#giving them ammunition so they can flesh out their backstories

[holographicbutch]

Sending my players a block of text for worlbuilding like feast, my children

[starstruckkittensweets]

“Kisses in the Morning Rain” Pt. III

Fandom: Attack on Titan  Pairing: Eren x Reader  Words: 4.2k 

Warnings: Season 4 spoilers (namely for Ep. 7), canon divergence, Reader is a Titan Shifter, open discrimination against Eldians and Paradis, blood and violence, character death, mentions of past romantic feelings, mentions and references to depression

A/N: This chapter dabbles a little in Eren and Reader’s backstory, especially towards the end of the chapter. I’m really excited to get into the real angsty bits of this story, especially now that they’ll have more face-to-face interactions! Of course, this story doesn’t go exactly the way of the anime so I had to tweak a few things here and there. So it doesn’t line up perfectly, but hey, that’s the beauty of fic, right? Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who’s read this little story so far, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! (And if you want to be added to the taglist, just let me know!) 

Taglist: @ranitani​ 

“Kisses in the Morning Rain” Masterlist

Eren’s jaw shatters against the crystal. Dark trails slide down the edges, painting the crystal in a sheen of red. It’s hard not to smirk as he stares down at you, obviously forming another plan in the back of his head—you can practically see the wheels turning around and around.

The Warrior Unit is already occupied—the Beast Titan’s arms swing violently, catching a few stray Scouts off guard, while the Cart Titan picks the rest of them off with the gunfire. The Jaw Titan lingers close to you, ready to pounce again if Eren decides to go for you again. But even if he does, you’ll be ready for him.

Something long and gray soars through the air and slams into the surface of the crystal. The thunder spear explodes upon impact, but does nothing against the shiny surface, leaving the crystal completely unharmed. Mikasa is seething—you can see it on her face, as she hovers close behind the Attack Titan’s shoulder.

It’s no use. The crystal is nearly indestructible, made of the same hardened Titan flesh that creates the War Hammer’s body. Perhaps the only Titan that could come close to breaking it is the Armored or the Jaw, but both of them are on your side in this war.

Eren doesn’t stand a chance.

A cloud of steam bursts from the Attack Titan’s nape. Eren steps out, red marks scorched on the skin of his face, long hair blowing in the breeze. He gives you one final glare before leaping down, teeth sinking into the meat of his palm. His Titan suddenly appears below you, crouched on the ground, as the one gripping your crystal begins to dissolve.

His stamina is incredible—what has he been doing these last four years? Transforming so quickly even after putting up that much of a fight… His energy rivals that of your own Titan…but he doesn’t appear to be needing a break anytime soon.

He swipes the crystal away, fingertips digging into the sharp edges. You have half a mind to pierce him with one of your spikes again, but now’s not the time. You need to save your energy for when you really need it. Save it for the real fight, when you truly need the War Hammer’s power.

The Beast Titan is so close, leering down at Eren. Then again, he doesn’t appear to be interested in the Attack Titan; everyone on this battlefield knows who he’s really looking for.

His hands clench, and tiny pebbles spray from his palms. He growls out Captain Levi’s name, but the Scout is nowhere to be found. And for some reason, you can feel the Attack Titan’s fingers closing over the crystal even tighter.

What are they waiting for?

It’s hard to keep your heartbeat steady, even under the protective barrier around you. Why haven’t the rest of the Scouts attacked for a while? You know they have a limited supply of ODM gear and gas with them, and that’s not including their ammunition, blades, and thunder spears. Are they taking refuge for a bit just to reload their weapons? Or are they waiting for another opening to attack? It would be stupid of them to charge out in the open, especially with the Beast so close to the Cart and the Jaw.

Not to mention, the War Hammer right in the palm of the Founder. One wrong move, and their most precious weapon is blown to smithereens.

And that’s only considering the Titans within range. From the hurried movements of the soldiers nearby, it’s safe to assume every single one of Marley’s forces are on their way to Liberio. The ground troops, the snipers, even the thousands of ships they have at the port—the entire zone of Liberio has been cut off from the rest of the world. The island devils are severely disadvantaged.

Still, that’s no reason to underestimate them. You’re familiar with the way the Scouts have operated over the last few years. Even before the battle for Shiganshina, they were strong enough on their own to survive multiple expeditions beyond the Walls, traveling straight into Titan-infested territories every few months, making small victories along the way. Supply bases were set, live Titan captures were made, and with the addition of Eren within the ranks, they were able to make great strides when it came to the research of Titan anatomy and physiology. And within two months, they were able to defend Stohess District from the Female Titan’s assault, even without the help of the Military Police.

The Scouts know their way around a battlefield. It doesn’t make sense that they would barge into Liberio without a plan up their sleeve. They would consult with the brightest minds possible—Section Commander Hanji, probably, and maybe even—

Golden light pierces the night sky. A thousand shadows dance along the rubble on the ground. Everyone on the field, soldier and Scout and Titan alike, stare up at the burst of energy at the edge of the zone, right where the beaches leading to the ocean are located.

Your jaw freezes up. The Colossal Titan—you’d recognize that light anywhere. Fuck, you didn’t count on Armin making it here…

You were there when Bertholdt was captured. Watched in horror as he was eaten alive by the sweet boy with blond hair and blue eyes. Felt your stomach churn as you watched Armin emerge from the Titan’s carcass, fresh marks embedded on his cheeks and eyes.

Of course, they would use him in their fight. Besides the Founder’s power, the Colossal Titan is their best shot at making an impactful attack. And it looks like they’ve done just that, as bits and pieces of the ships soar out of the port and into the zone.

The Jaw Titan roars and rushes forward—the Cart lingers back, heavy artillery still trained on the Attack Titan. No doubt they’ve realized what’s just happened; they probably didn’t count on having their entire fleet destroyed by one single blast.

The Beast suddenly roars and sinks to his knees on the ground—its nape bursts open with blood and steam. A small shape lands on its neck—Captain Levi, you realize with a shudder—and suddenly there’s a boom—

And the Beast is left defenseless on the ground, its nape blown to bits and gushing a river of blood.

Hands tremble at your sides. Teeth clank together. So fast—did that really just happen?!

You’ve always known Captain Levi to be ruthless with his enemies, but this? It’s almost too much to comprehend.

The Cart Titan’s artillery is firing off in every other direction, picking off Scouts one by one. But suddenly it stops—and in the split second the gun lowers, a storm of Scouts rain onto the Panzer Unit. Thunder spears soar down, flooding the Cart in flames and smoke. The Titan screams, barely scrambling out before toppling over the edge of the building.

Shit, the Cart too?! Something cold grips the base of your throat as you stare up at the Attack Titan—who’s looking rather pleased with how everything’s been turning out.

Two down, one to go. You can practically read his mind with the way he’s peering down at you, fingers gripping the edges of the crystal.

There’s a roar on the other side of the battlefield; the Jaw Titan leaps over the nearby buildings, hands and legs thundering against the rooftops. Jaws opened, teeth bared, claws stretched out.

Eren growls as he slams his fist into Porco’s face, but he’s too quick for him in the end. The Jaw pulls himself up, slashing Eren’s arm to bits before lunging right for his face.

The crystal suddenly trembles violently. Everything seems to slow to a stop as you stare at the three fresh claw marks right on the surface of the crystal.

A gasp slips through your mouth. Hardened Titan flesh—the only strength against the War Hammer’s skin and crystals. And the Jaw Titan’s claws and teeth are welded perfectly to match it in a fight.

The Attack Titan falters just a bit, as Mikasa swoops in and slashes her blades at the Jaw. As Porco leaps back, you can see the flicker of realization in those dark green eyes. You can see the wheels turning in his head, already forming a plan to break you out of the crystal.

To finally kill you himself.

You have to act soon. You can’t let yourself be put in danger like that. If he corners you and attempts to steal the War Hammer Titan, you have to be ready to fight back.

But even as you flex your fingers through the crystal, you can’t feel the full thrum of your Titan’s strength through your veins. It’s still dormant, recovering from the previous battle with Mikasa. Just a little more time and you’ll be able to hold your own again.

One of the greatest drawbacks of wielding such an incredible power in the first place, as your uncle always warned you about, was the recovery time of said power. Depending on the skill of the user, it could take days to recover any strength lost in a fight. You’ve been trained as a soldier, both by Marley and then Paradis, so your stamina is already superior to that of a regular human’s.

Still, there’s no telling how much time you have left before Eren decides to attack. An hour, maybe? A few minutes, a few seconds? It all depends on him—and now, Zeke and the others aren’t here to back you up and buy you time.

You’re on your own for now.

A low buzzing fills the air. The Jaw Titan’s attention turns to the side, and you follow his gaze eagerly. Your stomach drops like a stone when you see a small airship flying close to the rooftops, following a trail of bright lights planted on every other building.

The Scouts must’ve set those up during the fight, when you were all occupied with the soldiers and the gunfire. And the airship must be their ticket out of here once this is all over.

The perfect getaway. Armin definitely had a hand in planning this attack.

The thought makes you sick—but it doesn’t surprise you. Armin has always had a bit of a manipulative streak when it comes to planning against the enemy. You’re just not used to being on the receiving end of it.

The Jaw makes a run for it, claws drumming against the rooftops. You understand his plan at once—charge in there and rip the airship to shreds.

But then he’s growling something fierce, hitting the ground face first onto the rooftop in front of him. His legs are no more than bloody stumps—and Mikasa’s twin blades are dripping, a stark red against the shiny silver.

The Attack Titan glowers at Porco. And the moment he reaches for him, nails digging into his scalp—you realize just what he plans to do with him.

To the both of you.

The Jaw slams onto the ground with a groan. One by one, Eren rips off his arms with a startling display of strength, before throwing them to the side to join the rubble on the ground. The Jaw roars again, but Eren’s arm lurches forward; and suddenly you’re staring up at him from the Jaw Titan’s opened mouth.

No…

Your mouth falls open. Eren lifts the two of you up in the air, Porco’s head dangling from his hands, with the crystal still lodged in between his teeth.

Not like this. Don’t kill me just yet.

Fine’s face flashes behind your eyelids. You promised to come back to her, to tell her what exactly happened to her father. To be there for the rest of her life, and for her brothers and sisters, as well. You’re not about to leave this world without at least saying goodbye to her.

You will your fingers to come to life. A familiar surge floods through your veins, but it’s much weaker than before. But you have no choice—attack now or die. You’re out of time to think.

The surface of the crystal begins to split apart. The edges vibrate violently as the Jaw roars against it.

Fuck, hurry up!

Your hands curl into fists at your sides. The Attack Titan opens its mouth. The blood on your forehead begins to burn. The Jaw Titan growls again—a desperate sound against your ears.

You scream as a burst of lightning explodes from the crystal, and another white spoke lodges itself into the Attack Titan’s chest.

It’s a weak one, only designed to catch him off guard instead of trapping him. But it’s enough to make him loosen his grip on the Jaw Titan, and the crystal tumbles out of its mouth at once.

The barrier shatters around you in one split second. Panting heavily and still bleeding from earlier, you allow the surge of power to completely overtake you, letting the War Hammer Titan step up once more—with your body safe and secure in its nape this time.

I might not have much time. I have to end this now.

The Beast Titan’s been destroyed. The Cart Titan blown up. The Jaw Titan bleeding from all four limbs, sprawled out onto the dusty ground below. And there’s no sign of the Armored Titan anywhere—either Reiner’s already been killed, or he has no interest in joining this fight.

