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tired-of-being-nice · 13 days

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67 for Milo and Coren! :3

67 on the prompt game: Playing The Melody

(this took so much longer then i expected it to, lmao)

cws: emotional whump, fucked up economic systems

"Milo!!! Milomilomilomilo! Look what I got!"

Milo lowers their book and glances up, and their eyes immediately widen in shock. "Woah. Is that–"

"It is!!" Coren says gleefully, hugging it to their chest. "An actual, real-life guitar! It's probably not tuned right and I think some of the strings are kinda busted but– so cool, right?"

"So cool," Milo agrees. "Where on earth did you get it?"

"Oh, the, um, the junk store," Coren says, with a hint of forced casualty. Milo nods in understanding. The junk store–so called because it mostly carries, well, junk–is...maybe not exactly a store. It doesn't take any company's scrip, just deals in bartering, which seems like it should be illegal, but the store is a fixture of their neighborhood and it's never been shut down that Milo's heard of, so...

"Yeah, I had to trade in a bunch of old clothes and some food—don't give me that look, Milo, I'm fine!—but I got it! And I can kinda play it! Here, look."

And without any further warning, Coren sits down on the stoop across from Milo and begins to pluck at the strings.

It's slow, and awkward, and even Milo can tell it's not very good. But as it plays, slowly, Milo begins to recognize what it's playing.

"I think I know this song!" they say.

Coren beams at them, and Milo's heart swells. "Yeah?! Good! It's an old song, a folk song, I think. I'm pretty sure I've heard it somewhere, can't remember where, but– um– yeah." It looks down at the strings and starts playing again, apparently abruptly embarrassed.

It's still not very good. Pretty bad, actually, objectively speaking. But Milo doesn't care. They think it's wonderful.

———

"Oh, Ray, I didn't know you had a piano."

"Oh! Uh, yeah. I- It was given to me by my family, um, I wouldn't actually buy something so- so frivolous, er-" Ray flails for the correct thing to say with increasing panic. By the time he'd woken up Milo and told them Coren was gone, it seemed too late to go after it, and Milo had simply said "Ah. I see."

Ray had expected them to leave after that, but instead they'd started wandering around Ray's house like a ghost. Ray wants to ask them to leave, or remind them that they do both have to get to work soon, or tell them that she does want either her spatula back or compensation, but some instinct of politeness has been holding her back. And now-

"Do you play?" Milo says, looking at him directly for the first time this morning. Ray is startled by the focus in their gaze, which usually seems to be looking somewhere else entirely. If he didn't know better he'd say they look eager, but- no, that can't be it. He's never seen Milo look eager for anything in the whole time he's known them.

"...A little," she says. "Used to, anyway, I haven't had time to in...oh, geez, several years?" She forces an awkward laugh that, judging by Milo's stare, is not remotely convincing.

"Can you play something now?" Milo says.

Ray hesitates. "I- I'm out of practice. And you'd owe me, you know-"

"I know," Milo says easily. "We'll rebalance the book later. One song? Please."

Ray, pretending his best that he doesn't really want to (it's been so long, when will he get another chance?), says "Fine. One. Any requests?"

Milo answers so quickly Ray's a little suspicious. "I don't know the name, but it's this old folk tune. It's like- da da dada, da da dada, da da daaa dada dada..."

"...Yes. I know it." Ray shuffles through her music and sits. "Nice and short. Okay."

She plays– hesitantly at first, she is out of practice, but slowly picking up speed, though she flinches every time she hits a sour note. By the end, though, she's closer to smiling than she has been in a long time.

"That was nice," Milo says, and Ray turns to look at them. He'd nearly forgotten they were there. "Thank you, Ray. I'll see you at work."

With that, they turn and leave, abrupt and purposeful, as if nothing odd had transpired whatsoever. Ray is left standing in the doorway, staring after them and wondering why on earth they would want to hear something that made them look so terribly sad.

#asks?! for me?!#oc: coren #oc: milo #oc: ray #october's whump #emotional whump #if you guess the song you get a cookie! if not thats fair i didnt give many hints. i'll post it tomorrow anyway

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penguinkinggames · 3 years

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“Cerebos: The Crystal City” Actual Play Part I: Introductions

This is the first in a series of posts recounting a session of actual play from Cerebos: the Crystal City, currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter. If you’ve been wondering what on Earth players actually do in a game of Cerebos, read on!

This session was conducted on March 20th, 2021, with Matthew Dorbin as GM, and Amelia Gorman, Ashley Flanagan, Will Mendoza, and Kevin Snow playing. The events of play were recorded by Zach Welhouse.

Preamble

For this session of Cerebos, the GM volunteered to run a session with the Adventure! Conductor. The conductor’s Atlas Obscura power invites the players and GM to work collaboratively to create a Stops table unique to their journey. They exchanged a few ideas over e-mail, which the GM codified. He added this new Stops table, which was heavy on the hells, to five other Stop tables to create an Atlas. Then he selected six Event tables to create an Almanac.

Everybody met in Discord and talked about unrelated matters for a bit. Then it was time to introduce characters. Each character clings to three touchstones: objects that represented their past in the City by the Sea. Each touchstone has a single Trait.

Dramatis Personae

Tinderling. A woman who looks like a burnt match.

Iron rail spike (Odd Jobs)

A single match (Burns at Both Ends)

Bird bone sewing needle (Piercing Insight)

The Unqualified Robot. A mechanical figure with a light projection screen for a head. It indicates expression by placing a large slide with the image of an emotion on the screen.

Expression slides (Toxic Positivity)

Backpack of unsold gadgets (Abandoned Junk)

Flask of motor oil (Guzzlin’)

The Lady in Blue. A woman who is as regal as she is soot-stained: exceedingly.

Gun with a single bullet (Single-Minded)

Feathered hat (Life of Luxury)

Burned handbag (Lost Sister)

The Lonesome Seafarer. A sea captain far from shore.

Patchwork coat (Coat of Theseus) (“I like it because it’s vague and we’ll find out what it means during play.”)

Blue tricorner hat (Air of Authority)

Spyglass with broken lens (Grizzled Survivor)

Some players came to the table with their whole starting concept, while others were less certain about their starting Traits. Everyone helped brainstorm starting Traits for the players who were less certain. This early riffing was the first sign of the collaboration to come.

One player noticed they gravitated toward useless items or objects of purely sentimental value. The travelers themselves were quite worn, so we were already establishing a contemplative mood. These were travelers who had been beaten down by the world, but hadn’t given up yet. Their stories would be ones of struggle and inspirational determination or grim warnings about challenging forces larger than themselves.

Goals

Based on these introductions, each player determined why another traveler was headed to Cerebos. They shared the goals with the GM over DMs, so no one knew why their traveler was on the road. The truth revealed itself over time through flashbacks

Tinderling: Her newly unionized shop got shut down by union busters. She’s looking for a place with less draconian labor laws.

The Unqualified Robot: Cerebos is home to a famous scientist who specializes in reprogramming obsolete robots for new jobs.

The Lady in Blue: The Lady in Blue's sister, the Lady in Red is a criminal ringleader in Cerebos. The Lady in Blue aims to kill her and take over her crime empire.

The Lonesome Seafarer: The Lonesome Seafarer is looking for someone lost at sea, and old rival/loved one who was believed to have perished but was seen alive in the City by someone the Seafarer trusts. They have something they want to ask them.

Based on their answers to the GM’s initial questions, the players were interested in telling a story about labor, power, and human connections.

