#tactical battle platform

[gijoe-forever]

[sw5w]

We Made It

STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones 00:03:12

[felassan]

BioWare Blogpost: Accessibility

"Journal #10 Accessibility Spotlight A look into Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s Gameplay Accessibility Options --- Hey everyone! Today, we want to share many of the Accessibility features in Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Regardless of skill level or ability, we want everyone to be able to enjoy the full experience and story of our game. There are several features and settings to customize the game to meet your individual needs; so let’s dig in!"

"First off, let’s discuss combat and the difficulty settings. During Character Creation, players can select from one of five curated difficulty levels or create a completely customized experience: Storyteller - Here for the story. Keeper - A balanced combat experience that emphasizes party composition and equipment choices over reaction times. Adventurer - A balanced experience that places equal emphasis on combat, party composition, and equipment choices. Underdog - Here to be pushed to the limit, requiring strategic planning and tactical decisions. Nightmare - Overwhelming battles that give no quarter. Requires a mastery of combat, equipment, skills, and game mechanics to survive. - Selecting Nightmare cannot be undone without starting a new playthrough. Unbound - Customize all settings. - Settings impact numerous aspects of gameplay. If this is your first time, consider a curated preset instead. Even after selecting a difficulty, there are more combat options available in the Settings Menu if you wish to make further adjustments. For example, you can adjust elements like parry timing, aim assist strength, or even how aggressive enemies are. See below for a full list of combat settings."

"UI and HUD elements are also customizable. Many elements of the HUD can be conditionally hidden or turned off entirely. For example, you can fully hide elements like Rook’s health, the objective tracker, or the Mini Map. There are also options for the text size in the UI."

"There are some accessibility aids for interface elements. For example, subtitles are fully customizable allowing you to modify things like the size, opacity, speaker names, and color. Other settings add audio aids to visual-only elements like incoming attack indicators. For anyone with vision deficiencies, there are full-screen color filters to improve visibility."

"Beyond the UI and HUD, there are a few more options regarding the game’s visual effects. For anyone who deals with motion sickness, there is a Persistent Dot Option and Motion Blur can be fully turned off. The in-game Camera Shake can also be adjusted from 0-100%. Additionally, there’s an FOV slider in the graphical settings."

"As discussed in the PC Features Blog, all inputs are remappable for gameplay in Dragon Age: The Veilguard on both controller and keyboard for all platforms. Input sensitivity and deadzones are also customizable with sliding scales. There are some UI interactions that require an input to be held for a short period of time, but this can be changed to tap instead. All of these options allow you to play the game in whatever way is most comfortable. These settings and more are available in Dragon Age: The Veilguard! See a full list below to check out all of our Accessibility settings and check out our Accessibility Portal. Interviews and coverage of our Preview Event will be released  on September 19th; so watch out for that. Chat soon!             — The Dragon Age Team"

"Audio - 3D Audio - Accessibility SFX - Glint Ping SFX - Mono Audio - Speaker Type - Volume Sliders Controls - Ability Wheel Controller Activation (Hold or Tap) - Disable UI Hold Inputs - Input Remapping - Invert Axis (X & Y available) - Swap Left & Right Sticks - Stick Deadzones - Trigger Deadzones - Vertical & Horizontal Sensitivity - Vibration Intensity GAMEPLAY Combat - Aim Assist  - Aim Snap  - Combat Timing - Enemy Aggression  - Enemy Damage - Enemy Health  - Enemy Resistances  - Enemy Vulnerability  - Prevent Death Exploration - Frequent Auto-Saving - Library (Codex, Glossary, Missives) - Object Glint Distance - Object Glint Visibility - Objective Marker Visibility - Pause at any time - Waypoint Visibility - World & Local Maps available at all times Visual / UI - Camera Shake - Depth of Field - Full-screen Colorblind Filters - Hide-able HUD Elements (Abilities, Damage Numbers, Hints, Mini Map, Objective Tracker, Player Health, Tutorials) - Low Health Screen Effect - Motion Blur - Persist Dot Option - Ranged & Melee Threat Indicators - Subtitle Advanced Options (Background Opacity, Speaker Names, Speaker Name Color, Subtitle Size) - UI Text Size - Vignette"

[source]

[1980sactionfigures]

Transportable Tactical Battle Platform - G.I. Joe (Hasbro)

[lightwise]

They Call Themselves The Bad Batch

Parallels between TCW S7 E1 and TBB S3 E11

Watching the latest TBB episode, I realized there are some striking parallels between the very first time we meet our boys in season 7 of the Clone Wars, and watching them be hunted down on Pabu after everything they’ve been through. I know this isn’t the last episode, but this is the countdown to wrapping up this part of their story. Let’s take a look at the first time we see them on screen vs. now:

TCW: The Bad Batch is brought in to help find an algorithm on Anaxes that has been causing the GAR to lose tons of battles by “learning our tendencies and using that data against us”. Rex was one of the army’s best tacticians and he was being defeated by his own strategies being copied. 

TBB: CX-2 uses every tactic that the Batch possesses against them (tracking, data decryption, sniping, hand to hand, demolition). The Batch was the best the army had and they are defeated by CX-2 in this episode. 

TCW: Cody asks his superiors (Mace and Anakin) to let him take a team and go behind enemy lines in order to try and find/defeat this algorithm. 

TBB: Omega convinces Crosshair to help her give herself up to go back to Tantiss so they can finally rescue the clones still imprisoned there. 

TCW: Rex looks at a picture of his “family” - Cody, Fives and Echo. Also, this is where we get Cody’s famous line “sometimes in war it’s hard to be the one that survives”—which is exactly what the entirety of TBB has been about. 

TBB: Omega puts memorabilia of her family—Tech’s goggles and Lula—into the Archium for safekeeping and remembrance.

