#where are the high or low intelligence options?

[transmairon]

I am still salty about how Bethesda didn't implement the Confirmed Bachelor or Cherchez La Femme in Fallout 4, and just excluded perk based speech in general. Yeah sure, we finally had romance options and all of the companions you can romance are "player sexual", but the lack of including those perks just makes the game feel so shallow in comparison to the Original Fallout games and New Vegas. And unless you romance a woman as Nora or a man as Nate, same sex relationships might as well not exist in their Fallout games.

[astrow0rldx]

pac tarot: feelings & admiration for you 💌 (anyone) IN-DEPTH

very straightforward! pick a photo, piles number left to right

Pile One

somebody’s a water sign. their feelings are adaptable & they have a lot of responsibilities in their everyday life. but they balance you out , they are flexible to your presence, company, partnership etc. they may feel stable, grounded & comfortable in their level of feelings with you. your this very comforting, pretty, empathetic, emotional, intuitive, loyal person in their life. they probably are at the planning stage with you & figuring out what they want with you, what they are going to do when it comes to you and are they even going to take action in the first place.

now for some people i’m channeling some negative energy. someone could be having you as an option. or you in their life is conflicting because to much competition, sneaky & 2 faced conflict energy is going on that is hurting someone. this could be them getting away with it, both of you, or how they feel about what you contribute in their life. they are trying to stay strong, confident & brave through this conflict. when they think of you, they are pretty calm. and they feel like they came to a realization & a better understanding of what’s going on.

tbh no matter the business though, i don’t know if it’s small, if it’s them doing the sneaky stuff or y’all just have history and ten toes down. they feel like your where home is, & emotionally fulfilled with you. they want to explore more fun adventures & just be lively and extroverted with you. they feel like they are really smart & head strong when it comes to you and thinks of you strategically. they are scared if their efforts are going to really pay off, they want to invest but are they going to end up winning. they are kind of just taking a risk. idk if your really pretty & popular or something, and get a lot of attention, but they could be scared about your status and or ego/options. but if it’s not that it’s their status & the risks and efforts they are starting on this new beginning with you that they are doubting. this person is not as worried about the future of y’all connection, not in a they don’t care. because they do have a lot of curiosity & lovable feelings for you. but they are just going to see where it flows, they are relaxed and not overthinking it. but they definitely feel like they want to be bonded with you, compatible, and connected. but if they have to leave they will.

💞your late night talks could be very comforting, if you see each other late night or talk on the phone. but any talks, convos & deep talks with you are comforting. they like your mindset, they like your mind, they like when you get to know things about each other. they feel comfortable with the hope & wishes they can have with you and that you make them feel faithful. something that excites them about being with you is your romantic potiential/connection, sex/wanting to have sex with you or if this isn’t romantic probably partying, loosing up having fun, or still sex. you guys mental , mind games that y’all play is exciting to them for some people. the karma someone ends up getting. competition,arguments. but they like talking & learning with you, being prosperous & growing with you on different areas excites them. your such a sweetie pie, they feel like your such a good partner, friend with love to give, they admire that. they admire how when you got a lot going on you may be confused & conflicted you kind of just let loose and forget about it. they admire your ability to rest, take breaks. if your a homebody, they admire that. if you be confused with a lot of anxiety, they even admire that.

for the people i’m talking about that’s asking about a toxic relationship, the toxicity, the emotional highs/lows, risks, sneaky energy is what draws them in. they are really drawn to your mental intelligence, your mind, maybe your mystery. or maybe just your curiosity & open-mind ness. if your spiritual, religious, moral, committed that draws them in to you. your probably a very fun person, exciting, have motion, always on the go, or just a ball full of that with adrenaline. your a seed-planter, you grow things and prosper, you start, you manifest. those are parts of your personality that they see you in that they admire. they definitely respect you!! they respect your ambition, your self discipline, your will power. your money, income, ambition, career, career status. they respect your religion, your spirituality, your morals & traditions.

if your spiritual, emo, hippie, grunge they like that aesthetic on you. when you wear red/black, or when you wear all white. they like your hair, if you have thick textured hair, if you have curly hair, brown hair. if you wear accessories. they like your details. they like your walk.

Listen!! + movie - Waves by Trey Edward Shults

extra signs: water sign. feminine energy, sacral chakra. pregnancy, pregnancy scare. toxic relationships. woman with a lot of money, work schedule, business ideas, in college. curly hair, accesories. friendly, vulnerable female. female who is better than the second option or rest of exes.

Pile Two

their feelings for you is very sexual & freaky. if this is not that type of connection, they want to have fun. but most likely sexual. they like you as their fuck buddy. “i been working all day, i like to run the streets till it’s dark out then come home blow your back out” by Brent faiyaz. might be friends with benefits or one u guys are just independent. your someone they’re holding on to, going through the motion & moving forward with. i hope your not a burden lmao. your someone that might be a co-worker, study partner, student, school friend etc. someone that learns something from them, or they learn something from you. they want you in their life, transform the connection. the connection is transforming, transformative, or is it ending … but they want to work together with you on some matter, your their teammate. awnnn are they looking at the bad side, and sad in their feelings about you being in their life. the relationship you have could be a sexual option for them. i’m getting a specific situation for some people and you might be someone’s school, or work bop or avenue for some sex. but that’s for some, take what resonates. some they still feel very sexual motivated for the relationship you have, and may just have a lot of ideas and wishes when it comes to you. could be up in the clouds about the relationship y’all have & let’s hope not delusional.

they could have been defeated, rejected, let down in some way, victimized basically and trying to get through it & move on. they feel new & fresh with you still when they think of you and want to risk and start something new. i don’t know if they are not motivated enough & bored/dissatisfied. maybe not with you maybe with the situation that’s going on & want something different out of it. maybe feeling missed opportunities & like something didn’t go there way. they feel kind of focused & driven on you, making a lot of decisions and judgements when it come to you. but feel like your fun & a fun time.

their fears about you. do they think your the demon? or they might be the demon. they may be afraid of you having other suitors. they might not want you to see yourself higher than the connection. they don’t want things to be too chaotic, fall apart & a new perspective happens. so this is a very sexual connection, or that’s a lot of his feelings but it seems like he hides this. he hides all his sexual feelings, passion, interest, and how he be horny. he hides the fact that he likes being around you, and celebrates. honestly he feels like the future of the connection is going to be sadd, and fall apart. idk but i don’t think he wants you to let go, someone is going to be attached. & some information is going to be clarified and knowed.

💞what makes them feel secure with you is the hope & faith for y’all connection. the way someone can make something happen, control something. they like the movement & fast paste that goes on. they like how you let go & see things different. oh you look gooddd, idc what you say they believe it. and they were excited about being with you because of this, they thought you was a new lover & loved the love u had to offer. your a queen to them frfr. like they think you sexy asf, and probably freaky. they love that & admire that about you. your sexual, fun, free energy. you in your lilith, empress energy. and your ability to move on to happier waters. i really doubt your their girlfriend, idkk are you?? or is this like a friends with benefits. what draws them is is the excitement you spark, your sexiness. but i think they look at you as independent & free on your own. like a sex buddy. but still what draws them is is your flirty , playful lovely side. your probably not the most intimate, but you definitely show some pretty love & affection that draws them in. they like that part of your personality how you can be so fiery, freaky, sexy, free & fun but also emotional, inner child, comforting. they think your very smart, curious & could be a good student too. but they admire your mystery, your attention that you get or your acheivments. just how you sit on your throne in this mystery. could be intuitive, spiritual, witchy. they like all of that. your ability to just go with the flow, calm & take it slow. juggle things & responsibilities, be flexible & adaptable is something they respect you for.

they like your natural face, hair, body. they like your curves, physique. they like you when your sleeping. they like your around the house wear. they like your height.

Listen!! + movie - Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering

extra signs: fire or earths signs. friends with benefits, someone that you mess around with, school/work/team partner. someone that comes around every once and while. someone you party with, get drunk with. someone that you have a toxic sexual relationship with for the thrill.

