#I can’t guarantee Kali’s survival

[dewydovahkiin]

Petition for when/if the NH ops come back to Rainbow, they’re put in a gladiator pit with a folding knife and a wooden shield and forced to face Tachanka, Sledge, and Montagne but the big guys are infected with rabies and have been fed an ungodly amount of pre-workout beforehand.

#max rambles #me n my friends had a discussion about how the traitors would have to prove their loyalty #and we came to the conclusion that they can’t #I can’t guarantee Kali’s survival #but finka gets a pass for reasons

[crystalelemental]

Following the recent Gauntlet, I felt it necessary to update the Common Grid War listings.  There are...a few changes.

Promotions

Shauntal: A -> S.  Okay.  Shauntal rules.  Shadow Ball, on type, has a pretty easy time hitting 5-digit numbers.  Like, an EX Support taking first sync pretty much guarantees it.  Yes, she has some setup concerns, given Special Attack/Crit needs, but her damage output is outrageous, and they did give her an option to help cap crit.  And like...there are no flaws.  Her best comparison is Bruno, who is similarly heavy on DPS.  Except he’s weaker, has accuracy issues that cut into his energy management for grid, and he doesn’t get to build up his speed until after he’s landed multiple crits.  Which, additionally, don’t add up to as much because he’s a lot slower than Shauntal.  And his offensive stats aren’t as high.  And he’s got a max 90% move multiplier, if you can cap his special defense.  Shauntal has +100% basically for free.  Oh, and she ignores Light Screen by default.  Shauntal is ridiculously powerful, in a type that’s becoming fairly competitive.

Marshal: C -> A.  Not a joke.  Marshal’s for real.  The staggering effect is minor, but it honestly puts in crazy work.  Moreover, Drain Punch’s DPS is legitimate, and even without Master Healer, he’s recovering plenty to stay relevant.  Additionally, he’s able to help with debuffing on many teams.  He’s a fairly ideal partner to Maylene in Gauntlet, staggering foes to reduce the pressure she’s under, and softening up opponents for her Drain Punch at the same time.  I really undersold him.

Marlon: C -> B.  While I will be first to note that Marlon’s issues are in his gauge control, the tradeoff is you have a super good defense tank with Endurance applied, and actual pop healing, alongside a fairly unique trait in Team Pinpoint Entry to solve for units like Cyrus and Ghetsis who otherwise are self-sufficient.  I dunno.  This guy feels like he should be more flawed than he is, but every Gauntlet I’m finding some nice utility for him.  It’s pretty great.

Brock and Grant: D -> C.  I have finally lifted these two out of D-rank.  Because 60% flinch rate, on a move that has decent supplementary DPS.  Which would, in theory, put them up with Molayne and Wikstrom.  Except unlike Molayne, they have poor independent gauge manage, and unlike Wikstrom, they can’t do serious big boy damage numbers when so inclined.  Because of this, I put them below Wake, who is comparably sad on sync, but has better gauge control and self setup, even if it’s worse DPS.

Demotions

MU Torchic: S -> A.  While it doesn’t have its grid yet, and therefore cannot be held entirely accountable...I feel confident on this assessment.  Lack of Endurance, lack of First Aid, and mediocre bulk really hinder this thing.  It’s reliant on an ally sustaining it in Gauntlet, and likely won’t survive three buffs in CS without the opponent using their own stat boosters.  It’s still exceptional as one of the best special attack/crit buffers in the game, but unlike the premium options, it has trouble with survival.

Noland: A -> B.  Noland remains fantastic with self-setup, but this is about all I can say on his behalf.  Gauntlet has been very trying with these longer streaks, as Noland can set up reliably, but can’t often deal sufficient damage to make something work.  Bugsy feels noticeably stronger, and it’s kinda holding him back a bit.

Maylene: A -> B.  Maylene, I want to love you.  Atk/Crit buffer with defense drops should be great.  But much like a Valerie/Kali situation, your only real healing is on your attacking move.  You are a support.  You cannot deal damage.  No Endurance, no healing outside of her attack, which is high gauge cost, and her bulk is fairly lacking alongside lower offenses.  Maylene has delightful utility packed in a unit that struggles to survive.

Sophocles: B -> C.  Sophocles, as a flinch bot, is solid.  Endurance is great for a last-second survival, and flinch is always valuable.  I think my problem is that, unlike the higher-ranked flinch bots, his damage is just poor.  Sophocles does not have a great tech nuke.  Even against Tornadus he routinely struggles.  And his flinch supplies exactly nothing to the damage dealt, really just supplying a stall.  Which is a problem against fights where flinch doesn’t last and you’re desperately trying to make it count.  Like Moltres.  God I hate this bird.

Crasher Wake: B -> C.  Exact same deal to Sophocles but legitimately worse.  Even as a Water-type, Wake’s damage feels atrocious, because his requirement is that the foe be flinching.  It’s too much to expect the flinch to last.

Lucy: B -> C.  And another where damage seriously hinders performance.  Lucy’s got Toxic and Trap as effects, which are delightful and useful, particularly in regards to a fight like Uxie.  But beyond this, Lucy is...kind of a pain.  Her bulk isn’t fantastic, and her damage is outright sad.  Less than half the HP bar against Bulu while supereffective.  Outside of these traits for supplemental damage, Lucy contributes very little.  And last Gauntlet, I got to learn how bad it is that she’s also Psychic-weak.  So that’s just great.

Inter-tier Adjustments

Nanu: Bottom of S.  Honestly, it’s the 40% thing.  If he had a full 60% flinch on Bite, he’d be way higher up.  But because of that limitation, and the fact he is fully reliant on attack/crit support to even get to 40%, I feel like he’s the last winner of the S-tiers.  Fantastic sync nuke, fantastic utility, just...needier.

Ramos: Moved to Agatha.  They’re comparable.  Agatha has better gauge control, but I feel like Ramos provides comparable utility.  I do think Agatha’s decisively better, but I rarely consider her for a sync nuker as it is.  Or as DPS with Shauntal around.

Cheryl: Bottom of A.  Cheryl, while I love her, does have some notable flaws.  Physical attacks can be dangerous for her, and her gauge control is nice but not exceptional.  I think the bigger thing is just...lack of real utility after buffing.  Hyper Voice and Flamethrower aren’t great picks.  I kinda wish Hyper Voice were just Swift.

Wikstrom: Down to Molayne.  Wikstrom’s main issue is frailty.  Even with Vigilance, he gets trucked by AoE moves pretty easily, and it’s a problem.  They’re comparable, with Wikstrom being above Molayne entirely because of his self-setup.  But, Wikstrom also has gauge issues while Molayne...pretty much never does.  So you know.  Roll that into your calculations.

Liza: Above Drake.  Drake, for a defensive buffing, dies constantly.  Liza doesn’t take hits reliably either, but at least she doesn’t need sync to get the bare minimum of healing.  And mixed offense buffing is a nice skill to have, while a one-bar spam means she’s better on gauges.

Hapu and Clay: Bottom of D.  These two suck.  Hapu really only has accuracy debuffing utility, and isn’t even that great at it.  Eggmons do this stuff.  But that’s still better than whatever Clay is supposed to be.  Speed debuffs are notoriously bad, and Toxic Chance 2 isn’t really anything to write home about.  Worse, what should be a defining trait in his sync nuke is woefully poor because he needs attack, crit, and now special defense support, a combination of traits that is ridiculously hard to shop for.  He does get double Endure, which is the only thing keeping him out F, but I have yet for it to matter so get ready to demote, buddy.

