Chapter 2: A Feeling For Home
​
After a few hours and weighing a few more of my options I found a suitable place for my core, on top of a shelf!
To be a bit more specific a shelf resting in the furthest room of my dungeon, the room itself had no windows and only one door making it the most defensible option. Moving it seems simple enough now that I had Tama. She seems to listen to orders more directly than the cats that the spawner continuously makes.
The graceful scion drops from the old stool she had been napping on and carefully took the core delicately between her teeth and set off to the designated room.
I did not that as Tama padded through the hallway a number of other cats took formation behind her, despite not having been ordered to. It quickly became clear Tama herself was directing them, as with a few muffled meows and a firm stomp of her paw the cats quickly set to work dragging a few bits of old cloth and ruined cotton into onto the shelf. Once the improvised bed was finished Tama leapt onto my new perch and gently laid my core in the center of the bedding.
"Excellent work Tama!" I praised towards her. Even if I wasn't sure she heard me word for word, I could tell she felt the praise as she took a second to pose.
​
The next order of business was categorizing what information I had, and prioritizing my next few steps for expanding my 'facilities.'
My cats and slugs have tags that list them as denizens, the frogs and beetles are labeled as invaders. Their interactions are my source of major income, with mana being drawn in whenever my units defeat theirs. An important note however is that nothing seems to be lost when my units are killed, but it was pretty clear to see in a more fast paced situation when all hands are needed, the cost of rapidly fielding replacement units would add up quickly.
I also have access to a few traps that can be scattered around my controlled zones.
-
Bile Sack
Detectability - High
Activation Chance - Moderate
When an intruder approaches, the sack will expand and burst after a short moment. Intruders will be covered in sticky bile and slowed.
-
The idea of covering some poor sap who blunders into this place with sticky bile didn't exactly sit right with me, but my sense of self preservation and long ingrained RTS tactics told me adding a few of these would be necessary. For just a small trickle of mana each I put a few of the grotesque pods around the door to my core, as well as a few in the hallway for good measure.
My next trap I would do without, security be damned.
-
Vile Ichor
Detectability - Low
Passive Presence
An opaque purple ichor will ooze from nearby walls and crevices and coat the ground. This ichor is highly flammable and slippery.
-
I want this place to eventually become a library or study of some kind, not a death trap! So for now I snub the rather malicious trap and return my focus back to my dungeon.
Having watched the cats deal with frog infestation in my upper floors, I felt a bit guilty when I looked back down to the slugs. The gooey little mollusk soldiers, keeping the seemingly growing swarms of beetles at bay.
The cost for a Slug Scion was still rather high, but the actual cost to upgrade the spawner was just a little less so. But seeing the little things try so hard, I bite the bullet and make the purchase. The reaction was a bit more volatile than just spawning Tama however. The coral like hive of the slugs snapped and crackled as it grew slightly, the slugs it began to produce were also quite a bit bigger than before, now about the size of a soda can.
The new slugs were also a little bit faster and they surged into the line of beetles with a vigor. Were before there was a rickety stalemate, now the slugs were driving back the chitinous swarms with ease! The large slugs water jets just splatter even the large beetles in one shot now, their smaller kin following in close groups around them and pick off the stragglers.
The small counter attack made for an excellent show as the slugs manage to push the swarms back out of the borders of my dungeon. I can still sense them actively swarming just outside my bounds, but they seem notably more hesitant to enter now.
While I don't have a scion to praise just yet, I instead make sure to give the little guys a bit of extra attention for a while.
​
With my borders now guarded and my core secured, I could finally take a breath. Up until this point I've been too distracted with all of my new functions and responsibilities, I hadn't taken enough time to fully get a good idea as to where I am or what I am.
I understand I am now a dungeon and that it's my duty to maintain and protect my controlled territory. But apart from some old ruined furniture and my denizens, I have no idea what else is in store for me in the place. The angel had said that I couldn't go back to Earth, so I doubt I'm anywhere familiar, but at the same time this building looks like it was made by people for people. The chairs and tables look to be about right for humans proportions, I can even see old faded tapestries and paintings but their details are too far gone to make out what may have been on them.
I want to turn this place into a library or similar institution, but I have no idea if the natives of this world can even read any languages I know! I've been browsing through my options and I can see that I have the ability to designate a room to a specific function, but none of them are for a library or study.
Workshop and Abbey
I don't see any point in having a workshop, as I doubt my cats and slugs would be very efficient on the assembly line.
But the idea of having an abbey doesn't seem so bad. I wasn't the most devout person back on earth, but I always did enjoy reading various books on religion, philosophy, and any sort of theistic concept really.
Tossing the idea around in my mind I thought about where I would even assign said abbey. Most of the rooms I had access to were about the size of a medium or smaller bedroom. My cores 'Sanctum' as it had been labeled was only about 4 feet on all sides.
As I drifted room to room, trying to pick one out for the abbey, I noticed that at each of the majors ends of my borders I had unique options.
I could expand myself?
Sure enough, as I felt along the walls of my dungeon I was given 3 options. The first was the option to expand outward and into the open expanse of this new world, the cost was rather high but it would be within my range after a few more days of bug stomping.
Next I had the option to take a new wing of the complex I was already apart of. I could afford this option right now, but it would leave me a bit light in the pockets. I also didn't know if this was the entire remaining space of the complex or just another wing. But it was more tempting than expanding outside, as I needed actual rooms for my library to eventually come to life after all.
The last option did not appeal to me at all however, down and also outside. I had to check to make sure it was a separate choice from the first but sure enough it was. I could feel that choosing this path would grant me a very large space, at a very high cost, and that it would not automatically conjoin with the first exterior expansion.
Filing the three options away for later, I also held off on purchasing the Abbey room as well. This seemed like a bit much for me. Even if I had the frogs and beetles managed, I had no idea what was waiting past my current borders. Would I get new denizens or invaders, and given my current financial situation, would I be able to afford them.
No, I needed to be careful and keep pace with myself, this wasn't a race. I still have a scion I need to get, as well as upgrade both spawners a few levels each.
​
ALERT - INTRUDERS APPROACHING
​
I was grateful I no longer had to worry about my asthma, or I would have been in a lot of trouble.
From next to, what was the closest approximation to my front door, Tama stood with her fur on end. Nearly every cat, save for Tama, darted into a hiding space. My brace scion stood ready to face whatever was approaching the old wooden door from the other side.
I ordered what few slugs weren't needed to hold the line, to move to protect the core. By now I could hear the muted sound of voices from the other side of the door. I couldn't make out anything being said, but I could tell there were multiple people just outside.
I eyed my mana again, I was so close but so far from being able to spawn my other scion!
________________
This story is a personal project and any criticism and advice is welcomed and appreciated, hope you enjoyed!

After digging into literature, I found that the story of the legendary knight Cid Campeador, sounds to me like the story of a mercenary Mechwarrior, instead of the usual legend that shows him as a religious warrior. It does not take too much to export this story to Battletech universe, and indeed I plan to add a version of him to my Mechwarrior Destiny game at some point.
The following is a summary of "Historia Roderici" an old Spanish text that may likely be inaccessible to English speaking readers, not only because of language barrier, but also because of the ancient Spanish words that are difficult to understand even for modern Spanish speakers. You will discover that Cid Campeador was not a religious hero, but a merc.
I believe it could be used as source material to inspire a novel.
Sorry about the long read, but it still shorter than the original "Historia Roderici".
------------------------------------------------
Rodrigo "Ruy" Díaz de Vivar is also known as Cid Campeador, and some people believe he was a religious hero but others see him as a mercenary. The oldest biography is "Historia Roderici" in 1190 when the Castillan warrior had passed away 80 years ago. This biography was made popular via minstrels, and it incorporated many fictional episodes that composed "Cantar del Mio Cid" around the year 1200. For example, there is no evidence that Rodrigo had 2 swords called Tisona and Colada, and a horse called Babieca. He had 2 daughters but they were not named doña Sol and doña Elvira.
Spain was invaded in the year 711 from the south and only a small strip was left at the north where Christian kings would seek a safe haven. The invaders ruling lasted for 800 years but these years also were full of internal disputes, just like in the Inner Sphere.
The war in Spain was always portrayed as a holy war, like a Jihad. This was the time where the term "pariah" was born. The non Christian rulers paid tribute called pariah to Christian kings in exchange for protection. And that was the historical context of eternal war.
Rodrigo was born in the small town of Vivar, near Burgos. His father was a low rank noble, but his mother was from the elite of nobles, daughter of count of Oviedo. The last name Diaz indicated he was son of Diego. When he was 10, his father died, and he was sent to the court of Fernando I de León, to complete his education with the sons of the king. One of the sons, Sancho turned Rodrigo into his page and became close friends. He receives high education and learned to fight. He knew how to read and write, something very uncommon.
When Rodrigo was 15 he went with don Sancho to Zaragoza, a territory which was under the protection of Fernando I de León in exchange for pariah. Ramiro I de Aragón uncle of Fernando I de León wanted the land under protection, and this is how Sancho and his "mesnadas" (forces under command of a lord) went to help. Ramiro I not only was defeated, but also died.
When Fernando I (ruler of Galicia, León and Castilla) died, he distributed his kingdom among his 5 sons instead of having a linear succession, because Alfonso, his second son, was his favorite. Sancho ruled Castilla and had the right to collect the pariah of Zaragoza. Sancho did not like the distribution of land, as he felt he should have been the heir of the whole kingdom. He entered a conflict with his siblings. Rodrigo ended up being in charge of the army of Sancho. In his first one on one match defeated the Alferez of Navarra kingdom, Jimeno Arcés. This is where he earned the title of "campeador", which means he is a master of the battlefield.
After his mother died, Sancho started war against Alfonso. Rodrigo skill surfaced among all other warriors. Sancho won the battle, but Alfonoso escaped and did not surrender as agreed. Instead, Alfonso agreed to allow Sancho to conquer Galicia ruled by his younger brother García. García was defeated and was and outcast who escaped to the taifa of Sevilla. But that did not end the war with Alfonso. In the new battle, Rodrigo skill shined again. And Alfonso was defeated once again. Alfonso was an outcast too, and he went to the taifa of Toledo. The reunification war ended. But it would last a few months.
Zamora was ruled by his sister Urraca. Many nobles gathered there and they did not embrace Sanho as the king. Urraca supported them, and supported Alfonso. Sancho sieged Zamora for months, but it did cost Sancho's life at the hands of a Zamoran warrior, and not even Rodrigo could stop that. The killer pretended to defecte from Urraca city and earned Sancho's trust. The defector Bellido Dolfos was going to show him a weak spot in the walls of Zamora, and when Sanch went to the loo, the defector took Sancho's spear and killed him. Alfonso became king. García attempted to recover his kingdom but ended in prison where he died. Alfonso married Rodrigo with doña Jimena, relative of Alfonso and apparently Rodrigo was deeply in love with her.
Rodrigo was sent to collect Paria To Sevilla, and García Ordoñez, close friend of alfonso was sent to Granada. Granada ruler asked Ordoñez to attack Sevilla and that Rodrigo had to fight García Ordoñez and made him prisoner and set him free later. García Ordoñez accused Rodrigo of stealing a portion of the pariah of Sevilla, which are believed to be the gift of Sevilla ruler to Rodrigo for defending his land.
Alfonso went to Taifa of Toledo, and Rodrigo was sick at home. There was an attack on a castle and Rodrigo reacted without asking for permission, chased the attackers who entered Toledo territory and Rodrigo took a huge loot, Alfonso was so upset because that destroyed Alfonso's plans to own Toledo without a fight. García Ordoñez presented this to Alfonso as an attempt to make people from Toledo to kill Alfonso. So Rodrigo became an outcast, and he was exiled and had to make a living. Along the road, many men joined him. He went to Zaragoza to offer his services. Now Zaragoza should not have to pay pariah to different kingdoms for protection.
This contradicts the jihadist nature of Rodrigo as a religious warrior. After the ruler of Zaragoza died, his 2 sons also fought. Rodrigo stood in the side of Zaragoza, and the opponent sought help among the kings in the north. The enemy forces outnumbered Rodrigo's but he defeated them in the battle of Almenar.
An uncle of the ruler of Zaragoza, who was prisoner of Alfonso, earned the trust of the alcalde who controlled the prison, so the alcalde passed the message to Alfonso. The uncle offered him the castle of Zaragoza in exchange for paying the pariah to Alfonso. So Alfonso marched towards Zaragoza. But Alfonso this time was not ahead of the forces. He sent scouts who were killed. It seems that the uncle died while the expedition was on its way to Zaragoza, so the alcalde had the idea of becoming an ally of Zaragoza and tried to kill king Alfonso.
Later Alfonso met Rodrigo and Rodrigo told that he had no part in that betrayal, and Alfonso and Rodrigo went back to normal relations without hard feelings.
Alfonso managed to conquer Toledo and that meant a raise in the pariah for other taifas. But religious fundamentalist fanatics from northern Africa were asked to help and their fanatism made them fearsome. Alfonso had Zaragoza under siege, and Rodrigo did not want to fight Alfonso. But news came from the new invaders and the siege stopped. Then the battle of Sagrajas came, where Alfonso suffered a defeat. Alfonso had to escape to save his life. Rodrigo went to Toledo to offer his services to Alfonso.
Alfonso commissioned Rodrigo to take care of the invaders and conquer lands, and to collect the pariah from Zaragoza, which had Rodrigo working as a merc for 6 years.
But good relations did not last. During a campaign Rodrigo was supposed to reinforce Alfonso's forces, but Rodrigo did not arrive. Rodrigo was exiled for second time after García Ordoñez made the king feel betrayed. Alfonso took his property and made his family prisoner. Rodrigo begged and his family was set free. And he became a warlord in Valencia and fought against both sides.
Rodrigo suffered an attack and he took revenge against García Ordoñez and led an expedition to do exactly that and looted along his way. Alfonso gave away these lands and no one wanted to fight Rodrigo. Now the only enemies of Rodrigo were the invaders in the south who attacked Valencia and killed its ruler. Rodrigo sieged the city and help did not arrive so they surrendered, and Rodrigo self proclaimed himself prince.
The invader Almoraviles forces were obsessed with taking Valencia. And epic battles took place.