For example, the GM asked the players if they intended to pay for passage on the train. One player suggested they might have company scrip from Tinderling's employers. The GM asked if the company had a name, at which point Inferno Heavy Industries was born. It had just opened its newest station for business, to (according to the fresh posters) was "bringing luxury to a land with so little of value".

The Journey Begins

When the travelers arrive, workmen are still unloading plants and doing their best to landscape the surrounding wasteland. The local ecosystem will probably recover. Tinderling notices a panhandler passing among the large crowds, who she recognizes as a scab from the City by the Sea.

The train still has that new train smell. It has fancy cushions and a conductor who’s knowledgeable and friendly, but not pushy. Only the best for the engine’s maiden voyage!

The Lonesome Seafarer follows the automated snack cart from car to car, loading up on the bounty of the rails. The Unqualified Robot, never having been on a train before (presumably), keeps getting in the way until Tinderling recognizes a proletariat in need and guides it to a seat. The Unqualified Robot slides a winking face into its project slot, gladdened by the kindness.

The train sets off and the GM rolls for an Event in the Almanac. The train plows through the desert, passing through a region of low hills and hexagonal pits that seep gas into the air. Plague doctors patrol the perimeter, keeping pit owls from approaching the train.

This terrain is a Danger 3 Event. If the Danger level (that is, the total Danger of all active Events) is 4 or greater by the time the train reaches a Stop, the Stop will be especially dangerous. If the Event’s individual Danger is reduced to 0, one of the travelers will receive a keepsake of the encounter.

At this point, everybody takes an action with comments, suggestions, and general role-playing filling the space in between.

First Round of Train Actions

Tinderling is familiar with gas from mines and factories. It may be dangerous! She suggests people put on wet masks. She takes the Engage Event action and rolls a Success to lower the danger to 2. Several passengers see the wisdom of this advice and mask up.

The Lady in Blue shares a story with whoever’s sitting next to her (it doesn’t matter, really) about the importance of staying calm and composed during times of danger. Take it easy, eat a little food. It will all work out. She uses the conductor’s Easy Confidence Train Action to understand Tinderling. Just a little. She gains a bonus to the next time they work together.

The Lonesome Seafarer believes the unruly owls to be a problem. She shouts out the window and waves her hat at them: “Hey! Owls! Listen to those plague doctors! They have good medical advice!” Another Success. The Event’s danger lowers to 1.

The Unqualified Robot, shocked by all the action, takes the Lady in Blue’s advice. It tries creating a meal from the snack cart, mashing snacks against its face until it’s a custardy mess. The Lady in Blue offers a napkin and they talk through the comedy of manners. Next, the Robot tries its flask. Empty. The Lady in Blue suggests whiskey for the both of them. They both Share a Meal and earn a keepsake: a tasty beverage that provides a one-time reroll of a 1 or 2.

The first round of Train Actions has ended. The train speeds on into the evening. A few owls follow, hovering just out of reach.

Second Round of Train Actions

Tinderling asks the Lonesome Seafarer about her spyglass. The Seafarer has a flashback to a terrible sea battle against a kraken. She orders her crew to battle stations! Second mate Scurvy doubts her, shouting, “Are you mad, captain? We can’t fight this!” The captain disagrees, jumping into action and fighting back the kraken almost single-handedly, saving the topsman from a tentacle that may very well be an arm. After the battle, Scurvy is nowhere to be found. During this flashback, Tinderling set up most of the action, while the Lonesome Seafarer filled in with her actions. Everyone else offered suggestions, commentary, jokes, and bit parts like sailors screaming in terror. Everybody spitballs ideas about what this scene reveals about the Lonesome Seafarer and agrees: the spyglass gains two ranks of the Tunnel Vision trait.

The Unqualified Robot sees passengers all around it talking, and emulates them by asking the Lady in Blue a nice, innocent question about the gun she’s carrying. It seems like a safe conversation opener, but draws her into a flashback! The Lady in Blue is playing cards in a seedy tavern. One hand is on her gun, which she’s holding under the table and pointing at her opponent. It’s a game of chance, but the Lady in Blue is exuberantly talking about her masterful strategy. Her opponent throws his hands in the air in disgust, knocking over several drinks. He goes to pick his mug off the ground, narrowly missing as the Lady in Blue passes her gun off to an accomplice who walks past. Her name isn’t Margaret and the Lady in Blue’s name isn’t Angela, but that’s how they refer to one another. The Lady in Blue’s player had no idea how this game would turn out while it was happening. The accomplice was probably the lost sister alluded to in her Lost Sister trait, but only future flashbacks would tell. Everyone talks about what they learned about the Lady in Blue, and her gun gains two ranks of the Nick of Time trait.

At this point in the journey, two flashbacks have flashed back. The GM rolls on the Almanac for an Event, prompting an announcement from the conductor: “Hello passengers. It’s rare for a train to get lost, but we have.”

Inferno Heavy Industries hired several competing rail gangs for its line, leading to a labyrinthine snarl of tracks. Worse, the turbulence woke a swarm of chandler beetles that had been roosting in the overhead bins. Their waxy secretions have a way of ruining any train ride or picnic, most immediately threatening the Lady in Blue’s sippin’ whiskey. This is a Danger 3 event, which raises the Danger level on the train to 4.

The second round of train actions then continues:

The Lonesome Seafarer continues her conversation with Tinderling, ignoring the beetles for the time being, prompting a flashback. Encouraged by the Lonesome Seafarer’s tale of adversity, Tinderling recalls a time she had to stitch up a friend in the mines with her bird bone sewing needle. Inferno Heavy Industries at fault. That’s when she got the idea to blow up the mine and let those hateful ghouls know their workers had dignity. Everyone decides the bird bone sewing needle gains two ranks of A Rough Patch.

The Lady in Blue decides needs must. She sacrifices her hat to scoop up the chandler beetles that are threatening her drink. It’s a snap decision that she instantly regrets. That hat was a link to who she used to be, and possibly who she would like to continue being. It was an exclusive. A very nice hat. The Lady in Blue rolls an 8 on her roll to release a touchstone. It’s an Ugly Break, so one of her other touchstones gains one Momentum. Even though her luxurious hat has been tainted by insects, she still has her fancy bag. On the bright side, she gains one Contemplation for taking a step away from her all-controlling past. She doesn’t know much about who she is or who she wants to be, but her hat and the memories connected to it certainly aren’t going to hold her back.

The second round of train actions has now concluded! The Danger level is still 4.

Third Round of Train Actions

Tinderling finishes her conversation with the Lonesome Seafarer and looks across the car to the Unqualified Robot. It’s sipping whiskey from its refilled flask, watching the Lady in Blue go after the beetles with her hat. Tinderling notices the flask looks like an oil can. The Unqualified Robot notices it’s being watched and becomes self-conscious. It thinks back to when it liberated the oil can from an Inferno Heavy Industries factory. It was scrounging for oil, always finding just enough to keep it going. Even though the factory was out of commission, automated guards were still protecting its assets. The guards were large and dystopian, while the Unqualified Robot was small and scrappy. It scraped oil off the silent factory machinery with a tiny spoon. It listened to messages on the foreman’s answering machine. The electricity bill is due in three days. The Robot dutifully writes down the messages from the answering machine and takes a sip of oil. Everyone agrees the Unqualified Robot’s story is going to go some dark places. The oil can flask gains two ranks of Drowning Sorrows.

Two more flashbacks have occurred, so the GM rolls for another Event. The players recognize the Danger is adding up, but are cavalier about it. “How bad can it be?” That’s how they get ants. Ants that are crossing the tracks in a line that stretches to the horizon. They’re carrying the components to build a death ray. Components that look suspiciously similar to the inner workings of a robot. The Event’s Danger is 1; the train’s overall Danger is 5.

