with something the sorceress taught her. Was there a magic switch somewhere? Was the floor itself magic? What made it work?

Then it hit him. It was motion activated, specifically by the gesture he saw Lady Anielle do. He then realized all the guards were outside the perimeter of the stasis area. The floor had a different shine to it.

How could he make one of the guards make the gesture? Aha! “Hey! You!” He addressed the guard he was currently facing.

The guard was still as a statue. He didn’t even acknowledge Silavut with an eye twitch.

“Hey! Come on, blast you, answer me.”

Another guard piped up. “Quiet down, you! The queen will deal with you later.”

Queen!? Really? Is she really that delusional she’s calling herself queen? What a trip! “OK then, you answer me,” Silavut said. Unable to turn his head, he couldn’t see the guard in question.

“Fine. What do you want, you annoying little varmint?”

“I need to use the privy. You wouldn’t want the queen to find a mess on her nice, shiny, pretty, perfect floor, would you? What would she do to you? Hmm? Letting me make such a mess and having to have it cleaned up. Not a very pretty thought, is it?”

The guard was silent.

As he waited for a response, Silavut refined his plan to escape and hoped it would work. If not…well…he’d rather not think about it. “Come on, whaddya say?”

Then came the response. “I don’t trust you, wizard. I’d rather let you mess yourself and the floor than face her wrath for letting you escape.”

Blast it!

The main doors burst open. Silavut couldn’t see what was happening, but he certainly heard it. Someone was breathing hard, as if having run a good distance, or done hard labor.

“The queen needs help! All men to arms!” he shouted between breaths.

Silavut smiled, knowing full well who they encountered, hoping the trio were faring better than he right now.

There was sudden commotion as the guards scattered, some shouting orders, others gathering gear. Unfortunately, not one made the proper movement that would release Silavut.

As they started out, he called, “Hey! Someone! You guys! Get me out of here!” No one came to his aid. He heard them laughing as they left. Their laughter faded when the doors closed behind them. Silavut was alone. He let out a long, heavy sigh. “Now what?”

Out in the field, the three were still having a grand old time. They had each discarded their cloak both because they were getting hot and for easier movement.

Sehlan was squaring up against a man twice her size, and she was loving it. He wasn’t quite so happy. She had bested him several times, getting around his attacks and through his defenses. Of course, he had gotten a few blows in on her, but not quite as well as he would’ve liked. She had a few cuts here and there, which would add to her collection of battle scars later, and a few bruises. He was getting tired and was nearly ready to give up.

Tail and Nara were wearing down their opponent quickly. Nara had nearly sliced him open a few times, but he had just barely managed to parry and dodge. Though he still did get cut, it wasn’t as fatal as it would’ve been had he not been so quick. Tail had been taking quick jabs at him while he tried to fend off Nara. He was now kneeling on the ground next to Vekta, ready to pass out.

Then they heard it. The noisy band of guards come to help. The trio looked at each other, their expressions saying ‘Let’s do it.’

With one final, low blow, Sehlan incapacitated her opponent.

The man next to Vekta finally succumbed and passed out.

The group surrounding Lady Anielle were sweating.

Lady Anielle was past panic and near to freaking out. Then her hopes rose as she heard the guards running to help.

Sehlan saw them coming and asked Nara if she could do the thing with her hands again. She nodded in a way to say, ‘I’ll try.’ Nara laid down the sword and held her hands out as she did that night with the wraith. She closed her eyes and concentrated. There was no need to scream this time. Sehlan and Tail watched with anticipation. Lady Anielle and her protectors watched with trepidation.

The man in front exploded. The rest of them stopped immediately, completely shocked and freaked out at what just happened. They became a disorganized mess as they weren’t sure what to do now. Do they continue the charge, or retreat? A couple of the men actually ran off in random directions.

Lady Anielle audibly gasped and nearly screamed. Her hopes were shattered.

Her protectors looked on with wide eyes and open mouths, not sure if they should run or stay. One followed suit of the other two and ran off.

Lady Anielle whimpered.

Then they all heard it. A low, long howl. Then several more.

“No, no…not them, please…” Lady Anielle said, trembling. She said to the group surrounding her, “Keep those things away from me.” They nodded and grunted their assent.

Tail said to the others, “We must hide, now.”

“Where? It’s wide open here, there’s nowhere to go,” Nara pointed out.

