#marculus

[sneakupandhitya]

im gonna touch you

Im actually an apparition so its Itsyour hand Its just gonna go straight thru me brah im sorry

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Neutralised Bios: Bram (1994)

One of Three Grave-Diggers Abraham Machado

A grave-digger and a musician Abraham Machado.

"Morning, Mona, sorry I'm late, Cal… car troubles"

Name

Full Legal Name: Abraham Salvador Varela Machado

First Name: Abraham

Meaning: This name may be viewed either as meaning 'Father of many' in Hebrew or else as a contraction of 'Abram' meaning 'High father' and 'Hamon' meaning 'Many, Multitude'.

Pronunciation: a-bra-AM / AY-bra-ham

Origin: English, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Swedish, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Danish, Biblical, Biblical Latin

Middle Name: Salvador

Meaning: Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan form of the Late Latin name 'Salvator', which meant 'Saviour', referring to Jesus.

Pronunciation: sal-ba-DOOR

Origin: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan

Surname(s): Varela, Machado

Meaning(s): Varela: Derived from Spanish 'Vara' 'Stick'. Machado: Derived from Spanish and Portuguese 'Machado' 'Hatchet', both from Latin 'Marculus' 'Little hammer'.

Pronunciation(s): ba-REH-la. ma-CHA-dho

Origin(s): Spanish. Portuguese, Spanish

Titles: Mr, Señor

Goes By: Abe, Bram

Characteristics

Age: 30

Gender: Male. He/Him Pronouns

Race: Human

Nationality: American Citizen. Born in America

Ethnicity: Hispanic (Sephardic Jewish)

Birth Date: 12th May 1964

Sexuality: Straight

Religion: Jewish

Native Language: Spanish

Known Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, Hebrew, (Some) Latin

Relationship Status: Single

Astrological Sign: Taurus

Played By: Alfred Molina

Appearance

Height: 6'3 / 190 cm

Eye Colour: Brown

Hair Colour: Black

Hair Dye: None

Body Hair: Hairy

Facial Hair: Varies between a Clean Shave and a Full Beard

Tattoos: (As of Jan 1994) 1 (Has 'Vivimos, Amamos, Morimos' [We live, we love, we die] tattooed under his left armpit, next to his heart)

Piercings: None

Scars: None

Health and Fitness

Allergies: None

Alcoholic, Smoker, Drug User: Social Drinker, Occasional Smoker

Illnesses/Disorders: None Diagnosed

Medications: None

Any Specific Diet: None

Relationships

Affiliated Groups: Mortimer & Co. Mortuary Services (Employee)

Friends: Cal, Mona, Meg

Significant Other: None

Parents: Rabbi Abiram Machado (63, Father), Haydée Machado (61, Mother, Née Varela)

Parents-In-Law: None

Siblings: Humberto Varela Machado (25, Brother), Aurora Varela Machado (20, Sister)

Siblings-In-Law: None

Nieces & Nephews: None

Children: None

Extras

Level of Education: G.E.D

Occupation: Grave-Digger

Employer: Mortimer & Co. Mortuary Services

Biography: Bram learnt from a young age that being a hardworking man would take him far in the world. He met and befriended a young Mona during his time vacationing in Eloia, Illinois for Hanukkah when he was 19. He moved to Chicago at 21 (after getting his G.E.D) and started working at the facility soon after. Assigned by Mr Mortimer to be a gravedigger after failing his physical fitness test to become a security guard. He soon became close with Cal, a fellow grave-digger and introduced him to Mona upon her joining the staff. Bram's harboured a crush on Mona ever since, even though he would never let her know as he's too busy acting tough.

[metacriticc-news]

Guatemala agrees to increase the number of US flights to deport Migration news

In 2024. Approximately 66,000 people were deported from the US in Guatemala. The number is expected to be rise. The Central American country of Guatemala agreed to increase the number of flights to deportation obtained from the United States, after the visit of the State Secretary of Marculus Rubio. At the press conference on Wednesday, President Guatemalan Bernardo Arevalo also announced that…

[lord-here-i-am]

Hl. Ursula und Gefährtinnen

gefeiert am 21. Oktober

Hl. Ursula Märtyrerin * in England (?) † um 304 (?) oder um 451 (?) in Köln in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Ursula war eine Frau, die - möglicherweise in der Diokletianischen Verfolgung um 304 - in Köln zusammen mit Gefährtinnen ermordet wurde. Die Rede von 11.000 Leidensgenossinnen beruht wohl auf einer versehentlichen Multiplikation der tatsächlichen Zahl mit dem Faktor Tausend.

Die Legende erzählt von Ursula als der - durch ihre Schönheit weithin berühmten - Tochter des christlichen Königs Maurus. Schon in jungen Jahren habe sie sich ewiger Jungfräulichkeit verschrieben, ihr Vater aber verlobte sie mit dem englischen Fürstensohn Ætherius. Dem sei vom Kaiser für erwiesene Treue ein Stück Land - die heutige Bretagne in Frankreich - geschenkt worden; hier wollte er sich nach seiner Eheschließung niederlassen. Ursula erbat drei Jahre Frist; in dieser Zeit sollte Ætherius im christlichen Glauben unterrichtet und getauft werden.

Ursula selbst wolle sich mit zehn erlesenen Jungfrauen, denen sie selbst als elfte angehören wolle, vorbereiten: zu ihnen sollten sich je 999 weitere Jungfrauen gesellen, sie alle sollen geweiht und getauft, aber auch in ritterlichen Spielen ausgebildet werden und einen Schwur auf neue Ritterschaft leisten; Schiffe sollten gebaut werden, weltliche und geistliche Beschützer, darunter die Bischöfe Pantalus und Mauritius von Sizilien, sollten die Jungfrauen auf einer Fahrt nach Rom begleiten. Zu den Vorbereitungen für diese Reise kam auch Gerasina, die verwitwete Königin von Sizilien und Schwester von Ursulas Mutter Daria, mit ihrem Sohn und den vier Töchtern, die sich den Jungfrauen anschlossen.