TCW: Cody and Rex have a conversation about Rex’s theory that Echo might actually be alive. Cody’s response begs him to not have “misplaced hope. I need you to be focused on this.” 

TBB: Omega and Crosshair discuss their limited options as the Empire closes in on them on Pabu. “Think about the greater mission. I’m just a small part of it”. 

TCW: Tech brings the Havoc Marauder brought in onto the platform with the infamous Tech turn. 

TBB: CX-2 has his ship brought in by remote with a menacing turn mid-air so the ramp faces them after capturing Omega.  

TCW: Wrecker’s (and any Batch members’) first line - “The Cavalry Has Arrived”

TBB:  - The last episode of the series will be titled this. 

TCW: Crosshair is introduced as being able to hit precise targets from 10 klicks away.

TBB: Crosshair misses the most important shot he could ever make.

TCW: One of Wrecker’s first “feats” that we see him perform is rescuing Cody from a downed gunship before it explodes. Cody is then severely injured, flat on his back, and out of commission for the mission.

TBB: Wrecker risks his life and rescues Gonky before the Marauder explodes. He is unconscious and flat on his back for the rest of the episode.

TCW: Tech tells Jesse and Kix that “maps can be wrong. Hunter never is”. 

TBB: Crosshair immediately notices when Hunter’s senses go off and asks “what is it Hunter?” “Not sure, but I don’t like it.” 

TCW: Rex states “We should move out before reinforcements arrive. Our position has been compromised”. 

TBB: Omega tells Lyana that it’s safer if they leave, and Crosshair notes to Hunter that ships don’t blow up by themselves and therefore they’ve been compromised. 

TCW: Tech is easily able to hack into the computer and give Rex a reading of the algorithm and pinpoint its location, in the process finding out that it is actually Echo on Skako Minor. 

TBB: The episode opens with CX-2 hacking into Phee’s ship and decrypting her data logs and flight patterns to Pabu. 

TCW and TBB: The episodes end with ships flying off into the sunset with eerie red lighting, and the Bad Batch theme music playing is a somewhat melancholy version of their theme rather than the standard one. 

✨ Tag List ✨

@drafthorsemath @freesia-writes @ladyzirkonia @jedizhi @the-little-moment @sunshinesdaydream @the-bad-batch-baroness @heyclickadee @burningfieldof-clover @dreamless-daydreamer

[judasrpc]

TIPS FOR WRITING COMBAT, TACTICS, AND / OR FIELD MEDICINE SCENARIOS PT. 2

Hello again! Coming out of the woodwork with my niche interests and hoping to pass along some information about writing things such as combat, tactical operations, and / or field medicine!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, nor am I someone who has served in the military or law enforcement in any capacity. Any information in this post is gained from personal research in mostly internet circles. Some topics may be unsettling/disturbing, so please take care in reading.

You can view part one of this post [HERE].

Note: This part will be written more in-depth, as the sources I've pulled from are either no longer accessible, or from narrators I would not feel comfortable platforming due to their motives for sharing this information (e.g., anti-human rights individuals with qualified backgrounds). Knowledge is power, but we don't have to platform fascists in order to share it (* ^ ω ^)

To start this post off, I'll share some archives I've found since part one! This way, if you're just looking for resources and don't want to read something super lengthy, this post is still (hopefully) useful to my fellow writers.

Safety Data Sheets [Archive] - A collection of safety data sheets for what looks like various types of compounds, mostly based around industrial work (e.g., concrete mixes, roof coatings, etc.). While arguably not relevant to this sort of topic focus, I think it could be in the right scenarios, especially as sheets provide first-aid instructions, hazard classification, and details about specific compounds.

War Medicine [Archive] - Definitely a more historical reference (dated 1918), but published by the American Red Cross Society in France covering… war medicine. Includes various diagrams and topics.

Field Manuals and Technical Manuals [Archive] - A collection of field and technical manuals from various military services spanning across various decades. I believe most of these are U.S.-based.

Now, for the in-depth written information, placed behind the "keep reading" button.

CLOSE-QUARTERS BATTLE (CQB) / MILITARY OPERATIONS IN URBAN TERRAIN (MOUT)

CQB is typically defined as a short duration, high intensity conflict characterized by sudden violence at close range. MOUT is an example of a scenario where CQB may be applicable.

When in these environments, it's important for your character(s) to know how to navigate them. The presence of closer-knit buildings, various entryways, and populated environments means there's a lot of risk for both them and those around them.

As such, one of the founding concepts is entry and clearance.

There are many different ways to enter and clear rooms within a building, but the three primary types are as follows:

Conventional (aka: Strong Walling) - The leading individual "commits" to the room by stepping in with their full body, pressing their back to the wall opposite to the door's attachment, and using their upper torso to sweep the room with their light/weapon.

Lateral - The leading individual enters the room at either a 90-degree angle to the door (straight toward back wall of room) or a 45-degree angle (toward the corner opposite to the door).

Framing - Rather than step into the room, the leading individual peeks around the door frame and conducts their sweep from within it (think of them as using the door frame as a "mount" for their weapon, if they have one).

These can be conducted solo, or with a wingman.

A wingman is usually one other individual who stacks beside the leading individual, and uses an over-the-shoulder vantage to provide a secondary set of eyes for cover, while also being able to cover tasks such as opening doors.

Then, there's navigating environments as teams. With teams, there comes a need to develop tactics. With CQB in particular, there are two primary types of strategies:

Dynamic - Rapid movement and clearance; Your character(s) are likely in a high-intensity/time-sensitive scenario where speed is more important than safety. In these scenarios, your character(s) is/are more likely to clear rooms by committing with their entry and flooding in if in a team.