And honestly, after everything that’s happened, both tonight and within the last four years…you can’t find it in yourself to blame him.

You can feel your stamina draining by the second. You have just enough to form the giant war hammer’s handle into your palm. Eren sneers at you, teeth bared and ready to pounce.

He won’t be killing you just yet.

Eren dodges the first swing with ease, the gaping hole in his chest steadily sewing itself up. You grit your teeth and swing again, desperately trying to ignore the heavy weight against your chest.

Don’t push yourself, you can remember your uncle’s words clearly, when you first inherited your family’s precious heirloom. The last thing you want is to faint in the middle of a fight.

Ten spikes burst from the ground to pin him into place—and just as he roars from the impact, you can feel your eyelids growing heavier. It’s getting harder to breathe as you raise the hammer again.

You’re surprised Mikasa doesn’t jump to Eren’s aid, just like she did before. But then you bring the hammer down—and you understand why she’s lingering back this time.

A meaty hand catches the hammer in time with your swing. Before you can even blink, the Titan rips it out of your hands completely, leaving your fingers bare and stretched out at nothing.

Suddenly you remember something: back in your training days, fooling around with the green-eyed boy, roughhousing and play fighting like two overgrown children. Too many training sessions ended with one of you pinning the other down, before gloating about your victory to the other’s face until their cheeks puffed out in a pout. More or less it was always Eren who was pouting—but he got back at you during ODM gear training. Always stealing your Titan kills, speeding ahead of you no matter what the mission was.

The head of the hammer knocks your head clean off, leaving your nape completely bare. The hardened skin around your body begins to chip away, and a gush of night air spills against your back.

The Titan’s flesh clings to your cheeks as you raise your head. The Attack Titan is staring down at you now, still clutching the war hammer in its hand. Your Titan’s head is somewhere on the ground. Your muscles scream for you to stop, your eyelids begging to close forever.

Not yet! You still have to fight!

You barely have time to spit out his name before the whole world goes dark.

It’s silent after the fight. You’re both too afraid to speak up, too scared to bring any sense of reality to the situation at hand. Even now, a few minutes after the ordeal, your palms are still quivering at your sides.

Eren crouches down besides Armin, who’s sprawled out against the tiles of the roof. His skin is burnt to a crisp, every blond strand of hair singed from his head. Burned to death by the Colossal Titan’s steam, just to buy you and Eren some time to take it out. A hero until the very end.

Bertholdt is lying on the rooftop beside you, his limbs cut off and his eyes shut. He’s still breathing, though, so you’ll be able to use the serum Captain Levi has to transfer the Colossal Titan to a soldier of the Scout Regiment. It’s better to keep the Titan in your possession rather than get rid of it as a whole.

“…Eren.”

He jerks his head up at your voice, soft and gentle against the breeze. The two of you stare at each other for what feels like forever, before he finally decides to make a move. He straightens himself up and rushes forward, before pulling you against his chest in a hug. Your hands find purchase against his hair and nape, his heart thrumming powerfully against the shell of your ear.

So many things you want to say—so many things you know you can’t say. So many things that are just better left unsaid, and things you know you have to say right now, or else there might not be another chance to say them.

But for right now, you’re content with just holding him in silence, eyes fluttering shut at the sound of his heartbeat.

Suddenly a thundering sound echoes throughout the district. Your eyes fly open at once—just in time to see a familiar shape leaping from each rooftop to the next. A shape you haven’t seen in years, ever since you left Marley with the other four kids.

The Cart Titan—Pieck, you think her name is—and strapped on top of the crate on her back is none other than the Beast Titan himself, Marley’s own War Chief Zeke Jaeger.

And Eren’s brother, somehow. The thought makes your stomach flip.

Eren wastes no time in grabbing Bertholdt and pressing the edge of his blade to his throat. You slide your own blades from their holsters, ready to defend Eren with everything you have. If this grueling battle has taught you one thing, it’s that your loyalties with Marley have been severed beyond repair.

But you can’t take on the Beast Titan and the Cart Titan at the same time—at least, not without revealing your secret to Eren and the rest of the Scouts. Besides, from the looks of it, Zeke doesn’t appear to be in great shape; both of his arms have been torn at the elbow, steam gathering in heavy clouds at the wounds. He’s in no condition to fight. At least, not at the moment.

At first, Zeke’s eyes land on Eren, as the green-eyed boy screams at him to stay back. He looks at Bertholdt, and then at Eren. And finally his eyes land on you, and a sad smile stretches along his face.

“How unfortunate,” he murmurs, “Reiner and Bertholdt were right. You did betray them, didn’t you?”

It takes a bit of strength to keep your face calm and composed, but you manage. Even if Eren is staring at you, lips parted slightly in shock.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

But he only gives an airy laugh; and suddenly you remember how he used to decimate entire towns and cities with only the power of the Beast Titan, all in the name of Marley. He could do the same again, even if he isn’t in his best form. All he has to do is alert the officials at Marley about your treacherous behavior, and your reputation (and your family’s line) is tarnished beyond repair.

“Don’t play mind games with me, I’m not in the mood. But I’m curious as to why you betrayed them in the first place, Lady Tybur.”

A title that sends a shiver down the length of your spine. A title you haven’t heard for at least five years, not even in the company of Reiner and the others. A title that reminds you of the crushing weight on your chest and shoulders, of the responsibilities waiting for you across the sea.

“Stay back,” Eren shouts again, “or I’ll kill him!” He digs the blade deeper into Bertholdt’s throat just to prove his point.

The Cart Titan freezes in its spot on the rooftop. Zeke only shakes his head, eyes as sad as ever as he stares at Eren’s face, red Titan marks and all.

“You don’t look a thing like your father,” he mumbles, but Eren only gets angrier. You can see it in the way he tightens his grip on Bertholdt’s body, keeping the blade firm against the soft skin of his throat. “Believe me, I know what you’ve been through. We’re both victims of that man. You’ve been brainwashed by your father.”

And slowly, you can see his arm begin to relax. Bertholdt coughs out as the blade loosens against his throat, but his eyes remain shut.

But then Zeke sighs, turning his gray gaze back to yours. “You don’t belong here, Tybur. You know that—it’s written all over your face. This isn’t really your home. So come back.”

The leather hilts of the blades bite into your palms. “You don’t know anything. Don’t try to convince me otherwise—I’ve already made my decision!”

“Of course you have,” he replies coolly, “but what would your family think of your choice?”

You nearly sink to your knees right then and there.

Your whole family is still across the sea, ruling the nation of Marley from the shadows. Your aunt and uncle, who have treated you like one of their own ever since your mother died when you were young. Fine, your precious younger cousin, and her three little brothers and one little sister—the kids she’s dedicated her life to watching over whenever her parents can’t. You remember their smiles, the warm hugs and soft kisses, and the stories you would tell them before tucking them into bed.

If there’s anything in this world that could convince you to return to Marley at this point, it’s not your family’s reputation, or your own reputation; it’s the promise of seeing Fine and the kids again, and making sure they have long and happy lives ahead of them.

Eren glances up at you, and the question passes between you in silence: Is this all true? What haven’t you been telling me?

You made your choice that day at the top of Wall Rose, when Reiner and Bertholdt begged you to come along with them. But you had refused—your place is here with Eren, no matter what.

Because you love him.

But you also love Fine, that little voice in the back of your head whispers. You love her and the rest of the kids. How could you live with yourself, knowing that you left them behind?

Your knees begin to wobble. The blades shake against your palms. Eren continues to stare at you, mouth open and eyes as wide as ever.

Please, don’t hate me for this. Don’t hate me for what I am.

Suddenly Zeke growls, tilting his head up towards the top of the Wall. You and Eren follow his gaze, and a breath of relief escapes your mouth when you see Captain Levi standing at the edge, stained with blood but still breathing.

He must’ve been the one who left Zeke looking like this. Only he could manage to bring the War Chief to his knees.

Zeke mutters something else under his breath as Levi slides down the length of the Wall. But you don’t hear a thing; all you can hear is your own heartbeat echoing in your ears, and the words Lady Tybur swirling around in your head.

You don’t belong here. So come back.

To your real home, across the sea.

Zeke will be waiting for you to accompany him and Reiner (if he’s still alive) on the trek back to Marley before they leave the island. If you don’t, you can consider yourself an enemy of the nation, a traitor of devil’s blood, with your name cursed to every hell on earth.

But if you don’t leave with them, you’ll lose any chance of seeing your family again. Your aunt and uncle, Fine and the kids. You can’t leave them alone without saying a proper goodbye, at the very least.

Eren’s eyes linger on you for one second more before he turns to the captain, who lands on the rooftop between the two of you. Wordlessly, you snap back into your soldier persona, attention focused solely on the pair in front of you. But for the rest of the day, even as the fires around you begin to die down, Zeke’s words never leave your mind.

[exaltatuss]

“Violence for violence is the rule of the beasts, and oh how I am a monster.”   -Blair

General Info:

Name: Blair Occupation: Adventurer Age: 12 Race: Golden Lupine Beastkin Gender: Female Height: 152 cm Morality Alignment: Chaotic Neutral Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Blonde Misc: Likes hoarding

Personality:

A free spirit, who does she pleases, and goes where she pleases. She is known to have trouble cooperating well with peers, as seen on her going on ahead preemptively in a dungeon, most of the time. However, it is somehow balanced out, considering Blair could be cooperative if she actually wanted to, in which would be more probable if she gains interest on the people she’s around with.

She has a knack of hoarding items and other things she find during explorations, the reason for such being relatively vague for others, as it would simply pass for Lupine Beastkin being known to collect things. While this may be true, such a trait is nowhere as extreme as Blair’s, with the real reason on why she has such habit would be known only to the peers she deem close to her.

Which would be very much easier than done. While what was mentioned make her seem to be approachable, if, a little bit troublesome, she is an individualist, through and through. Most of the time, she prioritizes herself, above all else, which would be the primary reason on why she would gather the annoyance, if note, ire, of other people, in which Blair would simply brush off without a care. Only those she would consider actually close to her, those she would treat as part of her ‘pack’, would get to see her being selfless side.

Backstory:

Having been born from a pair of Golden Lupine Beastkin, under a rare astronomical event, her parents believed Blair is destined for great things. Everything seem to be going well on the initial years of her life, but then a monster attack on her parent’s caravan when she was four cost her parents their lives, with them fighting valiantly to allow their daughter to escape.

Now an orphan, Blair had to fend on her own, doing so barely well, however, through stealing from other adventurers without them noticing, be it rare materials, some useful equipment and the like, along with slaying several monsters here and there, mainly for sustenance. 

However, by the age of eight, she would encounter an elderly woman, whom, not only was she surprised of her prowess despite her old age, was able to notice that she was about to steal from her, just by the shift of the air, alone. Seeing the spark and flame in her eyes, the old woman took her in, kept her fed, educated as much as she could, and trained as much as her body can physically handle for her age. By her tenth birthday, however, the old woman died by natural terms, in which Blair had thanked for everything she had taught her, and gave her a proper burial behind her home in the woods.

Two years, onward, and Blair was doing well on her own, until she had met Fran, alongside the Sword named ‘Master’. Eventually, the two would come across a caravan very much the same as the one Fran was on when she used to be a Nameless, in which the two had attacked said caravan, and freed all the Nameless there, including a Nameless White Wyvern Dragonkin, whose name goes by Ruby, the moment the name was returned to her. And thus, the adventure of the three begins here.