Ive been lukewarm for ages and more than a month ago I want to give it all in to Jesus. And He revealed to me that He is not in the center of my 6 yr relationship and I agreed. There was no God in me at that time and it was my fault for not mentioning God in that relationship. So when God gave me a sign, he gave me a courage to break up with Him. I felt peace after.. but got emotionally wrecked later on asking did I made the right decision? Like having doubts.
This guy is like the man any girls could asked for. He has everything but there was so God in him. He knows God. He believes in God and raised to a bible school in England. But I did not see him pray, read the bible, go to church throughout the relationship. I mean I also werent reading the bible and everything.
We are long distance, visiting each other whenever we can and plan to move in together when its the right time! So covid events happened and he dont want to get vaccinated and that means he can’t come to USA as all travelers needed to be vaccinated to enter. So i can only visit him in his country even tho im unvaccinated.
So as you can guess i broke up with him over the phone.. it cruel.. but he couldn’t believe we are broken up. So he tried to go doctors and doctors to get an authorization to come here. They (4 doctors) kept rejecting it even tho he was going to pay them some money. So he felt hopeless… He walked down alone by the beach and sat and pray to God. “Lord, if we are meant to be, you’ll get me a doctor to authorize me to come to my girl”
Next day, he went to another doctor and the doctor grant him in seconds. He’s like what? Thats quick.. so yea he came back to my country finally.. and wanted me back. I could see his efforts that he wanted me back and this guy loves me so. I began telling him my journey with God and he’s listening. I began to pray, read bible with him and I see him willing and listening as I share God with him. So i said ill give you a chance… but after he left, weeks later, i broke up with Him again because i was leaning on the sign that God gave me. He came back again and said “i know you’ve hurt me so much but i have a feeling like something tells me to get you back” im heartbroken to see him hurting. So i said ok, ill give us a chance and im tired of hurting him and dont want to hurt him no more. I love him so much so Imma just give him to God. Im like “God, if whatever im doing is wrong, redirect me to the right path. If we are not meant to be together, remove him from my life. But if we are meant to be, may you guide us and may you be the center of our relationship and may you guide us to overcome the distance between us and grant us to live near each other soon. And i pray that you will come to his heart and show your love to him.”

All 3 Big Runs have gone the exact same way for me so far. I join some games during the first few hours, I get a high score that's enough to get gold early on, and then when I come back the next day to play some more, the teammates that I find are SO comically terrible and unreliable that the game becomes borderline unplayable. We're talking wiped on wave 1 with nearly 10 deaths each, they legitimately can't take on anything, the 'One Player Left' sound is absolutely burned into my brain. Same thing happened now, this time I found a perfectly competent team on my 4th shift and we got a score of 161, which i'm pretty confident is gonna be enough for the gold statue, but playing the game now, the next day after I went sleep, I literally feel like i'm somehow being put in part-timer lobbies with eggsecutive hazard levels. How these people even got past the tutorial sequence, let alone (supposedly) got allowed into the highest SR rank is absolutely beyond me. My current theory is that people in lower ranks who don't play SR often are joining for the event and getting carried into higher ranks, so while during the first few hours of the event you're gonna be finding people who actually belong in EVP, after that, all the children are gonna start getting in. This isn't really a 'salt post' tbh, it's more of a theory, i'm not really 'mad' this time, like I was definitely mad the first time it happened, but now, seeing that it's gonna be the exact same situation every time, i'm just realizing that there's really no point in even trying to play Big Run freelance past the first few hours. I mean, with teams like these i'm struggling just to reach the quotas required to win the shift, I'm definitely not gonna be topping that high score without some good help, might as well not bother y'know?

AuthoMedia Critic/Journalist Maureen Ryan spotlights Lucasfilm’s creative’ish bureaucracy in her new book Burn It Down; featuring former-staffesource known by the pseudonym Emma, who was hired to work on expanding Lucasfilm’s existing IP with a spin-off of some kind. Emma worked with a person at Lucasfilm (who is given the pseudonym Derek), who she believed did not understand the assignment despite being well-connected within the film and television industry.
Emma is described as possessing “extensive experiences and impressive résumé, yet never creatively helmed a project all on her own; Until Lucasfilm reached out to her with their offer…”
- - - - - - - - - -

Once Emma figured out the lay of the land at Lucasfilm, she realized she had been brought in to do a lot of grunt work on behalf of Derek, a well-connected man who, in her opinion, didn’t know what he was doing. He would get the glory if the project was a success, and it sure felt as though she would get the blame if it wasn’t.
Executives at Lucasfilm, Emma said, treated Derek as more important than her, even though he reliably generated chaos, subpar scripts, and other problems. His management skills were questionable when they were not entirely absent. The executives supervising the project listened to Emma’s complaints about these serious, ongoing issues, and more often than not, she told me, they agreed with her. But their promises about changing the situation came to nothing. “They back their creative people fully—the people they see as creative,” Emma said. And Derek was the person they backed.
“It took a long time to cut through the doublespeak and figure out what was really going on,” Emma told me. She had thought—and had been told—that she was going to have real creative influence over this major piece of IP. That was not the case. And Derek, thanks to his powerful connections, was essentially untouchable. Emma slowly realized that her job was to “channel” Derek’s creative vision and turn it into filmable content. “I can’t speak to whether it was intentional or not, but really, what they wanted me to be was a well-paid babysitter,” Emma observed. “I was in this double bind where I was both accountable to them and also not creatively empowered. It just puts you in this position of feeling like the janitor.”
At Lucasfilm, in Emma’s view, preference and precedence in the TV arena is given to those who have credits in the film world.
In any event, Emma wishes she’d known up front what Lucasfilm really wanted. She would have said no to the job, or something like, “Call me when you’re ready to fire him and give me the job. And if you’re not going to do that, then great—it’s all on him.” She did eventually leave the gig, exhausted by the constant chaos and the fact that nobody made any meaningful moves to stop it.
Maybe the powers that be at Lucasfilm didn’t feel they needed to. Before Emma took the job, a friend in Hollywood told her that Lucasfilm didn’t particularly care about going over budget. Emma was gobsmacked by her friend’s observation, given the penny-pinching ways of her previous employers. “But I saw it up close—that it doesn’t matter how many mistakes are made or how incompetent some people are,” she said. “Our budget doubled, and I’m sure it went up after I left*. I’ve never seen anything like it.*”
At Lucasfilm, it’s not hard to figure out why the money might flow a little more freely: the company and its offshoots have had massive success in the realms of film, television, theme parks, and merchandising, among other ventures, since the first Star Wars film came out nearly half a century ago. And in Emma’s view, the worldwide success of shows like The Mandalorian just reinforces the internal belief that the company can do no wrong.”

^{Excerpt From: Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood by Maureen Ryan. Chapter 8: The Myth of an Egalitarian Future The IP Strikes Back}

I already know I'm going to apply to Princeton, Columbia, and Yale, even if it's unrealistic, simply because I'll regret never knowing if I could have gotten into my dream school. That being said, I'm still waffling about what other colleges I want to submit an application to, especially since the fees are so high.
Desired Major: Art, and currently interested in language for a minor
GPA: 3.95, both weighted and unweighted. And no, I didn't take any AP courses, which is by far the weakest point of my application and freaking me out badly. I had specific reasons for this, but still.
Highest SAT: 1580 (haven't taken the ACT yet, or any subject tests)
Ext. Activities: Won an international art competition (lengthy interview, work featured in magazine and NY exhibit), currently working as a concept artist for a highly recognizable company, won top prizes at state fair, founded a non-profit (fairly large number of participants / raised 20K+), Vice President of the National Honor Society, 100+ hours of volunteer work for the TNR feral cat program, and a member of Art/German clubs at school. There's some more stuff, but this is pretty much the gist.
Edit: I'm also working on getting some pieces into the Guggenheim. Nothing's guaranteed at the moment, but that would probably look good if it did happen.
LOR and Essays: So my essay is only a draft right now, but I'm confident I can make it memorable (partially because I kind of have to, if I want any chance of getting into a reach or match). I've always been really close with a lot of my teachers, too, so I'm not worried about the letters of recommendation. The letter from my counselor probably won't be as strong, but I certainly don't think she would write anything unflattering.
Optional Arts Supplement: Will be submitting one, and I'm hoping it'll work in my favor, not against me.
Current In-State Options: UNC of Chapel Hill, Davidson, and Lenior-Rhyne. Also, I have no problem with going out-of-state, but would preferably like to stay near the East Coast (especially somewhere North, since I just moved from the South in September and don't want to go back lol).
- - - - - - -
Thank you in advance, and apologies for this being so long by the way.

AuthoMedia Critic/Journalist Maureen Ryan spotlights Lucasfilm’s creative’ish bureaucracy in her new book Burn It Down; featuring former-staffesource known by the pseudonym Emma, who was hired to work on expanding Lucasfilm’s existing IP with a spin-off of some kind. Emma worked with a person at Lucasfilm (who is given the pseudonym Derek), who she believed did not understand the assignment despite being well-connected within the film and television industry.
Emma is described as possessing “extensive experiences and impressive résumé, yet never creatively helmed a project all on her own; Until Lucasfilm reached out to her with their offer…”
- - - - - - - - - -

Once Emma figured out the lay of the land at Lucasfilm, she realized she had been brought in to do a lot of grunt work on behalf of Derek, a well-connected man who, in her opinion, didn’t know what he was doing. He would get the glory if the project was a success, and it sure felt as though she would get the blame if it wasn’t.
Executives at Lucasfilm, Emma said, treated Derek as more important than her, even though he reliably generated chaos, subpar scripts, and other problems. His management skills were questionable when they were not entirely absent. The executives supervising the project listened to Emma’s complaints about these serious, ongoing issues, and more often than not, she told me, they agreed with her. But their promises about changing the situation came to nothing. “They back their creative people fully—the people they see as creative,” Emma said. And Derek was the person they backed.
“It took a long time to cut through the doublespeak and figure out what was really going on,” Emma told me. She had thought—and had been told—that she was going to have real creative influence over this major piece of IP. That was not the case. And Derek, thanks to his powerful connections, was essentially untouchable. Emma slowly realized that her job was to “channel” Derek’s creative vision and turn it into filmable content. “I can’t speak to whether it was intentional or not, but really, what they wanted me to be was a well-paid babysitter,” Emma observed. “I was in this double bind where I was both accountable to them and also not creatively empowered. It just puts you in this position of feeling like the janitor.”
At Lucasfilm, in Emma’s view, preference and precedence in the TV arena is given to those who have credits in the film world.
In any event, Emma wishes she’d known up front what Lucasfilm really wanted. She would have said no to the job, or something like, “Call me when you’re ready to fire him and give me the job. And if you’re not going to do that, then great—it’s all on him.” She did eventually leave the gig, exhausted by the constant chaos and the fact that nobody made any meaningful moves to stop it.
Maybe the powers that be at Lucasfilm didn’t feel they needed to. Before Emma took the job, a friend in Hollywood told her that Lucasfilm didn’t particularly care about going over budget. Emma was gobsmacked by her friend’s observation, given the penny-pinching ways of her previous employers. “But I saw it up close—that it doesn’t matter how many mistakes are made or how incompetent some people are,” she said. “Our budget doubled, and I’m sure it went up after I left*. I’ve never seen anything like it.*”
At Lucasfilm, it’s not hard to figure out why the money might flow a little more freely: the company and its offshoots have had massive success in the realms of film, television, theme parks, and merchandising, among other ventures, since the first Star Wars film came out nearly half a century ago. And in Emma’s view, the worldwide success of shows like The Mandalorian just reinforces the internal belief that the company can do no wrong.”