Als der Wind gut stand brachen sie auf, gelangten aber in der Nordsee durch einen schweren Sturm in die Rheinmündung und dann nach Köln, wo Königin Sigillindis sie freundlich begrüßte. Ursula erfuhr im Traum von einem Engel, dass sie nach ihrem Besuch in Rom wieder nach Köln zurückkehren werde, um hier das Martyrium zu erleiden. Alle fuhren zunächst auf dem Rhein weiter nach Basel, von dort gingen sie zu Fuß nach Rom. Inzwischen erschien auch dem Ætherius ein Engel, der ihm kundtat, er solle seiner Braut entgegen fahren. Mit Mutter, Schwester und dem Bischof Marculus von Griechenland gelangte er ebenfalls nach Rom. Ursula wurde vom Papst Siricius empfangen, dieser schloss sich mit vielen Bischöfen der Rückreise nach Köln an. Zwei christenfeindliche römische Herren, die die Jungfrauen vergeblich für sich hatten gewinnen wollen, bewegten hinterrücks die Hunnen, Ursula und ihre Gesellschaft in Köln zu überfallen und zu töten. Das Blutbad unter den 11.000 Jungfrauen wurde bei der Ankunft der Schiffe um das Jahr 451 aufs Grausamste verwirklicht. Zuletzt blieb Ursula alleine übrig. Der Hunnenfürst begehrte sie für sich und erschoss die sich standhaft Verweigernde mit seinem Pfeil.

Andere Legenden erzählen, dass die Jungfrauen bei ihrer Landung in Köln auf die Hunnen stießen, die damals die Stadt besetzt hielten. Die Soldaten überfielen, misshandelten und töteten die Frauen, Ursula aber wurde vom Hunnenkönig begehrt. Sie verweigerte sich ihm, worauf sie mit einem Pfeil getötet wurde. Daraufhin kamen 11.000 Engel vom Himmel herab und trieben zur Strafe die Hunnen aus der Stadt.

Nach einer Inschrift des 4. Jahrhunderts baute ein Kölner Bürger eine zerstörte Kapelle über den Gräbern von Märtyrerinnen wieder auf. Ausgangspunkt der Legende ist eine Inschrift auf einem Stein aus dem 4./5. Jahrhundert in der heutigen St.-Ursula-Kirche in Köln, die von einem Martyrium von Jungfrauen - ohne Namen- und Zahlenangabe - Auskunft gibt. Aus dem 9. Jahrhundert sind Zeugnisse einer kirchlichen Verehrung bekannt, damals werden als Märtyrerinnen genannt Pinnosa, Brittola, Martha, Saula, Sambatia, Gregoria, Saturnina und Palladia. Aus einem missverstandenen Zahlzeichen kam statt dieser 8 die Zahl 11.000 zustande; aus einer missverstandenen Inschrift die Jungfrau Ursula.

Ruhm und Reliquien verbreiteten sich nachweislich vom 10. Jahrhundert an. Um 975 entstand die Erzbischof Gero von Köln gewidmete Leidensgeschichte Fuit tempore pervetusto, Es war in sehr alter Zeit, der eine im 11. Jahrhundert geschriebene folgte. Durch Gräberfunde in der Nähe des alten Friedhofes der römischen Siedlung Colonia Agrippinensis im Jahr 1106 und durch die Visionen der Elisabeth von Schönau untermauert, wurden die Legenden mit märchenhaften Zügen erweitert, nun wurden als Gefährtinnen Aurelia, Cordula, == Kunera und und Kunigunde genannt.

Seit Mitte des 12. Jahrhunderts verbreiteten die Benediktiner von Deutz den Kult, einen Höhepunkt er im 15. Jahrhundert, gefördert besonders durch die Zisterzienser. Durch Überführungen der großen Zahl angeblicher Reliquien breitete sich die Verehrung über fast ganz Europa aus und erreicht gegen Ende des Mittelalters ihren Höhepunkt. Der belgische Chronist Sigebert von Gembloux und die Acta Sanctorum berichten, Kolumbus habe 1493 bei der Entdeckung einer Inselgruppe in der Karibik in Anlehnung an die Ursula-Legende diese Santa Ursula y Las Once Mil Virgenes, Heilige Ursula und 11.000 Jungfrauen, kurz Jungfraueninseln - heute die unter britischer und US-amerikanischer Hoheit stehenden Jungferninseln - benannt. Im 16. Jahrhundert wurden elf Flammen als Symbol für die Jungfrauen ins Köln Stadtwappen aufgenommen; auch die Stadt Oberursel im Taunus führt ihren Namen auf Ursula zurück und führt sie im Wappen. 1608 wurde in der Ursulakirche in Köln die Goldene Kammer zur Aufbewahrung der Reliquien errichtet. Dort finden sich - neben dem Ursula zugeschriebenen Kopf - zahllose Knochen, die in goldenen Reliquienbüsten zu finden sind, darunter auch Männer- und Kinderköpfe.

Der 1535 in Brescia durch Angela Merici gegründete Ursulinenorden hat Ursula zum Namenspatron. Mit Ursula verehrt werden ihre Gefährtinnen Antonia, Brisca, Cäcilia, Clementine, Eugenia, Gratia, Odilia und Verena, die dasselbe Schicksal erlitten. Bei der Reform des römischen Kalenders 1969 wurde Ursula gestrichen, 2001/2004 wieder aufgenommen.

[asimplechaos]

More NQT babs!

