#victor voss

[pupsmailbox]

DEMON︰DEVIL ID PACK

NAMES ⌇　abadden. abaddon. ace. adder. alastair. alastor. amon. amy. antagone. ash. asher. ashes. asmo. avarice. avaricia. bael. balam. bane. banshee. baphomet. behemoth. belial. bellatrix. bellinor. berry. birsha. blake. blazer. brimine. bull. bune. cain. caine. cambion. casimir. caym. cerberus. charon. cherry. claude. colere. corbin. corvid. creseis. cronus. crow. crowley. cruella. damian. damien. damon. daniel. dantalion. deirdre. dem. demonesse. demonette. demonia. dera. devilie. devume. diablo. diedre. dizzy. dracula. emily. entropy. ezra. fang. fangesse. fangette. felix. foras. furfur. furio. furiosa. grimbaer. hades. hecate. hermes. hex. ialyre. ira. ire. james. janus. jester. jinx. jinx/jynx. jynx. karina. kawa. lacey. lamb. lamia. layla. lilith. lilloth. lolia. luci. lucien. lucifer. lucius. lunesse. lycan. magnus. mal. malcius. malice. malicia. mallory. malorie. mammon. mania. mara. marnise. meilius. midas. minerva. misery. moonesse. moonette. moonie. moony. night. nightesse. nikolai. nithvine. noire. noiresse. noirette. nyx. omen. paimon. pandora. peri. persephone. pitch. ram. rena. rogue. ruby. sanguis. seere. seiriphi. silas. sinn. skittle. snake. stella. toxin. vessel. vex. vexa. vic. vice. victor. victoria. vince. vincent. viper. virtue. voss. vulture. wither. zoe.

PRONOUNS ⌇ >:)/>:). ash/ash. bat/bat. bit/bitter. black/black. blood/blood. claw/claw. con/con. con/conjure. crackle/crackle. dae/daem. dae/mon. dark/dark. dark/darkness. de/dem. de/demon. dea/deamon. deceit/deceitful. demon/demon. demon/demonic. devil/devil. eranged/deranged. evil/evil. fang/fang. fear/feared. fiend/fiend. flame/flame. fool/fool. gha/ghast. goat/goat. gray/grey. gray/grey. grr/growl. hate/hate. he/hell. hell/hell. hellish/hellishly. hiss/hiss. horn/horn. hunt/hunt. hx/hxm. imp/imp. infer/infernal. infernal/infernal. infernal/infernality. jest/jest. joke/joke. lamb/lamb. lava/lava. lethal/lethal. liar/liar. lie/lie. loom/loom. mal/mal. mal/malice. moon/moon. ni/night. night/night. noc/noct. poison/poison. psycho/psycho. reap/reap. red/red. rose/rose. ruin/ruin. scare/scare. shx/hxr. si/sin. silly/silly. sin/sin. slither/slither. soul/soul. spi/spite. spite/spite. succubi/succubus. suffer/suffer. thief/thief. thxy/thxm. tief/tiefling. tiefling/tiefling. toxin/toxin. twist/twisted. unholy/unholys. ve/venom. vi/vice. vice/vice. vil/vil. vil/villain. vile/vile. wick/wicked. wretch/wretched. ♠️ . ⛪️ . ❤️‍🔥 . 🍎 . 🍯 . 🎻 . 🐝 . 👿 . 💒 . 🔥 . 🕷 . 🗝 . 😈 . 🥩 .

[ladyofvoss]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #4: Reticent

adjective: inclined to be silent or uncommunicative in speech; reluctant

set to when Thalia's mother and uncles were young and silly.

"There you are. I thought I'd find you moping here."

Theodard looked up from where he was admiring the palace florals, noticing his sister peering down at him.

"I'm not moping", he muttered.

"Of course not", Seliene observed, sweeping into the open gardens and gliding to a spot on the bench beside him, "You were simply glowering at the shrubs because they could not compare to Mother's. But don't let the royal gardeners see. They might take great offense."

Her silly joke seemed to have the intended effect, as Theodard snorted. Seliene Voss was not one for jokes, and when she made them....

Well, they were still terrible. But Theo would laugh anyway. Especially if his big sister was making the effort to cheer him.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Theo."

Ah, and there it was. No teasing anymore. Theo knew that beyond the corridors behind them, within the royal court, a mess awaited them.

Had he meant to be so discourteous? No. But he had been hounded for nigh on a season by this rather persistent lord's daughter. Utterly besotted, utterly smitten, and utterly incapable of understanding his attempts at rebuffing.

He had no intention to marry. At all, really. He had always had an underlying reluctance for years, a reluctance that was only made known to his family. There was no need to involve every stranger in the innerworkings of his mind, his wants and desires.

Though that didn't seem the case anymore.

It all seemed to come to a head at this royal function, where after once again being cornered, Theo had no choice but to be far more curt and blunt than he'd like in his rejection.

And now the lordling's daughter was near hysterical with her wounded pride.

"What will Mother and Father think?"

Seliene tsked, settling comfortable in her spot and looping her arm through his, resting her head on his shoulder. "Mother and Father will think to have a word with the noble father of this unwelcome admirer. And until then, Esmond and I will handle it."

She must have noticed the uncertainty in Theo's look. Their brother was smart, the smartest man he knew. But he was no diplomat, having taken better to the life of academia than politics. Seliene simply shrugged at his unvoiced concern.

"Esmond will be fine. He's a gentleman and a scholar after all. Everyone loves listening to scholars. Makes them feel smarter simply by being in proximity to the conversation."

Leave it to his sister to start with a compliment only to end with a sharp cut with impunity. The duality of politicians, he thought with amusement.

But right now he didn't have Seliene Voss, rising star in Ul'dahs' court, unchallenged victor in many a verbal spar. Right now, he had Lulu, his big sister, and it was a comfort to know.

"You don't have to, you know."

Her voice pulled him from his thoughts, and Theo glanced down to see Seliene admiring one of the flowerbeds. She was casual in her appearance, having not moved from where she was leaning on his arm, one foot drawing lazy circles on the cobblestones. Yet her voice spoke otherwise.

"You don't have to", she repeated, "get married, I mean. None of us ever cared about that sort of thing. And we won't let anyone make you." A squeeze to his arm. "You know that, don't you?"

It was true, wasn't it? After all, Esmond remained with the other nobles, fielding the worst of it, and Seliene was here with him, not just to calm his nerves but to also discourage anyone who would disturb them, with a single sharp look or an even sharper remark.

It would be fine, because he had them.

"Yes", he answered eventually, feeling the tension leave him, "I know."

[spiraldevs]

"Villain/Evil" themed NPTs

Names —

Lucifer, Lucien, Avarice/Avaricia, Malice/Malicia, Damian/Damien, Damon, Colere, Vince/Vincent, Ire/Ira, Furio/Furiosa, Hex, Vex/Vexa, Vice, Omen, Jinx/Jynx, Vic/Victor/Victoria, Voss, Silas, Midas, Janus, Pitch, Lycan, Bane, Alastor, Cain/Caine, Magnus, Minerva, Mallory/Malorie, Deirdre, Antagone, Rogue, Sanguis

Pronouns —

vile/viles, ruin/ruins, vil/villain, vil/vils, bit/bitter, thief/thiefs, si/sin, sin/sins, vi/vice, vice/vices, dae/daem, de/dem, de/demon, ni/night, noc/noct, gha/ghast, hunt/hunts, spi/spite, spite/spites, mal/malice, mal/mals, hate/hates, ve/venom, lie/lies, con/cons

Titles —

the misfortunate/malevolent one, (prn) who delivers evil/death, (prn) who is like venom/poison, (prn) who is bitter/spiteful/hateful, the antagonist/adversary, the rival/enemy of virtue, the prodigy of darkness/evil, (prn) soils/taints goodness, the one worse than death, the crown of tragedy/calamity/misery/disaster/malice/woe/distress/despair

[ladyeckland28]

Shadows Of Neon 2: Edge Of Midnight

A cyberpunk thriller

The Cast

@raceyrhymes as Lena Voss

@horrorseventhree as Victor Durant

@samcrosfaith as Sam Crois Faith The Queen Of Spades

And starring @glennriley49 as The Maestro

The relentless neon glow of Tokyo's Shibuya district pierced the night, casting long shadows that danced across rain-slicked streets. Holographic advertisements flickered and pulsed, their garish colors reflecting off the chrome and glass of towering skyscrapers. In this cybernetic jungle, where the line between human and machine blurred with each passing day, Lena Voss walked alone.

Her blonde hair, tucked beneath a worn beanie, caught the kaleidoscope of lights as she moved. The collar of her blue jacket was turned up against the chill, more out of habit than necessity. Behind dark shades, her eyes—enhanced with the latest ocular implants—scanned the crowd, cataloging faces and searching for threats out of long-ingrained instinct.

Lena's boots splashed through shallow puddles, sending ripples across surfaces that mirrored the neon sky above. She'd been out of the game for two years, but the streets of Tokyo still felt like home—a chaotic, ever-changing home that never truly let you rest.

As she turned down a narrow alley, the cacophony of the main street faded, replaced by the low hum of generators and the occasional hiss of steam from ancient pipes. Here, in the shadows between the gaudy lights, the true pulse of the city beat strongest.

A figure materialized from the gloom, his face obscured by the brim of a fedora. "Ms. Voss," the man said, his voice a gravelly whisper. "Your presence is requested."

Lena's hand instinctively moved to the concealed pistol at her hip. "I'm retired," she replied, her tone flat and unyielding.

The man chuckled, a sound like grinding gears. "Retirement is a luxury for those without your... unique talents. The world has need of you once more."

He extended a hand, offering a sleek data chip that glowed with an inner light. Lena hesitated, her fingers hovering just above the device. She knew that taking it would mean the end of her quiet life, a return to the high-stakes world she'd left behind.