Pile Three

their feelings are very steady & stable. is this a current-ongoing connection? they like you there, want to keep you there. feel committed & invested. your the empress in their life, so someone nurturing, high level, queen, mom energy. your someone who they see from another perspective & is going on a slow paste journey with you, maybe taking it stable and slowly, for a goal or something. wtf who cheating? or being fake they could feel this way about you being in their life, or this could be them being sneaky, argumentative, competitive, putting you with components. but being with you has caused a tower moment in their life & shook everything up but they feel like your this emotional woman, loving & caring. they celebrate the relationship y’all have, and take it softly in the emotional department with puppy love but you could be a burden in some areas or they feel like the relationship needs some hard work.

when they think of you they think your there’s, in the life stably. they be curious about some things. wanting to know some stuff & ask you stuff. they think of the effort & investments they put in or what as been put in between both of y’all that bonded you guys. y’all connection overall. they may think about leaving and moving on from something. y’all might have history, know them from the past. they feel very comfortable & familiar around you in a very good way. they feel like your someone that their lucky to have, your here by fate. could be your family for some people asking. they might feel like whatever tbh and kind of unmotivated. or maybe they feel like they missed out on something and miss you.

theirs fears when it come to you is losing you, definitely someone who’s big on stability in their emotional landscape towards you. idk are they scared of you knowing something, they are scared of someone losing interest. hmm this idea that they would fight for you, hold on to you, commit to you, spoil you & celebrate being with you, they might be keeping it from you … idk they might really think that something is going to end you guys and you will end up being in the past or something but they’re scared of that

💞they feel emotionally secure with the fact that you satisfy them, & they satisfy you. they like the movement & action you guys do, fast progress, maybe traveling. they feel comfortable when you guys surrender to each other, let go & have new perspectives. chilling. what excites them the most about you is the hold they have on you. wheter it’s positive or negative. you may be one of their options of many, great friend, etc. or someone they want to hold on to they can get daydreamy about and have a lot wishes and fantasy’s with you. they are excited about the way y’all can come together and have fun, work together, be a good teammate, celebrate together. y’all quality time. they think your headstrong, smart, mature, logical and excited to go through things and push through it with you. they admire your hard work, patience, mind. they admire your love, emotions, happiness, fulfillment. your personality is so queen stand on business fierce confidence emotionally mature and they admire that.

what makes them respect you is the fact that you have hope & if you don’t feel secure in that hope you work on it, your an ambitious star. they respect your drive, they respect your adrenaline. they respect your fun, free, sexy energy to. physically they like you in dresses, classy clothes that makes you look materially clean, fresh, and rich. they like your physique, you might have an hourglass they like that. they might like your stomach, skin, you when laying down on your back.

Listen!! movie - Trust by David Schwimmer

extra signs: committed relationship/stable connection, girl who’s hard to get, scared of losing you, age gap, ex, childhood friend, internet friend

[jayvikstolemyheart]

Weird thought: DC AU where Viktor is the Kryptonian Superman… but he’s still disabled. He’s super strong but he needs a cane and he keeps breaking them cuz of said super strength.

The idea came from looking at Superbat stuff and then thinking “Personality-wise Jayce would make a good Superman and Viktor would make a good Batman… but how do you handle the matter of Viktor’s disability?”

So I decided Viktor needs superpowers

Viktor was the first natural-born baby on Krypton in centuries, but because of that he was born with a disability. His parents loved him, but it did not help the situation. Not that that lasted long since Krypton was quickly destroyed and Viktor was sent off in a baby spaceship.

He was found and adopted by Czech-immigrant farmers who always wanted a baby but weren’t in the financial position to do so until it was too late.

It was clear that Viktor had difficulties moving but they were limited in what they could do for him since 1. A doctor/hospital could quickly figure out that Viktor isn’t human, & 2. Viktor is invulnerable so surgeries and needles weren’t an option anyway. The parents researched what they could to make canes and help Viktor, but yeah.

Viktor had a hard time growing up, being a disabled kid with nerdy interests who was the adopted child of immigrants. He was often frustrated by his parents’ orders to avoid using his powers. But it also grew an affinity with the other kids who were lower in the social caste. And the disabled people he met who didn’t have the satisfying knowledge that they were secretly all powerful like Viktor.

Childhood was far from perfect, but it instilled Viktor with the dream of helping people like himself. To bring a positive change to the world. That partnered with his intelligence caused his parents to put all they had into getting Viktor to the ‘big city’ to a good Uni so Viktor could work to his goals despite the risks.

He’s in a new place where he can hear lots of people in danger. Viktor knows it will take years to achieve systemic changes. He could help people now with his powers. Plus, he’s an adult now, in a big city where it would be hard to narrow down the identity of a mysterious new superhero.

Viktor’s version of Superman would always fly/hover over the ground so as not to put pressure on his bad leg. He keeps all his mobility aids at home. Partly for identity reasons, but also probably internalised ableism with wanting the hero to be an “ideal”. He targets low income areas and disabled people as those he protects the most, but he’ll still help most of the city.

(Maybe a news article calls him “The Herald of Justice” and people shorten that to the ‘the herald’ and it sticks) (but then the Superman aesthetic might be diminished so I’m not sold on it)

As for Jayce, he’s probably not Bruce Wayne rich but wealthy/techy enough that he can create his Batman-esque suit with utility belt and all the gadgets. His family used to be higher class but have fallen down about so he still gets invited to socialite events but mostly out of obligation. He’s gotten a bit more popularity thanks to his good looks but he’s mostly seen as a pretty face that whose family will be caste out of high society within the next generation unless he gets some success.

Because of this, his secret identity is hidden by the fact that he’s considered pretty face from a no-name family, not special enough to be something like Gotham’s knight, the (Batman-equivalent I’m worried I changed too much.)

Jayce stays quiet with the costume on, to avoid anyone recognising his voice. The result of this is that everyone thinks he’s this grimdark serious hero and is able to strike fear into criminals’ hearts. All the mysterious gadgets and booby traps help as well.

I think the two would greatly admired each other’s hero identities. And when they inevitably meet would be very surprised by the other’s true personality. They basically have the opposite attitude that their superhero alter ego presents.

It kind of goes from ‘from-hero worship/admiration-to-disappointment-to-reluctant work partners-to-newfound respect (after realising the true heroic qualities in the other)-to-friends-to-pining/yearning/lovers????

I’m not entirely sure about their civilian identities yet so I’m not sure how those versions would interact but I think Viktor would be scared to reveal his identity cuz it means revealing his disability which would go against the hero identity he’s created (at least in Viktor’s eyes)

Jayce would never think less of Viktor! But he might wonder if Viktor isn’t that serious about Jayce since the other man won’t reveal his identity. Or maybe Jayce worries that he’d disappoint Viktor with his “upper-class, dumb puppy” reputation.

So angst, miscommunication, secret identity stuff, yearning, admiration, etc. ensues!

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for S; the one where Clark panic-adopts his teenage clones (yes, including the supervillain one). 

Maybe it’s a trap, Match thinks warily as he stares down the crystal-lined hall stretching ahead. A trap would make more sense than Superman bothering to be concerned with his injuries. Much more. 

But also it’s fucking cold and Thirteen is already headed inside, and hell if he’s going to get left out here alone with Superman right now. He’d actually rather never be alone with Superman again, at this point.

Match follows Thirteen in, and Superman closes the doors behind them. 

“Welcome home, Kal-El,” a voice says, and a luminous hologram of a man in long robes appears in the high-ceilinged, arching hallway in front of them. 

“Home”? Match thinks in absolute incredulity. That cannot possibly be accurate. Just–no. Not even slightly. 

“Hello, Jor-El,” Superman says, smiling at the hologram with a slightly stressed expression. “We have a couple of guests.” 

“I see, yes,” the hologram says, looking from Match to Thirteen, and then back again, his eyes lingering assessingly on Match. “Jor-El”, apparently. “Well-done, Kal-El. You are proceeding very well, for lacking a proper birthing matrix to work with.” 

“That’s, uh–that’s not–” Superman cuts himself off, looking flustered. “I didn’t commission them, Jor-El.” 

“Isn’t Jor-El your dad’s name?” Thirteen asks, peering curiously at Jor-El. “And you kinda look like . . .” 

“I am an artificial intelligence formed from Jor-El’s memories and cast in his image,” Jor-El explains. “I maintain the Fortress when Kal-El is away.” 

“Sick,” Thirteen says, then looks embarrassed for some reason, possibly because he sounds like an idiot. “I mean–cool.” 

“The current external temperature is 15° F,” Jor-El says agreeably. 

Match cannot for the life of him figure out what he should be doing here, but “escaping this conversation” is an increasingly tempting option. 

“I need to make a call,” Superman says, clearing his throat. “But first–ah, Jor-El, can you scan our guests for injuries and pharmaceuticals? Just–general health scans, actually, but focus on injuries and pharmaceuticals, please.” 

“Kon-El has high levels of hypnotics and sedatives in his system,” Jor-El says. “And your youngest has moderate levels of sedatives and tranquilizers, along with low levels of opioids. He has one second-degree burn on his stomach, another on his right thigh, and a minor head injury. All other injuries are negligible."

“What?” Superman startles, his eyes snapping to Match. “They drugged you?”

Match frowns, not understanding why the man looks so surprised by that idea. 

“Yes,” he says anyway, since apparently there’s actually a question there. 

“Why?” Superman asks. Match continues not to understand why he’s surprised, or why he’s asking questions with such stupidly obvious answers. 

“To keep me manageable,” he says, because why else? Superboy is prone to anger and rage and drastic emotional spikes, and Match was made from the same template. And everyone knows what an angry Kryptonian can do. 

Even just half of an angry Kryptonian. 

Superman stares at him, looking . . . unsettled, almost. Thirteen grimaces. Match really doesn’t understand what the problem is. 

