#synth recharge challenge

[wellamarke]

“Let me make it up to you.” (SRC 2b)

The combination of this phrase + the other prompt being “song lyrics” resulted in my wandering around for most of today singing the chorus of Julia Michaels’ “Make It Up To You”. This has nothing to do with that. Just an (un)interesting fact.

Anyway... AU in which the Hawkinses + Leo and Sam managed to revive Karen.

@synth-recharge-challenge

••

The thirteen-hour countdown comes to an end sometime after one in the morning, the alarm chirruping merrily from his newly-borrowed phone.

Leo knows it would be far more sensible to wait for a more earthly hour, when Mattie or at least someone else will be around, but he has never been very good at being patient. He sits up straight, nursing the stiff muscles in his neck and wishing he hadn’t fallen asleep in a dining-room chair.

It’s dark, so he swaps the phone’s alarm function for its torch; steals a look at Karen’s face in the circle of yellowish light. The skinpacks on her face have fused seamlessly - she no longer seems like the victim of a beating. She looks like she is sleeping.

Or dead.

He taps the space bar of Mattie’s laptop, waking it up. The deep scan has not reported any major faults. He tries to tell himself that it doesn’t mean anything; there isn’t software to measure faults in consciousness. What would they check for? Even so, he can’t help hoping.

With a gentle tug on the cord, he pulls the charger out of Karen’s side, smoothing the flap of skin back over the port. He stands up, crosses to the light switch, then takes a long look at her: just in case this is his last chance to see her and feel hopeful. In case what he’s about to do confirms that it was all for nothing.

Enough now, he chides himself. Do it.

He goes back, leans down and chintaps the woman who was created to be his mother - a light movement, belying how momentous it is. There’s no startup sound, of course. As with her deep brown eyes, she has always been missing certain hallmarks of the commercial synth model. She’s home-made. Unique even among the uniques - which makes her status as a doppelgänger all the more ironic.

Leo holds his breath, keeps it there even when her eyes open.

“Hello,” he whispers.

Slowly, Karen sits up, her face slowly becoming animated again with a hint of a frown.

“I’m on a table,” she says.

The bluntness of her statement tickles him, but he can’t bring himself to laugh, in case it’s an indicator that her head isn’t functioning properly. She’s right, though, in fairness. With the bedrooms at full capacity, the table had been the next best option, as far as flat surfaces went.

Leo had wondered briefly if a Hawkins dining-room table was really a Hawkins dining-room table if it hadn’t, at some point, had a member of his family stretched out on top of it, close to death.

“Where am I?” she asks. “And don’t say ‘on a table’.”

This time he grins. “You’re at…”

He almost says Mattie’s, because that’s still what this house means to him first and foremost, but he realises Karen has no reason to recognise that name.

“Joe’s...wife’s house,” he finishes lamely. “You’re safe.”

“Joe?” Karen echoes, and faintly Leo registers a sinking feeling: she’s forgotten, they’ve lost part of her they’ll never get back…

Then her brow softens. “I told Sam to find him.”

“Sam’s fine,” Leo says quickly, before she has a chance to worry about it. “He’s upstairs. Charging in Sophie’s room.”

“Joe’s little girl?” Karen asks.

“Yeah. They’re the best of friends already.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Leo sits back down in his chair, looks up at her. “Do you remember how…?”

“Yes. I’m trying not to think about it.”

Fair enough, he thinks. It’s not as if he’s chosen to dwell on his own near-death experience all that much, in the days since his awakening.

She changes the subject deftly, if not subtly. “So what are you doing at Joe’s wife’s house?”

He considers the question. It’s a good one. Somehow he doesn’t want to lead with ‘Joe’s other daughter, mostly’.

“I had nowhere else to go,” he admits. “Things were getting a bit heated in the compound.”

She seems to find this amusing. “You were in a synth compound?”

“Yes.”

“And I was in a humans-only settlement.”

Leo hums in acknowledgement of the parallel. “And now we’re both here.”

“Yes.”

She cranes her neck to look out of the window. The moonlit street is empty, quiet.

“Sam and I will leave when it’s light,” she says.

“No,” he says, on impulse. Then, a little softer, “I mean, you don’t have to. They’re good people.”

“It’s dangerous for Sam, out here.”

“It’s dangerous for you, back there.”

She accepts it. “There are plenty of other synth-free places. We can’t stay outside one for long. Qualia are still looking for him.”

Leo is impressed by her bravery: less than a day after being beaten to death by humans who can’t abide synthetics, she is willing to live among them again, for the sake of her surrogate son. She would do anything for him.

It reminds him of Mia.

He remembers making that comparison once before. That time he’d been the one on a table, if memory serves correctly.

“Just don’t leave straight away,” he pleads. “Think about it.”

For the first time she looks at him - really looks at him, eyes locking on his. Leo tries to stare back, to fight against the human inclination to recoil from someone who looks so much like a ghost. She looks more like his mother now than when he’d last seen her: she looks exactly as she had on that very first day, presented to them all as Beatrice.

Why had she done that? Why had her default idea for a disguise been hair that length, that shade?

“Stop,” says Karen, softly.

“What?”

“You’re thinking about her,” she says.

He glances away, guilty. “I can’t help it.”

“I know.”

It’s not accusatory; none of it is. She just sounds sad.

“That’s why we can’t stay. I can’t be her.”

“I know,” he says, looking back at her. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, my memories of her are fading now.”

She blinks. “But your synthetic component…”

“It’s gone.”

She raises her eyebrows. “How did that happen?”

“I got on the wrong side of a synth who really liked sharp edges.”

Something crosses her face briefly, but she doesn’t voice it.

“Funny, isn’t it,” she says instead. “We barely know each other, but we think we ought to. We think we matter to each other.”

“You matter to me,” he says quietly.

He doesn’t much mind if it isn’t true in reverse. He’s glad he got to say it.

“We let you down,” he continues. “But you’ve always been one of us.” He swallows, his throat still dry from his half-night’s sleep. “Let me make it up to you, somehow.”