“If we’re lucky, they will have their attention on Lady Anielle and her men. We can then sneak away and get to the castle.”

They agreed to this and quickly gathered their things, ready to go.

Sehlan snapped her head around. She saw movement in her peripheral vision. Sure enough, one of the creatures had moved in on them. She tapped Tail on the shoulder and pointed. He nodded, picked up a stone, and threw it towards Lady Anielle’s men. Hearing the noise, the beast perked up and saw the men who barely kept from running off. Its attention turned towards them, the trio waited another few moments. More started showing up. Soon there were dozens of the misshapen things.

“There are several more than I anticipated,” Tail whispered. “We may still yet be able to sneak away. Follow me.”

Sehlan had an idea. “Can’t Nara use her power to destroy those things?”

“Not so many, no. If it were a few, maybe. So many would overpower us before they could all be destroyed. We must go.”

Sehlan and Nara followed Tail, slowly and quietly flanking the guards who had taken up a phalanx-like formation. This would allow the creatures to focus on the men instead of the vulnerable trio.

Lady Anielle saw them sneaking away. She was conflicted on whether to expose them or join them. If she exposed them, she would also antagonize the beasts. They were extremely indiscriminate on who they attacked. If she joined them, would she be considered a coward? What would she think?

Oh, blast it all! She made her decision and quickly dashed off to join them.

“What the hell are you doing?” Sehlan hissed at her.

Tail quickly shushed her and shook his head. ‘No time for this,’ he implied.

