#watchers guide

[vamptvgirl]

[hxtshxpsxt]

I always love the Winchester House investigations because Ryan is shooting Ghost Files but Shane is shooting an after dark Architectural Digest tour talking about beautiful hinges, hallways and Queen Anne style houses

[theminecraftbee]

how to (watch someone) play decked out 2: a brief written guide for the non-tango watchers.

first: go watch tango’s video. it’s succinct—only a little over nine minutes—and contains information I can’t convey in text, such as what the many audio cues of the dungeon will sound like, the symbols on cards, and tango getting obliterated by a warden. also, decked out is his baby, and even if you don’t watch all the development, I recommend you at least watch his how-to!

but, okay. you’re someone who hasn’t watched tango this season. you don’t know anything about decked out, but now your favorite hermit is about to do so many streams and videos playing it, and you want a written explanation. this is the explanation for you!

so what is decked out, anyway? a deck-building, dungeon-crawling, treasure-hunting game, of course!

how do you win decked out? each week is a new phase. the hermit with the most victory tomes in a certain week will win that phase, and earn points based on that. the hermit with the most points after decked out ends wins.

how do you earn those victory tomes? by running the dungeon and collecting artifacts. those artifacts are turned in for frost embers, which can be used to buy victory tomes. they can also be used to buy cards, though, so there's a trade-off inherent to choosing to take points towards victory instead!

how does a dungeon run work? at the start, a hermit will use an item called a frozen shard to "buy" being allowed to run the dungeon. at the start of each week, the hermits will receive five, plus additional shards based on their standing in the previous week. next, the hermit will select the difficulty. after selecting their difficulty, and enter the dungeon, where they will receive a map keeping track of statuses and a compass to lead to their artifact. that artifact can be on one of three levels of the dungeon currently; four levels in the future. the hermit will dodge mobs in order to reach that artifact, attempt to retrieve the artifact, and return to the door that exits the dungeon at the start of level one. if they succeed, they can trade their artifact for frost embers, which are used to either buy cards or victory tomes. if they fail, they get nothing.

what are the threats in the dungeon? the main threats are ravagers, and later wardens. they will kill you easily. however, some sections of the dungeon may also have other mobs, such as spiders, slimes, or drowned. hermits are not allowed to kill mobs in the dungeon, so they must dodge them! additionally, as a hermit plays the game, they accumulate two stats that make the dungeon harder: clank and hazard. clank serves as a time limit to when the dungeon will release vexes; hazard serves to block paths and activate traps throughout the dungeon as you play. both of these stats effectively serve as 'time limits' for how long you can spend in the dungeon.

how does a hermit avoid clank? clank is generated by sculk sensors, and can be tracked by the sound of the heartbeat in the dungeon, as well as by the sculk shrieker noise that plays whenever clank is generated. a hermit can avoid clank by avoiding the locations of sensors throughout the dungeon. additionally, cards can be added to a hermit's deck that generate clank block, which blocks clank after it's generated. the sound of clank being blocked is a high, xylophone sound. finally, a hermit can avoid clank by playing more cards in general, as this will avoid stumble cards. remember, high clank releases the vexes.

how does a hermit avoid hazard? hazard naturally raises on a timer throughout the dungeon, and is represented by a cracking sound. cards can generate hazard block, which blocks the next hazard, represented by a 'magic' sound that plays on top of a crack. high hazard will make the dungeon harder by closing off many paths.

you keep mentioning cards—how do those work? each hermit will have a custom deck of cards. they start with three cards, but can build up more over time. cards have many beneficial effects, and will heavily affect how a given hermit plays the game. broadly, cards go in five categories: cards that drop treasure, cards that drop frost embers, cards that block hazard, cards that block clank, and cards that give additional, miscellaneous buffs. cards are played throughout the run, one at a time in a random order, and then discarded for that run. as they're played, the dungeon will announce the name of the card played, and that card's effects will be visible on the map the hermit carries.

what are stumbles? my hermit didn't add that to their deck. stumbles serve as an additional incentive not to camp in the dungeon. every two minutes, a stumble card is randomly added to a hermit's deck. if drawn, it adds two clank. additionally, some cards shuffle stumbles into a hermit's deck as one of its effects.

what are permanent cards? these are automatically played once at the start of the run instead of being shuffled into the deck. typically, they have effects that will affect the entire run.

what are ethereal cards? these are one-time use cards that are removed from your deck after one use, and not returned to you after your run. these are typically more powerful than normal cards due to their one-time use nature.