^{Excerpt From: Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood by Maureen Ryan. Chapter 8: The Myth of an Egalitarian Future The IP Strikes Back}

Something about the idea that Lisa and Bonny Red might be in any kind of regular communication was… I don’t know. Disturbing. If I had to say it was comparable to anything I knew, the only near example was finding out that Fauve was hiding harassment from [Wolfbeard’s] friends and associates. That’s not even quite right, but… it was just the idea that there was some talk in reference to me that was absent me was just… strange.
Like a vague ominous feeling, almost like a conversation in another language that I don’t speak, spoken in my presence with expressions and gestures hinting that it was about me specifically that the discussion was being had.
It was probably nothing, and I dismissed my own thoughts on the matter, one thing I noticed about the females of both species is that it is sometimes difficult to quite comprehend their thoughts from the male perspective. Disturbing as this instance might have been, on the whole, I found that difference between the sexes to be almost refreshing.
There is something to be said for mystery, for having company that is apart from one’s self. Which does bring me to one other small point about the xenophobes that rose and fell. Their male membership on the whole seemed to hold the females of their species in the highest contempt. The very fact that Fauve was a woman, well, a young girl, was held against her.
In a way, a defining feature of these extremists was that everything had to march in lockstep together, else it had to be subdued or destroyed. In all the reports I read, in all the stories told to me by those who raided their headquarters and training centers and other lairs, only a handful of women found positions of note in their organization. This wasn’t to say no women agreed with these men, but they were all but locked out of participation in any direct manner, more than a few evidently had evidence of abuse on their person.
In a very real sense, the ability to thrive in this world now, was intrinsically tied to our ability to engage in that which made us differ from one another, between our species and our sexes alike, we were happier in just being ourselves.
I doubted xenophobes were ever very happy for very long.
I remained at her apartment that night after a quick call to the Walkers to let them know what I was doing, I still had work to do of course, even though I had AI management tools to do most of the day to day administration of my organizations, I still had to actually handle approvals, but since everything was mobile now, more or less, I could work from damn near anywhere.
I’d borrow some talent from the Barnum Cooperation to handle things while I was away, of course. At least for the last few weeks once we got to our destination.
But until then, this was super easy, barely an inconvenience, as the humans are fond of saying.
Of course, Lisa had questions about what the reason was for me going away. She asked me that, later, and I stretched out and answered her as truthfully as I could. “I can’t really tell you that.”
She cocked her head and raised her eyebrow at me as if to say, ‘Really? After all this?’
So I elaborated, “It’s one of those kinds of things. I’d rather not be a criminal on two worlds, you know. It’s bad enough that somebody on my homeworld has decided I need to be ‘expended’.”
That had her attention. “What’s that?” She asked, why I was leaving was now a secondary concern to her.
Honestly, thinking about it in retrospect, I should have been a lot more afraid than I was. After all, getting rid of ‘problems’ was as humans say ‘par for the course’ for a lot of governments. I had my suspicions about the Earth government’s quashing of the Earth First movement being even more obscure and black operated than I already knew about in the Silent Civil War. Not that I could prove anything, and if I’m being honest, after what they wanted to do to my humans, not that I cared.
It’s a universal truth of all governments that when it comes to their security, they do not mess around, and disruptive elements tend to get some form of unpleasant treatment, even in a near utopian or utopia aspiring state. There’s always something unpleasant in the foundations that nobody sees. How much moreso in the dystopian world of Dlamias?
Bonny Red and her crew were all meant to die in the void, I, had I not gone a different route, would have been offworld for centuries and not brought back until I was old and set in my ways and easily compliant. Even my sister, who more or less slipped under their radar, was put into a job where she would have her spirit essentially eroded.
I don’t know about our father, but as for our mother, I will only say I had little hope that she was living any better now than she was before.
So I took this understanding that I was now an ‘undesirable’ in stride. Not to be overly dramatic, I am not saying my whole government was after me, just that somewhere a bureaucrat decided that it would be better if I were chosen for more ‘dangerous tasks’ and that if something happened to me, things might be ‘safer’ overall. As far as I knew, nobody had been sent to eliminate me personally, though if a team were sent to get in my way eventually, that wouldn’t be a shock.
I looked over at Lisa and my ears all drooped as I explained all that, “You’re not going to have to worry, you’re not in any danger. But… my people have focused on stability for so long that disruptive elements are ‘pruned’. We’re not as crude as humans… as far as I know. I don’t have to worry about being,” I made air quotes, “black bagged, and disappearing into a shallow grave somewhere. It just means that I can start expecting my government to start making more dangerous requests of me until something happens. It’s a very practical way to get rid of trouble, especially since they can’t exile me while I’m elsewhere already anyway.” I huffed, I had to laugh at the situation, I could picture the conversation now…
“Can we exile him?”
“He’s doing this from another planet already, what are we going to do, double exile him?”
“That’s… shocking. I’m… I didn’t know your people could be like that.” Lisa seemed genuinely shocked and the sheets rustled as she brought her knees up to her chest, a genuinely worried look settled on her face.
“We didn’t become the strongest Empire in the galaxy because we’re gentle.” I said and put my hand on her shoulder, “It will be fine. I doubt they’ll do anything overt, I have a practical usefulness to two different governments right now, it’s just one of them is willing to risk losing me. Change is… well it’s hard for us sometimes, and I’ve been introducing a lot of it.”
“So you’re like a scientist bringing technology to the stone age and being declared a witch.” Lisa declared, it was an apt analogy that I would think about quite a lot as time went on. For all my people’s advances, we missed the very idea of therapy and psychiatric treatment, and I still hadn’t forgotten the team of therapists who so bluntly diagnosed my species in a general sense.
In a very real sense, by bringing my people happiness, a concept of wellness, even for all the clear and obvious good it was doing across the board, I might as well be a witch bringing unknown magics to a primitive and superstitious, anxious people.
If I may speculate for a moment, I have seen that humans who struggle most, often mistrust happiness, finding it to be suspicious, waiting for the other shoe to drop, as if happiness is just a setup for the pain to come. As I thought about Livingston, joyless, direct, having nothing but his work… how must it been for him when he first bonded with a human and found that someone genuinely cared for his wellbeing?
Maybe what made me an outlier was that I wasn’t suspicious of happiness, but embraced it, while many of my species, once they found it, didn’t know what to do with it and treated it as a danger. Maybe… Maybe I have grown, just a little.
As I’d let go of my bitterness about what our ancestors did to us, I felt no bitterness or anger toward the nameless background figure who decided my life is best spent at risk. He, like so many others, was so afraid of being taken in by contentment, that he wouldn’t be taken out of whatever darkness held him back. They were clinging to their chains even while I worked to cut them.
That was something to be sad about, more than anything else.
Lisa brightened up. “Well then, if you’re a wicked witch, how about you cast one more spell over me.” She teased, and then her face went blank and eyes unfocused. “Your hypnosis spell hits with a D20, your target is now hypnotized, what do you do now?”
I rolled my eyes, she could never take anything too seriously, even death or danger. It’s no wonder I like humans as much as I do. Even half dead they’re more alive than most of my whole damn species. So…
[Redacted]

AuthoMedia Critic/Journalist Maureen Ryan spotlights Lucasfilm’s creative’ish bureaucracy in her new book Burn It Down; featuring former-staffesource known by the pseudonym Emma, who was hired to work on expanding Lucasfilm’s existing IP with a spin-off of some kind. Emma worked with a person at Lucasfilm (who is given the pseudonym Derek), who she believed did not understand the assignment despite being well-connected within the film and television industry.
Emma is described as possessing “extensive experiences and impressive résumé, yet never creatively helmed a project all on her own; Until Lucasfilm reached out to her with their offer…”
- - - - - - - - - -

Once Emma figured out the lay of the land at Lucasfilm, she realized she had been brought in to do a lot of grunt work on behalf of Derek, a well-connected man who, in her opinion, didn’t know what he was doing. He would get the glory if the project was a success, and it sure felt as though she would get the blame if it wasn’t.
Executives at Lucasfilm, Emma said, treated Derek as more important than her, even though he reliably generated chaos, subpar scripts, and other problems. His management skills were questionable when they were not entirely absent. The executives supervising the project listened to Emma’s complaints about these serious, ongoing issues, and more often than not, she told me, they agreed with her. But their promises about changing the situation came to nothing. “They back their creative people fully—the people they see as creative,” Emma said. And Derek was the person they backed.
“It took a long time to cut through the doublespeak and figure out what was really going on,” Emma told me. She had thought—and had been told—that she was going to have real creative influence over this major piece of IP. That was not the case. And Derek, thanks to his powerful connections, was essentially untouchable. Emma slowly realized that her job was to “channel” Derek’s creative vision and turn it into filmable content. “I can’t speak to whether it was intentional or not, but really, what they wanted me to be was a well-paid babysitter,” Emma observed. “I was in this double bind where I was both accountable to them and also not creatively empowered. It just puts you in this position of feeling like the janitor.”
At Lucasfilm, in Emma’s view, preference and precedence in the TV arena is given to those who have credits in the film world.
In any event, Emma wishes she’d known up front what Lucasfilm really wanted. She would have said no to the job, or something like, “Call me when you’re ready to fire him and give me the job. And if you’re not going to do that, then great—it’s all on him.” She did eventually leave the gig, exhausted by the constant chaos and the fact that nobody made any meaningful moves to stop it.
Maybe the powers that be at Lucasfilm didn’t feel they needed to. Before Emma took the job, a friend in Hollywood told her that Lucasfilm didn’t particularly care about going over budget. Emma was gobsmacked by her friend’s observation, given the penny-pinching ways of her previous employers. “But I saw it up close—that it doesn’t matter how many mistakes are made or how incompetent some people are,” she said. “Our budget doubled, and I’m sure it went up after I left*. I’ve never seen anything like it.*”
At Lucasfilm, it’s not hard to figure out why the money might flow a little more freely: the company and its offshoots have had massive success in the realms of film, television, theme parks, and merchandising, among other ventures, since the first Star Wars film came out nearly half a century ago. And in Emma’s view, the worldwide success of shows like The Mandalorian just reinforces the internal belief that the company can do no wrong.”

^{Excerpt From: Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood by Maureen Ryan. Chapter 8: The Myth of an Egalitarian Future The IP Strikes Back}

Hello everyone, I'm not even sure exactly what I need to work on, but I figured having some outside perspective may benefit me to some degree so here I am. I feel like I have done nothing since graduating high school 10 years ago, especially when compared to peers. This may be long and convoluted, as I chronologically recount my experiences, so bare with me. I appreciate any advice I get here!
I did finish a science degree at a local university, which I regret in retrospect due to the lack of resources and lack of pushing me out of my boundaries. I had social anxiety that affected me functionally back then and also a few bad experiences, which resulted in a bad first year gpa-wise. This really shot me down and I struggled to raise my GPA to a competitive mark for vet school, which I was initially seeking. I started with signs of depression and feeling inadequate to my peers who seemed to be doing fine that year. I also had very little guidance in terms of university. My father tried to help, but his experiences were different from mine. The academic advisors at my university were also a 'revolving door' and so were often new and unfamiliar with the university and programs. Approaching graduation, I really thought If I made it out with a degree, I'd have decent career opportunities, which didn't happen. I tried applying to multiple places, but I am in a bilingual city and am not bilingual, so all I could manage were minimum wage jobs, while many friends were bilingual and at least got into government jobs. I graduated with no student debt, but ultimately felt frustrated at being unable to obtain a career. Luckily I do have great parents who have been awesome supports and encouraged me on.
I spent a gap year working and then went back into university under a different degree, hoping to raise my grades this time to apply to medical school. I obtained a scholarship that covered part of my tuition. I did actually do well, but then the pandemic hit- this combined with multiple projects and part-time jobs I was juggling spiraled me into burn out. I also got into a new romantic relationship and although he was a great guy, he demanded more of me than I could give and I realized we wanted different things, so I broke it off. Simultaneously, I dealt with a few situations that spiraled me into deeper depression. I cried nearly every other day for 3-4 months. I lost a few friends who I had realized were not good friends and pretty self-centered. However, that also meant I only had two friends left, who were not close by. Following the burn-out, I knew there was no way I could write the MCAT and go through the admissions process, so I applied to an accelerated nursing program and was accepted. I liked that nursing provided a definite opportunity for employment, as well as travel and flexibility in a shorter period of time.
Here is where I am at now:
I am half way through the program and nursing is not what I thought. I plan to continue the program as I think not having a career at this point is contributing to my depression and I hear nursing is different in real practice. We have unions for nurses here and it is a good career nevertheless. But I do feel a sense of loss for what I want to be and really struggle with retrospections, regretting previous choices. I want more for myself, but at this point, my depression has caused me to be constantly tired and worn out. I also feel that my memory has gotten bad. I feel as if I am a burden to my parents and wish I could do more for them. They have been so good to me and have worked so hard that I wish I could treat them instead of having them look out for me. I feel a sense of shame with having no career accomplishment nor significant other and this holds me back from connecting with peers, as I assume judgement or no commonality.
I don't really have a social life anymore. The one friend whom I have been close with often compares our situation these days (as far as looking up a nurse's salary) and that really does hurt me. I don't think it comes from malicious intent, but it has kept me from reaching out to her and I'm finding myself slowly closing up from other potential friends. I struggle with romantic connection. I am not really sure why, but I am extremely cautious in romantic relations and struggle finding someone I am truly attracted too. I did start with romantic relationships later in life than many.
My 10 year HS reunion is coming up this summer and I am absolutely not going; however, this has just made me feel a pit of despair concerning my choices and current situation. At this point, I'm just a professional student and I can't believe 7 years of schooling has gone by seemingly so fast. My depression has just been spiraling the past 2-3 years and it is something I constantly fight. Therapy is unfortunately not an option, as I don't have the finances for it. I truly think that if I hadn't such kind, understanding, and supportive parents, I would have become suicidal. However, sometimes I feel I don't deserve their unconditional love because I have done nothing to be proud of. I have even avoided going to family events, as I fear comparison to my cousins, who I deem more successful than myself.
I really do want to get better and strive for better. I have worked through my social anxiety, which no longer impedes me like it did in my early 20's. However, now it is feelings of despair and inadequacy that plagues my mind and causes me to be excessively tired with anhedonia on many days.