Sehlan rolled her eyes but complied.

~~~~~~~~~~

Silavut was still trying to figure out a way to get himself unstuck when he heard the slow creak of the door. There were hushed whispers and movements. From outside he could hear blood-curdling screams and some kind of beasts. What in the world…? The door was shut again. Then he heard his name.

“Silavut! By the Powers, you’re OK!” Sehlan rushed up and hugged him.

“Great to see you, too!”

“What happened? You seem stiff.”

“That’s…uh…because I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I can explain.” Lady Anielle came to stand beside Sehlan and waved her hand.

Silavut nearly fell over. Sehlan caught and steadied him.

“What is this? What have you done?” Of course, she knew most of it from Nara’s note. She just wanted to hear it directly from her.

Lady Anielle explained what they already knew. She also added extra details they weren’t aware of, such as how she had the throne room specially built for magical use using methods the sorceress taught her.

“What I want to know right now,” Silavut interrupted, “is what in creation is going on out there?” He pointed at the doors. “I heard screams and weird sounds.”

Tail told Silavut about the misshapen creatures.

“Oh great. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. How did they get that way, anyway?”

“No one really knows. There are theories, but nothing can be proven.”

“So how do we get past them, then?”

“There are only two ways. One, we kill them, which who knows how many the men have killed and how many are left right now. Two, we wait for them to leave, which who knows how long that’ll take. Sometimes it can days for them to leave a fresh hunting spot. So long as no more people or animals go out there, once they’ve had their fill, they’ll leave after a while.”

“So we’re stuck here, then.”

“For a time, yes, but not forever.”

Sehlan turned to Lady Anelle. “As for you, explain yourself. What the hell were you thinking by coming with us?”

“I was saving myself. I didn’t want to get eaten by those things out there—”

“Yet you left your men to die for you. Do you have no shame?”

She turned away for a moment to gather her composure. Turning back around, she had tears in her eyes. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just doing what she asked. How was I supposed to know it would all go so bad?” She dropped to the floor, pulling out a cloth to dab her tears and blow her nose.

Silavut had mixed feelings. He wanted to gloat and say ‘I told you so,’ but he also didn’t want another fight right now. He’d had enough of it all to last more than a lifetime. Yet there was more to come. He sat down beside her. Sehlan looked at him questioningly. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake. She nodded, knowing what he meant and walked away. She led the other two away to give them a bit of privacy.

Lady Anielle looked at him but said nothing.

After a moment of silence, Silavut spoke. “So… Queen, huh?”

She produced a quick, short laugh and a smile. “Yeah. Guess I got a little carried away.”

“You know, you’re really not a bad person. You just got roped in by the bad person. Sure, you may have done some loathsome and objectionable acts, but only because of her. I mean, look at what you did for us, in the beginning. You let us stay in our own private room in the capitol building, fed us, clothed us. You didn’t have to do that. Of course, denying us archive access wasn’t a good move.”

Lady Anielle nodded. “I know, but it was what she wanted. To lull you into a sense of security, but not let you get too comfortable or find out too much.”

“Yes, that might be true, but you still did it of your own free will. You could have just thrown us in a cell to begin with and left us to rot until she wanted us…me…whatever. So that really does say something about your true character, who you really are, inside.”

Lady Anielle sniffled and blew her nose again.

“As for what happened earlier, you know it’s true. She would throw you away, leave you to fend for yourself, once your purpose was fulfilled.”

“Yes, I know, I just didn’t want to believe it. I was denying it, despite knowing the truth.”

“So whaddya say. Would you like to join us? Help us defeat her, make sure the universe is safe?”

“You…you mean…after what I’ve done…you’d let me…? I don’t know if I can…”

“I know, it goes against logic, but yes. You can come with us. I’ll just have to convince the others. Wait here.”

She nodded.

Silavut stood up and made his way to the others who were conversing quietly amongst themselves.

Nara looked up when she saw him approaching. “What is it?”

“Well, I sorta…kinda…promised…she could join us.”

“What?” Sehlan nearly yelled.

“Hey, keep it down.” He looked back and saw Lady Anielle’s worried expression.

“Sorry, but that’s just… Are you crazy?” Sehlan said quieter.

“Look, I know it’s illogical, but come on, look at her.”

They all peered over at her, and she gave them a weak smile, hoping to win their graces.

“I don’t know about this…” Sehlan replied.

Tail spoke up. “I’m with Silavut on this one. Yes, she may have done some abominable things, that doesn’t mean she can’t be redeemed. She may prove herself useful to us. Better than being her slave, or worse.”

Nara nodded. “I hate to say it, but I agree, too.”

Sehlan shook her head. “You’re all crazy. OK, fine.”

Silavut split from the group and went back to Lady Anielle. She looked up at him questioningly. He held out his hand. She took it. He helped her up. “Yes,” he said simply.

[torentialtribute]

Let’s get the batting order right! England boss Gareth Southgate won’t let stars just bowl up

Gareth Southgate chose to use a cricket analogy in Wembley on Friday night as he prepared for the run-up to England to next year's European championship.

That is the weakness of qualifying groups for major tournaments nowadays – and that is the improvement in the national team under this manager – that England is certainly eligible for a Euro 2020 tournament in which they largely on their own soil.