Briza, of the Earth family

Marculus, of the Water family

Yuzu, of the Fire family

Nana, of the Aether family

[theterribletenno]

Vulcan, the Blacksmith warframe

Original submission by @shadowpuppy2. Doing Vulcan immediately after Eski is going to really test my creativity, it would have been very easy to make them use near-identical mechanics. But I strive for excellence even for the benefit of a meme. The idea behind Vulcan's playstyle will be "humble but lowkey badass support" a frame everyone will want on their team but will never really be in the spotlight.

Health: 150 (450 at rank 30) Shields: 100 (300 at rank 30) Armor: 300 (450 at rank 30) Energy: 200 (300 at rank 30) Sprint Speed: 0.9

Passive: While an ally is affected by one of Vulcan's abilities Vulcan gains armor equal to 50% of that player's armor, and the player in turn gains armor equal to 50% of Vulcan's armor. This effect stacks for each player affected, but not for each effect caused by Vulcan. (Armor from mods is included in this calculation but not armor from warframe abilities, arcanes, or other temporary armor sources.)

Ability 1: Marculus Strike, 25 energy. Vulcan brandishes his Marculus hammer and advances on a single enemy within a 10 meter, 30 degree cone of his crosshairs, delivering a shattering blow that deals 1500 impact damage. Survivors will have their armor sundered by 30% while enemies killed by Marculus Strike are guaranteed to drop a universal ammo pickup and have an increased chance to drop health and energy orbs. Enemies with less than 15% of their max health remaining will be killed instantly.

Ability 2: Castrum, 50 energy. Vulcan summons up a wall of slag, and hardens the molten stone and metal into a solid barrier with a base health of 3500 and additional health equal to 500% of Vulcan's armor. (Armor from mods is included in this calculation but not armor from warframe abilities, arcanes, or other temporary armor sources.) Upon activation, the Castrum is invulnerable for 4 seconds; incoming damage that is absorbed during the invulnerability period is converted and added to the Castrum's health. Vulcan can deploy up to four Castrum simultaneously. The barrier is tall, wide, slightly curved, and blocks both enemy projectiles and pathing, but friendly units and fire are able to pass through. Using Marculus Strike on a Castrum will cause it to be destroyed and shattered, applying the damage and effects of Marculus Strike to all enemies in a 15 meter, 60 degree cone.

Ability 3: Summon Incus, 75 energy. Vulcan deploys his one true love, his Incus anvil onto the battlefield. The Incus is a stationary object which cannot be damaged and lasts until re-deployed. While active Vulcan can use the Incus by approaching it and pressing the interaction key (default keybind X) which allows him to then forge temporary upgrades for his teammates. (See Appendix A) These upgrades correspond to his four ability keys and each one costs 20 energy to forge. Allies can pick up these forged bonuses by touching the Incus, however each player can only receive a forged bonus once, after which it must be re-forged for the same player to receive or renew its effect. Forged effects last for 18 seconds. Vulcan can disengage from the Incus by pressing the interaction key again. While using the Incus Vulcan gains an additional 225 armor and becomes immune to crowd control effects such as stagger and knockdown.

Ability 4: Forges of Pompeii, 100 energy. With the roaring and billowing of forge fire, Vulcan turns himself and his allies into infernal juggernauts. For the next 12 seconds Vulcan and all allies within 30 meters become engulfed in volcanic fire, gaining 350 armor and creating an aura around their bodies which deals 250 heat damage per half-second with 20% status chance to all enemies in a 5 meter radius while also gaining 25% ability strength. For the first 4 seconds after this ability is activated Vulcan and his allies are invulnerable and a portion of incoming damage that is absorbed will be converted into bonus heat damage for this ability.

Subsumed ability: Marculus Strike.

Signature Weapons Sethlans: Dual machine pistols crafted by Vulcan to dispense hot lead across a large area. Those unfamiliar with the Sethlans take them for granted due to their size, but the diminutive high-density ingot magazine is broken into micro-shards by a molecular diamond grinder and then accelerated beyond the sound barrier by a high-power magnetic field. Dual pistols with an auto-spooling trigger, deals mostly heat damage, moderate slash, and very low impact and puncture with very high status chance at the cost of low crit. High rate of fire without sacrificing per-shot damage and large magazine with average reload speed at the cost of low accuracy and high recoil. In Vulcan's hands this weapon spools up faster. Hephaestus: A pair of thick armored gauntlets filled with molten slag. Vulcan is said to use these gauntlets to forge steel by hand, pounding away at red-hot ingots with his precise and powerful fists. High per-hit damage at the cost of low attack speed. Deals mostly heat damage, moderate impact, and low puncture & slash. Above average crit & status chance. When wielded by Vulcan this weapon is guaranteed to proc heat whenever it procs impact status.

Appendix A: Incus Forging 1, Sword of Mars: Increases damage of primary, secondary, and melee weapons by 300% of the weapon's base damage. Also increases crit and status chance by 100% of base value. 2, Helm of Dispater: Players are healed for 1% of damage dealt by their weapons and abilities. This healing can grant shields and overshields. If the player takes fatal damage it will instead consume the Helm of Dispater effect, restoring the player to 50% of max health and granting 3 seconds of invulnerability. 3, Shield of Nemesis: Grants an additional 200 points of max health and 200 points of armor and restores 10 health per second. 4, Gauntlet of Felicitas: Grants +50% ammo efficiency on player's equipped primary and secondary weapons and +30% reload speed. Grants +50% melee attack speed and +20% sprint speed.

Closing Notes: I imagine him being like a cross between Andre from Dark Souls and Wisp, with like a dash of Atlas. Hot dad energy. Vulcan's Incus forge buffs are named after Greek and Roman gods that correspond to their effects, and his weapons are named after other gods which are parallels to Vulcan from other cultures.

[jackhkeynes]

8m Septembr

martel prendr /maʀˈtɛl ˈpʀɛn.dʀ̩/ to step up, pitch in, help out

< attested from 15C in Kigman's poetry, an idiom literally meaning "to take the hammer". The noun is from later Latin martellus, diminutive of a variant of marculus "hammer". The verb is a direct descendant of Latin prehendō "I take, grasp, seize".