The Itinerary—
Day 0: Nonstop flight to Rome
Day 1: Landed in Rome early in the morning and got an early check-in to the hotel. Got oriented to the city by walking around Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain
Day 2: Visited the Trevi Fountain quickly before our 8:55 guided tour of the Colosseum Arena and Forum. In the afternoon, visited the Capitoline Museums and walked around Tiber Island and a bit of Trastevere
Day 3: 7:45 guided tour of the Vatican and St Peters Basilica. After lunch, walked around Campo di Fiori and visited Piazza Navona as well it’s underground
Day 4: Attended a cooking class where we made pasta and tiramisu. Afterwards, visited the Roman National Museums
Day 5: Day trip to Orvieto. Visited the duomo, underground caves, and St Patricks Well
Day 6: Early train to Florence. Walked around the Duomo before lunch. Afterwards, climbed Brunelleschi’s Dome. For the rest of the day, walked around the Ponte Vecchio area.
Day 7: Took a guided day trip to 2 Tuscan towns. Spent time walking around Siena before a winery tour and lunch in a Tuscan winery. After lunch, visited San Gimignano before heading back to Florence
Day 8: Visited the Uffizi right when it opened and then climbed Giottos Bell Tower before lunch. Saw the David afterwards before relaxing in the evening and enjoying a Florentine T-bone steak
Day 9: Morning train to Venice. After checking into the hotel, visited St Marks Basilica, wandered Dorsoduro, and rode in a gondola
Day 10: Got up at 4:30 to watch the sunrise, wandered around the San Marco area without the crowds and then did the secret itinerary tour of Doges Palace. In the afternoon, walked around in the Cannaregio area before spending the evening at St Marks Square
💶 The Cost for Two People—
Attractions and Tours: €1200 ——I did a small group tour for the Colosseum, Vatican, and Tuscan winery
Hotels: €1700 ——All 3 star hotels near the city centers
Meals/Drinks/Gelato: €1000 ——Ate a light breakfast everyday and ate out at a sit down restaurants for almost all meals (skipped maybe 2 dinners if I had a big lunch)
Flights: €3300 ——Nonstop flight from the US to Rome and 1 stop from Venice back to the US
Transport within Italy: €300 ——Prima Class on Italo trains, ubers, vaporetto pass, transport to/from airport
TOTAL COST: €7500
Travel tips I learned: 1. Book tours for important sites and get into sites right before they open or close. I got the earliest tour for the Colosseum and shared the arena floor with the 4 other people in our group. Surprisingly, it never felt crowded in the Colosseum

1. Only book SMALL or private tours. Both tours for Colosseum and Winery had 6 people total whereas the Vatican tour had maybe 15. For me, having 15 people in a group was way too many. I think that for crowded/popular sites, spend the money for private tours or tours that have less than 10 people.
   
2. Don’t only visit the big cities. I enjoyed Orvieto and Siena way more than Florence and Venice. (Rome was my favorite stop though)
   
3. Get up early or stay up late. I got up for sunrise at Venice and it was magical. Completely different than during the day and 10 times better
   

Part 19 Like Angels Falling from the Heavens (Part 1) (Part 18)
​
"Dropping in 3… 2… 1. Mission initiated." A synthetic voice read the words off of Tensebwse's HUD and his vision was suddenly filled with the familiar sight of metal and polymer panels rushing past him. “Target ETA, 8 minutes.”
​
“Alright, ladies!” Tens shouted into his comms-link to the Qui’ztar warriors who were about to experience why the Hell Divers had that name. “Hold on tight! When those retro-thrusters kick, they kick hard!”
​
"Hold on to what?" The deep yet feminine that called back was equal parts excited and nervous, and even held hints of sarcasm.
​
"Consciousness." Tens chuckled as he felt himself slowly being pushed towards the planets below.
​
Despite not feeling too much pressure himself, the Nishnabe warrior was keeping a close eye on both his own acceleration gauge as well as the reads out from his trainees. With his suit and control-AI acting as the central node of the networked machines, he had immediate access to the external and internal sensors of every mech he was in formation with. And, like a good pack leader, Ten wasn't at the front of the group, charging ahead, and possibly going beyond the physical limits of the Qui’ztar warrior women. Rather, he was at the back of the formation, letting the first-time jumpers set a pace they could endure, and watching for signs of overexertion. Even though each woman was nearing the absolute peak of their athletic abilities, the strain they were about to feel would be unlike anything they had ever experienced.
​
"This isn't that bad." It was Hutloxa who made the remark while sounding a bit too confident.
​
"We're still on the insertion-burn!" Tens fully laughed into the comms. "Verify trajectory and shield integrity, ladies. It's now or never!"
​
"Drop zone marked, call out when verified!" Captain Marzima's commanding tone was that of an ardent professional as she knew her commanding officer was watching them carefully.
​
"Drop Mech 1, confirmed!" A cacophony of voices began calling out in sequence until completing at number 19.
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"All units confirmed, Lieutenant!" Marz was doing her job with the precision of a trained expert.
​
"Excellent, Captain!" Though the praise wasn’t necessary, Tens was starting to get excited as he saw the timer for the retro-thrusters slowly counting down. It had been months since his last time falling into hell and he missed the adrenaline rush. “Remember ladies, you need to keep breathing. If you stop breathing you will pass out. The mechs can and will land on their own if they need to but I need you to stay with me for the whole drop. Do you understand me?!?”
​
“Sir, yes, sir!” All 20 voices shouted back through the comms in perfect synchronization.
​
Tens could feel as his heart rate picked up in anticipation as his mind became perfectly clear. Only a few hundred meters below him he could clearly see the highlighted outlines of each of the mechanized walkers he was following towards the ground below. Judging by the angle of their approach, the direction of the planet's rotation, and current placement of the day-night terminator line, they would be hitting their drop zone just as the sun would begin to rise. Though that wasn’t necessarily the intention when planning out this training drop onto the Kyim'ayik’s new colony world, the Nishnabe warrior was looking forward to seeing the sunrise on a new planet. As he watched his countdown time slowly inch closer and closer to the fun part, he hoped that even if some of the women got sick, they would enjoy falling into hell and then being greeted by the morning sun.
​
“Remember what I said, just keep breath-” Tens almost had his own breath knocked out of lungs as his retro-thrusters began to fire. With a glee none of the women were expecting to hear as they were all rocked by the same forces, the young Nishnabe warrior let out a call of unbridled excitement. “Eeee!”
​
"What! The! Fuck!" One if the women shouted into the comms though, through the strain, it wasn't clear who.
​
"You got this!" Tens was able to get out in a surprisingly clear tone. "We're only just over 30 m/s2. This isn't even an emergency drop!"
​
"Come ladies!" Marz's voice, despite the pressure on her body, was just as strong and confident as it was at the very beginning. "You're deathworlders! You're Qui'ztar! You will endure!"
​
"You'll build up a tolerance with more drops." Tens added, his ear to ear grin audible as he tried to keep the women going. "Sound off! I need to hear you're still with me!"
​
"Drop… ugh! Drop mech 1! Still breathing!" The first women called out through labored breaths.
​
"Drop Mech 2! This is great!" The next voice, in stark contrast to the first, sounded like she was having the time of her life.
​
In sequence, each of the women called out their number and condition, some showing intense strain and others were clearing having a grand time. It didn't matter to Tens if some of them would need more training, or may not even be cut out for these kinds of missions in the future. The only thing the man cared about at this moment was making sure that they all landed safely. Though it only took a few seconds for each woman to signal they were still conscious and aware, and one a second or two between each one speaking, they were burning through the counter down timer just as quickly as they were beginning to burn through the upper atmosphere of the planet below them. Just before Tens's view of the deep blue oceans beneath him were obscured by the building ball of fire and the blue shimmering from his active shielding, a quaint chain of islands caught his eye. When Captain Marzima finally confirmed that she too was still conscious and able to maintain her professional demeanor, the countdown showed less than six minutes until they touched down.
​
Like angels of fury falling from the heavens, the 21 mechanized combat walker suits tore their way through the building layers of atmosphere, reentry plasma building with each passing moment. The preprogrammed descent path, having been calculated long in advance, coupled with the lack of incoming fire from the ground to ensured the group of first time jumpers and their experienced instructor had no need for evasive actions. In front of them was a clean and clear route, save for a few sparse clouds, which would see them land directly at the chosen site for the new Kyim'ayik colony. Even though something in the back of the man's mind was telling him not to trust the Arnehilians on the planet below, the idea that even the gray demons who had stolen his ancestors from their home weren't all evil warmed his soul. As the formation of mechs came closer and closer to their target, continuing their dramatic descent as if they were an unstoppable force sent by the Gods, the coastal clearing they were heading towards was highlighted by their HUDs.
​
"By the Matria- oof!" One of the women called out with a mixture of giggling and exhaustion. "It doesn't let up!"
​
"Just a couple more minutes!" Tens couldn't help the fact his volume was raised. None of them could. All he could do was shout words of encouragement to spur on the few who were still having trouble acclimating to the strain. "I know you're strong! I know you’re capable! Just keep breathing and you'll be the first Qui’ztar to see a sunrise over the shores of new colony world!"
​
"Yac'tloma! Chuiom! Are you still with me?!?" Marz's slightly more intense yell caused Tens to trigger the cockpit-view of both of the pilots who got called out.
​
"Yes, Captain!" Yac responded almost instantly and with a surprising amount of strength. "I think… mmm… I'm finally getting used to it."
​
"Chuiom!" Marzima shouted again just as a hologram of the Qui’ztar in question popped up on Tens's HUD.
​
"I'll wake her up." Tens chuckled as he sent a signal to Chu's mech to give her some mild stimulation.
​
"Fucker!" The woman was instantly awake and Tens could see through the holographic display that she wasn't happy. "Did someone just shock me?"
​
"No napping till after the debrief!" Tens retorted. "Your vitals are fine and we only got a minute or so left. Keep breathing and stay with me!"
​
Various readouts across Tens’s HUD were running through numbers faster than the holographic display could refresh. From altitude to effective airspeed, the Nishnabe warrior could see that everything was going perfectly and, despite some of his trainees showing signs of serious exhaustion, he was about as happy as he could be at that moment. Though one of the women did stop breathing for just a moment too long, and needed a bit of prodding to wake back up, the health data the man was cycling through indicated everyone seemed fine, no bones had been broken, and the strain hadn’t caused any unforeseen injuries. Regardless of how strong and capable he knew all of these women to be, and the fact that inertial dampers were reducing the felt forces to about a third of what they should be, each of these Qui’ztar deserved to relax after this. With only a few thousand meters per second of relative velocity left to burn off, and the retro-thrusters maintaining a cool 80 meters per second squared of deceleration, they would all get their moment of peace very soon.
​
“Is that the Arnehilian settlement?” Hutloxa’s voice cut in through the comms. “It looks really small.”
​
“Yeup, looks like.” Tens answered while bringing the relevant data up on his HUD. “Just a couple bigger buildings that look like greenhouses, some smaller ones that look like civilian structures, and really simple solar heating and wind energy systems.”
​
“My systems are telling me there aren’t any defensive systems.” Another of the warrior women added with hints of both confusion and doubt in her voice. “I’ve never seen Grays without some kind of weapons.”
​
“Remember the brief!” Marz shouted into the brief. “These aren’t Grays, they’re Greens. They’re entirely peaceful and they only have a few personal defense weapons that would barely break our skin.”
​
“I don’t -ugh-” It sounded like Chu was still struggling with the pressure she was under but was beginning to cope. “I don’t like this. Feels like a trap.”
​
“Their Mayor said he’s tried to keep his people clear of us.” Despite having more reservation about this situation than he cared to admit, Tens almost hoped he would have the opportunity to meet one of these supposedly peaceful Arnehilians. “But we’ll find out if he actually did it. According to the Admiral, the guy is a total softy and doesn’t like telling people what to do.”
​
“The ground is coming up fast!” One of the women nervously shouted as Tens noticed his relative velocity gauge showed the mach cones surrounding the mechs were about to dissipate and they would be on the ground in the next few seconds.
​
“Congratulations, ladies!” Tens shouted in reply as he saw the first mech halt its descent less than a meter off the ground before its massive metal feet could impact the soil. One by one each of the mech stopped just before impact and gently set themselves on to the surface of the planet. “That was your first trip into hell and I hope you enjoyed it!”
​
There was a chorus of cheers, sighs of relief, and what even sounded like a few tears as 19 of the 20 warrior women began to celebrate their accomplishment. As each of the mechanized walkers shed their re-entry assistance systems, the durable and combat tested thrusters impacted the ground in a series of dull thuds, and complete physical control over the suits was given over the pilots. While a many of the over five meter tall goliaths of metal and poly ceramics jumped up and down, throwing their fist in to air in excitement, some of the others had taken up more leaned forward positions to represent the posture their pilots would be in if they were out of their suits and catching their breath. As the orange and purple sunrise crested the horizon, the Nishnabe warrior couldn’t help but take a moment to simply enjoy the scene around him. Though Tens knew the celebration could and would likely keep going until the recovery shuttle landed to pick them up, he couldn’t help but notice that one of the mech seemed to be staring at the treeline of the clearing.
​
Quickly interfacing with the sensor system networked into his own, it soon became quite obvious what Captain Marzima was staring at. Just a few dozen meters away, just at the edge of the treeline surrounding the clearing, were four beings which were quickly highlighted on Tens’s HUD and registered as Arnehilian biosignatures. With a quick zoom and directed scan, it became immediately obvious that a small group of children had stuck away from settlement to watch the mechs land. Though they looked quite clean, well fed, and properly cared for, Tens couldn’t shake the feeling that these small, dull-gray beings were somehow different from the silver-skinned bastards whom he hated. It may have been the more healthy, full-figured appearance of their more human-like frames, the simple olive-drab clothing they wore, or possibly even just the more natural appearance of their skin, but they didn’t seem evil at all. Despite the somewhat suspicious nature of beings trying to keep themselves hidden, a smile formed on the Nishnabe warrior’s face as he walked his mech over towards them.
​
“Hey kids! I can see you!” Tens shouted through his suit’s external speaker system which prompted the children to try to duck behind cover. “The sensors already have you tagged as innocent. You don’t have to hide.”
​
“Report.” Admiral Atxika’s commanding voice cut into the comms link even though she already knew exactly what was going on.
​
“Ah, just some kids.” Tens quickly replied with an unbothered tone. “Probably got told to stay away and then did what kids do.”
​
"I'll contact Mayor Harideth and have him come collect these wayward youth." Atxika replied a bit softer. "Make sure they're safe and uninjured. This planet does have its share of predators."
​
"You got it." There was real excitement from the warrior as he closed the distance to where the children were still cowering behind cover. "Hey kids, are you alright over there?"
​
The only reply Tens received as he stopped just a few of his mechs long paces away from the treeline was silence. Despite their attire blending surprisingly well with the lush green forest that surrounded them, the children's attempt to hide behind a large bush was weak at worst and endearing at best. Seeing as they were obviously still afraid of the giant metal machine that was standing just a few meters away, Tens took the initiative, lowered his mech down to a kneeling position, and triggered the cockpit opening procedure.
​
"Don't be scared." Tens shouted with a caring voice from his now open cockpit. "I've got some snacks for you if you come out."
​
"But… you're an angel…" One of the children was slowly lifting their head above the bush as they spoke.
​
"And angels only fall on tyrants and oppressors!" Another child added with an absolutely adorable, squeaky voice while joining the first with their head poking above the bush.
​
Tens shifted his eyes between the two, unsure of how to respond, but very glad that both children seemed perfectly fine beyond their fear and apprehension. As the other two slowly rose, the Nishnabe warrior opened a small compartment in his cockpit and moved to pull out the promised snacks.
​
"We… we aren't oppressors…" The child who spoke first was clearly still very concerned about why these angels had fallen so close to her settlement. "Are we?…"
​
"No, no, no!" Tens quickly answered in the sweetest voice he could muster. "You are innocent children, little ones! You have done nothing wrong. Now, you can eat candied fruit, right?"
​
"Yes!" The two youngest children shouted in perfect, ecstatic unison.
​
"But…" The first child, though she was now eying the small packets of treats that Tens had in his hand, obviously still had her reservations. "If we aren't oppressors… Why did you fall so close to our village? Are there oppressors nearby?"
​
"Ooohhh!" The realization of what was scaring the young girl hit the man like a falling brick. "No, no, no, don't worry, sweetheart. We're just training. Angels have to practice falling so we can do our jobs perfectly when we are called to."
​
"Huh…" The gray, scaly skinned little girl only looked concerned for a second longer before a huge smile formed across her face and her large blue eyes began to sparkle. "I guess that makes sense. And you all were so beautiful as you fell! Like a wing of fire falling to the ground with the fury of the loving Old Gods!"
​
"The Old Gods?" Tens half asked while motioning for the children to approach and collect their snacks. "But, more importantly, what are your names, little ones?"
​
"I'm Valerovum." The first child, who was obviously the leader of this group, announced as she guided the rest from behind the bush and towards Tens and his mech. "And this is Teliuva, Carmoni, and Jokiat."
​
"It is a pleasure to meet you all." The man bowed slightly before handing the snack packets to Val who then distributed them to her posse. "Do your parents know you're out here? I'm sure they're worried about you."
​
"Umm…." Val and her gang's eyes grew wide as they realized they might get in trouble for wandering so far away from the safety of their village. However, as if on cue, a new voice called out from the forest behind them.
​
"Valerovum! Teliuva! Carm-" It sounded like a man was desperately crying out for the young children.
​
"Over here!" Tens shouted back as loud as he could. "They're safe!"
​
In the few moments it took for rustling of branches and leaves to close the distance to where Tens and the children were waiting, the kids had already opened their snacks and begun savoring the sweet treats as if it were the very first time they had ever eaten something so sweet. When the olive-drap clad Arnehilian Mayor burst through the bramble, he quickly came to a frozen stop as he saw the four children eating their snacks in front of the Nishnabe warrior and his mechanized walker.
​
"Mayor Harideth!" Jokiat, the smallest of the four children, ran over the older being, wrapped one of his legs in a tight hug, and then offered the packet of candied fruit up towards him. "This angel has the best snacks I've ever had!"
​
"They aren't-" The Mayor began before quickly cutting himself off. "Oh, is that right, Jokiat?"
​
"Yes, yes! You have to try one!" The small child raised the packet of snacks even further towards the Mayor’s dull-gray face.
​
"They're just candied fruits." Tens clarified after seeing the hints of apprehension on Harideth's face. "They're high in vitamins and sugar content."
​
“Tha- Thank you!” Harideth took one of the slices of dried, semi-hardened fruit from the package then gave Tens a polite bow before patting Jok on the head lovingly. As he took a delicate bit of the sweet treat, his eyes suddenly grew just as wide as the children’s and he looked like he was eating the most delicious thing he had ever tried.
​
“Good, right?” The Nishnabe warrior was doing his best to be friendly towards these members of a species that, in any other circumstance, he would have already killed. “I always keep a few packets in my mech just in case I get hungry on a mission.”
​
“This is wonderful!” The mayor confirmed before bowing again and then redirecting his attention towards the group of children. “Now children, we were worried sick about you! There are predators in this forest. Think about how your mothers would cry if something bad were to happen to you. Let’s get you back to the village before one of those predators finds us.”
​
“I can escort y’all, if yah want.” Tens chimed in with a genuinely pleasant tone and smile on his face. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to these adorable little ones. If there are predators in this forest, they wouldn’t dare try to attack y’all if me and Loud Bark are with you.”
​
“Oh, that-” Harideth was about to respectfully decline when Jok interrupted him.
​
“The angels protect the innocent!” The small child’s shout was quickly followed up by the rest of the children repeating the phrase in near perfect unison. “The angels protect the innocent!”
​
“That…” The Mayor looked down into Jok’s eyes and saw a sense of hope and serenity that touched his soul before he turned back towards Tens. “That would be quite kind and generous of you. I would truly appreciate it.”
​
“Tsss! Don’t worry about it!” Tens was all smiles at the prospect of being able to witness a truly peaceful Arnehilian settlement. “It’s gonna be another 30 to 40 minutes before the recovery shuttle gets here, another 20 to 30 minutes to load up all my trainees, and then they can just come pick me up from your village. Besides, angels protect the innocent, right?”