So the only problem for Southgate is how you can keep an improving team on the boil between now and June. One way is old-fashioned and includes the mysteries of selection.

Harry Kane and Co must deliver to be selected according to English boss Gareth Southgate

The England- manager revealed that he changed his preferred team after every Premier League round

& # 39; Every Monday after the Premier League games of the weekend, we sit down and move around, he says, & Southgate said. & # 39; We have a batting order that we think we are our best players in, but to be honest we don't have too many guarantees. We have many really close phone calls. & # 39;

There are two ways of thinking about how you can best prepare for a summer tournament, especially one that you know you will qualify for.

Are you trying to arrange your players in a normal starting line-up in the hope that it anticipates the serious stuff? Or do you keep the competition for places alive and do you hope that professional pride increases the performance of not only the younger players, but also the higher ones?

Michael Keane (R) goes Saturday against Bulgaria start next to Harry Maguire

[194590010]

Southgate (R) is comfortable turning its side depending on the shape of the player for their clubs

I made my debut in England in a 2-0 win over France over Wembley in February 1992, and I was not the only one. Other debutants were Rob Jones, who was 20, and Alan Shearer, who was 21. I was 25!

On Saturday evening we also saw Mason Mount (20), James Maddison (22) and Tyrone Mings (26) also hand over their first caps. It's a great process. The rumors that you are on the radar, the media reports, the confirmation with the letter in the mail.

Mount, Maddison, and Mings should enjoy the opportunity, but must also realize that they are there to do their job. Don't let emotion overcome you. I think it's a good thing that they can get their debut in a good game instead of a friendly game.

This is not a testimony or trial.

CENTRAL DEFENSE CAN STILL MAKE A CLAIM

Gareth Southgate had the opportunity to work with some excellent central defenders as England's manager.

We have seen Harry Maguire, Joe Gomez, Michael Keane, John Stones, Lewis Dunk, James Tarkowski and more in that position. There is a lot of competition and that is a door that Southgate has kept open. It is up to the players on the field against Bulgaria and Kosovo to try and close it. Maguire is present about him. He is a mountain man.

Although Joe Gomez of Liverpool is more mobile, Michael Keane seems to start alongside Maguire instead. The hosts should have too much, so let's see who takes the opportunity to impress.

PREDICTION : England 3-0 Bulgaria

]

In the past, managers from England have put their trust in the latter method, with varying degrees of success.

For example, the team of Roy Hodgson who started the first game of the season in the run-up to Euro 2016 in France, there were only two players who would play against Russia nine months later

Similarly, Southgate & # 39; s XI began building on September 2017 at the World Cup the following summer had only four players who won the opening match against Tunisia. If that seems strange, it is often the way.

As Southgate stated prior to Saturday night's qualifying match against Bulgaria, players get out of shape and fitness too often during the season to place firm bets at this stage.

& # 39; I spoke with a few club managers and we said competition for places is a good motivator, & he said. "If players know that there are people who can come in, then it is motivating.

" For example, with us some of the younger ones are after the older ones. And of course the elderly don't want to let go. We are always ready to adapt. There cannot be any point where people can switch off. If they do that, someone will wait. & # 39;

Southgate knows that young players such as Mason Mount (L) and Harry Winks (R) are pushing to start

The respective merits of an established team as opposed to the increase in performance levels that healthy competition can bring are under discussion. A personal view is that no team has ever suffered from understanding and unity that tends to come through repetitive selection, especially when a game wins.

For Southgate, there is probably a combination of both. At the top of his formation, it is difficult to see him deviate too far from the trio of Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

In midfield, Jordan Henderson is a trusted choice, while central defender Harry Maguire and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford are firmly in possession of their jerseys.

Elsewhere in the defense, it is harder to call. For example, three right backs will fight for a spot, while Michael Keane's expected shot alongside Maguire on Saturday will inform wounded John Stones and ring-rusty Joe Gomez of the challenges ahead.

It will be interesting to see how Keane is doing. The Everton defender has suffered injuries and confidence since he left Burnley two summers ago and he will hope that his selection is the precursor of better times.

England will play at least two group matches at Wembley next summer while the semi-finals and finals will also take place in the national stadium.

So the opportunity that presents itself to England is clear. Southgate was part of the English team that almost reached the end of Euro 96 on home soil – he missed the decisive penalty in the shootout defeat by Germany of course – and knows exactly how such a tournament can stimulate a nation.

As expected, he only wished to preach caution when he pressed this issue on Friday evening.

& # 39; I feel that we have begun to build up that excitement as we play and I know what level it can go to, & he said.

& # 39; But I can't afford to get carried away with that. It's great for everyone to experience, but someone has to control things. I want supporters to become enthusiastic and to increase beer sales. But I can't afford to live in that world. & # 39;