Final Thoughts I think running a longer Gauntlet streak and having to really push our tools has made some of the flaws in flinch bots stand out in particular.  Supplementary DPS is pretty required for it to matter.  Moltres will just dunk your ass if you’re not helping push toward the phase change when needed, while Tapu Bulu’s severe flinch weakness only matters if you’re dealing enough damage to take advantage of the delay.  Weaker flinch attacks just don’t add much unless they’re partnered with specifically overpowering strikers.  This is why Marshal jumped so much; the combination of a flinch chance with really respectable DPS that is also recovery is frankly incredible role compression.

That said, this was also a revelation in the inconsistency of flinch as a skill, compared to the reliability of sleep.  There’s a reason the only flinch bots that rank above the sleep bots are Winona and Nanu, two units who also pack insanely good utility in Rain and Screech respectively.  I think we’re also coming into the realization that, especially after the common grid war concluded, most damage dealers have some level of self-sufficiency, and therefore a support needs to be a bit more than just a strong buffing kit.  Torchic and Maylene largely dropped because of their frailty, inability to heal, and lack of sufficient gauge control, while Roxanne remains top dog for having a solid defensive profile, absurdly good buffing including gauge control, and Endurance.  Though admittedly, even Roxanne was challenged.  Bulu was strong enough she needed Potion.  Though I also blame that on Lodge Marnie being kinda ass.

I also need to admit that Norman’s position in F might not last.  Despite my grousing about his grid being so awful that it feels like a joke, the Normal typing means higher general damage, and even with Body Slam, he supplied relevant supplemental DPS in his team.  Reliable paralysis and the ability to heal off AoE hits make for pretty good traits, too.  I’m not convinced he’ll rise, but I am convinced he might not be bottom of the barrel if Clay and Hapu don’t get it together.  Honestly Lorelei too.  30% freeze isn’t great odds and it’s about all she’s good for, so we’ll see.

#sync pair tier list #common grid war

[amatchinwater]

@softranswolves Derek Hale appreciation week Day 6: Fix-it Friday/Poetry

Derek Hale deserved to be a True Alpha

Warnings: none

Words: 1435

---

Were you lonely?

His first Beta’s words echo in Derek’s head as he watches over Cora. His little sister showing zero signs of getting better. If anything, she’s getting worse. Her lips are turning an alarming shade of blue, her skin is clammy and at least three shades paler than when they left the hospital. Derek’s running out of options. Deaton can’t get here and there’s no way Cora is going to survive the walk it would take to get the younger wolf into the car much less the actual ride there.

He’s fucked up a lot since becoming Alpha Derek knows that. Poor Erica never got to learn how to drive and he so desperately wanted to teach like Laura did with him. Boyd just needed a family to care for him and he ended up dying by Derek’s own claws. And Isaac, the only Beta of his still standing isn’t even in his pack anymore. He lost them all in one way or another, he can’t afford to lose Cora too. His fiery little sister he thought perished along with the rest of his family all those years ago. Derek just got her back.

There’s no other option, no matter what Peter says. Derek won’t let Cora die. Can’t even stomach the thought. Not if he can help it.

“Exactly, Derek,” Peter cuts through his thoughts, “if, if it works. There’s no guarantee it won’t just kill you.”

The Alpha growls, growing irritated with his uncle. “How do I do it? By taking her pain?” It’s what makes the most sense. Growing up he was always taught not to take too much, even from a human.

“And then some,” the older wolf scoffs, “because there’s a cost.”

How many times does he have to say he doesn’t fucking care?

“I can understand you not seeing the downside to this,” Peter says, reading his face as perfectly as always. “You haven’t exactly been Alpha of the year.”

“You’re one to fucking talk, Peter,” Derek scowls at him. “Who bit their Beta and left him all alone to fend for himself? You. At least I tried.” Cora twitches on the bed, capturing both of their attentions until she settles with a shaky breath.

“Oh please,” Peter growls, “you were just as power hungry as I was. You got drunk on it, I know you did. And that’s exactly what you’ll be losing.”

“I don’t care about power.” The Alpha ducks his head, shaking it softly, “not anymore.” He has some semblance of family left and the wolf plans to cling to it; even Peter. So fuck being Alpha and having all this power if he’s just going to lose everyone again.

“What about the power to fight back? Kali’s ultimatum still stands. How do you plan on fighting an entire pack of Alphas as a Beta?” Peter lets his emotions slip for the first time in years, “that’s suicide, Derek.”

Clenching his fists until there’s surely crescent shaped indents in his palms, Derek grits out, “I. Don’t. Care.” Cora thrashes on his bed just then. More of that sickly, black substance leaking out of her mouth, smelling like death itself. “It has to be now,” he rushes to her side, “I don’t have a choice.”

His uncle grabs his elbow, “you always have a choice. It’s whether or not you can live with the consequences. Facing Kali as a Beta.”

Yanking his arm free, the Alpha reminds him, “it’s not just a full moon coming, it’s a lunar eclipse.” It’s his only hope, “we’ll all be powerless. Even them.”

Peter seems to finally have given up on his feeble attempt to get the Alpha to change his mind. Good. Derek’s about as stubborn as they come. Fuck this power if he can’t share it with his family. So he sits in the chair beside Cora as the Beta wheezes in her sleep. There’s no take backs, no second chances. And that is a-okay to Derek. He doesn’t hesitate, with both hands he grabs Cora’s forearm and the black lines begin to leech her pain.

Like fire running through him, coursing through his veins in a constant wave he can’t escape. Doesn’t want to escape because that means it’s working. Derek would much rather feel all of this agony than his kid sister. Cora gasps and jerks on the bed, wide-eyed, struggling to breathe as the poison dispels. The pain travels up his arms and towards his head. Unable to hold back any longer, Derek rears his head back and roars. His vision bleeding red, flickering until there’s only darkness.

An unknown amount of time later, Derek wakes up to something pressing against his mouth. Hard and curved. His eyes flutter open to see Cora smiling at him, holding a water bottle to his lips, he takes a careful swing while he rubs the back of his neck.

“You saved me,” his sister continues to smile. Something he desperately missed since they were kids. “Thanks, Der.”

The wolf sits up a little straighter, now seeing Peter sitting on the spiral staircase with a stoic expression. A mask to hide what he’s feeling or thinking. Big surprise there. “Are you feeling okay?” Derek asks, surprised that he really only feels a little tired. The kind of tiredness where you sleep more than you intended to and wake up worse than when you went to bed. But he still feels strong.

“Better than okay,” Cora tells him, flashing her golden eyes to drive the point home. She’s fully healed and back to herself once more. Exactly what Derek wanted. But something funny happens when her eyes glow, his own respond and his sister lets out a gasp. “Derek, your eyes.”

Peter is by the bed in an instant, “do it again.” Derek sits still, looking confused as all fuck. The older wolf knew that he was sacrificing his Alpha spark to save Cora from the brink of death. He shouldn’t be surprised that his eyes are blue again. “Derek!” His uncle snaps in his face, “do it. Again.” With a resigned huff, Derek does as requested and Peter’s face mirrors Cora’s, “that’s not possible.”

“What’s not possible?”

But no one answers because just then, Derek’s phone starts buzzing on the mattress beside him, Isaac’s name flashing on the screen. Odd, they just fought and he’s busy with Deaton and the others, he shouldn’t be calling him. Except that he is and Cora thrusts the device into his hands with a still growing smile.

