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netherworldpost · 1 year

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With the various rumors and releases of Tumblr possibly changing how they do things... (gestures to the vague rumor mill)...

Zines.

I really think we as Folks Who Make Things and Folks Who Like Art Writing Poetry Music Comics Other Things need to explore zines. And I mean ZINES. Nothing glossy. Nothing fancy.

Very. Cheap. Zines.

I've been threatening mentioning I was going to create a guide on how I'm going to approach this -- and I'm going to -- but I am also realizing in the writing I Do Things Highfalutin because I am who I am + had a career in graphic design.

Let's talk about how you can make a zine very cheaply and very pretty.

STEP ONE: SUPPLIES

Very bright paper. I like "Astrobrights" because they are absurdly bright. Here is a link in a store I like. I buy a lot of paper and envelopes from them. You can generally find Astrobrights in big box office stores. It prints on laser printers and ink jet and photocopiers.

Very bright envelopes. What's that? Astrobrights has envelopes?! AM I SOLVING PROBLEMS let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Letter paper is 8.5" x 11" and is the most common size in the united states (overseas folk will have to use this advice with a grain o'sea salt and search yer own waters).

A9 envelopes are a letter sheet folded in half.

A2 envelopes are a letter sheet folded in half, then folded in half.

#10 envelopes are your common long envelopes, letter paper folded in thirds.

Pick the size you like.

If you want to get big and fancy, Tabloid is 17" x 11" -- so double a letter sheet. This gets tricky to work with but is neat in sizing.

STEP TWO: ZINE CONTENT

Do you know how to use InDesign or similar program? Use that.

No? Use Google Docs or Word or whatever other program and ramble.

Want something special? Write out some or part with a sharpee or pen.

Mix and match both.

If you are feeling fancy, design it like a booklet -- mock up a sheet of blank paper as if it were a brochure. If not, just design it straight up and down like a letter. There are no zine laws.

STEP THREE: ZINE PRINTING

Print at home on your home printer.

Don't have a printer at home? Print it at work (don't get fired)

Can't? Your local library may be able to help.

You need 1 copy on white paper.

FedEx Office has photocopiers. Your local library may too. Or your job.

Print 1 copy of your zine on white paper and then photocopy the rest onto colorful paper (or white paper, it be yer zine seadog).

Or print everything on the color paper if you have access to free printing, that's fine too.

The photocopy setup is purely "printing tends to cost more than photocopying."

If you want to slash prices, print 2 per sheet and have FedEx office cut them for you, this will cost $1 - $5 depending on how many sheets you are dealing with. This is for when you're doing a LOT of zines at once.

Or use their manual paper cutter yourself for free.

STEP FOUR: ZINE STAPLING

"Long reach stapler" is what I recommend. There are a few varieties. They tend to be $20 - $30.

Or just use 1 sheet!

STEP FOUR: ZINE POSTAGE

A single first class stamp for 1-2 pages. If you get up to 3+, go to the post office and ask them to weigh a comp you have assembled.

This is a guideline.

It's a really good idea to check at least once how much your zine weighs just in general. Post offices have scales. And are pretty. And have stamps.

OKAY ENOUGH LUSTING FOR THE POST OFFICE FROM THE GHOTS POST OFFICE BLOG BACK TO WORK

STEP FIVE: ZINE MAILING

This is actually the most difficult part. Label printers exist with various costs -- if you're starting out? Go with printable labels.

Your office supply shop will have them and they'll have templates you can drop in the customer addresses.

Save yourself time by using this label as the thing that seals the envelope -- don't lick envelopes.

A key tenet to staying in business is constantly reviewing physical (and mental) labor and stressors and reducing them as much as possible.

Return address labels are intensely cheap in literally every online printer, google "return address labels." Make sure you have this because at least a few of your shipments will come back to you.

STEP SIX: ZINE PRICING

Okay here is where we get uncomfortable because we're talkin' coins.

Prices are based on above links. You can get whatever paper you want, so this is guidelines. All numbers rounded up.

Payment processing ($0.30) + $0.05 sheet + $0.15 envelope + $0.66 first class postage = $1.16 base cost

$1.16 + 2.9% of $1.16 payment processing = $1.20

Plus taxes. I'm not getting into tax figures YOU DO THAT (just say 30% for easy math, this is not saying "your taxes are 30% or that mine are" I am saying "I am going to factor 30% for this equation to complete this guide".)

I did not include the mailing label (it will be $0.01 - $0.05 depending on how fancy and how many you buy) because you have the option to just write things and also it fits into the rounding of the above.

If you use Patreon, include your fees. Probably replace the above processing fees with your patreon processing... fees? I don't use patreon I don't know how it works.

Retail option 01: $1.50 - 1.20 = $0.80 gross - 30% = $0.09 / net / zine.

Retail option 02: $2 - 1.20 = $0.80 gross - 30% = $0.56 / net / zine.

Retail option 03: $3 - 1.20 = $1.80 gross - 30% = $1.26 / net / zine.

Should it be $1.50? Should it be $3.00? MORE? LESS?! That is for you to decide. Base it on what your zine contains, how long it takes you to write/draw/etc. it and how you want your flow to be.

STEP SEVEN: ZINE FREQUENCY

When my shop launches, it'll have a zine once a month. We are going to offer a subscription option + a "I just want 1" option.

You can do a zine monthly, or every few months, or whatever.

Keep in mind that the purpose of doing this is to break the dependency on social media marketing.

KEEP IN MIND AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER TO A CREATOR YOU LIKE THAT THEY ARE DOING THIS TO BREAK THEIR DEPENDENCY ON SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING.

If you have a lot of energy and an audience that comes to your shop a lot? Consider doing a zine monthly.

If you do not have a lot of energy and/or your audience is tapped for cash frequently? Considering doing 1 zine per season.

Consider 2 zines a year if that works better for you!

NO RULES ONLY JOY

Not sure? Experiment! Be upfront! "This is new. I'm figuring this out. Billionaires are tinkering with these things and we gotta figure something else out."

BONUS STEP: NETHERWORLDPOST.COM

so hi I'm atty and I'm your loud long rambler today

Netherworld Post Office used to be @evilsupplyco and now we are rebranding in prep of relaunching. Same person behind the rambles and comics, new name with a more focus (mail instead of mail + seemingly everything else in experiment)

if you enjoyed this ramble and/or like ghosts, monsters, witches, mermaids, and fun stories and projects focused on cozy Halloween, you may like us when we finish the rebranding and relaunching in autumn 2023.

email sign up (the zine will come when we are open)

WHETHER YOU JOIN MY LIST OR NOT

I really, really, really hope you consider doing a regular, or irregular, zine. Something outside of email, something outside of social media, something that connects I MADE A WEIRD THING and the people who say I LOVE THIS WEIRD THING YOU MADE.

The walls are closing in on free social media as a platform for people who make weird things to build audiences for free or very cheap.

And with that...

netherworldpost.com as one final hat pass

good luck folks

thanks for listenin' to the ol' ghost

#small business #small business marketing #small business fun #zines #zine #making zines

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thewertsearch · 3 months

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EB: […] i'm not sure if i actually want to encourage you to go off fighting him… EB: because as strong as you probably are, it sounds like he is REALLY strong. EB: and even though you killed tons of people, i think i would still be pretty sad if you died. […] EB: so maybe you should just let us handle it? at least we won't fight him directly.

Well, if you actually manage to destroy the Sun, Jack will be significantly weaker, albeit still threatening.

If we can't convince Vriska to back off, maybe we can convince her to at least delay her attack. Once Jack's no longer a First Guardian, she'll be able to swoop in for a duel she could actually win.

Against Semi-Perfect Jack, I'd give her even odds - but what are the odds if she leaves now? Does she stand any chance against a Jack at the height of his power?

Well, maybe. I know I just joked about her getting annihilated, but Aradia did prove that God Tier powers work on him. Vriska's luck stealing is capable of some pretty astounding feats, but is it really enough to compensate for their enormous power differential? Luck can only take you so far, after all.

I'd give Perfect Jack a huge advantage in this fight, but a Vriska victory isn't completely out of the question, and I can see a few ways she could clinch it.

For example - what are the odds of Jack's Ring falling off?

Is it a million-to-one chance?

Is it a sixteen-million-to-one chance?

AG: You know how I said I couldn't rel8 to the attachment you have for your guardians? […] AG: Well, I guess that isn't completely true. AG: There are adult trolls who we can rel8 to, if we choose to, and if we are lucky enough to discover who they are. AG: 8ut it is not really in a familial sense, at least not socially speaking, the way you understand family. They are more like figures of legend, who are said to have more in common with us genetically than any other troll. 8ut we can never meet them of course. Only look up to them, and follow in their footsteps, 8ecause they died centuries ago.

Wait, so Mother Grubs are sitting on the same DNA for centuries?

I suppose that's why they're ancestors, rather than parents. It's a little strange that Mother Grubs hang onto the same genetic templates for so long, but this is alien biology we're talking about. Anything is possible.

Can the same genetic templates be reused multiple times, then? Can one single ancestor have multiple descendants, allowing trolls to have siblings as well as parents?

...hey, they might even have grandparents! If every troll has an ancestor, then your ancestors will have ancestors themselves, and they'd be your second-order ancestor, too.

AG: I am completely certain it is true, and I know who mine is! AG: I have 8een doing my 8est to honor her legacy for most of my life. AG: I even named my roleplaying character after her!

So this is why she’s so gung-ho about Marquise Spinneret Mindfang. Lay it on us, Vriska!

don't think about baby vriska being forced to kill don't think about baby vriska being forced to kill don't think about baby vriska being for

AG: It was 8efore I ever started gaming, or rounding up other kids to feed my lusus. AG: I was nearing the age where I would 8e expected to feed her.

::::(

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #3472 #s128 #BAPY

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athforskz · 26 days

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More Random Ult Kpop Group Questions: SKZ Version!

I did something like this a while ago when I first started this blog. So it’s time for another round! Questions below the cut I'm marking as MDNI. Like before, feel free to use this template of questions for your own ult group & tag me (and some friends if ya like). I love to see everyone’s responses 🤗

Dumbest thing you believed as a new fan?

Oof… there’s a few things I fell for as a baby stay, technically I still am a baby stay I think, BUT here’s my uhhh list:

I thought Hyunjin had an identical twin brother.. 🫣 wait WAIIIT before you come at me, there was a rumor/joke going around at the time and obviously I didn’t know any better, so I believed it. There were even really good edits of Jinnie and his “twin” too. Then when I watched interviews where Hyunjin said he was an only child I was like ???? but eventually I figured it out.

I thought the sunshine twins were legitimately twins (they are) . Like biologically. Wtf is up with me believing twin things??

At first, I could NOT for the life of me tell the difference between Lee Know and Jeongin. No joke thought they were the same person. Which looking back on this one… how could I ever have trouble with them? They literally look nothing alike in facial structure and sound completely different in the way they talk & sing. Only thing they’re the same in is their menace behavior.

2. Favorite duo/ship?

Usually not a shipper type of person but in regard to favorite friendship dynamic in skz, it’s gotta be SeungChan. Just watch this and there’s my reason why. Jilix is a close second because, again, sunshine twins. Followed by MinChan because watching Lee Know with his only hyung is so precious.

3. Favorite Racha (or other mini group within the whole group)?

MeanRacha (Minho, Seungmin, & I.N) One of these 3 is literally always up to something. Causing chaos when you least expect it. The phrase “Lee Know is linoing” has become a favorite of mine because it always means he’s doing some menace antics again.

4. Favorite unreleased song?

There was a song that Hyunjin and Chan recorded years ago that Chan supposedly lost. We got a snippet of it and when I heard it I went feral because like Red Lights part 2???! PLEASE I NEED THIS SONG LIKE I NEED AIR! Chan like wtf do you mean you lost the track?! FIND IT. RECORD IT AGAIN.

Also, all the solo performances they did at the opening concert in Seoul for the DominATE tour. Yeah, I need all those unreleased songs to be RELEASED right tf now. Give us another Replay album! And Chan… ykw let me shut up and be good for once, but I just wanna say THE GRASS AINT WORKING

5. Favorite old song of theirs? Favorite song from their most recent project?

HEYDAY by 3racha. The whole song is a vibe but Jisung’s lazy rap when he first starts his part just does something to me 😩

In regard to the whole group, I’d say the song 'YAYAYA' is one of my go-to jams from their older stuff. I love the tempo changes, scratches my brain in a good way.

Now as for the new album “ATE” this may be controversial to say but “I like it” is my favorite. It’s just so catchy!

6. Has your bias/bias line changed?

Since the last time I did this, yes and no? I mean as I’ve grown more as a stay I can confidently say OT8! But if I was forced to choose I say Hyunjin no surprise there and Minho.