Status, Skills & Abilities; Here

[Most skills are explained in the link, so if you’re uncertain about what something does, read it there.]

Status

Level 48/99

Class: Mystic Archer

HP: 780 MP: 800 Strength: 230 Vitality: 280 Agility: 300 Intelligence: 245 Magic: 320 Dexterity: 200

Skills:

-HP Increase: Lv 3 -MP Increase: Lv 4 -Passive HP/MP Recovery: Lv 8 -Automatic HP Recovery: Lv 7 -Automatic MP Recovery: Lv 9 -Presence Detection Lv: 5 -Archery Techniques: Lv MAX -Bow & Arrow Arts: Lv MAX -Magical Damage Reduction: Lv 6 -Cold Resistance: Lv MAX -Frostbite Resistance: Lv MAX -Pickpocket: Lv 8 -Augment Magic -Weapon-: Lv 7 -Dagger Techniques: Lv 5 -Dagger Arts: Lv 5 -Vigour Mastery: Lv 6 -Magic Mastery: Lv 7 -Night Vision: Lv MAX -Appraisal: Lv 6 -Space-Time Magic: Lv 5 -Dimensional Magic: Lv 1 -Dimensional Storage: Large -Blue Fire Magic: Lv 8 -Light Magic: Lv 8 -Skill Share

Received by Skill Share via -Ruby-

-High Speed Self Repair

Innate Skills:

-Empyrean Assimilation: A unique innate skill in which Blair can gain a skill from whatever she eats. Its not limited to cores, as she can simply bite a piece off of something, and she would be able to learn a skill from it. Be it flesh, equipment, or an item, hence why she’s an item and skill junkie, in the first place. However, if its something organic, and she wants the full skill at its peak, she has to eat it when its dead. Eating it while its alive, however, and she gains weaker versions of the skill. Additionally, she can only take up to two skills of her choosing per devour.

-Dominus: A unique skill that works in two ways. One, it permanently increases the user’s attack higher than usual, and it also further permanently increases the user’s crit rate. The only thing is that the skill will only trigger against enemies who are of the same level as the user, or even higher, with the stat boosts being much greater the higher the enemy level is.

-Aspect of the Hunt: Exalted by the Goddess of the Hunt, this was bestowed upon Blair the moment she had mastered both her Arhcery Techniques and Bow and arrow Arts. Thus, with this, is granted Trueshot Aura, that not only gives the user immunity to the Blindness debuff, it also increases the likeliness of her ranged attacks hitting, and further amplifies the attack power of ordinary ranged attacks, as well ranged based skills, along with a permanent 25% boost on her attack speed. Furthermore, any archery based skill would cost 50% less, and recover 25% of the original MP Cost, should the skill hit its mark.

Special Skill:

-Golden Lupine’s Cosmic Insight

Titles:

-Undead Killer -One Man Army -Evil Killer -Lord of Archery -Goblin Killer -One Who Slaughters -Hardened Survivor -Dungeon Conqueror -Big Game Eater -Demon Killer -Blue Fire Mage -Light Mage -Lord of Hoarding -Monster Annihilator

Equipment: Golden Lupine Set

Name: Golden Lupine Armor Defense: 180 Durability: 800/800 Effect: Instant Death Negation, Damage Reflection, Magic Recovery ↑ High, Debuff Resistance ↑ High

Name: Golden Lupine Sleeves Defense: 85 Durability: 500/500 Effect: Strength ↑ Mid, Accuracy  ↑ High, Steady Aim

Name: Golden Lupine Boots Defense: 65 Durability: 350/350 Effect: Swift Movement Boost, Fall Damage Reduction ↑ High , 50% chance to not trigger ground traps

Name: Golden Lupine Belt Defense: 25 Durability: 400/400 Effect:  Abnormal Attribute & Status Recovery ↑ Mid, Magic Rebound, Poison Resistance ↑ High

Name: Golden Lupine Cape Defense: 80 Durability: 700/700 Effect: Intelligence ↑ Mid, Equipment Self Repair, 65% Chance of the recent skill to be cast twice, Blue Flame Magic Boost

Name: Golden Lupine Shorts Defense: 50 Durability: 350/350 Effect: Appraisal Block, Item Box (Large), Agility ↑ Mid

Name: Cosmic Mystic Bow Attack: 750 Magic Conductivity: S Durability: 4500/4500 Mana: 6000/6000 Effect: Bottomless Ammunition, Blue Flame Magic Boost, High-Speed Self Repair, Space-Time Magic, Devour Mana, Self-Evolution, High-Speed Incantation, Projectile Homing

Name: Equinox Daggers Attack: 600 Magic Conductivity: A Durability: 3000/3000 Mana: 4000/4000 Effect: Mana Burn, Projectile Homing, Attacks have 5% Chance on inflicting the Silence debuff on enemies, Attacks have 15% Chance poisoning the enemy, Light Magic Boost, Weapon Recall, High-Speed Self Repair, 3% Chance Inflicting Mana Break on the enemy

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Six Shots OCs

Set in an alternate timeline where superpowers are a thing and the United States government has a department of superpowered mercenaries who work to either recruit or terminate the most dangerous superpowered individuals around, the empathic gunman Eric Madden is tasked with taking down a superpowered serial killer known as “The Jersey Devil;” however, his dark and troubled past rears its head and complicates matters.

Keep in mind all of this is WIP and some stuff may change. Questions, comments, and feedback is appreciated. First up, though, here’s some trivia about the actual story itself:

The story actually has this working title due to originally being a story about assassins that was abandoned a couple years ago. It was changed due to too many fantastic elements creeping in, so it ended up being retooled to have superpowers and accommodate abandoned OCs.

That original idea actually spun off from original ideas for a different one of my stories.

HEROES

Eric Madden

Born and raised in the town of Bedlam, Maine, Eric had a rather uneventful childhood until the age of 16, when his hometown was razed and burned down in a horrible incident that left him an orphan. Taken in by the DOSI team that arrived to clean up the mess, it was soon understood he had the extremely useful powers of empathic reading and heightened senses; after training him for years, he became one of their most useful field agents.

He is 27 years old.

He has a dirty blonde hair, is 5’11”, and has blue eyes.

His power in more specific terms is that he is able to sense the emotions and intent behind them in people, thereby making him something of a living lie detector. He also has heightened senses that allow him to react incredibly quickly to anything his opponents may do, making him incredibly good at dodging hits.

He is a trained dancer, and did theater when he was in high school. He often utilizes the flexibility and movements learned from dancing in battle.

He wears special prescription glasses that allow him to focus his eyes better without straining himself.

He is a bit arrogant and cocky, and often goes on missions listening to music on an MP3 player, trusting his innate abilities to keep him safe.

He has trust issues which stem from a traumatic event from his youth.

He is ambidextrous.

He is bisexual with a preference for women.

He is engaged to Emmy.

He really thinks the Beatles should have disbanded in 1998, as he feels their post-80s work to be incredibly subpar.

His name is a holdover from the original concept for the story, in which he was part of a Seven Deadly Sins-themed hitman group in which he represented Wrath, thus the last name “Madden.”

His favorite song is “Pussy Control” by Prince.

Emmy O’Riley

Emmy O’Riley spent much of her childhood dreaming of excitement and adventure; at the age of 15 she got her wish, when she was swept up in a conflict where British agents were tracking down a superpowered refugee. Using her innate abilities she was able to drive them off, which attracted the attention of a local gang of rebels who fought back against British agents who came to Ireland. Befriending one of the members, one Primrose Cluain, she and Prim spent the next few years fighting off the British before they were swept up by DOSI after being framed for a terrorist attack in London to protect them. Emmy became a valued agent, and met and fell in love with Eric Madden.

Her hair is naturally black but she dyes a green streak into it.

Her power allows her to, for an hour at a time, cause any one small object to be able to infinitely replicate in her hand even if it somehow leaves it, essentially giving her infinite ammunition. For example, her preferred weapon of choice is throwing knives; with her ability, after she tosses the knife a new one will appear in her hand. There are limits, however; she can only give this ability to items she can hold in her hands, and only up to ten at a time (which allows her to use smaller throwing knives and shurikens in multiples). The original item and all copies also dissolve after some time. This ability also only works on inanimate objects and cannot work on living things, nor does it work on food.

She is 5’7”.

Her eyes are green.

Her favorite movie is The Green Mile.

She has a scar on the back of her left shoulder from a British agent stabbing her.

She is heterosexual.

She is 28 years old.

She is engaged to Eric Madden.

She’s totally into the punk style.

Her favorite band is the Ramones, followed closely by the Sex Pistols (the only British band she really likes).

Scarlet Love

Unlike many of her coworkers, Scarlet does not have a tragic backstory or a rough childhood. Raised by loving adoptive parents, after she was contacted by DOSI after her powers developed she jumped at the call.

She has the ability to control the flight path of projectiles she fires so long as they remain in her line of sight.

She favors the use of revolvers over any other type of gun.

Scarlet Love is not actually her real name, but a name she took during childhood.

Despite not even being from the West, she absolutely loves dressing like a cowboy.

She is extremely hyper, energetic, and cocky.

She is unabashedly gay.

She is engaged to Primrose.

She is almost always the Agent of the Month.

She is 5’7”, has greenish-gray eyes, and dyes her hair pink.

As a character she is primarily inspired by Hol Horse from Stardust Crusaders and to a lesser extent by Revolver Ocelot from the Metal Gear series.

Primrose Cluain

For much of her life, Prim just wanted to stay low and avoid confrontation. She didn’t want to be a hero, she didn’t want to fight the British. But then came the day her parents were nearly killed with a car bomb, and all bets were off. As mentioned in Emmy’s bio up there, she fought for years before joining up with DOSI to escape terrorist charges falsified by British agents.

She has the power to create illusions, though the bigger the illusion the more strain it puts on her. She usually teams up with Scarlet to cover her weaknesses, as she can create illusory Scarlet’s so that she can get into a position where she can redirect her bullets unimpeded.

She has a rather soft voice.

She prefers to go by “Prim.”

She is a lesbian and is engaged to Scarlet.

She favors wearing black dresses, no matter the weather.

Despite absolutely hating the British, she is a big fan of The Cure. She hates The Beatles though.

She’s also a big fan of My Bloody Valentine, with Loveless being her overall favorite album. She also likes Nirvana, especially their seventh album.

She absolutely is into the Goth style.

She’s 5’9” and has black hair and blue eyes.

Alexis McDowell

From a young age, Alexis was on the run from British authorities due to her powers manifesting early. At the age of eight her parents were struck down by British agents in front of her, and she only barely managed to escape. From there, she spent much of hear early life lying, cheating, and stealing to survive, eventually joining a street gang and rising through the ranks until she took over. Nowadays she harbors superpowered individuals and fights back against the authorities, all the while trying to make Britain a better place for her infant children to grow up in.

Her power is extreme durability. She has incredible stamina, speed, and very tough skin, making her very hard to bring down in a fight. 

She does not do well in cold, and it seems to be her kryptonite, so to speak, though it doesn’t weaken her skin.

She is 32 years old.

She has dark red hair.

She is 5’5”.

She has a tic where she’ll throw the word “right” at the end of her sentences. This was something she picked up from her father, as opposed to most of the rest of the way she talks which she picked up from the thugs she hung around with on the street.

She has two children, Lyn and Caleb, ages 4 and 3.