Deliberate - Slower movement and clearance; Your character(s) are likely still in dire circumstance, but they're able to take the time and prioritize safety over speed. In these scenarios, your character(s) is/are more likely to clear rooms by framing and entering one at a time to ensure all angles are covered.

But not every room is a perfect rectangle with wider-open spaces. Regardless of the structure, dead space is an important factor to consider for characters both outside and within these environments.

Dead space simply refers to the space that has not been cleared by the individual(s) entering the space. There are a few different types, including:

Anchored - The object creating the dead space is anchored to a wall, and thus prevents flanking. This could be a dividing wall, and certain types of cabinetry or other furniture.

Unanchored - The object creating the dead space is not anchored to a wall, and thus allows for flanking. This can be… any piece of furniture, crates/boxes/shelves, even certain installation pieces such as a 360-fireplace or showcase tank/terrarium.

Low - The object creating the dead space cannot fully conceal an individual/individuals who are standing, but could if they were crouched or laying prone. This could be things such as couches, tables with cloth over them, etc.

High - The object creating the dead space is elevated above the entry point. This usually, and pretty much only, includes things like stairwells, but it could include higher cabinetry if your character(s) is/are creative enough or able to navigate that.

Moving away from specific scenarios, there is something I've seen written a lot in fanfic and in rp spaces that I think would be important to clarify:

Do. not. attempt. to. catch. a. falling. gun.

I'm serious! In active combat, this isn't as applicable because your character's goal is (ultimately) to neutralize whatever threat is in front of them. Beyond that, though, your character(s) should never attempt to catch.

"But why? Wouldn't you want to stop it from discharging?"

That is why.

Yes, the firearm may discharge when hitting the ground… but in catching it, your character(s) may also discharge it. Unless they know for a fact they will not grab the area around or within the trigger guard, it's highly likely that a finger/fingers will slip into the guard and, due to the force of the catch, end up pulling.

The best practice, especially for a character/characters who are skilled with firearms and versed in safety practices, is to put the hands up and let it fall. Step back, find cover if possible, and retrieve the firearm after it has landed.

And again, I am not responsible for what y'all do with this info. Read responsibly, and stay frosty!

[usafphantom2]

How the SR 71 program died. This picture is of the retirement ceremony at March Air Force Base 1990.

You cannot see the faces of the Warriors in this photograph that are possibly holding back their tears when the SR 71 program was canceled prematurely. The men The Pilots and RSO’s (reconnaissance systems officer) that flew in an airplane without any armament at 85-90,000 feet above the Earth. Theirs was the fight for justice and freedom from 1964 to 1990 of a War that never ended. We are still fighting a Cold War against communists. They put their life on the line for the freedom of the United States. These SR-71 Warriors were going to battle as they dressed slowly and precisely in their pressure suits. These brave men preparing for battle they knew they may never come home again to their family. Their families shared in the glory, and in the tension that surrounded them, I noticed that some of my fellow Habubrats have anxiety disorders. That is understandable.

SR-71 was not designed for airshows or any glory it was designed by the Skunk Works to stealthily find out what our enemies were planning.

THE SR-71 PREVENTED WAR.

Satellites could never replace the SR-71. Satellites don’t orbit east to west. Satellites can’t collect 100,000 miles of data per hour and it is easy to predict the path of a satellite. There was new money for projects in the Air Force if they went with satellites so they did. The Air Force Chief put Lockheed out of the SR 71 business. The Chief said that Lockheed trying to keep the SR 71 alive was going to hurt their chances of winning the F-22 contract! Contractors like Lockheed only have one customer the Department of Defense.

Open POM in 1985 Generals found out the cost for the first time of the SR 71. Open POM was to take classified programs such as the B2, the F1 17, and the SR 71 and reveal their cost to the air staff board so they could see what the Air Force was funding. It sounded like a good idea and probably was. The Air Force at that time had some of the new programs classified and hidden from view, but it was the kiss of death for the SR 71.

The SR 71 funding was in trouble because first off the Air Force did not use the data collected by the SR. The users were the Navy, Army, DIA, and a little bit (ELINT) for NSA.

NSA never liked the SR-71 Why? Communications intelligence SR went too fast for COMINT they thought communications intelligence was the only kind of intelligence that was useful. When the Air Force Generals saw how much the SR was costing them they revolted they said more than $200 million for operating only 10 airplanes which is ridiculous.

U-2 funding was in the General Defense Intelligence Program DIP controlled by the DIA. The Air Staff could not get at that money or they would have.

The SR money was in Program One called Strategic Forces. The reason it was in that budget was that when it came over to the Air Force from the NRO and the SRG the budget for the SR was too big for the GPIP and would have revealed how much was being spent. To cover up the cost they put it in with Strategic Bombers and Missiles, which had a very big budget

About the time of open POM in 1984. The Air Force became a Haven for fighter pilots with the death of General O’Malley the four stars were all from Tactical Air Command (TAC) they even put a TAC General in charge of SAC! SAC got the highest fastest flying aircraft and the TAC was always trying to catch up. One might ask how did this affect the SR -71? The reason once this very large amount of money was being spent on satellites they no longer wanted to fund the SR-71 The SR went from a national collection platform to Tactical intelligence asset.

The SR 71 would be flying today like the U-2 if the Air Force had not received the funding data. ( The U2 is supposed to be retiring again. I’ll believe it when I never see a U2 in the air again.)

Linda Sheffield

“The Very First” written by Colonel Richard “Butch” Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[fanlore-wiki]

Wank Wednesday: Wincest vs Destiel

It’s the battle between giants! This Wank Wednesday, we’re looking at the clash between two juggernaut pairings from the Supernatural fandom: Sam/Dean (Wincest) and Dean/Cas (Destiel). This ship war, which can be dated back to 2009, is particularly known for its length and how it migrated across different platforms.