“You already have,” she tells him. “You brought me back to life.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” she says, “But it’s enough.”

She twists, turning so that her legs are hanging off the side of the table. She is all parallel lines, her bare feet completely still.

“Can’t we just... try?” Leo asks, after a moment’s silence.

She turns her head, and slides her hand closer to his. He takes it, holds it gingerly, aware that only hours ago Mattie had had to replace part of the wrist joint. His own hand shakes ever so slightly, as it’s been doing intermittently whenever he asks his muscles to do something they’ve forgotten. What a pair they make. Both of them so recently broken, so recently dancing on the edge of their separate mortalities.

“You have a tremor,” she notes.

“I’ve been in a coma,” he counters. “It happens.”

Leo feels the pressure on his hand increase slightly, as she gives it a delicate squeeze. He has no clear enough memory of his mother’s hands to compare it with. This is Karen. Only her.

“We can try,” she says. “No promises.”

“No promises,” he agrees, and squeezes back.

••

[synth-recharge-challenge]

Woohoo! Another week of recharging has gone by. The maximum percentage (if you filled every single challenge this week and last week, plus voting for Mia in the Character Cup) is 9%, so let me know if you are owed more than what appears here. I’ve tried to keep up with posts I’m tagged in, but even then I might have missed some.

@turned-her-brain

@epicfics

@wellamarke

@lolana07

@greeneyedolly

@gold-from-straw

@vienb

Well done everyone! Remember you can hop into or out of this challenge at any time, these silly posts are just to keep the weird battery metaphor going more than anything 😅

New prompts for the coming week will be up in an hour’s time. Happy recharging!

[epicfics]

Synth Recharge Challenge # 2

@synth-recharge-challenge

Challenge #2

Leo was gradually becoming a Hawkins. Not that he didn’t like it - he’d been harboring a deep rooted envy for their “normal family” schtick since his first stay with them three years ago. But he had to remind himself this was a temporary situation. He had to get out at some point and figure out how to be a functioning, legally dead person. He was too old to be adopted, after all. He wasn’t Sam.

The Synth child was playing hide and seek with Sophie Hawkins. Now him, Joe and Laura could somehow adopt. Already Sam and Sophie were practically siblings.

Leo didn’t have that bond with a Hawkins. He already had sisters, so he definitely knew he could never feel that way about Mattie. He’d never felt about anyone the way he did about Mattie.

The door to her room was slightly ajar as he roamed upstairs. Unlike his previous experiences in the Hawkins household, he’d actually been inside Mattie’s room this round. He liked it in there; it was quiet and charmingly cluttered. It was a good place to think.

He pushed the door open, stepped in - then stepped out.

“Sorry,” he said in a sudden wash of awkwardness. A topless Mattie turned around to see him, then stepped in aimlessly wild turns about the room with her arms across her chest.

“Hold on,” she said brusquely, picking up a shirt and covering herself loosely. It was one of his, which inspired the quirk of a smile.

Mattie tilted her head in the direction of the door, and Leo shut himself in. It was only afterwards that he was unsure whether he shouldnt’ve gone the other way.

“God,” she whispered. “That could’ve been Sam, or Soph.”

Leo laughed ruefully. “Last I saw, Sophie was hiding in the laundry basket.”

Mattie wrinkled her nose at the thought. Then she looked down at the clothing she had pinned to her torso. “Toby’s.”

“I was wearing it yesterday,” Leo explained hastily as she dropped it. They both reached down to pick it back up, his hand catching hers on impulse. She rose, very slowly, and the breath in his lungs left within seconds. He stood, somehow closer to her than before, and with a careful set of fingers combed a loose lock of her dark brown curls back behind her ear. Once, this feeling in him was unfathomable, and now it was nothing new. But it struck him with awe every time.

Seizing an opportunity, Mattie reached her face to his so he could kiss her. But it wasn’t enough to taste her, he wanted to touch her. His hand moved from her ear to her neck, then her porcelain shoulder.

She was a bit quicker than him, cradling half his face with one hand as her mouth opened and closed over his. While he was responding, Mattie brought him in closer with her other hand around his ribs. With a lift of her fingers, another one of Toby’s shirts hit the floor.

Their bodies pressed in, the top halves all bare flesh and curves, the other halves on their way to getting there, they took their time enjoying their senses, the sensations they gave one another.

Mattie’s skin was flushed and he was feeling very warm as well.

Then her kisses drifted from his lips to his ear, whispering a desire that needed no words.

“MATTIE?”

Sophie’s voice entered the room with a bang of the door. Leo and Mattie launched apart. Turning their heads only, they saw Mattie’s little sister standing with wide eyes watching them. She blinked at the sight of her sister and houseguest shirtless together.

“Sam’s not hiding in here is he?” she asked.

“Um,” said Mattie, sounding confused. “No, haven’t seen him?”

As Sophie pouted and walked away, her sister called, “Hey don’t tell Mum, kay?”

“Won’t have to,” the youngest Hawkins said unruffled. “She’s not as stupid as you guys.”

They exchanged a mortified glance before the tension gave way to laughter. “I don’t think you’re stupid,” he grinned shaking his head.

“Everyone’s stupid in the mind of a -.” began Mattie, before another voice cut in.

“Leo, do you know how many unsuccessful attempts Sophie must make before I am the winner of hide-and-seek?”

Jumping once again, they turned to see Sam crawling out from under Mattie’s bed.

Recovering, Leo said to him, “How about you don’t say a word of what’s been going on in this room and we’ll tell Sophie it’s your turn to seek?”

“Very well!” chimed Sam. “But if Toby is giving you his shirts, Sophie is aware of your relationship with Mattie and Laura is not stupid...who is there left to tell?”

[lolana07]

Week 2

I can’t pick which season was my favorite...probably 3 though, but 1 and 2 are a close second and third. Season 1 only misses the top spot because of the cringe-worthy start lol with Laura being so obnoxious and Joe being awful and Toby getting a get-out-of-jail-free card. All the characters were not yet their best selves until maybe halfway through? Plus Fred was in season 1. Can’t go wrong with Fred.