“Isaac,” Derek addresses after sliding the green button over.

“What the fuck is going on with you?” The wolf rushes out, sounding hissed like he doesn’t want anyone to hear him. “I was here helping Deaton well all of a sudden I had this pull in my chest like you were in trouble. It went away and then came back tenfold. My wolf is going crazy wanting to get to you. What the fuck is happening?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

Peter rolls his eyes dramatically, “come on, use your brain. You just sacrificed yourself for your sister and your first bitten Beta feels a pull to you after having left your pack. What does that sound like to you, Derek?”

Holy shit. There’s no fucking way. It’s way too rare of an occurrence to have happened to him. Derek jumps out of bed, still clutching his phone to his ear and flashes his eyes in the massive window. Rubies reflect back at him. “I’m an Alpha.”

“A True Alpha, and Isaac’s wolf still recognizes you,” Peter explains. “Even my wolf feels it. By willingly sacrificing your power for the good of another, especially when it could’ve cost you your life, you became worthy enough to be a True Alpha. Talia would be proud.”

“I’m sorry I left, Derek,” Isaac’s voice claims his attention, adding to the warmth twisting in his heart. “You weren’t a bad Alpha, you were just trying to learn as you go and I can’t blame you for that. Can I- if it’s okay with you, I’d still like to be in your pack. I want to help you with the Alpha pack and the Darach.”

“Of course it’s okay, Isaac,” the Alpha smiles, a real, true smile at succeeding with at least one of his Betas. And has two family members alive and well right in front of him and part of his pack. He can already feel ties to Stiles, Lydia, and even Scott start to form in his chest. Making him feel whole and full of love.

#teen wolf #derek hale #derekweek #derekweek21 #Match Writes

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: The Khopesh

Do you have any tips on researching historical fighting styles? I’m specifically interested in writing fight scenes involving a khopesh, and I’d really like to be able to include tactics/techniques accurate to the weapon and its historical users (rather than go the typical Hollywood route of giving every swordfighter kali moves and calling it a day). However, the khopesh isn’t particularly common/popular, and I don’t think it’s used in any living arts. Where should I start my research? Thanks!

captain-acab

This wasn’t a rare or unpopular weapon. Several khopesh have been uncovered in the tombs of Pharaohs, among the grave goods. The khopesh was used the Egyptians for over a thousand years. This isn’t a popularity issue. This wasn’t an exotic weapon. This was over three thousand years ago, and the weapon hasn’t been used since.

I’m shaky on some of the details, but there were three major, interlinked, elements.

First, the khopesh was a bronze weapon. It was possible to manufacture iron khopeshes, and some were produced. However, because it was a bronze weapon, it was also quite short. Historical examples were around 20-24 inches long. While you could produce longer bronze weapons (like the Celts did), those weapons would be considerably weaker. The Kopesh was reportedly used to pull enemy shileds, something you couldn’t do with a flimsier weapon.

Incidentally, you can’t simply make a bronze weapon, “heavier,” to compensate, as bronze is already a very heavy alloy. Weight becomes a serious issue.

Second, Egypt had limited wood resources. This may sound like a strange detail to include, however, producing iron required charcoal. Very importantly, this was a regional problem. By the final centuries of the second millennium BCE, Egypt was facing enemies who were outfitted with iron weapons and shields, while struggling to equip their own soldiers with similar arms.

That’s the third problem. The khopesh fell out of use during The New Kingdom. I can’t say with absolute certainty, but it looks like the khopesh was caught between the decline of the Egyptian military, and being rendered obsolete by superior arms.

Martial methods are very difficult to study historically. This stuff is a living art, and if it falls out of active use, it can be very difficult to reconstruct. Sometimes, there are surviving illustrations which can offer some insight, but that’s still limited.

For example: modern HEMA is not the same as historical European combat techniques. Some of the techniques may be accurately reproduced, but the system as a whole is, “a best guess.”

We don’t know how the Egyptians used swords 4500 years ago. We don’t know how that usage changed over the next 1200 years. All we can do is guess, and look for, “hints.”

There is a hint, but it’s a limited one. Tahtib is not a sword combat style. It is an Egyptian stick-fighting martial art that dates back to The Old Kingdom. It still exists as a sport, and as a dance. There’s been an effort in recent years to reconstruct the original combat form, but no guarantees that’s how it was actually used. There’s also no certainty that the stick fighting techniques matched the contemporary sword techniques, though it’s likely that there were similarities.

So, all that’s left of the historic khopesh use is a 4500 year old sport, that may have originally shared elements with sword training from that era, assuming it didn’t significantly change over time. However, given the nature of martial arts, it’s almost certainly changed beyond recognition in that time, and there are elements of Tahtib that simply wouldn’t work with a sword style.

That’s the best I can offer.

-Starke

This blog is supported through Patreon. If you enjoy our content, please consider becoming a Patron. Every contribution helps keep us online, and writing. If you already are a Patron, thank you.

Q&A: The Khopesh was originally published on How to Fight Write.

#ancient Egypt #fightwrite answers #khopesh #Starke answers #writing advice #writing reference #writing tips

[tigerkirby215]

5e Akali, the Rogue Assassin build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Jessica “OwleyCat” Oyhenart. Made for Riot Games)

(Shit meme by yours truly.)

I mean honestly it’s about time I go around to this. With the year nearing its end (thank fuck) here’s a build I had planned pretty much since the Soulknife subclass was shown. Yeah spoilers I guess Akali’s a Soulknife Rogue because she throws a shit load of knives. No she isn’t an assassin, despite the name of “Rogue Assassin.”

GOALS

You can never have too many kunai - We need a hell a lotta kunai and shurikens to throw at our enemies. Remember that part where I said “Akali’s a Soulknife Rogue?”

Smoked 'em - We’ll need to be able to turn invisible and stay invisible while still being able to hit our foes.

Quick and deadly - You’re quick and deadly like a ninja, with dashes over and around just about everything and swift executions. Almost like you are a ninja.

RACE

Akali is a human, no matter how much training in stealth, spirits, and singing she has. She is however from the magic land of Ionia filled with magic people, and since she probably got some spiritual training from Shen I figured that’s good enough justification for me to grab a Dragonmark! A Mark of Passage Human gets a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to another ability score: we’ll go for Charisma for K-Pop stans. You can also learn a language of your choice and Sylvan makes sense to speak to the spirits.

You have a Courier's Speed for +5 feet of movement and can add a d4 to Acrobatics or motorcycle land vehicle checks thanks to Intuitive Motion. But the main feature of note is Magical Passage for Misty Step in your pocket once per Long Rest. You know me: gotta have Flash available.

If Dragonmarks aren’t an option: Variant Human with +1 to DEX and +1 to CHA is good enough. Take the Mobile feat at level 1 instead of later in the build, and perhaps invest in Fey Touched or something when the time comes for that feat I don’t know.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - You run and jump around and throw a lot of knives. Almost like a ninja.

14; CONSTITUTION - Be it Gunblade or Riftmaker, Akali is deceptively survivable. That and even ability scores are nice.

13; CHARISMA - Charisma is tied to performance for Korean raps in whatever band you joined this time. Look I’m not saying I want Akali in Pentakill but...

12; WISDOM - Shen tries to teach you a lot of Wisdom and I’m sure at least some of it got through to you.

10; STRENGTH - ‘Kali got abs. Being a ninja requires 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, and a 10 kilometer run every single day.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Ninjas don’t normally have a good math and science program. The answer to how many kunai you brought is “yes.”