Nadia Rosemont

Nadia was the older daughter of Dario and Poppy Rosemont. From birth they knew Nadia was different and special, and tried to help nurture her and make sure she stayed on the right path. She was especially helped by her younger sister, Dahlia, but when Nadia was disaster struck and, in a freak accident, Dahlia drowned in the lake outside their home. Nadia’s power, which was until now mostly kept in check, lashed out, and she accidentally killed her parents as they came to see what happened. Horrified, Nadia fled. While she never turned herself in, she lived with the guilt and became more tense and anxious as the years went on, desperately wanting to just live a quiet, peaceful life and not hurt anyone anymore.

Nadia’s power is an extremely powerful form of psychic energy attack. Typically activating when she is under great stress, it manifests as semi-visible pink tendrils of psychic energy emanating from her back that are razor sharp and can cut through flesh with ease. They have an effective range of 20 meters. However, while they can cut through flesh, they are not capable of any feats of strength and are rather unwieldy when it comes to grasping or picking up things. This is because her powers are not fully realized to the stress and trauma stemming from her childhood.

Nadia’s hair is white, not from her trauma but because she was born with it.

Nadia has brown skin, inherited from her mother’s side. Her sister Dahlia was white.

Nadia has some form of autism, though certainly a very high-functioning form. She does not like making eye contact, is not good at social interactions, and so on. This is explicitly based on myself, so if this does not seem to apply to you, that’s why.

Her favorite food is key lime pie.

Col. Richard Freeman

The guy that Eric, Scarlet, Prim, and Emmy answer to. He has been working at DOSI for thirty years, and has seen a lot in his time.

He has no powers himself. However, his mother did, which inspired him to join DOSI to help people like her find a place in the world where they can make a difference.

He is 65 years old.

ANTAGONISTS

Valentine Leeds

Born the thirteenth child to an alcoholic father and a long-suffering mother, Valentine was often subject to his father’s ire and his sibling’s torment growing up. His mother was his only support, and she taught him that no matter what, he should always smile through it and put on a happy face. His mother eventually killed herself, and with her gone, his last bit of self-restraint went with her. At the age of thirteen, Valentine used his power and killed his father and siblings before falling off the grid and blending into normal society. Over the years he would continue killing people, earning the moniker “The Jersey Devil” in reports but never being apprehended due to his power’s unique properties allowing him to avoid detection. His sweet and cheerful personality belies a completely insane murderer.

His power is an extremely strange and deadly one. When activated on himself, it gives him an incredible boost to his strength, speed, stamina, and durability, allowing him to do things like climb walls and effortlessly tear people in half. His power’s secondary ability lets him call forth a physical manifestation of his powers from his shadow, rendering him seemingly powerless. This has allowed him to avoid having to register and to avoid detection at all, as he merely needs to detach his power whenever he is in danger of being detected and hee will slip beneath notice. This physical manifestation is an embodiment of his hatred and rage that has been repressed all of his life.

He is 21 years old.

He is black.

He is not dishonest, and his happiness is always genuine.

He really doesn’t like to swear all that much, at most using mild language.

He dresses a lot like Michael Jackson in the “Thriller” music video; at the very least, his signature look is that stylish red jacket.

It is very rare to see Valentine without some sort of smile on his face.

He is in part inspired by the character CB from Starlight Express, at least in terms of being a seemingly innocent and cheerful young man who is actually a completely insane serial killer.

His first name is a reference to the villain of Kingsman: The Secret Service.

His last name is, of course, a reference to the legends of the Jersey Devil.

His power function similarly to Stands from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

The monster he can summon as a manifestation of his power is named “Loveless.” This is a reference to the album of the same name by My Bloody Valentine.

His favorite song is “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson. Jackson is also his favorite artist.

Roxanne

Roxanne had a rather troubled childhood. Her mother died giving birth to her, which led to her father being emotionally distant to her, which ultimately led to Roxanne attempting suicide. The attempt failed, but the attempt left her permanently blind. During her stay in the hospital after this, no one visited her, which led to her completely cutting ties with her father and the rest of her family. She would go on to become a serial killer who targeted happy families, killing at least one person to make them miserable. 

Roxanne’s power is electrical elemental abilities. In particular, she has perfected the use of her electric abilities to paralyze her opponents, something she uses to keep her victims from struggling too much.

Roxanne has specially made red-tinted sunglasses that allow her to see, as they are hooked into her optic nerves. However, she can only see everything in red-tinted colors or infrared.

She always wears a scarf at all times to cover the scars from her attempted suicide.

She is 6’ tall and rather slim.

She is a redhead.

She is named after “Roxanne” by The Police.

She is a bit irritable.

Yuriko Himura

Moving with her mother out of Japan to get away from her father at the age of 6, Yuriko would soon find a new home in the town of Bedlam, Maine. A shy and nervous young girl, she soon found a friend in a young Eric Madden and the two became inseparable for much of their childhood.

Then her father found her.

Her father was a member of a cult known as The Faces of Death, and when she was 6 he managed to catch up with her and attempted to initiate her into the cult. Whatever he did, it ended up awakening her repressed powers and drove her mad, leading to the destruction of the town of Bedlam and Yuriko’s descent into constantly seeking more powerful enemies to kill.

Yuriko’s inherent power is shadow manipulation. She can teleport using shadows, though the shadow has to be big enough to fit her (she can’t hide in the shadow cast by a toaster, for instance). However, she also has the ability to control and manipulate any shadow into attacking at her command.

Yuriko has a secondary power that is inherent in the katana she wields. The katana has the ability to absorb portions of the strength of any person she kills with it, and so as long as she holds the sword she has the raw strength of all these she has slain with it. It is unknown who forged it with this ability, but it is known the Faces of Death cult had it in their possession for a long time. Whenever the current wielder is killed, the power entirely resets.

Yuriko practices a sort of ritualistic necrophilia. If she views someone she kills as particularly honorable, she has sex with their corpse. This was likely instilled in her when her father initiated her into the Faces of Death, as the cult has a history of necrophilic practices.

Yuriko is 5’7” tall, has black hair, and dark brown eyes.

As a child, she was rather infatuated with Eric.

She has a tattoo of a serpentine dragon on her back, which she got during her initiation.

ANTAGONISTS: ENIGMA

Kristoph Hollenfeuer

Kristoph Hollenfeuer is the end result of a Nazi breeding experiment from WWII to produce the perfect superpowered soldier. Unfortunately, he was forced into cryostasis until the late 80s, when he was awakened and trained to use his powers. From there he took over as the head of the Secret Nazi organization known as Enigma, and has since been working on ways to subtly undermine democracy ever since as well as create the ultimate superhuman lifeform.

His power is the ability to generate flames, though due to the eugenics and Nazi science involved in his birth he’s a lot stronger than your average fire-wielder.

He is 44 years old, not counting the decades in cryostasis.

He is 6’2” and is naturally blonde-haired and blue eyed.

Hannah Schonheit

Enigma’s top scientist and the most trusted compatriot of Hollenfeuer. She has an absolutely brilliant mind and is responsible for many of their scientific breakthroughs in modern times.

Her power allows her to split off a copy of herself that has incredible strength but limited intelligence. She can only have one copy at a time.

She is 5′7″ with dark hair and light blue eyes.

She wears red-rimmed circular glasses.

She is secretly disdainful of Enigma’s ideology but she sees no escape without being killed for knowing too much.

She is 33 years old.

Fritz “The Mad Gasser” Bohnen

The only surviving child of a previous attempt at breeding a supersoldier. While he is incredibly powerful, he is also extremely dangerous.

His power allows him to emanate a variety of dangerous gasses or smoke from his hands; when he emits his gas, a hole in his palm opens and expels it. He favors paralyzing gas and tear gas but can do much more toxic gasses. 

He wears a gas mask at all times

He is 6′.

He is 27 years old.

He is actually rather talkative and outgoing, with an easygoing and friendly personality.

MINOR CHARACTERS & FAMOUS FIGURES

Tara Holyfield

A younger member of DOSI. She spends most of her time in the garden.

She has the power to easily dig through dirt, rocks, and the like. 

She likes to eat dirt. She has no idea if this is a side effect of her power, but she enjoys the taste.

She is always extremely happy and is perpetually upbeat.

She is 5′4″, with light brown hair and sparkly green eyes.

She is 20 years old.

Kevin Kilgore, Sr.

A legendary soldier from WWII. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest soldiers who ever lived, and he helped inspire the founding of DOSI.

His power caused all of his natural abilities to be amplified. He was faster, stronger, and more flexible than a lot of his fellow soldiers, and smarter as well.

Despite the above, Kilgore was extremely humble and never tried to lord over his fellow soldiers, believing them all to be in this Hell together.

He frequently fought against Enigma; they considered him their archenemy.

He is said to be the inspiration for Captain America.

He took the death of his son very hard; his son was killed in an ambush by German forces.

After the war, it’s said he adopted children who lost their parents in the war.

He lived to the age of 88.

He has a statue in DOSI headquarters.

Joshua Thorne

A US politician and a renowned philanthropist and enviromentalist. He generally acts as a correspondent between the White House and DOSI, though on some occasions people attempt to go behinds his back.

He has the power to control plants, a la Poison Ivy,

He is gay.

He is one of the very few openly superpowered politicians in America.

His hair is gren, which may be a side effect of his powers.

He was born into a wealthy family, but was taught to use his wealth to help others by his parents. He spent much of his youth doing chrity work and volunteering.

He is 35 years old.

He is very pleasant, happy, and genuine, which most people admire in a politician. 

Joanne MacMahon

A popular masked wrestler who goes by “The Dominator.”

She has the ability to control the elasticity of her kin, and can make herself incredibly hard or incredibly rubbery, allowing her to tank hits or bounce about. Aside from this, she is just naturally very strong.

She is 5′8″.

She is almost never seen without her mask on.

She is very kind towards her fans and often shows up to kids birthday parties.

She has recently attempted to start an acting career.

Chef Rusty

A celebrity chef. Real name Kaipo Mahi’ai.

He has the power to enhance the flavor of anything he cooks so that it is palatable to even those who would not normally eat it.

He is rather plump and is well known for his big walrus mustache.

He is rather plump.

He is 55 years old.

He is one of the most popular chefs on TV, and is a beloved figure in his native Hawaii. 

He earned his nickname during childhood when he tried to make soup in an old pot he bought at a thrift store. The soup he ended up making was filled with rust from the old pot.

Iris Ravencroft

See here.

THE THIEF AND THE SAMURAI CHARACTERS

See here.

SPOILER CHARACTERS

Lilith Crowley

Scarlet’s long-lost sister, the two were seperated at birth. Lilith has gone on to live a relatively pleasant life as a hitman.

She has the power to harness wind and create razor-sharp air blades.

She has white hair, which may be from some unknown trauma in her childhood.

She is almost identical to Scarlet. The only noticeable difference is their hair and eye color.

She is bisexual.

She is a big fan of the band Styx.

She really enjoys Pringles.

She is very particular in the cases she takes, and has a strong sense of justice, often doing jobs for lowered rates so she can enact karma on the wicked.

Sofia Kilgrave

Lilith’s partner and girlfriend.

She has the ability to envenom any object she wishes with a powerful neurotoxin; however, once out of her hands the item loses its poisonous capabilities and the poisoning is cured in her foes. She has control over how sever the poison is, and can do any sort of venom from a mild sickness to paralysis.

She is incredibly flexible.

She dyed her hair white to match Lilith.

She is 5′9″ with yellow eyes.

She is a bit clingy and overprotective.

She is based partially on Copperhead fom Arkham Origins and partially on an OC my fiancee created (I asked her permission before revamping her for here).