Y rey Eustasc meðes pris martel posc y quagment 1755 a Lisbon.

King Eustace himself stepped up after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

/i ˈri awˈstats meˈðɛz ˈprɪz marˈtɛl pɔx i kwagˈmɛnt seˈtɛtsɛnt ˌtsɪnkwanˈtsɪnk a lɪzˈbɔn/

[sgt-nerd-plays]

Week 6: Of Blood and Boyz

Week 6 brings us two new thrilling battles on the verdant fields of Herosand V!

Game Setup:

As with last week's battle, we're at 600 points, letting me field the following lads:

Our Heroes

We have Captain Incusator in Grav Armor. Three squads of five intercessors each, including the capable Sergeant Caminus. Reginald is our stalwart Dreadnought. Finally, there's Lieutenant Marculus, wielding a master-crafted stalker bolt rifle. Two CP have been spent to make Incusator a Chapter Master.

The one change this week was that we were now doing Maelstrom of War missions with tactical objectives.

The mission type was Cleanse and Capture.

My Narrative:

Having gently corrected the Imperial Guard and defeated the metal scourge of the Necrons, Chapter Master Incusator was now ready to continue his campaign. However, with the sheer number of Imperial Forces, he was beginning to wonder if the glory of this war might not be slightly diluted. He knew that the Iron Council would be upset if Medusa did not receive sufficient honor in this most noble fight for the Imperium! Little did he know how he would be tested in the battles to come.

Match 1:

Blood Angels

Their Forces:

Sanguinary Priest, Chaplain, Death Company with Jet Packs, Primaris Ancient, two squads of Intercessors, and one of Scouts.

quote:

"Sir!" Lieutenant Marculus said, snapping to attention. "The envoys from the Blood Angels are here." "Ah, splendid," Chapter Master Incusator said. "Send them in, lad. It will be nice to speak to someone reasonable for once." A furious man in red armor strode into the tent. "What's this about you badmouthing our successors?" he demanded. "I beg your pardon?" Incusator's brows knit up in confusion. "You should! Going around saying that the Flesh Tearers are weak, you should be ashamed of yourself!" "Ah!" Comprehension began to dawn. "I think you misunderstand." "Beep boop, yes," said Reginald from inside the dreadnought. "It is the flesh that is weak. The Blood Angels are made of flesh. Ipso beep facto, the Blood Angels are weak."

”Reginald! Stop helping!” "That insult won't stand! The cheek of it all!" The man pulled off his power armor's glove and slapped it across Incusator's face. "I challenge you and your tin soldiers to combat!"

But do they sparkle?

We had some fairly basic terrain. A nice set of ruins, some craters, and a nice block in the middle. He set his intercessors and ancient in the crater on his side of the map, and placed the scouts in the middle block.

Look! Up in the sky!

Meanwhile, his HQs and his death company were set up in the sky for deep strike fun later on.

I kept my units fairly close together, with one off to the side to head for the ruins. My memory of the tactical objectives is a little fuzzy at this point, but I know two were to grab the objectives closest to me, so that worked out nicely.

The first turn was basically just some shooting around. I got a goodly number of his intercessors and all of his scouts, scoring first blood. Since a goodly portion of his army was in deep strike, he couldn't quite match me for volume of fire, and only did a little bit of damage to my troops.

Falcon in the Dive

He brought his death company and chaplain out of deep strike behind me, and then put the sanguinary priest down where he could go for my dreadnought. The chaplains and death company charged one of my intercessor squads, but then caught a heroic intervention from the Chapter Master. They took out the intercessors, but they didn't do so well against the chapter master. Imperium's Sword is a really good way to punish backline charges. Then he charged my dreadnought with the sanguinary priest.

Oh, right in the hubris!

Sadly, the charge didn't go off. This left him open to take the full ride of my dread's shooting followed by a counter charge on my turn, giving me another point for taking his warlord. In desperation, he charged my dread with his remaining intercessor and the ancient.

Never charge a dreadnought who's been eating garlic.

Overwatch was not kind.

I had also charged my remaining intercessor squad into the melee in the crater.

Fancy a scrap, lads?

The intercessors were largely killed in the fighting, but between them and the chapter master, the chaplain and death company were finally defeated, leading to victory!

I think the heavy reliance on deep strike helped me out a lot here. If he hadn't had so much of his army off the board to start with, I probably wouldn't have been able to punish him so heavily to start things off. That said, I also got really lucky on some key rolls. My first round of shooting went really well, and then his failed charge with his sanguinary priest allowed me to pour more shooting out before getting into melee.

Match 2:

Orks

Their Forces:

Weirdboy, 12 Burnas, 29 Slugga/Choppa Boyz with boss nob, 10 Shoota Boyz, three deff koptas, with Goff kultur.

quote:

"Well, looks like the blood is also weak!" Chapter Master Incusator said. "Hmm. Seems a bit forced, to be honest," said Sergeant Caminus. "Oh, do you really think so?" "Just a bit. The basic wordplay is sound, though. Just needs a little workshopping." "Thank you, sergeant." Incusator frowned. "I say, do you hear something?" There was a rumbling, and then a ramshackle vehicle and some greenskinned bodies appeared over the horizon. "Orks, sir," Sergeant Caminus said, unnecessarily. "We'll show them! After all, the flesh is weak!" the chapter master shouted. "Da flesh is Waaaagh!" came the response from the orks.

Green Tide of Flesh

He put the deffkoptas into deep strike, then put as much of his forces behind cover as possible.

Catch a Ride!

The burna boyz were embarked quite literally onto the trukk. I felt this was the most immediate threat, since he was almost certain to take advantage of the open top of the trukk to torch me with the burnas. I decided I didn't really like that, so poured a decent amount of firepower into the trukk.