The third round of train actions continues:

The Unqualified Robot Engages the Event. The ants know Morse code, as does the Robot so communication is not a problem. Understanding is more difficult. The Robot slides a diplomatic slide onto its projector screen and solemnly taps out, “Please don’t build a death ray with the components of robots. They are living creatures, demanding of dignity.” It rolls a 1 and a 2. A Setback. The Robot takes a long pull from its whiskey, using the meal keepsake to reroll the 1. Its new results are a 2 and a 2, which is still a Setback. Worse, it’s rolled doubles. If the Robot chooses not to reroll at this point, it’ll gain a point of Momentum in addition to the penalty from the Setback. However, it still has several Traits it could use. The Unqualified Robot decides a Setback makes more sense. It receives one Damage and gains a point of Momentum to its face plates. Everyone shares a good-natured laugh at how unlucky the robot is and how it will receive a Bad End at this rate.

The Lady in Blue feels a looming sense of dread and takes a Stop the Train Action. The conductor cheerfully reminds everyone that due to paperwork they signed when purchasing their tickets, the train will be making a brief, unscheduled stop to investigate several findings of industrial importance. Naturally, the NDA also applies.

Ordinarily, after calling for a Stop, any travelers who have yet to take their train action for the round would receive the opportunity to do so before the train pulls into the station; however, in the group’s eagerness to get away from the assorted owls and insects, the Lonesome Seafarer’s turn was accidentally skipped!

The First Stop

Inferno Heavy Industries scientists unload delicate instruments and set up camp. This is a burial ground, but the skeletons interred in the sands have beards and wigs made of precious metals. If they could determine how to extract metal from living bone, profits would be sure to follow.

In normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be an especially dangerous Stop. However, the travelers let the Event Danger pile up. The last remaining owls have lost interest and the conductor deals with the chandler beetles, but bad karma and the ants remain -- and they’ve decided to complement their death ray with silver and gold, both fine conductors..

In fact, the silver and gold threads are so conducive that several of the skeletons spring to unlife, animated by the scientist’s tools. They give of sparks and judder through the sands, inconveniencing scientists, passengers, and ants alike. Passengers watch the train in shifts, keeping the electric dead at bay with long poles.

The Stop has Danger 5. Since it’s so high, the travelers are unable to rest and take in the sights. Moreover, they’ll need to be very lucky if they want to leave with a fond keepsake or without suffering Damage. The train will remain for one round of Stop Actions. Tune in next time to find out how the travelers fare!

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #cerebos #kickstarter #violence mention #death mention #food mention #alcohol mention

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hasty-touch · 5 years

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Tips for leveling DoH & DoL

I am fondly known by my friends as "that guy who's obsessed with crafting and also Ishgard", so I'm ecstatic about getting to enjoy both those things in Shadowbringers. And I've been hearing a lot of my friends excited about the latter wanting to catch up with the former so they're ready to participate! I love crafting so much I've capped classes on 4 alts... so having leveled multiple times, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and tips -- not a detailed how-to guide (though maybe I'll try to write one of those someday), but broader opinions about what strategies to take. This is geared more to DoH than DoL (which is more self-explanatory IMO) but I'll include thoughts on DoL too.

I learned how to craft back in the 2.5 era from GameFAQs and from ffxivguild -- though I can't easily recommend the latter anymore because their ads and autoplay videos have gotten really aggressive. If I find a good, current guide I'll add a link here.

Other resources well-loved by me or friends are Crafting as a Service for shopping lists and leveling planning, Ariyala for gearing, FFXIV Teamcraft for their endgame-invaluable simulator, and Garlandtools Bell for unspoiled nodes.

So let's see. What would my general tips be for people who are picking up DoH and DoL now in anticipation of Shadowbringers?

Your leveling options

There are lots of different ways for you to level your DoH and L, so if you hate one there's sure to be another option. Some of them, and my thoughts on the pros and cons of the different methods:

Class Quests. I strongly recommend doing your class quests as you unlock them! They give nice lumps of experience, shards/crystals for DoH, and gear (albeit NQ gear, so inferior to what you could make yourself). You should especially do 60-70, Stormblood era quests as you unlock them, as they give you powerful new traits and abilities. Of course, you have to fill the gaps between class quests with something:

Grinding. Just makin' stuff from your Crafting Log or gathering from your Gathering Log, or hanging out at a level-appropriate fishing hole and fishing. Potentially boring, but can actually add up to nice chunks of EXP, especially under Rested and with the aid of Engineering Manuals/Survival Manuals. (More on them later.)

Leveling DoH through grinding is probably your most expensive option, not only in terms of gil spent on the MB but retainer space used to store those materials.

Synthesize (manually crafting) gives more experience than Quick Synthesis -- if I understand correctly, the more steps you use in a craft the more experience you get, up to a point renofmanyalts says you get more exp the more you fill your Quality bar, which makes a lot more sense!

You can recover some of your gil by selling the items you make, so a little time researching what you can make at your level that sells well may be profitable in several ways.

Leveling DoL through grinding, on the other hand, is potentially a way to make money, if there's a high-demand item in the right level range.

You'll get more experience for HQ items and by maintaining a chain (i.e., not missing an item).

Since you can start and stop grinding whenever you want, you can use it both if you have lots or limited time to play. But I wouldn't recommend it as your primary method!

Grand Company Supply and Provisioning. One item requested each day for each class. You get a very nice chunk of experience, doubled if HQ, with a further bonus to starred items.

I like the GC as a leveling method. They usually take the length of one food buff (<= 30 minutes for all eight DoH classes, plus an additional <= 30 minutes for all three DoL classes), which is a manageable amount of chores per day. You get GC seals, which can be spent on manuals, Cordials, squadron missions, etc., to further help you.

You are limited to one item per class per day, so once you've handed in your day's items, you have to find something else to do. It's great if you play every day, but if you have a lot of playtime on just a few days of the week you may not be able to take the same advantage.

You do have to buy and store the materials, and since the assignment each day is random, it may take up a lot of retainer space.

Levequests/guildleves. While technically limited by your leve allowances (which can be checked at the bottom of your journal), you get 3 allowances every 12 hours and you can store up to 100, and you've gotta really grind leves to spend 100 leve allowances. They give nice chunks of experience, doubled for HQ.

"Levekits" are bundles of items sold by higher-level crafters and fishers which, when handed in to levemetes, get you enough experience to bump you up to the target level (50, 60, etc.) They're an option -- and if you really must be level 70 today, they're your only option -- but I don't really recommend them. If you learn to craft yourself while you level, you'll understand how the abilities work together and won't be overwhelmed by buttons at cap. Even if you intend only to craft at cap using other people's macros, a little bit of knowledge will help you troubleshoot and improve them.

If you take advantage of DoH leves, I would recommend you make the items yourself instead, gaining experience both for the crafting and for the turn-in. You will have to buy/gather the materials, but since you can decide what leves you're going to target in advance and just get materials for those, storage is not as problematic.

MIN and BTN leves send you to a location to gather key items that are handed in at the end of the leve, sometimes with special targets (changing what actions you'd spend your GP on). For the time invested you get more exp than just grinding, but you don't have items to sell at the end of it.

Large-Scale Temple Knight leves (marked with "(L)" in the levequest name) are generally considered not worth your time because they take 10x the allowances and only give 3x the exp.

You can do as many leves as you want per day as long as you have the allowances, so you can take advantage if you've got a lot or a little time.