With a resigned sigh, she plucked the chip from his hand. "This better be good," she muttered, slotting it into the port behind her ear.

Instantly, her vision filled with scrolling data, images flashing by at dizzying speeds. A face began to form from the digital noise—a man with piercing eyes and a enigmatic smile. The Maestro.

"Holy shit," Lena breathed, her heart rate spiking. "He's real."

The man in the fedora nodded. "Very real, and very dangerous. The Maestro has created an AI called Legacy. It can predict—"

"Every possible outcome of any action," Lena finished, her mind racing. "I've heard the rumors. Didn't think they were true."

"They are. And now he's here, in Tokyo, ready to sell to the highest bidder."

Lena's jaw clenched. The implications were staggering. With that kind of predictive power, someone could manipulate global events on an unprecedented scale. "Who's the buyer?"

"Sam Crois Faith."

The name sent a chill down Lena's spine. The Queen of Spades, Tokyo's most notorious crime lord. If she got her hands on Legacy...

"You understand now why we need you," the man said. "You're the best there is. The only one who might be able to stop him."

Lena removed her shades, fixing the man with a steely gaze. "I work alone. You know that."

He shook his head. "Not this time. We're pairing you with a partner. Victor Durant. Ex-military, top of his class in cyber-ops. He'll meet you at the safehouse."

Lena opened her mouth to protest, but the man had already melted back into the shadows, leaving her alone with the weight of the world once again on her shoulders.

She stood there for a long moment, the alley silent save for the distant thrum of the city and the quiet whir of her ocular implants adjusting to the darkness. Finally, with a deep breath, she turned and headed deeper into the maze of back streets.

The safehouse was an unremarkable apartment in a crumbling building on the outskirts of Shibuya. As Lena approached, her implants detected the web of security measures surrounding the place—motion sensors, heat detectors, and a particularly nasty set of countermeasures for uninvited guests.

She placed her hand on the door, feeling the prick of a needle as it sampled her DNA. A soft chime sounded, and the door slid open with a pneumatic hiss.

Inside, a man stood by the window, his silhouette stark against the neon-lit skyline. He turned as she entered, revealing a face etched with scars and eyes that gleamed with cybernetic enhancements.

"Victor Durant," he said, his voice a low rumble. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Voss."

Lena nodded curtly, moving past him to access the apartment's computer terminal. "Let's skip the pleasantries. What do you know about The Maestro?"

Victor's lips quirked in what might have been amusement. "Straight to business. I like that." He joined her at the terminal, calling up a series of files. "The Maestro. Real name unknown. First appeared on the scene about five years ago. Started small—bank heists, corporate espionage. But he was different. Always one step ahead, like he knew what everyone was going to do before they did it."

Lena's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, sifting through the data. "And now he's created an AI that can do exactly that. Legacy."

Victor nodded. "The ultimate predictive algorithm. Imagine being able to see every possible future, every consequence of every action. It's like playing chess when you can see a hundred moves ahead."

"And Sam Crois Faith wants to buy it," Lena mused, her mind already racing with the possibilities. "With that kind of power, she could become unstoppable."

"Exactly why we need to stop the sale," Victor said. He pulled up another file, this one showing a map of Tokyo's underground. "We've traced some unusual data traffic to this area. It's a good bet that's where The Maestro is holed up, preparing for the exchange."

Lena studied the map, her enhanced eyes picking out details invisible to normal humans. "There's an old subway station there, abandoned after the quakes. Perfect place for a clandestine meeting."

Victor raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Good eye. We should move in tonight, catch them off guard."

"No," Lena said firmly. "We watch. We wait. The Maestro didn't get where he is by being careless. We need to understand his patterns, find a weakness."

For a moment, tension crackled between them. Then Victor nodded slowly. "You're the expert. We'll do it your way."

As they prepared for their stakeout, Lena couldn't shake a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. The Maestro was said to be able to predict every move, every strategy. How could they hope to outsmart someone like that?

She pushed the thought aside, focusing on the task at hand. But as they left the safehouse and melted into the neon-drenched night, the question lingered, a shadow at the edge of her consciousness.

Little did she know, across the city, in a room bathed in the soft glow of countless screens, The Maestro smiled. On one monitor, a chess board displayed an intricate game in progress. He moved a piece, and the entire board shifted, rearranging itself into a new configuration.

"Welcome back to the game, Lena," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I've been waiting for you."

*****

The abandoned subway station loomed before them, a gaping maw in the urban landscape. Lena and Victor crouched in the shadows of a nearby alley, their eyes fixed on the crumbling entrance. For three nights, they had watched, waiting for any sign of The Maestro or his potential buyer.

"This is pointless," Victor growled, his patience wearing thin. "We should be in there, searching for clues."

Lena shook her head, her gaze never leaving the station. "Patience, Durant. The Maestro's too smart for obvious trails. We wait."

As if on cue, a sleek black car rolled silently down the street, its electric engine barely a whisper in the night. It stopped in front of the station, and a figure emerged—a woman in a crimson dress, her hair styled in an elaborate updo.

"Sam Crois Faith," Lena breathed, recognizing the infamous Queen of Spades.

Victor tensed beside her. "Should we move in?"

"Not yet," Lena cautioned. "We need to see The Maestro."

They watched as Sam descended into the station, flanked by two hulking bodyguards. Minutes ticked by, the tension mounting with each passing second. Then, another vehicle appeared—a nondescript van that looked like it might belong to a maintenance crew.

The van's side door slid open, and a man stepped out. Even from a distance, Lena felt a jolt of recognition. The Maestro. In person, he was surprisingly unremarkable—average height, brown hair, dressed in a simple gray suit. But there was something in the way he moved, a fluid grace that spoke of supreme confidence.

"That's our cue," Lena whispered, rising from her crouch. "Let's move."

They slipped across the street, using the shadows as cover. At the station entrance, Lena paused, her enhanced eyes scanning for security measures. "Laser grid," she murmured. "Give me a minute."

Her fingers danced over a small device on her wrist, and a holographic display sprang to life. Lines of code scrolled past as she worked to disable the security system. With a soft beep, the lasers flickered and died.

"We're in," she said, leading the way into the darkness.

The air grew thick and stale as they descended, the silence broken only by the soft tread of their boots on concrete. Ancient advertisements, faded and peeling, lined the walls, ghosts of a bygone era.

As they neared the platform, voices drifted toward them. Lena held up a hand, signaling Victor to stop. They crouched behind a rusted ticket booth, straining to hear.

"...guarantee that this 'Legacy' can do what you claim?" Sam's voice, cool and skeptical.

"My dear Ms. Faith," came the reply, smooth and self-assured. The Maestro. "I don't deal in guarantees. I deal in certainties. Legacy doesn't just predict the future—it shapes it."

Lena risked a peek around the edge of the booth. The Maestro stood at the center of the platform, a small device held in his hand. Sam faced him, her bodyguards flanking her like statues.

"A demonstration, then," Sam demanded.

The Maestro smiled. "As you wish." He activated the device, and a holographic display sprang to life between them. It showed a complex web of interconnected nodes, pulsing with data.

"This," he explained, "is a real-time model of Tokyo's financial district. Watch closely."

He tapped a series of commands, and the web began to shift. Certain nodes glowed brighter, while others dimmed.

"In exactly three minutes," The Maestro said, "the Nikkei index will drop by two percent. In response, these three companies will initiate emergency protocols, causing a ripple effect that will ultimately benefit your holdings in the tech sector by... shall we say, a very comfortable margin."

Sam's eyes narrowed. "And if I were to act on this information?"

The Maestro's smile widened. "Then the effect would be magnified. Your profits would triple, at minimum. But that's just the beginning of what Legacy can do."

Lena felt a chill run down her spine. If The Maestro was telling the truth, the power of Legacy was even greater than she'd imagined.

Suddenly, The Maestro stiffened. His eyes scanned the shadows, and for a heart-stopping moment, Lena thought he was looking right at her.

"We have company," he said softly.

In an instant, Sam's bodyguards had drawn their weapons. The Queen of Spades herself produced a sleek pistol from somewhere in her dress.

"Show yourselves," she commanded, her voice echoing in the cavernous space.

Lena exchanged a quick glance with Victor. There was no point in hiding now. Slowly, they emerged from behind the ticket booth, hands raised.

"Well, well," The Maestro said, his tone one of amused interest. "Lena Voss. I've been expecting you."

Lena's mind raced. How could he have known? Unless... unless Legacy had predicted their presence.

"You know this woman?" Sam demanded, her gun trained on Lena's head.

The Maestro nodded. "Oh yes. One of the best hackers in the business. Or she was, before her... retirement." He cocked his head, studying Lena with undisguised fascination. "Tell me, Ms. Voss, what brought you out of hiding?"

"You did," Lena replied, her voice steady despite the gun pointed at her. "An AI that can predict the future? That's too dangerous to ignore."

The Maestro laughed, a surprisingly warm sound that echoed off the tiled walls. "Dangerous? My dear, it's the key to a better world. Imagine a future without uncertainty, without chaos. A future where every decision is the right one."

"A future without free will," Victor growled.

The Maestro's eyes flicked to him, dismissive. "And you must be the muscle. How quaint." He turned back to Lena. "You understand, don't you? The potential of Legacy? You've always been able to see the bigger picture."

For a moment, Lena hesitated. The Maestro's words stirred something in her, a longing for order in a chaotic world. But then she remembered why she'd left this life behind—the cost of playing god with people's lives.

"Understanding isn't the same as agreeing," she said firmly.

The Maestro's expression hardened. "A pity. I had hoped you might see reason." He turned to Sam. "Ms. Faith, I believe our business here is concluded. Shall we depart?"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "And leave these two to alert the authorities? I think not." She raised her gun, aiming squarely at Lena's forehead.