"Oi, where'd da trukk go?"

The trukk went kerblooey, and also took out a good portion of his burnas in the process. Some stalker bolt fire took out a few more, as well as much of the shoota squad.

Greenskins Defiant

By the end of my turn, the burnas and the shootas were gone, and I managed to take out a few of the slugga/choppa boyz. Once his turn came up, he used his weirdboy to Da Jump his main squad behind my troops.

"No one expects da orkish inquisition!"

This was his main strategy. I knew it was coming, but sometimes you have to deal with threats one at a time. However, luck was with me again.

He rolled his charge, needing a nine. A five and a three. Thanks to 'Ere We Go, he had the ability to reroll one or either of the dice. He chose the three. And rolled... another three. This is the drawback to playing Goffs as orks. They deal serious damage in a fight once they get into melee, but they have trouble getting there. With Evil Sunz, he would have made it.

He now had the biggest part of his force stuck behind me as my turn came up. I turned basically all of my firepower on them, and then charged in with the chapter master and the dreadnought.

Sad Waaagh Noises

With only his weirdboy left on the table and his deffkoptas still in deepstrike, we called it there.

He was really unlucky in that my army was mostly tuned for anti-horde. He was also starved for CP by the lack of a battalion. What CP he had he was saving up to use Unstoppable Green Tide to bounce his squad back to full models, but that required him to have at least one boy alive at the end of my turn, which just didn't happen. We talked a bit about how the game had gone, and he'll retune his list for the next games. I look forward to facing him again when he's made those changes.

quote:

Incusator sat among the wreckage of the orkish conveyance reading a data slate. "Great scott!" "Is something the matter, sir?" asked Lieutenant Marculus. "Quite the opposite! We're getting reinforcements. "More troops?" the young man asked. "More iron, lad, more iron. For after all..." "Yes sir. Flesh sir. Weak sir." "Your delivery needs some work, but you've got the gist of it, and that's what matters," Incusator said. "And we'll have a chance to show it soon!"

And those were my games for Week 6! Next, I jump up in points to 800. I've already painted up those models, and also most of the models I'll be adding for 1000 points, barring Iron Father Feirros (who's getting the full two weeks of work done on him). Wish me luck!

[sgt-nerd-plays]

Week 5: Battalion of Brothers

Another weekend, another thrilling battle report from Herosand V!

Game Setup:

We've reached 600 points! Normal detachment rules now apply, so I've expanded to create a battalion:

Our Heroes

We have Captain Incusator in Grav Armor. I've increased our intercessor count up to 15 for three squads. You are all of course familiar with Reginald, our Dreadnought. Finally, we've added Lieutenant Marculus, wielding a master-crafted stalker bolt rifle. Since I now have eight CP to play with, I've spent two to make Incusator a Chapter Master.

The mission type was Secure and Control.

Match 1:

Imperial Guard

Their Forces:

Company Commander, Tank Commander, 3x Infantry Squads, Astropath, Bulgryns, and Heavy Weapons Squad with Mortars

My Narrative:

After word reached back to Medusa of the difficulties the Iron Hands had faced, they were bolstered with reinforcements, with the third and sixth squad filling in. Captain Incusator was given an updated list of the latest in tactics and strategy and promoted to Chapter Master. Now suitably fortified, it was time to march across Herosand V and take back the planet from the vile forces of... Well, pretty much everyone else. There had been a lot of confusion and fog of war, and now even Imperium forces were fighting each other.

Soon, their mettle and metal would both be tested.

quote:

"It's good to have you aboard, Lieutenant," Chapter Master Incusator said, patting the young man on the shoulder. Marculus stumbled forward, nearly losing his footing. "Erm, yes sir," he said. Then he flinched and nearly fell again as an explosion shook the earth beneath his feet. "What in Terra's name was that?" he said, his voice cracking. "Oh, it seems the Astra Militarum are getting ideas again. No worries. The Medusan Academy might have taught you a lot, but one thing they didn't teach you: The flesh is weak!" "But... but they did teach me. That was in Tactics 101, Iron Hands Doctrine, and Advanced Ways in Which the Flesh is Weak. It was on every test!" But the chapter master was already walking away, ready to give those pesky guardsmen a pop quiz!

Tanks for the Memories

I got to pick the deployment, and I picked spearhead. My idea was that I didn't have much anti-armor and I'd need to get the dreadnought and chapter master up where they could open the tank like a can opener. Armor is honestly my biggest weakness right now, and I'll probably struggle with it until I get to 800 points at the earliest. We each had an objective in our backline. Mine I had in some nice convenient ruins that partly blocked line of sight. I parked a group of intercessors on it (just out of sight to the right) and deployed the rest of my forces with an eye to moving them up the board. He parked his mortars behind a magic box and set of the rest of his gunline.

Ignore the strip of tape. Previous rounds were 2'x4'. We're now playing on 3'x4' sections of table to accommodate our larger armies.

I seem to remember there being guardsmen here.

Two rounds of shooting saw all of his troops gone. By this point, though, my dread was down to about half health and I was starting to realize that getting all the way down to the other end of the field was easier said than done. However, I also realized that I had first blood. So long as I could keep control of my objective, and not let him kill my warlord, I'd win on points at the end of the game. If the tournament was tracking how many points people got, I might have considered keeping up the fight, but as it was, only victory mattered. I had a near-guaranteed shot, so long as I could get my army into cover and out of range of most of his guns.

"Why is the dreadnought ticking?"

The bullgryns held me in combat just long enough to help him get another round of shooting. My dreadnought died finally went down to the tank commander's weapons. I probably should have used Vengeance of the Machine Spirit to give him one more round of damage on the enemy. I didn't get my stratagem cards out, and I ended up with four CP left at the end of the game unspent because I kept forgetting what I could do, aside from Duty Eternal to buff my dread for a phase.