Bianca Murphy

A police officer who was mortally wounded during duty. She was reassembled as a cyborg by Ozymandias.

She was previously a police officer in the midwest. She was mortally wounded during a gang bust.

She is based on Robocop, though she’s not cyborgified to near the extent and her face is still visible.

Ozymandias Crowley

An interdimensional traveller, and Lilith’s son from another universe. He seeks out all iterations of his parents in the multiverse to kill. He is apparently from another version of this reality.

His power is an incredible variatian of technopathy, which allows him to control and manipulate machines to his whim. Combined with his brilliant intellect, he was able to figure out how to travel dimensions and fashion his own warship to do so.

He wears a cybernetic bodysuit of his own design, that regulates his body and increses his strength and reflexes by grafting itself to his spine.

He is generally rather even-toned and is most certainly a sociopath.

[stepphase]

Cyberpunk 2077 Download for PC? Official Video Games

Cyberpunk 2077 has invited you to explore Night City. Of course, there is a fictional metropolis on America’s west coast that is jam-packed with the crime, opportunity, and anything your black heart desires. After all, it is based on Mike Pondsmith’s tabletop RPG. As well as, Cyberpunk is a bleak game that sees the corporations.

In fact, both domestic and foreign keeps a stranglehold on the military tech, drugs, health care, virtually, cybernetic advancements. Everything in common person could need or want. As well as, you can play as a mercenary V. In fact, a person is caught up in a job that is lasting in repercussions throughout its story campaign. As well as, you must hack, shoot, and slice your way out of trouble in a sprawling, open-world action-RPG. After all, this is a highly anticipated PC game offers that is thrilling gameplay that you will love it. Also, atmosphere-oozing sights also sound and those hours of story that have heavy missions but it feels undercooked because of large and small bugs.

The State of Affairs

After all, the Cyberpunk 2077 society has spiraled in a state of Weimar like debauchery and decadence. With advertisements which is peddle of everything from the snacks to the sex plastered on nearly city facet. As well as, the Humankind has embraced cybernetic modifications. Also, every dinky neighborhood across town have a cybernetic mod. Which is called a Ripperdoc, also eager and they are ready to slap new and also, horrifying body enhancements in you for right price.

In fact, You will play as V. Of course, the mercenary who will takes odd jobs across the Night City vast underworld. After all, the game will start that you can customize V look, stat and background. As well as, its character creator is not particularly robust. After all, there are many interesting option which is to explore like tattoos and cybernetic facial implants. In fact, You are starting to stats boost specific talent that once you are into the game proper. like for an example I boosted V's Cool stats and Reflex. So its weapon and stealth and weapon perks opened up relatively early in my playthrough.

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After all, The background that you have select is determines V's prologue tutorial. And those impacts how you will tackle mission objectives. As well as, a side quest tasked a Nomad-based character with searching for a cop. Who has rocked the proverbial boat by investigating the criminals with clout than she had anticipated? In fact, no one knows the cop location. So it was up to if I will ask around. After all, an odd hooker recognized her, but the demand is a cash for the intel. Of course, V recognizes Nomad in the neighborhood who offer intel after a few if conversation. As well as, it's letting me bypass the sex worker extortion. After all, these Scenarios pop up regularly throughout 2077's campaign.

The Future You Chose

After all, this game is classic and future-noir tropes. As well as, its content is familiar to anyone who has played the Deus Ex games or seen the Blade Runner films are not present in the main storyline. In fact, they are prominently featured in Cyberpunk 2077 a lot of side missions. As well as, its campaign paints the world which has moved beyond its ethical quandaries which are trans-humanism raises. As well as, its Technology and synthetic is a part of everyday life. And its concepts like organic barely exist. Of course, everyone is enhanced in some ways and its culture is grown to embrace also fetishize cybernetic technology.

In fact, This campaign does not ask for big questions that set an action-packed journey through the flashy and bizarre Night City streets. After all, its side quests are where are the story's of the heart truly lies. Of course, it is similar to Assassin Creed Valhalla. In fact, Cyberpunk 2077 side quests flesh is out from the world and people in ways that its campaign does not. Also, the backstories add more to the narrative which should not be optional. In fact, they are essential for playing if you are ready for the full Night City experience.

Blast, Hack and Slash

After all, there are many ways that are to build V. As well as, you can go all-in just on hacking. That will give you the multitude of saboteur abilities that will let you hijack the cameras, defense enemies, and systems. If you will find yourself outgun, and hack grenades on your assailant’s belt and blow him. So nearby compatriots to kingdom come. Or else you can just use a local network to infect the enemies with the debilitations to prevent them from moving. The cool stat of umbrella houses all the assassination and sneaking abilities that you could want in. After all, if the poison, or silent movement, and the bonus damage undercover are more in your speed. This is the place where you have to invest your level-up points.

As well as, the skill trees are massive that is bloated by the passive boosts like reload speed, damage, or critical-hit chance. In fact, that is not to say that the unique moves and the abilities are not there. Also, you can build for melee damage, stealth, evasion, gunplay, and other combat styles. In fact, the skill tree is not nearly as expansive as it initially seems. After all, you will make many incremental improvements to your character rather than the larger ones that are more noticeable. In fact, I would have perks that are consolidated to have more impact. That delivers a smaller and more concise, skill tree system.

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After all, the combat is satisfying so thanks to the game's play style and the weapon variety. As well as, the Power Weapons is fancy lingo for the ballistics like machine guns, shotguns, and revolvers shred targets. Of course, you can easily decapitate assailants if you will pop them into the right place. Also, tech weapons will use railgun-style electromagnets to evaporate anything. If any problem you will aim at the disappears with the pull of the trigger. In fact, the smart weapons will target and curve the bullets around to the cover and corners. which will remind me of the silly weapon scene from The Fifth Element.

In fact, Melee is nothing to sneeze at it either. As well as, the bare knuckles do the surprisingly well in the scrap. But you can not arm yourself with a limb-hacking swords, good old bludgen, grappling mantis claws. Or the other body modifications that will enhance your brutish and physical prowess. After all, the enemies are resilient but not spongey like the shooter-RPGs. In fact, the foes to take a beating but they are stick around enough for you to get the creative that how you kill them. Of course, I had never felt to cheated what the game threw my way. Of course, I run the low ammunition regularly. because I went half on melee and running out of the ammo.

Kinks to Iron

After all, the Cyberpunk 2077 is the fascinating world and the great gameplay systems. In fact, the game is pack with bugs. As well as, sometimes the elevators do not load or do not work. Of course, enemies occasionally bug out and the mindlessly stand around waiting for you that you will shoot them. In fact, the characters teleport into scenes if they did not load properly. Also, NPCs drive through scenery and speed off in sunset. Also, the side quest did not complete correctly. Of course, I force to restart the game from the previous checkpoint.

As well as, these issues are the game-breaking problems and they are frequent. In fact, if you will buy the game at launch then you have to expect to see the bugs at play through. After all, the Developer CD Projekt Red have patch alleviate these issues.

Can Your PC Run Cyberpunk 2077's?

Of course, the Cyberpunk 2077 is open-world games. After all, this is grimy aesthetic off-putting. When compared to Deus Ex then the Mankind Divided's the clean and bright environments. Also, the Night City is larger and more interconnected to the world that is fallen on hard times.

Of course, the Night City is pack with a visual delights. Also, the car is interiors drip to detail and the streets is densely pack ads and cyber-enhanced NPCs. As well as, It is good to drive around the town also in the environments. After all, sitting in the shadow room and conversing with gangsters, clients, and kingpins looks stylish and cool.

After all, the game elements are not pulse-pounding action sequences stories. It is driven around the town during missions and enjoying Night City's sounds and sights. In fact, CD Projekt Red have craft world that visual settings suit PC and the game at best atmosphere.

Cyberpunk 2077 System Requirements

Of course, the Cyberpunk 2077 is the first game in Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 graphics card feel latest. After all, this game is default to the Medium settings on my gaming desktop. With CPU AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / GPU GTX 970 / RAM 16GB. In fact, this setting deliver best visuals that moved at 30 fps. Also, the Low frame rate will dance betweem 40fps and 50fps. But the gameplay is not smooth the visual hit. After all, playing on the High or Ultra High will drop the frame rate to 20s low that is not the trouble.

Of course, to play the Cyberpunk 2077 you have to need a PC that contains atleast the Windows 7 OS / CPU: AMD FX 8310 or Intel i5 3570k / Graphic Card: AMD Radeon RX 470 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 / RAM: 8GB / Space: minimum of 70GB or more. After all, the recommended system requirements setting is Intel CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200 or i7 4790 / Graphic Card: AMD Radeon RX 590 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and RAM is 12GB.

In fact, you can purchase the Cyberpunk 2077 at jsut $59.99 from video game stores. As well as, this game is supporting many features of steam like Steam Trading Cards, Steam Cloud, and Steam Achievements. In fact, this is full controller support. There is no way to make character stroll when using a keyboard and mouse.

Unpolished Gem

In fact, I was not impress with the Cyberpunk 2077. Because the distinct west coast grime turn me off and few perks that did not appeal to my play style. After all, I fell so good and fall in love with the Night City. As well as, if bugs can get iron out then the Cyberpunk 2077 is potential Game of the Year candidate. Here’s we are hoping that the CD Projekt Red will push out fixes.

We are here to hear from you

After all, you can contact us to let us know if we are missing something on our page. I hope you like it and thank you for your visit.

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[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #50

UPDATE 50: Parasite

Last time Shadow Stalker was baited and defeated by the Undersiders – all of them, including Skitter. Yeah, looks like she has reconciled with the Undersiders enough to work with them! It may be the first time they cooperate, because the Protectorate’s information stated Skitter worked alone. Let’s continue with a new arc: Parasite!

Yeah, now that the interlude arc is over, it’s back to Taylor’s point of view! Or more like Skitter’s point of view, because she is in Supervillain Mode right now, so to say. The Undersiders are inside a building filled with trash bags and litter. The services in this city aren’t active right now – for the most part – so the trash is piling up. The quality of life in Brockton Bay is pretty low right now, golly. Is everything like this in cities where major disasters happen? I’d suppose so. I think if I ever were in a situation like this, I’d be at a loss of what to do. Moving out of the city would be the option I’d like to do, but moving away and starting a new life requires a lot of money, and even more if you lost your possessions and home.

The reason why they are in this building is because they’re bringing Shadow Stalker here, Grue has her over his shoulder like she is a sack of potatoes. She’s going to be so happy to know her, hm, rival is the one carrying her, hah! Imp, whose ability, identity and backstory are still unknown to me so she’s more like a big question mark, is here too. Planning anytime soon to tell what’s going on, Mr. Wildbow?

You mean to say Heckpuppy hasn’t been a bundle of joy lately? Wow, who’d have guessed? She was never the cheeriest person in the team, but the loss of all those dogs must have been a rather rough emotional blow. They’re like her closest family, leaving aside the Undersiders who are, uh, not as close to her as her dogs are. At least I can say for sure that she isn’t the type to be mournful or get shellshocked by grief, she’s going to channel all that into rage.

Of course, I couldn’t deny that a big part of her attitude was me and the fact that I was here.

...right, that’s a—that’s a problem too. She sure must hate your guts right now.

The apartment they have decided to stash Shadow Stalker in has been abandoned. Everything that was useful or valuable was taken by the people that used to reside there, all that’s left is furniture. Good enough place to stay.