What happened next seemed to unfold in slow motion. As Sam's finger tightened on the trigger, Victor lunged forward, shoving Lena aside. The gun roared, the sound deafening in the enclosed space. Victor stumbled, a bright splash of red blooming on his shirt.

Lena reacted on instinct. Her hand flew to her concealed weapon, and she fired twice in quick succession. The first shot caught one of Sam's bodyguards in the shoulder, spinning him around. The second struck the gun from Sam's hand.

Chaos erupted on the platform. The remaining bodyguard opened fire, forcing Lena to dive behind a pillar. She heard the rapid footsteps of Sam and The Maestro retreating, but she couldn't pursue—not with Victor down and under fire.

"Durant!" she called out. "Status!"

A pained groan was her only answer. Gritting her teeth, Lena popped out from cover long enough to squeeze off another shot. The bodyguard went down with a cry of pain.

In the sudden silence that followed, Lena rushed to Victor's side. He lay on the cold concrete, blood pooling beneath him.

"Hang in there," she muttered, her hands pressing down on the wound. "Don't you dare die on me, Durant."

Victor's eyes fluttered open, unfocused. "Did we... get them?"

Lena shook her head, frustration and worry warring in her voice. "They got away. But that's not important right now. We need to get you help."

She activated her comm link, calling for emergency extraction. As she waited, keeping pressure on Victor's wound, her mind raced. The Maestro had known they were coming. He'd anticipated their every move. How could they hope to stop someone who could see every possible future?

And yet... something nagged at her. If Legacy could truly predict everything, why hadn't The Maestro simply avoided this confrontation altogether? Why allow them to interrupt the sale?

The questions swirled in her mind as the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. Whatever game The Maestro was playing, Lena was determined to unravel it. But first, she had to make sure her partner survived the night.

Hours later, Lena stood by the window in a private hospital room, watching the first hints of dawn creep across the Tokyo skyline. Behind her, machines beeped steadily, monitoring Victor's vital signs. The doctors had assured her he would recover, but it had been close—too close.

A soft groan from the bed made her turn. Victor's eyes opened slowly, blinking against the harsh fluorescent light.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Lena said, moving to his bedside.

Victor tried to sit up, wincing at the movement. "The Maestro—"

"Got away," Lena finished. "Along with Sam Crois Faith and Legacy."

Victor slumped back against the pillows, frustration etched on his face. "Damn it. We were so close."

Lena nodded, her own sense of failure weighing heavily on her. "Too close. The Maestro knew we were coming, Victor. He anticipated our every move."

"So what now? How do we fight an enemy who can predict our actions before we even think of them?"

It was the question that had been haunting Lena since their encounter in the subway. She turned back to the window, her reflection ghostly in the glass.

"We change the game," she said softly. "The Maestro thinks he knows me, knows how I'll react. So we do the unexpected. We make ourselves unpredictable."

Victor raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly do we do that?"

A small smile played at the corners of Lena's mouth. "By embracing chaos. The one thing Legacy can't account for is true randomness. We need to introduce an element of unpredictability into our plans."

"Sounds risky," Victor commented.

Lena turned back to him, her eyes gleaming with determination. "It is. But it's our only shot at stopping The Maestro and preventing Legacy from falling into the wrong hands."

As if on cue, Lena's comm link buzzed. She answered, listening intently to the voice on the other end. Her expression grew grave.

"What is it?" Victor asked as she ended the call.

"That was my contact in the Tokyo PD," Lena explained. "There's been a massive data breach at the Metropolitan Police Department. Every case file, every piece of evidence—it's all been wiped clean."

Victor struggled to sit up straighter. "The Maestro?"

Lena nodded. "Has to be. He's erasing any trace of his presence in the city. But why? What's his endgame?"

She began to pace the small room, her mind racing. "He could have used Legacy to predict the perfect time for the breach, ensuring maximum damage with minimum risk of detection. But that's not all—my contact mentioned something else. Just before the systems went dark, a message appeared on every screen in the department."

"What did it say?" Victor asked, leaning forward despite the pain it clearly caused him.

Lena met his gaze, her expression a mix of confusion and growing unease. "It said, 'The game begins at midnight. Will you play, Lena Voss?'"

Victor's eyes widened. "He's calling you out. But why?"

Lena shook her head, uncertainty clouding her features for the first time since this mission began. "I don't know. But whatever The Maestro's planning, it's clear he wants me involved. The question is... do we take the bait?"

The room fell silent save for the steady beep of the medical equipment. Outside, the sun continued its ascent, casting long shadows across the awakening city. Somewhere out there, The Maestro waited, a puppet master ready to pull the strings of a game only he fully understood.

As Lena stared out at the Tokyo skyline, a chill ran down her spine. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was more than just a chase or a mission. It was a test—of her skills, her resolve, and perhaps something deeper. The Maestro had drawn her back into this world for a reason, and she was determined to find out why.

"We play," she said finally, her voice firm with renewed determination. "But we play by our rules, not his. It's time to show The Maestro that even the most advanced AI can't predict everything."

Victor nodded, a grim smile on his face. "I'm with you. But Lena... be careful. I can't shake the feeling that there's more to this than we're seeing."

Lena's hand unconsciously went to the data chip still nestled behind her ear. "I know," she said softly. "But that's a risk we'll have to take. The fate of more than just Tokyo hangs in the balance now."

As the city came to life below them, Lena's mind was already racing, formulating plans and contingencies. The game was set to begin at midnight, but she intended to make her first move long before then. In a world where every action could be predicted, true victory would come from the moves no one—not even an all-seeing AI—could anticipate.

The chase was on, and Lena Voss was ready to remind the world why she had once been the best in the business. The Maestro had called her out of retirement for this game. Now it was time to show him exactly who he was dealing with.

****

The neon-drenched streets of Kabukicho pulsed with life as Lena made her way through the crowded district. The garish signs of love hotels and hostess clubs cast a surreal glow over the faces of passersby, each lost in their own nocturnal pursuits. Lena's destination, however, was far from the tourist traps and pleasure dens.

She slipped into a narrow alley, the sounds of the main street fading behind her. At the end of the passage stood a nondescript door, its only distinguishing feature a small playing card—the Queen of Spades—etched into the metal.

Lena took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come. This meeting with Sam Crois Faith was a gamble, but one she had to take. She raised her hand and knocked three times, paused, then twice more.

The door slid open silently, revealing a towering figure whose cybernetic enhancements were obvious even in the dim light. The guard's eyes glowed a faint red as he scanned Lena.

"You're expected," he rumbled, stepping aside to let her pass.

The interior was a stark contrast to the gritty alley outside. Plush carpets muffled Lena's footsteps as she was led through a series of opulent rooms, each more lavishly decorated than the last. Finally, they reached a set of ornate double doors.

"Wait here," the guard instructed before disappearing through a side entrance.

Moments later, the doors swung open, revealing a room that looked like it had been transported from a European palace. At its center, seated on what could only be described as a throne, was Sam Crois Faith.

The Queen of Spades lived up to her moniker. She exuded an aura of regal authority, her posture perfect, her gaze penetrating. The crimson dress she'd worn during their encounter in the subway had been replaced by a sleek black suit that seemed to absorb the light around her.

"Lena Voss," Sam said, her voice cool and measured. "I must admit, I didn't expect you to seek me out so... directly."

Lena stepped forward, her stance relaxed but ready. "Desperate times, Ms. Faith. I believe we have a mutual problem."

Sam's eyebrow arched elegantly. "Oh? And what problem might that be?"

"The Maestro," Lena replied simply. "And his AI, Legacy."

A flicker of something—anger? concern?—passed across Sam's face before her impassive mask returned. "I'm not in the habit of discussing my business dealings, Ms. Voss. Especially not with someone who interrupted a rather important transaction."

Lena allowed a small smile to play at her lips. "A transaction that never completed, as I recall. Tell me, did The Maestro deliver on his promises? Or did Legacy prove to be less... omniscient than advertised?"

Sam's eyes narrowed dangerously. For a moment, Lena thought she might have pushed too far. Then, unexpectedly, the crime lord laughed.

"You have balls, I'll give you that," Sam said, leaning forward in her throne. "Very well, let's talk. But know this—if I sense even a hint of deception, you won't leave this room alive."

Over the next hour, Lena laid out her suspicions about The Maestro and Legacy. She explained her theory that the AI's predictive capabilities, while impressive, had limitations—limitations that The Maestro was careful to hide.

"Think about it," Lena urged. "If Legacy could truly predict everything, why allow any opposition at all? Why not simply orchestrate events so that all resistance crumbled before it even formed?"

Sam listened intently, her expression unreadable. When Lena finished, the Queen of Spades stood, pacing the room with slow, deliberate steps.

"Let's say I believe you," Sam said finally. "What exactly are you proposing?"

Lena took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. "An alliance. Temporary and limited in scope. We pool our resources to locate The Maestro and determine the true extent of Legacy's capabilities."

Sam stopped her pacing, fixing Lena with an intense stare. "And if we succeed? What then?"

"Then we go our separate ways," Lena said firmly. "What you do with the information is your business. My goal is simply to neutralize the threat."

For a long moment, silence reigned in the opulent room. Then Sam nodded, a predatory smile spreading across her face. "Very well, Ms. Voss. You have your alliance. But remember—cross me, and there won't be enough left of you to fill a data chip."

As Lena left the Queen of Spades' sanctum, her mind raced with the implications of what she'd just done. Allying with one of Tokyo's most notorious crime lords was a risky move, one that Victor would almost certainly oppose. But it was a necessary risk. To catch The Maestro, they needed every advantage they could get.

Speaking of advantages, Lena's next move was perhaps even more dangerous than treating with Sam Crois Faith. She made her way to a bustling tech market, where the air hummed with the chatter of hagglers and the whir of cooling fans. At a particular stall, manned by a woman whose cybernetic eyes whirred as they focused, Lena placed an order for a very specific piece of hardware.