Beast Tribes. You can get DoH exp from the Ixal (intended for level 1-50) and the Moogles (50-60), and either DoH or DoL from the Namazu (60-70). You're limited by Beast Tribe Daily Quest Allowances (12 per day for any beast tribes of your choice) and the number of quests that tribe offers (Ixal start with Deliverance, which is sort of like a bonus daily GC supply mission + 3 dailies, and progressively more are offered as you level up; Moogles and Namazu normally gives you 3 a day, but you get a bonus 3 on days your Reputation ranks up.) They give nice, moderate lumps of exp.

One of the great advantages of beast tribes is that you are given the materials for the item(s) required by the quest, so you only have to pay for crystals -- and you're often rewarded crystals for completion, making them free aside from teleport and repair costs!

Ranking up unlocks more items at the tribe's vendor. The Ixal have a wonderful selection of lumber, and you can buy the Adept and Trailblazer (level 58) sets from the Moogles with Carved Kupo Nuts, etc.

Unlocking Ixal only requires the level 41 MSQ "In Pursuit of the Past". But you gotta unlock the Moogles and the Namazu not only through MSQ (respectively, level 56 "He Who Would Not Be Denied" and level 66 "In Crimson They Walked") but through sidequest chains. The Moogle unlock chain is long and starts with "A Pebble for Your Thoughts" in Moghome (and then after "Trouble at Zenith" you gotta pick up "Into the Mists" from the Pillars). The Namazu require two short chains from Yanxia, starting with "Courage the Cowardly Lupin" and "Perchance to Hanami".

The Ixal daily "Deliverance" will take items you bought off the MB, but otherwise you must do all beast tribes tasks yourself.

The tasks given to you in the Moogle and Namazu DoH quests are really easy -- as long as you grasp the barest basics of crafting, you can succeed at them (and you can retry as many times as you like, only losing crystals). The Ixal dailies take away your hand slot gear to begin with and slowly add challenge with increasing restrictions such as cross-class ability lockouts. They're not hard, per se, but you have to puzzle over it a bit more than usual.

You can cheat and do Moogle dailies on a higher level class than you hand it in on. You can’t with Namazu -- you have to complete the quest with the same class you picked it up with.

Though quick, they do take a little bit of time, most of which traveling between quest points. Denisot's round today of 3 Moogle dailies took 5 minutes, but if you get one that involves repreated trips it can take longer. Still, they're good if you can play every day even if only briefly.

You might get asked to type "free kupo nuts" in /say.

Collectables (Rowena's House of Splendors). After (IIRC) level 50, after MSQ "The Better Half", you can unlock collectables via the quest "Inscrutable Tastes" in Revenant's Toll. You can then hand in collectables to the House of Splendors (via kiosks at the main cities, Revenant's Toll, Idyllshire, and Rhalgr's Reach) to receive experience and scrips. Like GC supply and provisioning, each day the requested items change. Also like the GC, there's a chance the requested items will have a star next to them, giving bonus scrip and exp. It's always the highest-level turn-in available to you that has a chance of a star.

Collectable crafting works exactly the same as regular crafting. You just toggle on Collector's Glove (an action you can get from your actions window and/or put on your hotbar) and craft as if you were trying for HQ; your HQ chance is converted into collectable rating.

Collectable fishing is AFAIK essentially the same as fishing for HQ. Again, you just toggle on Collector's Glove and try to land a big/HQ fish.

Collectable MIN and BTN, on the other hand, is its whole own little mini-game added on to the normal gathering minigame. You'll want to look up a guide on how to do collectable gathering -- I don't have one handy at the moment. It's not hard, necessarily, but it's a new system to learn!

Rowena's House of Splendors is truly unlimited, and you can hand in as many collectables as you want each day. The experience isn't great, though, even for starred items, so I would recommend against going crazy and doing these all day long. LOVE YOURSELF!

The amounts of scrip rewarded isn't great to begin with, so grinding for rewards will be pretty miserable until you get up into the mid-high 50s. However, if you must have the full Adept's set today, it's an option!

Red Crafters' Scrip (the current common scrip) can be traded for a variety of items, such as manuals, level 60 gear (via Rowena's Token (Blue Crafters' Scrip)), Soul of the Crafter (for changing specializations after your free choice of three from Alderan), IV-V materia, old mats, etc. Red Gatherers' Scrip can also be traded for gear and materia, more valuable old mats (like Pterodactyl), and good fishing bait like Brute Leech and Silkworm.

Collectables are not tradeable, so you must do them yourself. You can't buy the items or get a friend to make them for you.

For DoH, you do have to buy and store the materials, as with Grand Company Supply, unless you exclusively do:

Custom Deliveries. The first client is Zhloe Aliapoh, unlocked at level 60 with quest "Arms Wide Open" in Idyllshire. These tasks take collectables, like Rowena's House of Splendors, but are limited to 6 hand-ins per week per client and 12 hand-ins per week across all clients. If you do them at level cap, you get valuable yellow scrips, but you can also use your allowances for leveling classes below cap.

The materials for DoH Custom Deliveries are sold by vendors in town (Scrap Salvager in Idyllshire, Material Supplier in Rhalgr's Reach, and Blue Merchant in Tamamizu) They're cheap, and you're awarded gil at hand-in, so DoH Custom Deliveries are almost-free-to-profitable to do. DoL, as usual, cost only teleport and repair costs.

The time required is generally very little -- FSH probably takes the longest because of RNG. And you can do them whenever you have time during the week.

If you're using them for leveling, the experience is only modest. But it is a very easy, low-effort way to get red scrips and experience (if you do them below cap) and yellow scrips (if you do them at cap).

AFAIK, Zhloe only requires you unlock Idyllshire level and be 60 in one DoH or DoL class. M'naago requires the MSQ cleared through "Return of the Bull" (SB 4.1). Kurenai requires you to have unlocked M'naago and finished the quest chain that starts with "The Palace of Lost Souls" (including quests not currently marked with a blue unlocky !).

For DoH, like with Moogle dailies, you can craft the collectable item on any class, then change classes before handing it in.

Challenge Log. Don't forget that you get lumps of experience each week for crafting NQ and HQ items, melding materia, gathering NQ and HQ from nodes, and fishing NQ and HQ fish. The quantities are modest, but they're a nice bonus if you choose to level through a method that involves crafting/gathering items yourself (GC Supply/Provisioning, levequests, grinding, etc.)

Overall, my recommendation would be to try a little bit of every leveling method and find out what's enjoyable for you and fits nicely into your budget and schedule. We have a half-year until Shadowbringers, so if you start now you can take a relaxed pace -- no need to rush, grind doing stuff you hate, and burn yourself out.

Engineering and Survival Manuals and similar buffs

There are a variety of buffs that will help you level, giving you more experience per craft or gather. For DoH, you want Engineering Manuals (the yellow ones); for DoL, it's Survival Manuals (the green ones). You can get these from all sorts of sources -- all the ones I remember are:

Rewards from doing your class quests. Another reason to stay on top of em! These Commercial * Manuals give a 150% boost and last 60 minutes or up to 300,000 exp. You can buy more from Rowena's House of Splendors with red scrips.

Bought from your GC quartermaster (Grand Company Seal Exchange). The strongest ones available are Company-Issue * Manual II (+50% for 180 minutes or for 100,000 exp) for sergeants. Company-Issue * Manuals do not stack with Commerical * Manuals.

Free Company actions. "Helping Hand II" and "Earth and Water II" can be bought from the OIC Quartermaster and give 10% more experience to DoH and DoL respectively. The more powerful III versions are charged on an Aetherial Wheel and provide a 20% bonus.