BACKGROUND

While you may have once been part of the Kinkou Order you have since decided to go rogue. When you’re part of a ninja organization killing people is cool, but if you do it on your own you’re just a Criminal. You get proficiency in Stealth but I’m going to suggest replacing your Deception proficiency with Arcana for some teachings thanks to Master Shen. You also get proficiency in Thieves’ Tools (though if you want to min-max I’d perhaps swap this out for something out) but I’m going to suggest replacing your gaming set with a Disguise Kit, because my lord Akali has a lot of skins.

Be it your old connections from the Kinkou Order or a new informant for assassination contracts you have a Criminal Contact that can easily supply info, and who you always have a direct line to. They send the target, you get the kill.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee, Pan Chengwei, and Bo “chenbowow” Chen. Artwork made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

wOw ThE cHaRaCtEr WiTh “RoGuE” iN tHeIr NaMe Is A RoGuE?!?! Blatantly obvious information aside Rogues get proficiency in four different skills! Take proficiency in Acrobatics for ninja stuff, Perception for warding, Intimidation to scare little Noxian kids (hey ninjas are scary!), and Performance for Korean raps.

You also get Expertise in two of those skills: naturally you need Stealth to be a ninja and Performance to be K-Pop artist, so take expertise in both of those. You also know the secret code language of Thieves’ Cant, which only other ninjas (or just regular old Rogues) know.

But of course you can’t be a ninja without knowing how to Sneak Attack. If you attack an enemy that’s distracted by an ally or have advantage to hit a weak point, you do an extra d6 of damage. Don’t worry: your assassination potential only gets better with time.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues get Cunning Action for some ninja speed. You can now spend a Bonus Action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide.

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

Yeah spoilers I guess Akali’s a Soulknife Rogue because she throws a shit load of knives. No she isn’t an assassin, despite the name of “Rogue Assassin.”

3rd level Rogues get to choose their Roguish Archetype and Akali is a Soulknife because it turns out psionics is the fastest way to get a shit load of throwing knives thanks to Psychic Blades. When you take the Attack action you can make a psychic knife in your hand that does a d6 of Psychic damage, and you can either use it to stab in melee range or throw it up to 60 feet.

If you attack with the blade you can make a smaller blade to attack with as a bonus action. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4 (instead of a d6) but other than that it pretty much works the same. The Psychic Blades vanish immediately after hitting or missing, and they leave no mark on their target, which is just a nice little bit of ninja flavor.

You also have innate Psionic Power which... takes a bit more to explain that “funny psychic throwing knife.” You have Psionic Energy die equal to twice your proficiency bonus, and you can use them on the following abilities:

Psi-Bolstered Knack lets you boost your skill checks with legally-not-Bardic Inspiration, as long as you’re proficient in the skill.

Psychic Whispers lets you coordinate in team chat and set up ganks.

I’m not going to go too deep into these abilities because they’re listed in the subclass and if you don’t know what the subclass does buy Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and read it yourself. “See? Balance.” And speaking of balance your Sneak Attack damage now increases to 2d6!

LEVEL 4 - ROGUE 4

4th level Rogues get an Ability Score Improvement but because it’s the 4th level in a Rogue build we’ll instead be taking the Mobile feat. Along with a 10 foot increase to your movement speed you can also cross over difficult terrain (cough walls cough) without spending extra movement if you Dash. But most importantly if you attack an enemy in melee range you can run away from them without provoking an attack of opportunity, even if you miss!

Yup XP to Level 3′s meme explains it better than I can. Sneak attack and run away: keep to the shadows and never stand still.

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuestling. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 5 - WARLOCK 1

What? Did you think that we’d be going for pure Rogue levels? Ha ha Warlock levels go brrrrr. Regardless a connection to the Spirit Realm manifests as powers of the Archfey, such as Fey Presence to Charm or Frighten anyone within a 10 foot cube with an epic rap battle.

And you also get Pact Magic, which comes back on a Short Rest! You get two cantrips at first level: For a Shuriken that inflicts Deep Wounds on those who idolize Eldritch Blast take Chill Touch, because a ninja should always have the right tool for the job. For some ninja trickery grab Minor Illusion to manipulate the shadows to your whim.

For your leveled spells Hex will cripple your foes to make it harder for them to run while also making your strikes deadlier, and uhhh... that’s about it, really? I mean, Sleep from the Archfey list is pretty nice for a sleep bomb but you really don’t need it. We’ll be holding off on leveled spells for a bit.

LEVEL 6 - WARLOCK 2

Second level Warlocks get Eldritch Invocations... hey wouldn’t it be funny if we just didn’t take invocations? I mean, feel free to grab some basic stuff like Armor of Shadows or Devil’s Sight for a time, but again we’re going to want to wait for...

LEVEL 7 - WARLOCK 3

Third level Warlocks get their Pact Boon and while you may never have gone to an official school you were sure to keep all the teachings of Master Shen in a tome. A Book of Shadows from the Pact of the Tome to be precise!

While Pact of the Blade would probably make more sense I’m pretty sure you can’t make your Psychic Blades into Pact weapons. That, and we need a multitude of features from Pact of the Tome more.

Picking up the Pact of the Tome will let you learn 3 cantrips from any class’ spell list. For a quality assurance guarantee on your skill checks take Guidance for that extra boost you need. For some natural Ionian magic Druidcraft will let you feel the spirit in the earth and the trees. And I know there are some spells I seem to stick into every build but yeah: Message is still good even if you have telepathy, for some silent resourceless communication between allies.

Oh and remember how we took no invocations last level? That’s because we’re going to be grabbing both Aspect of the Moon to confuse Diana mains as well as remain alert through the night without needing to sleep, and Book of Ancient Secrets to have some ninja tricks you can prepare over 10 minutes by Ritual Casting. I’d suggest Alarm and Comprehend Languages as the most in-character options but you can get more ritual spells by picking them up and inscribing them into your book (with some really damn expensive ink.)

You can also finally go and pick up those spells that I’ve been ignoring! Darkness is good for a magic smoke bomb (as long as you’re okay with blinding yourself and your allies too) and while perhaps not the most in-character Mirror Image is a damn good spell to up your survivability. And while we may already have Flash once per long rest I won’t ever complain about more Misty Step.

LEVEL 8 - WARLOCK 4

4th level Warlocks get an Ability Score Improvement: time for hee-hoo Athlete Feat that I take whenever I want a +1 in DEX but don’t know what to do. But believe it or not there’s actually a reason for it this time: Akali is an athlete, and you need to be able to perform feats of acrobatics like a ninja. Because again: you are a ninja.

You also get another spell along with another cantrip: for your cantrip Mage Hand will let you do a little bit of spirit-jitsu to reach the kimchi on the top shelf. As for your spell Pass without Trace was added in the Tasha’s extended spell list but you don’t really need it. Your friends might but for the most part I’d again suggest waiting for next level.

(Artwork by Zeen Chin. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 9 - WARLOCK 5

5th level Warlocks get another Eldritch Invocation and to be sneaky like a ninja One With Shadows will let you turn invisible if you stand still in the dark. Alternatively (if you think Stealth Expertise will carry you) you can take Far Scribe for some more secret shadow messages.

You can also learn third level spells like Blink for a slightly unreliable Smoke Cloud that’ll shroud you randomly, or Fear because ninjas are scary.