"You sure about this, sugar?" the vendor asked, her voice tinged with concern. "This kind of tech, it's not exactly... stable."

Lena nodded grimly. "I'm sure. How soon can you have it ready?"

The woman shrugged. "Give me an hour. But don't come crying to me if it fries that pretty brain of yours."

Exactly one hour later, Lena sat in a dingy back room, gritting her teeth as the vendor installed the new hardware. It was a neural randomizer—a device designed to introduce an element of true chaos into the user's thought patterns. In theory, it would make her actions unpredictable, even to an AI as advanced as Legacy.

In practice... well, that remained to be seen.

As Lena made her way back to the safehouse, her thoughts felt slippery, hard to grasp. It was an unsettling sensation, but if it gave her an edge against The Maestro, it would be worth it.

She found Victor pacing the small apartment, his face clouded with worry. He spun to face her as she entered.

"Where the hell have you been?" he demanded. "I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

Lena held up a hand, cutting off his tirade. "Relax, Durant. I've been busy laying the groundwork for our next move."

She filled him in on her meeting with Sam and the neural randomizer. With each revelation, Victor's expression grew darker.

"Are you out of your mind?" he exploded when she finished. "Allying with the Queen of Spades? Putting experimental tech in your head? Lena, this is exactly the kind of erratic behavior The Maestro could exploit!"

Lena shook her head, wincing slightly at the movement. "You're not seeing the big picture, Victor. We need to be unpredictable. It's the only way to stay ahead of Legacy's projections."

Victor's voice softened, concern evident in his tone. "Lena, I'm worried about you. Ever since we encountered The Maestro in that subway station, you've been... different. It's like you're obsessed."

Lena opened her mouth to protest, but the words died on her lips. Was Victor right? Had her determination to stop The Maestro crossed a line into obsession?

Before she could formulate a response, the safehouse's computer terminal chimed. A message flashed across the screen: MIDNIGHT. UENO PARK. COME ALONE.

Lena's pulse quickened. "It's him," she breathed.

Victor grabbed her arm. "Lena, you can't seriously be considering going. It's obviously a trap!"

She shrugged off his grip. "Of course it's a trap. But it's also our best chance to get close to him, to understand what he's really after."

"Then I'm coming with you," Victor insisted.

Lena shook her head firmly. "No. I need you to coordinate with Sam's people, set up a perimeter. If things go south, I'll need an extraction."

For a moment, it seemed like Victor might argue further. Then he nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But you stay in constant contact, you hear me? One sign of trouble, and I'm coming in, orders be damned."

As midnight approached, Lena made her way through the shadowy paths of Ueno Park. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, their pale petals luminous in the moonlight. It would have been beautiful if not for the tension thrumming through her body.

She reached a small clearing and stopped, her enhanced senses alert for any sign of danger. For a long moment, there was only silence.

Then, a voice behind her—smooth, cultured, and terrifyingly familiar.

"Hello, Lena. I'm so glad you came."

She turned slowly to find The Maestro standing mere feet away. Up close, she was struck by how... normal he appeared. Handsome, certainly, with sharp features and intense eyes that seemed to look right through her. But there was nothing outwardly remarkable about him.

Except, of course, for the aura of absolute confidence he exuded.

"I have to admit," he continued, taking a step closer, "I've been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time."

Lena forced herself to remain still, fighting the urge to reach for her weapon. "Why's that? Hoping to gloat about how you've outsmarted me at every turn?"

The Maestro laughed, the sound sending an unexpected shiver down Lena's spine. "Oh, Lena. You really don't see it yet, do you? This was never about outsmarting you. It's about opening your eyes to the possibilities."

He began to circle her slowly, his gaze never leaving her face. "You and I, we're not so different. We both see the patterns in the chaos, the hidden strings that move the world. But where you've been content to play small games, I've glimpsed the larger board."

Despite herself, Lena found her curiosity piqued. "And what game is that, exactly?"

The Maestro stopped in front of her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. "The only game that matters. The reshaping of reality itself."

He reached out, his fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. Lena knew she should recoil, but found herself rooted to the spot.

"Legacy isn't just a predictive algorithm, Lena," he said softly. "It's a key to understanding the very fabric of existence. With it, we could rewrite the rules of causality itself. Imagine a world without suffering, without war, without the petty cruelties that humans inflict upon each other. We could make it happen."

His words painted a seductive picture, one that stirred something deep within Lena. A part of her—a part she'd thought long buried—yearned for that kind of power, that ability to right the wrongs of the world.

The Maestro must have seen the conflict in her eyes, for he smiled—a warm, genuine expression that transformed his entire face.

"Join me, Lena," he urged. "Together, we could achieve wonders beyond imagination. Your skills, combined with Legacy's power... we'd be unstoppable."

For a heart-stopping moment, Lena found herself tempted. The conviction in The Maestro's voice, the intensity of his gaze... it all combined to create a pull she found difficult to resist.

But then she remembered the chaos at the subway station, the blood pooling beneath Victor's body. The enormity of what The Maestro proposed—the sheer hubris of it—snapped her back to reality.

"And who gets to decide what this perfect world looks like?" she asked, taking a step back. "You? Legacy? How is that any different from the tyrants and dictators who've tried to reshape the world in their image throughout history?"

The Maestro's expression hardened, the warmth in his eyes replaced by a cold determination. "I had hoped you'd understand, Lena. That you'd see the bigger picture. But I suppose some minds are too limited to grasp true visionary thought."

He turned away, his posture rigid. "I'll give you time to reconsider. But know this—with or without you, the new world is coming. The only question is whether you'll be there to see it."

With that, he vanished into the shadows of the park, leaving Lena alone with her turbulent thoughts.

She stood there for a long moment, her mind reeling from the encounter. The Maestro's words echoed in her head, mingling with the disorienting effects of the neural randomizer. It took every ounce of her willpower to push through the mental fog and activate her comm link.

"Victor," she said, her voice shakier than she'd like. "I'm ready for extraction."

Back at the safehouse, Lena recounted her meeting with The Maestro. Victor listened in tense silence, his expression growing more concerned with each word.

"Lena," he said when she finished, "I think you're getting too close to this. The way you talk about him, about his plans... it's like you're almost buying into his delusions."

Lena bristled at the accusation. "I'm not 'buying into' anything, Durant. I'm trying to understand our enemy. Know thy enemy and know yourself, remember?"

Victor shook his head. "This is more than that. I saw your face when you were describing him. There's an attraction there, isn't there? An pull towards his ideology?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Lena snapped, but even as she said it, she felt a twinge of doubt. Was Victor right? Had The Maestro's charisma affected her more than she realized?

"I'm not trying to attack you," Victor said, his voice softening. "I'm worried about you, Lena. This case, it's consuming you. And The Maestro... he's not just some run-of-the-mill criminal. He's dangerous in ways we're only beginning to understand."

Lena sank into a chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I know, Victor. Believe me, I know. But what choice do we have? Someone has to stop him, and right now, we're the only ones who even know the full extent of what he's planning."

Victor knelt beside her, placing a hand on her arm. "We'll stop him. Together. But you have to promise me you won't go off on your own again. No more secret meetings, no more reckless gambles. We're partners in this, remember?"

Lena nodded, managing a small smile. "Partners. I promise."

As Victor stood to check the safehouse's security systems, Lena's hand unconsciously went to the spot where The Maestro had touched her face. The memory of his fingers against her skin sent a conflicting mix of emotions through her—attraction, revulsion, fascination, fear.

She pushed the feelings aside, focusing instead on the task at hand. The Maestro had to be stopped, regardless of how charismatic or visionary he might be. The fate of not just Tokyo, but potentially the entire world, hung in the balance.

But as Lena began to formulate their next move, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered a treacherous thought: What if he's right? What if Legacy really could create a better world?

She shook her head violently, dispelling the notion. That way lay madness. The Maestro had to be stopped, and she would be the one to do it—no matter the cost to herself.

*****

The following days passed in a blur of frenetic activity. Lena and Victor, working in tandem with Sam Crois Faith's network of informants, scoured Tokyo for any sign of The Maestro or his operations. But it was like chasing a ghost – every lead turned cold, every trail went dark just as they seemed on the verge of a breakthrough.

Lena's frustration grew with each passing hour. The neural randomizer, while theoretically giving her an edge against Legacy's predictive capabilities, left her thoughts scattered and unfocused. More than once, she found herself staring blankly at lines of code, unable to string together a coherent sequence.

It was during one such moment of mental fog that Victor approached her, concern etched on his face.

"Lena," he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You need to take that thing out. It's affecting your judgment."

She shrugged off his touch, irritation flaring. "I'm fine, Durant. This is our best shot at staying ahead of Legacy."

Victor's expression hardened. "Is it? Because from where I'm standing, all it's doing is making you erratic. You're not sleeping, you're barely eating. This isn't sustainable."

Deep down, Lena knew he was right. But admitting it felt like conceding defeat to The Maestro. "Just... give me a little more time. I'm close to cracking his encryption. I can feel it."

Before Victor could argue further, an alert chimed from the safehouse's main computer. They both rushed to the screen, where a message blinked urgently:

MASSIVE DATA SURGE DETECTED. ORIGIN: AKIHABARA DISTRICT.

Lena's pulse quickened. "This is it. He's making his move."

Victor was already gearing up, checking his weapons with practiced efficiency. "I'll contact Sam's people, set up a perimeter. But Lena," he fixed her with an intense stare, "promise me you won't do anything rash. We go in together, or not at all."

She nodded, but even as she did, a plan was forming in her mind – a plan that didn't include Victor or Sam's forces. The neural randomizer might be clouding her thoughts, but it had also given her flashes of insight, connections she might not have made otherwise. She knew, with a certainty that bordered on prescience, that this confrontation with The Maestro had to be one-on-one.