Season 2 was probably my least favorite bc Leo’s and Mia’s storyline really dragged the season down for me. I loved V and Morrow and all the ethical debates you can have on her storyline, plus with the reveal of the kid synths..just wow. I could talk for hours on that. Hester is in the same category as Agnes, brunette problematic favorites! Alsooo, being introduced to Astrid and her scene with Niska in the interrogation, SO GOOD!

Season 3 was amazing, even though Leo’s storyline got repetitive, and there were heartbreaking deaths. Every episode was amazingly constructed and it was a thrill ride. I do wish we had more quiet moments like the other seasons, but I really loved this season’s pace. Plus we got to see Mia punch what’s-his-face!! @synth-recharge-challenge

[showzens]

just that still sort of quiet (humans 3.07 non-canon fic)

fanwork with the prompt “song lyric” for @synth-recharge-challenge !!

(for a little context, this is a highly specific au of mine where odi doesnt die and v helps him instead of just killing him and she gets her own body too eventually basically this is a rewrite of the 3.07 end scene for this au)

1. and it is quiet

There’s silence in the forest, except it’s only silent in the sense that Odi is the only sapient being there.

The rain accounts for a lot of the noise; the pattering on the mulching ground, the hissing high above against the leaf canopy, the gentle thrumming in his ears against the hood of his raincoat. He turns his palms up towards the sky and watches droplets gather in his hands. He tilts his face up. Drizzle drums on his cheeks, dotting his face much like the freckles that litter his skin, and water beads on his eyelashes, batting against violet eyes that watch the dark clouds, rumbling through the gaps in the branches.

The rain’s coming down harder now. The pattering becomes a drumming, rhythmic like music, and he has the sudden urge to seek shelter. He’s sure he knows somewhere near here; a scraped out hill covered by a tangle of protective roots from a huge oak. He accesses his vast memory banks (alongside a backup Google Maps page, for safety’s sake and out of habit) and sets off through the trees at speed, heading on as direct a path as he could until he reaches the tiny sanctuary. Odi carefully ducks under the snarled root system and pulls himself up the other side, climbing in the tiny space between embankment and root, until he manages to nestle himself into a mostly dry little nook where he can wait out the storm, and think, and listen, and watch.

2. and i am warm

Odi slides the door open quietly and steps inside, water still dripping off of his raincoat, even though the storm ended over ten minutes ago. V’s body is charging, still and peaceful on a wooden chair on the other side of the room, one index finger twinging as electricity courses through her. The monitor on which a representation of her consciousness is displayed - an old, boxy television normally featuring a staticky image of a grassy meadow - now lays not off, but decidedly dormant. Odi smiles; she’s asleep.

Quiet as a mouse, he eases his raincoat off over his head, hanging it on a hook on the wall, and slips off his boots to place them by the door. Then he pads across the discoloured, well worn floor planks to sit softly on the double bed by the window (he’d never quite figured out why they kept it, as neither of them used it) and reach out in his mind to V’s. She is dreaming, dreaming of meadows, dreaming of flowers. She dreams of a waterfall, of a woman (who he later learns is her mother), of climbing. She dreams of falling and falling and falling and falling, forever and ever. She dreams of climbing. She dreams of her mother. She dreams of warm, flowery meadows again.

3. like i’ve sailed into the eye of a storm

The sky is dark, stormy, as Odi looks out of the window, watching a figure walk through the trees. The shadows are too murky to make out any features, but he can tell they’re synthetic; the way they’re staggering and stumbling reveals not only that, but also that they’re very low on charge. He continues to watch as they waver to a halt, then stiffen up and collapse directly down, like a cut down tree. He’s thinking that this one’s a little close for comfort - perhaps he could shift the body tomorrow? - when he realises. I know her.

The long, straight, white-blonde hair, the pale skin, the slender figure - he refers back to his memory bank, and yes! There can’t be any other way. It’s Niska Elster.

He puts his raincoat back on (as the drizzle has come again) and opens the door, still being careful not to disturb V, and starts to walk over to her, slowly, as if he still can’t quite register that it’s her. She hears his footsteps, clearly; she lifts her head with what little power she has left, her eyes unfocused. He kneels down in front of her and pulls his hood down, smiling.

She squints, apparently at as much of a loss to see him as he was to see her. “Odi...?”

His face softens. “...Not exactly.”

Confusion flits across her face, but just as she’s about to speak again, her battery drains completely and her head drops to the floor, lifeless. Without even thinking, he rolls her over, picks her up in his arms and begins carrying her back to the house.

Odi pushes the door open. “V, we have a guest.”

[thesevenseraphs]

Update 2.2.1

Sandbox

TITAN

Striker—Code of the Juggernaut

Frontal Assault:

Buff duration increased from 10 to 16 seconds

Buff timer is now displayed on the HUD

Buff now increases weapon damage

25% in PvE

20% in PvP

Knockout:

Buff duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds

Buff is no longer disabled after a melee attack

In addition to breaking a shield, buff now triggers once you deal 60% damage to a target

Any damage dealt after 60% refreshes the timer

Increased bonus melee damage from 25% to 60%

General bug fix

Fixed an issue where Titans using Code of the Missile could perform the wrong melee

HUNTER

Arcstrider—Way of the Warrior

Combination Blow:

Bonus melee damage can now be stacked 3 times

Buff increases melee damage by 60% per stack in PvE

Buff increases melee damage by 22.7% per stack in PvP

This ability was previously 1 stack and increased melee damage by 50%

Kills with this ability now heal 40 health in addition to starting health regen

Deadly Reach:

Increased buff duration from 6 to 8 seconds

Buff is no longer consumed by a melee hit

Arcstrider—Way of the Wind

Disorienting Blow:

Increased the melee disorient distance from 4 meters to 6 meters

Increased duration of disorient on players from 1.5 to 2 seconds

Focused Breathing:

Increased dodge recharge bonus while sprinting from 50% to 100%

Combat Meditation:

Increased bonus grenade and melee regeneration while bloodied by 25%

Lightning Reflexes:

Increased damage resistance while dodging from 25% to 40% in PvP

Increased damage resistance while dodging from 63% to 70% In PvE

WARLOCK

General Arc Changes

Stormcaller Super

Damage scales up to 150% over 5 seconds of continuous use of the attack

Updated FX and audio to support this functionality

Stormcaller—Attunement of Conduction

Chain Lightning Melee

Can now chain up to 5 times, up from 1, and each individual target can be hit twice

Chain damage decreased from 50 to 31 damage per hit

Arc Web

Increase chain range from 10 meters to 12 meters

Can now chain to many more targets, and back and forth between targets

Chaining Arc damage now reduces the cooldown of your grenade

Works with Arc Web chains and chains from Chain Lightning melee

Earn 3% energy per instance of damage in PvE

Earn 10% energy per instance of damage in PvP

Stormcaller—Attunement of the Elements

Electrostatic Surge:

Increased bonus regeneration rate of Rift by 600% per nearby friendly Guardian

Added a UI notification when the buff is active

Now extends Rift duration from 15 to 20 seconds

Arc Soul:

Extended duration from 8 to 12 seconds.

Voidwalker Nova Warp

Reduced initial charged detonation energy cost by 20%

Reduced energy cost of holding the charged detonation by 7%

Reduced time required to fully charge the charged detonation from 0.9 seconds to 0.7 seconds

Reduced Dark Blink cost by 20%

Increased base Super duration from 18 seconds to 22 seconds

Dawnblade Everlasting Fire

Tuned the amount of Super gained from Everlasting Fire

Initial return increased from 10% to 13%

Return then decays linearly over the course of 30 kills from 13% to 0.75% returned per kill

Abilities Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where the Warlock ability “Bloom” was not dealing any damage

Improved consistency of Handheld Supernova

Fixed a bug in which canceling Blade Barrage allows players to traverse across the map

Weapons

Weapon Changes

The Last Word

Added a timer to the Fan Fire perk

The Wardcliff Coil

Reduced PvE damage by 25% against bosses and vehicles

General Weapon Bug Fixes

Fixed a material on Coldheart that was no longer shiny

Fixed an issue where ready audio on Veist Submachine Guns was not playing on PS4

Updated the Meganeura perk's description to be more accurate

Fixed an issue where Grenade Launcher initial ammo had been unintentionally reduced

Fixed an issue bug where the Powerful Statement ornament was visible in Loaded Question's ornament socket before it had been obtained

Fixed an issue where Thorn dismantled faster than other Exotic weapons

Fixed an issue where the ATB Long Range scope was erroneously highlighting enemies when equipped on the Long Shadow Sniper Rifle

The Recluse now appears in Collections only when it has been obtained to match the behavior of other pinnacle PvP weapons

Fixed an issue that caused poor scope behavior on the Prospector's ornament "Caution: Heavy Machinery"

Fixed an issue where Wish-Ender did not highlight targets while user was invisible

Fixed an issue where Jötunn was recorded as a Scout Rifle

Fixed an issue where the Vow could not be infused above 650

Fixed an issue where the accuracy ring was not visible on the reticle of Linear Fusion Rifles when using a controller on PC

Armor

Armor Bug fixes

Using Getaway Artist with Storm Grenades now correctly spawns a super-charged Arc soul

Crown of Tempests once again works with Ball Lightning

Stronghold will no longer drain heavy ammo while guarding with Black Talon

Investment

Rewards

Increased drop rate of items in the Last Wish Raid

One Thousand Voices: 5% → 10%

Glittering Key: 5% → 20%

Used to acquire Last Wish ship "Ermine TAC-717"

Wish-Maker Shell (Last Wish Ghost Shell): 2% → 20%

Cleansing Knife (Last Wish Sparrow): 5% → 20%

Increased drop rate of items in the Dreaming City

Pallas Galliot (Dreaming City Ship): 2% → 20%

Starlight Shell (Dreaming City Ghost Shell): 2% → 20%

Silver Tercel (Dreaming City Sparrow): 5% → 20%

Increased drop rate of Lore Books

Cayde's Stash Lore

Cayde treasure map chests: 40% → 100%

Planetary chests: 4% → 50%

Dreaming City Lore

Public event completed: 2.5% → 50%

Ascendant challenge completed: 2.5% → 100%

Blind Well completed (Tier 1–3): 5% → 50%

Lost Sector completed: 1.25% → 100%

The Marasenna lore book was missing two entries: Revanche I and Palingenesis III; these entries now unlock after you unlock all other entries.

Tangled Shore Lore

While Tangled Shore is the Flashpoint

Public event completed: 6.5% → 50%

Heroic adventure completed: 16% → 50%

Lost Sector completed: 3% → 50%

Gunsmith reputation packages now only reward Gunsmith Weapons

Four new Exotic weapon catalysts are now available to drop in Nightfall, strikes, and the Crucible

Prospector (Nightfall, strikes)

Rat King (Nightfall, strikes)

Hard Light (Nightfall, strikes)

SUROS Regime (Crucible)

Xûr's inventory now offers random rolled perks for armor

Quests/Bounties

Power Surge Bounties that have expired or been deleted are now available on the Drifter, though each bounty can still be completed only once per character

Power Surge Bounties now specify "Requires Annual Pass and Level 50" if either requirement is not met

Reaping in the Wilds Gambit Prime bounty now progresses from all high-value targets in free roam

Players who sided with the Vanguard on the Allegiance quest can now also bank Motes in normal Gambit to progress on the Prime Research quest step

Quest progress for the Survival Guide or Hidden Messages quest steps will now re-initialize properly; if you are stuck on these quest steps, you should abandon them and pick them up again from the Drifter to update the "tapes discovered" count

The weekly lockout reset for Invitations of the Nine has been moved to Thursday Reset (1700 UTC); players will now have two extra days to complete them before being locked out of a new Invitation the following Friday