The participants of the Wincest vs Destiel ship war used many of the same tactics found in other fandoms’ ship wars, including making hateful posts about the other ship and character, advocating for their ship, and spreading hate in the Tumblr or Twitter tags. Both groups have also come up with derogatory nicknames for fans of the other pairing, such as Bronlies to refer to Wincest fans and Destihellers to refer to Destiel fans.

As the ship war revolves around which character should be with Dean, there is also a great deal of hate directed at the characters of Castiel, Sam, and the actors who played them. For SPN fans who didn't participate in the ship war, or didn't ship either of these pairings, the hostility between the two factions often made them feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the fandom.

Want to learn more about Wincest vs Destiel or wish to contribute your own perspective on the ship war? Visit its Fanlore page!

-----

We value every contribution to our shared fandom history. If you’re new to editing Fanlore or wikis in general, visit our New Visitor Portal to get started or ask us questions here!

[clowngames]

had a dream that Pikmin 2 had an insane endgame after you found all the treasure. You unlocked a hub on the moon you could move around on freely which had low gravity and platforming mechanics that weren't present in the rest of the game, and a couple unique pikmin including a hang glider pikmin(?) to make traversal in a more open 3-dimensional space easier.

On this hub you could go into first-person mode and look up at the stars and see a bunch of planets. If you centered a planet in your vision you could select it and travel to it, and each planet had 4 maps you could traverse and 3 unique pikmin types (with overlap in functionality). Your goal on these planets was not to find treasure but to claim territory by capturing all the marbles on each map like in the 2-player mode.

But the thing is each planet had a rival who was not only trying to stop you from capturing their territory but was also trying to capture yours on your planet, and they began operations the moment you loaded in the moon. Despite the fact that the moon ostensibly orbits your planet, it was sort of the funnel point that rivals had to travel to to get to your planet.

Rivals were using their own planet's pikmin to do battle, but the pikmin operated like the borbmin in singleplayer, where there was a larger one that the small ones followed and if you took that one out the small ones could be called by your whistle and join your team. Any pikmin too far from its "leadermin" could just be whistled to join your team without needing to do battle, and your pikmin count could exceed 100 this way.

On the flip side, rivals could do the same to your pikmin if they find them without you near enough. This setup resulted in a lot of decoy troop tactics and a lot of stalemates. My dream ended before any faction could capture any territory.

[veterantrainerray]

Hello. My name is Ray Clayton, and my ten year old niece convinced me to try blogging for the benefit of trainers out there.

My experience encompasses pokemon care, battle tactics, training regimens and trainer coaching. Ran the Kanto League back in the day, took part in a few others. Decided the whole champion schtick ain’t for me, but the League life is.

I’ve worked with gym leaders, aspiring trainers, professors and even Elite Four members.

I am NOT qualified to offer input on medical matters beyond the dos and don’ts of training safely. I am not qualified to diagnose or assess injuries on any form of remote platform. See a veterinarian or other qualified professional for that.

My niece says yall can send me questions directly on here. I’ll answer all of ‘em I can.

I’m Mara, one of the ranch hands. Me ‘n my sister Maya help keep things runnin’. Takes a lotta grit and even more muscle to handle this kinda work! My partner is Alexander, a Nidoking. He’s the twin brother of my sister’s partner.

My name is Maya. I’m just about the one elegant thing about this dusty old backwater! Me and my Nidoqueen, Rose, do what we can to class up the place, but there’s only so much that can be done…

Already this blog has been the subject of a bit of toxicity. All I’m gonna say to you Negative Nancys is that I ain’t gonna give ya the time of day, and be sure to read and comprehend somethin’ before you mouth off about it. Odds are you’re criticizing an answer to a question you only imagined was being asked, when the answer was to the question that was actually asked.

Since folks want my Pokemon written here, here ya go:

Pyrite - Rhyperior, first partner. Born on the ranch, currently guards a mysterious egg.

Piezo - Magnezone, First wild-caught partner, retired from battling to pursue crisis response for fulfillment reasons.

Bruce - Emboar, adopted from being a pet

Old Spooky - Dusclops, followed me home from Hoenn, older’n my grandpa, retired from battling

Wright - Yanmega, retired from battling due to injury

Gala - A shiny Dipplin, was in a crate of apples and adopted.

Nimbus - Dratini adopted in Paldea. Wants to learn Thunder.

Beethoven - Poliwag from a Kitakami river, gets along with everyone.

Slowking - Galarian variety. Helped get me on my feet shortly after catchin’. Name pending.

Lapras - Wounded in Blueberry Academy’s Terarium, adopted at Director’s reccomendation. Really likes roasted Sitrus berries. Name pending.

“Loyal” Three Trio - Undecided how to handle them. Caught them just to get them outta the locals’ hair. All three got attitude problems.

The ranch is also home to several Rhyhorn herds, a herd of Galarian Ponyta up north, and a gaggle of other wild Pokemon I ain’t gotten around to getting outta here yet.

[gijoe-forever]

[scotianostra]

On October 16th 1516, Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home and his brother William were executed in Edinburgh.

It's fair to say that those men who held the title Duke of Albany, have been involved in some of the most troublesome intrigue in our long history, the first one, a ruthless politician, was brother of King Robert III and was widely regarded as having caused the murder of his nephew, the Duke of Rothesay, this in turn forced the King to send the future James I to France in 1406, but was captured by pirates and "sold" to the English and held for 18 years, his ambitious uncle ruled as King in all but name until his death in 1420, when the next his son Murdoch, took over as Duke and regent, James I was eventually released in 1425 and Murdoch inevitably lost his head after being found guilty of treason.

Jump forward about 90 years and just after James IV died at Flodden, John Stewart, the latest Duke of Albany took over as Regent to James V was another of the boy Kings, I mentioned in my post earlier about James II.