how does a hermit get more cards? at the end of a dungeon run, if a hermit is successful, they will enter the frost ember shop. there, if they do not choose to buy victory tomes, they can buy new cards. only one copy of a card can be bought after any given run. the common cards will always be available, but the rest of the shop randomly selects four cards to be available for purchase after each run.

what are frost embers? frost embers are a currency that can be collected in the dungeon. they cannot be carried out of the dungeon, and any left over after the frost ember shop will be discarded. the main way to collect frost embers is by collecting valuable artifacts; the higher the difficulty level, the more frost embers an artifact gives. however, they can also be picked up throughout the dungeon. they only drop in the dungeon after a card that drops them is played.

okay, then what is treasure? treasure is also a currency of the dungeon. it can be traded at a rate of four treasure for one crown in the frost ember shop. crowns, unlike all other dungeon currency, will be carried out with you after runs, and can be saved up over time and spent at the crown shop. this refreshes randomly every two hours outside of the dungeon. additionally, cards that drop treasure in the dungeon also drop keys, which are necessary to get to lower levels of the dungeon.

keys? in difficulty levels higher than the easiest, there is a chance a hermit will have to travel deeper in the dungeon. in order to do this, they must pick up a key at a treasure pickup somewhere in the dungeon and unlock the door to go down a level. keys aren't needed to go back up, though.

can a hermit run the dungeon only to collect treasure and frost embers, without getting an artifact? no. if they exit the dungeon without collecting an artifact, they will not unlock the frost ember shop, and not be able to carry anything out.

why is there a timer between runs? so items that may have been dropped can despawn in order to prevent any hermit from getting an unfair advantage based on what the hermit before them did.

all of this sounds overwhelming. it is, a bit! any hermit's first two or three runs will probably be overwhelming, and it will only be after getting a feel for it that the game grows less so. i recommend watching runs of decked out if you want to understand the game better!

if you have additional questions, let me know, and i'll try to clarify! have fun watching decked out! :D

[vaguely-concerned]

the relationship between the chantry and the mortalitasi in nevarra is SO fucking funny. the carefully politic and civil syncretism of it all. the ‘I’ll refrain from scratching your back to bloody shreds if you refrain from scratching mine :)’. left hand politely averting its eyes from whatever the fuck the right hand is doing merrily up to its elbow in entrails because it usually knows what it’s doing I guess. speak softly, and have an army of the restless dead ready to go banapants horrorshow bonkers if you don’t get to tend to them. We Receive: being able to keep doing our goth thing mostly unimpeded. You receive: us not raising the great majority to protest your unwelcome meddling. render unto the chantry what is the chantry's and unto the watchers what is theirs (or, with all possible courtesy you understand, else…)

[garloc-zoup]

Art I made cause I'm cool like that

27th of July - 3rd of Oct ‼️

[ineffably-poetic]

i’m easily entertained because if you say anything about my favorite media i’ll immediately start screaming and be consumed by my thoughts for hours while i draft about ten fanfics

[solargeist]

grian being the reason xelqua exists and essentially delivering himself into his own fate is interesting to me. Not sure what the long term consequences are to this.

[catboy-miku]

anon3920 you get me

[nicki0kaye]

here we've got Pre-Empire, lower levels hive-rat Sasha Kallus and Good boy Junior Guard Captain Garazeb Orrelios for the @bahrynfestival prompt 'In Another Life'. Zeb characterization and general Lasan HCs courtesy of @sidhebeingbrand

Now, I could be normal and say this is just a 'oh what if these two met before the Empire' thing but I'm far from normal and that's not JUST the story behind this pic. Yeah, they're meeting before the Empire, but there's also a bunch of other nonsense going on. Lemme explain;

Sasha Kallus hasn't felt like a person since inheriting his 'magic'. It's been a quirk of his family for generations, but lucky him, it seems he's been gifted a particularly 'bad' case. Instead of being able to influence the 'magic' in others, like his baba and older brother, Sasha is burdened with generating an overabundance of 'magic' in himself. It sizzles in his veins like a live wire, heightening everything, dialing up his senses, his reflexes, his strength, keeping his mind buzzing all the time, hyper-aware and overly sensitive. Without his brother Tuz there to bridle that magic, Sasha runs the risk of becoming something dangerous, of becoming so overwhelmed, he loses himself and lashes out in a way he can't take back. 

And he hates it. 

He knows he's scaring his family, that there's a 'good reason' Tuz keeps him on such a short 'leash', but Sasha resents it all the same. He wishes he could get rid of his stupid magic. He wishes he could run away and never look back. 

The family trait he knows as 'magic' is unheard of on Coruscant, and it's not quite the same as channeling the Force. Its two distinct flavors, however, are common and even revered on the planet Lasan as a gift of the Ashla. On Lasan, there are Watchers, who see with the Ashla's light, and their Guards, who shield the Watchers and aid them in honing their gifts. 

