#riposte meta.

[gravesung-moving]

DRAKARTH CONSERVATORY for Arcane Excellence and the Drakarth Archival Preservation Society (called the Archive for short) are technically one and the same. The Archive came first, with the Conservatory built next to it by arcane researchers who wanted to mold from each generation an upper echelon of societal perfection: soldiers, politicians, researchers to lead the charge into every new era. Drakarth, crowned by its star arete student and its globally-recognized faculty, stands as an institution to strength that, if you can survive it, guarantees a successful life.

Key phrase: if you can survive it. Not all is well here, and the people who uphold Drakarth's ideals would do just about anything to keep their secrets buried.

Be careful, now, and don't follow the moths.

STRUCTURE & EDUCATION.

Honor, virtue, reason and might are the four tenets of what Drakarth sees as excellence. Each class attends three years of school: the honing year, the building year, and the trial year. The honing year is spent on basic training, though its true purpose is weeding out those with outstanding potential from the crowd. During finals at the end of the year, all of the freshmen are pulled solo, in pairs, or in threes for individualized Surprise Tests made to test their weaknesses and push them to their limits. These can be anything: 1v1 tournaments, grueling survival challenges, written exams, dungeon delves... the list goes on.

By the end of year one, less than ten percent (80-100) of the students pass their trials and continue on. The rest are shunted into Drakarth's sister schools and outer universities for lower-intensity studies. The ones who pass are called CENTURIONS, and even if they don't graduate top of their class, the title in itself is incredibly prestigious.

Year two, the building year, is spent exploring what makes each student special. Their advisors craft and constantly adjust custom curriculums that balance the student's strengths and weaknesses within the four tenets.

It's supposed to be individualized, that is. The academic system fails so many young people, and Drakarth is not only no exception to this, but a stunningly cruel example of it. (hiii jupiter.) Some of the students who are rejected, or who drop out mid-year, are literally never seen again by their peers. No clue where they went, no contact, nothing. No one seems to think this is weird. They just couldn't cut it, you know.

Third year: tournament arc! Students spend their time fine-tuning the skills they have built over the last two years and training for a schoolwide capstone tournament after finals. These serve as a display of Drakarth's newest exceptional stock to interested parties: military, government, scientific agencies, like sports recruiters coming to games.

Being top of the class each year is a high enough honor in itself. At least, from an outside point of view. Those in the school, the faculty and staff, and the attached families know the truth: there is one particular honor that everyone is chasing.

There is an opportunity every year for someone to be awarded the title of ARETE. For the last two decades, that opportunity has come and gone: the Conservatory and Archive staff simply haven't seen a student who exemplifies the four tenets at an outstanding, better-than-perfect level.

That doesn't stop every student from shooting for it, though.

Drakarth's arete is treated somewhere between a political hero and a messiah. They become the face of the Conservatory and, to an extent, the country it resides in. They attend conferences and war meetings, make speeches to young hopefuls, fight in wars — essentially, they go where the society needs someone to look up to.

LAYOUT.

The Conservatory itself is built from a set of old stone buildings, their architecture Gothic with a twist of occasional surrealism and a focus on open space. At the entryway, flags bear the school crest: two eagles locked in combat in front of a crossed pen and sword, framed by the area's native wild roses. The eagles represent might, the pen represents reason, the sword represents honor, and the roses represent virtue. 

The ballroom, where public-facing functions and schoolwide formals take place, resembles a modified cathedral without pews. Along the back wall, where altars may sit, the leftmost refreshment table bears stacks of wine glasses filled with red, white and bubbly varieties. The center table is adorned with savory hors d'oeuvres, and the rightmost table shows off sweets and pastries of many types: tiny cakes, croissants and canele and cups of custard, spiced honey cake and filled buns, and more. The food and drink items seem to replenish themselves. 

The Archive, directly adjacent to the ballroom, is two floors high and three floors deep. The ground floor acts as a public library for basic arcane knowledge. The second floor acts as the Conservatory’s private library and study space. Underground levels are for artifact storage and Archive property that is only accessible with a research permit and an approved written request detailing what exactly will be used or studied. 

There is definitely not an ancienty secret society involved. There is no eldritch deity of forbidden knowledge sealed under the Archive. Don't follow the moths.

The school training grounds take up about a football field's worth of outdoor space, different sections of the field set up for different types of training. A large dirt square provides space for hand-to-hand combat; dummies of different materials provide resistance to elemental damage for spellthrowing; one entire half of the field is for sports rather than combat. Things do get mixed up sometimes. 

This field is also cleared out when it comes time for end-of-year trials, challenges that test the might, honor and knowledge of each year's students. Most don't make it out of them alive. That's just how things are. The trials with the most fanfare are Tournaments, which are the capstone of Drakarth's graduating class. The students are placed in small groups and pitted against what is essentially a public dungeon crawl. Those who succeed receive a magical artifact and graduate from the Conservatory, some with honors and some simply good at surviving. 

And, of course, there's the college town. Drakarth is out in the countryside, but establishments, homes and businesses have been built around it over the centuries as many alumni and their families end up teaching after they graduate. Favored by Conservatory students is CODA, a lounge that transitions from a cafe to a classy bar in the evenings.

Questions?

graphic template credit

[mailperson]

I truly do not understand how you are meant to play as the Duelist without her being carried by the rest of your team. None of her moves do exceptional damage even when mastered, she doesn’t have any innate DOT, any debuffs she can apply can be done by other heroes with fewer turns setting up, she has such a low natural HP that setting her up as a riposte generator is always risky, and all of her moves are so conditional not only on her rank placement but also her stance.