LEVEL 10 - WARLOCK 6

6th level Fey Warlocks get Misty Escape. As a reaction when you’re hit you can drop a smoke bomb to turn invisible and then teleport up to 60 feet. You remain invisible until the start of your next turn unless you attack or cast a spell, and can use this feature once per short or long rest.

You can also prepare another spell and for a ninja flashbang grab Hypnotic Pattern to daze everyone in a 30 foot cube. What? Ninjas can use flashbangs.

LEVEL 11 - WARLOCK 7

7th level Warlocks get another Eldritch Invocation and we can finally run across the universe to whoever we marked with our shuriken. Or at least 30 feet closer. Relentless Hex lets you teleport up to 30 feet and arrive within 5 feet of an enemy you have Hexed, as long as you can see them. While you can dash for this distance or Flash (Misty Step) this will let you get past any difficult terrain or obstacles with ease.

We can also finally get what we came for: a smoke cloud we can attack from while still being invisible. Take Greater Invisibility for invisibility that remains even after you attack. Yes this does mean as a Rogue you’ll have Advantage on all your attacks (to Sneak Attack), and yes the aesthetic of stabbing people with psychic knives that leave no mark while you yourself are invisible is freaking nuts. There are other 4th level spells you can take (Dimension Door and Shadow of Moil being two worth mention) but your other spells are still good. It’s up to you what you do as again I only own the build, not your character.

(Artwork by Alvin Lee. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 12 - ROGUE 5

At long last we’re going back to Rogue! 5th level Rogues can use their reaction for an Uncanny Dodge to take half damage from an attack. Remember that you only have one reaction per round, and this is the same reaction that you need to use for Misty Escape. So decide if disappearing but taking full damage is more valuable than taking half damage.

Your Sneak Attack also increases to 3d6, and you know those Psionic Energy die of yours? Well they’re now d8s! Finally!

LEVEL 13 - ROGUE 6

6th level Rogues get Expertise in two more skills. Acrobatics is an obvious must but I’ll leave the other skill up to you! Make your own build, even if it’ll probably include Riftmaker. (But when in doubt I opted for Perception personally.)

LEVEL 14 - ROGUE 7

7th level Rogues become masters of dodging skill shots thank to Evasion. If you make a Dexterity save and succeed, you take no damage. If you fail the save, you only take half damage! Additionally your Sneak Attack is now 4d6.

(Artwork by Pyeongjun Park. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 15 - ROGUE 8

8th level Rogues get another Ability Score Improvement. Hey about we cap that Dexterity score which has been sitting at an 18 for the past 6 levels? Deadliest knives, most agile of dodges, and BADDEST of dance moves. (Wait no that’s Charisma.)

LEVEL 16 - ROGUE 9

9th level Soul Knife Rogues can improve their weapons to Soul Blades, giving a few new uses to your Psionic Talent die. Homing Strikes will let you add your talent die to a missed attack, potentially allowing you to hit. If the talent die causes your attack to hit, you spend it.

Psychic Teleportation on the other hand will let you roll a Psionic Talent die as a bonus action to teleport an unoccupied space you can see, up to a number of feet away equal to 10 times the number rolled. This feature spends the die no matter how far you teleport. And finally your Sneak Attack increase to 5d6.

LEVEL 17 - ROGUE 10

The nice thing about Rogues is that they get more Ability Score Improvements. For MORE dancing increase your Charisma to show them what you’re made of. I’ll keep making jokes about K/DA don’t worry.

(Artwork by Atey Ghailan. Made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 18 - ROGUE 11

11th level Rogues get Reliable Talent to turn any roll of 9 or lower on a skill check you’re proficient in to a 10. As per standard whenever I hit 11 in a Rogue build I like to make a list of your lowest possible roll so...

27 on Stealth or Acrobatics

25 on Performance

19 on Intimidation

17 on Perception

15 on Arcana

With results varying based on your choice of Expertise, of course. And if somehow that isn’t enough to make a skill check, your Psionic Talent die increases to a d10 along with your 6d6 Sneak Attack!

LEVEL 19 - ROGUE 12

Hey more Ability Score Improvements! That means you can nearly max out your Charisma just before level 20!

LEVEL 20 - ROGUE 13

13th level Soul Knife Rogues get the ultimate stealth tool: the Psychic Veil. As an action you become invisible for 1 hour unless you dismiss this effect (no action required). You remain invisible unless you deal damage to a creature or you force a creature to make a saving throw. You can use this feature once for free per Long Rest, and have to spend a Psionic Energy die to use it again.

Now some might say this is a weak ability since you have Greater Invisibility, but that spell only lasts a minute. This ability is far more useful for infiltration and out-of-combat uses, as with a full hour of being unseen you should be able to get into most places that you shouldn’t be. But if you think “a second level spell extended to 1 hour” isn’t a good capstone just remember that your Sneak Attack does increase to 7d6. And that... you know... You could just go Rogue 12 / Warlock 8 if you don’t like the level 13 ability.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

They can't stop me. I mean, they can try - 45 feet of movement with the ability to dash and teleport, with Athlete helping you scale up walls and Mobile making difficult terrain a non-issue. And yeah the Mobile feat in general makes you incredibly slippery.

I make problems... disappear - Who could’ve guessed that a permanently invisible Rogue would be dangerous? With a dozen tools to play keep-away you can easily be in multiple places at once and make your enemies unable to know where to strike.

I'll make this look like magic - You’ve got a nice bit of utility too with some great skill checks (boosted by your Psionic talent!) along with a ton of cantrips and the ability to learn any ritual spell you may find.

CONS

There are over 300 pressure points on the human body - You have a lot of features that are more for flavor than actual practicality, notably Relentless Hex which uhhhh... just Dash? You also have abilities which aren’t that strong, like weak Warlock spells we didn’t swap out (feel free to do that yourself) and Psychic Veil generally being a mediocre ability. (Nothing you can do to fix that.)

I was just warming up - Your stats aren’t awful but also aren’t fantastic... well except for your Intelligence: that’s pretty bad. And without any saving throw proficiency and a surprisingly limited amount of skills for a Rogue you really won’t be helpful outside of your area of expertise.

You don't get back what I take - Almost all your class features run on limited resources. Most of your Rogue abilities rely on your Psionic Talent die, and while you may have a lot you can only get one per Short Rest. Similarly you only have two Warlock slots, which even if they come back at the end of a Short Rest it leaves a lot to be desired. Frequent tea breaks are nice and all but you can quickly exhaust yourself without breaks.

But you are quick, silent, and deadly. All the skills of a ninja in one package. Dive in, make a clean cut, and get out before they know what hit ‘em. Akali’s that girl. 'Kali go grr. 'Kali don't stop. 'Kali don't skrrt. True Damage we do it, and maybe if you perform well enough you can get into Pentakill too. Look I’m not saying I want Akali to be in every band that Riot makes, but Pentakill Akali would be equally cool and hilarious.

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #League of Legends #League of Legends Akali #dnd rogue #K/DA #k/da akali #kali go brrr #ninja #psychic ninja

[panharmonium]

some disjointed thoughts about stranger things 2 under the cut (concealed to hide spoilers from my sister)

so, season 2!

i’ve gone into every season of this show knowing absolutely nothing about it.  i’ve had no exposure to the fandom or to reviews or anything that would indicate what it was about or how good the seasons are in relation to each other, which i like, because i know my opinions are my own.  season 1 i watched back in the winter, i think, and it was amazing.  blew me away. 

i just finished season 2 and i’m like...not as into it?

and i’m glad i had no preexposure to anything, because if i had, i’d worry that i was just being influenced by other people’s opinions, but i genuinely don’t know what people think of the various seasons.  i’ve been stringently avoiding anything about this show, have it blocked on tumblr, etc, so i could watch it cold.

i’d have to watch it again to really pin down the places where my investment was flagging, and i’ll probably do that eventually, because i know my roommate will want to see it, but my general impression was this: they had me hooked in the beginning, and then they started to lose me.