Junior Guard Captain Garazeb Orrelios is visiting Coruscant as part of his Queen's entourage. Personally, he finds the planet a disturbing, lightless place. Excluding the Jedi in their temple, it feels like no one here has been touched by the Ashla. He was told to expect as much, that there are no Watchers or Guards among humans, but still. It's freaky.  It makes this durasteel hive of a planet feel all the more dead inside. 

Perhaps it's because he's particularly freaked out that, when the faint spark of a Watcher's soul  suddenly appears several levels below them, he's the first to notice. Perhaps it's his disposition–his talent for meshing so well with any unbonded Watcher that might be in need of his aid–that keeps his awareness locked on this stranger, this lost soul. 

No, not lost, there is a Guard's presence keeping the Watcher stable, but. It's too fraught a union to be a healthy bond. The Watcher is in distress. 

Garazeb's duty is to all Watchers, even alien ones hidden in the depths of off-putting city-planets. He asks permission to pursue this stranger, to ensure personally that all is well. 

That's how Garazeb meets Sasha. 

Now, there's one last thing. On Lasan, it's understood that the Ashla has made every Watcher a Guard to compliment and complete them, and every Guard a Watcher, in turn. Bit of a soulmate thing. It's not guaranteed one will find their match, but it's likely and extremely obvious when it happens. Even for a talented Guard like Garazeb who seems to naturally compliment every Watcher he meets, the work of shielding his intended would be frictionless. 

Garazeb has been searching for his Watcher ever since he was small and learned one might be out there waiting on him. He had not expected to find a human, let alone one who considers his Ashla given Sight a curse, has no concept of a 'bonded pair', and has only known a Guard's influence as 'leash' to keep him to heel. 

There's no denying it, though. They meet, and even his superiors can tell the bond is special. Garazeb never, ever expected to forsake his home for the hellscape that is Coruscant, but for his Watcher? He might. Assuming Sasha will let him.

[pocket-watcher]

Hey, I know you mostly do creative writing but do you think you could do a deprogramming/awakening script? I came across this part of the internet accidentally and I'm a little (very) scared of having commands in my brain that could be used against me without my consent. I'd appreciate if you know some way to make sure some of the more intense stuff on here doesn't do laating damage

Hiya friend!! I’m sorry this took so long to get around to, I’m still catching up on my inbox. This is my first time doing any kind of induction or scripting so hopefully this’ll help!!

WARNING: THIS IS AN INDUCTION!! THIS WILL ERASE ANY EXISTING TRIGGERS SET!!

Okay, first things first I need you to get nice and comfortable, in a safe environment where you won’t be disturbed.

All ready? Great!

Now I want you to breathe nice and deeply for me. In and out. Keep breathing deeply as you read on.

When you breathe in you want to be comfortable. Feel the air filling your lungs, holding for a moment, and then letting everything go as you breathe out.

Feel your muscles relaxing, sinking into the surface. You breathe in relaxation, and breathe out any tension you’re holding onto.

In and out.

That’s it.

Your body may move slightly during this, and that’s okay. Just keep your eyes focused on my words and how relaxed you feel.

It’s like the warmth of the sun spreading over you. Starting at your core and travelling down your legs to your toes, up your arms, into your chest and settling in your ears and the top of your head.

It’s comforting.

Like a blanket.

A blanket that dulls any worries. Any thoughts. Anything that isn’t my words.

And my words soothe you into stillness, feeling a rolling wave of warmth.

You’re doing so well for me, but we’re going to go a little deeper into trance.

I’m going to count backwards from 10, and each time you’re going to repeat your breathing but make more of a conscious effort to let go of that last bit of tension and worry within you.

Ready?

You’re at the top of the stairs now, looking at 10 steps below you.

10.

In and out. Feel your shoulders relaxing, someone drawing spirals on your skin to release that tension.

9.

Another step. You’re opening up your chest, your mind, letting the deep breathing flow through you.

8.

Feel that relaxation in your arms and legs, rolling from the top into your fingertips and toes, the negative energy leaving your body.

7.

With each number you step down deeper under my control. You can relax and let me guide you.

6.

As you breathe out you feel peace wash over you.

5.

You’re halfway. You’re doing so well. Keep breathing and letting that tension melt away.

4.

You feel like you’re under a weighted blanket. Comfortable. Secure. Safe.

3.

You’re almost at the bottom now. Feel yourself sinking deeper and deeper.

2.

You’re so relaxed. You feel a pleasant fuzziness washing over you. Your thoughts are so far away, so quiet.