What compelled them to make a hero so complicated in a game with a very clear meta of “hit hard faster than the enemy can hit hard”

[lickthecowhappy]

Playlist Analysis: #4 - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

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#4. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square – Vera Lynn

Both.

Overview: 

An obvious choice for this playlist. This is my 1941 song. I chose the Vera Lynn version because I just love her style (and I think it has to be the one they heard first), but the Tori Amos version is great as well. If you like it better or prefer it because it’s the one used in the show, please feel free to swap it out if you’re listening to the playlist. 

This is their song. First published in 1940, it’s a beautiful song about meeting someone, falling head over heels, spending the night together, and dancing home the next morning. I think that up until Crowley said those immortal words, the audience thought that it was their song on a meta level. The book and season 1 both mention it from a third person point of view with no acknowledgement or reference from the characters. But now we know that it was something the two of them found important together. Did something else happen in 1941? (Chomping at the bit for 1941 part 3!) We know something changed their dynamic between 1941 and 1967. We know Aziraphale did the apology dance in 1941. Maybe this is why Aziraphale specifically suggested they dine at the Ritz someday after giving Crowley the holy water. Why would Crowley have said “No nightingales” if it wasn’t something significant between them? Aziraphale’s wounded reaction to those words confirms its significance. The fact is, Crowley weaponized this song in a riposte to Aziraphale’s reactionary petulance. 

Lastly, why was it playing in the Bentley after Aziraphale left? We know the Bentley has been fundamentally changed. It’s no longer Crowley’s car, it’s “Our Car.” I think I remember seeing a quote from Neil along the lines of, “The Bentley would have followed Aziraphale anywhere.” Who was it channeling to play that song? I’ve seen people speculate that Crowley queued it up for their drive to the Ritz, but I don’t buy that. Maybe it was a way of Aziraphale communicating that his heart still sings despite the regrettable things they both said and did. Or maybe it was Crowley’s heart betraying itself – an admission that there is a guarantee that he’ll still be waiting when Aziraphale is ready. Or maybe it’s just the writer wanting to hurt us even more. 

Lyrics: 

That certain night, the night we met There was magic abroad in the air There were angels dining at the Ritz And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

This wasn’t the night they first literally met, but maybe it was the first time they met in a figurative sense: being in the same place emotionally at the same time.

Neil has said that they dine at the Ritz because it was in reference to this song. In the book and season 1, maybe that’s all there was to it. One last clue for anyone who missed all the other indications that their relationship isn’t just platonic. But in season 2, we get the magic show. There was no literal magic in the air because Furfur blocked it, instead all the magic present was of the human variety. Romantic AF. 

I may be right, I may be wrong But I’m perfectly willing to swear That when you turned and smiled at me A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

This sets me up to assume that nothing was spoken in 1941. Nobody confirmed any feelings out loud, due either to the threat they had just confirmed they were under or the habit they were already in, but they both understood how the other felt. "That's what... friends... do." That feeling where you just know the other person feels the same, but can't bring yourself to say it. The willingness to swear an oath that whatever was unspoken by the parties involved was mutual. Maybe sung about by a third party somewhere (The writer? The audience? God?).

The moon that lingered over London Town Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown How could he know we two were so in love The whole darn world seemed upside down

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

Up to this point in the lyrics, the interactions between the characters in the song are meeting and looking. No contact, not even words as far as we know. These two have been trying to keep their fraternization a secret for millennia, after all. Anyone watching couldn’t hear the song being shared by the two hearts, but the two hearts sing anyway. A silent, beautiful, and disorienting duet. 

The streets of town were paved with stars It was such a romantic affair And as we kissed and said goodnight A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

The elation of intense romantic feelings has been described poetically since romance was invented (invented by these two, IMO). The description of streets being paved with stars evokes images of fantasy, dreams, vastness, wonder, possibility. It’s romance in a nutshell. Not to mention evoking the Starmaker, himself. I don’t assume that they kissed in 1941, but at the end of the 1941 segment we get in season 2, everything is so gentle and romantic it doesn’t even need a kiss. A figurative act of intimacy, the bullet catch, was observed by someone who could destroy their "de-facto partnership," thus ending their night of magic.

As dawn came stealing up all gold and blue To interrupt our rendezvous I still remember how you smiled and said “Was that a dream or was it true?”

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

What fan doesn’t want to live in the 1941 sequence? The assumption that they hadn’t seen each other since 1862, Crowley showing up out of nowhere and at great personal discomfort to save Aziraphale, a little demonic miracle of his own, the way Aziraphale gazes at him the entire sequence, and Crowley’s unconditional support through the entire thing, despite his obvious concerns. What happened that we didn’t see? Just how long did they spend together? What might have happened if Furfur didn’t show up? And what happened afterward? Their rendezvous was interrupted. They had let their guard down and were reminded of the very real danger they face by getting too close.

Our homeward step was just as light As the tapdancing feet of Astaire And like an echo far away A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

[Please note that this verse is not present in the Tori Amos version]

This verse, in this context, has two meanings for me. The intended meaning of the lyrics, implying that the parties involved are still high on the emotions of the evening and are lightly and merrily dancing home as Fred Astaire might. But also a much more tragic meaning. Another time one might be described as having light footsteps is when sneaking around. After being caught, despite knowing the proof had been pilfered, they may have redoubled their efforts to appear as enemies. They realize they still have to sneak around to have any time together. That beautiful nightingale’s song is sadly now only an echo in the distance. 