Tying Shadow Stalker to the chair is easy. Of course, they made sure to search for any weapons and ammunition she had – I’m convinced she’ll have a way to injure them even without her preferred weapons, so they better still be careful. The smartphone and earpiece provided by the Wards are taken by Tattletale, she’ll keep a watch on those, it seems, fiddling with the smartphone and making sure the GPS is turned off. All in order, but will everything be okay in a few hours?

Imp sure is talking to Grue with a lot of familiarity, mocking him, while Grue sighs and seems kind of...exasperated? Quite daring for a newbie, this Imp. Did Coil hire her like she did to the rest of the Undersiders? I doubt the situation was the same than how they found Skitter, so yeah, I think it’s likely she was hired. She can annoy everyone all she wants, but I’m pretty sure she would stay on the team unless she seriously botches a mission, which is pretty much impossible: no way Coil would hire someone who wasn’t good at villainy in every way possible!

The team is setting up the most basic appliances for a short stay. For a moment I thought they’d try to hook up Shadow Stalker to the generator somehow, I was already going all ‘what the heck’, and then I remembered her weakness to electricity. Say, by the way, Heckpuppy isn’t happy at all, and indeed, the more Skitter talks about this, the more convinced I am it’s because of her presence – and she’s raising some very good points as to why Heckpuppy would be so pissed off at her, leaving aside the whole betraying part.

I couldn’t blame her for being angry.  Her dogs, some of her closest friends in the world, had died because she had been saving me, only for her to find out shortly afterward that I had been a traitor.

Oh, definitely! Sacrificing her beloved dogs to save someone who had once intended to betray the team? Anyone would be angry! I wouldn’t be surprised if Heckpuppy came to the conclusion that was a stupid move, that she should have left Skitter die, but...yeah, I think she wouldn’t have left her no matter what, back then. Whether it’d be out of obligation to the team or because she didn’t want Skitter to die is up in the air, though, but I think...it’d be mostly because of the first reason, with a little bit of the second.

Get ready, Undersiders, Shadow Stalker woke up. You guys got a way to stop her from escaping at the first chance? Ah, right, they used extension cords to tie her up, cords they then connected to the generator and to the fridge. They weren’t getting ready for a short stay. It was to maybe keep a constant electrical current going through the extension cords. Wow, I should have realized that sooner. One more time I fail to notice something that seems obvious in hindsight.

As expected, Shadow Stalker isn’t scared or anything like that. She’s groggy, what after everything she went through. She doesn’t even deny she tried to kill Skitter, although...yeah, I think anyone can figure out why she’d try that. So what now? They can’t keep Shadow Stalker here forever, so what’ll happen now?

They all turned to look at Regent. This seems to get Shadow Stalker to freak out for once in her life.

Her eyes went wide behind the eyeholes of her mask, and she pulled hard against her bonds, “No!  Fuck! Have you seen his files?  You don’t know-”

...huh. Looks like I’m out of the loop in this. Now that I think about this, it was mentioned Regent has some sort of secret weapon, something he couldn’t use against Leviathan. That must be what has Shadow Stalker so scared. What does it entail? His power gives very momentary control of a person’s nervous system, making the target do involuntary movements, so...eeeeeh...maybe it’d be something along the lines of a much more powerful version of his power? Controlling a person’s entire body?

The problem about that is that I’m not sure why they’d bother to take control of Shadow Stalker. What’s their objective, what would they intend to do? That’s what puzzles me the most.

To make this work, Regent needs to be alone with Shadow Stalker, to make her comply, it seems. How long whatever he will do depends on how cooperative she is.

“Depends on her.  Could be fifteen minutes, could be three hours.”

She’s not going to go down easy. It surely is going to take hours, and by then I bet the Wards would already be alert, thinking something went wrong.

Looks like it’s time to play the waiting game. So...what’s up, guys? Feel like giving exposition about what has happened since the whole problem with Skitter happened? It has been, what, a couple weeks since then? Clearly a lot happened, what with the new team member and the loss of the place at the Docks and the other gangs rising to power. What has everyone been doing so far?

The part about the dogs shedding excess flesh never stops being gross.

Imp clearly isn’t very good at playing the waiting game. She wants to watch television, but since this apartment is supposed to have no electricity, they can’t. It’s imperative they go unnoticed. It doesn’t stop her from insisting, almost...whining. Hm. I’m not entirely convinced yet about this new development regarding Imp being a new part of the team...

Grue waited until Imp disappeared from sight before groaning, “It’s tiring, dealing with her.”

“All of us irritated each other when we first joined the team.  Give it time.  We’ll find a rhythm.” Tattletale reassured him.

Skitter didn’t irritate anyone! She blended quite well into the team. Looks like Grue thought the same, but refrained from actually saying it. I imagine that when the Undersiders formed for the first time, it took quite a while before they actually started behaving like a team...

...you know, now I’m wondering how each of the people here would be faring if they weren’t in the Undersiders. Would they have been in another team? Would they have stayed as rogues, committing minor crimes? Hm...

Tattletale and Skitter will watch out for anything strange while the rest sleep and try to kill some time. Good time as any to reflect on what’s going on, eh, Skitter?

We were doing this to Sophia, I told myself.  The same girl who had abused, insulted and tormented me almost every school day since I’d started high school.  She’d punched, kicked and shoved me.  Had ruined my belongings, insulted me, thrown food at me, humiliated me, and had goaded others into doing much the same things.  She was the one who had pushed me to that do-or-die point where my powers manifested.  If that wasn’t enough, she had tried to kill me less than an hour ago, not because I was a criminal that deserved the death penalty, but because I had seen her unmasked. I was inconvenient.

And with all that in mind, I couldn’t be sure that she deserved this.

Depends on what ‘this’ is. Having her body be controlled? Hm...hard to say. Sure, why not. It’s not like Shadow Stalker is some sort of saint. She has piled a lot of bad karma, to say the least. All she has done has been cruel, and it’s not like Taylor has been the only one who has suffered here, she has treated a lot of people like dirt. She doesn’t deserve death, so that’s out of the question, but personally I’m not going to feel any sympathy towards her.

The good thing about Skitter’s power is that it allows her to use them as sentinels, just in case someone comes. She can sit back, read a book, muse about how peaceful Heckpuppy looks among her dogs...

Nobody is having a relaxing time, Shadow Stalker is suffering in the kitchen, flickering between her shadow state and normal physical body. A way to try to resist against Regent’s power, perhaps?

Imp, I could sense, was taking apart the teenager’s room, finding CDs and DVDs and holding them up by the window, maybe to see them in the light, as I was with my book.  I hadn’t known her to rest in the three days I’d known her.

Ah, I see. So it has been three days since Skitter returned to the team. Yeah, her need to rest would depend on her power, there are characters already shown whose power makes them not need as much rest as other people. I can’t seem to deduce what power Imp has. Usually a cape’s name could be a good indication of what it could be, but with Imp I’m clueless. Imps are known for being...well...impish, so I’m expecting a trickster type of person. She kind of has the right personality for that, but I’m not sure what power she’d have.

Some time later of waiting and worrying, Skitter checks her insects’ reports. All in order...except that now Regent is unmoving and Shadow Stalker disappeared. Alarmed, Skitter stands up, says ‘fuck!’ and alerts everyone just in time for Shadow Stalker to appear behind her, shove her to the ground, and aim an arrow directly to Skitter’s eye. Nobody makes a move to stop her.

Shadow Stalker started laughing, then stood, holstering her crossbow.  I felt Regent stand in the other room.  When the kitchen door opened, he was laughing as well – the exact same cadence as Shadow Stalker.

...success! He did it! He is now controlling Shadow Stalker, and by the looks of this, he can even use her powers, judging by how she got all the way behind Skitter without anyone being alerted. The only way I can see that happening is if she was in her shadow state.

But yeah, they have done it! Way to go, team! You now have a Ward under your control. I really doubt it’s permanent, so I’m expecting there to be some sort of time limit. What I’m not sure yet is what’s the objective of all this. I doubt they’re doing this out of vengeance for Skitter, because no way she’s going to waltz back into the Undersiders and request their help to have revenge on Sophia Hess. Not only that, Skitter also was hesitant about all this. No, there must be something else going on.

It has been a while since I did more than one chapter in one single update, but since this one was shorter than others, I’ll go to the next one now.

The first line already makes this promising:

3 Days Ago

As I read just a moment ago, Skitter has known Imp for three days, so...looks like this is back to the beginning! I wonder...could it be that this chapter shows what has happened during these three days? Since the arc is called ‘Parasite’, I think it’ll be focused on Shadow Stalker being controlled, but I doubt Mr. Wildbow will summarize these three days in a paragraph or two and go for the current events.

This is going to be the first encounter with the Undersiders since Skitter left the team. Lisa, being as supportive as usual, reassures Taylor she will be with her. As long as Lisa is here I don’t think it’ll turn too ugly, although...I don’t have high hopes for Rachel’s patience. They go in. This building is...a temporal base, perhaps? It’s at the Docks, so yeah, it may be.

Aisha is here? Why is she here? Could it be that she is Imp? Hmmm...so, Alec’s reaction when Taylor enters isn’t welcoming, he sounds either in disbelief or annoyed, which is more than I had expected from Alec. I thought he wouldn’t react much. I’m more concerned about Brian and Rachel...better brace for impact, just in case.

Oh, there she is, the person I was dreading to see! Rachel strides forward and doesn’t waste any time in punching Taylor right in the face, knocking her to the floor.

“I deserved that.”

Hm, you may want to be careful, Taylor. I’m sure it isn’t your intention, but if they perceive you as you trying to make yourself look like some sort of martyr, they’re not going to like that. A lot of people don’t like when someone who betrayed them acts like a martyr.

Bam! A kick to the shoulder, Taylor is on the floor again. Thankfully, Lisa intervenes, telling Rachel to stop. I’m sure nobody expected her to listen, she’s not going to let her fury dissipate so easily. Also! Before I forget!

It spoke volumes that while Lisa stepped forward so she could defend me, Grue and Alec didn’t.

Oh, it speaks volumes alright! I can’t say I know what exactly is going through their minds, but not trying to stop Rachel is almost like tacit approval, isn’t it? They’re allowing her to hit Taylor. I’m pretty sure neither of them is as angry as Rachel is, but they’re not going to get in the way to spare Taylor. It sure must be horrible...to see the friends you trust not bothering to help you when another friend is kicking you while you’re down.

Nobody’s enthusiastic about talking to Taylor. Brian, who in the past would have been warm if a bit subdued, is far from welcoming. Sure, he stops Rachel from attacking further, but that doesn’t mean much once Rachel was allowed to hit Taylor a couple times.

He’s going to believe Lisa’s testimony – I’d hope so!

He leveled a serious look at me, “Lisa said you were, and when it comes down to the two of you, I’m going to choose her.  What Armsmaster said made too much sense, and a few of the little things about you suddenly made a lot of sense.”

Yeah, anyone would trust what Lisa says, and she has been in the team for longer than Taylor, anyway. I don’t think Brian expects Lisa to defend Taylor and advocate for her, though. You know what I’m a bit worried about? That even if Lisa vouches for Taylor’s honesty, they don’t believe her, thinking she just wants to cover for Taylor and get her back in the team no matter what.

Even though Taylor insists she did once want to betray them and then changed her mind because Armsmaster is a jackass – true as truth – and that she thought of them as friends, nobody is in a hurry to believe her. Only Aisha and Lisa refrain from glaring at her. Man, maybe...maybe Taylor should have talked about this when she changed her mind. Sure, it would have damaged the friendships and I’m sure Rachel would have been just as pissed off, and Brian would be disappointed, but maybe at least she wouldn’t be treated like trash a dog brought in. I’m still unsure how Alec would feel. He’s angry too right now, that much I can see.