7. What about your wreckers?

Chan continues to wreck me every. single. day. Like it’s truly insane, that man KNOWS what he’s doing. I’d also like to add that I.N has been wrecking me left and right the last few months which I blame his hyungs for that.

NOW FOR THE UNHINGED QUESTIONS!

Please skip this portion if it makes you uncomfortable. This is the delulu brain talking.

8. Which member are you attracted to the most physically? What about emotionally?

Physically I’m going to say OT8! Like have you seen those MEN?! I would be lucky to even get a crumb from them like bffr. Changbin, Hyunjin & Minho

Emotionally probably Changbin & Chan. From the glimpses we get of their true feelings & perspectives on things I relate to them the most. Honorable mention for this one will be Hyunjin because he’s such a romantic and I wanna say Seungmin too. I feel like before we didn’t get to see a lot of Seungmin ‘off camera’ per se, but with his [Song by] series we get to see more of his real personality and thoughts.

9. If you ever actually had the chance, who do you think you’d work out in a long-term relationship with (please remember the first rule of Kpop)?

Probably, Changbin. Mans is a walking green flag. He’s a good listener, considerate of other’s feelings while still being honest. Always there for you. Funny af too. Overall, considering how I am as a person I think, Changbin would just be a good match for me. Like in my delulu brain me and Binnie would have that friends to lovers trope going for us. Even my dearest honey bun thinks so, she did write about it for me afterall💕

10. A favorite kink of yours and member to fit that kink?

To keep it somewhat light in the kink department I’m going to go with hands. And a member to fit it the best, aka who I think has the most attractive hands will go to Jeongin. Innie has giant and such well structured hands. Rings sit so pretty on his fingers too which makes me feral. Like AHHDKSISVJKDW please grip my wrists and throat sir! *ahem* I mean, please let’s hold hands 🫶🏽

Honorable hands mention will go to Minho because the veins on that man’s hands are just so ✨🥴

11. Favorite sluttiest choreography/move they’ve done?

Damn do I have a lot for this one *cracks knuckles*

The choreo for Silent Cry. Need I say more?

Anytime Hyunjin body rolls

Every single hip thrust/roll from Minho

The “POPPIN 🗣️” part in Maniac, especially when Binnie does it.

That one part in Charmer. Y’all know exactly what part I’m talking about.

Red lights. Need I say more, pt 2

The entire choreo for Taste. Bonus points to Minho when he did the special stage where he’s fucking hip thrusting from the side (I hope y’all know which one I’m mentioning here)

12. Most unhinged fic or edit you have enjoyed of them?

There’s a lot for this question too but I’ll keep it short. I’ll start with unhinged fics. I enjoy dark themes because let’s face it. Trauma. Please be warned these fics aren’t for the faint of heart, so if you read them, be warned. Some are lighter than others, but please read warnings!

Game Over feat. Seungmin & I.N by @sanakimohara

Games feat. I.N by @dandelions-143

Chemical Infatuation feat. Han by @hanjisick

ABANB series feat. OT8! by @doitforbangchan

The SKZ House series feat. Chan & Hyunjin by @writeonwhiskey

As for edits, there are even more that I enjoy. But I’ll only choose 1 for the sake of time and it’s only letting me attach one video.

Alright, that’s it! Thanks for reading if you stuck it out this far! I really didn't intend for it to be this long but it was so fun that I got carried away. Now for tags, I’ll go with my typical beautiful babes @doitforbangchan @jehhskz @torialefay + anyone else who wants to join!

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yiga-hellhole · 2 months

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hiii i was going to make more of these but i realized i cant be arsed for all of them in one big batch. anyway @smilesrobotlover thank you bestie for reminding me this template exists. too bad there isnt a slider for "beats the other up - is beaten up" because you know the boys are FIGHTINGGGG

some rambling under the cut

big spoon and little spoon is a straightforward one because well, you're not going to get a bigger damn spoon than zant. he's massive. but sometimes even he likes feeling small and cared for, so they're not beyond having him fold his spindly limbs up like he's a dead spider and let ghirahim scoop him into his arms

i don't see them as a big "sharing clothes" type of couple. ghirahim's are far too small for him and his wardrobe flusters zant to no end. inversely, ghirahim wouldn't be caught dead in most of zant's things. but zant would find a lot of enjoyment in giving him clothes

pet names, ghirahim has like 2~3 for zant that he uses, and they're never particularly sappy or anything. zant however makes up new ones every other day. he's sick in the head

introverted-extroverted scale is a little complicated because ghirahim strikes me as more ambiverted. he's well-versed socially and loves attention, specifically loves bullying people, but after spending so long in solitude without proper peers, i think being alone has grown rather comforting for him too. who knows how it'll pack out when he has more like-minded individuals around him? i'm not sure yet.

for love-language, like i said, ghirahim isn't very sappy. he's far more touchy-feely in that aspect where he will just grab and kiss and tease when he feels the need. zant is a solid 50-50 because he loves being touched but also makes up sappy little nicknames on the spot or a long-winded declaration of love to the point it starts getting a little annoying. he's just kind of intense.

confession... well ghirahim would be quick to start doing things that typically denote a couple, but leaves it up to zant to actually officiate the whole thing. partly because he has issues. but also because he loves any chance at making him flustered (issues... 2!)

i don't think either of them are scared of bugs. but ghirahim is callous in getting rid of them and zant will just add them to his personal collection if he can catch em

twili society is rather high-tech. they probably have vehicles of some kind, and zant strikes me as the kind of guy who can drive. irresponsibly, i'll grant, but he'll do it. ghirahim would know how, but he refuses to. he's spoiled like that

the cooking one is funny because anyone in my server will know about the 'zant meal' phenomenon. he can cook, at least to keep himself alive, but the things he makes are horrifying to witness. unprecedented flavor profiles and chaotic execution. just don't worry about it. ghirahim, meanwhile, has a built-in chemical compendium and a heat sensor. theoretically he'd make an excellent cook and baker. he just doesn't want to.

zant loves affection, but is a very private person. he knows ghirahim is very showy and obnoxious, so if he lets him get away with slobbering his face even once, he;d have to deal with it every single hour of the day. and that'd embarrass him!!

theyre BOTH overprotective. it's a problem. though, zant in the sense of, "i want him to be all mine, i want to be all he thinks about, i want him by my side every minute of the day", and ghirahim in the sense of, livestock guard dog with spiked collar to murder wolves.

ghirahim has more relationship experience in that he's met many faces in his millennia of living.... but this kind of romantic intimacy is unknown to him. the whole song-and-dance of courtship he knows, but genuine love, he doesn't. zant had one FWB in college that he fell in fairy-tale love with and planned their wedding in his head after one (1) kiss. needless to say when that guy broke up wih him he was very normal.

i think the horny-awkwardness-jealousy levels speak for themselves.

#beararts #ghirazant #zant #ghirahim #doodlies #ship meme #<- in case i make more

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java-dragon · 10 months

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Covers Bookbinding for beginners by a beginner- The Home Stretch

*drinks half a gallon of coffee*

COVERS!

You've gotten your typeset done for the fic, you've battled the demon that is your printer, folded pages, stitched pages, glued pages, glued end pages, and end bands. Made the cover, covered the cover in potentially homemade book cloth.

Now it's time to design a cover.

It's time to make this thing into a fully functioning book and slide it on your shelf and have a nice bout of "Laying on the Floor while Questioning the Human Condition (TM)".

There are a few options.

It depends on what you want.

I can only take you so far with Cricut/vinyl applications. But I researched enough to maybe, MAYBE give you the run down on at least how to get your cover from Canva to the software to cut out your vinyl. I'll start there since this is what I know the least.

Open up your version of Canva.

Make a document, I've seen some fanbinders make all this in the cricut software but I can only smile and nod along. But for me- this is the best I've figured:

go to the search bar and type in book cover (or use the drop down menu) click on a random template.

Fiddle and fart your way into a design you like. Text and Font Options are available in drop down menus and find some designs that are "Easy to Weed" which I understand as "Getting rid of all the stuff that's not going on the cover".

For Example:

Do you like it? It took me 40 seconds, I'm very proud of it. But this isn't to impress you really I just need to show you how to save your file so you can make the leap from one software application to the next.

Hit "Share", Hit "Download", File Type- Hit the down arrow, Hit "PNG" I missed this for the first few times--- BUT!

Click the "Transparent Background"

If you're doing more than one colour Vinyl you're going to duplicate the page that is located right next to the lock icon above the document. Hit that. Delete the stuff that you want to be different colours. Otherwise it will just cut everything out as one colour and I've seen some vinyl covers that get damn fancy.

You can also build a title cover just measure the spine and height of your spine and rotate your text to horizontal if you please.

Now for how I do mine. I use Printable Iron On Vinyl. Keynote there is a difference, there is stuff for light fabrics, and stuff for dark. Choose for what your primary book cloth will be but the paper itself will be white.

Make your design.

I have 3 different covers for Celestial Navigation by Sabrecmc just because of how LARGE the fic itself is. I had to split the text block up for ease of handling.

I saved as a PNG, and loaded up my fancy printable vinyl into my printer and went through the software for printing, I had to do some fiddling but for my purposes I had to get the whole cover in the right size on the page- it took some fiddling yours might be simpler it might be more complex. But once I got it printed I trimmed off the white and was left with a peel-able rather velvety feeling thing.

Remove the backing. Get the iron on and go low and slow with the provided barrier material to prevent melting and damage to the print you've just done.

I made spines as well and made an 11 x 8.5 (Or brochure template)

And lined up my spines accordingly as to not waste materials. There will be grids that pop up automatically to let you know if things line up.

Print them out on the "highest quality" out put for your photo software.

It peels like a sticker. It may take a bit to get it going.

Line it up as nicely as you can on the cover (double check on the still exposed board).

There is a protective sheet that comes with it USE IT. Set your iron to a low heat and move it around frequently.

If you're in a relatively humid area (I live in a coastal town so the humidity is pretty high all year). Have a heavy book to squish your covers down with to try and get out any bends that may happen post ironing (also why we want low and slow).

Leave to cool.

Now you have a text block and a cover.

For all intents and purposes for my demonstration I'm leaving the spine off and am redoing everything with this fic from the ground up. There are aspects and mistakes that I have made that have irked my brain. So I will be leaving the spines off for this round. This is the learning curve and since a lot have things have clicked into place since beginning this series that have given me the "AH HA! CLARITY!" moment. I have completely reworked EVERYTHING in my text block of Celestial Navigation. Plus I've a perfectionist issue that is a lot milder than what it was.

But these two text blocks will work as my "Ground Zero" and will be the books I compare all potential future binds too.

As a note that I said in the beginning of this endeavor:

THIS IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK DO NOT SELL WORK THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!!!! YOU HAVE ASKED PERMISSION (I dearly hope) TO DO THIS DO NOT BREAK TRUST WITH THE AUTHOR.

IF You want to offer a copy to the author- GO FOR IT. Close friend that is showing interest in the fic?? Sure ok.

But if you sell it for monetary gain? I hope you stub your toe, and just before it finally heals you stub your toe again and may all your breakfast cereal turn to slugs.

DO NOT BE A DICK. I am writing this whole 'How To' Series as an experiment of Good Faith that you, the potential binder, will do right by the community and not compound an issue that has been cropping up. Etsy sellers, and this horrible Facebook community that will steal other's typesets, and begin selling them.

Like I said- this is a breech in Fair Use.

Now with that lecture, again, out of the way lets settle the rest of this series.

You will need:

Glue

Book Press

glue brush

Wax Paper.

Your Cover.

Your Text block.

Get your textblock and cover lined up with some wax paper in the middle of the decorative pages (if you're doing them other wise the page you glue down to the cover and the rest of the text block.

Fiddle, fart and dry fit until you are satisfied.

Lay down a layer of glue on the page NOT THE COVER ITSELF.

DON'T BE ME. I FUCKED UP HARDCORE AND DID THE COVER WITH THE GLUE. HOOOOO NELLY LET ME TELL YOU HOW BADLY THAT FUCKED SHIT UP.

HOW BAD WAS IT? BAD. VERY BAD. DON'T BE LIKE ME THAT FIRST ROUND, BE LIKE ME ON THE SECOND ROUND AND PUT GLUE ON THE END PAGE.

Line up the textblock for a final time and then apply the paper to the cover open the textblock and smooth what you just glued down. Flip over and repeat.

Then add weight to the text block put it back in your press, or if you're like me and have a reprint in the press just throw books atop the block.

Allow glue to cure over night.

Shiver, shudder, and lay on the floor. Your fic is now a book that you can put on your shelf.