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[fushigidane]

You are now legally required to infodump about the gameplay mechanics that you think up for video games fanfics.

HELLO BELOVED MUTUAL I AM VERY HAPPY YOU ASKED

it involves a variety of things like sometimes when i am writing FE fic i'll think about hypothetical level designs, recruitment requirements for certain characters in the au, things like that

what's got me thinking about this NOW is i've been brainstorming a fe awakening/XC3 fic for the past couple weeks and considering what their classes would be

the ones i've got most for are lucina and severa, who with cynthia would be the kevesi trio here. i'm only including six characters bc i'd overload myself otherwise,,

lucina is an attacker with good all-round stats but particularly strong atk, dex, and agility. her class skills:

aether: chance to pierce/heal dealt damage

charm: party accuracy up 

dual strike: grants art follow-up to party members within a fixed radius [lvl 5 inheritance]

awakening: increased crit/accuracy/avo at low health [lvl 15 inheritance]

for plot reasons, her blade (i.e. the one summoned through the iris) ISN'T falchion. her blade is a lance-staff combination that deals good damage while empowering allies, bc i feel that mix of offence and support is How Lucina Should Be. falchion, unlocked later, would come with its own set of arts (which are more strongly offensive) and probably be switched to via the talent art.

severa is a defender. she acts as a hybrid dodge/hp tank, having strong hp, agility, and def but lower dex and atk [stats based off her fates incarnation]. she also has high base crit. her class skills:

competitive: increases damage dealt to enemies targeting her

triumphant: boosts aggro when dealing a critical hit

strong riposte: increases damage dealt when hp is 50% or lower [lvl 5 inheritance] 

fierce rival: increases crit rate for every critical hit performed by an ally [lvl 15 inheritance]

she uses a sword, generating aggro via swift attacks and high aggro arts. some of her arts also have crit recharge, and her talent art has crit damage up. she has less focus on party defence than other defenders tend to, which is complemented by lucina and cynthia’s ability to more or less handle themselves. this is a fun class to put in the context of xc2 bc it'd one where you'd equip an avant-garde medal (crit healing) and win

the last of this trio is cynthia, a healer, and i've got less ideas for her right now? she's similar to lucina but has more focus on support than offence. i'm considering making her fairly buff-focused though not as broken as signifier is. her provisional skills:

rally speed: increases ally evasion within a fixed radius

heroic spirit: boots party damage dealt by 5-10% for each active buff (max: 200%)

luna: when landing a hit, deals damage as though enemy ether defence was 30-50% lower [lvl 5 inheritance]

[unnamed]: increases healing power with number of party buffs

luna would be the inheritable ether counterpart to ultimate qigong (same skill but physical def), which is REALLY needed in the xc3 meta. i don't know much about her arts yet either but they'll probs be ether-based.

i've planned much less for this au's agnian trio (owain, inigo, brady) BUT vague outlines:

owain is the defender purely because the way he acts and stuff he says can't NOT draw attention. he also has good crit, like severa, and basically all his arts are ether + AOE to some extent. he's more the hp sponge type of tank, being very good at handling crowds of enemies (and probs has a skill that reduces damage taken per no. enemies in battle)

inigo is the attacker with good combo access (topple + smash) and strong offence. he can find himself taking aggro from owain at times. to counter this he has a skill called "stop staring at me!" that increases damage dealt to enemies targeting him (he makes them stop targeting him by killing them, which is exactly how i play the attacker role in-game) and his talent art both has increased damage when aggroed AND eliminates aggro.

brady is the healer, and a very traditional one at that, dealing in strong healing, reducing party damage, and increasing party debuff resistance. his blade is a staff. one of his skills, which is inheritable, is:

miracle: 50-70% chance to survive a KO with 1hp and five seconds of invincibility (once per battle, does not stack) [lvl 5 inheritance]

bc i don't actually think any other class gives you that aside from soulhacker.

anyway, if you got this far you have my congratulations and eternal respect. this was fun to ramble about :DDD ty for the ask!

[kalina-c]

Part 3 of this extended rant about Split Damage in dark souls games lol. (forgot about how much a straight reblog makes it hard to scroll down to part 2, rip)

Part 1

Part 2 (ctrl-f "so let's count up the ways")

So anyway the really actually useful part of "split damage sucks," isn't really about split damage or even enemy defenses at all. It's about character builds and stat distributions.

Let's look at the Onyx Blade from Dark Souls 3. Split infusion between physical and dark damage, with fire on top when you use the weapon art; but that doesn't really make it a bad weapon when that's the exact same damage type as the pvp meta weapon, the Dark Lothric Knight Sword, and the fire buff on top is literally more of a damage increase than the Lightning Pine Bundle is.

What really makes it a hard pick is the four-way scaling distribution. This doesn't even make it a bad weapon on those terms, this just makes it an expensive weapon to get to its highest damage numbers and a stat distribution that's hard to fit into level limit metas or new game runs. Like at no-limit 99/99/99/99 you can, strictly speaking, get this weapon to high attack power, but it's hard to hit scaling caps in more than one stat at a time in the situations that most players would experience.

This is a build mismatch more than it is an indictment of split infusions or even multi-stat weapons. Like, again, Sword of Night and Flame in Elden Ring was one of the most broken weapons ever on the day one patch, and that's with also a four-way scaling split and three-way damage type split. It's the sheer motion value on the day one ash of war beam that made it cracked.