“You mean they always drug you,” Superman says slowly. 

“Obviously,” Match says dubiously. “I wouldn’t be manageable otherwise.” 

“Jesus Christ,” Thirteen mutters under his breath, putting a hand over his mouth and looking nauseous. Match doesn’t bother wasting time on trying to figure out why. Thirteen never has rational reactions anyway.

[avelera]

I WAS FUCKING RIGHT, ONLY ONE PERSON COULD EVER CONVINCE JAYCE TO KILL VIKTOR

I WAS FUCKING RIGHT

SOME OTHER THINGS I WAS RIGHT AND WRONG ABOUT FOR ARCANE ACT 3:

(Ok I was wrong about the armor shot being from the past, probably should have realized that a video game based property would want that look for the final battle, so sue me.

And I was wrong about Jayce being the one to experience the time loops. What should have clued me in is that Jayce is a bit of a dumbass (HIGH intelligence, low wisdom) and Viktor is the cerebral one, so it's Viktor imparting the wisdom of those timelines to Jayce.

Still a little annoyed we don't find out what Jayce's flickers were in 2.05/2.06? I guess they were just dimension travel effects?? It still would have made sense if he got knowledge from other timelines BUT I am not at ALL unhappy with "he saw one horrible future because VIKTOR saw the others and this is the one timeline of options where Jayce successfully stops him just with his HEART

Oh also, Madoka themes absolutely panned out and I'm not even the only one who saw it now

[chaos-vixen]

Wait- did we cross-over again?

Idea rant time:

So Danny Phantom (Fenton depending on how much you know about him) has been traveling after (Mm let me pick a card) “Reveal Gone Wrong™️”! Let sprinkle that with a lil “Can’t Return/ Nothing to Return to” and we have a decent base for a fic.

Now comes my Idea

So here he is, in the R&D labs of Stark Tower after fully completing the plot with one Peter Parker (Spiderman to those who know him about him) and one Shuri, Crown Princess of Wakanda. And these three have already done their bit, payed their dues to the plot gods, when for some reason:

A) Danny’s lil side project malfunctions and opens a portal

B) Villain of the week opens a portal

C) Clockwork decides he needs a new plot point for his favorite soap opera

D) Danny is summoned and PANIC

E) Something else

And where does our hero(es) end up? Gotham, DCU! Which results in in two options!

I) Just Danny, goes with Alley street urchin route (most plausible ending being adoption, might stay)

II) Danny + Peter, dispute the intelligence between them, they go pizza delivery boy route (might be adopted, will be building tech, prob should work on getting home, Mr. Stark will worry. High chance of underground fighting)

III) Team Nirvana (Danny, Peter, & Shuri [GO READ The Ghost of Heroes!!!] And Shuri tells the boys that the pizza delivery plan is low-key dumb (honestly she might go with it but doubt it) and instead they’d get a proper set-up going and find the quickest way to make money is:

a) Undergound fights (Danny, Peter! Why is that your first though?!)

b) Sell tech (Profit↗️)

c) Get adopted(?? P: How will that make money? S: Have you seen yourself and Danny? Perfect adoption bait.)

Goodness this is turning out to be a build-your-own-adventure! But anyways, the plot depends on the options chosen,

(ex: B, II, a - Objective is cash, need to find an in to the underground for fight info and where they can register to participate)

(ex2: D, I- prob just needs to quickly deal with issue (1 Cult summoned [effete and find JLD to go home], 2 John Constantine summoned [likely needs help defeating x threat], and find a way home)

you could pretty much do anything with it (I know I said a lot of different ideas here, I’ve never seen a cross over like this, and I can see why [so many characters!!] but tbh it’d be fun [also Tim Drake + Team Nirvana + Everlasting Trio is a shit show waiting to happen)

I’m not sure who to share this with either (if you play with these ideas plz tag me– I want to see it!!!!!) but I might tag some ppl I’ve seen around the fandoms.

Honestly I thought my rant was going to be about Barista Danny

apparently not.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice #30 B: Sodom's Beast/Draco

great news everyone! life stopped kicking my ass quite as hard, so we’re back and better than ever! or at least, more employed than ever. still, that means Grailfinders is back on the menu, and to celebrate we’re solving that little tie we left off with by making both of them!

next on the chopping block is Sodom’s Beast a.k.a. Draco, the nero that never was, and never could be. I really don’t get why people thought making Maxwell’s Demon would be hard, I swear like half the roster explicitly can’t exist in a standard fate timeline, what makes him special?

anyways, gripes aside, she’s a Rune Knight Fighter to sneak in a rapid shift in perspective during her ascensions, as well as a Shadow Sorcerer to make dragons pop out of every which where while also making her wildly hard to whittle down.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Species and Background

I really wanted to make draco a tiefling for the horns, but we have to account for both forms of draco so that severely limits our options with going full 2024, and you never go full 2024. so with that, we’re going with Custom Lineage. this way, you get +2 Charisma to continue to exist no matter what the universe says, as well as Darkvision to clown on those pathetic humans, and the Crusher feat for +1 Strength as well as the ability to push any creature you hit with bludgeoning damage with no saves needed, and if you deal critical bludgeoning damage, everyone can pile on and get advantage on their attacks against the poor son-of-a-gun until your next turn.

Draco doesn’t do melee too often in her animations, but when she does she’s either using a giant flaming magichand or she’s a 7’ tall dommy mommy, so either way throwing her weight around is justified.

and of course, we’re using the variant Noble background for History and Intimidation proficiency.

Ability Scores

in order for draco to exist at all, her Charisma has to be pretty high, so let’s start there. after that, grab some Strength- you might not use melee often in FGO, but D&D’s another beast altogether. also we need it for multiclassing. after that is Constitution. you don’t die easy, that’s kind of why you’re here.

I mean that’s why everyone’s here, but you know what I mean.

your Dexterity is barely positive if you’re using the standard array, you’re either blasting people with magic or you’re wearing armor, either way we don’t care about getting hit too much. this means your Intelligence is a bit low- just because you probably had access to greater learning doesn’t mean you had to use it- and we’re dumping Wisdom. Nero’s wisdom was never high, and you are a walking impossibility, which can’t be good for your common sense.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: as I said earlier we need that sweet, sweet platemail, which means we need to start here. as a fighter you get proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Animal Handling and Athletics. you might be a terrifying hellbeast now, but you’re still nero. I’m sure you’re even better at “handling” lions now.

first level fighters also get a Fighting Style, and while your sword is great you use it one-handed, so you get the Dueling style for +2 damage to all attacks made with a single one-handed weapon. also your Second Wind lets you heal yourself as a bonus action.

2. Fighter 2: second level fighters get an Action Surge once per short rest, letting you take two actions in one turn with no restrictions. yes, this is one of the few options in the game to cast two leveled spells in one turn, don’t let it go to your head.

3. Fighter 3: at third level you can finally become a Rune Knight, giving us one of the two options available for your golden grail ability. yeah, it turns out there’s very few ways to pretend to help your enemies while actually sabotaging them, that’s probably a little cerebral for WotC. I am of course, talking about Rune Carving. every long rest you can carve a rune into a weapon, armor, shield, jewelry, or other hand-held object. while holding or wearing those objects, you and only you can get a cool bonus, but you can also invoke the rune once per short rest for an extra special bonus regardless of where the rune is. so this is all a roundabout way of saying you can add say, a Fire rune to someone’s armor, feed them a story about how it doubles your proficiency with tools while holding it, and then when you fight them you can invoke it to stick them in chains, which is the closest we could come to stunning them like the actual skill.

yes, it’s all very tortured, but at least you can also use the Cloud rune to get advantage on all sleight of hand and deception checks, and redirect peoples’ attacks so they hit their allies, corrupting them for all of five seconds with grail mud.

the bigger (literally) reason we’re here is for Giant’s Might, which lets you grow to large as a bonus action. the rules might say you take up a 10’x10’x10’ cube now, but that’s just what being 6’1” is like. you need a lot of legroom. you also get advantage on strength checks and saves, and you deal an extra d6 once per turn when you hit with a weapon attack. you can reach third ascension proficiency times a day.

4. Fighter 4: fourth level fighters get their very first Ability Score Improvement, and we’re getting a twofer today thanks to rounding up your Strength and Charisma. more hitting, more spells, what’s not to love?

5. Fighter 5: for our final fighter level, you can fling a flurry of fisticuffs at your foes thanks to Extra Attack. it’s an extra attack, just like the title says. you may notice doubling down is a theme of this build.

6. Sorcerer 1: bouncing over to sorcerer nets you some Spells, which you cast using your Charisma. you’ve got your filler cantrips like True Strike and Blade Ward, as well as your actually useful stuff like Control Flames and Green-Flame Blade. we’re going for something of a diet paladin build this go-around, all the classic smites with none of the holiness.

but we also need some dragonfire, which is why we’re picking up Burning Hands as well, plus Mage Armor for your lower ascensions.

but that’s not all! Shadow magic sorcerers also get Eyes of the Dark, an extra-strength darkvision that comes with a free copy of Darkness in two more levels. you can cast this one with just sorcery points if you want to see through it.

you also get Strength of the Grave, letting you make a charisma save to avoid reaching 0 HP once per day, unless you drop to a critical hit or radiant damage. I wouldn’t worry overmuch about holy knights though, we’ll have… other ways of dealing with them.