Welcome to the wild wild world of bookbinding.

I've been your host trying their best to explain all the things.

I will likely continue this series with "OK SO I LEARNED SOME SHIT ALL THAT SHIT I WROTE BEFORE FEEL FREE TO LISTEN BUT I'VE GOT BETTER SOLUTIONS NOW" time stuff.

#bookbinding #ficbinding #diy #bookbinding for beginners by a beginner #oh my god I'm done for now #I've done it #I wrote out all of the things #and i likely have to go back and FIX some shit cause.... whooooooooooo I learned a LOOOOOOOOOT #mistakes are great learning tools don't get me wrong but hoooooo I learned a lot

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hopeymchope · 7 months

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I'm curious, what's your stance on generative AI? I know we in the fandom community often talk about it in the context of AI created fanart, but I'm talking more in the context of the uses generative AI has in the realm of general work productivity, like what Microsoft is trying to do with their new CoPilot program.

Well, the ethical issue is basically the same as it is for A.I.-generated images—but for some goddamn reason, people don't like to think of any kind of writing as a form of propietary "art" the same way they do about visual arts, so it's garnered FAR less attention.

But as far as their usability goes? As someone who writes documents for a living, I can see these programs being potentially beneficial for creating early rough drafts, but that's the extent of what it's good for now: They can make outlines. BUT! You could get the same outline from a template or from an online boilerplate, so is that even worth anything? Once you go beyond an outline, any text generated from these A.I.s always needs heavy revision, reorganization, and editing. I'd spend less time just writing it from scratch.

Currently, generative so-called "A.I." programs that are designed to assist with writing text are based upon predicting what they think the user is requesting or desiring. They set out to give you what they believe you want, and accuracy is NOT part of the equation. This might not be as big of an issue if you're trying to make a book report on a classic novel, because there are probably enough examples of reliable web coverage on the subject it could reasonably generate something that's at least usable. But outside of doing some of your homework for you, how useful is it?

It can certainly bullshit some generic blather to fill space in a paper, or it could spew corporate-ese for the purpose of drafting a mass company email... but can it announce something new to your staff or the press in an accurate way? Nope. Can it reliably create copy or a script for advertising/marketing? Not if you want your ad to actually be true, let alone unique. :P

If you're doing something fairly rote like taking existing legal documentation to create a new, similar legal document for a different usage? You're better off just having a template on-hand with editable sections to revise; that way, the A.I. won't attempt to "improve" the legal text in a way that fucks you over. And if you're asking the A.I. not to edit that text in the first place... well, then why are we using this A.I. when we already have templates?

If you're hoping to create some kind of instructions, maybe a "How-To" book or a manual for something? Just forget it. It doesn't matter how much documentation on the subject you feed into that A.I. Ultimately, it will preconcieve how the process COULD work or what the program/device/person MIGHT do, and then it starts going off on bizarre claims/tangents that are wholly imagined. The longer the document you want, the worse the amount of nonsensical bullshit gets.

But even if you're just trying to get it to reduce a massive document down to like, a single page that covers the basics? It has no real system for judging what "the basics" are. You can try to specify to the A-not-I what you need to include, feed it the original document... and still wind up with a combination of falsehoods and excluded requirements. This won't necessarily happen every single attempt or in every single paragraph, but it'll definitely happen enough times to make it more trouble than it's worth. Still... this kind of thing — i.e., revising a single existing source into a different format or length — is probably the area that's the most promising application for these programs in the near term. It should be possible to "teach" to the programs in question, and it handily skirts past most ethical questions about the sources behind its knowledge.

What I said about falsehoods and skewed info/inaccuracy is also why search engines that have incorporated A.I. have gotten LESS reliable. Generative A.I. isn't truly "Artificial Intelligence," because it can't make any kind of judgment. It doesn't have a clue how to deem something true or false, and it's really fucking hard to build that into a program. Because ultimately, what do you ask it to do? How do you explain that to the program in a logical fashion? You can't just say "only believe the sources I give you/tell you to trust," because it only generates based on tons of pre-existing examples that it's observed. It only exists at all because of those examples, which is always going to cause these issues.

....and that last point ALSO raises the same exact ethical questions already brought up by A.I.-generated imagery. What right do they have to use these sources? Where are they getting them, etc.? And now I'm back where I started.

Suffice it to say I'm not a fan. Although I do, of course, have skin in this game, so I acknowledge that I'm definitely biased.

#a.i.#generative a.i.#asks

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gorgonarcher · 5 months

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10th Game - Scion 2e

A bit strange that it took me this long to get around to doing Scion 2e. But anyway, let's move on.

Scion is a game set in a modern day where all the mythologies of the world are true, even those that contradict each other. Correction: especially those that contradict each other.

Oddly, there is not a specific template for gorgons yet. Here are the options we could do:

A scion of a godly or titanic patron.

A denizen, a supernatural being but one without a patron.

A dragon of the naga wing, because they have multiple heads.

The system sort of differentiates gods and titans, but also says they can use each others powers, and lore implies that the distinction is largely more political than actual.

I'm going to go with the Godly/Titanic scion.

Step 1 - Concept

For concept we come to the basic idea of who the character is "gorgon archer" is a good seed, but we need to flesh it out a little bit here.

In this case, I'm going to go with the Theoi (Greek Gods). I've done prior versions of gorgons that were associated with either the Orisha and also as an independent tutelary scion devoted to protecting the impoverished.

In this case, where the supernatural is public, I'm going to say that she's been known as a gorgon her entire life and received some disdain for it, and as she's grown up she's been taken in by a goddess associated with the Liminal.

We're also supposed to choose some Deeds here. Deeds are goals that we have for the character over the course of play. They are a mix of the character's goals and our narrative goals for things we want them to face. So it could be "track down my father's killer" or "lose a fight."

By RAW we would create three of these Deeds. So each player would have one each of the following:

One Short Term Deed - something that can be completed within a single session.

One Long Term Deed - something that would take a story-arc to complete.

One Band Deed - something that may take several one or more story arcs to complete and is shared across every character in the same Band.

You get experience for completing these.

In any session you complete one or more Short Term Deeds, you gain 1 XP.

In any session where every player completes at least one Short Term Deed, everybody gains a bonus 1 XP.

In any session where you complete a Long Term Deed you get either 2 XP or 3 XP. This is based on how powerful you already are. Legend 0 "Origin" characters gain 2 XP. Legend 1 and higher characters gain 3 XP.

Once you gain experience for a Long Term Deed, you cannot gain experience for another until everybody in the party has completed one each of Short Term, Long Term, and Band Deeds.

------

My group tends to further homebrew this as follows:

You can have up to 3 Short-Term Deeds active at once and may switch some out at session start if they no longer feel relevant.

You can refill a list of 3 Short-Term Deeds once everybody has completed one-each of all three scales of Deed, just like for Long-Term bonuses.

The multiple Short-Term deeds is meant to provide a variety of RP options rather than laser focus on one. The limit of refilling them is to make sure no one advances far past the other players.

We're going not to use this homebrew, but I just wanted to note it.

------

So, for this character's three Deeds:

Short Term: Make an impressive shot.

Long Term: Prove yourself a champion to outcasts.

Step 2 - Paths

Now we move on to Paths which is where we establish some of the narrative backstory of the character. While there is no hard and fast rule as to what these Paths represent, the default suggestion is as follows:

Origin Path - Your upbringing and where you come from.

Role Path - What sort of skills and occupation you have.

Society/Pantheon Path - The overall society you're associated with.

Each of these paths will contain of the following:

A title that summarizes this facet of your character.

A set of three skills.

Group, contact, and access connections, people you know and places you can go.

A condition that occurs will you stress your connection to this Path too far.

I'm going to start with the Origin Path and define it as follows based on the example Suburbia origin path from the book:

Suburban Gorgon Outcast

Skills: Culture, Empathy, Technology

Contacts: Gamer clubs, the weird kids, FLGS, Doc Albricht her general practitioner that treated her and helped her deal with bullies.

Going with the default conditions of "suspended" and "revoked' for if she stresses her contacts too hard.

For Role, I'm going to go with the following as a custom made Path:

LARPing Cozy-Witch

Skills: Athletics, Occult, Culture

Contacts: Local LARPIng society, coven of witches, Martha Marrero archery and HEMA instructor.

Same default conditions of "suspended" and "revoked".

For Society, I'm going with the Theoi base, of course, which gives Athletics, Persuasion, and one my choice. And I'm going to imply her patron in the title.

Found on the Crossroads

Skills: Athletics, Persuasion, Occult

Contacts: Temple of Hecate, Isaac Finch, servant of Hecate

Same default conditions of "suspended" and "revoked".

As a note, the game allows you to have any number of Paths you want, but only three of them affect skills and it gets increasingly difficult to make each path significant to your character. So it advises not going past six paths, just for the simplicity of making sure they all stay relevant to the narrative. The leeway is probably because some of the birthrights you can take on basically function as extra Paths.

We need to prioritize these so I'm going to do so as follows:

Primary: LARPing Cozy-Witch

Secondary: Suburban Gorgon Outcast

Tertiary: Found on the Crossroads

This is going to be important in the next step.

Step 3 - Skills

We're going to set our starting skill levels. We'll get more points to add to these later and add some character, but this is what we're starting with.

This is pretty easy.

The skills associated with the Primary path get 3 dots. Those associated with the Secondary path get 2 dots. Those associated with the Tertiary path get 1 dot. These get added up to a maximum of 5. If any skill goes above 5 (which I don't think will happen here) then the excess can be applied wherever we want. Any skill with a level of 3 or higher gets a specialty associated with it.

As such this is what we get:

Culture 5 (Primary and Secondary paths)

Occult 4 (Primary and Tertiary paths)

Technology 2 (Secondary path)

Athletics 4 (Primary and Tertiary paths)

Empathy 2 (Secondary path)

Persuasion 1 (Tertiary path)

Athletics is the combat skill associated with archery. For Specialties we're going with the following:

Culture (Activism)

Occult (Witchcraft)

Athletics (Archery)

As a note, by RAW these would be the only free specialty the character gets, but my group plays such that the first time you hit 3 in a skill at any time, you get one free specialty. That might apply here when we get to the free points later on in the character creation section. For now we're finished with Skills.

Step 4 - Attributes

Scion uses the 3x3 grid of attributes traditionally found in Storyteller games. Which makes sense given that Storypath was developed out of Storyteller. This is another case of prioritizing stats.

We have:

Three Arenas: Physical, Mental Social

Three Approaches: Force, Finesse, Resilience

We assign these by choosing:

The priority of our Arenas.

Naming a favored Approach.

This gives us the following:

1 free dot in each Attribute.

2 free dots in each Attribute in the Favored Approach.

6 dots to distribute to the attributes in the Primary Arena

4 dots to distribute to the attributes in the Secondary Arena

2 dots to distribute to the attributes in the Tertiary Arena

I'm going to break my standard here and actually put her archery a bit on the lower end and make Physical her tertiary approach, Social her primary approach, and Mental her secondary approach. For Favored Approach, I think I'm going to go with Resilience since we I've established her as having weathered a lot of bullying.

And that will result in the following:

Physical Force: Might 1

Physical Finesse: Dexterity 3

Physical Resilience: Stamina 3

Mental Force: Intellect 3

Mental Finesse: Cunning 2

Mental Resilience: Resolve 4

Social Force: Presence 4

Social Finesse: Manipulation 3

Social Resilience: Composure 4

I usually distinguish favored dots with a different color and use a tiered list rather than labeling things as "Physical Force" but tumblr doesn't do that well. So I was limited to what you see and marking the Favored Approach by marking those three attributes with bold/italic.

That handles Attributes for now.

Step 5 - Callings and Knacks

Now, this is the first time we end up to a step where there's a difference based on whether you are building an Origin or Hero character.

An Origin character would get one Calling from her among her patron's favored callings and a Hero character will three Callings, one of which should be from their patron's favored callings.

I usually start from Origin and move from there, but in this case, I'm going to assume a Hero character.

This is where I'm going to say that the character's patron is Hecate, hence "Found at the Crossroads". Hecate's callings are Healing, Liminal, and Sage. I want Sage. For the second, I'm going to take an optional Calling from the Realms of Mystery and Magic supplement: Psychopomp. For the third, I'm choosing between Lover and Leader, and I think I'm going with Lover.

Note: I was going to take the Healing calling, but it is almost all about physical healing and I wanted to focus on emotional healing.

I thought about taking Titan callings, but the closest would be Monster and I don't feel this character is about predation. The way she's shaping up, she's more about sheltering.

So, one Calling gets two dots and the other two each get one dot. Callings can not be increased with XP, they only go up as Legend goes up and that goes up based on completing Deeds (each time you complete set of one Short, one Long, and one Band your Legend goes up by 1.)