Harry Kane stands close to a certain selection if they fit because they are on the English side of Southgate

But the competition for places is now high with many players looking ahead to Euro 2020

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[mechagalaxy]

My Faction War 3335, First opponent, Arcana Dragons

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184) My Faction War 3335, First opponent, Arcana Dragons.

For those that have been around a while, Faction Wars used to be the big thing. It still is, although the Factions have grown smaller and fewer lately. The very first Faction War had 20 factions, then it rose. 24, 28, 32, 32, and then 36 Factions in `14. Then the participation dropped to 16 Factions in `29 and this war also have only 16 factions consisting of a total of 612 Commanders.

Star League did as usual form up alongside our longstanding friends in the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood, and most of us were assigned to the premier formation; Bouncing Blue Berserkes. The thing about the Faction Wars, getting together alongside friends generally results in some having much more levels than others. I was by no means the lowest ranked, but there were still those Berserkers who had more than twice my level.

The big question is always what tier your faction ends up in. Sometimes you are the kings of the hill, other times you are the designated punching bag. In this case we ended at the top division, and we werent the obvious punching bags either. That is not to say we were the kings on the hill either, but we would in all probability get some decent loot this time. That would be a welcome change of pace for me, the two latest Faction Wars had seen me leave with the Div one participation Mech in addition to a Drednought + a Megazome. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Battle day 1, Berserker HQ, t-2 days.

The listings were complete. We were to meet the Arcana Dragons the first day. Just looking at who we were arrayed against was enough to make me brak out in a cold sweat.

While some of them were lower ranked than me, all of them were top tiered fighters who generally could kick my butt at least four times out of seven. The top guns were so far above me in fighting quality that I was unsure my main formation could handle their 10 tonners.

As I stood there pertified, a friendly hand landed on my shoulder. Joe Kump smiled at me "Dont you worry, they are tough, but just watch out for when they switch formations and hammer them while they are vulnerable"

He strolled on, and I got back to the hangar and went over my formations to be ready if an opening should show itself. ------------ Battle day 1, muster field, t-90 minutes.

I was among the last stragglers to make it. John stood on top of his lead Fext, Dead Fexy and gazed at the assembled Commanders. He seemed satisfied, and the loudspeakers carried his words to all of us.

"Those Dragons think they can pick us up at their leisure. If we huddle behind cover they will certainly do so. Instead we will bring the war to them. We will hit them when they drink their morning tea. We will rip through their formations while they think of how to do us in. We will blow up the ammobunkers and destroy their HQ, disrupt Communications so they are isolated from each other. Then we will use superior manuvering to defeat them in detail, and bring the survivors back here for the party."

He slid into the cockpit while the last words rang out strong and true. ------------- The Battle.

I was at my designated location. My orders were to make sure no Dragons disrupted our plans by sneaking into our rear while we had a field day ripping them apart. The Irkut range had two passes in it, I was to hold the larger using my 30s, while Caitlyns 20s secured the smaller.

Comm chatter reached us, and it seemed at least some of the Dragons had foregone the morning tea and was busy kicking butts and not bothering to take names. Jeff Haas ripped through our follow up waves just as our heavies had disappeared into the Dragon infested terrain.

More and more of the Dragons showed up, and our halfdisrupted formations were no real match for them. But we held grimly on. If we could fall back slowly, pull the heavy hitters after us on a trail of our destroyed Mechs and steaming blood, there was the hope that John and the others could reach their objectives and bring the Dragon network and supply distribution to its knees.

Then Sal Vezzosi and Shawn Wretham showed up at the Irkut range. Sal went for Caitlyn and Shawn came for me.

To say I was totally overmatched would be an understatement.

My frontline had all my four Novums and a Trooper. Shawns line had five iMechs and a Novum. At a loss of two of my Novums his first line fell, to be replaced by another half dozen iMechs. These were dispatched without further losses, just in time for another half-dozen of them to emerge guns blazing. I managed to destroy half of them before they took out my Trooper and two remainig Novums. My second line, consisting of a Nerio and four iMechs leaped forth to avenge them. That leap wasnt the smartest move I could have engineered. The trio fell, but they brought down the Nerio and two iMechs. His fourth line, also pure iMech ripped my two remaining iMechs apart. My third line rose to challenge his Mechs. After a furious exhange of fire my Trooper was barely standing, surrounded by the wreckage of four of my and six of his iMechs. Then he brought out better Mechs. Four Banshees backed by a Layne and a Novum made short work of the Trooper and then my fourth and fifth line. My last line stepped gingerly forth, but was also dispatched without getting even one solid hit in. I could just watch from my cracked Cockpit as he filed past. The two last lines of his consisted of another dozen of Novums.

Caitlyn had been driven off as well, and all we could do was radio in a warning to the HQ that strong enemy formations was inbound, ETA no more than eight minutes.