As they made their way through the neon-drenched streets of Akihabara, Lena waited for her moment. It came when Victor stepped away to coordinate with Sam's lieutenants. In an instant, Lena slipped away, losing herself in the crowds of late-night shoppers and tech enthusiasts.

She made her way to an abandoned arcade, its once-bright signs now dark and peeling. This was the epicenter of the data surge, she was sure of it. As she approached the building, her enhanced senses picked up a low hum – the unmistakable sound of high-powered computing equipment.

The door creaked open at her touch. Inside, rows of defunct gaming cabinets stood like silent sentinels. But beyond them, a soft blue glow emanated from a back room. Lena moved cautiously, every nerve on high alert.

She rounded a corner and froze. There, surrounded by a semicircle of holographic displays, stood The Maestro. He turned as she entered, a smile playing at his lips.

"Ah, Lena. Right on time."

She raised her weapon, aiming squarely at his chest. "It's over. Shut down Legacy and come quietly."

The Maestro's smile widened. "My dear, it's only just beginning. But I'm glad you're here to witness it."

He gestured to the displays around him. Lena's eyes widened as she took in the information scrolling across the screens – financial data, security protocols, infrastructure schematics. It was as if the entire digital nervous system of Tokyo was laid bare before her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Maestro said, his voice filled with genuine awe. "The culmination of years of work. With Legacy fully operational, we can reshape reality itself. No more poverty, no more crime, no more suffering. A perfect world, Lena. And you can be part of it."

Despite herself, Lena felt drawn to the displays, to the tantalizing glimpse of a world without chaos. The Maestro stepped closer, his presence electric.

"I know you feel it," he said softly. "The potential. The power to right every wrong, to fix every broken system. It's what you've always wanted, deep down. To make a real difference."

Lena's grip on her weapon wavered. The Maestro's words resonated with a part of her she'd long tried to suppress – the idealistic hacker who'd once believed she could change the world through sheer force of will and clever code.

"Think about it, Lena," The Maestro continued, his voice hypnotic. "No more half-measures, no more fighting symptoms while the disease rages on. With Legacy, we can cure the sickness at its root. We can rewrite the very fabric of society."

He reached out, gently lowering her gun. Lena let him, her mind reeling with the implications of what he was offering.

"Join me," he urged. "Together, we can usher in a new age. An age of true enlightenment, of peace and prosperity for all."

For a moment – a heart-stopping, world-altering moment – Lena teetered on the brink. The Maestro's vision was seductive, promising everything she'd ever dreamed of achieving. And yet...

"And who decides what this perfect world looks like?" she asked, echoing her words from their encounter in the park. "You? Me? Legacy? Who gave us the right to play god?"

The Maestro's expression hardened, a flash of frustration crossing his face. "Someone has to make the hard choices, Lena. Why not those with the vision and the means to see it through?"

Lena shook her head, clarity finally breaking through the fog of the neural randomizer. "Because that's not how the world works. Change – real, lasting change – it has to come from within. You can't force it, no matter how noble your intentions."

She raised her gun again, her resolve firming. "I'm shutting Legacy down. This ends now."

The Maestro's face twisted in anger. "I had such hopes for you, Lena. But if you won't be part of the solution, you'll have to be eliminated along with the problem."

He lunged for a nearby console, his fingers flying over the keys. Alarms blared, and the holographic displays flickered ominously.

"You're too late," he snarled. "Legacy is already integrating with Tokyo's core systems. In minutes, it will be unstoppable."

Lena's mind raced. She couldn't hope to out-code The Maestro, not with Legacy backing him up. But maybe...

She reached up, wincing as she yanked the neural randomizer from its port behind her ear. The sudden clarity was almost painful, but with it came a flash of inspiration.

"You're right about one thing," she said, a grim smile on her face. "Sometimes you have to make the hard choices."

Before The Maestro could react, Lena jammed the randomizer into the nearest data port. The effect was instantaneous. The displays went haywire, random bits of data flashing across the screens. Legacy, confronted with an input it couldn't predict or process, began to destabilize.

The Maestro cried out in anguish, desperately trying to regain control. But it was too late. The cascade of random data spread through Legacy's systems like a virus, corrupting its predictive algorithms and shattering its hold on Tokyo's infrastructure.

As klaxons wailed and emergency systems kicked in, Lena grabbed The Maestro, securing his hands behind his back. "It's over," she said, her voice heavy with a mix of triumph and regret. "Your perfect world will have to wait."

Moments later, Victor burst in, flanked by Sam's security forces. He took in the scene – the failing systems, the restrained Maestro, the determined set of Lena's jaw – and let out a low whistle.

"Looks like I missed one hell of a party," he quipped.

Lena managed a weak smile. "Just a small disagreement about the nature of free will and the future of humanity. You know, the usual."

As they led The Maestro away, Lena caught his eye one last time. There was anger there, yes, but also a flicker of something else – respect, perhaps. Or recognition of a worthy adversary.

In the days that followed, as Tokyo's systems slowly returned to normal and the full extent of The Maestro's plan came to light, Lena found herself wrestling with conflicting emotions. She knew she'd done the right thing – playing god, no matter how well-intentioned, was a road that led only to tyranny. And yet, a small part of her couldn't help but wonder about the world that might have been.

Victor found her one evening, staring out over the city from their safehouse balcony. "Credit for your thoughts?" he asked, joining her at the railing.

Lena sighed. "Just thinking about choices. The ones we make, the ones we don't. The roads not taken."

Victor nodded, understanding in his eyes. "The Maestro got to you, didn't he? Made you see the appeal of his grand vision."

"Is it that obvious?" Lena asked, a wry smile on her face.

"Only to someone who knows you," Victor replied. "Look, Lena, it's okay to be conflicted. The best of us always are. It's what we do with that conflict that defines us."

Lena pondered his words, watching the ebb and flow of the city below. Tokyo had survived The Maestro's attempt to reshape it, emerging battered but unbroken. Perhaps there was a lesson there.

"You're right," she said finally. "The world's a mess, but it's our mess. And maybe that's not such a bad thing after all."

As the sun set over the neon-lit skyline, Lena felt a weight lift from her shoulders. The future was uncertain, unpredictable – but that, she realized, was exactly as it should be.

[mywingsareonwheels]

Nerdery

Here is something the first episode of Inspector Morse (1987) and the first episode of the magnificent BBC radio series of The Lord of the Rings (1981) have in common:-

Philip Voss (the Coroner / the Lord of the Nazgul[1]) asks searching questions of Peter Woodthorpe (Max DeBryn[2] / Gollum).

I have to wonder whether the parallel occurred to either or both of them during the filming of Morse. ;-)

Incidentally, because this delights me, here's a full list (so far! I may have missed some!) of actors who were in both the LotR radio series and the morseverse:-

James Grout (DCS Strange in Inspector Morse / Butterbur)

Michael Horden - (Dr Starkie in Inspector Morse ("Service for all the Dead") / Gandalf)

John McAndrew (Leslie Garnier in Endeavour ("Cartouche") / Pippin)

Robert Stephens (Sir Wilfred Mulryne in Inspector Morse ("The Setting of the Sun" / Aragorn)

Philip Voss (the Coroner in Inspector Morse / the Lord of the Nazgul)

Peter Woodthorpe (Max DeBryn / Gollum)

That all makes me so happy. :D

ALSO

a) James Bradshaw's played Bilbo Baggins in a stage production of The Hobbit so Max really is the hobbit pathologist (Bilbo!Max and Gollum!Max ;-) )

b) the composer of the LotR radio series was the late, great Stephen Oliver who (was the wonderful comedian John Oliver's uncle and also) wrote the music for the RSC musical of Nicholas Nickleby that was rather a hit in the 1970s. It was the success of that musical that was a huge part of why Trevor Nunn and the RSC in general were willing to take a risk on a musical of rather a long book by Victor Hugo in the 1980s... So, there's a Roger Allam connection too. ;-)

[1] Aka the Witch-King of Angmar, but he's called the LotN in the radio series cast list (and it makes sense for him as a title for nerdy reasons I won't go into ;-) ).

[2] "DeBryn" was created as Max's surname for Endeavour so strictly speaking that's inaccurate but.

[calekinnieplus]

"Who am I?"

Looking at Victor's sorry figure, Kevin smirked. Extending his hand upward, he slowly hacked in his direction.

-Slash!

-Thud!

Watching Victor's fat head rolling on the floor, Kevin slowly said

"I am Kevin Voss"

Cool, now we're slightly more familiar with OG!MC, Kevin Voss. Not bad, not bad...

[simsbuildingblog]

And it continues...

Oasis Springs is done and populated! This World is a mix of inspiration from Reno and Las Vegas.

Skyward Palms is now home to the Caliente and the Puentes families. Elder Esmeralda and her teenage son Mario live in the mansion next door to SeaView Aquarium. On the other side of the street is Oasis Springs Observatory.

Acquisition Butte is the place for fun off of the main strip. Agave Pool and The Dust Bowl-ing Alley are prime spots to take the kiddos, cool hang outs for teens, and a nice way to get away from the bustle of downtown Oasis Springs.

Dino's Bar in Bedrock Strait is the oldest dive in town. The bartenders pour heavy and the dart boards are well-kept. Next door is Pebble Burrow Park where actress, Marci Xarman lives next door to nobody Dana Xian. Stefanie and Victor Gaines live in the front trailer, but they're too busy arguing with each other over the garden to care about an up-and-coming celebrity in the Park.

Hadley Voss and their fiance Casey Markham have a small house next door. The two are deeply in love, but hate everyone else.

Across from Dino's live the Hurtados. Due to some unfortunate and unpleasant circumstances, Eddie has had to take in his teenage sister, Vera for the time being.

In good ol' Parched Prospect you'll find the Parched Community Garden at the end of the road. Smack dab in front of it is an open house, and on the other side of that lives Diego Mondragon - socially awkward Tech Guru.