I'm assigning as follows:

Lover *

Sage *

Psychopomp **

Now, each Calling gets a number of Knacks equal to their dots in that Calling. You can purchase others via experience, but your dots limit how many you can have access.

By RAW, an "Immortal" knack counts as two dots in character creation and how many they count as for being active, but they cost the same amount of experience points as a Heroic knack. So usually, my group house rules that you can take two Immortal knacks if you want, you'll still only be able to slot one at a time but you get a choice. I'm not expecting to pick Immortal knacks anyway, so this isn't going to affect this character, but did like to say it.

There are also a number of generic knacks that we can select from that I may also take. These can be slotted into any Calling we want, but do fill a slot.

So, I'm thinking of taking these Knacks:

Lover: Soothing Presence

Sage: Presence of Magic

Psychopomp: Cracking the Egg, This Isn't Everything You Are

(yes, there is an official Knack called "Cracking the Egg")

This allows her to:

Soothe feelings in an area, though this moves things toward a calmer degree so it calms positive attitudes as well as negative ones.

Detect magical and sacred energies without needing to roll.

Help encourage someone accomplish a change in their personal state and help people breaking out of a rut.

Another thing that goes with Callings are keywords and titles. Each dot in a Calling gives the Scion one keyword related to that Calling and each point of Legend (Heroic starts at 1) you get a Title which must include at least one of your keywords. Keywords and Titles can be invoked in play to improve your rolls. There is a list of examples, but you are encouraged to make up your own. Titles especially are going to be unique to each character.

So, this is what I'm going with:

Lover: Cozy

Sage: Witch

Psychopomp: Guide, Compassionate

And for her title I'm going to go with the following:

The Cozy Gorgon

It's very simple, but sometimes that's the best sort of title. I was going to get a bit clever and try to force a "Cozy Gamer" / "Cozy Gorgon" pun in there like "Gor-Gamer" but no... that sounds bad.

So... now moving on to the next step.

Step 6 - Birthrights

This is a step that doesn't happen if you're making an Origin character, because you don't normally get these until you hit Legend 1. That said, it is possible for an Origin character to start with some Birthrights as the "Finishing Touches" step provides that option, but all Heroic characters have a few Birthrights.

Birthrights in the core book include the following:

Creatures, strange supernatural beings that can perform tasks for the Scion.

Followers, people and beings that cooperate with the Scion on the scene. (Sort of function like equipment from a mechanical standpoint)

Guides, mentors and advisors, these act as extra paths and can give you access to extra purviews and callings.

Relics, magical or sacred objects associated with you directly.

Birthrights from other supplements include:

Cult, a sort of blend of Guides and Followers, people you have a responsibility to. (Mysteries of the World)

Covenant, an oath to stand for and protect a particular place or group of people. (Mysteries of the World)

Sanctum, a holy space sacred to the character, but mainly associated with Demigods rather than Heroes, so that's at Legend 5. We'll leave that alone for now. (Scion: Demigod)

A newly created Heroic Scion gets seven dots to distribute between Birthrights. I'm doing the following:

Guide 3

Relic 3

Cult 1

I'm going to hold off on designing the Cult for now, because I might add to that rating in Finishing Touches, for the others...

A Guide comes with a name, unique stunt, and Asset skills automatically. One Asset Skill at 1 dot, and two Asset skills at 2 dots. For each dot above 2 we can choose bonus Purviews, Callings, or Legendary Titles we can use as long as we have a good relationship with our guide.

Guide - Kaitlin DeVere, experienced witch

Asset Skills: Empathy, Occult

Purview: Wild

Stunt: Touch the Heart (1-3 successes) on a successful Empathy or Occult roll involving another person, you can spend extra successes to gain an enhancement bonus to your next attempt to adjust their Attitude toward you.

In this case, her guide has taught her how to reach out to the magic of nature. Probably Kaitlin is a sorcerer rather than a scion, so the scion (who we have not yet named) and she will interact with magic differently. Since one uses magic and the other is magic. The stunt lets her navigate emotional waters a bit more easily.

Now, for the Relic.

Relic - Caduceus Tatoo

Innate - This is physically part of her.

Purviews - Health, Passion (Compassion)

Motif - Turn Poison to Cure

She has a large tattoo of a pair of entwined snakes forming a caduceus on her back. The "Innate" aspect is not a RAW option, but it has been bandied about as worth about 1 Dot on forums for a while. The Purviews in the Core book each cost about 1 dot of Relic.

When a relic gives purviews, then it requries a Motif to explain how the relic's magic takes shape. So, in this case, the magic she does through her tattoo must be themed somehow with curatives or taking something toxic and purifying it. She may also require to have poisons and toxins on hand to make curatives out of them since that's how her magic works.

Not sure I thought that through... but its very thematic to a gorgon given the whole thing about blood that could be poison or cure.

As a note, all Pantheons have an innate motif to explain how they perform magic themselves. But I'll get to that in step 8.

Yes, I know we've done precious little of the archery so far, I'll get to that later.

As a note, if someone where to somehow steal her tattoo, they'd have access to its powers. There's likely magic that can do that along with more physical means.

And again, I'll handle the Cult later.

Step 7 - Purviews

As with birthrights, this isn't something an Origin character gets. Even more so than Birthrights since Purviews require Legend to use and Origin characters are Legend 0.

In any case, a starting Heroic Scion gains their Pantheon purview and one other Purview inherited from their Patron. For this character, that would be:

Metamorphosis (Theoi Pantheon Purview)

Fortune

So, this character is a bit about fate, prophecy, and foretelling and she has the ability to transform people and things.

This means our gorgon's purviews are these:

Metamorphosis (Pantheon)

Fortune (Innate)

Health (Relic Tattoo)

Passion: Compassion (Relic Tattoo)

Wild (Guide Kaitlin DeVere)

Each of these comes with a basic innate power:

Metamorphosis: Trivial characters never see through her disguises, and she suffers no Complications for changing identity regarding height, age, gender, ethnicity, or other things. Essentially, she is mutable by nature.

Fortune: Sense Fatebindings and know who is bound to whom though not necessarily the nature of the bond. She can also tell when Prophets and Sorcerers use their powers to change fate.

Health: Once per session recovers one Legend when you successfully treat a storyguide ally (NPC) and resolve an injury or ailment condition.

Passion: Enhancement of 3 to Assess emotions in people around you. And can intuit when people have Bonds with each other.

Wild: Ignore any natural plant based hazards and gain 2 Enhancement toward stealth in areas with a lot of plant growth.

Regarding Fortune detecting Fatebindings and Passion detecting Bonds.

These are separate things.

A Fatebinding means that Fate has decided that these two people should have X relationship and it will constantly throw up coincidences to encourage that relationship. Like if the Fatebinding relates to a romantic situation, then they will constantly find themselves in situations that heighten the other person's attractiveness as a partner. If it decides they're going to be rivals, then they will constantly find themselves in competition somehow. It doesn't mind control the people involved, but does play matchmaker.

Bonds are the emotional bonds and loyalties that people have actually formed between each other.

It is entirely possible to have a Bond that seems counter to a Fatebinding you have with the same person. Like fated Rivals might really enjoy the competition and form a Bond of love between each other.

Step 8 - Boons

The third step that comes for Heroic Scions that Origin Scions can't get. Like with Callings, a Scion gains new Boons as their Legend gets higher. So let's explain what Boons are.

Purviews are the way Scions shape their magic. As we discussed earlier, each pantheon performs their magic through different means. For the Theoi the motif is:

The most high may grant their favor to those who beseech them.

Which means that in order to perform magic, our gorgon needs to call on the gods by name. As her Legend gets higher, she will eventually be able to call on herself.

The normal way this works mechanically is to RP the invocation or other motif and then perform what is called a Marvel which are improvised magical effects like creating magical attacks, placing blessings or curses, changing the environment, or otherwise performing strange esoterica.

Boons are basically specialized and more efficient applications of Marvels. These are specific applications of magic that your scion is especially good with. A Heroic Scion starts with two Boons and gains more as their Legend goes up. You cannot increase them with Experience.

To review, these are our gorgon's purviews:

Metamorphosis (Pantheon)

Fortune (Innate)

Health (Relic Tattoo)

Passion: Compassion (Relic Tattoo)

Wild (Guide Kaitlin DeVere)

We can only take two Boons.

Also, note that "Passion" is noted as "Compassion". Some Purviews imply a specialization. This includes Passion, which could be things like Joy, Rage, Fear, or any other emotion and Beasts, which would name specific type of creatures.

Boons are supposed to be powers you make up for yourself, but also you're allowed to use existing example Boons but theme them to other Purviews. In this case I'm going to re-work "Heaven's Fire", a boon from the Fire purview made to efficiently create a way to attack and re-work it into something like the Gorgon's Gaze attached to Metamorphosis. It's a bit counter to her healer's theme, but I had the opportunity to work in the gorgon gaze, so I took it.

For the second Boon I'm taking Healing Hands which allows for healing physical injuries, diseases, and other such things. This extends to mental illnesses to a degree, but the implication is it only affects conditions that are, by their nature, temporary. So she might cleanse someone of the immediate shock of encountering something terrifying, which might prevent PTSD developing but if PTSD has already set in, that wouldn't be so easily fixed. She can also cleanse magically induced mental illnesses.

Personally, my favorite thing for healing long-term conditions from Scion is a Sorcerer technique where you cause the illness to manifest as a creature which you can then beat up. So, you can literally summon your friend's anxiety and beat it up so it leaves your friend alone. The urge to beat up my mental quirks is incredibly relatable.

So her boons are:

Metamorphosis: Gorgon's Gaze (Reworked Heaven's Fire)

Health: Healing Hands

Every other Purview operates through basic Marvels. So, she could still attack via Wild, but it would be more expensive than using her Gorgon's Gaze.

Step Nine - Finishing Touches

We've come back to places the Origin Scions also do... somewhat.

First, there are some Finishing Touches that Heroic Scions have that Origin Scions don't:

Legend - Every Origin Scion has Legend 0 and starting Heroic Scions have Legend 1

Virtues - Origin Scions don't have virtues yet. Heroic Scions start in the middle of their sliding scale.

For the Theoi, their two Virtues are Egoism versus Kinship. They're a quarrelsome family but they are a family and will defend each other when it comes down to it. When our gorgon acts to support her loved ones and friends, she'll slide toward Kinship. When she acts for herself, she'll slide toward Egoism.

As a note, the virtues for each pantheon aren't a matter of good vs bad. Even with Egoism vs Kinship, there's danger in sacrificing too much of yourself to the people around you and there's times you have to act for yourself. When someone is at one extreme or the other, there are certain benefits, but it does mean they are prone to some unreasonable behavior.

Virtue is a sliding scale with five positions. For simplicity and ease, going to note that as a number from -2 to 2, but she starts at 0 by default.

We already touched upon other elements of Legend in the section on Calling (her Title and Keywords) But this brings her to:

Legend 1

Virtue: Egoism vs Kinship 0

We also determine Health and Defense.

All scions get a Bruised, Injured, Maimed and Taken Out slot, plus one Bruised slot if Stamina is 3-4 or two additional for Stamina 5. Our character has Stamina 3 so she gets an extra Bruised level.

For comparisons, mooks in this game usually are taken out by 1 level of damage and Scions require between four and six levels at character creation. For this gorgon it looks like this:

Bruised

Injured

Maimed

Taken Out

As these are filled, they will be named relative to the condition suffered like "grazed", "twisted ankle" or "contact burn" for minor things and "broken arm" or "third degree burns" as things get more serious.

Defense is based on how the character chooses to defend themselves but will be equal to which ever Resilience attribute best applies. So this gorgon's defense will range from 3-4 based on whether she uses Stamina, Composure, or Resolve.

Now, also at this stage we get:

5 more Skill points

1 more attribute point

A choice of 2 more knacks or 4 points of Birthrights.

For the skills we're going to do the following:

As such this is what we get:

Culture 5 (Activism)

Occult 4 (Witchcraft)

Technology 2

Athletics 4 (Archery)

Empathy 3 (Stress)

Persuasion 1

Medicine 2

Integrity 2

For the Attribute point, I'm going with the following:

And that will result in the following:

Might 1

Dexterity 3

Stamina 3

Intellect 3

Cunning 2

Resolve 4

Presence 5

Manipulation 3

Composure 4

So just going to max out her Presence here.

I'm also choosing to gain 4 Birthright points and assigning them as follows:

Cult +3 (total 4)

Relic 1

The Relic is a simple one, I'm just adding an extra Tag to the basic Longbow.