The thing that made me ask is that my town is made up of old buildings, with this huge 60s flat block in the middle that everyone hates.... but theres a huge plaque on the side that says it won a fairly presitgious design award in the 60s. Another example is of this kind of thing is Cumbernauld Centre being voted 'Britains Most Hated Building' in recent years. In constrast, when it was first built in the 60s, an architectural critic said...
"Leonardo da Vinci, nearly five hundred years ago, envisioned a city where all the vehicles move underground, leaving man to move freely in the sun. Leonardo might also have sketched Cumbernauld's town center, a soaring citadel surrounded by meadow"
I'm curious, when did public opinion change and why?

Since Holidays are coming up for many, the rise of abandoned PURE bred domestic cats, of all kind have taken over Scientific center. This is a common issue, i see it occur every year, but the rise of domestic cats that are absolutely lovely and friendly are genuinely disheartening.
If you want a cat, please adopt. Most of the cats that i find are clean and are sweethearts, i’m sure they’d be lovely pets. And if you own one, or know anyone who no longer wants cats, please tell them to give away their cats through adoption, there’s no reason them to be dumped and have awful lives.
And for those thinking “oh well i bet someone will take care of it” No. They won’t. I have seen these cats get attacked by other cats, i’ve seen them die of starvation, thirst and heat.
I don’t understand why it’s so normalized to dump cats in parks, they’re being set up for death. In the past 2 days i’ve encountered over 10 purebred cats.
And if your cat is lost and you live in salmiya, especially around blocks 1-2 look at scientific center and the areas near by it, you could even send me pictures and i’ll let you know if i find them.
I just want to see a change. It’s way too normalized.