This isn't even a factor of elemental damage at all, really. The pure-physical quality build traditional in dark souls has actually been a sub-optimal build in Bloodborne for new players to take, with the linked endurance neglect being about the only practical way to fit it into a new game run/pvp level limit meta. Split-stat weapons are incredibly powerful in Bloodborne, with the first weapon on that list in particular (Ludwig's Holy Blade) being a popular favorite as the easy and obvious biggest AR in the realm. But the difficulty of fitting the blood levels in actually makes this pure physical build and weapon exemplify all the *actual* shortcomings behind the reaction of "split damage sucks".

And this is like kind of the reason I think the original reason for "split damage sucks" was trying an elemental weapon on the wrong build for its scaling and then blaming the weapon for it. Within Dark Souls 1, absolutely the context where the canard got popularized,

Velka's Rapier is one of the biggest ROI weapons in the history of this game design and easily the best new game sidearm for a sorcery build. (Its damage kind of falls off on latter NG+ cycles, as does twinkling titanite weapons generally in that game.)

Enchanted infusions are easily the best melee normal attack damage for a sorcery build. Great Scythe is above-average ROI, Claymore is universally good, Longsword is easy and safe, and Zweihander is one of the most fantastic weapons generally. Enchanted Rapier is probably the biggest riposte damage on a new game sorcerer.

Physical weapon + buff is kind of garbage for an all-in sorcerer and caster build. The *steep* drop-off in base damage on using a physical scaling weapon with a completely non-physical build is way more of a loss than you gain from the "superior" buff damage, if it isn't even already the case that the magic AR alone on a Magic or Enchanted Longsword just outscales anything you can get from Tin Crystallization Catalyst + Crystal Magic Weapon.

My first target goal weapon was the Moonlight Butterfly Horn, because it's one of the few 100% pure magic damage weapons in the entire series and I read that Split Damage Sucks. My friends, the purely Unsplit Damage Moonlight Butterfly Horn is one of the most mediocre weapons in the entire series. Its damage is meh and easily outclassed by a Magic Longsword; its moveset and motion values are weaker and redundant in the face of Velka's Rapier; Great Scythe is a far better mage weapon on multiple levels; etc.

So really, the common canards about Split Damage Sucks and Weapon Buffs Are Better really only make sense from the perspective of an all-in physical build with minimal dip into int for bare pre-requisites. Being a mage gender from the very beginning gave me the opposite possible experience of *checks notes* every character build common sense, take, and meta in the history of the world on Dark Souls and the Dark Souls cousin Elden Ring.

---

Addendum

One of the comments I've seen among the various Carian Grandeur one shot malenia videos is that Carian Grandeur is ironically one of the weakest ashes in the game on its own, which made no sense to me. It's a comment on a one shot demonstration video, so we're clearly talking about damage output and not the difficulty of landing a full charge, and the base motion value on Grandeur full charge is already among the stronger ones for ashes of war. The motion value on soul great swords in Elden Ring generally are very high — the Carian Greatsword spell and all three great sword ashes do really high burst damage that can one shot multiple field enemies at once, and the three stage charge on grandeur gives a big multiplier even before you apply a mountain of buffs. This common reaction to magic attacks being magic really isn't helping them beat the allegations that all dark souls build theory is pure physical builds expecting pure magic tools to do maximum damage on a pure physical build with zero int or magic investment, etc.

~

Somewhere else I've gotten a comment that I'm wrong about Split Damage, because sorcery builds in elden ring can use meteor spells to get around magic resistance, and,

My friends,

Elden Ring meteor spells are the most split damage in the world

Meteor spells are boosted by physical damage buffs and will do high damage on magic defensive enemies. They'll have that portion of their damage tanked by physically resistant enemies, so it's a confirmed physical damage spell school.

But also

Meteor spells are boosted by the terra magica spell and the magic scorpion charm and the magic cracked tear, all of which only boost magic elemental damage. And it's only part of the damage, as fextra likes to call the scorpion charm boost insignificant (hah).

Meteor spells are by definition fully split damage. And not only are they split damage, they are the best damage in the game. Rock Sling deletes bosses and enemies for free, Meteorite is pretty much the strongest sorcery until you get to the snow field, and Astel meteor is by design the strongest sorcery in the game and way more damage than most every other option with whatever build. Split damage is the very specifically best damage in elden ring.

[canmom]

reply roundup...

@barnacleheretic writes:

YO I would actually read/watch the FUCK out of this, can you write in japanese? if not, write it in english and get a japanese translator to translate it. either way, post it on 小説家になろう, blow up, and get it adapted into a single low-budget anime season that ends on a cliffhanger and is never renewed.

私は日本語を勉強しているけど、まだ書くのが下手です。。。

(it took me like ten minutes to write that sentence, i don't think i have the stamina to write a serial on shousetsu, but feel free to steal it lmao)

some good tags:

@itsbenedict: #fuck this Negative Frame Riposte Cancel bullshit i'm just going to become a cabbage vendor#...what do you MEAN all the successful cabbage vendors are executing a 300 APM misting sequence#god damn it

@superspy-anon: #entire book is just the mc trying to discern between batshit strats(legit) and batshit strats(the locals love fucking with tourists)

@sang-the-sun-in-flight: #give me the game world natives doing accelerated bhops as standard practice

@swarthwhore: #'yeah putting the chair in the toilet makes gold appear out of thin air for some reason'

@reedspun: #24 episodes of a guy getting fucking rolled by meta strats

thank you. you get it

@centrally-unplanned writes:

When you think you are going to conquer the world with your elite gaming skills but you turn out to be mid so you pivot to the only true comparative advantage you have coming from Earth - making YouTube tutorials with optimized thumbnails on the meta that others discovered for casuals -_-

lmao ash. trust you to sneak in the phrase 'comparative advantage' in this joke x3

@internet-sentences: #this is just irl / @amwult: #ah yes real life

i will admit there was a much longer version of this bit which was mostly about history of science which would never have gotten 1000+ notes. but yes, you're reading this post because someone figured out how to do an arbitrary code execution run by exploiting a glitch on sand

I Got Reincarnated In Another World That Runs On Game Rules But It Turns Out Its Population Are Already Really Good At Exploiting The Metagame And I Don't Particularly Stand Out (Also These Strats Are Kinda Bullshit Are You Kidding)

[open-hearth-rpg]

Open Hearth Video Roundup - April 26, 2024

Welcome to the Open Hearth Gaming video roundup!

These recorded sessions represent only a portion of the games we play every week, and anyone is welcome to join the fun! If you'd like to play in games like these, join our Playabl community and click on the "Calendar" tab to sign up for upcoming games. To browse our entire library of session videos, please visit our YouTube Playlists page.

You can now listen to sessions as podcasts as well!

Open Hearth Gaming Calendar

Urban Shadows 2E Cale P runs for Brandon Brylawski, Elle, Jesse A., and Kae Session 0 (Character creation and world building) for an Urban Shadows quarterly.

Urban Shadows 2E (Session 1) Cale P runs for Brandon Brylawski, Elle, Jesse A., and Kae In which Red is friend-napped, Cary is mauled, and Dancy and Dara react to these offronts.

Urban Shadows 2E: Guest Stars! Cale P runs for David Miessler-Kubanek and Steven S. We prep guest stars Morgan (a Gargoyle) and Miss Mash (a Tainted) for the next session.

Urban Shadows 2E (Session 2) Cale P runs for Brandon Brylawski, David Miessler-Kubanek, Kae, and Steven S. Our cast collides and revolves around the friend-napped Red.

Trail of Cthulhu: Fearful Symmetries: Arc Two (Session 8) Lowell Francis runs for Alun R., Paul Rivers, Sherri, and Will H With the death of one of Lady Verity's entourage, Dr. Whitewood goes into full sleuth mode. Richard and other others look further into the magical and supernatural happenings. Isabella deals with the artifacts in Jaeger's safe. But the situation grow more complicated and meta, leading to the center of a maze, the telling of a story, and the temptation of a king.

The Mecha Hack: Q’ku Riposte (Session 9) Anya Reyes runs for Lowell Francis, Marc Majcher, and Sherri (Due to a recording problem this session is uploaded in two parts.) The strike team sets off to attack the Collective main facility and the Kaiju weaponization program. If they succeed the collective presence in the quadrant will be all but obliterated. It's just a matter of destroying the most secure building on the planet.

The Mecha Hack: Q’ku Riposte (Session 10) Anya Reyes runs for Lowell Francis, Marc Majcher, and Sherri [Epilogue] - A week has passed since the strike team took The Collective kaiju weaponization program facility. Selim has recovered and needs to answer to Prince Selina. Meanwhile the vipers set off to find their allies. Everyone stands to decide the future of Aurelia.

Girl by Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars (Session 3 of 5) Donogh runs for Ian, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. Iris/Horizon the Time Traveler arrives back from a solo mission just in time to defend the Last Bastion. But with the delay in their launch, only they are still aboard to come face to face with a Leviathan as it breaches their hangar, wreaking havoc and sowing dissent...

Girl by Moonlight: On a Sea of Stars (Session 4 of 5) Donogh runs for Ian, Matthew Doughty, and Sabine V. In the aftermath of their defence of the Last Bastion, relationships are frayed and nerves raw. Iris struggles with her place in the congregation and with her secret lover. Jet's workcrew throw abuse in his direction for his role in the Relic's destruction. And Cordelia's faith shines through, despite her mentor's misgivings over her official rejection from the pilot programme...

Girl By Moonlight: Divine Engines (Session 10) Lowell Francis runs for Ethan Harvey, Patrick Knowles, Sherri, and Tyler Lominack We return to this series after a mid-season break. Our pilots deal with the fallout from their last mission and begin to sense troubles in Bastion. The other team isolated and information becomes scarce. Then, after days of not being told anything, the secrets of this penultimate mission are finally revealed.

Star Wars Saturday

Fellowship (Session 8) Rich Rogers runs for Cody Eastlick, Kae, Steven Watkins, and Tyler Lominack An unexpected revival drives the fellowship into a showdown in Malicos' Tower.

Stars in the Dark: Stars in the Dark II (Session 7) Anders runs for Marc Majcher, Mark (they/them), Rich Rogers, and Steven Watkins Betrayal?!

Fellowship (Session 9) Rich Rogers runs for Cody Eastlick, Greg G., Kae, and Steven Watkins The fellowship deals with the aftermath of their fight with Taron Malicos.