Soporific Bow: Arcing, Ranged, Two-Handed, Stun

The Stun is the extra tag here and it means that this bow can never kill anyone. At worst, it will knock someone unconscious. Bows normally have the 0 point tag Lethal instead of the 1 point tag Stun.

For the Cult, I said we'd get to this later, we have a total of four points.

So, this is the cult that our Scion is part of... and I'm going to name her here as "Taylor Quinn" because I've vaguely had cozy-gamer "TQ" in mind here this entire time. To be clear, I don't know what "TQ" stands for because I'm not a friend, at most I've seen her on Desert Bus or her own stream, or follow her on Twitter. But also there is a "Taylor" who is a major NPC on the Beacon Alien RPG actual play by the Streampunks (and you'll find other names from that show in this character) and maybe a passing reference to Kathleen DeVere in there as well.

My brain is simple, while I was writing this, I was watching Beacon and TQ was being active on Twitter. So....

Anyway... back to character gen.

So, this Cult is going to be one led by Kaitlin DeVere, her witchy Guide, and one that has recognized her as a sacred being chosen by Hecate. She has responsibilities to help them and they have responsibilities to her as well. I envision this as a healthy and mutually supportive cult. Probably a bunch of people that similarly felt outcast that came together as a found family.

As a note, Cult in Scion does not have the negative connotation that it does in real life. Any sort of religious organization is a cult, even if they are religious in name only, such as doing little more than patting a statue of Hermes on the way into work each day.

Anyway, back to mechanics. Cult provides the following:

Cult 1 provides a Foundation choice of Community (1 Light, 1 Shadow), Conspiracy (2 Shadow), or Company (2 Light)

Each point beyond 1 adds either 1 Light or 1 Shadow.

Three Asset Skills related to the cult.

A single Tag

A list of responsibilities for the Scion has.

Light represents public resources of the cult and Shadow represents private ones. Each point of Light must be assigned to:

Connections - 1 point per

Followers - 2 points per

Tags - 1 point per

I'm going to say the Skills associated with Taylor's Cult are: Occult, Technology, Culture and say they do a mix of game streaming and advice on witchcraft and supernatural issues. They're associated with Hecate specifically so they're a Theoi-based cult.

I think they're a Community with both private and public elements.

The tags available are as follows:

Coven - Good at finding secrets, keeps the Scion's secrets

Guild - lets you invoke Light contacts an extra time

Family Tradition - invoke Shadow access connections an extra time

Historians - Good at finding info on enemies, very traditional

Mystery Society - Light and Shadow are tracked separately for invoking

Reliquarians - borrow relics

Social Club - Invoke Shadow contacts an extra time

Temple - invoke any access connection an extra time as long as you're physically in a temple

I think since we're starting this as a public facing streaming group, we'll start this with the Guild tag.

Assigning Shadow and Light I think we're looking at:

Community base - 1 Light and 1 Shadow

Add 2 Light points

Add 1 Shadow point

Total: 3 Light and 2 Shadow

And then I think we'll assign those 5 points as follows:

Followers 1: Stream support (Consultant, Group)

Light Access: Fanbase, the fans of their gaming and occult-advice streams

Shadow Access: Private Housing, places to stay when need time out of public sight.

Extra Tag: Coven

There's one more thing I'm going to do and that's borrow and rework a persistent Condition from the Kitsune denizen. The original condition was this:

Fox Tail - You have a tail. It is fluffy.

And the version for this will be:

Snake Hair - You have snakes for hair. They are hissy.

And that leaves the total package as follows:

Taylor Quinn - Starter Hero

Role Path: LARPing Cozy Witch

Origin Path: Suburban Gorgon Outcast

Pantheon Path: Found at the Crossroads

Pantheon: Theoi

Patron: Hecate

Legend 1

Title: The Cozy Gorgon

Egoism vs Kinship: 0

Short Term Deed: Make an impressive shot.

Long Term Deed: Prove yourself a champion to outcasts.

Band Deed: (Blank)

Skills

Culture 5 (Activism)

Occult 4 (Witchcraft)

Technology 2

Athletics 4 (Archery)

Empathy 3 (Stress)

Persuasion 1

Medicine 2

Integrity 2

Attributes

(Resilience Favored, Social Primary, Mental Secondary, Physical Tertiary)

Might 1

Dexterity 3

Stamina 3

Intellect 3

Cunning 2

Resolve 4

Presence 5

Manipulation 3

Composure 4

Callings & Keywords

Lover 1 (Cozy)

Sage 1 (Witch)

Psychopomp 2 (Guide, Compassionate)

Knacks

Lover: Soothing Presence

Sage: Presence of Magic

Psychopomp: Cracking the Egg, This Isn't Everything You Are

Birthrights

The Crossroad Streamers - Cult 4

Community

Light 3, Shadow 2

Coven, Guild

Light Access: Fanbase

Shadow Access: Private Residences

The Soporific Bow - Relic 1

Longbow (Arcing, Ranged, Two-Handed, Stun)

Caduceus Tattoo - Relic 3

Innate - Part of her

Purviews: Health, Passion (Compassion)

Kaitlin DeVere, Experienced Witch - Guide 3

Asset Skills: Empathy, Occult

Purview: Wild

Purviews & Boons

Metamorphosis (Gorgon's Gaze)

Fortune

Health (Healing Hands)

Passion: Compassion

Wild

Health:

Bruised

Injured

Maimed

Taken out

Defense: 3-4 depending on how it is RPed

#character creation #ttrpg #roleplaying games #tabletop roleplaying game #gorgon archer #gorgons #tabletop rpg #archer #gorgon #tabletop rpgs #Scion 2e #onyx path publishing #urban fantasy

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sungtaro · 2 years

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do u have any advice for making gfx? i really like yours and your concepts are always so creative

ahh, thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me 🥹 i'm really hard on myself about my gfx. but i absolutely love making them, and i'd love to share some advice with you! i'm not sure if you already make gfx or not, so i'll include some things about getting started along with general advice / stuff geared to someone who already has some experience so that hopefully, wherever you are in your journey, something here might be helpful. i hope i'm not just giving you info you already know JBDJB 😭 so feel free to come back and let me know if you need something different ... if you have specific questions about a particular set or anything else like that, i always welcome that too! this got long, so i'll put it below the cut.

1. getting started - i'll write this point assuming you've never made a gfx before, so if you have, feel free to skip it! the only program i use is photoshop for gfx. and the main thing with these that i didn't know at first is that you can (and should) use a bigger canvas than what you would for gifs ! my typical size for a gfx panel is somewhere around 1080x1200 px. if you are placing gifs anywhere in them, you will likely have to resize down to meet tumblr file size limits. - some things that you should know how to do in ps: creating a clipping mask, rasterizing/resizing, smart filters, eyedropper tool, and different blending techniques such as overlays. if any of these things sound like 'omg what???' (they did to me as a beginner) let me know and i'm happy to explain more! - for total beginners, my biggest recommendation is to start by using templates. this helps you get a feel for what layers go into a gfx in the styles that you like, and makes it easier to start making some cool things and boost your confidence before you feel comfortable starting entirely from scratch and developing your own style. you can search 'psd template' here on tumblr, or on deviantart (i'll talk more about sites i use to find things below). just make sure you read each creator's own rules before you use something. i also make templates! you can find them here. i don't require credit and you can edit mine basically however you want, aside from combining them with other templates.

2. finding inspiration aside from things i see right here on tumblr, source material that just really speaks to me, or ideas that pop into my head while i'm driving (seriously ... almost all my gfx ideas come to me while i'm in my car or out taking a walk 😂), my favorite places to look for inspo are behance and deviantart (both of which are also great for finding elements you can use for free!). usually i have at least a baseline idea before i go into any gfx, so i know what to search for to find some design ideas -- for example, 'yearbook design,' 'retro advertisement,' 'lyric poster,' 'zine,' 'y2k,' 'film photo story,' etc are all things i've searched before. if i have used a source for inspiration, it will always be linked in my caption, so definitely take a look if there are any in particular that you love to see that inspo source! (as a general note, you should always link back to your own inspiration sources, it's just the right thing to do)

3. my process (from idea into photoshop) once i have an idea and i've gathered some inspiration, i usually sketch out my basic layout idea into a notebook. with gfx, composition is something you need to keep in mind within each individual panel as well as the set as a whole. i think about what i want the main focus to be and what basic elements i want in each panel. then i will start gathering my resources and start getting things in photoshop! often, i don't really know what it's going to look like until i start putting it together. that's kind of half the fun though. throughout making most of my gfx, i consult at least one friend on layout, colors, etc especially if i'm not liking something or i'm just stuck and don't know what would make it better. i HIGHLY recommend getting feedback and utilizing other sets of eyes to get your best quality work. i know there are some things i just can't possibly think of on my own, especially when i've been thinking about and looking at something for way too long. once my panels are finished i export them as a png and arrange them on tumblr to see the whole thing together before i post!

4. finding elements i.e. fonts, textures, pngs, etc again, behance and deviantart are great places for this! on behance, it's best to search 'freebie' with what you're looking for because otherwise all the options may be stuff you have to pay for. but they have SO many textures, pngs, fonts, any resource you can think of. with deviantart, be mindful of people who just compile texture/png packs from other sources/artists, because that's basically impossible to properly credit (and you really should do your best to do that). but DA is a great source for things like brushes and hand-drawn elements, and templates too! again, just be sure to read all of op's rules before using their resources. -places to find fonts: behance, fontspace, dafont, and ofc google! -places to find free pngs/icons (i use these for all of my social media templates and more): flaticon -photos you can use for free are available on unsplash -mockups you can use for free are available on behance, unblast, and pixel surplus

5. other important bits - as i've mentioned a few times throughout CREDIT is so important when you are using other people's resources, and using anyone else's work as your inspiration. i always credit when required and often credit even when not required, and just in general always try to mention where i find all my resources especially for sets that i've used a lot of different things for. of course, we can only do our best with this, and i've definitely made mistakes or just lost where i found something in the process of making things, so just have good intentions and try to do what you can to ensure you're giving credit where it's due - it also helps other people find things that they can use for their own work! - don't be afraid to experiment and try things out, i think really what i love so much about gfx is that there are literally infinite possibilities, styles, and ways to improve. keep an open mind and know that nothing is out of your range if you can find the right resources. happy creating, and please know i'm available to talk about anything you have questions on, or if you want to utilize me for feedback !! <3

#wah i hope this is helpful at all 😭 again if you have anything i can speak to more specifically i'm more than happy to #this comes at a good time bc i've been really beating myself up over some gfx i've been working on #so i'm really glad that you like mine and i'd really love to help in any way i can ~!#when i first got started making gifs i NEVER thought i'd be a gfx maker and then i was like i'll never NOT need a template #but now i make everything on my own and even make my own templates! so honestly just keep at it is my biggest advice #i have so much to improve on still but the journey is super fun and rewarding #alright i've written enough here i think JBDGJHB #erimail #mail from: anonymous friend!#.resource tag #gfx help

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xprojectrpg · 11 months

Text

Moment of Awesome - Julio Richter/Rictor:Julio has his first Danger Room session, under Garrison's watchful eye.

"Are you certain?" Rictor eyed Kane and the Danger Room with trepidation. A big metal box underground? It sounded like a recipe for disaster. But he couldn't let this other man think he was a coward, so he took a breath and steeled himself. "I don't want to hurt you or bury us in an earthquake, ¿sabes? I can be dangerous if I lose control..."

"I'm not going to pretend it is infallible... but no one has beaten it yet. And the nice part is we get to test you. If you can bring the mansion down, we'll know beforehand." Kane said. His fingers danced over the golden virtual interface. "But I think we start with something more basic to start." He hit a button, and a Southwestern horizon stretched out in front of him, almost like home.

Everything was a new surprise here. Rictor yelped a curse as the scenery changed around them, like he had been magically transported far away from New York. (Though, to be honest, that would be preferable to flying on a plane.) "What am I supposed to do here? Where is here?"

"I figured this landscape might make you feel a little more at home. Right now, just use your powers, however best you know how." Kane said. "Don't worry about where. Just give it a shot."

Rictor bent at the waist to untie his boots so he could place his feet directly on the ground. Which felt like dirt and not metal, at least physically. But he knew it was fake because he didn't feel anything within. Just empty artificial substance that left him disoriented, a poor template on which to demonstrate his power.

Apprehensive of what was going to happen, and gingerly tapped his foot on the fake dirt and reached for the spirits infused in the earth. But no response, just silence. The world stayed still.

"Um, that wasn't . . . I usually do better than this."

"Take your time." Kane said, tapping a few keys. "Just close your eyes and breathe. You're safe in here. The power is there. Find it."