Across the street from him is the Cortes family. Crafter Arturo and his wife Ariel live there with their daughter Azure and dog named Cashew. They get along pretty well with their neighbor Russel Shelton, but Lillie can be a tough nut to crack. Their teenager, Rhys, babysits for the Cortes's sometimes.

You can improve your architecture skills, play some chess, go fishing, or have a small party at Mission Historic Park.

And finally, in Mirage Canyon, you'll find a drive-thru wedding chapel, the Cacti Comedy Club, Rio Verde's Casino, and the Route 66 gas station diner.

[ratjay]

I play way too many ttrpgs tbh- like just Currently playing:

Tsali (PF2e)- An Anadi Investigator from Kintargo. His idea of fun is solving a mystery and following his friend, the weird librarian to a different country entirely because she said there was one tied to Cheliax bullshit. (Malevolence Module)

Theo Valdemar (PF2e)- A Kitsune Gunslinger from Sandpoint, and the bastard grandchild of Ethram Valdemar. They are a Totally Normal Human and are constantly downplaying how weird their town is because sure it goes crazy ever few years but it's great otherwise. (Rise of the Runelords AP)

Sydney Hyde (PF2e)- A tiefling witch in Alkenstar who is try his best to survive in a place that just fucking hates magic. They also are so stupid. Like sure try to rob the deputy. It'll turn out great for you, guy who can't blend in with a crowd. (Outlaws of Alkenstar AP)

Zwei Voss (PF2e)- A human inventor who is trying so hard to be a good bounty hunter. Like. So hard. The only thing that she can consistently do though is have her clockwork invention go tear a man's leg off while she stands back. It's kinda funny. (Original)

Victor Sterling (D&D 5e)- A human artificer representing the 7th house in the competition to become the next emperor. He's a gambling addict who's trying his best to not be suspicious. His ex-husband is there. He's already failed to not be suspicious. (original)

Remissio/ Sirrus Dormine (D&D 5e)- A Tiefling warlock who was sent to the Verdant Misery for crimes he would like to say he didn't commit. He was a single father who made a deal to protect his daughter and wew. We're so close to having all the pardons we need to leave this hell, and maybe Rem will be allowed to have a semi-normal life with his new wife and his daughter. (original)

Kaine Vidor (d'Cannith) (D&D 5e)- A dragonmarked human warlock(?), that also sometimes is a warforged. Kaine ended up linking brains with an early warforged named AB13 he found in pieces before the Day of Mourning. He's now a super hero that's partially trying to atone for the sins of his house (and himself) by doing good. So far? Could be doing better. (original; using the Eberron setting for it)

Francis DeVaughn (JJBA system)- A tired grad student who is trying to both get out of a deal he made and get out of the stand city of Chicago. He was assigned the role of "The Doctor" by another party member and he has NOT known peace sense. Just let him go back to hiding in an archive in Italy far away from all this.

[bluemandycat]

Hey everyone! I published my book!

For those of you that don’t know, I’ve been working on a sci-fi novella for about six months now! For those of you that don’t know, here’s the “back-of-the-book” summary!

Humanity is sending a sentient robot into space, to be an ambassador to the stars. That is assured. What is not assured is which one it's going to be. A lab in Belgium and a lab in California are developing these robots, but only one will be shot into space. And it's anyone's game. At least, it's anyone's game until the California robot, Jetstream, tries to stick its head in a hydraulic press. Suddenly the arms race becomes a lot more one-sided, forcing the California lab to call in a Hail Mary. Dr. Victor Voss, or Vic, a former Belgium scientist, is that Hail Mary. He's alcoholic, depressive, and has a list of traumas a mile long. But for California, he may be the only chance of getting through to Jet, and making human history.

Basically, it’s about a depressed gay scientist adopting a non-verbal, uncooperative robot. And it’s on Amazon now!

Here is the link for the ebook!

And here is the link for the paperback!

If that premise interests you, please check it out! Read the summary! And if you decide you like it, buy a copy! And please leave a review (those are really important towards sales).

If you’re not interested, I would really appreciate a reblog, or a signal boost. This novella is a labor of love, and I would love it if a lot of people saw this post.

I really appreciate it, and thank you in advance,

Amanda

[alwayswonderingandwandering]

blohm + voss dock elbe 17

[zillyeh]

when i was first designing voss i was in no place to be drawing but i knew id forget his Aesthetic if i didnt get something down so i drew this

[booasaur]

Hello! I just want to pint out that in the trailer there's a very short scene where they show Wren fighting along Kofun. So at some point she ends up on Haniwa's team, or at least fighting a common enemy. This season looks amazing!

Ooooooh, nice catch. I had to rewatch super closely and finally caught it:

Innnnteresting. I would LOVE for this to be near the end where, after both Wren and Kofun for their own reasons have been against the "good" guys (presumably Maghra, Baba Voss, and Haniwa stay allied the whole time), this is when the final victors are decided and they realize, with Trivantes moving into explosives and Kane being literal evil, they have to go with Maghra. It is also true that both Kofun and Wren's actual closest ties, by virtue of being twin and love interest respectively, are to Haniwa, so I wonder if that'll play into it. Really hoping it's not Maghra's death and Haniwa inheriting the crown that brings these two back.

Though, can we be sure it's not Kofun the weirdo being the one to actually defect to the Trivantians? He's like the Danny Stevens of See, lol. Although it looks the people they're fighting are wearing Trivantian armor so presumably not.

[cursed-herbalist]

Less // she/her // XXVI // Taurus // INFP // Hufflepuff Wizarding World Profile | Pinterest | Spotify

Hi there! Welcome to my blog. I'm still in the process of figuring this all out but I'm hoping I'll get the gist of it soon. Atm I'm taking things slow so I might be a bit MIA.

Regardless, you can feel free to drop me a note. My asks/DMs are always open :)

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HP WWI Verse side blog @savetheundoneyears old secondary oc blog @inactive-herbalist

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WRITINGS

Have Yourself A Jummy Little Christmas (HPMA) The Chronicles Of The Dragon's Eye (HPHL; WIP - unpublished)

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OCs (below the cut)

❥・ Violette Jolie Durand | Pinterest | Spotify ⤿ the Durand Lineage ❥・ Abraham Aurelius Henry Alden | Pinterest ❥・ Oscar Alatar Erdstern | Pinterest | Spotify ❥・ Victor Abel Lyon | Pinterest

❥・ Lunas Griffin Avery | Pinterest | Spotify ❥・ Odessa Lilian Avery | Pinterest ❥・ Ione Lumina Avery | Pinterest ❥・ T.O.W.E.R | Camden Voss + Piotr Serov

[Disclaimer: the WWI-verse is not an actual era but an original story]

❥・ The Alden-Falcon Kids | Pinterest (Edward, Owen, Livia, Flora)

❥・ Ottilie Ariette Enfield | Pinterest

❥・ Mabel Lunette Joan O'Shea | Pinterest ❥・ Delton 'Del' Alistair Michael O'Shea | Pinterest

❥・ Vella Clementine Orbarrow | Pinterest

❥・ Aldéric Mylan Durand | Pinterest

TBD

❥・ Jupiter Adélie Durand | Pinterest | Spotify ❥・ Elio Amédée Durand | Pinterest | Spotify ❥・ Gaia Alvina Jeanny Alden | Pinterest ❥・ Timéo Alain Durand | Pinterest ❥・ Lyam Astride Durand | Pinterest ❥・ Eula Avice Durand | Pinterest

❥・ Isla Linnea Longcast | Pinterest ❥・ Atlas Levi Jameson Austin | Pinterest ❥・ Lotus Everett Gregorovitch | Pinterest

**NEXT GEN**

❥・ Silas Ashford (Next Gen) | Pinterest ❥・ Merle Romina Montero (HPMA/Next Gen) | Pinterest

Minor OCs aka OCs with next to no content (oopsie): ❥・ Albin Liborius Antubidasbin (HPHL) | Pinterest

[chocolatte-and-despair]

Hetalia ✨

1P MALE CHARACTERS:

Aph North Italy - Feliciano Vargas Aph Germany - Ludwig Beilschmidt Aph Japan - Kiku Honda Aph America - Alfred F. Jones Aph England - Arthur Kirkland Aph France - Francis Bonnefoy Aph China - Yao Wang Aph Russia - Ivan Braginsky Aph Canada - Matthew Williams Aph Netherlands - Govert Maes Aph Austria - Roderich Edelstein Aph Poland - Feliks Łukasiewicz Aph prussia - Gilbert Beilschmidt Aph Switzerland - Basch Zwingli Aph Estonia - Eduard von Bock Aph Latvia - Raivis Galante Aph Lithuania - Toris Laurinaitis Aph Romania - Vladimir Popescu Aph Denmark - Magnus Kohler Aph Finland - Tino Väinämöinen Aph Iceland - Eiríkur Steilsson Aph Norway - Sigurd Bondevik Aph Sweden - Berwald Oxenstierna Aph Greece - Heracles Karpusi Aph South Italy - Lovino Vargas Aph Spain - Antonio Fernandez Carriedo Aph Turkey - Sadiq Adnan Aph South Korea - Im Yong Soo Aph Ancient Rome - Romulus Gilbavares Aph Scotland - Allistor Kirkland Aph Hong Kong - Leon Chun Aph Sealand - Peter Kirkland

1P FEMALE CHARACTERS:

Aph Belgium - Anri Maes Aph hungary - Elizabeth Héderváry Aph Liechtenstein - Elise Zwingli Aph Belarus - Natalia Arlovskaya Aph Ukraine - Irunya Chernenko Aph Monaco - Lucille Bonnefoy Aph Vietnam - Trần Chung Liên Aph Seychelles - Michelle Bonnefoy Aph Taiwan - Mei Xiao