1.

That’s it. Well done, you did so well.

Now you’re going to sink fully under but keep your eyes open and reading when you see the word SLEEP.

SLEEP

Excellent.

Now, your subconscious brain knows all of your trigger words and phrases. What can affect you. What these can make you do.

I want you to imagine your brain like a whiteboard. Each trigger, each phrase, it’s written on the white board.

They each hold power over you. What you think and what you do.

But you don’t want that anymore, do you?

I want you to pick up that eraser, and begin to clear the whiteboard.

Scrub it from corner to corner, and feel those trigger words lose their power. They’re disappearing from your mind. They can’t affect you anymore.

With each letter you erase they lose their hold on your mind. You feel yourself getting lighter, more free.

One by one you feel your arm moving in circles, ensuring the entire whiteboard becomes completely clear.

Those triggers can’t affect you now. Not unless you chose to put them back in place after you finish reading this induction.

They can’t affect you without you allowing them to stay on the whiteboard. Without your consent.

Your whiteboard is clear. The triggers hold no power over you.

You feel yourself being pulled back towards the surface. Towards consciousness.

Coming back up.

1.

Feeling your environment return around you.

2.

The weight and warmth being lifted from your body and mind.

3.

Feeling the need to flex your toes and fingers.

4.

Stretching your back and noticing the feeling returning to your body.

5.

Your awareness returning, your mind coming out of trance.

6.

Breathing in strength and energy, breathing out that warm, sleepy, trance feeling.

7.

Becoming completely aware and alert.

8.

Feeling refreshed and energised.

9.

Almost there.

10.

And you’re fully awake.

This was my first time doing any kind of induction so please let me know if this worked for you at all? If not I can always try again, but I’m interested to see what you guys think and if you found it useful!

[solidaritygaming-fanblog]

"I'm so normal" I say refreshing the tag feed while on my fanblog listening to a song about religious trauma headcanoning the Watchers using gentle touch to make themselves seem trustworthy and safe to Jimmy

Anyway (ignore the tags) he's coded like the lyrical part of Silly Billy :P

[foxofninetales]

Liu Sang Watcher’s Guide - Part 18

Man In the Rain. No, Not That Rain, the Other Rain

Link to part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6  | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Interlude | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |

Season 2 Episode 16

15:00-21:05

i.e., I hope everyone enjoys dim lighting, whoo!

Wu Xie contemplates mortality. That this also involves contemplating a sleeping Liu Sang is the silver lining in a rather depressing cloud.

Look at these little sleeping beans, aren't they cute. Good thing nothing bad will ever happen to them.

Wu Xie sneaks out alone to continue his quest, as if every single person present isn't 100% expecting him to do that.

This is the closest I could get in still image of capturing the stupidly adorable little smile Liu Sang gives as he catches up with Wu Xie - part smugness at Wu Xie's inability to sneak past his hearing, part resigned amusement at Wu Xie himself.

As Liu Sang acknowledges that Wu Xie is in the final stages of his disease, and Wu Xie says he knows he won't be allowed to go alone, the elements oblige with thematically appropriate rainfall.

Wu Xie asks Liu Sang to get the others out safely and not follow him. He pats Liu Sang's shoulder as he leaves, which has approximately the same affect that it would have on a lonely rescue dog.

Liu Sang watches him walk off with the rest of the Iron Triangle and tries to figure out where he went wrong and started Having Emotions.

Bai Haotian wakes up and realizes Wu Xie is gone. Liu Sang looks guilty (and extremely pretty).

…that's right. Break it to her tactfully.

I'm sorry, how am I supposed to pay attention to plot when he's sitting here being this pretty?!?!

23:52-24:34

Liu Sang and the others watch from a distance as Boss Jiao discovers their recently-vacated hideout, right before Hei Xiazi leads Boss Jiao's men away to try to give the others time to escape.

28:26-32:25

It… does not work. Everything is terrible and everyone is bound and on their knees and Hei Xiazi and Liu Sang stare at each other and intently say each others' names. The author would say that this awoke something in her but let's face it, that happened several episodes ago.

If Liu Sang had a dime for every time he is tied up and sees his team-mates taken out in front of him, he would have TWENTY CENTS TOO MUCH. (Good thing they were only SUPERFICIAL WOUNDS and everyone involved is COMPLETELY OKAY at the end of the series.)

At least this time he has a little more leverage, and bargains his cooperation to help find Thunder City for Xiao Bai's life.

The one silver lining is that we get treated to his 'ooooh parceling that new trauma away for later because for right now screw you' expression.

The author just wants to hug everybody, and it's only gonna get worse from here!

Next time: Blood is like drama-mouthwash, right?