Breathe in, hold, breathe out. The simplest concentration technique Rictor had been taught. This room was weird and unnatural, but the Earth was all around them, so why should that be a deterrent? Inhale, exhale, find even the smallest vibration to tune into, and magnify it. He could do this. He was here for a reason, and he had to prove it. He wouldn't embarrass himself in front of this, nor would he shame Amanda for believing in him in the first place.

After a minute, he stamped his foot again with all the petulance and passion a 19-year-old boy could have, and cracks tore through the trembling ground from where he stood.

Kane pulled up a display as the DR computer visualized the exact impact of the teen's powers in the simulated environment. He counted down from ten as the ripples spread. "OK, that's enough for the moment." Kane finally said, curious whether he could stop it effectively or not.

If they were to define success as "effective," then the answer would be no. Once Rictor found his connection with this environment, fabricated as it was, he could not find his internal off-switch. Eyes squeezed shut, fists clenched, Rictor looked like he was fighting a bowel movement as much as he was fighting to end the tremors.

He dug his feet into the sand and, harkening back to Kane's encouragement, reached for the power. The quake began to weaken.

Kane could see the levels going down and smiled. "It's happening. Keep doing what you're doing right now, Rictor." His hands flashed over the interface, capturing everything possible.

Slowly, too slowly for Rictor's preference, the trembling subsided, leaving Rictor panting and sweating like he had just run a marathon. (Who was he kidding, he could barely do 5k.) "That was . . . difficult. Weird. It is so much easier outside. Is that normal?"

#moment of awesome #rictor #dominion #xprpg #xproject #phase 2 #rpg #rp

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dangerously-human · 2 years

Note

About what you said here-

"I know that some aspects of my disabilities will be gone when I have my heavenly body. But some probably will remain, because they’re not all bad."

Hmm... Personally, I doubt that.

You still keeping certain traits I mean.

I mean no disrespect when I say that, but, it's just..

The way I see it, God might have chosen to let you have autism so that it could in some way be used as an opportunity to, like you said, highlight his powers, and as a way to make you build up your faith and reliance on him; to help you get closer to him.

But, once you do all that and you *do* succeed and *do* make it into heaven and reunite with God (hypothetically), then that's it. It's done. You're there now, you made it. It has fulfilled it's purpose; you don't need it anymore. So, at least to me, it seems very unlikely that He would make you keep even the smallest fragments of it in your new body, regardless of whether they were painful or harmless to you in your past life on Earth.

Any and all earthly conditions, illnesses/disabilities, habits or traits from our previous lives, whether they were physical, developmental or psychological; whether we were born with them or not; whether they were absolutely debilitating to us or mostly harmless, it doesn't matter what. ALL of them will be removed from us and ereased for good when God gives us our clean heavenly bodies. That's my belief. (And hope.)

But in all honesty, neither of us really know what will happen when we get a new body in heaven, and we'll never know for sure until we actually get there ( *if * we ever get there..).

All we can do right now is speculate.

Just wanted to add in my two cents there.

Hi. Given that you're saying this on anon, I'm guessing we don't know each other. So I don't think you know how this comes across, and I will try to be polite in my response, but this was hurtful to me and I don't think I can or should answer without acknowledging that. I am not responding in anger, but I am responding from a place of wariness.

Autism is not only a bad thing. It is a way of being. I love the comparison to different operating systems on a computer, especially when you consider that one OS might be better at certain tasks than others, but that doesn't mean one OS is actually superior to another (diehard Linux fanatics dni, lol). Some traits can cause problems in some people's lives, but equally some traits (even the same ones) can be actively good in other people's lives, and mostly, it's just neutral - none of it is inherently good or bad. Autism is not brokenness or sin; being perfected would not require me to not be autistic. Now, I can perhaps see some of your point in terms of "there will be neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile," also examples of neutral identities that won't be the same in heaven as on earth. That said, I think most of that statement is about healing division, not so much that we will no longer be who we are. I have to ask if you'd say the same thing about being a woman having fulfilled its purpose and being no longer needed when I'm in heaven. You know what I mean? Like, sure, it's going to mean something different here on earth, but it's not "unclean" or a problem to be solved or a hindrance to overcome in being made complete. In fact, there are ways in which I am a better Christian for being autistic - things like special interests improving my biblical learning, or, as a friend (the lovely @loubuttons) recently taught me, an emphasis on rest and listening to the Lord. I know our understanding of what heaven will be like is imperfect, but I don't see anything in the Bible that says we won't have personalities or will be uniform templates of people. Honestly, it reads to me that you're still on an understanding of autism as being separate from a person, but that makes no more sense than saying I'm a person with femaleness or a person with whiteness or a person with born-in-the-90s-ness - it's a neutral thing that is part of who I am and gets expressed in my life in a variety of ways. When I see Jesus face-to-face, I'll have a chance to ask him more about this, and it will be very cool to learn more about the purposes behind how each of us was made.

Last thought for now: respectfully, if this is something you or anyone else wants to talk to me about, via asks or messages, I'm very open to it but I ask that you sign your name to it moving forward.

#personal

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andnatiabrosca · 2 years

Text

I posted 331 times in 2022

That's 331 more posts than 2021!

49 posts created (15%)

282 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dungeons-and-dragon-age

@notebooks-and-laptops

@merrybandofmurderers

@bearsizedant

@thebimbobaggins

I tagged 139 of my posts in 2022

#birch speaks - 34 posts

#oc: natia brosca - 23 posts

#dao - 17 posts

#birch originals - 11 posts

#dai - 8 posts

#alistair - 7 posts

#dragon age - 7 posts

#natia 30 days - 7 posts

#da2 - 6 posts

#zevran - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#an early microsoft flight simulator? i think? i have no idea what it was called. i think it had a driving mode too. played that one a lot

My Top Posts in 2022:

Zevran for the blorbo bingo? :]

aalkdjfsljs THANK YOU

(I'm gonna ramble a second, sorry: I just submitted a research proposal draft that was Terrible bc the prof clearly HATED my selection so I just did brief (250 word) proposals on 4 different topics and he gets to pick which, because crying over it is Not It, so ask to love on Zev is. 'Preciated!!!!)

(Also, today/tomorrow is my birthday [due to scheduling error, birthday is two days this year] so. not a good look on the birthday)

Okay: Completed, properly for once:

(I found a new pen I like for text on Krita so I've been using it on everything sue me)

Brief discussion:

He's feral and eats trash and is a bastard (affectionate). Of course. He's like my cat, Pirate Bastard.

Every character I like is now autistic. His SpIn is social interaction. Because it was useful. His secondary SpIn is probably leather tanning, but he hasn't had a good chance for it.

If someone says Zev doesn't need therapy, they need therapy. Likewise, Angst out the door; I relate to him TOO MUCH. Sorry.

I think it's funny if he's perpetually lost. I think it's funny that's all.

And yeah, chihuahua energy because he is Small and Vibrates and Nat carries him around in a purse (spiritually). I think he has Dachshund energy really, but that doesn't quite work. Small, says he's dangerous, but really he just wants to be held in front of the fire while you read a book

4 notes - Posted September 16, 2022

I'm going to try streaming at different times this week! I'll ping here beforehand - I'm streaming on discord so that my computer doesn't explode

come by the server if interested:

I don't know how to run a server/use bot integration so PLEASE let me know if stuff is weird, thanks!

4 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

Leliana for the character bingo? :]

Ended up doing this on my phone so I would Actually Do It so not the most legible lolol. (And I missed with one! It should be "I NEVER want to meet them" instead of "they've never done anything wrong"

I liked leli a whole lot the first time I played but it really has changed since. First time I played I was trying very hard to be Straight and Catholic so she was...illuminating to say the least

But frankly, while I adore her whole arc, I think it really plays best as a mirror to other arcs/as an illumination of her relationship with others & especially the chantry itself. I don't...find her particularly compelling standing alone. I think a huge part of that is her Super Religious shtick.

I generally just think of her as a contrast to Nat (Brosca) and Cassandra, actually

Basically, I am extremely queer and do love her whole thing, but she is just too earnest in her fantasy catholicism to be really important to me

5 notes - Posted August 8, 2022

I keep dying trying to play the battle of denerim and it is really making it hard to finish the game TT

5 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ended up doing the ship template for Natia and her crew. my handwriting is Atrocious on tablet, I am Aware.

(Not solid on any of these. Idea from @/dungeons-and-dragon-age, unsure if they want tagged, so not doing so)

Template || picrew

7 notes - Posted May 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #birch speaks

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cursedbeasts · 1 month

Text

Bestia's Wrath Chapter 12: Common Ground

Navigation

Tag in chrono order

Summary:

Bestia makes new friends and regains some old ones.

Beginning Notes:

Recommended listening for the droid factory segment: Berserk OST - Aria

See the end of the chapter for more notes

"So that went exceedingly well." Bestia remarked, grim sarcasm oozing from her tone. "Kaliyo decided to fuck off at the worst possible moment, and Havoc got nearly slaughtered."

She leaned onto the command table, looking over the meager gathering. Theron's holo was glaring at her. Aric was busy arranging funerals for the fallen Havoc members, so Bestia offered to report in his stead. Senya was pacing off to the side, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Lana and Scorpio stood by the table opposite of Bestia.

"The casualties could have been much worse if you weren't there." Lana said.

"I wish I could be inside the facility keeping tabs on Kaliyo but I guess I can't be in two places at once. At least I got to do some property damage."

"I have information regarding the Gemini network." Everyone turned to Scorpio. "Each Eternal Fleet ship has a mechanical captain linked to the network. They cannot be directly subverted."

"Why?" Bestia crossed her arms, glaring at the droid.

"Because they were based on me. I do not know how they came to exist, but I will not be imitated."

"You could sue them for copyright infringement," Theron chimed in.

"The captains are produced from a template: Gemini Prime. I have located the factory the unit resides in. It is located on the planet Darvannis."

Bestia flinched a little at that name. It was where Styrak fell. Tired of the Dread Masters' constant blunders, Styrak had tried to take the matters into his own hands. He chose Darvannis because of all the resources and people gathered there for a huge underworld auction. Styrak wanted to corrupt all of them with a massive Sith Alchemy ritual and come back to Oricon with a huge army and a pile of wealth and weapons.

However, the Empire and the Republic learned of it somehow, and sent in a joint team of their strongest. The group swept through the city, found Styrak, and fought him to the death. The only reason he came back was the loyalty of his surviving apprentices. They sacrificed themselves to conduct a ritual that pulled Styrak from the other side. And now Bestia was going to the world that almost claimed her husband's life.

"So, you want someone to steal that particular unit."

"Yes, very perceptive. Retrieve it, and I will decode the Gemini Frequency from its databanks."

"Senya, can you tell us anything?"

"Darvannis was one of the first worlds we conquered. The facility is a key factory that produces droids, weapons and starships. So it's secured accordingly."

"Let me guess. We'll need a fucking army that we don't have."

"We have three ancient Sith lords." Theron pointed out.

"Sending Styrak to the place where he pretty much died is out of the question, unless you want a Force storm that will take out EVERYTHING. And turn Darvannis into another Dromund Kaas." Bestia snapped. "Also, as much as I hate to point it out, our powers are useless against droids. Unless someone develops a virus that teaches them to feel fear, we're pretty much just regular Sith folks against Zakuul. I'm still willing to go though."

"And you will. I've found some possible allies on the planet. They want to meet the one in charge of the Alliance."

"Who are they?"

"I can't say much, but they have skill and firepower, and they won't stab us in the back. They're more of a "shoot you in the face" type."

"I see. I have a feeling I will like them. We should prepare the Gravestone for combat. Once we get that droid, we can take the fight to the Eternal Fleet."

With that, the meeting was concluded. Bestia found Styrak and Rammas waiting for her in a hallway outside the War Room. Rammas walked up to her, and unclipped something from her belt. She held it up to Bestia to see: two lightsabers with golden hilts etched with curving dark stripes.

"Where'd you get these?" Bestia picked up one of the hilts, weighing it in her hand.

"Eh, long story. A Jedi found me in the woods and had me make these for you. She said they'll help defeat Arcann." Rammas shrugged. "I kinda modified the hilts and put in orange crystals though."

"These are wonderful!" Bestia held the lightsaber up, and activated it. A fiery orange blade hissed to life. Bestia gave it a few swings.

"Thank you. Who was this Jedi?"

"Satele Shan."

"Wait, the Grandmaster of the Jedi order?"

"Yep. Camping out in the woods as a hermit."

"She could join the alliance."

"I asked. She said her fate isn't here."

Rammas rolled her eyes at the memory, then turned to leave.

"I'm gonna go visit Shyren."

Styrak lingered around after Rammas had left.