The report was acknowlegded, and we were told to get our act together and dont let any more Dragons through.

Honestly, I did my best. But that was nowhere near good enough. While I turned back four attempts, a dozen got through. At that point we were fighting for survival and extraction. A few ill fated offensives from my side convinced me that the smartest thing to do was withrawing into a maze of canyons. The Dragons would have to either let me alone and seal off the exits, detail at least three formations to cover the exits or dig me out. They blew the exits, and that was the end of the battle for me. Later, after the battle was officially over and I got airifted out, I found the Dragons had trashed us by more than 5-1.

The final score stood 1941-354.

While it is never fun to be hammered that badly, I had to admire the smooth excellence of the Dragons. Perhaps one day in a distant future I can match it?

[junker-town]

Dodgers’ latest slump hasn’t eroded their confidence, with good reason

The Dodgers have lost 10 of 11 games, but still maintain the best record in baseball by a healthy margin and have reasons to be confident heading into the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES -- It is September 6, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have lost 9½ games off their division lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in just 11 days. Under normal circumstances, this would likely qualify as an epic collapse. But this has been no ordinary season for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have dropped 10 of their last 11 games, while the Diamondbacks have won 12 straight, the perfect storm for a late-season comeback. But the Dodgers still own a 12½-game advantage in the National League West, and at 92-46 still own the best record in baseball, seven games clear of the next-closest team (Houston Astros).

Helping that comeback for Arizona is that five of their 12 wins have been against the Dodgers, all in the last eight days, including the last two nights at Dodger Stadium. The Diamondbacks are one of two teams with the winning record (10-8) against the Dodgers in 2017 — the Washington Nationals have won two of three against Los Angeles, with three more games remaining in two weekends — yet understandably, the Dodgers’ confidence is still high.

Yasmani Grandal said #Dodgers would not be at all apprehensive to face Diamondbacks in playoffs. "We know we’re the better team,” he said.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 6, 2017

Dave Roberts: "I can assure you this won't break us."

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 3, 2017

Before their recent losing skid, the Dodgers were on pace for 116 wins, which would have tied the MLB record. Now, they would need to finish 24-0 to reach that mark. Their current pace is only 108 victories.

To put things into perspective, the Dodgers have 24 games remaining in the regular season, while the Diamondbacks have 23. Of those 47 outcomes, Arizona needs 36 to fall their way to win the National League West, or 35 to tie and force a one-game playoff for the division. Two of those outcomes can be struck at once with Wednesday’s series and regular season finale between these two teams, at Dodger Stadium. But even with Arizona’s great run over the last week and a half, their chances for the division remain quite slim.

FanGraphs still projects the Dodgers with a 100-percent chance to win the division, as does Baseball Prospectus.

Those odds haven’t done much to soothe a segment of Dodgers fans, who aren’t handling the losses well. But its hard to blame them. After all before the Dodgers lost 10 of their last 11 games, the club had 10 losses in their previous 60 games. They didn’t even have a losing streak of longer than three games before their dueling five-game skids in the last week and a half.

"I don't think there's anything I can say to soothe fans and their passion,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Wednesday. “We're going to win a game again, I know that."

The Dodgers will need to play a lot better to turn things around. They have been outscored 62-26 in their last 11 games, hitting .200/.263/.317 as a team while the pitching staff posted a 5.72 ERA.

Part of the issue has been resting players, with the Dodgers taking their foot off the gas pedal with a large division lead — it got has high as 21 games before the recent slide — and the club did win 92 games before September even started, surpassing their season total from 2016, when their won their fourth straight division.

The Dodgers are making sure people are healthy and ready in October, taking every precaution necessary and not forcing things for games in September.

But this is nothing new. The team has been resting players all season, making liberal use of the 10-day disabled list. Nine of their 10 pitchers to start a game in 2017 have spent at least one stint on the DL, some multiple times. On offense, Yasiel Puig, who has played in 131 of the Dodgers’ 138 games, is the only Dodger who can even reach 150 games played this season, with only three more — Corey Seager (123 games), Kiké Hernandez (121) and Chris Taylor (117) — with a chance at 140 games played.

“It’s a luxury we do have, because we have a lot of good players,” Roberts said.

Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images

Clayton Kershaw is back from the disabled list, and leads the majors in ERA (1.95) and wins (16, tied).

The Dodgers have 18 different players with at least 0.8 Wins Above Replacement this season — a cherry-picked minimum, sure, but the season is roughly 85-percent over so it wasn’t purely selected out of thin air. Only the Cleveland Indians — winners of 13 straight games themselves — have more, with 19 players.

There are reasons to believe the Dodgers will, in fact, play better. One is that five months worth of games tells us more about a team than two weeks, no matter how fresh in our noses the recent stench might be.