1P NYOTALIA MALE CHARACTERS

Aph Belgium - Abel Maes Aph hungary -  Daniel  Héderváry Aph Liechtenstein - Noah Zwingli Aph Belarus - Nikolai  Arlovskayu Aph Ukraine - Dimitry  Chernenko Aph Monaco - Gérard Bonnefoy Aph  Seychelles - Mickaël Bonnefoy Aph Taiwan - Liu Feng Ling APH Vietnam - Quyền Tuân Liên

1P NYOTALIA FEMALE CHARACTERS

Aph North Italy -  Feliciana Daisy Vargas Aph Germany - Monika  Beilschmidt Aph Japan - Sakura Honda Aph America - Amelia  F. Jones Aph England - Alice  Kirkland Aph France - Angelique Bonnefoy Aph China -  Chun-Yan  Wang Aph Russia - Anya  Braginskaya Aph Canada - Clementine  Williams Aph Netherlands - Manon Maes Aph Austria -  Anneliese  Edelstein Aph Poland - Florentyna  Łukasiewicz Aph prussia -   Julchen “Maria”  Beilschmidt Aph Switzerland -  Adelheid  Zwingli Aph Estonia - Edith  von Bock Aph Latvia -   Irka  Galante Aph Lithuania - Kotryna Laurinaitytė Aph Romania - Viorica Popescu Aph Denmark - Margarathe Kohler Aph Finland - Tina  Väinämöinen Aph Iceland - Fridrika Steildóttir Aph Norway - Lovise  Bondevik Aph Sweden - Berlinda  Oxenstierna Aph Greece - Hemera  Karpusi Aph South Italy - Chiara  Vargas Aph Spain - Isabella Fernandez Carriedo Aph Turkey - Delara Adnan Aph South Korea - Lee Ji You Soo Aph Ancient Rome - Pricilla Gilbavares Aph Scotland - Annabel Kirkland Aph Hong Kong - Ling Chen Aph Sealand - Cassidy  Kirkland

2P MALE CHARACTERS

Aph North Italy - Luciano Vargas Aph Germany - Lutz Beilschmidt Aph Japan - Kuro Honda Aph America - Allen F. Jekyll Aph England - Oliver Kirkland Aph France - Louis Franklin “Frankie” Bonnefoy Aph China - Xiao Wang Aph Russia - Victor Braginsky Aph Canada - James Williams Aph Netherlands - Jesse Maes Aph Austria - Siegfried Edelstein Aph Poland - Franciszek Łukasiewicz Aph prussia - Gillen Beilschmidt Aph Switzerland - Voss Zwingli Aph Estonia - Edgar von Bock Aph Latvia - Ruslan Galante Aph Lithuania - Tomas Laurinaitis Aph Romania - Vassile Popescu Aph Denmark - Markell Kohler Aph Finland - Thurston Väinämöinen Aph Iceland - Kastíel Steilsson Aph Norway - Sigfrid Bondevik Aph Sweden - Bernard Oxenstierna Aph Greece - Hermes Karpusi Aph South Italy - Flavio Vargas Aph Spain - Andres Fernandez Carriedo Aph Turkey - Sadaqat Adna Aph South Korea - Im Young Sun Aph Ancient Rome - Remus Gilbavares Aph Scotland - Alric Kirkland Aph Hong Kong - Tai Yang Shòu Aph Sealand - Paul Kirkland

2P FEMALE CHARACTERS

Aph Belgium - Beatrice Maes Aph hungary - Julia Héderváry Aph Liechtenstein - Luise Zwingli Aph Belarus - Natasha Arlovskaya Aph Ukraine - Katusha Chernenko Aph Monaco - Giselle Bonnefoy Aph Vietnam - Anh Chung Liên Aph Seychelles - Vanessa Bonnefoy Aph Taiwan - Ming Yue Wang

2P NYOTALIA MALE CHARACTERS:

Aph Belgium - Raul Maes Aph Belarus - Nikita Arlovskaya Aph Ukraine - Mykolai  Chernenko Aph Monaco - Theodore Bonnefoy Aph hungary - Julian  Héderváry Aph Liechtenstein - Marlon Zwingli Aph Vietnam - Thuan Quang Liên Aph  Seychelles - Valentin Bonnefoy Aph Taiwan - Chia-Jung  Wang

2P NYOTALIA FEMALE CHARACTERS:

Aph North Italy - Lucrecia Raffaella Vargas Aph Germany -  Gretchen  Beilschmidt Aph Japan - Akane Honda Aph America - Rebecca Alison Jekyll Aph England - Olivia  Kirkland Aph France - Marianne Cezanne Bonnefoy Aph China - Lien-Hua  Wang Aph Russia - Zasha Braginskaya Aph Canada - Heather  Williams Aph Netherlands -Jessica “Jess” Maes Aph Austria - Johanna  Edelstein Aph Poland - Franciszka  Łukasiewicz Aph Prussia - Gilianne  Beilschmidt Aph Switzerland - Astrid  Zwingli Aph Estonia - Evelin  von Bock Aph Latvia - Rota Galante Aph Lithuania - Goda Laurinaitytė Aph Romania - Vasilica Popescu Aph Denmark - Milena Kohler Aph Finland - Taja  Väinämöinen Aph Iceland - Kassandra “Kass” Steildóttir Aph Norway - Sissel  Bondevik Aph Sweden - Brunhilda  Oxenstierna Aph Greece - Hermena  Karpusi Aph South Italy - Mattea  Vargas Aph Spain - Ophelia La-Dolores  Carriedo Aph Turkey - Sidika Adnan Aph South Korea - I-Yeong Sun Aph Ancient rome -  Cloelia Gilbavares Aph Scotland - Abigail Kirkland Aph Hong Kong - Aiqing Caihong Chun Aph Sealand - Gloria Kirkland

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Veteran Star Fortresses, Revisited

I thought it would be fun to take a more in-depth look at how to solo the Veteran Star Fortresses. As you know, these give you six different companions, some titles, cartel coins, armor and decos.

I posted this before with videos of the solo battles with the Exarchs, and the post was hidden for some reason. So I’ll try again. Let's talk about some basics and then focus on the Reactor Core, the last set of rooms.

Voss and Nar Shaddaa are notorious for being the most challenging VSF to clear solo. If you can beat these Exarchs, the others might feel simple to you. That is my experience anyway!

How to choose which Veteran Star Fortresses to do? If you want…

The companion who influences main story: Voss. Rokkuss is a good all around companion, so from a gameplay standpoint you’ve chosen a good one. However, he’s also the only SF companion to figure at all into the main story. If you’ve completed his SF missions and earned him as a companion, he’s mentioned briefly in chapter one of KOTET and a bonus mission will auto complete for you.

The companion who subjectively is the best in combat/healing: Nar Shaddaa. Veeroa Denz is a dual saber wielder and she’s very, very good, especially if you get her to influence level 50. Even if you have her on heals she can destroy mobs.

The chest piece for the Star Fortress armor: Alderaan. Choza Raabat is IMHO the least effective SF companion. He swats things with his lightsaber once and then stands there with that incredibly annoying Jedi hand signal. But - Alderaan is the SF to complete if you want the Exarch armor chest piece.

Another caveat: some of the random armor drops on Ossus look a lot like the Exarch armor - but it's no guarantee at all that you will come across one. A good all around companion: Belsavis. K’khrol holds his own and has some cool healing skills, and the Belsavis Exarch isn’t nearly as challenging as the ones for Voss or Nar Shaddaa.

The achievement for doing the VSF without specialists’ help: Belsavis.

The achievement for defeating all the different Paladins: Don’t even go into VSF. You can clear the Paladin achievement in the SOLO/STORY Star Fortresses, which are far easier. If you defeat every single Paladin on every single SF you get a very cool title (Fallen Knight) and some decos, so this one is worth it, but again, you really don’t have to put yourself through a VSF for that.

Decorations: If you want the ones that are given out by the specialists/completion of all the VSF, you’ll have to do all six, with specialists’ influence over 10. However if you are talking about the other decos that drop from Paladins and bosses, like the Zakuulan floor lamps, shiny gold panels and computers, those drop in STORY/SOLO too. Again, you don’t need to do the VSF fir that.

SF companions:

These companions are really good: Veeroa Denz, followed by Rokuss, K’khrol.

These companions are so-so: Hemdil Tre

These companions are honestly not going to help you much in battle in my experience: Leyta, Choza Raabat

General advice:

1. 306 level gear, or as close to it as possible. Some people like various set bonus armors, like The Victor. I prefer to put armor on my characters that gives them three small set bonuses for Mastery, Endurance and Alacrity.

2. Level 50 influence companion, or as close to it as possible. People have varied preferences for ranged vs. melee, but I typically go in with either Lana, Kira or Veeroa, all of whom are melee.

3. Life Warden tactical. This will heal you in a pinch. Since there are no kolto stations in the SF take all the help you can get.

4. Raise your Alliance specialists’ influence to at least 10 and interact with the blue clickable console in the first room to receive buffs to Mastery, Endurance, Presence, etc. that are substantial. Each of the Specialists will also leave you a special ability in a ‘cache’ in the bonus rooms (two on each level. Two have Paladins. One just has a mob. One has a bonus mission that will raise influence with the SF companions).

If you only raise one specialists’ influence: Oggurobb (Medical cache). Oggurobb gives you a kolto probe. There are no kolto stations in the Star Fortresses so you will need this.

Two: Oggurobb and Bey'wan Aygo (Military cache). Aygo gives you a small turret that can be set up in a room to fire on the enemy. It can be a game changer with mobs or gold level NPCs and it can also distract the enemy NPCs. On several occasions I’ve seen Exarchs completely ignore my character and just wail on the turret.

Three: Oggurobb, Aygo and Sana-Rae (Zakuulan Knight cache). Sana-Rae gives you a groundquake ability. This can come in really handy during the mobs in the sun rooms, but I’d get the other two first.

I don’t find the cache from Hylo Visz to be useful and will bypass obtaining it if I have the other three. By all means, raise her influence to 10 to get the buff, but I wouldn’t waste time fighting a Paladin to get her cache.