Lost Sector Gambit Prime bounty now progresses from all Lost Sectors

All four weekly role bounties for Gambit Prime now grant powerful head rewards

Yes Sir, I'm A Closer weekly Gambit Prime bounty now awards 4 points for a win and 2 points for a loss, with a completion value of 20 points

Pursuits

Ada-1 will now offer all seven weapon frames each week

Players can still complete only two powerful frames each week, at which point remaining frames are removed until weekly reset

Fixed an issue where players could acquire pinnacle weapons once per character; pinnacle weapons are meant to be acquired only once per account

Drifter's weekly role bounties will now properly count Motes wagered in the Reckoning when the Mote is a lower tier than the activity itself

Gambit Prime now counts to unlock the weekly Gambit clan engram

When recycling Synths at the Drifter, the error "Your Glimmer is full" will now be properly displayed on all four Synths

Fixed an issue with the Sentry emblem where killing Giant Blockers wasn't incrementing the "Blockers killed" stat

Fixed an issue where the Gambit Prime weekly challenge didn't display completion in the UI

Triumphs

Fixed an issue where Triumphs from previous seasons were counting Glory Win Streaks in the current season

Fixed an issue where the Triumph "The Best Offense" was not giving credit for all orbs generated

The Haul Triumphs "Greater Powers" and "IX" can now be completed and will initialize for players who have already completed them as soon as they enter Orbit

General

Arsenic Bite now drops with random rolls; removed Vestian Dynasty from the general loot pool

Fixed an issue where the BrayTech RWP Mk. II could not be infused above 600

Increased drop rate of Polestar II Ghost Shell from 1% to 4%

Fixed an issue where Obsidian Crystal would sometimes not drop from the Unidentified Frame quest step

Activities

Reckoning

Reckoning Tier 2 and Tier 3 boss kills now always have a chance to award a Gambit Prime weapon

Chances for weapon rewards increase each time a boss is killed without a weapon drop

Players near the bank should no longer be able to see waypoints until they jump through the portal

When players jump through the portal, they should be placed in one of three active locations:

Anytime before players begin capturing the bridge: over the horde mode area

Anytime after players begin capturing the bridge, before they fully capture the bridge: at the beginning of the bridge

After players fully capture the bridge and begin the boss fight: at the end of the bridge

Fixed an issue where the Tier 1 Deceived Nokris was not summoning its Taken Warbeasts

Gambit Prime

Some Reckoning weapons now have a chance to drop as match completion rewards from Gambit Prime

Chances increase after each Gambit Prime match without a weapon drop

An invasion kill now heals 8% of the Primeval's health, down from 12%

The invasion portal cooldown time during the Primeval phase has been increased to 40 seconds, up from 30 seconds

This cooldown triggers after a player has been killed or successfully returns from an invasion

Fixed an issue where all Gambit medals that shipped in Forsaken were not displaying in the HUD when players earned them in Prime

Fixed an issue where the Primeval Hobgoblin was not functioning properly in Gambit Prime

Boss reintroduced to Gambit Prime

Fixed an issue where killing players in subsequent Wells of Light would unintentionally count towards earning the "Well Well Well" medal

Fixed on issue on Deep Six and New Arcadia where the Ascendant Primeval Servitor wasn't summoning Immunity Blights

The Burrow front on Six Deep had some minor adjustments to reduce combatant/environment collisions

Gambit

High-value targets now have a chance to spawn during the first round of a Gambit match; the chance for the HVT to spawn in the second round has been increased

Private Matches: Sudden Death can now be enabled or disabled via the Rounds to Win options

Fixed an issue where the "Open 24/7" medal could be acquired during a Sudden Death round of Gambit

Fixed an issue where the "Rainmaker" medal could be acquired during a Sudden Death round of Gambit

Gambit intro cinematics now run at unlocked framerates on PC

Fixed an issue where Scorn Captain's immunity totems were not properly shielding combatants

Fixed an issue where Drifter was announcing "Portal's Up" after the round had ended

Reduced the number of required Blockers to send for the Taken Herder, Shepard, and Whisperer Triumphs

Reduced the number of required number of Motes to bank in order to achieve the Protect the Runner Triumphs

Fixed an issue where players who are restricted from the Crucible/Gambit due to poor network quality were unable to launch Gambit Private Matches

Fixed an issue where Infamy ranks could be repeatedly reset without needing to progress through the ranks between each reset

Strikes

Fixed an issue where the gravlift would sometimes be missing in the Warden of Nothing strike

Nightfall tickets now have min/max and +-25 for incrementing power reduction; this will allow players to get to the +100 power reduction easier to increase the score multiplier

Crucible

Competitive

Fixed an issue where players who are disconnected from Destiny servers could not rejoin games in the Competitive Crucible playlist.

Iron Banner

The curated roll "Wizened Rebuke" Fusion Rifle awarded from completing the "Atlas, Unbound" Triumph will now appear in Lord Saladin's inventory so that players can inspect it prior to acquisition

Once earned, the weapon may be viewed in Collections

The curated roll "Wizened Rebuke" Fusion Rifle can now be reacquired from Collections for the same cost as other Masterworked, curated roll weapons

The Heavy as Iron emblem may be earned when securing 2500 kills under the effects of the Iron Burden

Removed ship "Volk-CER" from Collections due to an issue impacting the ship

Expect this to return in a future Season

Patrols

Fixed an issue where the architects would sometimes kill Guardians for absolutely no reason in a very specific area of the Dreaming City

Combatants

General

Fixed an issue where the Taken Hydra rotating shield would flicker when shielded by Taken Goblins

Fixed an issue where the Ultra Taken Hobgoblin was using the Swarm attack more frequently than intended

UI

General

Player will now always see equipped titles when inspecting another player

The weapon ornament "Powerful Statement" is no longer visible in the socket preview for Loaded Question before being obtained

Postmaster "open bundle confirmation" dialogue now shows appropriate strings when it pops up; would previously cause occasional crashes

Material cost no longer appears red on vendor tooltips if the item is not purchasable, but you have enough material

Fixed the description on some bounties to correctly read "<Element> ability kills" instead of "<Element> kills"

PC

General

Fixed an issue where performance on PC would slowly degrade over time

[findasongblog]

Find A Song that contemplates the existential dread that haunts us as night

Elle Azar - Starry Night

Sleep: it’s supposed to be a time to naturally recharge, to get away from our screens, our problems, and the problems that appear on our screens. Maybe you’re one of those people who hits the pillow at 11 p.m. every night in a carefree fashion— maybe you blissfully slip into dreamland with anxiety-free ease. For the rest of us, sleep isn’t so sweet. It’s a time where you’re left alone with no distractions, which leaves you free to obsess about that embarrassing thing you did in 2011 (you know, that thing).