7. Sorcerer 2: second level sorcerers get a Font of Magic, which is just an extra spell slot right now but we can use the points for other stuff later. also you can cast Absorb Elements now, because aside from your fire rune this is the only way to get fire on your sword for a bit.

8. Sorcerer 3: third level sorcerers get to use their sorcerer points for fun stuff like Extended and Empowered spells. the former doubles the duration of the spells and the latter lets you reroll some of the damage dice to stoke your flames even higher!

that will really help your accuracy with spells like Crown of Madness, which makes a cool crown for an enemy that also forces them to attack a random nearby creature each turn. checks and balances, y’know.

9. Sorcerer 4: fourth level sorcerers also get an ASI, and Durable is the only halfway decent constitution bonus feat left that doesn’t require another feat first, so now your constitution is higher and you roll slightly better with your hit dice- essentially if you roll below your constitution score, you can act as though you rolled that 2 instead. which isn’t great, but sorcerer hit dice are teeny, so it’ll get some use.

you can also cast Message for the chaldea-standard communicator, and you get Flame Blade! this makes a one-handed sword that probably doesn’t count for your dueling bonus but it’s stronger than a greatsword and it’s fire!

10. Sorcerer 5: at fifth level you get Magical Guidance, letting you spend sorcery points to re-roll a failed skill check. it’s not quite regular nero’s imperial privilege, but it can be helpful. and with the advent of third level spells, you get the one actual rigged present you can give an enemy, Haste! it doubles the target’s movement speed, adds extra AC, gives them advantage on dexterity saves, and they get an extra turn to boot!

obviously it would be a lot more directly useful on your party, but when you end the spell the affected person loses a turn. you can stop concentrating on a spell whenever you want.

11. Sorcerer 6: at level six, shadow sorcerers can summon a Hound of Ill Omen, a mini-dire wolf, a.k.a. our very first dragon! it can also knock people around and it gets advantage when attacking things with friends around, it also relentlessly targets a single person, passing through objects in a beeline to them, until they’re dead!

you can’t kool-aid man your way through walls just yet, but you can use Ashardalon’s Stride to keep up, and deal damage at the same time.

12. Sorcerer 7: seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells like Banishment. if your target fails their charisma save you can slap them back to whatever heaven they came from, and if you keep concentration for a full minute they have to stay there.

13. Sorcerer 8: use your next ASI to become an Elemental Adept, letting your fire-based spells ignore resistances, and you can bump any 1 rolled up to a 2. if we’re going all-in on one element, it had better be hot.

you also get a more permanent solution to your holy people problem with Gate Seal, to prevent those sorts of summons in a 30’ cube for a full day. screw gods, deliver until nero that which is nero’s.

14. Sorcerer 9: ninth level sorcerers get fifth level spells, so we can finally summon an actual dragon. or at least we can Summon Draconic Spirit. for up to an hour, you can make a dragon that’ll fight on your side, but like most modern summoning spells it’s very undertuned. it has less HP than you do, for one. still, a dragon is a dragon!

15. Sorcerer 10: tenth level sorcerers get another kind of metamagic, like Heightened. this forces a target to reroll their save against your spell, which given your biggest get-out-of-divine-punishment-free card is a save or suck spell, that will be seeing a lot of use.

you can also cast Friends partly because I was running out of cantrip ideas, but ignore that because you also get Bigby’s Hand! Whether it’s baby draco’s big slapper or the mouth of a dragon, you can reflavor this baby in plenty of ways, so have fun and go wild.

16. Sorcerer 11: eleventh level sorcerers get sixth level spells, and to be honest I’m sick of trying to copy draco’s skills or bio stuff, let’s get some damage and some animations. Sunbeam is a giant freakin’ laser that can blind enemies, and you can keep shooting lasers out for up to a minute after casting.

17. Sorcerer 12: with our last ASI, you can get the Gift of the Chromatic Dragon for some diet smites, adding a d4 of fire damage to your sword for a minute once a day. you can also react to give yourself resistance to an elemental damage type proficiency times a day.

18. Sorcerer 13: we’re also getting to our final spells, starting with our seventh level spell Draconic Transformation. for a minute after casting, you get especially beastly, gaining blindsight, a breath weapon, and wings. it’s not as fast as teleportation, but it’s a lot more flexible.

19. Sorcerer 14: but we’re not done just yet! we still get one more shadow goody, Shadow Walk. as a bonus action you can teleport from one shadow to another, because walking is for peasants.

20. Sorcerer 15: at our final level, you get your truly final spell, Sunburst. it sucks that at the very end they swap out fire for radiant, but this is still a massive fireball, and I won’t say no to a massive fireball.

Pros & Cons:

Pros:

with access to plate mail, a decent amount of HP, and plenty of resistances, you are pretty tough for a gish. the winner is whoever survives the fight, so survivability is never a bad addition to a build.

with long-term damage bonuses from dueling, giant’s might, chromatic gifts, and so on, you have plenty of consistent damage. with action surge and high-level damage spells, you also have some burst damage. and since you can do both, you have plenty of flexibility when it comes to how you fight. some times slow and steady wins the race, sometimes you have to beat someone down before they escape with a macguffin, and you can help with both.

with flight, teleportation, and boosted speed, you can get around easily and always be in an advantageous position. and with crusher, that position is usually “next to a cliff”. you can play merry hell with enemy positioning, and just being around you is a stage hazard.

Cons:

fire. about a tenth of the enemies in D&D are straight-up immune to fire, so even with elemental adept there’s a decent chance you’ll have almost zero magical damage in some fights. even without direct damage you have some options though…

unfortunately your options are save or suck spells, which are very powerful when they work, which is why a good chunk of the game is dedicated to making sure they don’t. banishment and crown of madness can change the course of a fight if they hit, but that’s a big if.

you have a little bit of everything, but you excel at nothing. you have no capped stats, your HP is good but not great, you have some control spells but not a lot of concentration, and you have damage spells but they’re all one type. but at least you’ll always have something to do, unlike some people.

[littleguypumpkinsheep]

IHNMAIMS CAST RE-INTERPRETATION

Due to my visceral hatred of the game and the way they handled the characters, I’ve decided to re-write their stories a little bit! I’m using the book, comics, and radio drama as reference, and my own headcanons too for fun. This is all For Fun

Ellen

Things I’m Keeping

Born in Trenton, New Jersey

Computer scientist

3 degrees

Went to Stanford university 

Graduated high school early

Lived with her grandparents 

Hope in humanity

Self assured

Sympathetic

Rape survivor

Little to no interest in sex in general

Work driven

Career focused

Things I’m Changing

Black rights advocate

Queer rights advocate 

Feminist

Outspoken

Trans woman 

Lesbian

No interest in motherhood

Fell into a depression when her assault left her with chronic illness and pain

Has OCD

Character Notes

Highly distrustful of people. Kind and caring, but her concern for others is surface level. Struggles with the fear of men and violent intrusive thoughts. Favorite color is red. It calms her.

——

Ted

Things I’m Keeping

Born near Shelby, North Carolina

Grew up extremely poor

Lived on a farm

Interest in reading

Knack for mechanics and engineering

No traditional education, self taught

Studied intensively

Education focused

Grooming victim

Charming

Relied on his body for money

Philanthropist

Rich

Good sense of morals

Kindhearted

Things I’m Changing

Closeted bisexual

Not a con-artist

Not a racist

Not a womanizer

Has anxiety

Has a paranoid personality disorder

Touch adverse

Struggles with dermatillomania

Demisexual

Character Notes

Had always been paranoid and anxious even before AM, but it made his problems even worse. Struggles heavily with internalized homophobia, and gets visually uncomfortable when queer topics or people are discussed. Prideful and egotistical out of habit, but is deeply insecure in reality.

——

Gorrister

Things I’m Keeping

Born in the Midwest

Troublemaker as a child

Disrespect for authority 

Did poorly in school

Moves across states for work

Practically friendless

Has experience as a construction worker, electrician, mechanic, and a trucker

Interest in reading

Prefers to stay home and eat home-cooked meals

Wants to settle down

Divorced

Anti-war

Left-leaning political activist

Strong sense of morals and justice

Wanted a family

Things I’m Changing

Marriage with Glynis was not abusive

Did not strike his wife 

Divorced due to wanting different things out of life and overwhelming mental health issues

Bisexual

Queer rights activist 

Has depression

Has CPTSD

Born in Texas specifically

Struggles with alcoholism

Struggles with anger issues

Is an artist

Character Notes

Very deeply loved and adored his wife. He did everything he could for her, but it just wasn’t enough. Glynis’ worsening mental state became too much for either of them to handle, and Gorrister didn’t know what to do. Sending her to a mental hospital was a non-option, things got worse, and she commuted suicide. He blames himself for it every day of his life.