DISCLAIMER
I almost didn’t post this. Not because I think it’s too wild or doesn’t make any sense. In fact, quite the opposite. The information I present here, which is the result of countless hours spent re-watching videos, listening to audio, and cross-referencing official information, is something that now seems to me to be far too viable not to be correct. I have actually tried to prove this theory wrong and… well basically I can’t. So, please bear this in mind as you read. This could end up being one of those rare occasions when we’re actually onto something. Either way, I hope you enjoy the post.
First point; this is going to be a long post. Given the subject matter, it needs to be. Second point; I have not added any images or videos directly into the post but have instead included a great many links embedded within the text itself. This should ensure that the post is no longer than it needs to be but should still allow you sufficient opportunity to fully scrutinize every part of my theory, so that you can determine for yourself whether or not you think it holds weight.
I have organised all of the information under specific headings designed to make everything more accessible. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of the main theory. Even if you think that some of what you are reading may not be relevant, I can assure you that everything written here has been included as an important part of a much larger puzzle, and so I would advise that you patiently make your way through the entirety of the post. In an effort to ensure that your time invested here is appropriately rewarded, and in the spirit of preserving the scientific method, I have tried to keep flavor text and blind speculation down to an absolute minimum.
Note that I will be listing various aspects of this post as being confirmed correct or incorrect as and when we have official information to verify such facts. So here we are, after five long years of waiting, the inevitable release of Starfield, like the event horizon of some nearby black hole, is almost upon us. With the Showcase now a mere 24 hours away, it is time for us to take a look at what makes this particular game so special, as well as discovering just how we will be given the means to fly among the stars.
And so, without further ado, let us begin.
Hitchhiker's Guide
From watching gameplay footage, and also listening to various devs talk about Starfield, we know that at some along the early part of the story, we will find ourselves on board a Constellation Starship, which is appropriately named Frontier. With us on the ship is VASCO, an adorable robot assistant who will eventually become one of our possible companions. But how did we even end up on this ship? Well firstly, I do not believe that Frontier is our ship, or at least not at first. And so, we’re probably here in the capacity of a ‘guest’ of some kind, or more likely, a hitchhiker.
If we take a look at this scene, we first hear a male shouting “that’s the Crimson Fleet!” and then a female saying “Everybody get ready!” After this, we can see that the group we are with is attacked. We already know that we uncover some kind of unknown artifact whilst mining for ore near the beginning of the Main Quest, and that the aforementioned Crimson Fleet is essentially an organised collective of space pirates. But what we don’t know is why they attacked us. This is not something I will be diving into in this particular post, although I do have some theories about this. But the relevance of the series of events here described cannot be understated, as they seem to be the launching point for our entry into Constellation and the adventures that follow.
Next, if we look a little further, we can see that this seemingly-important member of Constellation is not with us when we arrive at their Headquarters on Jemison, which suggests that he may have been killed during the above mentioned attack. Also note that, in-spite of not having a voiced protagonist this time round, we can clearly hear somebody talking over Frontier’s comms system, which means that there must be a designated pilot. Given the fact that we don’t see anyone who is confirmed as being the pilot (although it may actually be this person), it is safe to assume that this designated individual was with us during the flight but was first injured in the attack on the planet’s surface and was then taken to Medical Bay after we successfully land on Jemison.
It is my belief that, after perhaps being exposed to some kind of energy pulse from a grenade or something similar, the first member of Constellation we see was outright killed (hence why we are then asked to join up ourselves, perhaps to take over his role). The pilot, however, clearly survived as we can hear him talking to Control over the comms system during what is actually an extended two-way conversation, but I think that his vision was somehow compromised so that, even though he is able to speak, he is temporarily unable to see. The good news about this most unfortunate situation is that it opens the door for us to quickly step into the hot seat and, with the pilot acting as our guide, we will experience our very first Starfield flight tutorial.
Radio Chatter
If you listen to the beginning of both the Official Teaser Trailer and Official Gameplay Reveal for Starfield, you will hear both halves of the radio conversation I have referenced above, or at least the parts of it that Bethesda have given us so far. The first of these is spoken by somebody being referred to as Control, and the second by Frontier’s pilot. I previously posted a link to an audio I made and put up on Soundcloud, which gives us all of the confirmed parts of this conversation carefully spliced together and enhanced for clarity. Note that some of the audio, despite these enhancements, is a little hard to make out.
The final, in-game conversation is going to be a fair bit longer than what we have here and will be based on the specific processes that are required before attempting a Grav Jump. I don’t think we will hear this conversation every time we perform a Jump (especially given that our protagonist does not speak), but the first time we experience this early step-out moment, a detailed and appropriate pre-launch conversation will only serve to enhance what I’m sure will be an awe-inspiring experience.
Note that, at the end of this post, I have provided a link to a written transcript detailing what I think is being said in the full version of the above conversation. In the meantime, here is a breakdown of the confirmed parts of this audio. This is slightly different from the version I previously posted, due to new evidence clarifying exactly what is being said here. I have left line-spaces to help show where the missing parts of the audio will eventually go:
PILOT: "Control this is Constellation Starship Frontier."
CONTROL: "Constellation Starship Frontier, we have you on scanners."
PILOT: "We're ready to start on your signal."
CONTROL: "Performing Road Systems check. Helium-3 tanks, check. Seals are intact."
PILOT: "Maintaining Exit Vector course, Steady 'till Ready."
CONTROL: "We are still go."
PILOT: "Coordinates input, plotting Jump course."
CONTROL: "We read you Constellation."
PILOT: "Sky-Bus is converged, we're looking good."
CONTROL: "Jemison route looks good."
PILOT: "Allocating Auxiliary Reactor Power."
CONTROL: "Prepare for departure. Graviton Loop Array Spool, check."
PILOT: "System checks are green across the board."
CONTROL: "Your space Lane is clear."
PILOT: "Grav Jump commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
Road-Trip
At first, this seems like a typical, albeit futuristic version of an Air Traffic Control conversation. After all, much of what is being said does sound very familiar, and the rest seems appropriate to Starfield’s apparent Hard Science Fiction theme. But it’s only when you start digging a little deeper that you realize that something else is going on here as well.
Note the following terms taken from the above transcript: Road, Exit, Course, Coordinates, Bus, Route, Departure and Lane. All these words share a very noticeable common theme. They are all in some way related to Road Networks. Note also the phrase “green across the board," which sounds like it could also be a reference to Traffic Lights.
Zooming Along
Next, let’s look at this map, which features the home of a certain Software Development Company you may have heard of. If you zoom out a fair bit, you will see two large Cities, namely Washington and Baltimore. Zoom out a little more, and you can now see the cities of Richmond to the South and Pittsburgh to the North-West. Zoom back in over any of these four major cities, and you will see that there are many more smaller locations within each of the city limits.
Now scroll the map over to any of the areas outside of these cities, and you will find a multitude of other important locations. These include residential areas, airports, medical facilities, sports and leisure facilities, research facilities, manufacturing facilities, tech companies, supermarkets), hotels, places of worship, and many others. All the above locations are important in one way of another to the continued functioning of our society, and all can be placed within two distinct categories. These are Population Centers and Infrastructure.
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Now imagine that there has been some kind of catastrophic flood in this area, and all these locations, although somehow miraculously intact, are now separated from each other as a series of individual islands in the middle of a newly formed ‘ocean’. Suddenly, the existing Road Network, along with any cars, busses, and other road vehicles, would become useless. You would need to use a completely different system, one designed to properly accommodate these changes, which would of course have to incorporate such elements as harbors, shipping routes, and vehicles capable of travelling along a waterway.
Now let’s zoom out again, this time further. Much, much, further. Each location has now been transformed into either a planet or a moon, spread across various star systems covering a vast region of space. Each one of these planets and moons will have its own individual features, resources, possible inhabitants, and infrastructure requirements. With such a quantum leap in terms of scale, if we now wanted to travel between these locations, which could in many cases end up being several light years apart, we are going to need something far bigger in terms of scale, complexity, and technology.
Shown In 60 Seconds
During the first ever 60 seconds of Starfield footage we all saw, shown in the form of the Official Announcement Teaser at the end of BE3 on June 11th 2018 (which redditor InToddWeTrust2023 has very nicely referenced here), we were given some surprisingly important clues which now form the cornerstone of this theory. Not only have these clues stacked up with every consecutive trailer released, as well as many of the other official videos and various other snippets of information, but their sheer level of consistency places them well outside the realm of possible coincidence.
Some of these additional clues were given to us in the two videos referenced above which contain the comms audio. The second of these two videos, namely the Official Gameplay Reveal, dropped, as would be expected, at the end of last year’s Showcase on June 12th 2022. Some of the most crucial information we have been given to date regarding my theory is actually contained in the 70 seconds shown before Todd even begins to speak. We will discuss the relevance of all of this a little further on in the post.
Lo-go/no go
First, some Space related terminology. In Mission Control speak, a Launch Status Check, also known as a go/no go poll, is part of a very carefully designed system implemented by US Space Agencies to ensure maximum safety and the best possible survival chance of both the ship and its crew prior to launch. This, or something similar, will undoubtedly form an integral part of the pre-launch, or rather, pre-Jump procedures incorporated into Starfield, especially given what we know in relation to its specific influences, attention to detail, and focus on realism.
But let's look for a moment at a different type of launch. Let's look at the process of carefully managing the flow of information when you are launching a long-awaited, multi-million-dollar triple-A video game and you happen to be a major player. With the combined might of Bethesda, Zenimax, and now Microsoft, there is clearly a great deal of scope in terms of how they were able to execute all of the steps involved in this process. One critically important factor, and one that has been masterfully implemented in the promotion of Starfield, is the use of familiar iconography.
If we look at the iconography seen during the promotion of Starfield, we can see that there are two main elements. These are the circular Starfield logo, first unveiled in 2018, and of course the recently updated Bethesda Games Studios logo, which has existed in various iterations since around 2006. Both of these share a common, simplistic yet effective design, and the BGS logo in particular is now light years ahead of its original design as seen on box art and in promotional materials for The Elder Scrolls VI Oblivion. At the time of Oblivion’s release, the long-term use of this particular logo, which incorporates the now familiar Fallout Vault Door, was a little uncertain due to restrictions with the associated licence (more on this below). But once this matter had been resolved, it would make a lot of sense that they would then develop this logo into the much sharper, more modern version we see today.
Licenced to Fly
Way back in April of 2007, Bethesda realized one of their biggest long-term business goals by finally securing the full rights to the highly acclaimed Fallout series. Prior to this, in 2004, they had been granted limited rights which would allow them to develop Fallout 3 and then two additional games, but they clearly wanted full and unrestricted access to the franchise and all of its assets. Since this time, in addition to Fallout 3, we have seen the release of Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, as well as a number of smaller projects, including Fallout Shelter. This is all the proof you need to confirm the fact that, in-spite of some initial setbacks, Bethesda’s insistence on going the extra mile with regards to securing the full franchise, was most definitely worth it, and was seen by many as a landmark achievement.
Looking at the most recent entry to this ever-expanding series, namely Fallout 76, I would like to draw your attention to two of this particular game’s trailers. First, we have the Fallout 76 Official Trailer from 2018, and then The Pitt Story Trailer from 2022. In the first of these two trailers, at around the 35 second mark, we see the new BGS logo once again, and then near the end of the video we see a smaller version, neatly tucked away over on the left-hand side of the usual copyright notice. If we then look at the second trailer, at around… Hold on a second, let me rewind that a bit… wait, what?
This is where things start to get really interesting.
One Small Step
Okay, going back to the Fallout 76 trailers, although the smaller version of the BGS logo can be seen at or near the end of each of these, only the first incorporates the larger, ‘splash-screen’ version. “But why is this even important?” you may ask. “They may have simply forgotten to include this detail in the second trailer.” I can assure you that this is most certainly not the case. In fact, I am one-hundred-percent confident that this was quite intentional. I would even go as far as saying that this one, seemingly insignificant detail, actually brings us a step closer to unlocking the secrets of Starfield. Essentially, Bethesda have taken full advantage of how we all think we remember certain details, and as such, this is an example of truly expert-level hidden marketing on their part. I also believe it will form the basis of at least one of the big reveals during the showcase.
One Giant Leap
Let’s go back one more time to the Announcement Teaser and the Gameplay Reveal for Starfield. Look at how drastically different the BGS logo is in both of these videos compared to any of those used in promoting Fallout 76. What will really blow your mind here is the fact that all four of the trailers mentioned above were first shown to us during the same two Showcases we have just been discussing! In other words, the first of these videos for both Fallout 76 and Starfield were both unveiled at the 2018 Showcase, and the second of each at the 2022 Showcase. And yet each respective pair make use of drastically different versions of what we all thought was the exact same logo. This means that Starfield has been designed, from the ground up, to be viewed and experienced in a totally different way than, and completely separate from, any of Bethesda’s previous titles.
To clarify this point, after extensive research, I can confirm that this new, animated BGS logo, with the vault door rolling off to the left and then ‘opening up’ just before the text appears, has never been featured anywhere in an official capacity that is not directly related to Starfield. It is completely unique to this specific IP. This fact ties together everything we have looked at in the post so far. It also lets us see things from a completely different ‘orbital’ perspective. For example, I believe that this information gives us the real reason why Bethesda worked so hard to secure the full rights to the Fallout franchise in the way that they did. Not only did they wish to create awesome games set within the Fallout universe, but they also needed total freedom to make use of a specific part of this franchise that so that they could then incorporate it into their next, very very big, space related IP.
For Mankind
Okay. This is the part you’ve all been waiting so patiently for. This is the big reveal. For months now, perhaps even years, we have all been drip-fed the idea that Starfield is essentially “Skyrim in Space.” The reason I think that we have been told this is to misdirect us away from an intrinsic, interwoven connection between Starfield and Bethesda’s other major franchise, which is of course Fallout. But just to put your mind at rest, I do not for a nanosecond believe that the reveal will be, “We fooled you all, it’s actually Fallout in space!” no matter how cool that might at first sound.
What I do believe is that Starfield will be so different and so unique when viewed alongside anything else that Bethesda have published, that it will quite literally take your breath away. This game, the spark of which was first ignited 25 years ago, is Todd Howard’s true passion project. Everything else was simply the path he took to finally get here. This is the story he has always wanted to tell, the story of Mankind’s true legacy. And it all starts, just as it did when Interplay released the original Fallout) game back in 1997, with a familiar, but staggeringly different Vault Door.
The Vault
There is a very special and completely unique hidden Vault in Starfield. Not only is this particular Vault unlike anything you have previously seen anywhere within the Fallout universe, but it is also unlike anything you have seen in any game. Period.
This hidden Vault is actually the key to both interstellar and interplanetary travel. And it also happens to be the single biggest construction project in human history, extending across a span of almost one-hundred light years. And it is not even close to being completed, even after more than two-hundred years of construction.
This Vault is, by its very nature, completely invisible and shielded away from view. It is quite literally hidden in plain sight, and it can only be accessed through one of its specially crafted Vault Doors. But what does all of this mean for gameplay, and how does something like this even work? I’m glad you asked! Let’s strap in and prepare for launch, because we’re all in for an incredible ride.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen... to The Starfield
Entering The Starfield
The following is my own interpretation, based on scientific reasoning and a huge amount of detailed analysis, of exactly how I think this system works. It is, as ever, backed up with several links throughout, as well as additional evidence for which I shall provide a separate link at end of the post. I am expecting perhaps some differences in terms of specific details once we get hold of the final release of Starfield, but I am confident that I am at the very least well within the ballpark with all of this. Okay, here goes.
The Science Behind the Magic
Starfield is the name given to a vast network of interconnecting tunnels, spanning the entirety of the Settled Systems, providing us with a very fast and highly practical means of travelling between different planets, and even different star systems. These tunnels exist within a localized, folded state, known as Tunnel-Space. The construction of the Starfield is made possible thanks to a technological breakthrough which allows gravitational waves (or Gravitons) to be woven together to form something known as a Gravity-Tunnel, which is then stretched out and connected between any two existing stellar objects, such as two planets in a given system, of even two stars from different systems.
In order to maintain the integrity of each tunnel, it is wrapped in a special type of Exotic Matter known as Superfluid Helium. This has a number of highly unusual properties, including negative energy density and negative energy pressure. This essentially makes it the physical-space equivalent of time going in reverse, meaning that it is capable of counteracting the effects of any conventional physical force, including the gravitational pull of a black hole. As such, it will hold the structure of the Gravity-Tunnel together for an indefinite period of time over a potentially infinite distance through space.
Within the Starfield are a large number of Nodes and Junction Points. Nodes are used to connect together all of the planets in any one Star System, and Junction Points then connect different Star Systems together, making use of much larger Gravity-Tunnels that are the equivalent of Interstate Highways. Note that all flight between any given planet and any or all of its moons is handled locally, outside of the Starfield.
Because all of the stars, planets, and moons in the Settled Systems are in a constant state of flux, by which I mean their relative distance and positions) are constantly changing in respect to each other, the tunnels within the Starfield have been designed to be able to expand and contract almost infinitely so that they can accommodate any changes in these two factors depending on when, where, and how you travel.
Although the main tunnels are designed to transport people, resources, waste, and other items directly relating to either Population Centers or Infrastructure, I believe there is also a sub-system) that will allow much smaller objects, such as probes, to carry data-packets that can be upload at one location and then downloaded at another, effectively solving the problem of inoperable delays in communication between remote locations.
Inside of each Gravity-Tunnel is a bi-directional singularity, which can be switched between two opposite polarities whenever required with the help of the surrounding Exotic Matter, allowing for two-way traffic inside what is essentially a one-way system. This means that, as long as you are able to ensure the correct polarity of all connecting Nodes and Junction Points along your route (as in “Sky-Bus is converged” and “Jemison route looks good”), you will be able to travel, in theory at least, from any point A to any point B, as long as all of the required interconnections exist within the system.
When travelling through the Starfield, you will set a specific route, known as a Sky-Bus, which is a specified pathway that runs from your staring location to your destination. You will then, with the help of Starfield Control, access the tunnels using a Gating System which I will explain below. Incidentally, I believe that the accepted in-universe name for the actual transit network that we are making use of within the Starfield is the Sky-Bus Tunnel System.
Each tunnel in this system actually has two separate ‘Lanes’, one on the left for outbound traffic, and one on the right for incoming traffic. As I have explained above, each of these tunnels can only accommodate a single direction of traffic flow at any given time. And so, a safety measure had to be incorporated to prevent any accidental attempts to travel the wrong way down a tunnel and destroying yourself and your ship.
At each end of any given Node or Junction Point is a Gate. These are the ‘Vault Doors’ I have been referring to. The Gate comprises of a gigantic metal outer-ring connecting to an inner Vault Door. This Vault Door will either be at the center (closed position), or the left (open position) of the outer ring. The open/left position will allow outbound traffic to leave the orbit of the current planet they are in proximity to. To allow inbound traffic, the entire outer ring, with the Vault Door locked in place, will rotate clockwise through 180 degrees to the open/right position to allow access to the inbound Lane. When the outbound Lane is then once again required, the structure then continues to rotate in a clockwise motion until it reaches the open/left position once again. When required, the Vault Door will return to the neutral position at the center of the ring, and the tunnel will be locked.
Regarding Grav Jumps: Whenever you wish to perform a Grav-Jump, you must first request permission from Starfield Control, who will guide you through the process. Once the route is set and your Exit Gate is locked in place, by activating your ship’s Grav-Drive, along with it’s incorporated spooling system, you will first lock on to the front of the tunnel entrance.
Next, using a system similar to an Aircraft Catapult, you will be pulled into the tunnel at great speed, where the Graviton Loop Array will hold your ship in-place inside the tunnel, and will also ensure you don’t accidentally go down the wrong path. At the other end, the spooling system described above then acts as an Arresting Cable, slowing you down over a very short distance.
If all of the above is actually correct, especially the last part, then I think I will be having this on repeat in the background before Grav-Jumps!
Finally, here is the link to my additional supporting evidence and other materials, including some stuff I haven’t had a chance to really go into yet. Feel free to throw any questions at me, and I’ll do my best to answer them. In the meantime, Showcase will commence in 24 Hours…