Off-Calendar Highlights

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: In the Wake of Secrets (Session 3) Madelancholy runs for Dom, James, Jazy, and Mike Ferdinando The survivors take on the Hunter in the Maze and welcome a sentient mech to their number in combat. The remains of a lost hunter is brought along as a desiccated souvenir. As the group enters the Under-Hull, they find more warped technology in the chemical slurry...among other things...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: In the Wake of Secrets (Session 4) Madelancholy runs for Dom, James, Jazy, and Mike Ferdinando The Fabricator-Forges upgrade and improve raw material and scavenged tech as they prepare the survivors - with the proper offering - furthering their journey. The survivors find their way into The Vastness--nothing can go wrong, communicating and communing with the Dark...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: In the Wake of Secrets (Session 5) Madelancholy runs for Dom, Jazy, and Mike Ferdinando The ASRU unit follows a different directive in exploring The Vastness while keeping contact with Somni. Somni finds signs of her sister which fuels her obsession to go deeper into The Ship to find her. Quixote Communes and merges with the vestiges of dark consciousness and Pol finds a sentient contact, divining a necessary sacrifice is needed to go further. The remainder of the party make their way from the Dark Void to...the Engine.

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: Whispers in Exile (Session 3) Madelancholy runs for Amanda/iamatrex, B, Jonn, and Marc Majcher A plunge into chemical slurry. Encounters with camouflaged crawlers. An...offering made to twisted technology. Memories bleeding into the warped present, as someone makes a startling discovery about themselves. With all this, the survivors make it out of the Under-Hull and into the next area...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: Whispers in Exile (Session 4) Madelancholy runs for Amanda/iamatrex, B, Jonn, and Marc Majcher The Vastness overwhelms with its breadth and strange paths over a cascade of living Darkness. A tenuous connection remembered, a memory before entering cryo-sleep. A ride on a membranous elevator increases tension. Altars call out in this cathedral-like space and a survivor is lost...

Trophy Gold: Hissing Darkness: Whispers in Exile (Session 5) Madelancholy runs for Amanda/iamatrex, B, Jonn, and Marc Majcher Another survivor - Jaxu's sister Jada - has followed the group into the Dark Void out onto the hull. Dr. Mullen and Cecile Commune with the Darkness and understand what needs to be done when they reach the Engine. Hart tries to save them from themselves but without success. Jada decides it needs to all come down... [Content warning: narrations of blood, sacrifice, murder.]

The Between: Stars and Suns, Season Two (Session 10) Madelancholy runs for Jack, Mike, Sarah W., and Steph "The Morning After" - Discussions, dessert, and recriminations the morning after. A protegé is sent away for his own safety. Strange details on a body in the morgue are pointed out over port.

The Between: Stars and Suns, Season Two (Session 11) Madelancholy runs for Jack, Mike, and Steph "Lost Souls" - This Night Phase sees the hunters attempt to resolve the demonic Threat residing at Kilborn Abbey, each in their own way, while a play of twisted science occurs across town. The Mask of Sacrilege was narrated to horrifying effect at the end of the session.

[holybridget]

Le 28 janvier, deux activistes se revendiquant du groupe Riposte alimentaire ont jeté de la soupe sur La Joconde, située au Louvre, à Paris. Les militantes ont expliqué que celle-ci visait à promouvoir le droit à une alimentation saine et durable. (Reporterre).

[delectablywaywardbeard-blog]

Zuppa sul vetro della Gioconda, blitz degli ambientalisti a Parigi

AGI – Due attiviste per il clima hanno gettato zuppa sul dipinto della Gioconda, il dipinto più famoso del mondo che, al Louvre, a Parigi, è protetto da un vetro blindato. Il gesto è stato rivendicato da “Riposte Alimentaire”che ha giustificato l’azione con la volontà di promuovere in particolare “il diritto a un’alimentazione sana e sostenibile”. La celeberrima opera di Leonardo da Vinci, meta…

[lizzarrocks]

How to have animation popular and remember like south park?

Here are some things that contributed to South Park becoming a popular and memorable animated show:

- Timely and topical humor - The show parodied current events, controversies and pop culture in a satirical way that kept the content feeling fresh and relevant.

- Push the boundaries - The crude, offensive humor pushed censorship boundaries and generated controversy, which attracted interest and buzz. - Unique style - The low-budget, crude cut-out animation style was unlike anything else on TV at the time. It stood out visually.

- Relatable characters - Kids could identify with Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny even if their adventures were absurd. The characters carried the humor.

- Consistent and prolific - New episodes aired regularly each season without multi-year breaks, keeping the world and conversationscurrent.

- Viral clips - Short, shareable scenes spread the humor online before social media really took off. This expanded the audience.

- Satire not preaching - It poked fun at everyone equally without taking itself too seriously or trying to teach explicit lessons.

- Top talent - Trey Parker and Matt Stone's comedic skills kept the writing and humor consistently clever and entertaining.

- Stayed fresh - After 20+ seasons the show still found creative ways to evolvewhile stillfeeling familiar. Didn't become formulaic.

- Risk-taking - Wasn't afraid to go to arguably offensive places that kept audiences tuning in just to see how far it would go.

- Cultural touchpoints - The show created so many catchphrases, references and ripostes that became engrained in pop culture lexicon over time.

- Broad fanbase - While edgy, the humor had wide appeal across many demographics - it wasn't just a niche show.

- Consistent voice talent - Having Trey, Matt and the whole core cast involved in every episode ensured high quality of vocal performances.

- Skilled writing room - A team of talented comedy writers helped produce dense layers of jokes/easter eggs per episode.

- Tight production - Turning episodes around from conception to air in just 6 days allowed maximum reactivity to current events.

- Balanced commentary - While provocative, it skewered people across the political spectrum fairly without feeling like propaganda. - Ambitious premises - Story arcs tackled sprawling topics like multi-episode pandemics or entire serialized films.