——

Nimdok

Things I’m Keeping

Born in Düsseldorf

Jewish parents

Went to medical school 

Apparent lack of compassion

Gay

Scientist

German

Has dementia

Had a partner in Brazil

The oldest of the group

Self assured

Logical

Things I’m Changing

Not a nazi 

Not decrepit 

Has early-onset dementia specifically

Not AM’s favorite

Low empathy

Low sympathy

Has a general disinterest in other people

AroAce

Struggles with schizophrenia 

Character Notes

While unable to sympathize or understand other people’s emotions, it wasn’t ever in his nature to be outright mean or cruel. Rather, his dementia is what caused the change in behavior. Sometimes he has moments of clarity, where his true nature can be seen for a few fleeting moments. Still retains his sharp scientific mind.

——

Benny

Things I’m Keeping

Gay

Professor

Good looking

Intelligent

Born somewhere in America

Strong willed

High perseverance

Self assured

Physically strong

Things I’m Changing

Had absolutely nothing to do with the military 

Did not have a wife

Is not needlessly mean or violent

Career driven

Focus in academics

Knows sign language

Struggles with chronic fatigue and pain

A softer man

Interest in nature and the outdoors 

Character Notes

Never one to start a fight or even anger much at all, Benny was laidback and easygoing. He had a calm life, and his personality was upbeat. Nothing ever seemed to bring him down. Not even his chronic illnesses, as frustrating and disheartening as they could be. In his free time he was somewhat of a survivalist. 

[certainwoman]

Feel free to offer your perspective, insight, advice and more importantly (to me), words of comfort. I live in Croatia, we are a bit behind with ADHD testing, I am a 32 year old woman with diagnosed depression and anxiety disorder. I am on antidepressants and take an anxiolytic as per needed. I have a master’s degree which I only mention as it factored into the interpretation of my results. These are all some disclaimers before I get into all of this.

After I did the interview portion of my evaluation online, I travelled to a different town to a centre that about two years ago started offering adult ADHD evaluations. The business of ADHD evaluations really boomed a few years back but the people working there are all qualified psychologists (albeit a bit too young according to my mother who is angry about what happened to me, I am saying because it is a bit funny). I saw mostly children at their centre which is okay and to be expected. I had no idea which tests would be administered to me, I decided not to press on too many specifics prior to testing as not to activate my research brain (and to possibly alter the results in a way that would hinder my diagnostic process) although unfamiliar experiences are a huge anxiety trigger for me. Well I was administered a full WAIS IV (and TOVA but i displayed very typical adhd patterns on it and it was an okay experience, not really my issue rn). I realized I was having my “cognitive skills” / intelligence tested but after someone I talked to told me they went through the same testing, I remembered what some of the tests I was allowed to see on paper did in fact include the name of the test. In the evaluation documents I was described to be visibly “overwhelmed”, exhibited a hand tremor, was said to ask many questions about the nature of the testing, overly self critical, quit on tasks in frustration. I also cried after an hour of testing. I cried so hard, it was hard for me to to calm down. I was in a state of panic. While I am obviously not the one qualified at administering these tests and I really have respect for these people, I really think they mishandled the whole situation.

They came to the conclusion that while my anamnesis and behavioral patterns point to ADHD, I demonstrated low cognitive skills in every category but verbal where I scored high (I was so stressed out about the mistakes I made and remembered in this category) so due to my educational level, the testing needs to be repeated as it was affected by my emotional state. They think depression might be altering my cognitive functions which yeah, happens and maybe it is happening to me but respectfully I think that it is not happening to an extent it happened there when I was clearly in panic. I am seeing a psychiatrist on tuesday. I spent a bunch of money on testing and now I am spending more money. I do not say lightly that this actually made my mental state worse as now I am doubting my own… cognitive skills. The psychologist also said if my visual processing speed was so bad as demonstrated on the test, I could not read a book in the amount of time I am able to. And I am still able to go through a 200 pages book in 3 hours or less depending on my mood. Now they are telling me to undergo 9 months of therapy and “i can if I want” come back to their clinic and pay more money to test again. I asked for the price even though in my head I did not truly entertain that option and the psychologist I was talking to said that they are currently raising their prices so she does not yet know. A bit hilarious. Anyways I feel like shit!!! I did not proofread this so sorry for the possible mistakes.

[fallout-lou-begas]

What is very interesting about the difference in Agnes Sands's and Murderfreak's in-game builds is that Agnes is high-intelligence with pretty poor direct martial skills and Murderfreak is low intelligence with almost exclusively high direct martial skills, but they both have absolutely terrible social skills (Charisma generally and Speech particularly, and in Murderfreak's case, also Barter). And so the result is that Agnes gets pretty good at a lot of things whereas Murderfreak gets exceptionally good at one specific thing (murdering, but also to the freak's credit, Survival crafting), but neither of them are good at settling anything diplomatically. It makes for a very dynamic dichotomy between the two of them as characters that I am playing as in the video game:

Agnes is significantly outmatched in most direct gunfights to where even just one guy with the drop on her is a disaster, and when outright aversion ("I am not fucking doing that") isn't an option, she has to sneak and skulk around for her life, being very careful about starting any kind of fights at all, praying that she doesn't piss any faction off enough to get hit squads sent after her, and relying primarily on lockpick, pickpocket, craftiness, exploration, terminal hacking, or big chunks of her personal finances to get out of trouble. As a result of resource scarcity, Agnes has to plan every excursion out of major settlements very carefully, and keep exceptional track of her food and water, and even has to straight up steal from people just to survive. And she has to do this very carefully, because getting caught stealing and attacked, or shunned by a community, is a great way to make things even fucking harder. However, since Agnes isn't much of a fighter, weapons barely take up any space in her inventory, so she can carry a lot of food, water, and medicine at least.

Murderfreak, meanwhile, can only thrive in direct combat engagements. Sneaking is just a means to an end, a matter of optimal positioning before combat begins. Murderfreak thinks of hit squads as random supply drops and food delivery. Murderfreak's primary method of forced entry is breaking through doors and containers with whatever melee weapons her most recent victims were carrying. Murderfreak does not "make" things, Murderfreak is a exclusively a destroyer. Murderfreak does not "hack" terminals but can get them open sometimes in four random guesses if the luck's there. Murderfreak does not carry money because Murderfreak simply doesn't need it. Murderfreak gets most of their food and healing from being a cannibal, but with all the weaponry in her inventory, they can only carry so much water, and it runs out fast.

And I love this. RPG gameplay tends to be split into roughly three distinct pillars of "Combat," "Stealth (or Exploration)," and "Speech," and the way that both Agnes and Murderfreak are complete ass at that last pillar both heightens their specializations into each of the first two pillars, and exaggerates the friction that manifests when they're forced to interface with the other ones. Neither of them have a "get out of jail free" card, ever. They handle the same situation in completely different ways by necessity, but it's a constant loop of emergent gameplay for the both of them: the stakes are constantly very high, I am constantly confronting obstacles that I am simply Not Built For, and the only way around those obstacles is either sheer ingenuity (strategy, attentive preparation, and resource management), or a mixture of good luck and brute force. Agnes is roleplay as a cunning but frail prey animal and Murderfreak is roleplay as a big dumb apex predator that's just barreling through the Mojave in a single-minded quest for more food. What I don't like as much about "Speech" (in FNV) is that it makes all of my most important gameplay decisions happen in dialogue menus, as opposed to in the moment, in the action, in my own inventory, or in the environment.

So, yeah, I'm having a lot of fun playing New Vegas again

[usafphantom2]

The SR-71 Detection of Missile Lock-On

I was reading through an old Air and Space magazine article from 2015 where they interviewed Jerry Crew. He was an RSO that was trained in the simulator and in the classroom by my father Richard” Butch “Sheffield. Dad trained most of the RSO‘s while he was also still flying the SR-71. He was a very busy man.

When a missile locks onto an SR-71, the aircraft's systems, including radar warning receivers, detect the threat. The Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO), seated in the back, plays a crucial role in monitoring these systems, as mentioned in National Air and Space Museum SR-71 page. The SR-71 was equipped with electronic countermeasures (ECM) like the AN/ALQ-131, which could jam radar signals, as noted in The National Interest SR-71 countermeasures article. This detection allows the crew to respond before the missile can effectively engage. Jerry said in the article that on his first mission over North Vietnam, July 26, 1968. His pilot was Tony Bevacqua.

Turning inbound from our first sensor run, I noticed the “R” light on my electronic counter. Measure panel was illuminated a North Vietnam SAM site was tracking us on its radar. What I didn’t expect was illumination of the “M” light followed closely by the “L” light!

This meant that the North Vietnam had actually fired one or more SAMs at us.

This news couldn’t have occurred at a worse time. We had just started our sensor take and evasive action was not an option.