Rewarded from Squadron Priority Missions. You unlock your GC squadron, IIRC, at Second Lieutenant rank, and unlock Priority Missions by completing the level 40 Flagged Mission. The Squadron * Manuals (+20% for 120 minutes, no limit) you can obtain once-a-week from Priority Mission manuals do not stack with Free Company actions.

Company-Issue/Commercial manuals DO stack with Squadron manuals/FC actions.

The recruit-a-friend reward, Friendship Circlet, can be worn while crafting and gathering for 20% more exp when level 25 or below. Same for the Stormblood preorder(?) reward, Ala Mhigan Earrings, which gives 30% more exp when level 50 or below. Brand-New Ring is wearable only by Disciples of War or Magic, so you can't use that.

While it's not an exp bonus, the crafting facility furnishings (Woodworking Bench, etc.) grant a nice 60 minutes of bonus CP to DoH of level 60 or lower, AND THEY CAN NOW BE PUT INTO STORAGE!!! \o/

And of course, don't forget to eat some sort of food while you're crafting or gathering for the 3% exp bonus.

Which DoH should I level up first?

The correct answer to this question has been, and continues to be, everything at once; omnicrafting is the best way.

In the eras of 2.0 and 3.0, the cross-class abilities you gained from the classes were essential to being able to craft HQ items. Not just at endgame -- having those cross-class abilities while leveling makes your life much, much easier. And because the recipes of each class take components from other classes (e.g., WVR recipes always want a bit of leather and metal), leveling everything up together made you self-sufficient and less vulnerable to wild mark-ups on processed materials at the Market Board. Therefore, I join the majority of crafters in continuing to recommend leveling up all your DoH together.

However...

In 4.0, Stormblood, the designers' vision for DoH changed. From levels 61-70, all classes learn the same abilities, which are stronger (but more expensive) versions of the old cross-class mainstays like Careful Synthesis, Manipulation, and Hasty Touch. Nowadays, if somebody slogged through levels 1-60 on one DoH with no cross-class abilities, they would actually be able to craft at level 70 almost as successfully as an omnicrafter. Since the developers have stated that they're very happy with the crafting system right now, it's reasonable to guess Shadowbringers will be similar.

Additionally, not all cross-class abilities are equally valuable. Whenever a new tier of crafting difficulty is added, the endgame meta shifts slightly, but right now, cross-class abilities like Waste Not and Flawless Synthesis aren't really used.

Therefore, while I do recommend you level up everything together, if you really don't want to, you can get away with abandoning some classes along the way. If Ishgard Reconstruction turns out to be similar to beast tribes, you might get away with having just one capped DoH. On the other hand, the developers have teased exclusive challenges for endgame crafters somehow connected to the Ishgard Reconstruction content, so if you want to be ready for whatever that turns out to be, you should at least get all your cross-class abilities.

My tentative recommendation for DoH leveling priority is something like this:

Get anything to 10 to unlock Quick Synthesis.

Get everything to 15. For example:

WVR 15 (Careful Synthesis)

ALC 15 (Tricks of the Trade)

GSM 15 (Manipulation)

CUL 15 (Hasty Touch)

CRP 15 (Rumination)

ARM (Rapid Synthesis), BSM (Ingenuity), LTW (Waste Not).

CUL 37 (Steady Hand II)

WVR 50 (Careful Synthesis II)

ALC 50 (Comfort Zone)

CRP 50 (Byregot's Blessing)

ARM 50 (Piece by Piece)

CUL 50 (Reclaim)

BSM 50 (Ingenuity II)

GSM 50 (Innovation)

CUL 54 (Muscle Memory)

If you MUST skip one DoH entirely, I'd pick LTW, since the Waste Nots are generally inferior to the Manipulations.

You COULD drop CUL after 54's very useful Muscle Memory. And since CUL doesn't correspond to gear, it doesn't help you repair or meld materia, and other classes generally don't need materials processed by CUL.

Various classes' level 54 Name of [Element] cross-class abilities aren't that useful at present -- they're sometimes used in endgame rotations. GSM's level 54 Maker's Mark is also not currently that useful, though it was OP a couple patches back.

Still -- I think it's safest, and for me less annoying, to level everything together.

Should I craft using macros?

Yes -- I think macros are great for relieving the tedium of the repetitive crafting tasks, which you’ll often have while leveling. (Wish I could tell you where to look for good macros, but as I mentioned, I learned years ago, and I just write my own macros these days!)

However, I think you should spend some time manually crafting as well. It will help you understand when and why you use certain abilities, how not to overcap Durability and CP, why you might or might not take Tricks of the Trade, etc. That skill and knowledge will help you even if you plan to primarily use macros at cap, since it will enable you to tweak those macros to be even better for your stats, teach you when you should cancel a macro and take over, etc. Nevermind that macros are very vulnerable to server congestion and lag...

And once you know how to craft, you will almost always have a higher potential quality manually crafting than using a macro -- your ability to respond to changes in Condition can get you precious more stacks of Inner Quiet or CP for upgrading Touches. I often use macros for putting together components but manually craft the final product to be sure I get the highest possible quality.

Other tips for leveling DoH?

I think you'll find one of the most invaluable resources for leveling baby DoH is access to a house or apartment with a Material Supplier. Your friendly FC (or apartment) Material Supplier will take care of practically all your materials needs through level 20 or more.

There are other useful Materials Suppliers scattered around -- in addition to the those in main cities and each of the guilds, check out the ones in the marketplaces out in residential districts.

I also strongly recommend unlocking every 2.0 A Realm Reborn beast tribe because even at mere Neutral standing the tribe vendors offer materials like Undyed Velveteen and Mythril Ingots that you’ll be using in quantity.

Don’t forget to upgrade your gear as you go, even if you’re just putting on new NQ gear from your class quests. DoL is particularly sensitive to gear -- you can really feel the difference when you upgrade a piece.

And really -- like in all aspects of the game, please be sure to pace yourself and make sure you’re enjoying yourself as you go. We’ve got plenty of time.

If you’ve leveled your DoH and DoL recently, what lessons have you learned you wish you’d had at the beginning? Or if you’re leveling right now, what questions do you have? I’m happy to opine or give basic pointers!

You may find my guide/checklist for DoH and DoL class quest items useful, if you haven’t already seen it. And as I mentioned, I may work on a more detailed, how-to-actually-craft-the-things guide in the future, if there’s interest.

Please, don’t be shy and get in touch! I am so excited to work together to rebuild Ishgard with you!!

#ffxiv #ffxiv crafting #ffxiv gathering #crafting school //

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caroline-ning-blog · 7 years

Text

A survey done by two ACGN fans : )

This article bases on a survey about the status quo of ACGN culture among Chinese teenagers. Participants include 330 Chinese people between the age of 6—35 and 4 interviewees. My classmate Yihong Xie and I finished it in February, 2017. Few formal projects relate to this topic now so there is no reference from other research and the statistics might not be precise enough.

(According to the questionnaire, if the participant does not fit in the age range or never has contacted AGCN culture, he could stop answering, thus a “none” appears in the horizontal axis. The questionnaire should have been refined and sorry for the confusion caused)

1. What is ACGN culture?

ACGN refers to an acronym for Animation, Comic, Game and Novel, created from some subculture in China and usually standing for specific Japanese two-dimension image works. It can also be translated into “two-dimensional space”. (For more information, please visit Wikipedia: ACG and AcFun )

Photo Credit: liulimiao311

2. How do teenagers with different ages and genders view ACGN culture?

· Age

People’s opinion towards ACGN culture gets more conciliatory with the increase of age. The 6—17 group gets the highest proportion of extremes: “Despise” and “Love”, but as the age increases, more young adults tend to accept ACGN culture rather than despising or loving it, as well as older people.