- Clever meta jokes - The show was often self-aware, poking fun at its own formulas and tropes to keep viewers on their toes.

- Commitment to quality - Despite immense success, Trey and Matt refused to lower artistic standards or rush production for money.

- Diverse storytelling - While grounded in vulgar comedy, some episodes told very moving stories too through its satire.- Enduring rewatch value - Dense humor meant it retained entertainment long after initial viewing due to all the layered jokes.

[jhavelikes]

In reality, increasingly overworked and underpaid contingent teachers scan for footnotes and catchphrases that will confer legitimacy on documents that will be used for their annual performance reviews (but that few will actually read). Meanwhile, an ever-shrinking handful of marketable “big names” will publish the versions of the same book over and over again, reskinned to respond to emerging trends, essentially homogenizing the trajectory of intellectual thought around pop-culture themes, offering the hope of relevance to humanities disciplines that are withering.1 And the legion of aspiring intellectuals will dutifully cite them in hopes that they might be lifted like Cinderella from a patchwork schedule into a tenured gig. (Someday, Prince Charming might read the paper I wrote on Pokemon and whisk me away to an Ivory Tower!) But even the best of these efforts will be a day late and a dollar short, as academics strive to be low rent influencers, big fish in an evaporating puddle. (What if all those years in the library would have been better spent making mukbang videos?) In his 2015 States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in the 21st Century, Stiegler anticipates the stupidity of artificial intelligence as a structural problem in higher education long before chat-GPT overturned the applecart of techno-utopian progress. From Lyotard’s famously sloppy 1971 Postmodern Condition, Stiegler distills an important point for us: Reason (if we must and we still can refer here to reason) passes through these islands [Kant’s faculties], opening passages in which languages form, over and above which there is no universal language, as the classical thought of the seventeenth century believed, nor any ‘synthesis’, nor any ‘meta-discourse of knowledge’, nor a universal subject, as idealist speculative thought believed, and as did, later, the materialism of the nineteenth century. (2015, 84)

Davin Heckman’s Re-Riposte › electronic book review

[gravesung-moving]

its so convenient that i got into stsg a couple months before nanowrimo, because riposte and jupiter are SO RIDICULOUSLY them-coded it’s been like. it feels like the missing inspiration puzzle piece. they’re kind of like if stsg’s personalities were swapped but their stories remained the same?

riposte is like… if satoru had suguru’s personality. calm, disciplined, logical, everything needs a reason and nothing should be decided or done lightly. but she’s also slated to be not only top of the school, but one of the most honored positions in their wholeass world — and her rival for that position isn’t jupiter. she’s going to surpass him eventually, even if she mistakenly believes they’ll be side by side forever.

jupiter is like… a less emotionally stable/intelligent, more insecure, more angry geto. both of them went through heinous shit that changed them, but at the same time, both of them already had that seed of darkness in them that allowed them to make the choices they made. unlike jujutsu society which values satoru’s (and jupiter’s to a lesser extent lol) apocalyptic levels of raw power, drakarth values riposte’s versatile, controlled, intelligent power. and that’s just. at his core, NOT the type of person jupiter can force himself to be, so he’s destined to be in second place forever.

and like. here’s the thing. if riposte — the one person whose opinion he actually valued in all this mess — had accepted that, or maybe if his parents had accepted that, or any member of faculty or mentor, if ANYONE had seen the pain he was experiencing underneath his loud personality, he probably couldve been stopped. but everyone pushed him and pushed him and told him he wasn’t enough — and the person who noticed it was Moth, and boy howdy is jupiter just the perfect, powerful, insecure, isolated vessel for cult indoctrination.

i just think they’d have some super interesting talks about their respective blue-themed, extremely powerful messiah-coded best friends who they ultimately betray for world-destroying cult reasons HFKSFBSJDH blows a kiss. he’d join ur cult suguru

[metameblog]

Come ho avuto modo di sottolineare parlando nel blog dell'educazione dopo il Covid-19, tentando di prevedere il futuro si commettono spesso errori grossolani. Ognuno di noi può essere facilmente testimone di questo guardando alle aspettative che nutriva nel passato e confrontandole con un presente migliore, peggiore, o semplicemente diverso da quanto immaginato. Per il sottoscritto vale altrettanto, ad esempio riguardo le speranze riposte nel trasferimento a Torino circa 9 mesi fa. Su un elemento caratteristico di questo 2023, però, posso dire di averci visto lungo già prima. Peccato c'entri poco con la mia vita attuale, anche se si può ritrovare in alcuni lavori legati a Meta Me...

Era attorno alla metà del 2022 che ho realizzato (io, per modo di dire) questa immagine utilizzando un'app di AI art, per illustrare un racconto di fantascienza scritto tempo prima. Già si parlava di come realizzare arte con l'aiuto dell'intelligenza artificiale sarebbe diventato comune, e delle problematiche portate da tale innovazione, soprattutto riguardanti la definizione di arte a livello filosofico, il problema del copyright, lo scontro con i "veri" artisti. A distanza di un anno, tutto questo è più che mai attuale (si veda solo la diffusione di opere AI-generated sui social).

Alcune tematiche simili sono state analizzate nell'articolo qua sopra risalente al giugno scorso, dove il futuro prossimo dell'arte arriva a simboleggiare il possibile avvento di una nuova era per l'umanità, quella transumanista. Successivamente, mi sono sbizzarrito nel creare brevi video montando immagini generate dell'intelligenza artificiale.