However, by this point, I had gotten the Tank Commander down to just a few wounds left, so its movement wasn't up to chasing me all the way down the board. It was now time to make the march back to my objective. You can see where I have my intercessors parked in a cozy little hut with the objective.

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

I was down to four intercessors in three squads, my lieutenant, and my captain left. I was about to have my army either in cover or behind boxes. So long as he didn't take out my captain by the end of the game, I was going to be a point ahead. We were starting up round six. I would have at most two more rounds to survive his mortar fire.

Then one of my intercessors managed an extremely lucky shot and took out his tank commander. He rolled a six on the explosion, and it also took out his astropath and hurt his company commander. At that point, he conceded the game and we shook hands.

I'm starting to learn to think a bit more tactically. At the start, I felt my best route to victory lay in getting into melee with the tank commander. But once I realized I had the advantage on points, I went for the surer path.

I will say that the Chapter Master was pretty clutch. Being able to reroll all hits was a lifesaver at points. The rerolling of 1s on wound rolls was helpful too, though not quite as clutch.

I also need to remember to use the auxiliary grenade launchers. Frak grenades are better against armor than stalker bolt rifles. When I can, I need to remember that I have them.

Match 2:

Necrons

Their Forces:

Overlord, Necron Warriors, Flayed Ones, Lychguard

quote:

"What did I tell you, Lieutenant?" the Chapter Master said. "Hardly broke a sweat." The lieutenant looked at the repairs on Reginald, who was booping and beeping in a rather sad way, and then insisting that he was not actually sad, as robots do not have emotions. "Er. Yes sir. Though, the tank seemed a bit of a problem." "Bah. Easily dispatched with a little stalker bolt fire. After all, Marculus, flesh inside of a tin can is still nothing more than flesh! Right, Sergeant?" "Yes sir. Very good, sir. Almost self aware," said Caminus. "Yes, rather, I--Wait." The Chapter Master started to turn to the sergeant when a green flash flew past his head. Necrons surged over the hill in closed silent ranks, completely refusing to provide witty banter for the battle report. The fiends!

Iron and Steel

My opponent chose the deployment zone. He put his flayed ones into deep strike, hid his warriors behind some LOS-blocking terrain, and kept his overlord with his lychguard. He went first, and he started moving his lychguard and overlord on the far side of the field. He moved his warriors forward, putting as many as possible on top of the building in front of them. They managed to take out an intercessor, but with most of them still behind cover, he wasn't able to do much.

My dread went and took out eleven of his 12-necron squad. I was also able to take out all but one of his lychguard with stalker bolt fire. The remaining warrior in the squad skedaddled in the morale round. The other warrior squad would stay in cover for the rest of the game, around his objective.

Warriors from the Dark

On his next turn, he brought his flayed ones out of deep strike. And here I made a mistake that screwed over my opponent. I used Auspex Scan and played it on my dreadnought, who promptly took out the entire unit. I missed that Auspex Scan can only affect infantry. It likely didn't change much, but it would have at least kept the gaming going another turn or so, depending on what he ended up charging. I brought it up to him after the game, and he was fairly cool about it. We're both learning the rules of the game. I'll remember next time.

His lychguard regenerated two models, and he used a special ability to move his warlord and the lychguard into my backline, charging me. The lychguard made it into combat and took out all but one of the intercessors in that squad. I removed all of the models near his lychguard to get out of melee range. We both forgot about the consolidate part of the fight phase, so the lychguard ended up getting shot up when my turn came.

Hmm...

And now he only had his remaining warriors behind cover, and his warlord.

Hmm!

With his warlord dispatched, he conceded and we called it.

I feel pretty bad about the rules I forgot here. I need to read my stratagems more clearly so that I don't make errors, especially not ones that give me such an advantage as forgetting the Auspex Scan limitation. I also keep forgetting the pile in/fight/consolidate order. In this case, we both forgot, but if he'd remembered, removing the models as I did would have given me no benefit (especially since I took out my sergeant to try and build space).

Still, I'm looking up less than I was last week, and far less than the week before. I'm starting to get better at grasping the fundamentals. I just need to get the details of my army down.

quote:

"Ha!" said the chapter master. "Xenos steel can't stand up to good Imperial Iron!" "Our armor is actually made of plasteel and ceramite," said Marculus helpfully. "I was being poetic!" Incusator snapped. "Can't a man have a moment of quiet glory?" "Ah, um, sorry, sir," the lieutenant said. "Oh, go drill the men." Incusator turned and brooded as he looked to the horizon. Soon, he thought, they would be marching across it, bringing the glory of Medusa to all before them. He was, in fact, turned around and facing the way they'd come. But in a more poetic sense, his point still stood. What adventures await them?

We're now halfway through the League. I'm 6 for 8 fights and standing at #11 in the league. I'm currently at halfway through painting my 800 point increase, and then just three units to get me to 1000. It's very exciting, and I can't wait to play some of these units!

[blackened-crown]

∞

Do I Wanna Know - Arctic Monkeys

Do I wanna know

if this feeling flows both ways?

Sad to see you go

Was sort of hoping that you'd stay

Baby we both know

That the nights were mainly made for saying things that

you can't say tomorrow day  

Crawlin' back to you

Ever thought of calling when you've had a few

Cos I always do

Maybe I'm too busy being yours to fall for somebody new

Now I've thought it through

Crawlin' back to you

...