Lord Home led his horsemen were part of the Scottish force that fought at Flodden, and was one of the few successful charges of that day, his men defeated the right wing of the English army, it's a pity other tactics went horribly wrong. As the battle progressed and the Scots were being slaughtered Lord Home fled the field, he did however stay on in Northumbria and attempted, unsuccessfully to to recapture the taken Scottish artillery some days later.

This story seems to be more about two men who disliked each other than anything else.

Although accepting Albany as Regent things started to go sour when the two had a meeting at Dumbarton Castle, where legend has it, Albany joked about Lord Home's small stature, quoting 'minuit praesentia famam' meaning 'the appearance doesn't live up to report.' Their relationship deteriorated and it seems Home tried to garner influence in England, possibly hoping to seek refuge there, sensing things were not going to end well with the new Regent.

In September 1515 Albany forcibly took Hume Castle, and ordered Home to meet him later that year at the Collegiate Church at Dunglass, where he was arrested and imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle. The keeper of the castle at the time was the Earl of Arran and Home's Brother in Law. Home persuaded Arran to escape with him and take up arms against Albany, they joined another rebel, the Earl of Angus in the Borders.

Moving North they attacked Glasgow capturing ammunition and throwing it down a well, they then headed east and to Dunbar, attacking the castle there and heading south again captured the Chief Herald, the Lord Lyon King of Arms at Coldstream holding him ransom for his mother who was a prisoner of one of Albany's lieutenants.

After offering a pardon, Albany invited Home and his brother William to Holyroodhouse, where he promptly arrested the pair, imprisoning then on the fortified island of Inchgarvie on The Firth of Forth.

Initially they were accused of the trumped charges of the murder of James IV at Flodden, then of failing to prevent English re-fortification at Norham Castle after the battle.

Finally he and William were charged with rebellion against Albany and beheaded, and their heads displayed on the gable of Edinburgh Tolbooth.

In the mid 1520's Albany was overthrown from the Scottish regency, and lived mainly in France until his death in 1536.

The pic is model of the Old Tolbooth exhibited in Edinburgh's Huntly House Museum. The execution platform can be seen projecting from the building. The second pic is a painting by Scottish artist Henry G. Duguid of the Tolbooth and St Giles.

[mumms-the-word]

Wandering the Gray

Pairing: Gale x gn!Tav Summary: In the midst of a brutal battle against Viconia DeVir and the Sharrans, Gale finds himself in the Fugue Plane once again. But this time, he recognizes a voice echoing in the distance. ao3 link A/N: You can 100% blame a 1 minute section of The Underworld from Epic the Musical by Jorge Rivera-Herrans for this fic. That's the entire inspiration for this fic. I don't want to spoil too much but if you've heard the song you know what's coming. also I suck at titles, every other title was too spoilery to me anyways enjoy the angst CW: some mention of suicidal ideation, death, grief, sad feels in general,

The air is thick with magical darkness, thick enough to drown in, and Gale is barely hanging on by a thread. He can feel the darkness choking him as he stumbles back, narrowly dodging a blade as it arcs toward him, appearing and disappearing in the inky black. Spell effects from the others briefly illuminate the darkness like obscured lightning amidst stormclouds, but nothing is effectively dispelling the swirling black. Shadowheart had warned them this would be the Sharrans’ tactics, and they had prepared as best as they were able, but the darkness was relentless. Gale had lost sight of her and the others ages ago. Now, he dares not cast spells with wide damage, lest he harm Shadowheart, his other allies, and Tav as well as the Sharrans.

His back hits granite and he realizes too late that he’s backed himself into a wall or platform of some kind. He grips his staff, jaw clenched, ready to swing outward or thunderwave the next Sharran that emerges from the darkness. His heart thumps loudly in his chest, in his ears, and though the battle rages all around him, it’s all he can hear. Every last desperate beat of a heart that is failing, his wounds too much to bear.

He nearly freezes as Viconia herself steps through the darkness. She sneers at him, but something in her stance assures him that he’s not worth her time. Before he can so much as summon a firebolt, however, she gestures sharply toward him, uttering a curse in Drowic. He feels the curse wrap around his chest, squeezing tightly, and his head begins to swim. A barrage of thoughts crowd his mind, clawing at his every insecurity and tearing them open to be laid bare and bleeding. Inadequacy, shame, guilt, terror, they all threaten to overwhelm him.

He sucks in a breath and flings a chromatic orb of crackling lightning at Viconia, but she blocks it readily with her shield. Smirking faintly, she steps backward into the darkness, leaving Gale with her curse, like a thousand voices screaming in his mind.

Pathetic. Weak. Flew too close to the sun. Defied your goddess. A shadow of your former self. Not worth redemption. Use the orb, Gale. Kill yourself. Kill yourself!

He doesn’t see the mace come arcing down toward his head until it’s too late.

—

When he opens his eyes again, he’s not surrounded by darkness, but by shades of gray. Gray and white fog swirls slowly around him and the sky overhead is shrouded in low-hanging clouds, all dull silver. Flakes of ash drift by, born aloft by winds that he cannot feel or sense.

The Fugue Plane, he realizes distantly, looking slowly around him. There’s nothing to see. Even the flat ground beneath his feet is a colorless gray, not quite stone but not quite earth either. When he shifts, his steps kick up a fine dusting of ash, or perhaps mist, which floats upward to join the shifting fog around him. There’s not even a shadow of the looming city of the dead to look for, to guide his steps. 

Just an endless expanse of cloudy gray.