"There's more to her story. She mentioned having a vision of Vitiate's original form in a cave during the journey the Jedi sent her on."

"They do have the same eyes. You think they're connected?"

"I don't know." Styrak said. "Do you remember the tests I carried out shortly after we were freed? You and Raptus were the closest matches. But there's also this unidentified part."

"Yeah and I said that I wouldn't have fucked Raptus in a thousand years. Not to mention we were both in stasis at the time of her birth."

"What I'm saying is, they could be connected. We know nothing about Raptus's background. He just showed up when Vitiate gathered us to be shipped off to Oricon for the first time. But it could also be a mutation or a throwback trait like in Vitiate himself."

"You think she could be some sort of sleeper agent sent by Vitiate? Like his Children of the Emperor project?"

Styrak shrugged his great shoulders.

"That is a possibility we should account for."

"Eh, I don't want to judge someone based on what their possible ancestors are like. She's a good kid. And you've pretty much adopted her."

Styrak hummed and nodded. Bestia couldn't see his face under his mask, but was sure he was smiling a little.

"I suppose I have."

The preparations for the mission took several days. Time that Bestia used to rest and recharge, find out some information about the planet, and train with her new lightsabers. They really did feel like an extension of her body. Bestia wouldn't be caught off guard with an unwieldy lightsaber spear anymore. Which was good, considering she wouldn't have Styrak around to save her on this mission.

Darvannis, Hutt space. The shuttle had trouble landing due to strong winds, but eventually it connected lopsidedly with the landing pad. Bestia was the first to hop out, and was nearly knocked down by the wind, but managed to right herself. Squinting, she looked around. They landed on the edge of a city filled with rounded sand-colored buildings that had tiny windows. A gap in the walls led into a yard, and beyond that, was a maze of streets. Bestia looked in the other direction, and saw a blank desert with a few thin palm trees bending in the wind.

"So this is the world that claimed my husband's life? I expected something more impressive…"

Theron didn't reply. He turned around and walked into the city. Bestia followed him. They walked until they ended up in a plaza. Several tents stood around the edges, proudly decorated with banners of various clans. People in armor walked around. A larger tent dominated one edge of the plaza, with a tusked skull hanging above the entrance. It was the one Theron led Bestia to. Two guards stood at the door, they nodded at Theron and let them pass.

Inside was a large central room, flanked by two wings. The wings were filled with rows of bunk beds and footlockers. The central room had a holo table, similar to the one back at the base, but slightly smaller. Several armored people stood around it, staring at a woman with shoulder length red hair.

"You secured contact with the Mandalorians." Bestia said, impressed.

Mandalorians were an interspecies gathering of warriors, recognized by their distinctive armor, united by a common culture, and led by a code of honour. Usually consisting of scattered clans and mercenaries acting on their own, sometimes Mandalorians united under a singular leader. It looked like Bestia was witnessing one such occasion. She wondered what brought them to Darvannis. Mandalorians usually sought out challenging opponents to fight, and Darvannis was an out of the way world. There was no Dread Master for them to tackle here anymore. Aside from herself, but she came to try and forge an alliance against Zakuul.

A man with tan skin and a close-cropped mohawk of hair fixed Bestia with a stare.

"You're on the wrong world, Sith. Belsavis prison is on the other end of the galaxy!" He laughed at his own joke.

Bestia simply glared right back at him, letting some of her power loose. The man flinched, but stood strong.

"Shut up, Khomo. I've heard of you, Dread Master. Shae Vizla. Mandalore the Avenger."

"Bestia. Dread Master." Bestia stuck her clawed hand out for a handshake. Shae shook it.

"I take it the Mandalorians have no love for Zakuul?"

"The bastards scattered our clans. What remains stands with Mandalore the Avenger."

"Nice title. How'd you come by it?"

"My clan did better than most in the past years. I ended up in charge mostly by accident."

"I can relate." Bestia sighed, and rolled her eyes. "I set out to avenge my family and take down the sith emperor and now I'm stuck leading the rebellion like some goody-two-shoes Chosen One from some kids' story."

"That's quite a tale. Is your fighting as good as your Force powers?"

"Oh, it is. I've had plenty of practice beating up droids, considering my fear powers are useless against them."

"Good. We have assault teams hammering at the factory. Make yourself useful and disable the perimeter guns." She looked somewhere behind Bestia. "Torian!"

A young human stepped up. He had short blond hair and crescent scars on his cheeks. Seemed like some sort of ritual scarring.

"Mand'alor." He said respectfully.

"Torian will show you the way. He's the best scout we got."

Bestia nodded at Torian.

"My name is Bestia. Just point me at the enemy."

"Guns are in sector six. I'll try to protect you."

Bestia burst out laughing.

"I think I'll be the one protecting, but thanks all the same. We Dread Masters are pack beasts, after all. Maybe even to our own detriment."

Torian gave her a look.

"I've heard that this world is where one of your kind fell."

Bestia let out a sigh as the two walked to the speeders parked at the edge of the camp.

"He didn't stay dead for long, but his fall did a lot of harm to us. One of the reasons I came out here. Wanted to see the world that killed my husband. Can't say I'm impressed, but I don't know what I expected. The other reason is that I want Zakuul gone as much as everyone else does. They destroyed my home."

"I see. Our heartworlds were taken by Zakuul." Torian said.

"I hope they weren't bombed like Oricon was."

They mounted the speeders and rode out into the city. They weaved through streets, dodging Zakuulan patrols until they made it towards the first gun emplacement. It was inside a building on top of a hill with a winding walled path leading up to it.

"Time to test my new lightsabers on some real targets." Bestia said, eyeing the Skytroopers patrolling the perimeter of the building. "Cover my back."

She grabbed her weapons, orange blades coming to life, and leapt forward. The Skytroopers didn't even have time to register what hit them as Bestia sliced one vertically into three pieces, and then spun around and cut down a turret that aimed at her. She saw a blaster bolt hit another Skytrooper in the head from the corner of her eye.

"Damn, these lightsabers are good."

Bestia and Torian fought their way up the path and inside the building, where Bestia stood guard while Torian reprogrammed the gun. When they exited, Bestia looked up and saw the gun pointed towards the huge looming tower of the droid factory.

They fought through to the other two gun placements without much incident. However, when Torian leaned over the controls of the final gun, a burst of transmissions came from his communicator. The guns were ready to fire, but there still was a group of Mandalorians trapped inside the factory. If the guns were to fire now, they'd get caught in the blast, but so would the factory. Bestia watched Torian consider the options, a deep frown on his face.

"These are your people. It should be your decision. I'd divert one of the guns to clear a path for them. Let them fight another day."

"There's no honor in running away. Besides, it would mean less damage to the factory."

He keyed in the command. All three guns pelted the factory, engulfing it in flames. The ride back was silent.

They reconvened in the command center. A holo of the factory in flames floated above the table.

"We reprogrammed the guns." Bestia said. "The factory is damaged, and the shields should be down."

"And our losses?"

"Twenty eight seasoned Mandalorian warriors." Replied Khomo, the man who tried to snap at Bestia previously. "How valiantly they fought against the spawn of production line fifteen alpha!"

Acrid sarcasm dripped off his mocking eulogy. Torian frowned at him.

"Don't mock the dead." Bestia said. "Unless you want to be haunted."

"You're no Mandalorian, but you pulled your weight." Shae said. "We'll plan our next move in the morning. For now, we celebrate survival and victory."

Bestia thought celebrating in the wake of their allies' death was odd, but decided against saying anything. Maybe it was the Mandalorian way of honouring the fallen.

"Let's see how you handle Mandalorian drink."

"I drank stuff that would probably kill a regular person. Bring it on!"

The celebration was, indeed, a way to honour the fallen. While the bodies couldn't be retrieved, the Mandalorians deemed the burning factory a fitting funeral pyre. At first, Bestia stood awkwardly to the side, but then someone challenged her to a brawl, and she found herself inside a ring of shouting and cheering people, faced off against a masked stranger. Shrugging, she summoned her own mask and assumed a battle stance.

"No claws!" The Mandalorian said. "And no Force powers."

"Alright. We fight till one of us is knocked down."

Bestia charged forward, going for the opponent's midsection. For her, the best defence was offence, for better or for worse. She also didn't exactly need Force powers to scare someone. Being charged by a really tall, really beefy person would make most people flinch. Not this one, though. The Mandalorian stepped to the side, avoiding the hit. Bestia spun around and moved behind her opponent. Before they could react, they were lifted up and thrown to the side. The crowd cheered.

Several more people lined up to fight Bestia, and one even managed to knock her down. It seemed like Bestia's displays of strength warmed the hearts of the Mandalorians, and soon she was sharing stories and drinking with them. In the end, Bestia passed out, exhausted but content.

She woke up with a mild headache. Those drinks must have been strong to get through her Sith Alchemy reinforced defences. She grumbled, re-did her hair into a long braid, and joined Shae and others at the command table.

"Hangover?" Khomo ribbed.

"A bit. Must have been some drinks." She looked over at the table."What are we dealing with?"

"Power stations and a tactical outpost in the way. If we disable the stations, we can move on to the factory."

"I'd give a lot for an actual opponent to fight." Khomo grumbled.

"Same. Like a big beast to wrangle or something. In the meantime, I could take the outpost. How big is it?"

"You're going to take on a battalion alone? Brave, but not very bright."

"I never claimed to be the brightest lightsaber in the bunch." Bestia shrugged. "Torian can vouch for my ability to cleave through metal, though."

Shae leveled a doubtful look at Bestia, but nodded.

"It's not a very big outpost. You holding the droids off would give the clans time to reach the power stations…" she mused. "I will trust you on this. "

Bestia was given coordinates, and left the meeting, walking to stand outside the camp. Torian would be accompanying her on this mission too, but for now she was alone. Her holocom beeped.

"Lana. What is it?" Bestia asked.

"Theron has procured schematics of the droid factory. They're incomplete, but they should help in planning."

"I sense a "but" coming."

"I have concerns about our new allies. Mandalorians tend to value war and challenge above all else. They're opposing Zakuul now, but when it's gone…"

"You could say the same about me and my family."

There was an awkward silence.

"I have found a lot in common with them. I won't betray their trust."

She could see Lana's expression change to a frown.

"You must think about the galaxy. This arrangement will not last."

"I "must" nothing, Lana. I'm already thinking about the galaxy by trying to rid it of Vitiate. I'll do as much as necessary to achieve that goal. Beyond that, I simply don't care as long as me and the Dread Masters are left alone. If it doesn't last, then so be it. Just send me the damn schematics. I'll contact you when I have the droid."

Bestia cut off the communications, and kicked at a withered palm frond at her feet, sending it flying. Now on top of having a headache she was pissed. She paced around fuming until she saw Torian emerge from the camp.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Bestia did her best to erase the scowl off her face. "Let's go."

The outpost was a series of winding corridors. Droids were spat out by side tunnels and swarmed the place, but they stood no chance against Bestia's need to vent her anger. They were cut down, and the side gates wrecked with broken droids piled up to the ceiling. Finally, they made it to a control room and Torian started typing away at a console while Bestia stood guard.

"I overheard your call. Your friend thinks we're animals. We're not. We're warriors."

"I don't agree with her on everything. I'd wager that deep down she sees me as a dangerous beast too."

"Then I shouldn't have said anything."

"We should report to the camp."

The mood back in the camp was cheerful, especially compared to when Bestia just arrived.

"Well done, all of you. We will march on the factory within the hour."

"There's a droid within it that I need to grab. It holds the key to the eternal fleet."

"We're after weapons, not droids." Khomo said. "Just imagine: us with all these weapons, smashing apart the siege on our homeworld!"

"You can dream of glory later. Go, prepare the clans!" Shae snapped at him. She leaned on the table, looking tired. "Half the time I struggle simply keeping my people together."

"At least they're your people. I'm stuck in a position I didn't ask for, leading several different factions, all of which have a warrant for my arrest and likely execution. Fun times."

"Looks like you've got quite a challenge on your hands. Come, let me show you the battle plan."

"Oh yeah, speaking of. My people sent me partial schematics of the droid factory."

"This is much better!"

Bestia followed Shae outside. The Mandalore climbed on top of a stack of crates, and Bestia listened to her speech. Her people cheered, and roared when she was done.

Bestia rode at the head of the small army, clashing with the droids alongside the Mandalorians. Among the chaos, she and Torian made their way up the tower. The defences inside were minimal compared to all the droids crowded outside. The two wrecked production lines as they went, carving a veritable path of destruction through the factory and, probably, through Zakuul's budget.