There hadn't been a single concrete moment in which Regulus realized that he had somehow fallen dizzyingly and irrevocably in love with his best friend. It had rather been a series of moments, and he hadn't realized what he truly felt until the last heady minute- the silence that resulted from the very first press of their lips. The moments leading up to that- all the fluttering sensations in his stomach, the rapid beating of his heart in response to a sly grin or a rogue wink, the sudden light-headed vertigo, whenever he felt as if he was floating in the breeze like some sort of ethereal willow-the-wisp... it was all nothing compared to the intoxicating rush of sudden knowledge that this- the joining of their lips- whatever it was, it was oh-so right. Of course, it wasn't as if Regulus had never kissed or been kissed before; he had known his fair share of lovers, men and women, though he would never tell anyone of his various escapades. He was no stranger to the pleasures of the flesh- but somehow, this time, it was different. Kissing Marcus was different.

Oh, yes- Regulus had fallen hard. There was no question of that. The question was- what now? There was no telling if the other felt the same way towards him- although the sable-haired wizard strongly doubted that Marcus would ever see him as more than a friend. Could Regulus confine himself to a subdued existence at the side of the other, feelings subdued, emotions restrained?  The answer remained unknown- For Regulus knew that, once he had spoken his confession, once he had seen the flicker of something contradictory in those indigo eyes, even as the rejection poured out of those torturously kissable lips, Regulus suddenly knew. He knew that no matter what the younger said to drive him away, the elder would never be able to keep his distance- and whether that was a good thing or not, it was the ultimate, inconvenient truth. Perhaps he was a fool in love, a slave to his emotions- either way, he found that as long as those all-too-familiar Cerulean irises flashed his way, followed by that satirical smirk; he couldn't care less about what would become of himself. 

[blackened-crown]

FMK: Remus, Marcus, Sirius

Ugh. Decisions, Decisions. 

OKAY. Marry Remus, make it a loveless marriage where he has his mistress and I have mine. Oh hey, we both go for McKinnons. Woo! Go us. We obviously know what’s up.

Then I would Fuck Marcus, because its just the next step at this point and even if it wasn’t inevitable or something that would leave me with Sirius and that’s just awful. Marculus all the way.

And then I would kill Sirius. With a muggle chainsaw-thing and a scary mask. Sorry Siri, I’m sure you understand. I have no other choice.

[blackened-crown]

Lion's Share | Self Para

That night, he stumbled home in a daze. Merlin, how could he have been so stupid? Of course there was no way in hell he would ever feel that way about Regulus. After all, who would? Regret. Regret. Regret. The word echoed in his head, growing louder, multiplying. Regret. He had known his fair share of regret, hadn't he? Regret for not running away with Sirius when he offered. Regret for joining the Death Eaters out of a faux sense of duty toward his family. Regret for coming back from the dead. Regret for screwing things up with his best friend. Regret for his miserable existence. He was the poster boy for Regret, and it seemed he would live his life cocooned in it.

When he finally, finally reached the door of his miserable flat, he fumbled with the lock, eyes blurring with repressed emotion. After what seemed like an eternity, he lurched inside, forgoing the use of light in favour of the atramentous shadows that stretched, twisted and cloaked everything in a heady silence. Regulus slammed the door shut carelessly, a deafening ruckus in the otherwise still apartment, and slid down the wall to the floor. How long he sat in the muted dark, the desolate individual did not know- He had ripped off the watch that had been a present from him, and had absconded of it on the way there.

What was it about Regulus that was so repelling to the other? Why wasn't he good enough? It wasn't a matter of sexual preference; Regulus had seen the lighter-haired's appreciative glances toward many a wizard. That meant that it was personal. What was so offensive about him? The younger had once told him that he didn't associate Regulus with his family, so it wasn't that. Was it his past? The huddled wizard gripped his left arm where he knew the slowly fading brand lay. He had never expressed anything other than sympathy for his past, once he learned the story. Regulus' eyes, adjusted to the shadows, landed on one of the many stacks of parchment and books that rested in his cramped home. The books. There seemed to be no other explanation in the ex deatheater's crazed, ebony eyes.

The indigo-eyed wizard had often complained that Regulus was paying too much attention to literature and not the outside world. That he was irresponsible, neglectful, even childish in that respect. The dark haired wizard was positive it was the books. It had to be. There seemed to be no other coherent explanation. A blast of anger, venomous and sickening, coursed hotly through his veins. With a muffled cry, he quickly scrambled to his feet, ignoring the wave of vertigo that threatened to pull him under.

The younger Black son silently surveyed the mass of parchment and leather that swallowed his already small living space with an impassive expression upon his features. Drawing out his wand, he turned it in his hands once, thoughtfully, before raising it and pointing it at the largest collection of writing he could see. "...Incendio.", he intoned, his voice devoid of any emotion. He chose another stack. "Incendio." Another. "Incendio." Another. "Incendio." The couch. "Incendio." He stood amidst the fiery blaze, watching as the flames ate his treasured collection, his furniture. His curtains, his wallpaper. The chocolate biscuits. When the flames grew higher, higher, and higher still, he turned and walked out of his burning flat without a glance behind him.

Desperately wishing to be anywhere but there, he thought of a meadow that he had seen in a picture once, when he was younger. Squeezing his onyx eyes shut, he focused on the fuzzy memory, and apparated with a soft 'pop!'. When the unpleasant sensation that came with apparation ceased, he tentatively opened his eyes and looked around. Regulus found himself to be within a large field, full of red and orange poppies. His mind flashed suddenly to a muggle book, The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy had fallen asleep in a meadow like this. laying amidst the flowers exhaustedly, he slipped out of consciousness and did the same. His last thought before the world went dark was to go looking for his hat when he eventually woke up. He would start by looking in that pub he was in a few days ago...It was sure to be there.

[blackened-crown]

The Fool's Strength | Marcus & Regulus

When Regulus blearily opened his eyes and rejoined the world of the living, he found himself staring at a vast spread of stars across the inky sky. He found this a bit odd, because usually his flat had a ceiling. Slowly maneuvering into something resembling a sitting position he looked around, nodding to himself. Yes, luckily, he knew exactly where he was- in a rather large,field filled with red and orange flowers. Beyond that, he would have to get back to you.