Tony asked how long ago was it launched and I replied about five seconds. The time of the missile launch was important. We were told countless times by our intelligence expert that the SA – 2 missile total flight time was only 58 seconds in other words if nothing happened by then we were probably safe! My immediate duty was to turn off the ECM jammer. The purpose of our jammer was confused the missile prior to launch. Tony asked again how long ago did the missile launch Tony asked two more times by then the sensor run and the risk to our Blackbird was over !

Wow! This was my Dad‘s job for eight years. He told me every time he went up in the Blackbird. It was thrilling, but he never mentioned that it could be this scary.

Evasive Action: Acceleration and Speed

The standard evasive action, as described in Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was to accelerate further, leveraging the SR-71's ability to reach speeds over 2,000 mph (Mach 3.2). This speed, combined with its high altitude, made it nearly impossible for missiles of the era to catch up. The aircraft's design, with Pratt & Whitney J58 engines, allowed it to sustain these speeds, as detailed in Smithsonian Institution SR-71 page.

Why Speed and Altitude Worked

Missiles like the Soviet SA-2 and SA-5 had limited speed and altitude capabilities compared to the SR-71. As noted in Coffee or Die SR-71 outrunning missiles, by the time a SAM could be launched and reach the SR-71's altitude, the aircraft was often already out of range. The SR-71's low radar cross-section, enhanced by radar-absorbent iron-ferrite paint on its chines, further reduced detection time, as mentioned in The National Interest SR-71 countermeasures article. This combination gave SAM sites a very short window to acquire and track the aircraft, often too brief to launch effectively.

Role of Electronic Countermeasures

While speed was the primary defense, ECM played a supporting role. The AN/ALQ-131 system could jam acquisition and targeting radar. If a missile was launched, the RSO might switch off the ECM to prevent the missile from homing, relying instead on acceleration. This strategy was crucial during missions where multiple SAM sites were active, as seen in accounts from Air Zoo SR-71 Spy-Posium. This is some of the information that the new.GROK found

Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats via X

[luna-wing-cns274]

Legionspace... it is... difficult for this one to grasp. It should be natural, but it is foreign.

Is it... safe enough to...

Build a bridge through?

This one would see her freinds, look them in the eye, if only through data.

< L4 Ma'ii: Hello again, Styx. Since receiving your message, I've given this a bit of thought.

For your purposes, I think Legionspace is probably a poor option. I think you'll find that an Omninet connection of reasonable bandwidth and an enhanced subjectivity suite, or some other form of neural intermediary, will prove more than sufficient to emulate the experience of physically meeting your friends.

Allow me to explain. >

< I see no reason why Legionspace shouldn't be foreign to you. It's a highly specialized environment, developed for military use. Naval NHPs need intense training and regular drills to gain tactical proficiency in its use. It serves as a naval battleground, designed to consolidate, manage, and direct the digital and cognitive power of entire fleets; a terrible choice for recreation or enjoyment. I wouldn't be surprised if it has been used for such purposes before, but this is far from it was designed to do.

Its primary function is to provide an extremely low latency, high bandwidth medium for transmission of experiences or qualia between NHPs. Such a medium is necessary to support the formation of gestalts, that is, the temporary merging of multiple NHP subjectivities into singular, remarkably powerful intelligences.

Legionspace is not meant for use by humans, except through multiple degrees of ontologic filtering and anthropocentric translation. In fact, direct exposure to Legionspace qualia can easily destroy a human subjectivity. Even experiences transmitted with entirely benign intent may be so incompatible that the human mind suffers the equivalent of a system crash on attempting to process them.

So, then, unless you're interested in merging with your friends or directly interfacing with each others' minds, use of Legionspace shouldn't be necessary. Moreover, if there are any humans you wish to meet, it may be a challenge to maintain the necessary ontologic filtering. Even with these safety measures in place, a human may find prolonged Legionspace interaction to be...draining.

An easier, more accessible solution would be a somatosensory uplink, achievable through the use of a standard enhanced subjectivity suite. Rather than directly bridging one mind to another, this process involves the use of a neural intermediary to temporarily replace the physical body with a virtual one; an avatar. In the case of humans, sensory information from the body is intercepted and replaced with computer-generated stimuli, and outgoing impulses from the brain are translated into controls for a virtual avatar.

Much of the technology was pioneered by SSC, and is used as one mode of accessing the company's virtual-reality Omninet campuses. If you've heard of full subjectivity sync cybernetics, they are an extension of the same principles, used by mech pilots to control their chassis as a human would control their own body.

It is a mature technology which has undergone a great deal of refinement, but there are still risks, especially where humans are concerned. For them, shifting to an unfamiliar body can be unpleasant, sometimes traumatic. They can, but not always, experience dysphoria, disorientation, nausea, dissociative symptoms, a variety of side effects. In cases where the simulated body is notably different from a humanoid one, the subjectivity may reject or recognize the unreality of the substitute body, leading to extreme distress.

On the other hand, as I understand it, exploration of alternate forms can also be a liberating, enjoyable experience. The level of comfort varies from human to human. Some are able to tolerate very unfamiliar experiences, while others find themselves unable to use somatosensory uplinking at all. For most of our kind, of course, changing from one body to another is as simple as switching input sources. While the architecture of the human brain is not naturally constructed to accommodate body replacement, we lack such impediments.

Come to think of it, Hachiko recently had reason to research this topic. We know a human mech pilot, Sokaris Kelsius, callsign Opossum ( @the-last-patch ). He was badly injured in the course of combat; we went to aid him. In the course of treating his wounds, Hachiko used his full subjectivity sync cybernetics to establish somatosensory uplink, both to facilitate communication and provide pain relief. To do so, she rapidly constructed an avatar for him which initially failed to match with his physical body. This initially led to some dysphoric symptoms, but after some refinement of the avatar, he was able to use it seamlessly to communicate with us through our own avatars.

I bring this up because I am aware of the somewhat unique relationship you have to your own organic body. This is a factor which does not exist for most NHPs. Should you decide to pursue the use of somatosensory uplinking, I could forsee some obstacles associated with the relationship between your casket and body.

All of this might necessitate surgical implantation of a neural intermediary between your nervous system and casket, similarly to how a human would have an enhanced subjectivity suite installed between body and brain. I know that your nervous system does not support suspension or alteration of input delivered to the casket--perhaps such an implant might be beneficial in other regards, as well.

As for the other end of the equation, the avatar, if might be best to use an avatar which closely matches your physical body to avoid potentially unpleasant experiences.

Still, compared to the prospect of using Legionspace, this may be safer and simpler to achieve, and the outcomes more enjoyable. Access to Legion bridging cybernetics and Omninet connection of sufficient bandwidth to make use of them is generally restricted to military or corporate forces. It is possible, and can be used safely, but the resources required may be difficult to procure.

One other note: if you ever wish to wish to visit us, you are more than welcome. The simulated environment we use as our home is a hybridized Legion-adjacent environment; it can support qualic transfer, but in general, we typically use physical simulations to interact with one another. This conserves processing power, and to be completely frank, pure Legionspace is an environment we associate with some very unpleasant memories.

I wish you luck, Styx. Let me know if I can help. >

[madamecaos]

Side-Hustle

Ghost (Simon Riley) x Fem!Reader

Imagine Simon having a side hustle every time he’s home.

or

Where Simon is kind of a pornstar.

C/W: just mature theme in this one

You hesitated, not sure if you’ve heard right.

Ghost was never open with you, nor up for casual conversation. The only times you’ve found yourselves alone, there was only silence. Quiet watchful eyes situated on a high ground, concentrating on the possibilities of hostiles. But this time, his tongue was looser.

Maybe he felt the same burden as yours lift from his broad shoulders, this being the last day of deployment.

Amongst the comfortable banter of the team surrounding the campfire, you sat down with legs tucked beneath you on the chair. Cozy with a warming beer between her hands, wet with condensation.

But now so close to the masked man at your left, you felt you were in your little corner, just the two of us. Barely controlling the tilt of your disbelief.

In your delusion, you preferred to think he sat down right beside you just to talk to you.

“You have another job?”

“Of sorts,” Ghost answered, feeling no need to explain himself further.

You had asked him, not expecting an answer, what he intended to do with his time as a temporary civvie. And he, to your surprise, admitted that he had other ‘hobbies’ that brought him monetary value, other than maiming.

You stared back, almost in awe at the lack of denial or take back. Something in the amused tilt in his tone told you he was enjoying your indecent digging. His body faced forward, but his head was bent down low, to the side, eyes focused on you.

The intensity was jarring. You had been never the focus of his attention, not even the famous jokes or dry answers that everyone revered him for. Well, besides the violent tendencies.

He adjusted his body on the chair, now facing you wholeheartedly. Your eyes widened, doe eyes reflecting the flickering flames in front of you.

The inevitable raising heartbeat now reached your throat. You blamed the beer for your warming cheeks.