- i feel like overall it was 9 episodes where very little substance actually happened.  plotlines were stretched out over a reallllllly long period of time and became paper-thin.  like nancy and jonathan?  the only thing they really did over those entire nine episodes was make a tape recording and send it to the paper.  that was their whole story, and it could have fit in one episode.

- and what did happen felt like it suffered from a lack of focus.  can i explain this in more detail without watching the show again?  not really.  but i just mean that in S1, i could tell you what each of the main character’s arcs were, and i could lay out how those arcs had clear beginnings, middles, and endings.  in S2, i can really only do that for El (and even that i feel like got messy by the last third).  

- the horror vibe was different this season.  it was LESS scary, to me.  S1 was a CREEP factor that had my skin crawling - it wasn’t like...creature horror - it was the unsettlingness.  the whole parallel world thing was so - well, the only word for it is unsettling, like.  you felt like you could take a step and accidentally wind up somewhere no one should be - the idea that you can be trapped so close to somebody and yet so far away - you just felt like the world was inside out (or upside down, if you will).  and so much of the fear in the first one came from how incomprehensible and uncertain the entire situation was - you didn’t know how things worked and nobody believed you when you tried to tell them what was happening.  that scene where the christmas lights spell out R-U-N?  scariest fucking thing i’ve ever seen.  but S2 changed it to be like...it felt like more of a monster flick.  like a zombie movie or something - lots of creatures running around that you can just shoot with a gun - that’s just not really the same vibe as the first season, and i didn’t find it quite as interesting.

- i don’t want to be That Person, because i liked maxine as a character in general, on her own terms, but from a writing perspective - what even was the purpose of her introduction?  her and her brother both, honestly, the whole family.  i feel almost bad for saying that, because i can guarantee that there were people out there complaining about her being introduced because “they just wanted to have another girl; it’s so stupid, blah blah,” cue more sexist stuff, etc, and that’s really not where i’m coming from, but for me, from a general storytelling perspective, i don’t understand why she or her family were introduced.  they were superfluous to the story.  they didn’t need to be there.  and since i don’t even feel like the returning characters got enough development this season (see point #2), i don’t understand why we spent so much time on her/her family/her introduction to the Party.  it felt like filler.

- stranger things S2 did that thing teen wolf does where 2/3 of the way through the season it drops a tonally-different expository/flashback episode that does a lot of the legwork tying other shit together while also being completely disconnected from the rest of the plot, which is basically an info dump and is my least favorite way of relaying plot/getting characters to the spot the writer wants them to go.  i think kali was the most interesting new character we met this season; i was rapt every time she was onscreen, but i don’t love the “we’re going to shove all of the character development and background info into this one episode and at the end El has had her turnaround and goes back home.”  it didn’t feel believable to me.  are we ever going to see those people again, or were they just a plot convenience to serve the aforementioned purpose?  (idk, i haven’t watched S3 yet, so...we’ll see.)

- some weird...minor tonal changes/dropped plots?  in S1 one of the running undercurrents was how mike and nancy’s mom wanted them to talk to her and she really did care about what was going on but they couldn’t connect to her and that bothered her, whereas in S2 it’s like - that theme has been dropped; she’s not involved in their lives really at all, and her and ted’s spousal relationship is just being played for laughs, and there was that REALLY weird scene with her like...lusting after billy??????  that was so fucking bizarre.  

and until one line in the very last episode, they dropped the whole thing about hopper’s daughter, too - the way they wove that into the first season was brilliantly done, and just - you don’t see a bit of it in S2, and that felt off, to me.

- killing bob was a bad call.  it was gratuitous, AND it was contrived - who the hell is running for their life and then just stops dead in the lobby to smile at their girlfriend?  ANY SENSIBLE PERSON WOULD KEEP RUNNING FOR THE DOOR.  like - bob died, but the doctor survived????????  the doctor, who was attacked and immobilized and defenseless in a stairwell, somehow wasn’t killed??????  of course not, because he needed to survive, so he could get El her papers later....that entire thing irritated me.  it made no sense.  that was actually the point where i said to myself “uh-oh.  first Bad-with-a-capital-B decision this show’s made.”  

- lack of consistency in terms of how, exactly, Stuff Works.  in S1 it was like - the Upside Down is everywhere.  the demigorgon could come through anywhere, if you were unlucky.  that was part of what made it so creepy - there’s this whole other world and it is RIGHT THERE with you, and sometimes the fabric separating the two universes gets scary thin, and bam, you’re somewhere no human has any business being.  whereas in S2 it’s like - ok, things are coming through this one portal and spreading through tunnels underground, in our own dimension???  like at first i thought hopper had actually entered the Upside Down in the tunnels, but then it seemed like the tunnels were still on our plane, just gross-looking.  so why in S1 could the demigorgon come through the ceiling of will’s house, or through that tree in the woods, or take barbara through the pool?  why did the lab people think burning that little gate would help, when the first monster from last season was obviously popping into our dimension from all sorts of other places?  

- this is a minor quibble, but it was driving me up the WALL in the last couple of episodes - what in god’s name were they injecting will with???  and HOW.  mike just grabs that syringe off the counter like “we need to make will go to sleep” - there is NO reason that anyone in the room would know what was in the syringe or what the correct dosage was or HOW TO GIVE AN INJECTION IN THE FIRST PLACE.  joyce gives it???????  by stabbing straight down????????  into will’s arm????????????  what the hell kind of injection technique is that?!?!?!  that’s not....how that works.  ever.  and maxine does it to billy too, in his NECK - just straight in there.  there is no....look, people in human medicine can weigh in better than me here; maybe things are different, but just from the veterinary perspective, you can’t just stab a creature any old place you want, and giving something via any route that isn’t intravenous isn’t going to drop an animal immediately, AND you do not have control over how long they’re going to be out.  if you give a sedative, you can’t just wake an animal up by wafting ammonia under their nose.  AND the animal is likely not going to be actually asleep until you also give an anaesthetic induction agent, and if you do give an anaesthetic induction agent, you’d better have some monitoring equipment and a breathing apparatus hooked up to your patient!

look, it just - the “go to sleep” injection was used to solve too many critical situations for me to just ignore it.  it bothered me.

anyhow.  overall, i didn’t hate it.  but i thought it was way less cohesive than the first season, and therefore way less effective.  i’m still curious to see what happens in S3, but my expectations are lower now. 

[if you wanna talk to me about this, you have my permission, but ONLY if you’re able to do it without talking about S3 in any capacity, including your own personal evaluation of how good/bad it is in relation to the other seasons.  i like to watch without knowing other people’s opinions of things, otherwise i feel like my viewing experience is colored by what i hear.  thanks! :) ]

#interdimensional babysitters club

[paradoxisrafil]

I Want A Different Boyfriend For Each One Of My Moods

I quoted myself on Facebook but I didn’t officially say it in writing. I’ve said this several times out loud, but I don’t think people understood my boundaries. Do you know how in the last couple of posts, I’ve been upset about being in an open relationship and not wanting to deal with that version of polyamory because it’s not for me? Well I found a meme that actually breaks it down pretty well:



Jokes aside, notice 3 things:

1) Open relationships is a form of poly dating.