· Gender

Men’s opinion is a little more polarized than women’s, as more male participants chose “Despise it” and “Love it” than female.

3. Media and platform used by teenagers to contact ACGN culture

(From left to right: Acfun, Bilibili, Bu Ka Comics, MANGA GROUP, JUJU, dai ichi dan, Owl Comics, Microcosm, Foreign platforms, Others, Never uses, None)

Most participants are exposed to ACGN through websites, social media and chatting with others, especially websites including Acfun and Bilibili due to their convenience according to the interview.

Since founded in 2009, Bilibili has attracted more than 100 billion active users and the everyday video playback amount has reached 100 billion. The average age of users is 17. More than 75% of the users are under 24. (Baidu Baike: bilibili )

Similar to Niconico, Bilibili displays user comments as streams of moving subtitles overlaid on the video playback screen, like a danmaku shooter game. The audience can share their feelings about the video, which creates more fun. Large amounts of video sources with no advertisement before videos begin also help earn a reputation for Bilibili. However, with stricter censorship started in July, 2017, overseas videos were taken offline and Bilibili might lose some audience members.

4. Creation of ACGN works and reasons

About half of the participants never have created ACGN works. Among those who have created, it is mostly because of their interest. The two charts above show that people tend to be the viewer of ACGN works, not creators.

5. How does ACGN culture spread among Chinese teenagers?

Taking both charts and interviews into consideration, most people use online platforms to enjoy ACGN, especially Bilibili. With the proliferation of the Internet and the development of smartphone, less people watch animation on TV as before and the influence of traditional media forms has decreased. At the same time, ACGN culture is not limited to works from Japan and America any more. Chinese animation gradually starts to boom.

6. Why there is huge difference in the number of people who love ACGN and people who produce it?

For the most part, creating ACGN works needs specific skills like drawing and the use of animation software, which a lot of fans lack.

However, as a graduate with the major of animation, the interviewee said few of her classmates have a career of creating ACGN works. She pointed out that creating animation could be exhausting but the salary was pretty low. “Although lots of Chinese animations exist nowadays, they seldom reach the perfect level, and people with an animation major do not bother to join the team. But producers of the fabulous animations are mostly professional. So maybe the field of animation in China is still underdeveloped,” she said. She also believes that under the pressure from society, many people are too busy at making money to produce an attractive scrip for the animation.

7. What are the problems in ACGN field?

· Using tones and words of ACGN culture in the real life

One of the interviewers finds that some people like using tones and words of ACGN culture in reality rather than online, such as meow and “ying ying ying”, which will definitely make others feel uncomfortable when they are used improperly.

· A wrong understanding of ACGN

A part of people, particularly older people, hold the stereotype that animations are silly cartoons for children and consider young adults who love ACGN culture “childish”, which shows a generation gap. In fact, many animations involve profound topics like humanity, harmony of society and other problems that deserve digging.

· Absence of an authoritative ACGN ranking system in China

Chinese animation ranking system has been discussed but not accomplished, which leads to two problems: outstanding foreign animations can’t be introduced to China because they are not suitable for children, yet children still have access to some online ACGN works inappropriate for them.

#acg #animation #china

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kittensjonsa · 7 years

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Some thoughts on season 7 plot leaks, general GOT, jonerys and Jonsa (Meta)

Hi, first of all I wanted to say thank you for your tumbrl. It’s always full of nice and positive quotes, articles and metas. I’m a sucker for ships, I guess I just like to see people happy. Jonsa has quickly become one of my favorite ships. I don’t have a tumbrl or any real platform to express my opinions about it but if you allow me I would like to share some of my thoughts with fellow shippers.

Well, first I have to say I didn’t watch GOT since the beginning, actually I started watching after season 6 was out. My first introduction to the show was a clip of jonsa, I thought it was the clip of a couple and then I read they were siblings (this was confusing and disturbing…. until the pilot, I’m talking to you J/C). If you want to keep watching GOT you have to get over incest issues or…. family sexual intercourse, so I got over it. Then I watched the whole show, I haven’t read the books cause I don’t want to confuse myself with information that has not been revealed in the show yet or may never be.

I was surprised to see how many people hate Sansa in the fandom, I find her character and story arc very interesting. I love her story, and I love Arya’s, and Bran’s, and Jon’s. Why is people comparing them? Why is people pitting them against each other? Specially the 2 sisters. One is not better than the other, they both make mistakes, very stupid mistakes but they also survive in their own right. Arya is not strong because she knows how to fight (physically), she is strong because of who she is. Fighting is an skill, just like playing an instrument, sewing, drawing or being good with numbers. I’m a terrible athlete and I can only do maths for daily use but that doesn’t make me weak, stupid or less awesome. I have other abilities and those are my strengths. You are strong when you know what are you good at, that’s how you play your part in a larger picture, that’s how you fight. Sansa has her witty, her courtesy and her words, she is fighting from inside (by the way she has no blame on what happened to Ned, she is responsable for getting herself stuck in Kings Landing which she fully knows and understand)

Then I saw a very vocal group of people shipping jonerys and after 6 seasons I have to say…. I still don’t see it. Yes, I see the parallels but there are so many parallels with so many other characters. I do believe a meeting between these 2 characters is inevitable and needed for the story to progress. But this is not a romantic love story between the 2 heroes. This is a story about power. D&D said it 6 years ago when they started the series. This is a story about people who wants power ( Littlefinger, the Tyrell’s, The Frey’s, Daneyris and so on), the ones who have power and want to keep it (the Lannisters) and the ones stuck in the middle (the Starks and the realm).It’s about what power do to people, all that they loose in the process and the pain it causes them. It’s very well explained in the first season.

What I love about GOT is that everybody can be the hero or the villain, it all depends of the lent with which you see it. You are a hero if you play for your family and a villain if you play against them. Honor is not that simple either. Why is an oath-breaker less honorable for saving millions of lives? why is an oath-breaker better for following his heart? Do you ever really win? There’s no absolutes in this world.

I know this is long but I have a lot to say, bare with me please. Which leads me to the leaks and promo pics. There’s been endless discussions about them, I’ve heard all kind of opinions, pro and anti. That’s why I write about them now. The leaks came very early on and with them set pics that corroborate most of them. Jonsa shippers where pissed off and disappointed. I know I was but mostly cause those weren’t little hints or clues of what’s to come but entire plot lines and episode scrips. But here are the good news. Plot lines don’t give us real context or understanding of how the characters are feeling about their situations.

- Littlefinger is plotting and pitting Sansa and Arya against each other ( doesn’t tell us if this is working, it’s setting a dramatic conflict. Guess what? This is a drama)

- Jonsa is having arguments and they are separated the whole season (doesn’t said in which terms, we haven’t seen any dialogues there)

- Jonerys is having sex (according to the leaks they meet in the second episode, get separated at the third and reunited and have sex in the seventh. It took Jon and Igrytte 10 episodes with no separations to finally get in bed together…. and they were in love) And since the structure of the show gives us an average of 10 minutes per character each episode, sometimes even less. How are they gonna develop a real relationship there?

Lots of characters haven’t been mentioned in the leaks either. I doubt they don’t have story arcs this year. Also most of the leaks were predictable and very plausibles. Jon meeting Theon and being super angry at him (we all saw that coming). Jonerys meeting (at this point of the story it’s necessary). Arya and Bran coming home, also very necessary. Sansa is taking care of littlefinger…super necessary. Euron is siding with Cercei, yeap, very predictable. All the signs are in the last season.