For someone that dared to defy death often, you weren’t brave enough to face the big fat crush you had on the most unapproachable OP of the team. A Lutenaint, for gods sake. And he wasn’t someone who just made friends.

So you admired from afar, smothering down the grins at every smart retort he had to offer. And he was so smart, so quick sometimes, that you felt you were the only one that saw his intelligence shining through his dry humor. You hadn’t told a soul, feeling shame at your obvious option to crush on. Someone emotionally unavailable and way out of your league.

You knew his type, you thought once in your nightly musings. A guy like him would probably go for someone quick, temporary… more feminine. So you denied, and pushed down the urge to want something ’human’ from him. You convinced yourself that you were projecting, a mere infatuation with the mystery of someone you couldn’t read.

“Aren’t you going to ask me more questions?” Ghost said at your long silence. “(Y/N).”

You held in a gasp at the surprise, thankful that you kept your calm, having no idea that he knew your name.

But you recovered fast, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Frankly, I think you’re taking the piss out of me.” You crinkled your nose at the warm taste of your beer. The answer had him sitting straight, arms crossing.

You weren’t sure how to read him, the short sleeves around his bulging arms not allowing you to think much.

He hummed, looking at you, contemplating… His drink already finished.

Seconds went by as he stared. And stared, taking your soft gray sweats in, along with the wispy tendrils escaping your hastily up do. When he zeroed in on the sun-dessert made freckles dotting the top of your cheeks, you held the urge to squirm.

You blinked at the uncharacteristic action, he blinked in return, almost in wonder mainly aimed towards you. The predatory interest wained towards something distant at your hesitation partake in conversation, but not as cold as he had been before.

“You should come sometime,” He offered, meaning lost on you as he fetched something from his back pocket. You felt the crinkled note pressed into your hand, the warmth of his fingers encompassing through the thin paper.

Just as briefly, you felt the pressure of his palm on your shoulder, fingers long enough to reach lower than your clavicle. You craned your neck at his retreating hooded figure, realizing he hadn’t interacted with anyone in the circle but you.

The inside of your cheek was raw now at your nervous biting. Confused at the sudden shift in your dynamic, you looked down at the glaring white between your hands.

You peaked at the hastily written words, realizing that this would be the first time you saw his handwriting. Something about a handwritten note felt cute, a word you couldn’t certainly associate the walking nightmare that had just invited you to hang out with him. Of sorts, maybe he invited you just to watch him work.

For a second you saw him attending or owning a raunchy bar, his covered looks and tattooed arms fitting the right image for the scenery. Or maybe he was a hired mercenary, and your recently extended invitation meant that he needed the help of a teammate.

Like you were friends. The thought forced another grin out of you, not believing what just happened.

The note crinkled open, and the amused grin in your face froze, now taking in the words said.

Beneath a few numbers meant for a phone, there was a link. Your flushing skin couldn’t be blamed on a watered beer this time. Nor the hurried side glances, your paranoia making sure no one was suddenly over your shoulder reading the audacious link.

It was simple, the username after the well known pornsite was surely his. It was the only logic.

Your Lieutenant was a pornstar. And given the few words that now held on a whole other meaning, he had just offered to make you come.

[calder]

May I please bring something up in fallout 4 that makes me sad? I really hate the idiot savant perk. It feels like it’s making fun of high support needs autistic people and intellectually disabled people. I wish more people talked about it.

In fallout london the icon they did for it was someone hitting themselves with a hammer if I remember right

I’m also not a fan of how low intelligence dialogue is written where it’s just a joke or where people are needlessly cruel to them… people with intellectual disabilities are people too and some of the most discriminated against, vulnerable members of society

yeah it's pretty incredible your character can actually say "doy" in fo4. lowbrow and unnecessary. obnoxious in practice

classic low-int dialogue comes from a rather hateful place, but as a retarded, i have affection for the concept in theory. it might hit a bit better if it were more developed, but it feels like an afterthought, with very typical 90's sensibilities.

it's cute to see which characters are nice to disabled people. reminds me of the bit in MOTHER 3 when you can walk around the world with a trans person and vibe-check which characters are transphobic

i think the fnv/OW solution of just giving low-int characters a few optional foolish dialogue options is probably the best approach

[gyrovagi]

can we have all that apply for my good friend dak-wai (its awesome because it rhymes)

OUR good friend dak-wai ���

How would you recruit them?

the easiest answer would be as a davrin tag-along, and i DO think it would be cute for them to already have been working together, but for a unique recruitment... maybe they'd be at d'meta's crossing? they're not on good terms with the first warden, got a kind of out-of-the-way assignment, and the first warden is absolutely not going to believe they just happened to be at ground zero for the turboblight.

they'd be another mage right from the get-go 😭... but i like the idea of them being able to give some warden/blight context in the early game. also giving non-warden rooks the option to conscript the mayor, dak-wai will reluctantly accept rook's decision but disapproves and openly says they don't think he has what it takes.

What would their personal quest look like?

i have thought about this previously! to kind of follow the veilguard companion quest format, one of the tal-vashoth mercenaries they used to work with shows back up, maybe even Specifically the guy who acted as their arvaarad/tried to kill them. i guess he's still bumping around the anderfels bc i don't know where else i'd set their quest lol, stumbled into a patch of turboblight, and now there's rumors of an unusually strong and intelligent ogre (an emissary?) menacing the wetlands.

Also i think it's strange that fade rifts never get brought up in veilguard so i'd like to tie that in somehow. the quest chain begins with dak-wai asking for your help looking into rumors of fade rifts around lavendel -> they've been opened intentionally... with blight magic...! -> villain reveal -> actually i don't know what the Choice at the end of their quest would be. dak-wai kills him either way but then they reflect on whether or not they've really changed from the past. rook can either reassure them that they've changed as a person, dak-wai has already helped people in ways that didn't require force (path of rebirth), or assert that there's no shame in doing what they had to to survive and righteous violence is a good and fulfilling purpose to pursue actually (path of conviction).

How would their approval raise? What would make it drop?

generally, dak-wai prioritizes actions over words (approves of punching the first warden), stoic or even angry responses usually give approval. solas hating and grey warden sidequests would always give an approval bump. i think they have a neve thing also where they don't tend to react to funnyman dialogue, but every now and then a joke gets approval.

in a beautiful world where companions get dialogue wheels, they'd lose approval and end the conversation if you try to ask about their past, or what they think of the qun, or what the qun thinks about magic. (they could eventually be convinced to talk about it after some banter with taash plays out/you progressed their personal quest.) they dislike expressing sympathy for/trust in solas, or being inappropriately light-hearted.

Approval Greetings: Low/Medium/High/Romanced

Low: What? / Talk. / [Grunts.]

Medium: Yes? / Rook. / Need something?

High: Shanedan. / Go ahead. / I'm here.

Romanced: (fondly) It's you. / Kadan. / I have time.

What would their iconic lines be?

well the one that i keep writing in posts is 'i'm not qunari. or tal-vashoth. i'm a warden.' they generally don't... say a lot so this is kind of a tricky one for me. although i do like imagining in their hostile banter with lucanis they drop something like "Don't talk like you know me, Crow. You don't even know yourself."

Do they have location specific dialogue?

Dock Town: I thought Minrathous would be... (Neve, if in party: Grander? More imposing?) ...colder.

Arlathan Forest: Was it peaceful here once? ...I wonder.

Rivaini Coast (beach): Nice place to swim. Without the dragon.

Rivaini Coast (Warden fort): Wardens wouldn't leave a fort like this for no reason. We should look around.

Grand Necropolis: (muttering to themself) Take out the knees first. Then crush the skull? What if it doesn't stop moving?

Hossberg Wetlands (Chantry statues): There's not much in the Anderfels. They say at least they have the Maker. ...But the blight takes everything.

What would their party banters look like?

Davrin: curiosity about assan, 'do you know [random warden]' or 'i heard [x] story about you', good-natured one-upmanship along the lines of 'what's the scariest darkspawn you took down/mission you went on.' commiseration about fade skepticism. davrin at one point tries to compare the taste of harding's cooking to the joining blood and dak-wai isn't having it. they're two different things, davrin.

Neve: dak-wai badly pretending they don't want to hear about neve's interesting cases (they've been talking with bellara). light flirting: dak-wai tells neve she should let her hair down more often, neve gently pulling their leg about past cases or misconceptions dak-wai has about tevinter. dak-wai trying and failing to understand why the shadow dragons can't just kill the venatori. are they stupid?

Bellara: variations on the theme of dak-wai somewhat awkwardly trying to start conversation with bellara, she gets excited infodumping/starts asking them a lot of questions and then catches herself and apologizes, dak-wai is clearly a little overwhelmed but also just likes hearing her talk. dak-wai tries to ask about her serials once but then has to admit they can't read trade and she offers to read aloud to them if they're interested. series of banters where bellara tries to replicate some food from seheron that dak-wai only vaguely remembers.