Rubbing at his sore eyes, all the events of that night came rushing back at him: the quest for the lost hat, the bar, Sirius, Marcus; Marc KISSING Sirius, and the burst of accidental magic. The lost and confused man winced as he noticed how badly his head was throbbing, half of it covered with dry blood mixed with a bit of new, welling up from the cut that had re-opened in his efforts to move into an upright position. A stab of worry found itself in the vicinity of his hear- his chest. His chest. If Regulus had gotten injured by his little outburst, who knows what had happened to Marcus.

With that line of thought driving his actions, Regulus resolutely ignored the voice at the back of his head, reminding him just why there had been sharp glass shards in the first place. Instead, he slowly climbed to his feet, and, doing his best not to sway from loss of blood, apparated; this time with a specific location in mind.

When he appeared in front of the familiar dark door with a soft ‘pop!’, he almost turned tail and fled, far away, back to the field if he absolutely had to. But he didn’t. He knew that no matter what had happened, no matter who did what, if Marcus had ended up injured because of Regulus, he would never, ever be able to forgive himself. Taking in a deep breath, he steeled himself for whatever he thought might happen, and, raising his left hand, immediately dropped it, turned, and began to walk away.

The thought of Marcus, in his bathroom, attempting to bandage some kind of cut with horrendously wrapped toilet paper, stopped him dead in his tracks. Sighing deeply, the injured (in more ways than one) wizard, miraculously still-with-hat, shuffled his way back to the imposing door. All he had to do was see him, to make sure his.. His friend? His.. Marcus. All he had to do was to make sure the other was alright.

He didn’t have to think about the kiss, he didn’t have to think about the fact that Regulus was pretty sure he loved liked loved had feelings for him that people weren’t supposed to have for their best friend. He didn’t even have to think about the fact that Marc would most likely never reciprocate those feelings, that their friendship was probably long over. All he had to do was see him. Hesitantly, he raised a hand and soundly knocked on the jet black door.

[blackened-crown]

♥ Excuse, I want one. It's only fair.~

{ as you wish! }

"Marcus, my head hurts", were Regulus’ first words to his best friend that day. "…" Silence. “It reaaaaaallly hurts, Marc", the older whinged. "…" More silence. Ah, so he was opting for the silent treatment? Regulus would change that soon enough. “I’m dying..a thousand centaurs are tap-dancing in my head…I’m dying… I’m DYING.. MARCUS! Marcus, I’m dead.", He flailed his arms for dramatic emphasis. "..Good. Tell those centaurs to form a drum circle, while they’re at it.", the lighter grumbled, scowling at the other. “OH GOOD I was worried that my stunning looks had finally shocked you into silence!", The hungover Black breathed a sigh of mock relief. “We’re no longer friends.", Marcus bit out. He turned his head to the side for emphasis and gritted his teeth in anger. Or was it jealousy? He couldn’t tell anymore. “Aww, Marcy, is this about whatever happened last ni-", Regulus started, before Marcus cut him off suddenly.

"Not only did you kiss MARLENE, but YOU kissed Marlene!", He exclaimed suddenly. “Wait. Are those supposed to be two separate events? I mean, do they sound any different to you? Because…", Regulus trailed off, bewildered. “I can’t believe you did this! I mean, YOU. KISSED. MY /SISTER/! Marlene, Reg, my SISTER! A-and it was YOU! You did it.. A-and you’re my best friend! You’re my… Regulus, you’re..you’re my…..my…", It was his turn to trail off this time, one hand rubbing at his eyes. “Marc, I was drunk, I didn’t know what I was doing.. I-I’m sor-" An apologetic Regulus was cut off once more by an angry outburst. “I DON’T WANT YOU..KISSING ANYONE!", The younger one blurted out. There was a dead silence, as both of their eyes widened, registering what Marcus had just said. “I-I mean there are so many girls out there who are sisters of some poor blokes a-and I mean, you’re practically a menace to society now, I really shouldn’t let you out on your own, you might attack some poor unsuspecting person and then we’d have a lawsuit on our hands and I’d have to get out my good robes and I really hate wearing them and-", The previously angry wizard rambled, nervously backpedalling as fast as he could before something happened that was unable to be taken back. As his companion continued his long speech about..something or other, the shock slowly melted off of Regulus’ face, only to be replaced by an unreadable expression.

Without any time to think things over, without a second thought, Regulus leaned towards his friend, -whose mouth was still unbelievably pouring out speech - and gently captured his face with his hands, tilting it at just the right angle so that he could cover that mouth with his own, effectively swallowing Marcus’ words and the few protests that followed as he roughly nipped at and then sucked the other’s lower lip into his mouth.

Regulus smirked slightly into the kiss as he heard the younger let out a sound that he knew that Marcus would vigorously deny later, and took the opportunity to silently ask for permission to go further, running his tongue just along the inside of Marcus’ mouth, eagerly deepening the kiss when the other began to mimic his movements. The darker wizard was delighted to find out that Marcus tasted like a heady mixture of peppermint, luxurious chocolate, and something else that made him so undeniably.. Marcus-like that Regulus knew that he was instantly and overwhelmingly addicted to the other Wizard. Letting out a small hum of happiness as he felt a set of fingers slowly comb through his hair, Regulus contentedly explored the other’s mouth, carefully mapping it out. After a while, when he wasn’t sure if it was Marcus making him so dizzy or the lack of air, the not-quite-as hungover Regulus reluctantly broke off the kiss, and rested his forehead against the other’s, his eyes closed as he regained his breath and listened to Marcus do the same. When he trusted himself to be able to speak properly, he first leaned back slightly to drink in the sight of his best friend, who by now looked thoroughly snogged. A suitable look, if Regulus did say so himself. “If the not kissing anyone extends to you, dear Marc, I will be extremely put out", he murmured cheekily, followed by a soft chuckle.