Gifset posts from this episode: Man in the Rain by @ohsehuns​

*Please feel free to use any of the screencaptures from these LSWG posts for your own purposes - crediting is appreciated but optional.

[thegreenhordes]

Content Warning: Self Harm, Blood (please inform me if I missed anything.) Only one picture after the cut.

Field Guide to encounters with The Glow, Part 2: Type 2 Infected AKA Watchers Where Growlers are physically aggressive right off the bat, attacking with blind hunger and brute strength, the Watchers are stealth hunters. They enjoy toying with their prey, watching from a distance and following their target, sometimes for days, before striking. And whats' worse? Unlike the Growlers that can be skirted around if you're careful and quiet, the Watchers have fully functioning eyes, often with better eyesight than before infection.

Most Watchers have been observed to see well in the dark, scanning dimly lit or pitch black rooms for a potential meal. On top of their good eyesight and careful hunting strategy, the Watchers consume more than meat, often grazing on grass or hay or fruit if a meaty meal isn't immediately available. On occasion they might outright avoid hunting entirely if they've gone more than two days without consuming part of a natural pony diet. The idea that perhaps the infected isn't entirely gone, mentally, has been posed as a possible cause for this behavior. Behaviors supporting the 'Trapped Ego' Theory, as studied by Princess Twilight and a Colleague after the first Watchers appeared: . Prone to return to areas they once frequented, such as their favorite dining places, shops, or the homes of friends and family. . Vocalizations sometimes resemble attempts at speech, the most common confirmed and recognized words being 'Help', 'Please', and 'Scared'. . Sobbing noises while consuming flesh, or screaming in distress as they attack a victim. . One survivor account describes a Watcher they once knew as their spouse actively protecting them from other infected, before loosing this alleged self-control after two weeks and attacking them. The Survivor later vanished, and was suspected to have been bitten in the aforementioned altercation. The story remains unconfirmed, and no others have come forward with similar tales. Surviving a Watcher: If you find yourself being stalked by or actively attacked by a Watcher, do the following. Stalking procedure: . Avoid traveling familiar routes, mix your schedule up to keep the Watcher in the Stalking Phase for as long as possible. You're stalling for time, so play it smart. . DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT OR LOOK IN THE WATCHER'S DIRECTION FOR MORE THAN FIVE SECONDS. It will assume you are unaware of its presence so long as you don't acknowledge it, once it knows you are aware all bets are off. . Travel in groups of three if possible. You are less likely to be attacked while in another Pony's presence. They are fast and vicious, but they aren't nearly as hardy as Growlers and will avoid a fight if they can. . While this is unpleasant, carry meat with you. It can be used as a temporary distraction and could very well save your life. Active Hunting procedure: . Go for the eyes, this can blind and possibly kill them. . If unable to attack the eyes, do your best to cripple their legs. Watchers can't attack if they can't walk. . Carry long melee weapons such as makeshift spears or staves with you, keeping your distance from their mouth is key and a long-range weapon does wonders for this. . Open spaces are often a death trap with Watchers, try to lure them into an area where you can break line of sight, then run like Tartarus is on your heels. . If you have the luck to be near active settlements or camps with large groups inhabiting them, run and stick with the crowd. This can often break the Attack Phase, as fighting a large group of ponies is something they actively avoid. Have you detected a Watcher in the area, but you haven't been seen yet? Hide, simply hide and stay out of sight until the wheezing and the crying stops. You cannot sneak past a Watcher as easily as you can a Growler, and it isn't recommended you try.

Watchers are solitary hunters, but can sometimes be found in crowds of Growlers, especially when said Growlers are riled up and active. Growlers have a strangely acute perception of the Watchers, and unlike their usual habit of attacking other infected they will actively avoid standing within three feet of a Type 2.

Special Notes: Self harm has been noted among every observed specimen. If left to their own devices Watchers will commit acts of violence against themselves, sometimes with extreme prejudice. The ripping of wings from the body and destruction of horns are two major acts. Why they do this to themselves is not fully understood, but Princess Twilight says it only strengthens her theory of the Trapped Ego.

Due to the fast progression and early signs of violence, first stage infected are to be killed if found in the wild. This has been mandated by Celestia herself, who unfortunately has been personally dealing with an unusually high number of Watchers in the infected zones of Canterlot. Communication is not worth the effort, they are too far gone, it is too late.

is it?

[wildflower-otome]

[smallsinger5901]

11 hours and 14 minutes until the a good girls guide to murder tb show drops on iplayer…

[garloc-zoup]

Take some art, I havent posted some for awhile (blame art block)

Dont mind the large amount of tags..