2) Open relationships is a form of cheating.

3) Open relationships is a form of glorifying the “don’t ask, don’t tell” bullshit part of dating culture that is normalized.

I don’t fuck with open relationships. It blurs the lines between glorified cheating and dating around. Am I saying that I do any of those things as a poly person? Yes, when I’m in an open relationship. How do I feel about it? Like my moral barometer is being forced to a relationship that does not sit right with my ideal relationship. So what happens? I’ve become emotionally detached to everyone I am involved with until I am not in that kind of explorative setting. When people try to ask me on the past about being in an open relationship, I warn them to don’t bother trying to convince me to be in a commitment with them. Just say you like my vibes and I will decide how to respond to that.

No I’m not saying I don’t care about anyone I’m dating, but I don’t feel that loyalty or exclusivity I would for my partner because they don’t give me that. Not all of them are willing to go past talking or flirting. And I don’t mind, but it gets a little lonely. It doesn’t feel real to me, it just makes me feel like I’m playing the field.

But am I saying that it’s bad?

No.

Like I mentioned before, I date as a poly person by giving them exactly what they want. I know what I want, which is simply to be at peace by myself. Anyone who tags along, I will treat them with exactly the energy they treat me with. And if they want to limit themselves, they just don’t see themselves as valuable and therefore I have nothing to offer that can change that.  The only thing I can do is a debt and learn to appreciate what they have offered through their limitations. Right now, I am not bound to care or extend myself deeper than I need to, but I will dedicate more authentic and personal bonds with someone who desires that intimacy with me when that person comes to me.

But for now I’m tapping into my “Bully Bitch” energy and only being selfish. I was inspired by the song lyrics in the title of this blog post, and listening to more female trap artists like Kali and Enchanting. I realized the concept fake it till you make it is a very huge theme that I have to embrace right now. I don’t hate him, I don’t hate that things are the way they are, I was a little disappointed for expecting more when I didn’t expect much from the beginning. But if I have to embrace this new dynamic, I’m going to abuse the shit out of it. I will be very transparent where transparency is important. I will enjoy intimacy as it comes. And I will definitely make my money and focus on my grind more than anything. But I’m not giving any more handouts.

Except this one. The song is called “Gucci, Prada, Balenciaga” by Hailey Knox. Ching Ching Ching go the Money Tree and the Capricorn Demoness wants you to pay what you owe.

I’m fragmented for a while before I accepted really that no matter what, there’s a crack in this cycle that can never be healed. So I won’t try to fix it anymore. I let go of that. It is truly what it is. The only thing I’m coming back to is a dead fish. I can choose at this point to try to drop a new fish into the tank, but that doesn’t guarantee its survival if the crack in the tank can’t be fixed. I will not resort to insanity. I rather choose peace, just take my fish and let it flow into the ocean and watch it grow and fight to survive in this free world. I won’t keep pondering about the trauma of that night. I won’t keep obsessing over the friends I lost, the embarrassment of being forced to go back home, I can’t focus on those things anymore. I’m safe now, and my freedom is back. That’s all that’s important.

[sonofdevraj-archived]

31. Does your character have children? How do they feel about their parental role? About the children? How do the children relate?

Yes! Arjuna does have children. Unfortunately, there is little to no scripture really on his relationship with his children aside from him being killed by his own son, but we do know their names and the various roles they played in the war in the Mahabharata and in the aftermath. So he had, from what I have found, four biological sons and one adopted, all who have their own stories. WARNING, THIS IS LONG AS SHIT

Who are Arjuna’s children?

Srutakarma. He was born from the marriage between Arjuna and Draupadi. He had some half siblings since Draupadi was technically named to all the Pandava brothers. All the sons born from this polygamous marriage were called the Upapandavas. Srutakarma was the youngest of them and he didn’t play any significant part in the war. I can’t find anything on if he lived or died during the war. 

Iravan. So there’s kind of two stories on Iravan regarding his role in the war in the Mahabharata. He is the son of Ulupi, the Naga princess who Arjuna met during his exile (which has a long ass background to it but to summarise in the shortest way possible: he went into Draupadi’s room to retrieve Gandiva when no one could step into her room so his punishment was exile). So he left to continue his exile, leaving his wife and child perhaps for safety. His upbringing was pretty decent aside from an uncle of his rejecting him because he hated Arjuna. Iravan hoped to one day be reunited with his father, so he travelled to Indraloka which is where Indra, Arjuna’s father, is at. Arjuna meets his adult son and requests his assistance in the war, which Iravan happily agrees to. He proves to be very useful during the war, defeating several Kaurava warriors. He actually defeats an entire army with his Naga army and only leaves one alive, perhaps to tell the tale. Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava and best friend to Karna, is rightfully pissed that his army is suddenly getting annihilated. He sends a giant, Alamvusha, to go and kill Iravan. Their fight is pretty epic, Iravan turns into a serpent and Alamvusha assumes the form of an eagle-man for one, but Alamvusha ultimately wins, eating all of Iravan’s serpent army and cutting off Iravan’s head. 

On the other hand, the story goes in South India that he sacrifices himself to Kali, a warrior goddess, to hopefully guarantee victory for the Pandavas. He is totally fine with sacrificing himself for his family, only wishing to be married for a day. Unfortunately, there are no women who wish to get married for only one day, so Krishna, the god, assumes the form of a woman named Mohini and they get married. This is apparently celebrated greatly in a transgender festival in Southern India called the Koovagam Transgender Festival. 

This son is greatly worshipped by some cults in India. In the Draupadi cult, his head has quite a bit of symbolism in the cult, I recommend googling it if you want to learn more. 

Babruvahana. He was the son of another woman Arjuna met during his exile, Chitrangada, a Manipur princess. So the king allowed Arjuna to marry her if their child would stay in Manipur to be an heir, which he agrees to. Arjuna soon enough leaves either in pursuit of the war, because he questioned his wife’s chastity, or Ulupi, Arjuna’s other wife, plotting against Chitrangada. He returns years later and Babruvahana is king of Manipur by now; Arjuna does not recognise him and the two end up getting into an argument over a horse, which ends with Babruvahana challenging Arjuna. Arjuna is pretty reluctant as Babruvahana was a young boy, so he sends some of his army to negotiate with Babruvahana who kills the army in response. In that army too was Vrishtaketu, Karna’s only surviving son who Arjuna adopted after killing Karna. So Arjuna decides to fight the young boy, determined to avenge Vrishtaketu’s death. He even vows to self-immolate himself if he is defeated by Babruvahana. Annnnnnd Arjuna ends up being killed by his own son. He does come back to life though, via a boon from Ganga Devi which was obtained by his wife, Ulupi, but Vrishtaketu cannot be saved. There’s nothing on Babruvahana’s death that I can find. 

Abhimanyu. He was the son of Subhadra, Lord Krishna’s sister, making him the nephew of Lord Krishna. He plays a huge role in the Mahabharata, mainly by dying. So he once overheard his uncle and mother talking about a military tactic known as Chakravyuha and learned how to advance successfully buuuuuut did not understand how to escape that formation. On the 13th day of the war, the Kauravas decided to use Chakravyuha on the Pandavas and Abhimanyu was able to save the army, showing the Pandavas how to enter the same battle formation. He was apparently such a great warrior that Dronacharya, Duryodhana and Dussasana couldn’t stand against him. Still, they wanted him dead. They ended up surrounding him and Karna himself broke his bow. He continued to fight though, picking up random weapons despite them always breaking. The group engaged him from all sides and smashed his head in. Later that day, a king named Jayadartha came and kicked apart Abhimanyu‘s body, This pissed Arjuna off and he vowed to kill Jayadartha before sunset, self-immolating himself if he failed to do so. With Abhimanyu’s death, reconciliation between the Kauravas and Pandavas was pretty much impossible, so they had to take the other option: fight.  