Sul mio Instagram potete trovare una video-poesia realizzata in tal modo, dal titolo Šîñëşțĕśīå, e altri post o reel simili. Sono quindi un AI artist? Di certo l'ho usata, se però posso essere definito artista per questo è tutto da vedere. Un recente libro sul metamodernismo, Metamodernism: The Future of Theory difende una visione antiessenzialista del concetto di arte, ovvero che esso sia privo di una definizione universalmente accettata tale da identificarlo e differenziarlo dal resto. In fondo, anche agli albori della fotografia c'era chi non considerava arte questo modo più tecnologico di catturare un istante effimero. Forse, allo stesso modo, l'AI art è solo un nuovo mezzo da utilizzare per essere artisti, un ulteriore passo in avanti verso un futuro imprevedibile...

[seodijon]

L’Europe riposte enfin aux géants américains de la tech : trop tard ?

See on Scoop.it - Community Management & Webmarketing

Meta, la maison mère de Facebook, a écopé hier d’une amende record en Europe !

[ajentmm]

May '23 Refine Reviews

Read my Theroycrafts here.

L!Edelgard got some different benefits and the conditions are not the same as mine. It's now just -9 Atk/Def. We still have follow-up negation an true damage based on Atk%. We don't have healing or Accelerate Special. Instead, we have damage reduction and Special Charge. All of this is great for Galeforce strats, especially when the true damage and damage reduction remove the need for the respective Special.

Lif got that Open the Future spam I expected, but the -2 quicken pulse is also a plus. He could run the Time Pulse he comes with to use an AOE special. Also, stacking Finish is really cool, and increasing the range of this blast means it works better to get the condition and the ally can be at a safe distance. Still, a frontline combat unit as a Defensive Mythic is still not great.

Alm got something I wasn't expecting. Now he gets Atk/Spd based on foe's Visible Def, and inflict Atk/Def based on foe's Visible Res. For a foe that's stacked in Def and Spd, this can be used to match the foe's Spd stat and lessen the power of Dodge, while also increasing the damage of Lunar Flash. A foe stacked in Res will do less damage and take more damage from Alm. And a foe with Def and Res will get even more damage delt to bust through any of the tanks damage reduction strats. He then gets Dull All and Full Tempo to become a balanced all around tank buster. He doesn't have NFU but it's easy to add when you have B slot that has a overlapping effect.

Cormag has got his revenge. On top of AS and +8 stats, he has GFU, Null-Guard, and true damage reduction based on his Def. An impressive effect that was on Haar's refine along with Dou!Alfonse', Askr, and B!Dimitri. I guess I'll just inherit Luna than.

I said at the time, "I didn't think my Ewan theorycraft was going to be real," and it's no where close. He's a stat ball that uses his high visible Res to inflict more penalties. Then add 30% DR and GFU. He also is immune to Atk/Res penalties so using Still Water can make you a chill magnet immune to it's effect. That Sabotage skill is working wonders on him.

Valbar did not become the lance version of Arden. He became a strong tank that block physicals damage, reduces damage from follow-up attacks rather than prevent them, and gets Scc+1 per attack and 7 HP after combat. This makes his choice of Fighter Skill hard to pick. Both Vengeful Fighter and Bold Fighter give the GFU he needs but the Scc is already there. Wary Fighter is unnecessary if he's reducing follow-up damage, making charging his Special quicker. This leaves Slick Fighter, Crafty Fighter, or Hardy Fighter. Quick Riposte is a budget option. Just remember, mages will still one-shot him, and dragons will also eat you alive.

Eyvel Freeblade's Edge is a more defensive sword than the two Arcane sword she could inherit. It has that Guard, and 30% DR for everything (expect Rokkr obviously), it gives TD based on her larger than normal Def stat, and GFU. I would expect nothing less from the first chapter pre-promote, guarding her allies valiantly.

Well, now it's time to watch the meta burn as 4 new powercreep units ravage the world.

[shadow-yato]

Byleth is good, but Camilla changes the very meta of the Fates, her mere existence changes the tide of battle.

Three Houses is much more flexible, while Byleth is a very good unit, so is a lot of others, I.E Bernie and Edel can match up to their strength (Bernie w/ her personal) They have the sword of creator but before the upgrade it’s. Meh. Curved shot for the win.

But Camilla? Her bases are cracked, her growths just as much, she’ll be solid in any class you put her in. Luck and skill is meh but that’s an easy fix (heart seal for heartseeker and/or tonics + cooking)

She’s pre-promoted, comes in a flying class and a good weapon rank (she can use the dual club on base!!) The way you play would change entirely without her. Chapter 10 without Camilla. Oh dear lord

Her class access is good too! She can friendship for merc, fighter, troubador, and sky knight lines. All offer great choices for her.

Merc line gives access to strong riposte+sol, great to make her a enemy phase menace. Fighter is even better, sol + axefaire access!! Axefaire paired with Trample is like. 10 dmg. Considering her low internal level she’ll get these endgame skills much earlier than most. Troubador is overlooked I think, solely because of access to maid and this daggers. Camilla is good enough that the meh class bonuses can be overlooked- Marry her to Arthur, Laslow, or Keaton and you have a pseudo Sol-Ninja. And sky knight. Darting Blow is just wonderful for a player phase Camilla build.

Rose’s Thorn+Her raw stats her great for attack stance support.

Okay that’s enough infodumping for now I just love fates gameplay. And Camilla.

Anyway vote Camilla now!! Yay!!