The sheer emptiness of it all settles over him immediately, threatening to make him fold. He’d hoped since the last time he died, he would never have to return. Or at least that the next time would be decades and decades away. To be back so soon…

He lifts a hand to his chest, as if seeking out the pouch that formerly rested over his heart, but he knows it’s not there. Even in the Material world, he no longer wears the pouch. Tav carries it now, though it bears little more than a scrap piece of parchment and a flute, the scroll of true resurrection used up some time ago. He knows he ought to be at least a little concerned, though logically, it won’t be the first time that Withers had dragged one of them from the Fugue Plane for a meager sum of gold. It’s just a matter of waiting.

But it is the waiting that wearies him. A moment in the Fugue Plane stretches on for aeons, in his mind. Even his movements feel weighted down. But with nothing else to do but sit or walk, he chooses to walk.

As he moves through the fog, the hush of the plane is oppressive. Like a droning whisper, the only sound he can hear is a white noise that feels thick enough to cut through yet distant enough that the source is always out of sight, out of reach. There are no words to pick out from the hush, however. As he walks, he moves through the mist alone. No other souls pass by or even materialize in the gray.

Never has he felt so desperately alone, so isolated.

But then…a voice. 

He stops and turns his head as he hears it echoing through the fog, half thinking it’s his imagination. But then he hears it again, this time clearer and closer.

“…waiting…”

He grows still and would have grown cold, had he any body left. That voice…he knows that voice.

“It can’t be,” he whispers.

“I’m waiting…”

He takes a cautious step forward, following the voice deeper into the fog, straining his ears for more of that familiar voice. It must be a trick, and yet…

“Waiting…I’m waiting…”

“Morena?” he calls through the gray, but his voice is muffled, swallowed up by fog and mist. He turns to move in the direction of her voice, following it through the swirling gray.

“My darling boy…”

“Mother!” He stumbles forward and then to a halt, a figure materializing in the mist. “Mother…”

There she sits, perched on the flat of a rock, her hands resting demurely in her lap, the same way she sits in her favorite chair on her balcony overlooking the Waterdhavian harbor. A slate gray sea laps onto the ashen shore around the rock, the rest of the waters disappearing into the dark fog. The sound of the waves should have been familiar, comforting, but the sound is quiet, as if he stands yards away rather than only a few paces from the shore.

She doesn’t turn to look at him. Instead she sits, her head turned toward the water, just as he remembers her looking the last time he visited her in Waterdeep, over a year ago. Before his fall. Before his folly. She’d been admiring the sunset then, a wistful smile on her lips, a book abandoned in her lap. Now her expression is distant and tired.

She should not be here.

“Mother,” he murmurs, venturing another cautious step closer. But she doesn’t seem to hear him. She never once glances his way as he finally reaches the rock she sits on, kneeling down near her feet. He barely notices the water soaking his robes and trousers as the sea flows up toward the rock and ebbs away. “Mum...”

Again she ignores him, her white, clouded eyes on the horizon. Or what would be the horizon, if the swirling mist were not obscuring every view. She hums absently under her breath, little melodies that are heartbreakingly familiar, but she never once looks away from that hidden horizon.

She shifts, her hands making a stroking motion as if she were petting something in her lap. “I know he’ll be home soon, Tara,” she murmurs, her voice echoing softly in the mist as it did when he was searching for her moments ago. “I don’t mind waiting for him.”

“I’m here, Mum,” he says softly, his throat closing around tears he can’t shed. He doesn’t have a body to produce tears nor a physical heart to break. So why does he feel so desperately sad? Why does it feel like he’s about to unravel completely? Some part of him still desperately hopes this is all an illusion. A trick. “I’m…I’m right here.”

But she never hears him. The souls of the dead rarely see or acknowledge each other. He knows that from his last visit to the Fugue Plane. But she can’t…she can’t be…Tara would have said if she were…

She breathes a small sigh, smiling gently to herself and looking down at her lap. “My darling boy…my little love. I do miss him, Tara. But I know he’ll return soon. And when he does, I’ll be here for him. Waiting right here, where he knows to find me.” She looks again to the distant horizon. “I don’t mind waiting…as long as it takes…”

“No,” Gale whispers. “It can’t be…when...”

The answer unfolds in his mind with dreadful certainty. It doesn't matter when.

He took too long to return to her. His year-long seclusion in his tower. The journey from the nautiloid. Months spent traveling, moving farther and farther from Waterdeep. He kept himself away for too long and left his home and his mother entirely behind, and now…

Now it is too late.

He reaches up for her hand, but his fingers pass through her and her form flickers briefly. He curls his fingers into a fist, battling the swirl of emotions inside him. Rage at himself, fear, a desperate longing to say something, do something, to get her to simply look at him. To acknowledge him.

But mostly grief. A deep, irrepressible grief that yawns within him like a chasm with no end. Black and cruel.

“I’m here,” he says again, his voice breaking. “Mum…I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I…”

He shouldn’t have stayed away. Yet even as he thinks it, what other choice did he have? There were no choices. There are no choices. Everything he’d done since his fall, he’d done to protect her. Every choice he makes now is for that very purpose, to save her and everyone else in Faerûn.

And now it doesn’t matter. They’re both dead. 

“I love you,” he says, looking up at her, even knowing that she can't hear him. “All my heart, Mum, I love you. Forgive me. Forgive me.” He bows his head, bringing his forehead nearly to her knee, struggling to compose himself. “Forgive me…”

The hush of the plane and the faint sound of the sea are all that respond. But then a featherlight touch brushes his hair. He looks up, scarcely daring to hope.

His mother gazes down at him, her white eyes focused on him. When she sees him staring back at her, she smiles softly.

“My darling boy,” she murmurs, brushing the backs of her fingers against his cheek. Her voice still bears that distant, echoing tone, as if she’s a thousand miles away. “It’s time for you to wake up.”

“Wake up?”

“Wake up, my love,” she says again, and this time her voice sounds even more distant. Altered. Not quite her own. She covers his eyes with her hand, shutting his eyes for him, and he drifts into darkness. “Wake up.” 