Vrishakethu. This is his only non-biological son, but Arjuna did not love him any less. He took Vrishakethu in after he killed Karna for, one, killing his brother, and two, unjustly killing Karna. He ended up siding with the Pandava’s after the war and very easily won the affection of Arjuna and Lord Krishna. Arjuna raised him as his own and Vrishakethu was actually supposed to inherit the Yudhishthira throne, but he declined to it. He was killed by one of Arjuna’s other sons, Babruvahana. 

AIGHT now that THAT is out of the way, let’s talk about Arjuna as a father with all of them. 

How do they feel about their parental role and their children in general? How do the children relate?

I headcanon he was not close to the majority of his kids because he wished to focus on the being a hero. Most of his children’s births occurred during the Mahabharata, a time when he was needed like 24/7. The parental role was also never really thrust upon him and no one really expected him to be a father or be present for his children in general. The only thing he needed to do, again, in life was to be a great hero, to fulfil the credentials and surpass those like Karna while not having any negative emotions. 

Now his relationship with his kids varies greatly, some, like freaking Babruvahana tried to kill him (though to his credit he did not know Arjuna was his father) while others he was very close to, for example, Vrishakethu. The relationships can also vary due to the timeline of the Mahabharata. One could say he was close to Vrishakethu because he adopted him AFTER the war in the Mahabharata, allowing him to be more present in his adopted son’s life. 

[[ Holy shit this was long. NGL I worked on this for two days straight. Lots of research and rabbit holes were fallen into. But thank you for sending this in!

#⟨ ; they speak ; ⟩ ooc #;;ask tag

[pakocik]

Bismillah, Kali ini Abuhirr copy paste dari postingan temen di kaskus mengenai Call Of Duty

wallup.net

Call Of Duty, nih game favorit ane, tapi pada sadar tidak, ternyata dalam COD itu setiap seri ada kata2 mutiara nya atau kata bijak lho.. sip dah, CeKiDot :

“Aim towards the Enemy.” — Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher

“A leader leads by example, not by force.” — Sun Tzu

“All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing.”— Edmund Burke

“All warfare is based on deception.”— Sun Tzu

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.”— John F. Kennedy

“Any military commander who is honest will admit he makes mistakes in the application of military power.”— Robert McNamara

“Anyone, who truly wants to go to war, has truly never been there before!”— Larry Reeves

“Any soldier worth his salt should be anti-war. And still, there are things worth fighting for.”— General Norman Schwarzkopf

“A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.”— Admiral David D. Porter, USN

“Cluster bombing from B-52s are very, very, accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground.”— USAF Ammo Troop

“Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”— Ronald Reagan

“Cost of a single AC-130U Gunship: $190 million”

“Cost of a single B-2 Bomber: $2.2 Billion”

“Cost of a single F-117A Nighthawk: $122 Million”

“Cost of a single F-22 Raptor: $135 million”

“Cost of a single Javelin Missile: $80,000″

“Cost of a single Tomahawk cruise Missile: $900,000″

“Diplomats are just as essential in starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it.— Will Rogers

“Every tyrant who has lived has believed in freedom – for himself.”— Elbert Hubbard

“Five second fuses only last three seconds.”— Infantry Journal

“Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share.”— Ned Dolan

“Friendly fire – isn’t.”— Unknown

“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just brave five minutes longer.”— Ronald Reagan

“If a man has done his best, what else is there?”— General George S. Patton

“If at first you don’t succeed, call an air strike.”— Unknown

“If the enemy is in range, so are you.”— Infantry Journal

“If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it’s probably a helicopter and therefore, unsafe.”— Unknown

“If we can’t persuade nations with comparable values of the merits of our cause, we’d better reexamine our reasoning.”— Robert McNamara

“If you can’t remember, the claymore is pointed toward you.”— Unknown

“If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”— Sun Tzu

“If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush.”— Infantry Journal

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”— Albert Einstein

“Incoming fire has the right of way.”— Unknown

“In the end, it was luck. We were *this* close to nuclear war, and luck prevented it.”— Robert McNamara

“In war, truth is the first casualty”— Aeschylus

“In war, you win or lose, live or die – and the difference is just an eyelash.”— General Douglas MacArthur

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”— General Norman Schwarzkopf

“I think that technologies are morally neutral until we apply them. It’s only when we use them for good or evil that they become good or evil.”— William Gibson

“I think the human race needs to think about killing. How much evil must we do to do good?”— Robert McNamara

“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.”— General Douglas MacArthur

“It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.”— U.S. Air Force Marshal

“Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so just because you might not like what you find.”— Colin Powell

“Let your plans be as dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”— Sun Tzu

“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.”— John F. Kennedy

“My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.”— George Washington

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”— Abraham Lincoln

“Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.”— Unknown

“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”— Colin Powell

“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.”— Winston Churchill

“Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.”— Herbert Hoover

“So long as there are men, there will be wars.”— Albert Einstein

“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.”— Ronald Reagan

“Teamwork is essential, it gives them other people to shoot at.”— Unknown

“The bursting radius of a hand-grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.”— Unknown

“The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.”— Colin Powell

“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!”— General John J. Pershing

“The indefinite combination of human infallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations.”— Robert McNamara

“The more marines I have around, the better I like it.”— General Clark, U.S. Army

“The press is our chief ideological weapon.”— Nikita Khrushchev

“The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.”— Ralph Waldo Emmerson

“There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion.”— General William Thornson

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”— Thomas Jefferson

“The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”— Norman Schwarzkopf

“The tyrant always talks as if he’s preserving the best interests of his people when he actually acts to undermine them.”— Ramman Kenoun

“The world will not accept dictatorship or domination.”— Mikhail Gorbachev

“They’ll be no learning period with nuclear weapons. Make one mistake and you’re going to destroy nations.”— Robert McNamara

“Tracers work both ways.”— U.S. Army Ordinance

“Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.”— Infantry Journal

“Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them.”— Voltaire

“War does not determine who is right – only who is left”— Bertrand Russell

“War is delightful to those who have not yet experienced it.”— Erasmus

“We’re in a world in which the possibility of terrorism, married up with technology, could make us very, very sorry we didn’t act.”— Condoleeza Rice

“We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us.”— George Orwell

“When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.”— U.S. Army Training Notice

“Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you!”— Nikita Khrushchev

“Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.”— Vladimir Putin

“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.”— General Douglas MacArthur

“Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist.”— Yassar Arafat

“You can make a throne of bayonets, but you cant sit on it for long.”— Boris Yeltsin

“You cant say civilization dont advance – for in every war, they kill you in a new way.”— Will Rogers

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Kata-Kata Bijak Di Dalam Game Call Of Duty Modern Warfare Bismillah, Kali ini Abuhirr copy paste dari postingan temen di kaskus mengenai Call Of Duty Call Of Duty, nih game favorit ane, tapi pada sadar tidak, ternyata dalam COD itu setiap seri ada kata2 mutiara nya atau kata bijak lho..