Taylor is being as sincere as possible, but they don’t believe her. Even after she pours her heart out, Brian is dismissive and even stops Lisa from speaking, insisting in making Taylor explain herself with her own words. Come on, Taylor, you can do it!

I turned to Brian, “You remember when we were on the way to your apartment, what happened?”

...huh? I’m not sure what idea she just got, nor where this is going. I hope Taylor knows what she is doing.

She is bringing up the awkward conversation from when she told Brian she was interested in him, and is forced to spill the details for Aisha and Alec’s benefit. She doesn’t go in much detail, but she admits what she told Brian back then.

“Ahhhh,” Alec responded.

“I knew it! Totally knew it from the second I saw you at his apartment!”  Aisha cackled.

Haha, everyone saw it coming! It’s a shame it didn’t lead anywhere, and I think it’s unlikely they’ll be in a relationship in the future either. Oh well. The thought of Brian and Taylor being in a relationship will have to be a nice thought, I guess. Somehow, this scores a point on Taylor’s favor, as far as Alec is concerned.

“I said bullshit,” Alec repeated himself.  “Taylor said it herself, she sucks ass when it comes to lying and being smooth.”

Goodness, blunt as usual! I mean, it’s true, but Alec sure didn’t mince any words! He argues that Taylor was sincere, that she can’t lie and be deceitful intentionally. The most she can do is lie by omission. Yeah, despite everything, Taylor has trouble lying, especially to someone she cares about. I remember the awkward and almost heart wrenching conversations she had with her father. I’m pretty sure a couple times she was close to telling the truth back then, partly because she didn’t know how to lie more.

Alec added to his earlier comment, “I don’t ever pay attention to that team drama shit, and I picked up on the fact that she liked you.  It was so obvious it was irritating.”

Yeah, it was. If even Rachel picked up on that, then it was very obvious. This defense isn’t the most flattering, but at least she has Alec starting to lean towards believing her, and that’s a win, isn’t it? Brian continues insisting her interest in him was an act.

“You don’t really believe that,” Lisa replied, “You’re pissed at us.  I don’t blame you.  I’d be pissed at us, too.  But you’re only calling her a liar because it’s a hell of a lot easier to be angry at her if you think the person you befriended was a fake.”

Denial does make a lot of things much easier to deal with, but in the end it’s not going to lead anywhere. I don’t think Brian is ever going to believe she was sincere, even if he forgives her for what happened. But yeah, the sides are clear now: Rachel and Brian are much more reticent to allow her back, and Brian even makes clear things won’t be like they were before.

I already knew that Dinah is the one thing that got Taylor to realize how deep she was getting in her role as a supervillain, and what the consequences of some of her acts were. I also knew that was the cause of the disagreement that led to Taylor parting ways. So where does all that lead? To Taylor’s current plan of action:

Lisa had convinced me.  I would only solve this by getting in Coil’s good graces, talking to him as someone he could respect and listen to.

...huh. Well she’s not wrong, it’d be much easier to do this while being inside Coil’s organization than while she’s outside. The problem I see is that Coil’s power will make it much more difficult to get away with it. This is going to need a lot of planning, ways to ensure you’ll succeed, some way to make sure any action you take won’t lead to a dead end. One misstep could mean the end.

Also...hm, respect? Eh, maaaaaaaybe. But listening to Taylor? That’s not so likely. It’s going to take ages before Coil listens to her, and I don’t think Taylor has the time to let everything continue for long.

So yeah, to achieve acceptance by Coil, she’ll have to work for him. It’s not going to be pretty but yeah, what other option does she have? She’s even willing to forgo her pay! All she wants is to be back in the team no matter what, because she can’t do anything while she’s out. Her personal feelings are a big reason for this, too. At least this time Taylor was honest about part of her intentions for returning, that’s once another point in her favor.

Alec is officially on Taylor’s side! Great!

“You’re wound up, Brian, maybe it’s Taylor being gone, maybe it’s Aisha and your dad getting attacked, maybe it’s the general situation with the city, but it’s getting miserable to be around you.”

...oooooh, I think I get it now. So Aisha and her father got attacked recently...did I get it right? If that happened, could it be that she had a trigger event, something that has turned her into a parahuman soon to be known as Imp? That’d explain why she is here, and why she was acting so flippantly towards Brian in the last chapter. Have a tentatively ‘welcome to the team’, Aisha!

It’s time for a vote. Aisha doesn’t get to vote, Alec and Lisa are voting ‘yes’, Rachel is voting ‘no’, so it’s up to Brian.

Brian shook his head, “I don’t know what to tell you, Rachel.  Alec’s right, for once.  We need her.  We need the firepower, out there, at the very least.  Looking at this objectively, I think I’d have to say we should keep her.”

So he chooses to leave aside emotions and focus on this from a purely pragmatic point of view. It’s undeniable Taylor is a force everyone in the city will have to watch out for, and her synergy with the team is pretty good. Having her in the team would increase their chances of success a lot. Those are Brian’s reasons to accept her back, and nothing more than that. Welcome back, Taylor!

“Thank you,” I said, quietly, to Brian.

Brian shook his head, “Don’t thank me.  Alec’s right when he says that we’ll probably get over this.  Maybe we’ll even become friends again and get to the point where we can talk about it.  But that isn’t going to happen today, and definitely not right here and now.”

I have faith that will happen. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to read it in person while it happens. What I don’t know is how soon it will be. I doubt it’ll be anytime soon, so...yeah, maybe in a few arcs? If it even happens on-screen. This will be something to look forward to, the possibility things will return to normal between Taylor and Brian. I don’t think Rachel and Taylor will be friends again, and Alec and Taylor seem to be on okay terms, so...yep, all is more or less back to normal except for Brian’s behavior.

And that’s what happened three days ago! Now it’s time to return to the present, to the times when Regent has been controlling Shadow Stalker. Should I take this as meaning this is a job from Coil? Since it clearly isn’t for Taylor’s personal gain, and I doubt the Undersiders decided to torment Sophia out of revenge and protective feelings towards Taylor.

Oh, looks like I was wrong. What they’re doing now is watch a building where desperate people who are affiliated with the Merchants are at: looters. They have provisions and stuff. So then does this mean Shadow Stalker is like a backup fighter? Do they intend to make her a, um, “honorary Undersider”, at lack of a better term? Like using her to have an advantage over their enemies. Besides, if word gets out that Shadow Stalker is cooperating with the Undersiders, that’d damage her reputation.

Desperation is quite the incentive for the looters to fight back. The Undersiders will have to be careful.

Apparently the looters stashed a small fortune here, surely under the orders of the Merchants. Somehow I find a bit hard to believe a bunch of desperate people and looters would stash a small fortune anywhere. They’d be likely to take some of that for themselves out of desperation.

Fighting them was really easy, and once the situation was under control, Shadow Stalker appeared and shot tranquilizing darts into people. Well, Regent is making her do that, Shadow Stalker isn’t so “kind”. One single superhero defeated a group of villains! That’s going to be a bit hard to believe, given how hard the Undersiders kicked the heroes’ asses during the dinner a few arcs ago, but hey, people gossip. I bet once the Undersiders are gone, the looters will spread the word about what just happened.

Once everyone was...sedated, or at least pretending to be sedated because it’d be hella stupid to sedate yourself when you’re in middle of enemy territory, Shadow Stalker calls for reinforcements, the PRT arriving soon. Shadow Stalker acts as dismissive and angry as usual. Can’t be too hard to act like that.

“Protocol states we use containment foam, especially when there’s an unknown.”

“The girl with the horns?  Mover three, teleports through shadows,” Shadow Stalker lied.  “None of them can escape restraints on their own.”

Lied, huh. So she can’t teleport through shadows...does that mean she can teleport through something else? A teleporter could be useful for the Undersiders, yeah.

“But if Grue uses his power-“

Shadow Stalker turned, then fired another dart into Grue.  “Satisfied?”

We’d drained the darts of the sedative, of course.  Still, I was betting Grue would have words for Regent after this was over and done with.

Oh, pffft, as if Regent would pass the chance to hit Grue gratuitously with a dart. So classy, that was. I bet he’d do it again if he wanted.

Apparently it’s still the same night Shadow Stalker was caught, it’s well past midnight now. Shadow Stalker rather rudely talks to the captain of the PRT group who came here, telling them to listen to her already and just shove the team in the truck.

So many ways this could go wrong.

We had safeguards, of course, including but not being limited to Coil’s assistance.  Still, there was something profoundly unsettling about allowing myself to be cuffed and imprisoned.

Ah, so their objective was to be arrested by the PRT without being subdued by the foam. That’s what Shadow Stalker was for, as a Ward, she’d be able to capture villains and call the PRT. The looters that were in the area saw Shadow Stalker defeat an entire team, and they will testify about it to the PRT. All in all, it’s not a bad plan, but I still fail to see what the point of this all is, because it’s very risky! The payoff better be amazing, they’re putting their freedom on the line here, even if they have Coil backing them up with his power!

Everyone is okay, if a bit roughed up. They’re taken to the PRT headquarters, the Wards came to see Shadow Stalker and receive the group she captured singlehandedly. It doesn’t seem like any of the Wards suspect there’s something off, maybe she wasn’t gone for as long as I thought she’d be.

“They were distracted, I picked them off.  That little freak that saw me with my mask off was wearing armor, so I had to resort to CQC,” Shadow Stalker made it sound matter-of-fact.

I had to look up that term. Close quarters combat, apparently. Good touch, the Wards are well aware Shadow Stalker wouldn’t have missed the chance to resort to that. Not all is good, though, Weld is sharp and demands to hear this week’s password. They have passwords in case someone is impersonating a Ward? Alright! Also, good to see Weld is being careful. This password thing would almost be a problem, if it weren’t for Tattletale being here. If there’s someone who could have guessed the password, it’s her, even if she can get it wrong.

Yep, that was easy. Not bad! Also!

“So,” Weld said, “Keeping in mind that Regent is the highest rated Master in the city”

He is? I did expect him to be known and feared, but I didn’t think he was the highest rated Master in Brockton Bay. No surprise there, though, his power’s ultimate move is scary.

Everyone starts bringing the Undersiders into the building. If their objective was to get in, then they managed to do it. Do you know what the problem I see is? Getting out. That can’t be easy, what with the Wards being here.

On one level, I wasn’t surprised to hear that.  I knew, cognitively, that she had that kind of personality.   But emotionally?  I hadn’t really believed it.  It caught me off guard to hear she was that big a problem in the Wards, as well.

It’s every bit as bad as you’d think it is, Skitter. To say Shadow Stalker is not a team player would be an understatement.

It’s rather good to see that Shadow Stalker’s earlier assault on Vista will bring consequences of some sort, even if it’s just a slap on the wrist. Or maybe not, this may be just to fool Shadow Stalker/Regent into revealing what’s going on, because Weld tells her to apologize to Kid Win. This guy is good! He’s actually making it more difficult to pull this off!

Lucky guess, Regent. Well done. It’s not enough, though, Weld demands to hear who exactly Shadow Stalker slighted earlier. Three options, 33% chance of getting it right. Let’s hear the answer!

“Clockblocker,” she guessed.