“Gale! Wake up!”

His eyes fly open and he gasps, his lungs desperate for air. He looks around wildly, expecting more of the Fugue Plane, but instead he finds the familiar wooden walls and ceiling of the Elfsong Tavern. He turns his head to find Tav staring at him, their eyes wide with worry.

“Tav?” he mumbles.

“It was just a dream, love,” Tav says, brushing a hand over his sweat-soaked forehead, pushing his hair from his face. “I’ve been trying to wake you for a while now.”

“A dream…” He struggles to make sense of it, but slowly the pieces fall into place. 

Their fight at the House of Grief, where Gale had very nearly died. Nearly, but not quite. He remembers going with Shadowheart to free her parents, only to realize that their freedom meant their deaths. It had weighed on Gale’s spirit, watching her parents smile at their daughter mere seconds before turning into motes of light. He remembers thinking it was an impossible choice, one he couldn't have made on his own.

Something about it seems to have stayed with him. Even now, he half-fears that his dream is more than a dream. A premonition, perhaps, or a glimpse of the future.

Gods, he hopes not.

He sits up, rubbing his hands over his face. His shirt sticks to his sweat-soaked back and he wants nothing more than to splash his face and neck with cold water. But first—

“Where’s Tara?” he asks, dropping his hands.

Tav’s eyebrows draw together. “Tara?”

“I’m here, Mr. Dekarios.” She hops onto the back of the bed where it shares a backboard with Karlach’s. Tara always had an uncanny knack for being nearby whenever she was needed. She licks at one paw before fluffing her feathers and fixing her gaze on him. “Oh my. You look as though you’ve seen a ghost, Mr. Dekarios.”

He huffs a shaky laugh, but it’s without humor. “I almost fear I have, Tara. Tell me—this must sound like I’m mad but—my mother. Is she well?”

“Mrs. Dekarios? She’s as fit as ever, last I saw.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“Why, only just the other day,” Tara said, flicking her ears. “I check on her regularly, you know. I wouldn’t miss our evening tea time for the world.”

Gale breathes a sigh of relief, dropping his head in his hands again. It was just a dream. Just a horrible dream. Probably left over from Viconia’s fear curse that had struck him during the battle earlier that day.

He feels Tav’s hand rubbing comfortingly against his back. “Gale? Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he mumbles. He takes a deep breath and drops his hands again, leaning back against the pillows. “Yes. My apologies. It was a bad dream, like you said.”

Tav is quiet for a moment before cuddling close, wrapping their arms around his middle. He shifts so that his arm is around their shoulders, his fingers trailing absently along their arm.

“Was it about your mother?” they ask quietly.

Gale’s throat closes up, but his silence his answer enough. He clears his throat quietly. “I saw her in the Fugue Plane. A dead soul.”

He can say no more. He reaches up to press his thumb and forefinger against his eyes, as if to block the tears that sting behind his lids. Even the thought of her sitting alone on her balcony, waiting for him, while he puts himself in more and more danger, is enough to break him. He takes a shuddering breath and Tav wraps their arms tighter around him.

“It’s okay,” they whisper. “I’m here.”

“I know. I…thank you.” He manages to compose himself enough to lower his hand and turn his head toward Tara. Her feline eyes glint in the darkness, watching him in silence. “Tara, will you—”

“I assure you, Mr. Dekarios, your mother is hale and hearty,” she says. “And we both have the utmost confidence that you’ll wrap up this Absolute business in time for the upcoming holidays, which you will be spending in Waterdeep, of course.”

“Of course,” Gale says, managing a smile. “But I have a request. I want you to go home.”

Tara blinks, and though she controls most of her expression he sees the fur on her neck start to rise. “Home? And leave you behind?”

“Please Tara,” he says. He rubs a hand against Tav’s back, knowing they’re listening quietly. “I will be fine here. You know you can trust Tav to look after me. But I need someone there to look after Morena. There’s no one more suited to the task than you.”

Tara’s tail flicks several times as she regards him in disdainful silence. But then her fur settles and she looks away. “Very well, Mr. Dekarios.”

“And don’t tell her anything. I don’t want her to worry.”

“Very well, Mr. Dekarios. If that is what you wish.”

“It is.” He knows he’s just worrying too much, but his dream has shaken him. Better to have Tara there, just in case, than to spend weeks wondering and worrying. “Thank you, Tara.”

“You’re quite welcome. But I shall expect you home within a few tendays, you know.”

Gale chuckles, settling in with Tav at his side. “We’ll see what we can do. Safe travels, Tara.”

“You as well, Mr. Dekarios. And you,” she directs her next words to Tav, who turns their head to look up at her. “Do see to it that he does not suffer more bad dreams.”

With that slight admonition, she hops down and disappears into the darkness.

Gale breathes a small sigh, shifting to get more comfortable and wrapping Tav more tightly in his embrace. “You should get some rest, my love. It’s still quite early in the morning.”

“What about you?” they whisper, their cheek resting on his chest.

He’s quiet for a moment. “I fear that after a dream like that, I’m wary of falling asleep again.” 

His dreams rarely repeat in the same night, but he can’t shake the irrational fear that if he falls asleep again, he’ll just find himself back in the Fugue Plane. Searching for his mother.

“Hmm…” Tav turns their head to rest their chin on his chest, looking up at him. “Then I’ll stay awake for a bit too.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.” They shift to bring their lips up to kiss him before settling back where they were, pressed against his side with their cheek on his chest. “Talk to me for a bit. Tell me about your mother.”

“My mother? What would you like to know?”

“Everything. Whatever you feel comfortable with sharing.”