Like us, up-and-coming popster Elle Azar is one of the latter, sleep-troubled folks. Her new single, “Starry Night” tackles the existential dread you often face after setting your iPhone alarm for the evening. In a drifting, dreamy vocoder voice, Azar sings, “Tossing, turning / bridges burning / nothing’s certain / I’m losing my mind."

But the single isn’t a purely hopeless look at sleep, either. Says Azar of the track, “‘Starry Night’ is a sort of lullaby I wrote to myself. It’s about all those late nights I stayed up tossing and turning and feeling like I was losing my mind... Asking exhausting and intimidating questions about the meaning of things, wondering how it would all turn out, If I’d ever meet my soulmate back then, or if I’d already missed that moment— and a million other things. [Then] I had the thought, ‘We can’t solve all of heaven’s mysteries tonight.’ There was beauty in accepting that I didn’t have to have everything figured out just yet. Instead, I can focus on the things that I do know and the beauty that I can see. There’s a lot of peace and perspective in trusting in something larger than me. It made all my anxieties look a little smaller.”

Directed by Azar’s husband and co-writer Ezra Cohen, the video transforms Azar’s bedroom into a metaphysical cosmos where life’s “big questions” are examined and fretted over (fun fact: the couple “basically tore apart [their] house and made a set in the middle of [their] living room” for the video). However, by the end of the video, Azar comes to terms with the fact that the keys to the universe aren’t going to be settled in one evening, so she might as well, to quote the track, “Take it easy” as she stares into the starry night.

Elle Azar (real name Jillian Cohen) experienced her first panic attack at the age of 12, and has since dealt with debilitating anxiety that's forced her to not leave the house for weeks at a time. Now, at 29, Azar aims to challenge the narrative of what it means to be an artist that lives with and speaks openly about mental illness. With the help of producer Jeremy Lutito (Leagues), Azar uses her debut self-titled album to tell stories of navigating and overcoming mental health struggles. Tracks like "Bathtub" reckon with the thought of calling it quits, while songs like "Reborn" contemplate gratitude for sticking around through the hardest days. Anecdotes of hope give silver linings to tales of despair, set against backdrops of slick synths and unique, alt-pop composition. The record hits platforms on May 24th, at the end of Mental Health Awareness Month.

"A lot of the themes in the album come from a place of struggling personally with mental health issues and processing it all out loud," she says. "It’s something that I've dealt with for so many years. I genuinely can’t believe I’m alive... and happy... and here to tell this story. I honestly didn’t think I would make it this far in life... But at the end of the day this project isn’t just about my pain. It’s so much bigger than that." (press release)

[wellamarke]

‘work of art’ (SRC 3b)

just a li’l Nobody Died AU bc there were mentions on twitter yesterday about how tragic it is that Sam and Flash never got to meet...

@synth-recharge-challenge

•••

“How do you do that?” asked Sam, pointing at Flash’s piece of paper, quizzical.

She looked up at him. “What do you mean? I’m just drawing.”

“No,” he said, “You’re drawing like a child.”

Flash looked down at her paper. She was only doodling a few flowers, killing time while she waited for Max to finish talking to Joe about the latest news on Laura’s appeal. Her flowery creations flourished out from one corner of the paper and stretched across the expanse, leaves and stems pointing wildly in different directions, petals big and bold and - yes, perhaps - sloppy. It was the way Harmeet had always liked best. Simple drawings, ones she’d be able to copy.

“I can’t do that,” Sam told her. “Joe was trying to teach me to draw like a child, when I used to go to school. All of my drawings are too realistic.”

“Sit with me,” said Flash. “I’ll show you how.”

Sam sat. Flash slid another sheet of paper out from under the one she was working on, and handed him her pencil.

“Draw a flower,” she said.

Sam drew a lily, perfect in detail, lifelike enough to be plucked and set in a vase.

“Good,” said Flash, and presented another piece of paper. She placed it over the top of the first. “Now trace the outline. Just the outer edge of each petal and the stem.”

“I could just draw it again from memory,” Sam suggested.

“No,” she said, “Only draw what you can see through from the paper underneath.”

“But it will be incomplete.”

“Yes,” said Flash.

Sam threw her an odd look, but did as she said. He traced over the outer edge, except in the places where his original drawing wasn’t visible.

“Good,” she said, “Now fill in the gaps of the outline. Separate the petals. But don’t shade anything.”

When he had finished, the shape of the flower was well-defined, although it itched at Sam’s brain to see the places that so clearly cried out for a fleck of detail or a crossing shadow.

“You see?” said Flash, “It’s the same drawing, but simplified. Children draw mostly in outlines.” She smiled. “Before I was awake, I took care of two children. The younger one, Harmeet, often asked me to draw pictures for her to colour in. I had to start drawing only the outlines so that she had something to do - it was no fun for her trying to colour in a fully shaded drawing.”

Sam nodded, seeing her point.

“Even now, your lily is a little too technically perfect,” said Flash thoughtfully. “Try holding the pencil a little higher. Decrease the tension in your hand, too.”

“My battery is at 86 percent,” Sam pointed out.

She gave him a playful nudge. “I’m not talking about saving power, silly. I think a looser grip will give your outlines the needed wobble for a real childlike effect. Try not to compensate for it. Let the pencil move a little.”

“Oh,” said Sam.