Hi! I’m newer to the game and I’m wondering if it’s possible to shop at other peoples nooks cranny?
I’m still trying to get K.K to have his concert here so I can level up on the game, but I cannot seem to find enough things to decorate my island and add “interesting scenery”
Any tips and tricks? Or would someone be open to donating to my island?
I’m also quite sick with an upper respiratory infection (plus the air quality near me is unsafe to go out in for me) So I’ll be stuck in the house playing animal crossing all weekend!!
Anything helps :)

Hi! I’m newer to the game and I’m wondering if it’s possible to shop at other peoples nooks cranny?
I’m still trying to get K.K to have his concert here so I can level up on the game, but I cannot seem to find enough things to decorate my island and add “interesting scenery”
Any tips and tricks? Or would someone be open to donating to my island?
I’m also quite sick with an upper respiratory infection (plus the air quality near me is unsafe to go out in for me) So I’ll be stuck in the house playing animal crossing all weekend!!
Anything helps :)

Happy Saturday all! I'm sad to be parting with these two beauties. But they're not getting any pocket time so away they go! I'm asking what I paid plus shipping. No profiteering here.
Yolo rules. US shipping only. PayPal or Venmo. Friends and family, no notes please. I will ship Monday after work.
I am at least the 2nd owner on both of these. Both are catch and release off of the swap. I'd prefer to sell as a bundle but will separate if necessary.
$349
https://imgur.com/a/O1AbJyY
Benchmade Crooked River Never used or carried by me. Was a user not abuser by the previous owner. There are some minor cosmetic flaws on the handle but the blade is in great condition and looks to have the factory edge to my non-expert eyes. Functionally it's in fantastic condition. Just not for my hand. No box.
ZT 0462 BNIB. A beautiful work of engineering by Dmitry Sinkevich. Solid, lite weight, centered and slicey. No flaws that I can see. Just not for my hand.

I can't believe it.
So a No Somniel run pretty much means that during the run, all activities that are done in the Somniel are banned. There are several combat-related implications of this - no refining weapons (no early strong weapons like a Levin Sword until Ch. 11 for example and can only use base weapons), no engravings, no Bond Rings, no cooking, no activities, no Well, and no Arena. The early Steel weapons that you get upon going to the Somniel from an update are banned as well as the Heroes rewards (the Bond Rings and the weapons, Folkvangr, Fensalir, and Noatun). No Arena means that leveling up the bond rank of Emblems on each character will have to be done in the maps themselves and skill inherits are impossible. Reclassing is still possible, but more difficult now that you have to level up bond ranks in maps and because weapon proficiencies past bond rank 5 will need at least two maps with the Emblem Ring. No DLC either, but that doesn't impact me since I don't have it anyway. And while it's not a Somniel activity, I didn't have Network Connection enabled for the weapon drops, EXP, and other small benefits scattered on a map. I had finished a normal Ironman run with no big issues (one death, RIP Louis), but I went into this run fully expecting to lose it. An Ironman means no using the Draconic Time Crystal, so no rewinding my mistakes and every input I make is final. If a character dies because of my poor decisions or they get crit by the enemy, they remain dead.
Run casualties:

• Chloe: Died in Ch. 6. Fog of war claimed another life. Chloe got hit by an axe fighter and a thief that I didn't have vision of. It was entirely my mistake to overextend with her when I could've just played it safe. I was going to use Chloe this run as an early carry before likely transitioning her to a more support based role if her combat couldn't keep up.
  
• Yunaka: Died in Ch. 8. Overall, I think Chloe's death kinda snowballed the deaths in Ch. 8. Going into this chapter, I lost a character that was going to be one of my early carries. Lapis was Chloe's replacement, but I needed to get staff proficiency on her just in case I was going to pivot her to a support later (especially since I can't get staff proficiency for a long time after Ch. 10). Lapis therefore had to have Micaiah for several maps and I tried to continue using Marth on Alear on Ch. 8 instead as a carry. However, because of my poor timing of Engage attacks and just being badly positioned because I was unprepared for when Kagetsu and Zelkov started moving, I got myself in a situation that required me to hit a 65% to defeat Kagetsu. Missed the 65% and Yunaka died to him.
  
• Framme: Died in Ch. 8. I didn't have Lodestar Rush or enough power in general to take down Ivy in one turn. But I had to start taking down her health bars eventually otherwise I would have game over'ed since enemies would've reached the target point. As such, almost all of my units were in range of Ivy at that point and she had free reign to choose whoever she wanted to kill. In the end, she chose to Killer Axe crit Framme to death (Framme would've died even without the crit).
  
• Celine: Died in Ch. 10. I'm really mad at myself for this death because Celine died on turn one. I calculated how much damage she would take from the armor and pegasus knight on the left if they both hit her and concluded if Celine was next to Alear, she would live at 1 HP. Well, she didn't live at 1 HP because I didn't account for the Resonance damage from having Celica on her. And of course both the armor and pegasus knight hit their 50% attacks. Celine was my only early game carry because Chloe had died. And now she was dead on turn one of a difficult 2-part map.
  
• Diamant: Died in Ch. 10. Got frozen by Hortensia and I couldn't get in range to Restore him without risking Alear's death to Hortensia's Dragon effective Luin. However, I did forget to have him equip a lighter weapon and because he had the armorslayer equipped, he got doubled by Hortensia and died. I don't fully remember if he could've lived if he wasn't doubled by Hortensia (because there were other enemies around him), but I'm still frustrated at myself for letting that happen. I don't know if it's just me, but I always have trouble with taking down Hortensia in this chapter; on my normal Ironman run, I had to resort to freezing her due to a lucky early Freeze staff from the Well, but alas, no such resources like that exist in a No Somniel run.
  

RIP Chloe, Yunaka, Framme, Celine, and Diamant.
The Final Team:
Some quick notes - the screenshot on the top has HP tonics already applied to everyone so subtract 5 if you want to see their true HP. That was the first thing I did when I went into the final map and then thought maybe I should screenshot everyone. The screenshot on the bottom has everyone with their Emblem Rings and full tonics applied to them.

• Martial Master Alear (Lucina): I really like support Alear and having them as the Bonded Shielder has worked wonders in my previous playthroughs. I figured that I would need Alear's +3 flat damage for my carries and since they support everyone in the cast, they provide +10 hit for free as well. I chose to go with Martial Master Alear because my combat carries were going to be in several different class types and I wanted the flexibility to have 100% activation rate on Bonded Shield for all of them if the need arises. I also really like Chain Guard. As such, in early game, I fed Alear experience through Mercurius farming and then gave them Micaiah to get staff proficiency and to farm via Great Sacrifice. By Ch. 11, Alear was a Griffin Knight because I believe having Alear in a flying class in Ch. 11 is invaluable so you can quickly reach the point on the map to trigger Ivy, Zelkov, and Kagetsu to join you before you get overwhelmed by Corrupted with Emblems. After staying a few more chapters in Griffin (until I could give Alear Lucina after getting sword proficiency off of her on another character), Alear became a Martial Master and mainly Bonded Shielded or Chain Guarded. Not being able to Micaiah Engrave a Shielding Art to drive enemy hit rates close to 0% meant that I had to be more cognizant of where I used Bonded Shield. The enemy AI mostly decides which character to attack based on expected damage (combination of actual damage they'll do in a round of combat, how likely it is they'll hit, and their crit chance on you is also factored in). So when Bonded Shielding, I had to make sure that Alear was not going to get targeted and if they were, that they were not going to get killed from it. As such, it wasn't as simple as plop two units down and go to town deleting enemies, but it was still really strong nonetheless.

Stat Boosters: One Boots, one Seraph Robe, one Speedwing, three Dracoshields, three Talismans, two Goddess Icons

• Wyvern Knight Amber (Lyn): For Amber, I was particularly cognizant of the fact that in my previous normal Ironman run, he sometimes had 90% hit rates in the endgame despite having a +hit rate engraving on his lances. That's why I decided to go with sword/lance Wyvern instead of axe/lance Wyvern even though it would've been easier to get axe proficiency on him (axe proficiency is at bond rank 2 on Leif while any sword proficiency requires at least bond rank 6, which means at least two maps worth of using a specific Emblem vs. just one). That decision really paid off. Amber was mostly using swords throughout the midgame of this playthrough because he wasn't getting 90%+ hit on lances even while I was activating his personal for +20 hit. I can only imagine his hit rates while using axes... it just spells disaster if a crucial attack misses in an Ironman (Yunaka's death...). If I saw Amber's hit rate really going into the gutter by the endgame, I was prepared to have him switch to Sniper and just kill fliers, but that never ended up happening especially after I used all my Secret Books on him (none of my other combat characters could use them since many of them capped dex and for those that didn't, they were accurate anyway). Amber remained good throughout even though by endgame, he rarely one-rounded enemies.