Gale pauses to think. Where does one begin when it comes to the venerable Morena Dekarios? But despite his hesitation, he’s grateful Tav is asking. He knows they’re only trying to distract him, but it helps. 

“Well,” he begins. “My mother is the inimitable, dare I say unavoidable, Morena Dekarios. She resides in Waterdeep, in a home overlooking the harbor…”

As he speaks, telling Tav of his mother’s quirks, her affection for him, the way she seems to know everyone, her favorite dishes, her talents, and more, his anxieties eventually fade away. It’s as though speaking of her like this, in the present tense, is proof that she is well. And would still be well when he finally returns to her. 

After a while Tav yawns, their voice heavy with sleep as they mumble, "She sounds lovely, Gale. I can't wait to meet her."

He smiles softly and presses a little kiss to Tav's hair. "Nor I, my love. I'm certain she will adore you."

Tav hides their sleepy smile in his chest and soon their breathing evens out, a sure sign they've been lulled to sleep. Gale listens to them breathing for a moment, grateful for every breath. Grateful, too, that they were willing to stay up and listen to him mumble quietly about his mother for an hour, of all things to talk about.

It’s enough to soothe his guilty conscience for the night. His dream was just a dream, he's more certain of that now. And one day, hopefully soon, he'll be back in Morena's parlor again, suffering her affectionate chiding and introducing her to the love of his life. The thought brings a smile to his face and he closes his eyes, comforted by daydreams of Tav meeting Morena Dekarios.

The daydreams soon bring with them the wave of exhaustion and at last he gives in, closing his eyes and drifting away for a few scant hours of dreamless sleep.

[ross-hollander]

Current considerations...

...for (placeholder name) Kriegsspiel '52, a very much legally not Battletech strategy-correspondence system.

Five unit types, because all the pros do things in fives: 'mechs, infantry, battle armor, vehicles and aerospace fighters. Probably ought to be some kind of 'tactical rock-paper-scissors' between them to encourage a balanced list.

Scale ought to be such that your smallest unit is a Lance/Star of 'mechs, or equivalent in other unit types. This is a big scale type of thing, at minimum Cluster-versus-Cluster (or Regiment-vs.-Regiment).

Currently considering politely borrowing the combat intensity tables from PBTA The Regiment for attack calling by the umpire. Somebody gives an order to fire, the referee can just roll and check results, so on the one hand positioning and the tactical edge give more dice or a bonus on rolls, while on the other no attack is ever certain to absolutely succeed.

Finding a good platform for sharing maps online, so an umpire can coordinate with players as to troop movement and positions.

Speaking of, a time tracker- some way to keep up to date and make sure that players effectively run their armies in 'real time'.

I'm considering some kind of 'muster' roll, such that no unit is absolutely guaranteed to come to the fight at full strength. Could be hesitance on orders, nerfed combat strength, or lacking morale/hit points.

[bluesturngold]

Sub-Genres Included in Each Genre (Below the Cut)

Action includes Platformers, Shooters, Fighting, Beat 'Em Ups, Stealth, Survival, Rhythm, Battle Royale

Action-Adventure includes Survival Horror and Metroidvanias

Adventure includes Text Adventures, Graphic Adventures, Visual Novels, Interactive Movies, FMV Games, Real-Time 3D Adventure Games

Puzzle includes Breakout Clones, Logical Games, Trial-and-Error Games, Exploration Games, Hidden Object Games, Reveal the Picture Games, Tile-Matching Games, Puzzle Platformers

Role-Playing includes Action RPGs, MMORPGs, Roguelikes, Tactical, Sandbox RPGs, First-Person Party-Based RPGs, Monster Tamer Games

Simulation includes Construction and Management Simulation, Life Simulation, Vehicle Simulation

Strategy includes 4X Games, Artillery Games, Auto Battler/Auto Chess, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games, Real-Time Strategy (RTS), Real-Time Tactics (RTT), Tower Defense, Turn-Based Strategy (TBS), Turn-Based Tactics (TBT), Wargames, Grand Strategy Wargames

Sports includes Racing, Competitive Games (i.e. Rocket League), Sports-Based Fighting Games

[I read the sub-genre info but no genre listed here includes my favorite games.] The above sub-genre information does not fully encompass all of the smaller or more niche sub-genres that could reasonably fit into the core genres. I encourage you to think deeply about the gameplay mechanics and artistic influences of the games you enjoy the most to determine if they may be close enough to one of the listed core genres such that you can decide it's representative enough to say your tastes fall in that genre, or fall into two or more of the listed genres. Ultimately, it is up to your own analysis of your preferences to find a core genre you feel adequately encompasses your tastes and decide whether or not you need to click this 'other' option.

(Core Genres and Sub-Genres are lifted from the list of core genres on Wikipedia. If you need additional assistance picking a core genre you feel is your favorite, the hyperlinked Wikipedia article has a lot of good information explaining these sub-genres and what sorts of games fall under them. None of this is my opinion.)

(This post was inspired by a favorite video game genre poll that listed several action, adventure, and RPG sub-genres but omitted mainstay genres like puzzle games, sports games, or strategy games.)

[bumblee-stumblee]

"How a child custody battle becomes an extension of coercive control.

Post-separation control is a form of abuse used by abusive men to exercise control over the woman after the marriage or relationship has ended. It is embedded in a power and control cycle.

Control tactics can include dragging women through expensive litigation, harassment during visitation, gas lighting, legal silencing, isolation, and using children to harass. child contact provides coercive control-perpetrating fathers with opportunities to continue their abuse of children and ex-partners."

Pdf: When Coercive Control Continues to Harm Children: Post-Separation Fathering, Stalking and Domestic Violence

Pdf: The System Had Choked Me Too

If this sounds familiar, it's because a version of this happened to Amber Heard.

This is a tactic that is almost exclusively used by men to punish and entrap women.