...welp. This mission is already going badly. It was nice to have things going according to plan for a while. Good luck, guys. Time for a rematch, just that the Wards are a bit different now than they were during the bank heist.

The chapter ends with Weld alerting everyone this is a trap. I’ll continue next time!

Next update: four updates

[alexanderwrites]

“I have a sense of humour, I laugh at Tony Danza”:  A retrospective of King of the Hill’s early years, 20 years on

The first scene in the first episode of King of the Hill sees 4 guys standing around outside, drinking beer, and talking about last night’s Seinfeld. The scene ends with the line “I tell you what man, them dang old New York boys. Just a show about nothing”. Right from the opening moments, we’re hit with a great self-awareness and a very 1990′s kind of irony, because King of the Hill, like Seinfeld, was a show about nothing. 

Maybe I should clarify. I don’t think Seinfeld really was a show about nothing (it’s a common misconception that the show ever sold itself as that. It never did - it was actually just the label George applied to his sitcom idea) but instead, a show that seemingly made something from nothing. Both KotH and Seinfeld were oddities of their time, neither of them housing notable gimmicks or concepts to base their episodes around. Instead, there was a looseness to both of their styles, and to the way in which they approached their subjects, a freedom to be their own thing which set them miles apart from their contemporaries.

When KotH came around in 1997, the other animated show to which it could most easily be compared to (on the surface, at least) was in actuality the furthest thing from it - unlike other animated family sitcoms, almost nobody has ever accused of KotH of ripping off The Simpsons. The shows were never rivals, due in part to KotH and The Simpsons being on the same network (KotH followed The Simpsons on Sunday evenings), but also because there weren’t many easy ways to compare them. Sure they were both animated shows about middle American families, but KotH had such a distinctive voice of its own that it’s possible to love both it and The Simpsons without making them battle it out for supremacy. In fact, their difference allows them to complement each other fairly nicely, and there are a lot of episodes of both shows that would pair well with each other. 

While South Park, which also came out in 1997, had an attention grabbing coarseness which allured both College kids and younger kids looking for something to watch when their parents went to bed, and The Simpsons was, well, the biggest show on earth, KotH had to carve out a niche of its own, but a niche big and stable enough for it to survive. It was a little show that had an impossibly enormous task to take on: to follow The Simpsons. And not just The Simpsons, but 1997 The Simpsons. Height of it’s popularity, biggest show of all time, The Simpsons. And remarkably, whilst also being one of the slowest and most idiosyncratic shows on Fox, KotH managed to do so. 

It was beneficial to the show that Creator Mike Judge had a solid history, creating the equally as unlikely cult hit Beavis and Butthead for MTV which, on looking back, shares a great deal in common with KotH. Both are shows that are distinctively recognisable and very much products of their time, and both function primarily as cult oddities that somehow crossed over into the general consciousness. Looking back on them today, it’s hard to believe they were as massive as they were; it’s both heartening that they did so well, but disheartening to think that they might struggle if they came along now. While KotH has a devoted fanbase, and, yes, a strong presence in memes (Mike Judge’s classic Office Space, which is as close as you can get to live action KotH, similarly has been immortalised in memes) and youtube edits, these are primarily perpetuated from built-in fans who grew up on the show. But, maybe in the age of Netflix, we can hope that new generations will keep discovering it (the catch-22 of streaming services is that while they might reignite interest in animations like KotH, they force us to remember that animations such as Drawn Together existed. Shudder). It’s not that common to hear much mention of KotH outside those who dearly love it, which has as much to do with its unassuming style as it has to do with the fact that it’s the shortest lived of the Big Animated shows. The show went out on top after a damn impressive and consistent 13 seasons, at which point, despite solid ratings, it was cancelled to make room for the short-lived and poorly received The Cleveland Show. If you could possibly need more ammunition to hate Fox repeat that to yourself: King of the Hill was cancelled to make room for The Cleveland Show.

Right until the end, KotH was well received and admired, and the consistency it maintained was not just of quality but of style. What was essential to its success was that instead of needing to shake up the style or the voice of the show to simply keep it fresh, what it focussed on was developing and refining that voice. And it helped that the voice was pretty powerful right from the start.

King of the Hill’s first season was short but strikingly strong. At 12 episodes long, it has a tightness and sense of direction that serves as a sort of mission statement for where the show would go in the future. It’s kind of incredible to see characters presented in the very first episodes of a show that feel fully formed, and that more or less, remain the same throughout their 13 years on our screens. Like Seinfeld, Peep Show or, and stay with me here, The Sopranos, what makes King of the Hill’s characters work so brilliantly is that they are fleshed out people from the start, with the writers revealing essential and complex aspects of them over the years, rather than randomly gluing traits on to them in an attempt to shake things up. They always act in character. Everything you find out about them - their fears, prejudices, their weaknesses - are there from the start, waiting to be uncovered. But what also links these four shows is the maddeningly realistic difficulty the characters have in trying to change. It’s that frustrating feeling that they should be learning something, but a fundamental stubborn-ness - and humanness - hinders their doing so. And so, Hank is endlessly desperate to keep things the way they are, and Peggy is desperate to be proven right (and she usually is, by the way). But underneath that stubborn-ness, there is a sweet, kind-hearted want for things to be better, and for people to be better. And that’s what KotH is nearly always about - people struggling with every day problems and trying to grow from that, whether they’re successful or not. 

The second episode Square Peg, is an unusually good sophomore episode which follows Peggy trying to overcome her nervousness at having to teach a sex ed class. It’s a simple premise, but from it grows a story with character development - or at least an attempt at it - that feels natural to who Peggy fundamentally is. Instead of going off in absurd directions, the episode takes the time to explore the reasons that Peggy struggles to even say the names of sexual organs, and sympathetically follows her through her self-taught breakthroughs. It’s heartfelt, but funny - hearing Peggy enthusiastically shout “Vaaaa-ginaaaa!” is one of the biggest laughs of the season. 

Even in episodes that prefer to focus on something absurd like Bobby practicing flirtation and kissing on a plastic doll’s head, there is a truthfulness to the characters that make the silliness feel realistic. Of course Bobby would do that because he’s silly, awkward and kind of weird. But how do we know that? Because the show shows rather than tells us that in stories that are always on point and within the realm of believability (except, maybe for Hank’s clothes being torn off by a tornado as he holds on for dear life to a telephone pole. But that’s so funny that it doesn’t matter). The second season episode, Meet The Manger Babies, is one of the finest examples of how an inherently funny premise (and execution - Brittany Murphy’s voice work throughout this show was phenomenal) can still work even when it secretly hides a genuinely moving backstory. Luanne is revealed to be the product of a severely broken home, and a throw-away line when Hank points out that she has a natural talent with puppets reveals that she’s used to using puppets from her visits from social workers. The episode hears her talking bleakly about the world, about how everything is going to hell, and the story tells us that she just wants some sort of stability and reliability in her life; even if it is Hank showing up as God in her performance. The heartache of Luanne doesn’t detract from how funny the episode is, but it really does enhance it. A lesser show would’ve thoroughly mocked Luanne for putting on a christian puppet show, and while KotH does poke fun at some of the stranger products of Christian America, it also understands Luanne and gives reasoning to her beliefs. She’s not stupid for putting on the show, she’s just looking for answers and comfort in a world that has treated her awfully. 

While the complexity in these characters lives is evident, and while the show is frequently touching, it never forces on the viewer any easy or saccharine view of things, and never, even under the complex morality plays that occur, does the show stop being funny. Watching them back, these first seasons are consistently funny, with every episode providing a wealth of quotable lines. The second season episode, The Son That Got Away, in particular has an exceptionally high laugh quotient. Hank’s “Bobby, Al Yankovich blew his brains out in the late 80′s after people stopped buying his records” and Dale’s suspicious yet oblivious “How’d he know I wanted a beer?” in regards to Johnny Redcorn answering yes to Dale’s wife when she asks “You want a beer, sug’” are some of the hardest times i’ve laughed at this, or any show. 

It’s in the greatness of the scripting (Hank angrily telling someone “You take that back!” after they tell him John Wayne’s real name was Marion is the funniest possible reaction to that fact), but also in the voice work which is outstanding all-round. To hear voice work this good on a show from 1997 is unusual, and it’s even more unusual to hear a seasoned character actor playing a series regular - Stephen Root steals almost every scene he’s in as Bill. Kathy Najimy and Pamela Aldon both absolutely kill it with their voice work, making every punchline of theirs sell perfectly, whilst also bringing nuance to their characters. And Mike Judge has Hank’s voice down from the moment he speaks, intonation and everything. It’s always a blast just to hear the characters talk, and these early seasons prove that KotH is a contender for best Cast for any animated show, past or preset. 

There is a certain magic in these early seasons being hand-drawn. The character designs are distinctive and expressive (I personally adore the widening of Hank’s eyes when he’s in shock, and Bobby just looks so damn funny without even saying a word), and realistically detailed in a manner that fits the show superbly. With wider shots of the landscape and the town, it was often downright beautiful, with a warm mood and tone of its own that makes me miss hand-drawn cartoons very deeply. There is an attention to detail in it which mirrors the show’s excellent observation of both the positives and negatives of the small town in which they live. The satire is deceptively sharp, especially watching it 20 years on. A particularly good second season episode focusses on gender inequality in schools, and how under-funded the girl’s sports facilities are. It’s a sharp-toothed episode that exposes the ingrained sexism in the town, sexism that doesn’t leave itself at the door - Hank is one of the worst perpetrators of it in the episode. And we get one of the best and most prescient lines of dialogue about sexism i’ve heard in a show - when Bobby faces the fact that he will for the first time have to prove himself as a good Wrestler to stay on the team instead of automatically having a place now that a girl has joined and there are less spaces, he says “Yeah, and it's worse when they take away our favours, 'cause we're used to getting them.”. That line is applause worthy, and a good example of how good KotH was at tackling sexism. It gets extra credit for making a point to not make the girl, Kahn Jr, feel guilty for joining the team and instead pointing directly at the school and staff’s sexist policy and their refusal to cater in any manner for the girls of the school.

As well as sexism, racism is satirised when a Laotian family move onto the street, and characters, ‘likeable’ or not, performed painful but realistic and well-observed displays of racism, be it hateful or just ignorant. KotH didn’t shy away from these subjects and we should be glad that it didn’t - it was a satire, after all - one of nuance and experience that wasn’t afraid to pick out its characters flaws and expose them, always to strong and funny effect.

From episode to episode, it could bounce from functioning as a broader animation, to a social satire, to a heartfelt character study, and was often all these things at once. The episodes that i’ve rewatched lately from Seasons 1 & 2 are miraculously good - watching them again after so long feels like seeing an old friend who you realise you still have everything in common with, and not only that, but there are new things you didn’t realise you liked about them. The references to Seinfeld in the first episode might sound dated, but the only way in which KotH has dated is in the fact that there’s nothing like it on TV today. I didn’t just compare it to Seinfeld because they’re both 90′s comedies, instead I compared it because it’s the only comedy as methodical, precise and in its own unique mould that I can recall that managed such great success (and The Simpsons. But if I start talking about The Simpsons, I will not stop). I’m eternally grateful that KotH made it to 13 seasons (13 Seasons!!! That is A LOT of TV!!) and i’m excited to keep going with this rewatch, especially as there are dozens of episodes I didn’t see the first time around. It’s a warm but alert look at subtly flawed people - flawed in the every day sense - and a show that deserves to be remembered as one of the best comedies, animated or otherwise, ever made. 20 years on, its status as a classic only becomes more concrete.