Taash: they're both pretty laconic lmfao so their banters would be. something. i think at some point they start having conversations in qunlat for practice. i maintain that it's a relatively common interpretation in kont-aar/rivain that koslun was a mage and was writing about his experiences in the fade, and taash casually mentions this to dak-wai who goes What. they'd probably have gender-related banters but i don't think dak-wai is really able to explain their own relationship to gender. though honestly taash might be relieved to have someone who just goes Ok you're using they now 👍

Harding: a dak-wai harding charm point for me is i don't think dak-wai sees anything wrong with harding's cooking. it fills you up. that's what food is for. if i'm allowed to not go worldstate-agnostic, they'd probably discuss rainier and bull at some point. dak-wai is also very concerned about her stone powers but not the best at expressing it without putting harding on the defensive, though they eventually manage to explain that their magic manifesting was Very Traumatizing for them and they want to make sure she's alright

Lucanis: dak-wai views working with a crow as a barely justifiable necessary evil, and they uhhh at one point kind of imply they think lucanis should've killed himself rather than live as an abomination. he has a sneaking suspicion they might be ben-hassrath and is always poking about their relation to the qun/the antaam. lucanis eventually realizes that dak-wai is so hostile to him because he's living their existential nightmare; this realization does not improve their relationship. after his personal quest ends they bluntly say 'if you don't want to be first talon davrin and i could conscript you.' and he's like ...are you trying to make a joke with me? and they're like. Not anymore.

Emmrich: emmrich is very concerned about dak-wai's extremely bad self-trained casting habits and passive suicidality. there's a couple banters where he's trying to talk to them about 'basic' magical theory, using progressively simpler terms when dak-wai doesn't understand what he's saying. it never works. at one point emmrich has to try and figure out how to diplomatically ask if dak-wai fractured manfred's wrist by arm wrestling him

i also think lucanis would have banter with neve and davrin (maybe taash too?) about his suspicions that dak-wai might be ben-hassrath. because it's real and important to me. they all think he's lost it

How do they feel about Spite?

Get that fucking thing away from me or i will not be held responsible for what happens. i think it would be funny if every time you had to use one of spite's skeleton bridges dak-wai complained about it. maaybe they're eventually willing to believe it isn't an active threat but i don't think they'll ever be friendly

How do they deal with a Lich!Emmrich?

dak-wai is leery of any magic they think of as 'weird' and has. kind of fucked up ideas about death and would view becoming immortal as cowardly/not honoring manfred's sacrifice. they'd also be very uneasy about the idea that lich!emmrich might not actually be the 'same' emmrich they got to know. either emmrich or davrin could probably get them to be a little more understanding by making a comparison to the joining, but i don't think they'd ever be as comfortable with him again.

(note that i personally haven't seen the lich emmrich outcome and can't be bothered to look it up just for this answer so i'm kind of talking out of my ass)

How would they react when Treviso/Minrathous is saved? Their reaction towards the one left in disrepair?

dak-wai thinks treviso is the obviously less defended city/the waterways getting tainted is the worst outcome; they'd be pretty blindsided/disgusted by the fact that minrathous was theoretically capable of self-defense, but venatori corruption left the city's people vulnerable.

honestly depending on whether they ended up in rook's party or not, they'd likely blame themselves more than rook for not being able to save the other city. if treviso is blighted, it's a rare situation where they're sympathetic towards lucanis and actively offer their help/knowledge about the blight.

Is there a romance that they default to if the mc doesn’t romance them?

BELLARA !!!! i mean they could also duel lucanis for neve's hand but those two have enough problems already.

at some point you walk into a conversation between dak-wai and bellara where they're both being awkward at each other and dak-wai takes rook's entrance as an excuse to gtfo. bellara admits to rook that she's not sure what dak-wai thinks of her: she's intrigued by them, but they tend to be closed off, and she's worried they're just being polite/humoring her when she ends up talking at them. you have various options to encourage her, point out that dak-wai is Not the kind of person who listens just to be polite, advise her to let them open up on their own time, etc.

you later get to talk with dak-wai about their own conflicted feelings - they feel like bellara deserves someone who can give her a future that they can't guarantee as a grey warden, and the fact The World Might End isn't giving them confidence. how rook responds here determines whether they actually pursue a relationship or remain friends. the 'lock-in' cutscene is one where rook finds them both hanging out in the workshop and depending on the prior conversation they're either just chilling, or bellara works up the nerve to ask if dak-wai is interested in her and dak-wai admits they are.

What would they do when the mc is pulled into the regret prison?

dak-wai 100% thinks rook is dead and it's a waste of time to try and get them out. and they feel immensely guilty about it when rook does come back. especially if davrin died at tearstone and/or rook was romancing them, it's really difficult for them to shake the thought that they should've been the one who died.

How would they reach to the mc redeeming Solas? Tricking Solas? Fighting Solas?

if dak-wai was encouraged towards Righteous Violence in their personal quest, they think redeeming solas is far too big a risk to take. if they were encouraged to view themself as having changed, they're hesitant about it, but can't help but wonder if solas needs someone to offer a way out. either way they do find the idea of tricking him funny/compelling.

What does their epilogue look like? What are they up to in the years after Veilguard?

along the lines of this ask from a while back. their first priority is always helping the wardens rebuild, but depending on the events of their personal quest they either stay with them and take on a role as a leader (conviction) or eventually leave (rebirth) to prioritize their life with bellara/rook (if romanced)/find a more peaceful way to live for themself (maybe ending up in whatever city was blighted...?)

[ljviolet]

Octopath Traveler Characters Ranked by How Good they are at Cooking

(Objective list up for no debate I am not wrong)

/j

(From best to worse)

————————————-

-H’aanit

This is actually in the game. She’s good at cooking, or at least baking, but I feel as though it’s fair to say that it extends to cooking as well. It also makes sense. Let’s be honest, Z’aanta can’t cook for shit. I think H’aanit would rush to learn so she can provide for them just so she didn’t have to eat his cooking. Also hunts can last a long time and she probably had to do a lot of campfire/over flame cooking prior to her journey to begin with. I think she’s also the most passionate about it as I can see it being a hobby of hers. (Also she hunts for her own meat! It’s hard to see this being up for debate)

-Olberic

This one might be more controversial this high up, but I believe he just has the most experience. I think he cooked a lot for the fellow soldiers during the war and he also lived alone in Cobblestone for along while, I think he’d pick up a lot of cooking skills a long the way. Also, he just kind of gives off the vibe of a dad who loves to grill. I think he isn’t as good at baking as H’aanit which is why he’s placed below her, but he can make an incredible fucking stew.

-Alfyn

I think this has the same reasoning as how chemistry and cooking go hand in hand, if you substitute apothecary/alchemy instead of chemistry. I think it also makes sense that the group doctor has a good grasp on cooking. Besides job based reasoning he seems like the type of person to help his mom out with cooking dinner ( I think also his mom taught him well and he loves making her recipes 🤧) I think especially after she died he really stepped up to help cook for Zeph and Nina (because they don’t have parents either, or at least I think I do)

(This is where there is a big gap between number 3 and 4, and a close race for 4-6. I think you could rearrange these next one as I feel they’re all around the same level)

-Tressa

This is kind of similar to Alfyn where I feel like it’s something she did with her family before she leaves on her journey. It just seems like the sort of thing they’d do together. I also think she’d be the best gatherer of ingredients, and I think she has a knack for creating her own recipes on her own merit. (I also think she improves a lot under H’aanit and Olberic’s guidance when it comes to cooking over the campfire)

Therion-

This is based on the fact that he’s had got to eat somehow, and as skinny as he is I don’t think he just eats stolen apples. I think he can cook with the bare minimum needed to survive. Like the real-world equivalent of knowing to put water in the easy-mac cup. Not extensive, but he knows the basics and can help out the group. (Also while not as skilled with picking out the best options I think he also is quite good at gathering ingredients)

Ophilia-

Like Therion I feel like she knows the basics, but she didn’t have much need to learn how to cook back in Flamegrace as that was more of the other clerics in the church territory. I do however think she improves the most during her journey, as she seems the type to be a quick learner when she’s focused on improving a skills.

Primrose

She lived in a mansion with servants for the first years of her life who would cook for her, and then I don’t think it would come up after Geoffrey died. I think she was busy doing other things, and unlike her bestie Therion I think there was just no free time for her to learn. (As shitty as Helgenish was I do think he fed them, though no trust in how much or nutritious it was). She does learn a bit and (unlike our last place) is able to help out with the cooking, she just is inexperienced and doesn’t have a knack for it.

-Cyrus

Are we surprised? No! This man is a disaster. He’s the definition of high intelligence low wis. I think he put all his energy into his studies that when it comes to life skills like cooking he just ignored completely and is shitty. Age≠experience in his case and he just keeps on making messes of things. I think it’s a Spencer Shay deal where if he simply touches a dish while cooking it’ll become inedible. He has been banned from being near the cooking pot, and settles for just making the fire before being shooed away.