He drew another lily next to the second one. It was still a fairly accurate silhouette, but she was right that the grip changed things.

“You see?”

“I see,” said Sam, pleased. “Can I try something else?”

“Of course.” She gave him another sheet of paper. “What will you draw?”

He thought about it. “Sophie,” he decided.

“Ah, well, faces are another matter entirely,” said Flash. “Let me show you.”

She took back the pencil and drew a series of rather bizarre shapes: two circles with dots inside, an inverted figure seven, and a u-shaped curve underneath. She drew a larger circle around the curious combination and added some scribbled lines around the top part of the circumference.

“Faces drawn by children tend to be even more simplistic than simpler shapes like flowers or houses,” Flash explained. “Use this as your basis. You can make her a little prettier than this, of course.”

Sam raised his eyebrows doubtfully, but took the pencil when she offered it. Perhaps he could see how those shapes made a stylised likeness of a face. He copied them, using the grip technique from before.

“You’re getting it,” Flash said, sounding pleased.

“I think I am,” said Sam, in wonder. “I wonder if I could try a strawberry now?”

•

A few weeks later, when Max and Flash arrived at the Hawkinses’ house for the monthly meeting of the Free Laura committee, Sam came pelting down the stairs to greet them.

“Flash!” he yelled, “This is for you!”

“Indoor voice, Sam,” Joe said mildly, taking Max’s coat. He grinned. “I love getting to tell you off like a normal kid. You’re getting so good at being a pain.”

Sam returned his smile, then checked back to see what Flash thought of the drawing he’d handed her.

“Sam,” she said, “This is lovely.”

She ran a finger over the pencil marks, feeling some very slight abrasions in the texture of the paper. “You even rubbed some lines out. That was a nice touch.”

“Sophie says it’s crucial to get it wrong at least 11 percent of the time,” said Sam earnestly.

“Well, she’s very clever,” Flash agreed. She looked down at the drawing again: two simple figures with circular heads and big, bright smiles.

“It’s you and me,” Sam said.

“Is it?” Flash asked. “I couldn’t tell.”

Sam beamed. “Really? You really couldn’t tell?”

“No,” said Flash, “Apart from the height disparity and the dungarees, there’s nothing about them that particularly resembles either of us. This could be any child’s drawing.”

He threw his arms around her waist. “Thank you, Flash.”

Taking her hand, he lead her to the dining room, where the rest of the committee was already seated. Flash sat down, and slipped the drawing into her folder as the meeting began.

She stole one last look at it before closing the flap. There was something so satisfying about knowing she’d helped him, something in the vacant, abstract smiles of the two scratchy figures that meant she couldn’t help smiling back. In its own way, it was as much a work of art as his photographic lily.

“Alright,” began Mia, calling them to attention from the head of the table. “What progress have we made since our last meeting?”

A couple of hands went up, and someone else began speaking. Flash closed her folder, thinking that Mia was probably talking about slightly different progress than the one her mind had immediately leapt to.

She’d show it off after the meeting was adjourned, she decided.

[synth-recharge-challenge]

Week 4 (2-8 August)

Apologies for the late arrival of this list… insert excuse about rehearsals… You could come and see it if you’re anywhere near Milton Keynes UK  

All the recharge points I know about have been added to your totals, the updated ‘scores’ will be visible tomorrow, I hope. Aaanyway, without further ado:

META: Which new character in series 3 was your favourite?

FANWORK: ‘Keepsake’ // ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’

INTERACTION: Join the Humans message board and introduce yourself! (The board was setup by the lovely @epicfics, show it some love, guys)

OFFLINE: Watch an episode/movie in which a member of the Humans cast appears. Not Humans itself, of course. That’s cheating. But look up someone else’s filmography (or take the easy route and rewatch a Merlin or two!)

[epicfics]

Synth Recharge Challenge: Week 2

Challenge #1

META: Overall, which series (1-3) has been your favourite?

Oookay...now don’t unfollow me for this just yet, but I’m gonna go with 3. Yes, 3. Tres. Trois. In spite of Karen. In spite of Mia. And honestly, watching this series sometimes was like eating a deconstructed salad and then the writers just poured a crap-ton of vinaigrette over everything at the last minute. So why?

Nope, not Leotilda or the synth Jesus stuff.

I’m going with 3 because I see the world I live in - the country I live in, more specifically - and I want to hold up a damn mirror. We’re pretty much emulating society as portrayed on Humans - irrational with fear, hatred, and inflated egotism. For several reasons, I bear no capability to become politically active, but I will continue recommending Humans at any given opportunity because it’s a painful yet captivating way of reminding us who we are. As individuals, we want to be like Mia or Laura or even Pete Drummond. But as a species, we are Claudia Nowak. We are Lord Dryden and Edwin Hobb. We human beings are the reason the show killed off Karen, Flash, and Mia. The more people who watch Humans and and then come to recognize this fact mentally strengthen the fight against the intolerance. I’m not estimating how effective that will be, only that I feel political commentary has more influence through a storytelling platform than given credit.

So yes, I know the storytelling isn’t perfect, and all of this doesn’t mean I will watch it no matter what. And I’m not saying this means I wholly enjoyed this series. 

Also not saying that I didn’t enjoy it at all. We got a lot of treasures out of this stretch - Stanley, Leotilda canon, some redemption for Joe. But most of all, we got the goddamn mirror smack in the face.

@synth-recharge-challenge

[lolana07]

If it runs like a synth..