Finally, they made it to the topmost level. It was a huge room with several elevators leading to an upper level. And there, opposite of the entrance, Bestia saw the final prize: a skinny humanoid droid floating in an open glass tube, with countless cables connecting to it. The droid looked a little like Scorpio with the same face and halo, but whoever designed it decided against giving it a weirdly feminine shape Scorpio had.

"So that's your droid?" Torian asked.

"Yep. Now to climb up there and wait till a contact on my side slices into it."

A faint sound came from behind them. Metallic footsteps. Far too many of them. The two turned around to face a horde of droids bearing down on them. It looked like they had a long fight ahead of them.

Some time later, Bestia and Torian stood on top of a growing pile of skytroopers, with more and more surrounding them. Bestia struggled to deflect blaster bolts with her lightsabers, and Torian's shield was running out of power. Was this how it was going to end? Overrun by machines? Bestia sneered. Khomo Fett was right, dying by droids was a stupid way to go, unworthy of both a Dread Master and Mandalorian.

Suddenly, sparks fell from above, landing on top of the droids, and Bestia chanced a look up towards the ceiling. A cyan lightsaber blade was almost done cutting a circle in the facility ceiling. With one final flourish, the cut section groaned and dropped down, crushing several skytroopers and drawing their attention away from Bestia and Torian. A figure stood on top of the circle, with its back to Bestia. The stranger spun around, the giant lightsaber in their hands cutting a dozen skytroopers in half. Black wings spread behind their back, and glowing eyes bore into Bestia's. Torian aimed his weapon at the stranger, but Bestia forced it down.

"Hi mom." Sharack said simply. A large black and gold droid charged at her, but she simply kicked at it with one of her cybernetic legs.

And suddenly, the droids stopped. Bestia watched, her mouth agape, as their eyes went dark and their arms fell limply to their sides. The screens on the upper level flickered and glitched out, text and data in Zakuulan replaced with a triangular logo made of sharp blades. She hasn't seen this symbol in a long while. Not since she had left Oricon, for it was the Dread Masters' coat of arms.

"We are right on time," A deep feminine voice spoke over the communication system.

"Sharack? Brontes?!"

"Hey, don't forget me." Another voice cut in, a very deep and rumbly one.

"Tyrans?!"

"Who could ever forget you, brother?" Bestia could hear the eye roll in the tone of Brontes's voice. "You are after the Gemini unit, correct? Your path should be clear, and we can assist you in extracting her. Then, we can gather in person once you return to your base."

"Where have you assholes been? I could have used your help about two weeks ago!" Bestia yelled as she trudged towards the elevator.

She stepped out onto the upper level, a long platform that circled around the entire room. Cables ran all over the walls and ceiling towards one point: a capsule with a humanoid figure floating inside. Sharack followed her. Now that they had a moment of peace, Bestia could sense how warped Sharack's presence had gotten. It felt unnatural, like it wasn't supposed to exist. Styrak felt the same way, as well as the Dark Side beasts that spawned from the Force itself back on Ziost. Bestia decided to not linger on it for the moment.

"We have been in hiding." Brontes said. "Sharack is a bit of a later addition to our team."

"There's so much I want to talk about, but we have a droid to retrieve." Bestia turned to Sharack. "Just, promise you won't disappear?"

"I won't." Sharack stepped up to the capsule and reached towards the droid. "So, do we just tear it out?"

"No!" Brontes sounded almost frantic, but quickly regained her composure. "We do not tear the unit out of its capsule. We carefully unplug her when I'm finished overriding her protocols."

"Got it." Sharack moved away from the droid. The screens next to the droid started glitching out, and an alarm went off.

"Good news: Brontes is in. Bad news: there's a fuckton of skytroopers converging on your location, and your Mandalorian friends are pulling out. Take the Gemini unit and go." Tyrans announced.

Bestia and Sharack scrambled to unplug the cables connecting Gemini to the facility. Sounds of shooting came from downstairs. Sharack dropped the cables.

"I'll help hold them off." She vaulted over the railing. The droids were no match for her, even in their numbers.

Gemini twitched and slumped over when Bestia disconnected the last cable. She hoisted the droid over her shoulder and peered into the level below.

"I got the droid!"

"And I have located the self destruct codes for this facility," Brontes's voice dripped with cheerful venom. "I suggest you and the Mandalorian vacate the premises."

Bestia jumped over the railing, the Force cushioning her fall, and ran towards the exit. Sharack flew past, Torian held under one arm, and a heavy piece of machinery levitated by the other, acting like a battering ram and clearing the path.

Explosions thundered out soon after the group cleared the exit. Sharack dropped Torian into his speeder and took the deactivated droid. She kept up with Bestia and Torian as they made their escape, the droid factory crumbling into flames and smoke behind them.

The camp met them with celebration. Huge crates full of weapons now lined the edges of the camp, with Mandalorians going to and fro with new guns in hand. Bestia stumbled into the command tent.

"You two look like osik."

"We just fought through like a hundred droids. We got the one I needed though. And I suddenly reunited with some allies of mine."

Shae looked past Bestia, and the Red Sith turned to see what she was staring at. Sharack stood at the entrance, Gemini still held under one arm. She waved at Shae and gave her a toothy grin.

"Hi, Torch!"

"Sharack Snow. The one even death can't hold back."

"You two know each other?" Bestia asked.

"Remember the whole thing with Revan and his cult bringing Vitiate back to power?"

"Yeah?"

"I met Shae while investigating. We fought on top of a volcano!"

"And then I assisted Sharack in a fight against Revan."

Revan was a legendary figure, a Force user who was both Jedi and Sith. The Sith emperor held them captive for several centuries, and Bestia remembered Raptus gloating about tormenting them. Then Revan was freed by a Republic team and disappeared, only to re-emerge years later at the head of a huge cult. The cult manipulated both sides of the galactic conflict, and the whole chain of events culminated in Revan bringing the Sith Emperor Vitiate back to almost full strength. Which, in turn, led to the destruction of Ziost. Which, in turn, started the entire journey Bestia was currently on. She groaned at the realization.

"The factory is mostly online, and we have new weapons for the first time in years."

"Thank your spy when you see him. He brought the glory days back."

Shae shook her head.

"Blast it. I won't be able to stop them from starting up some sort of a neo-crusade. They'll want to fight more than droids."

"I understand." Bestia said. "How about, once Zakuul is dealt with, you help me hunt down a god?"

"That emperor of yours?"

"Precisely."

"I'll definitely consider it. In the meantime, I think your alliance could use a representative of the clans."

Bestia nodded. The hum of ship engines came from the outside.

"Looks like our ride back is here. Welcome aboard, kid."

Torian, Bestia, and Sharack exited the tent. A shuttle with a faded Zakuul insignia on its tail sat on the landing pad.

"Goodbye, Darvannis, I guess." Bestia said as they all piled in.

Everyone took their seats, and for a while, no one spoke as the ship took off. After a while, Bestia shifted in her seat, and looked at Sharack. The Jedi sat slightly to the side in the opposite row of seats, her cybernetic legs taking up the entire aisle.

"What happened?" Bestia asked, and after that, more questions poured from her. "Where have you been? How are you…?"

"Alive?"

"Yes. You were on Ziost when…" Bestia shut her eyes, trying to prevent herself from tearing up at the memory. When she spoke again, her voice was full of pain. "When Vitiate devoured it. I felt you die."

"I did. But also I didn't. I'm not sure what happened, but I woke up after a while. And I was like this." Sharack held up one of her arms.

The arm was covered in dark grey scales that roughly followed the flow of muscle fibers. Bestia stared at it, and then recognition sparked in her mind.

"Styrak has scales like these on his right arm and leg."

"You mean we're, like, both the same undead thing?"

"I think so."

"Brontes said the same thing." Sharack rubbed the back of her neck. "Man, this is ironic. I led half the group that killed him. Now I'm the same thing as him. And I never got to apologize properly."

"He's back at the base, so you have that chance now."

"I guess." Sharack shrugged. "So after I woke up, I wasn't really myself. I was numb and angry, and the only thing that mattered was tracking down Vitiate. I just kinda flew off into space, not thinking much. I can exist in space now. And then Zakuul ships showed up. They managed to knock me out, and when I woke up, I had Force suppression shackles on."

"I saw you in the throne room."

"Yeah. I was still not really there. Just, laser focused on getting to Vitiate, and here he was. The motherfucker. The tool. Right fucking there inside that old guy."

"Then Marr set us free and you stabbed him."

"I think the dude he was hijacking wanted him gone as much as I did."

"I bet he did."

"For a moment, I think he took control back and asked me to do it. So I did. Ran him through, and Vitiate exploded out and escaped. I flew after him, but I lost track of him."

"What did you do after? I was stuck in carbonite for five years, then Lana found me."

"Oh, shit, Lana's here too? This is gonna be awkward. I kinda broke up with her. Thought she wouldn't wanna be with a monster. I drifted around for a while. Eventually, I started to sorta feel like myself again, and decided to try and return to the Jedi. Except, by the time I did…"

"There wasn't really a Jedi order to return to?"

Sharack nodded, her ears lowered.

"Yeah. Coruscant was blockaded, and the Jedi were scattered. I don't know if they'd even accept what I've become. Some of them struggled to accept my species even after I literally beat the shit out of the Sith Emperor. I couldn't even contact my former master. So I went back to drifting and eventually Brontes found me and I've been with her and Tyrans since. Maybe I should ask them to find master No'ree. Just, to know if she's okay or not."

"Will you join the Alliance?"

"Sure. Seems like the only way to get to Vitiate is to get Arcann out the way. Annoying little man." Sharack grumbled.

"That, he is. I found Seid a bit ago on Zakuul."

"He's okay?" Sharack perked up. "I never got to talk to him after Ziost…"

"He is. I didn't really talk to him much though."

In truth, Bestia mostly didn't know how to approach her son. He had chosen to maintain a bit of distance from both her and Styrak, being Force-blind and wary of his sith parents. With the twins located, that left only one of Bestia's offspring unaccounted for: Mu'hass, her eldest. Bestia only knew that he escaped with Styrak and Rammas, but later on split off on his own. He'd be fine, Bestia thought, trying to soothe her worry. He's a grown man and a Sith, and he had a level head, meaning he wouldn't take unnecessary risks. He'd turn up eventually, or Brontes and Tyrans could track him down.

As soon as they landed, Sharack hopped out, carrying the droid towards the base entrance. Bestia ambled after her. An alarm blared, causing Bestia to grumble and reach for her lightsabers. She was exhausted, and there was sand in far too many places, and she was looking forward towards a shower and not another fight. Someone shouted, pointing up. A wedge-shaped vessel revealed itself in the air above Odessen. It was painted a faded red, and sharp white designs ran along its underbelly. A hatch opened and two small figures flew towards the ground.

"Do not attack!" Bestia shouted in her most commanding voice. "They are on our side!"

Confused and angry stares were aimed her way, but no one fired. The descending shapes drew closer, turning out to be two people in red robes and golden crested masks. They both wore bladed cybernetic wings. They landed in front of Bestia, the wings folding neatly behind their backs, and Bestia pulled both of them into a hug.

"Hey." The taller one said.

"Hey Tyrans. I see you assholes still love to make an entrance."

"Yep." Tyrans sounded decidedly smug.

"Hello to you too." Brontes freed herself from Bestia's hug. "I would like to see the Gemini unit."

"You'll have to contend with Scorpio, but I got a feeling you two will get along. Let's head inside."

They met Lana at the base entrance. She frowned at the sudden arrivals.

"More Dread Masters?"

"Yep." Tyrans and Bestia said in unison, and then chuckled.

"Do not worry. With us here, there is only one Dread Master left unaccounted for." Brontes reassured. Lana didn't look convinced.

"Raptus." Bestia rolled her eyes.

"I don't think he'll be joining us. Even we couldn't trace him. Bastard just disappeared."

"Eh, good riddance."

Lana led them all to the command table. Sharack sat in a chair watching Scorpio pick at a port on the back of Gemini's neck. She turned to look at the new arrivals, and beamed when she saw Brontes. Brontes in turn walked right to the droids. Tyrans sat on a smaller holotable by the wall that wasn't in use, and Lana took her place at the head of the table.

"I believe we both have quite a lot to report."

End notes:

Osik means "shit" in Mando'a.

This was a surprisingly fun chapter to write and there's a surprising amount of common ground between Bestia and the Mandalorians.

Also a fun bit of lore that I wanted to include but couldn't find a way to do so organically: the celebration where Bestia suplexes a person is a Mandalorian death ceremony. The only outsider to be honoured with one was actually a female sith lord named Raze who fought off many Jedi and died fighting.

#fanfic #c: writing #swtor #Dread Masters #Dread Master Bestia #swtor dread masters #swtor fanfiction #S: Bestia's Wrath

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