The Dodgers pitching staff as a whole has been arguably the best in baseball all season. They allow 3.49 runs per game on average this season, a half-run better than Arizona, the next-best team in the NL. The Indians, at 3.68 runs per game, are the only other major league team to allow fewer than four runs per contest.

But that Dodgers staff got smoked last week, especially the starters. In eight games last week, the starters posted an 8.80 ERA, and that included six shutout innings from Clayton Kershaw in his first start after missing over five weeks on the disabled list with back tightness. His return is another beacon of hope for the team.

In three games in Arizona, the Diamondbacks jumped on Rich Hill, Hyun-jin Ryu and Kenta Maeda for 10 first-inning runs in a three-game sweep, and that trio combined to allow 19 runs on 24 hits in 10⅔ innings, including six home runs. Only Hill among this group is likely to get playoff starts for the Dodgers, though Ryu and/or Maeda could potentially be a part of a postseason bullpen.

“It doesn’t matter. They just didn’t pitch well. We’re gonna be at home, and they will pitch better,” Roberts said. “We’re not concerned about the matchup [with Arizona].”

That trio got a second chance at Arizona this week at Dodger Stadium, and in the first two games at least have done well, despite the losses. Hill and Ryu combined to allow just three runs in 12 innings on Monday and Tuesday, with 17 strikeouts.

It might have helped had the Dodgers scored more than one run in the first two games of this series.

Seager is dealing with elbow inflammation and hasn’t started the last nine games, though is expected to return at some point during the upcoming weekend series against the Colorado Rockies.

Cody Bellinger, whose 36 home runs established a Dodgers franchise record for rookie home runs, missed nine games with an ankle sprain, and is 6-for-28 (.214/.241/.500) since his return from the disabled list.

Seager and Bellinger haven’t been in the same starting lineup since Aug. 19 in Detroit. In 17 games since, the Dodgers are averaging just 2.88 runs per game.

“You look at what Corey brings to our lineup, he’s arguably our best offensive player who’s not in there. Cody’s just getting his feet wet, still trying to get on track,” said Roberts. “Right now we’re not firing.”

On the season, the Dodgers average 4.85 runs per game, fifth in the NL, and they rank first in the league in both OPS+ (103) and wRC+ (106).

The Dodgers’ insane run of winning -- they went 52-9 in one stretch, and went nearly three months without losing a series, going 19-0-3 — was fueled in large part by the offensive quartet of Chris Taylor, Seager, Justin Turner, and Bellinger, who usually occupy the first four spots in the batting order.

In the 53 games those four have been in the starting lineup together this season, the Dodgers have averaged 5.68 runs per game, and are 45-8 (.849).

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Making sure those four, and the pitching staff, are healthy for the playoffs are of chief concern to the Dodgers at the moment, much more so than September regular season games, no matter how frustrating the short-term cost — losses -- might seem.

But can the Dodgers flip the switch in October?

Back in 2009, when the Dodgers were not faring well down the stretch after building a large division lead, I researched how playoff teams fared under the wild card format, at the time using data from 1995-2008, the first 14 years of the Wild Card era:

Here are the first round playoff results based on these factors:

Teams with home field advantage won 24 of 48 1st round series (50.0%)

Teams with the better regular season record won 26 of 54 1st round series (48.1%)

Teams with the better record in the final 10 games won 21 of 46 1st round series (45.7%)

Teams with the better record in the final 20 games won 22 of 46 1st round series (47.8%)

Teams with the better record in the final 30 games won 27 of 49 1st round series (55.1%)

I don't see a lot of advantage there in any category. Perhaps in the final 30 games, that may lead to postseason success, but it doesn't appear to be an overwhelming advantage.

Here are the league championship series results based on these factors:

Teams with home field advantage won 15 of 28 league championship series (53.6%)

Teams with the better regular season record won 16 of 27 league championship series (59.3%)

Teams with the better record in the final 10 games won 11 of 20 league championship series (55.0%)

Teams with the better record in the final 20 games won 12 of 25 league championship series (48.0%)

Teams with the better record in the final 30 games won 9 of 24 league championship series (37.5%)

Again, it doesn't appear that any kind of strong finish yields a significant advantage. Maybe regular season record is important in the league championship series, but last I checked the Dodgers in fact have the best record in the National League.

I haven’t looked at the data from the last eight years, but at the very least there are examples of teams stumbling through September only to find success in October.

The San Francisco Giants were one game back in the National League West, then lost nine of their remaining 15 games in 2014, settling for the second Wild Card spot in the NL. They won the World Series.

In 2015, the Kansas City Royals dropped 18 of 28 games from Aug. 30 to Sept. 29, then trailed the American League Wild Card Game 7-1 in the seventh inning. They also won the World Series.

“It’s easy to say that momentum does matter, and any team if they had their choice would they want that momentum? Absolutely,” Roberts said. “But every team if you see has had momentum how they fared going into the postseason, compared to teams that didn’t have it, the winning kind of balances itself out.”

The bottom line is this. How the Dodgers fare this October will depend on how they play this October. It won’t be because of how they played in late August and early September, just like it won’t be a result of how they played in June, July, or most of August.