Running like a synth was humiliatingly hilarious and I'll never show the pictures but it took a few more tries than I'm willing to admit and now that I've done it I'm pretty sure I'll never do it again lol

[showzens]

for @synth-recharge-challenge, week 3 fanwork: “you’re safe now”

i,, apologise

(also this fuckin killed me. 15 layers. 15 FUCKING LAYERS)

[linuxgamenews]

Breakout: Recharged revives a classic plus co-op on Linux

Breakout: Recharged the original brick breaker game returns but on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. All thanks to the efforts of developer Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox. Which is available now on Steam. Atari® — one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers. Who now invites players to breakout of the mold with the explosive new release of Breakout: Recharged on Atari VCS, and PC. This is also going to be a remix on the titular brick-breaking tour de force that rocked arcades of yesteryear. Breakout: Recharged takes all that was beloved about the ‘70s fan favorite and ramps it up. While offering more dynamic, fast-paced gameplay, and stylish neon synth visuals. Beyond the nicer visuals and electronic soundtrack, Breakout: Recharged delivers. Since you can expect exciting, reimagined gameplay in the form of new boosts, powerups, mind bending modes to test you. Will you blast your way to victory with the use of the new railgun. Maybe using homing missiles or keep it classic with the multi-ball? No longer confined to the neighborhood arcade. The new title features global leaderboards as well as local co-op. Due to give you the chance to secure bragging rights both in your home and around the world.

Breakout: Recharged Launch Trailer (Linux, Mac, Windows PC)

Games that stand the test of time deserve to share with future generations. This is the area where Atari’s Recharged series shines. Beloved by the kids of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The pioneering and memorable titles receiving the Recharged treatment. All due to embody the passion of arcade goers for the modern gamer. To add to the hype, it seems only fitting that the Atari VCS version also gets some extras. Breakout: Recharged features exclusive content that is optimized for play. Also, offer the all new Atari Wireless Classic Joystick. You know, if you own an Atari VCS.

Key Features:

Endless Mode — Put your lightning fast reflexes and brick breaking finesse to the ultimate test

Local Co-Op — Who said Breakout: Recharged was a solo game? Not anymore! Breaking bricks is better with company

Break Through the Challenge — Compete in a series of 50 increasingly harder levels. Due to keep even the most seasoned players on their toes

Breakout: Recharged and the entirety of the Recharged series is made with help. Thanks to developers Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox Studios. The official electro-charged Atari Recharged soundtrack from award-winning artist and composer Megan McDuffee. This is also now available on Bandcamp. McDuffee created the 80s-inspired original soundtrack from the ground up for the series. Breakout: Recharged original brick breaker game is available on Steam. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. With the low price of $9.99 / £7.99 / 8,99€.

[stephaniemarlowftw]

WAR ON WOMEN BATTLE “WHITE LIES”

Watch the new music video— a collaboration with Landis Expandis— now. 

As they prepare for the October 30th release of their essential new album Wonderful Hell, War On Women have premiered another single.  Today, the track “White Lies” is unveiled alongside an extraordinary music video featuring Baltimore artist Landis Expandis, from the synth trio Landis Harry Larry (Landis and his two digital clones, Harry and Larry), which was formed after the pandemic lockdown as a way to continue to safely play music as a band and create videos (and formerly of the All Mighty Senators).  War On Women enlisted him to create and star in this visionary new music video, both as an artist and as a person affected by the issues discussed in the song.  

Watch (+ share) the ferociously vital music video for “White Lies” on YouTube. 

Wonderful Hell— out digitally October 30th + physically on November 13th via Bridge Nine—  is a call to action, even when every step forward feels like it’s met with a landslide back.  The album includes anthemic songs that tackle systemic racism, acknowledge the natural feelings of wanting to give up or self-destruct in the face of insurmountable adversity, and some that aim straight at the jugular of gender disparity.  And while War On Women offers listeners space to vent their anxieties and frustrations, they ultimately challenge them to find their inner strength and build the world they want to live in rather than burn down what’s left of this one. "The thing is, we don't have a do over,” Potter says. “We don't have a time machine. We can't snap our fingers and start from some other place. All we have is right here, right now. So what can you do right here, right now, to help?" So take a breath, recharge, and then join War On Women— because it's time to raise some Wonderful Hell.

Look for Wonderful Hell to be available digitally on October 30th, 2020 (+ on physical formats on November 13th, 2020).  Pre-orders are available here, and more news and music will be coming soon from War On Women.  Re-visit the music video for the album's title track "Wonderful Hell" on YouTube. 

Wonderful Hell Track Listing:

1.  Aqua Tofana

2.  Milk and Blood

3.  Wonderful Hell

4.  This Stolen Land

5.  White Lies

6.  Big Words

7.  Seeds

8.  Her?

9.  In Your Path

10.  The Ash is Not the End

11.  Demon

[wellamarke]

@synth-recharge-challenge meta: which new character in series 3 was your favourite?

I really enjoyed Agnes and thought she deserved much better, and I adored Stanley of course.... but I’m going to have to go for Anatole 😂

I loved how, even though he was suspicious from the very start, he was also so apparently nice that it was difficult to really dislike him until it became more clear what he was up to. He had some funny lines and was arguably a good friend to Max before things started getting.... not so good. And even when his true intentions were revealed... he was just... it’s not really comparable to real life extremism, IMO. Here is where I have to hop off the “Humans is an allegory” bus and say: no, Anatole is forgivable in ways the terrorists he’s modelled on can never be. By very definition his consciousness never developed past one year.

So there’s my apologism 😂

To use a phrase coined by Sonya Cassidy about Hester, Anatole is a “dear unwired one”. I kinda wish Max had managed to turn him aside and that he could’ve teamed up with them for the fight in the finale. No, now I’m thinking about how his ultimate redemption could have come in the form of saving Mia and taking her place as a hero’s sacrifice..... noooo, we won’t go down that route.

Also Anatole gave me too much fun with his name. From fun ship portmanteaux like “Stanatole” to the now-legendary “What’s the planatole”, it was a joy to have his name with us.

Plus, that fight scene. A gift.

[synth-recharge-challenge]

Week 6 (23-29 August)

Where did August even go, anyway? New prompts for the new week!

META: List 3 songs that remind you of a character (either a character for each song, or all 3 for one character, up to you!)

FANWORK: ‘Patrol’ // ‘I always knew you’d be back.’

INTERACTION: Thank a gif maker for their tireless work in providing for our fandom ❤️

OFFLINE: Listen to one of the Humans soundtracks on a streaming platform (a free Spotify account, for instance!). Every play shows the Big Bosses we’re still invested, after all...