JONSA AND JONERYS THOUGHTS

I’m a jonsa shipper. I’m a shipper but I love good stories more. When one of my ships don’t work on a narrative level I understand. What frustrates me is when writers try to fit a ship as fan service. Now, I’m not a Danerys fan. The only moments I get to enjoy her story is when she learns something and show some humility. Unfortunately this is not very often. I love Tyrion and Jorah. Her best moments so far has been with them cause they are actually smarter than her and humble. Danerys has been since season 2 very entitle, very proud, she even crowned herself (until you get to Westeros and you are appointed you don’t have a real crown, otherwise everybody can be crowned). Saying you are king or queen doesn’t make you either of them as the show has proven so far. Dario said last season she wasn’t born to sit in a palace and give orders, she is a conqueror (very different from being a ruler). She lacks humility which Jon has in spades. Her story has been very separated from all the important ones and that’s everybody complain, mine too. That’s why excite me she is finally making it to Westeros, her story will actually matter. It can be argue that Jon story has been separated from everybody too but he is a Stark (ok, %50 Stark) but a Stark nevertheless and all that happened in Kings landing and the North affects him for that reason. I love Jon, he is my guy.

Putting aside my feelings for Danerys, having J/D falling in love doesn’t do any real service to the story, at least not from my point of view. They would be a terrible couple. She is power hungry, wants the Iron throne more than anything and will do anything for it. Jon wants to serve the people, fight for their lifes. Danerys wants a king just in title, she wants to rule alone. Jon doesn’t want power but he knows he wasn’t born to be a submissive husband either. They would be fighting to be on top all the time. Two people on the top at the same time is physical and mentally imposible. As I said before the plot leaks don’t give too much room for a romance development there, everybody is busy doing their thing, but we won’t know until we see. If what the show is trying to do is a political alliance by marriage then why jonerys would have sex first and soo quickly? It can only go downhill from there ( that’s actually good news for jonsa shippers). Also Jon parentage revelation will be huge. It will change everything for whoever makes it into the final season. That’s what excite me the most. If jonerys hook up I really hope it serves the story somehow and not be just fan service.

I needed to get through jonerys first so I could explain why jonsa makes more sense narratively speaking. Sansa and Jon started being so idealist and they had a hard awaken to the world. They endured so much to be who they are right now, they were the last people they expected to rely on at the end, and that makes it even better for me. While everybody was hyped for a reunion between Jon and Arya (that would be awesome) I found jonsa more suitable.Two characters we have never seen interacting with each other but with previous history. Both really free for the first time, both damaged, both carrying their scars and still feeling the pain. Jon needed purpose and Sansa had a big one. All their scenes together were a delight to watch, from their first meeting, through the fights and the “we have to trust each other” moment. That’s how you develop a relationship. No sex there, no making out session, that last one was a real intimated moment. Aside from my enjoyment of Kit Harington and Sophie Turner on screen chemistry and the way their scenes were edited and directed, jonsa works narratively as an end game. Jon could die at the end, that’s a real possibility, I know. But damn, Jonsa getting married at the end for political reasons, for duty, to keep the North and the realm together is far more satisfying. Cat said this to Robb once, what Ned and she had grew stronger and lasted longer than passion. I’m team Stark all the way, that’s the family we spend more time with, we are rooting for them, for Ned’s family.

Me:

A lovely meta was sent by a nonny and just had to share it for the Jonsa perspective.

Oh yes my kink is seeing ppl happy and enjoying themselves and letting them ship whoever or whatever they want because honestly if my tumblr could be anything, it’ll be for anyone to have a good time, a good laugh and just see that there’s always a silver lining no matter what. Life is hard and can’t let that get to you. If any of my silly posts made you smile then my work is done 😊 Oh and sorry for the bad jokes/puns lol. Also, for this less than eloquent reply.

And I ship JonSa like it’s the air I breathe lol I have been since the books (low key) - their POVs and values are so similar like how a couple should be.

So imagine me when S6 came, I pounced on it with everything I had in me, that ship gives me life!! And so I am glad to have found a fantastic fandom right here on tumblr and Jonsa shippers are just the best! (really they are!)

Thank you for the mail Nonny!! Bless you and hope you’re having a great day wherever you are!! And yes, Jonsa for life babyyy!! 😘

#fan mail #thank you nonny!#jonsa meta #jon x sansa #my kink is happiness #submission #anti jonerys #dany is going to die

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raw-output · 6 years

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“Why do you refuse to understand,” Mark half-shouted at her around a mouthful of soba. They had decided to get lunch and talk things over, and for the first half-hour it seemed to be going constructively. Then she had to go and stumble on one of her brother’s many scattered verbal landmines, and the conversation quickly turned into a one-sided tirade she knew she had no chance of interrupting, let alone stopping.

“You think I’m playing a game here? Pretending to be Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor? I couldn’t give half a damn about the dregs - if the Council have their way, none of that will matter! What I’m trying to do is delay them.”

He rambled on, two beads of sweat slowly traversing his forehead. His hair unkempt, circles under his bloodshot eyes, mild jitters in his hands... The only reason he wasn’t in the back of a paddy wagon having a very interesting conversation with an enforcer was that he looked certifiably insane, hopped up on something rough, or both. There were hundreds of derelicts just like that lining up at the slop shops, and so long as they didn’t bother anyone apart from each other, nobody wasted their time policing them.

“You killed people, Mark,” she finally interjected, hoping the direct simplicity of her accusation would jostle him out of his self-righteous rant.

Naturally, it did more harm than good.

“Killed people? I broke parts of a machine. Calling them people is an affront to those who still think for themselves,” he countered.

Kira's patience gave out all at once, like a bursting pressure tank.

“What the hell are you trying to achieve then,” she hissed. “You’re hitting shipment after shipment on someone’s orders, and getting paid for it. Does any of that scrip go to anyone but yourself? What about the metal? Every ingot we lose sets the project back a year. How many more centuries of this do you think we’ve got in us, as a species?”

Mark stared at her with a look of disbelief and... pity?

“I thought you were smarter than buying into the drivel they spout on the news. They’re not fixing anything. Not really. When was the last time you got to visit an outpost?”

“The terrain’s gotten more dangerous - they had to stop the tours!”

“No, damn it, they had to stop the tours because every outpost built in the last fifteen years is completely empty. I bet they don’t even bother pressurizing them anymore.”

“Someone would have found out by now!”

“Someone has, I’m sure. Many someones. Long-haul maintenance teams. Surveyors.” He nodded upwards at her. “ Mech operators, maybe. Then they get into convenient workplace accidents.”

“Disappearing witnesses, a classic cop-out. Fine, I’ll humor you. Where’s the metal going then?”

“The Council is hoarding it. They need a lot, or they would have done whatever it is they’re planning already.”

“Would you listen to yourself,” Kira sighed. “This is the thinnest strand of bullshit you’ve ever hung yourself from, and I still remember that vase you broke when you were seven.”

“You always did want to be an only child, didn’t you,” Mark strained through a thin, humorless smile.

“Not even a little. But I guess I am one now.” She got up and slapped a few bills on the counter, setting her empty noodle bowl on top. “I’ve never been one to snitch, Mark. I still won’t. But you’re a criminal - a traitor - and you deserve everything that’s coming to you.”

She’d volunteered for the Resource Corps that same week.

Mark’s transmission claimed that he’d found proof. That she needed to get back to the Cube if she wanted to survive. Kira tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, strapped to a padded handhold to avoid floating away in the hab’s gentle air currents. All around her was the low rumble of a dozen snoring miners and technicians, blissfully unaware that an Earthside criminal was about to turn everything on its head - or try to, anyway. The sound normally comforted her, reminding her of a childhood spent in her family’s small but cozy apartment, of her father passed out on the couch after a long shift at the smelting plant. Tonight, the snoring reminded her of the eerie sounds she’d heard through her construction mech’s thick hull while working external duty. Those were the mournful sighs and whistles of an atmosphere that supported a thriving civilization of billions - until they murdered it, by design or by accident.