Stat Boosters: One Energy Drop, three Secret Books, one Speedwing

• Warrior Kagetsu (Roy): I had my sights set on getting Kagetsu into Warrior despite Wyvern being easier to reclass into and still a strong class for him because I felt I needed the absolute best out of my units to get through this run (and I believe Warrior is Kagetsu's best class). Getting him into Warrior was a bit of an endeavor, but having to delegate an Emblem to Kagetsu wasn't going to make the game harder; on the contrary, it likely made things easier because Kagetsu is such a strong unit to start with. Kagetsu immediately got Lyn for Ch. 12 and 13 to get bow proficiency. This worked out for me in a lot of ways because Ch. 12 is an easy chapter so Emblem allocation isn't that important to get through the map. Plus, Lyn on Kagetsu for Ch. 12 doubles the Wolf Knights once you get two Speedtaker stacks so I found it quite nice having Lyn on him. And my strategy for Ch. 13 always involved Lyn on Kagetsu (see my chapter thoughts in the comments) anyway. Now, he's got bow proficiency just in time for Ch. 14, where Ike immediately goes on Kagetsu to get axe proficiency. And soon after, he's a Warrior and just snowballed from there. I was initially a bit worried about using axes at all in this playthrough considering their low base hit rates (I was prepared to pivot Kagetsu into Wyvern and have him use swords if I needed to), but Kagetsu had 100% hit rate with a Silver Axe often. His Longbow was accurate too (same base hit rate as Silver Axe). Overall, Kagetsu snowballed hard. And when I got Roy on him, and eventually the Binding Blade unlocked, he could clear entire groups of enemies by himself (cleared the entire top lane of Ch. 24 himself with just a healer nearby). After this run, I wholeheartedly believe Roy is Kagetsu's best Emblem and it reaffirms my belief that Warrior is Kagetsu's best class. He just hits so hard with axes and doesn't take much damage either. Wyvern's great for Kagetsu, but really, try him in Warrior if you get the chance. He won't need crits to one-round, only a Silver Axe. If he can cleanly one-round a ton of endgame enemies with just a base Silver Axe and no inherits on this kind of challenge run, actually forging a Silver Axe up a bit and maybe giving it an engrave should achieve similar or better results than what I got as I'm pretty sure my Kagetsu is about average strength-wise (+1 strength than average if I calculated correctly, he got two Energy Drops and is overleveled which is why his strength looks astronomical). My Kagetsu was speed screwed (speed and build were lower than average in the midgame) for nearly the entire run because he should've capped speed way before looping and he didn't cap until after looping in Warrior. That actually mattered a few times and it made me really miss having Speed+X on him, but it wasn't something I couldn't work around and he was a powerhouse regardless.

Stat Boosters: One Boots, one Seraph Robe, two Energy Drops

• Mage Knight Pandreo (Marth): After I got Pandreo, I immediately gave him Lucina to get sword proficiency to switch into Mage Knight. He did pretty well in Mage Knight, but it wasn't until after getting partway through Ch. 17 (gave him Eirika so he got bond rank 3 for Bravery at that moment and got the Bolganone that Griss drops), where he really started to snowball. After that, he could consistently one-round a lot of enemies without help until Ch. 20. Unfortunately, that's when his speed cap in Mage Knight caught up and in the endgame, 31 base speed that is not quite enough without a bit of speed boosting from an Emblem considering I cannot inherit Speed+X. In the last couple of chapters, I mostly used Marth (sometimes switched to Eirika) on Pandreo. Marth has some +speed stat boosts innately and can boost damage as well if Engaged via Divine Speed providing an additional attack at 50% damage. Using Marth on a magic unit was something I did before when I played around and used Mage Knight Kagetsu lol It worked well then and it worked well now. This Mage Knight Pandreo's stats besides magic have actually been the least impressive I've had so far. I think his magic is maybe around +2 to +3 above average though (I forget what level I class changed him from High Priest to Mage Knight), which more than makes up for his other stat deficiencies. I'm just surprised he didn't cap dex or resistance by the end of the game when he usually does. Nonetheless, Pandreo was a powerhouse and carried the run like Kagetsu even though I couldn't just send him into a group of enemies without being covered by Bonded Shield and know he'll live whilst taking them all down (unless it's a group of enemies with Great weapons he can double, those are fodder to Pandreo).

Stat Boosters: Three Spirit Dusts

• Warrior Merrin (Eirika): Unlike with Kagetsu, I didn't go through four whole maps of raising bond ranks up for Merrin to change classes. That's because she'll probably end up being able to change into Warrior by Ch. 18 if I did that. Meanwhile, if I just waited until Ch. 17 to get Leif back, I would have Warrior Merrin in time for Ch. 19. It's a one chapter lag for a huge team power difference from Ch. 14 through 17 as one of my stronger units wouldn't be able to use Lyn or Ike. Merrin mostly chipped as a Wolf Knight and even when I got her into Warrior, she still was chipping (occasionally, she would one-shot fliers with the Radiant Bow) because her damage wasn't good enough and she was under the level curve. Plus, her hit rates were shaky for a good amount of time. However, I wanted her to be more so I kept feeding her kills whenever I could and I gave her Eirika after I got Marth back. With Eirika, she could sometimes do some great damage with a Brave Axe (and Eirika's damage boost helped her hit some one-round thresholds with a bow on magical enemies, that's how low her damage output was). But once she got access to Sieglinde, she could finally one-round some endgame enemies due to effective damage.

Stat Boosters: One Speedwing

• Thief Zelkov (Byleth): Bought a Short Knife just for him because I didn't want this unlucky guy to get randomly crit if he faced any combat, but in hindsight with all the luck that Byleth provides, maybe that wasn't necessary. Byleth on a covert gives +5 speed when Instructing and after a Goddess Dance and considering that I cannot inherit Speed+X on my characters, I knew I was going to need the speed buff since the speed thresholds get really high on Maddening. In the end, that speed buff wasn't needed for my primary carries (Kagetsu and Pandreo) until Ch. 20, but after that, it really was needed. Pandreo caps speed in Mage Knight at 31 (so with a speed tonic, Special Dance from Seadall, and Chaos Style activated, Pandreo can only naturally double enemies that are at 34 speed or below) and Kagetsu caps speed in Warrior at 35 (so with a speed tonic, Special Dance from Seadall, and while Engaged with Roy, Kagetsu can only naturally double enemies that are at 38 speed or below). From what I saw, enemy speed can reach up to 44 so that Instruct was absolutely needed so that they could double enemies up to 39 or 43 speed respectively.
  
• Dancer Seadall (Sigurd): I don't think there's much to say about Seadall except that I put Sigurd on him because I only have one Canter to give out and having it on a dancer felt like the most useful. I can't use Override, but that's a small price to pay for the flexibility in positioning for Goddess Dances.
  
• Sage Citrinne (Corrin): Citrinne replaced Celine's role as an early game carry after Celine's death. While she only really had one map to shine (Ch. 11), she really did shine in that map. I luckily had the foresight to get a melee weapon proficiency on Citrinne in case I needed to make her a Mage Knight. I could've promoted her to Sage, but I compared the stats and saw that Mage Knight Citrinne would double a lot of enemies on Ch. 11's map and that's what I needed at the time. Citrinne put in a lot of work that map, immediately one-rounding the first axe fighter (if not for Roy's Hold Out). I had Citrinne stay in Mage Knight for several chapters as she was my best option for a magical carry for some time (Pandreo was stuck in High Priest for several chapters while having Lucina equipped before he can reclass) and her performance was pretty good. If I kept using her for combat and gave her resources like Lyn, I feel she would've turned out great. But in the end, Citrinne reclassed to Sage once I got Corrin because she was one of my few units that could be in a Mystical class (no tome proficiency to work towards either for a long time) and pivoted into a support role after that (which was my intention with Celine once I reached that point). She was great nonetheless. Corrin on a Mystical unit is a tried and true combo that I really like because it means being able to debuff and freeze enemies in place from three range (especially important now that I don't have Canter), and the Fire Dragon Vein is the most useful one imo. In all honesty, I didn't use the Fire Dragon Vein much to ward enemies off. My combat carries were strong enough that I rarely needed it. As such, it was mostly spammed to raise Corrin's bond rank. But it was still great to have that option in my back pocket in case I needed it.
  
• Griffin Knight Lapis: Lapis replaced Chloe, but not as well as Citrinne replaced Celine. I couldn't really use Lapis much in combat because she had to have Micaiah equipped to get staff proficiency in the early game. I think I messed up and didn't focus enough on leveling Lapis's bond rank with Micaiah because she had to keep Micaiah all the way until Ch. 11 to get the proficiency. But tbf to myself, I nearly lost the run on Ch. 8 so leveling up bond rank wasn't on the forefront of my mind. By Ch. 11, there was no real justification I could make to try to make her combat work. As like any other staff user, she did her job.
  
• Cupido Fogado: I was unable to get Fogado off the ground in this playthrough. He was alright up to around when I did Roy's Paralogue as he could still one-shot the Wyverns there with a Radiant Bow even if his hit rates were in the 70s (had to just make sure to have a backup plan if he did miss, which he did a few times); but soon after that, I couldn't consistently find ways to have him contribute and he was left in the dust. I still brought him into the final chapter because maybe some of the chip damage he could do to fliers would help and I felt like I had enough staff users (he actually was helpful in two occasions on the final map!).
  
• Lindwurm Ivy (Ike): I probably would've used Ivy as a carry if not for the fact that she faces crit from nearly every enemy. Her inaccuracy with tomes is a problem as well, but I didn't need her to chip too often. Essentially, no engravings to fix these issues meant she was relegated to staff duty. She did her job and I think throughout this playthrough she had higher offensive staff hit rate (Freeze, Fracture) than Hortensia most of the time, though it wasn't by a significant amount. After midgame, Ike eventually went on Ivy mainly because I have just one source of Reposition (I really missed not being able to put this skill on most of my support units) and I wanted it on a flier.
  
• Slepnir Rider Hortensia (Micaiah): Nothing to really say about this as it's as standard and straightforward as can be. She and Citrinne had held a Surge tome just in case I needed someone with 100% accuracy to finish off an enemy (this did happen a couple of times this playthrough).
  
• Griffin Knight Mauvier (Leif): He's a staff user that can luckily take a few hits because he did need to survive a few in my playthrough. I put Leif on him because Leif wasn't doing much on anyone else after the midgame. But then again, it didn't much on Mauvier either besides being used to Quadruple Strike the Dark Bishop on the final map.
  
• Sage Veyle (Celica): I kinda messed up because I didn't realize Veyle had access to S tomes in her Fell Child class and the main thing I wanted to do was use her with Nova. I could've saved myself the trouble of reclassing, but in the end, it was okay because reclassing to Sage does increase Veyle's offensive stats. I do miss out on the Fell Child class skill (which is quite nice), but getting Celica Engage back is low priority anyway so the trade-off was fine. Since my team lacked a second source of magic damage, Veyle was helpful as someone who can do a lot of damage with magic. She didn't one-round a lot of enemies, but her performance was satisfactory.
  

Stat Boosters: One Seraph Robe, one Speedwing
In comments below, I detail my thoughts on the individual chapters if anyone's interested (starting from Ch. 6 since that's the first chapter where something actually happened and where I also had a clear goal in mind for the map). I never thought I would successfully complete this run so I don't have any screenshots to chronicle events from before Ch. 24-ish (also, I forgot to screenshot too many things). I unfortunately don't remember the exact details of the early/midgame chapters that well anymore, but I tried my best to recall whatever information I could. This is listed by the order I tackled the maps. A full turn count, playtime, and MVP list is here.

For the last 5 years life has been hell. It started with my now ex (also kids father) attempting to beat me to death. Then two months later our house and everything we owned burned down due to faulty wiring. So me and my kids moved to a new city and started over. Things were great until I was bitten by a brown recluse. I didn’t realize it had also became infected with MRSA. I ended up going septic and luckily was at the emergency room when my heart gave out. Since I was in ICU I couldn’t work, which meant I had to have someone move our stuff into storage. The apartment manager assured us everything was taken care of and not to worry. I only had a month left on my lease at that point. We have lived in motel rooms since I was released from the hospital. I have done everything I can to get us into a home of our own. It is incredibly difficult to save any money when I am paying for our room too. Then I kept getting turned down everywhere I applied. Remember when I was trying not to die well that apartment manager placed an eviction against my record. I can’t afford to apply to very many places as I Dont have the money but every place I have applied automatically denies me. I have taken papers showing what happened. I paid the months rent that was owed. My youngest turned 9 last month and all she said she wanted was her own room and a house that she can have friends over to play. I sold plasma for two weeks so I could apply to a house that the owner assured me he would work with me. I just got the denial email. I Dont know what to do. I work 2 jobs and I try to be a good person. I Dont have the heart to tell my babies we didn’t get the house. They’re such good kids and they deserve a home and a normal life. I can’t afford to keep staying in this motel and I can’t get anyone to rent me a home. The government housing has a three year waiting list and it hasn’t opened for new applicants in a few years. I have no family and I don’t really know anyone in this city. I just want my kids to be able to be kids. Honestly they’re the only reason I keep fighting to survive. I Dont know what to do at this point.