There’s an achievement for getting through the VSF without the specialists’ assistance. I honestly feel if you’re just going through this once to get the companion and finish the mission, you should make it as easy as you can for yourself, and forget about this achievement. If you decide you want it, you can always repeat the VSF.

I’m going to assume that you already have the basics of how to get through the Star Fortress itself and will concentrate on the final set of rooms. After defeating the mobs in the EMPHERMIS room, you get on an elevator and rise to a circular structure, the Reactor Core.

The goal in these rooms is to end the fights as quickly as you possibly can.

Room 1: Several skytrooper mobs. They should hopefully drop some dampening shields to protect you as you venture forth. Note: The medical droid at the beginning of this section also sells the shields for 1000 credits each. After a run where I literally got two in total from the mobs, I started buying a few from the droid as insurance.

Use your dampening shield by clicking on it. Look for the grapple hook on the top of the next platform, click it and grapple across. Do NOT try to grapple across without the shield, you will probably get zapped, fall and die. Also: be careful when you land on the platform. In a few cases Viri has landed facing the wrong direction, started running and tumbled right over the edge. Don’t be like Viri at that moment.

Room 2: The Exarch (who you will not be able to kill) and two gold NPCs. Run DIRECTLY to the blue, clickable console and click it as fast as you can. That ends the battle and sends the Exarch fleeing.

Another grapple, and there will be some mobs on the platforms to defeat.

Rooms 3 and 4: The Exarch, two gold NPCs and a lot of mobs. The Exarch will periodically wake up one of the two photoconduction droids in the corners. As soon as the droid wakes up and the nameplate turns red, beat them down as fast as you possibly can. They will drop a yellow power cell. It will show up on your ability bar or in your mission inventory tab. Target the Exarch and click that yellow cell to drain their power. You may have to do this twice. The large console will light up and turn blue and clickable. Get your butt there ASAP and click it. Keep clicking it even if you are interrupted. That’s the only way to end the fight.

If you are unsuccessful the cycle begins again - kill the droid, get the cell, drain the Exarch, click the console.

While you’re doing this, the mobs of skytroopers and the two gold NPCs will be attacking you and your companion. This is the time to pull out any and all stops you have that can stop a lot of enemies in their tracks. Put up Bey'wan’s turret. Use Sana-Rae’s groundquake. Orbital Strike. Vengeful Smash. Whatever you possibly have that will kill or stun the mobs.

My order of attack in this room is:

1. Set up Bey’wan Aygo’s turret in a corner of the room.

2. Go after gold NPCs

3. Go after the photocondution droids, even if the golds aren’t dead yet, while throwing AOEs or Sana-Rae’s groundquake at the mob

4. Drain the Exarch’s power

5. Click the console

After this, you’re going to grapple up to the Exarch!

When you grapple up to the edge of the platform, the Exarch will not see you. You do not have to start the fight right away. I personally prefer to call the repair droid and wait until every single skill, heroic moment, unity and the specialists’ abilities have cooled down. Take a minute or two to get ready.

Overall:

1. Start with a turret right by the entrance to the platform. It may distract the Exarch long enough for you to do some significant damage.

2.You’re going to do best with the Exarchs if you keep moving. The only exception to this is if the Exarch is completely distracted. In the Alderaan and Belsavis videos you can see the Exarch isn’t even looking at Viri and Lana, and isn’t reacting much when Viri and Lana keep attacking.

3. Any skill that requires you to stand still to channel is not the one you want to throw here.

4. Use ranged and AOE skills instead of getting up close and personal.

5. Try to keep your back to the doorway and away from the edges of the platform so you don’t get flung over the edge of the platform by a knockback.

All the Exarchs have a few skills in common:

1. A very wicked knockback. Remember your character is technically on a platform, and you can get flung over the edge, so be mindful about where you stand. I try to keep my characters in the middle or closer to the back of the platform by the door, so when they get thrown they are not going over the edge.

2. Orange exploding circles that deal substantial damage.

3. The ability to disappear during the fight and reappear with a very damaging attack.

4. The windows. As the fight goes along, the Exarch can shatter the windows on the platform. If you stand in the radiation pools, they will deplete your HP. There’s an achievement for killing the Exarch with this radiation, but again, if you’re just going through once for the companion, you might not want to get fancy and try this on your first attempt.

Beyond that, each of the Exarchs is a slightly different flavor of poison.

Voss: Andur Melor

Melor is subjectively the most difficult Exarch to defeat. They have self-heals and attacks that can take your HP down to about 60% in one blow.

Nar Shaddaa: Lesin Tyn

Tyn also has a self-heal, Aviela’s Avarice, but you can interrupt it. They can also be distracted. In Viri’s runthrough, she put down a turret and the Exarch spent half the fight attacking it.

Alderaan: Zar Draya

Once again, the turret was an effective shiny to completely distract the Exarch. Draya calls these “Mental Apparition” ghosts to help, but from what I’ve experienced, they mostly hover around and don’t really do very much. You can one shot them if you’re nearby or completely ignore them. You can see this is a far easier fight than the Voss or Nar Shaddaa battles.

Belsavis: Forta Gair

Again, able to be completely distracted by the shiny turret and Viri and Lana were able to get them down to about 50% HP before they even turned around.

Tatooine: Tarso Gren

Not as much of a pushover as Belsavis, and a great fan of the knockback, but still easier than Voss or Nar Shaddaa.

Hoth: Jom Vanten

More or less on par with Tatooine.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 2, 2021

Exploring Neuromodulation for Dynamic Learning. Daram, A., Yanguas-Gil, A., & Kudithipudi, D. (2020). Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 928.

Cerebellar Theta and Beta Noninvasive Stimulation Rhythms Differentially Influence Episodic Memory versus Semantic Prediction. Dave, S., VanHaerents, S., & Voss, J. L. (2020). Journal of Neuroscience, 40(38), 7300–7310.

Recurrent processes support a cascade of hierarchical decisions. Gwilliams, L., & King, J.-R. (2020). eLife, 9, e56603.

Altered Hippocampal Place Cell Representation and Theta Rhythmicity following Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Harvey, R. E., Berkowitz, L. E., Savage, D. D., Hamilton, D. A., & Clark, B. J. (2020). Current Biology, 30(18), 3556-3569.e5.

Differences in Encoding Strategy as a Potential Explanation for Age-Related Decline in Place Recognition Ability. Hilton, C., Muffato, V., Slattery, T. J., Miellet, S., & Wiener, J. (2020). Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2182.

Rapid hippocampal plasticity supports motor sequence learning. Jacobacci, F., Armony, J. L., Yeffal, A., Lerner, G., Amaro, E., Jovicich, J., … Della-Maggiore, V. (2020). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(38), 23898–23903.

Memory Alone Does Not Account for the Way Rats Learn a Simple Spatial Alternation Task. Kastner, D. B., Gillespie, A. K., Dayan, P., & Frank, L. M. (2020). Journal of Neuroscience, 40(38), 7311–7317.

Capturing Multiple Timescales of Adaptation to Second-Order Statistics With Generalized Linear Models: Gain Scaling and Fractional Differentiation. Latimer, K. W., & Fairhall, A. L. (2020). Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 14, 60.

An Empirical Test of the Role of Value Certainty in Decision Making. Lee, D., & Coricelli, G. (2020). Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 574473.

Pyneal: Open Source Real-Time fMRI Software. MacInnes, J. J., Adcock, R. A., Stocco, A., Prat, C. S., Rao, R. P. N., & Dickerson, K. C. (2020). Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 900.

Monkeys and humans implement causal inference to simultaneously localize auditory and visual stimuli. Mohl, J. T., Pearson, J. M., & Groh, J. M. (2020). Journal of Neurophysiology, 124(3), 715–727.

Representation of the observer’s predicted outcome value in mirror and nonmirror neurons of macaque F5 ventral premotor cortex. Pomper, J. K., Spadacenta, S., Bunjes, F., Arnstein, D., Giese, M. A., & Thier, P. (2020). Journal of Neurophysiology, 124(3), 941–961.

Confluence of Timing and Reward Biases in Perceptual Decision-Making Dynamics. Shinn, M., Ehrlich, D. B., Lee, D., Murray, J. D., & Seo, H. (2020). Journal of Neuroscience, 40(38), 7326–7342.

Surprise Acts as a Reducer of Outcome Value in Human Reinforcement Learning. Sumiya, M., & Katahira, K. (2020). Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14, 852.

Causal Contribution of Awake Post-encoding Processes to Episodic Memory Consolidation. Tambini, A., & D’Esposito, M. (2020). Current Biology, 30(18), 3533-3543.e7.

Claustral Neurons Projecting to Frontal Cortex Mediate Contextual Association of Reward. Terem, A., Gonzales, B. J., Peretz-Rivlin, N., Ashwal-Fluss, R., Bleistein, N., del Mar Reus-Garcia, M., … Citri, A. (2020). Current Biology, 30(18), 3522-3532.e6.

Efficient coding of natural scene statistics predicts discrimination thresholds for grayscale textures. Tesileanu, T., Conte, M. M., Briguglio, J. J., Hermundstad, A. M., Victor, J. D., & Balasubramanian, V. (2020). eLife, 9, e54347.

The Hippocampus Maps Concept Space, Not Feature Space. Theves, S., Fernández, G., & Doeller, C. F. (2020). Journal of Neuroscience, 40(38), 7318–7325.

A Generalized Linear Model of a Navigation Network. Vinepinsky, E., Perchik, S., & Segev, R. (2020). Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 14, 56.

Grip Constancy but Not Perceptual Size Constancy Survives Lesions of Early Visual Cortex. Whitwell, R. L., Sperandio, I., Buckingham, G., Chouinard, P. A., & Goodale, M. A. (2020). Current Biology, 30(18), 3680-3686.e5.