Sleep wasn’t coming to her, so she gave it up for a lost cause and pulled herself out of the hab and into the canteen. The slop-slingers were supposed to be on a 24/7 rotation, same as everyone else, but they routinely got shuttled off to postings that had none at all. Coaxing flavor and texture out of what amounted to algae and terminally inbred crickets was one of the few worker achievements that the Corps recognized as an “internal morale stabilizer” and cooks got the rockstar treatment if they knew their stuff - and if they were present.

Luckily, there were grab-and-go bars still left, and she tapped her meal card on the reader. The dispenser whirred and a hatch slid open, revealing a foil-wrapped package. She gently pushed off the dispenser with her left foot and let the momentum carry her towards one of the canteen’s few sparse portholes. She grabbed a handhold with one hand, and half-bit half-peeled the wrapper open, the tang of aluminum foil making her teeth ache ever so slightly. She slowly chewed the vaguely bacon-flavored meal bar, deep in thought.

Mark didn’t lie about the hit gone bad - her brother’s head getting turned into fine mist was broadcast on the evening news, just as he said it would be. The anchor talked about swift justice, but was uncharacteristically mum about the two enforcers that met the same fate as the criminal. That had obviously been the contingency plan of whoever was footing Mark’s bill - enforcers aimed to incapacitate or at least preserve neural tissue.

Her brother was also right about her fellow workers’ reaction - they had shouted in raucous approval as the traitor’s headless corpse lifelessly collapsed on the ground near the armored van he’d tried to steal from.

“Serves the bastard right,” one of the older men in the room had growled.

“You fuck with our work, you get what's coming,” someone else added.

She’d hoped nobody was too suspicious of her silence.

Mark claimed he’d found proof. Was it there, in that van? Was that why his employer called the whole thing off, and chose to leave no witnesses? For all her disdain for his choice of career - if one could call it that - she knew that Mark was incredibly competent at what he did. Discarding him would have been a difficult decision. Did someone misread an order, or get a twitchy finger?

Her datapad pinged, a new message on its scuffed screen.

“Stop by the dispach room. Need to talk about what hapend on your shift today. Promis to keep it breaf.”

Cash.

Kira’s mouth was still full, so all she could manage was a groan.

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josephquinn · 6 years

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Preparing for closed book law exams

Go study law they said… every exam is open book they said. While this might have been true a few years ago, Australian law students are no longer guaranteed to have open book exams. In fact, more and more law schools are swapping to closed book exams every year, and I think most universities will start making the change within the next few years.

While these are admittedly obvious and unspectacular practical tips, they are (almost) guaranteed to help you smash your closed book exam, all while leaving the law library in the actual library.

Closed book exams – just like open book exams but without notes

I’ll let everyone in on the big secret about closed book exams; they are just like open book exams. You need to undertake the exact same preparation, you still need to prepare your exam script, and going through old exams is just as important. Other than not being allowed notes, nothing actually changes (although some universities might give you some extra material with the exam booklet, like a list of cases on the reading guide).

Of course, the other big difference is that everyone stresses out about them. To be fair, this is totally natural and I would have freaked out too. Your exam notes are like your safety net and without them you would feel a little naked.

If you can get your preparation right and manage your stress levels, you’ll be well on your way to great marks.

Closed book exams – it’s all about the process

In my post on exam scripts, I mentioned that it’s the process of creating the exam script that is the most valuable part of exam preparation. This is just as true for closed book exams. One thing that I didn’t mention on that post is that it’s even valuable to practice taking exams closed-book when you’ve got open book exams – it helps commit things to memory because you need to engage your memory, rather than just write down your exam script .

At the end of the day, I think students will be better off once all exams change to closed book.

In summary, the steps that you should be taking when you’re faced with a closed book exam are:

Find out what will be on your exam by reviewing a few old exams;

Start writing some answers with the help from your lecture notes and course materials; the first few attempts will be terrible but do your best and don’t spend too long getting them perfect;

Once you understand the type of questions then turn those answers into the script base; identify the best structure for “rule” in the answer and where the “analysis” will be (see my post on the IRAC method here);

Practice both open and closed book past exams;

Fine tune your script and practice some more.

It all seems pretty familiar…

If you’ve read my other post on exam scripts then this will seem familiar – its literally the same preparation strategy you would go through for open book exams.

The case against closed book exams

It is a pretty terrifying prospect if you’re used to open book exams, but there are some good arguments for closed book exams in law. I think the main one is that students can walk into exams with notes handed to them by their friends, copy out the script verbatim without understanding any of it and walk out with OK marks. To me that’s plagiarism.

Cathy Sherry in her post (Re)introducing closed book exams at law school argues that it’s time to change, despite research showing that “open book exams, take-home exams and research assignments have been shown to promote deeper learning and genuine understanding”. That’s how bad the situation is.

Sherry raises a few points to support her position. One is the ‘tip truck’ method of answering exams, where students copy out everything in their notes so that just enough sticks to pass. Most of the information will be irrelevant, but not incorrect, so while these student will never get high distinctions they will never fail either.

Another reason is excessive pre-preparation which Sherry explains as the “academic equivalent of ‘here’s a cake I made earlier’, as opposed to ‘here are the ingredients I have assembled in preparation for making a cake now.'” I’m pretty sure this is a reference to exam scrips (which I obviously recommend). However, it seems like the issue is that the script may not be a student’s work or understanding: “This fundamentally changes the nature of an exam answer from work that a marker could be confident was solely the product of a student’s personal understanding at the time the answer was written to an answer that may be their own understanding or it may not.”

Definitely head over and take a read. There is also a summary of a student survey taken after the closed book exam that’s really interesting.

In all, I think the points raised in Sherry’s article are valid and most law schools will eventually acknowledge that open book exams have introduced too many disadvantages to ignore.

Gaming the closed book exam system

Oh, don’t get me wrong, you still absolutely need to work smart.

It’s perfectly fine for lecturers to worry about educational standards, but as law students, our main worry is getting good enough grades or enough extra-curriculars to get a food in the door of our incredibly competitive graduate legal job market.

I mean learning is one thing, but it’s not going to pay for 3 years of your life and your help fee debt. As an older graduate spending $110k on a law degree, I was willing to do whatever it took, shy of plagiarism and being a jerk, to get ahead of the curve.

So the question is, if you use scripts in open book exams to essentially game the system and get ahead of the curve (meaning that you place a greater focus on exam technique than anything else, because exam technique is where you will squeeze those extra marks in an exam and push yourself higher on the bell curve), then how do you do it for closed book exams?

The answer is, unsurprisingly, to focus on exam technique more than anything else because this is where you will squeeze in the extra marks! It’s exactly the same as in an open book exam.

Put in the preparation (to learn the content), complete past exams (to learn what questions your university will ask), prepare your script (to get your exam technique down) and then instead of running through practice exams with your script, complete every second exam script without your script.

I personally would have liked closed book exams at uni. In reality most people don’t study nearly as hard as they make out, so it can give you a massive advantage if you know your material and other people, who have only crammed for a week or two, don’t have recourse to their notes.

Stress less

Hopefully this post has shown that there’s nothing to worry about for closed book exams. If you’ve been preparing properly for open book exams then keep doing the same thing – just try a few more practice exams closed book.

If you’re a crammer and have never properly prepared for an open book exam, well, it’s probably time to start!

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