Celestial Saga

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

Me as a reader: PHO interludes are fun, but kinda generic. When I write my own fic, I'm gonna do something more interesting!
Me as a Writer: Every other chapter takes 3-6 drafts, but this one took 18+. PHO interludes, and their cousin IRC chats can die in a fire!

This and the next chapter are a Worm-ified version of something from one of my favorite fic series:
Time To Carry The Colors Again by: Dont_call_me_Carrie, where we get to see character's perspectives changing in real time, and without needing to be told or get a random POV from inside their head, but instead by following a chain of emails between known, semi-known, and present but previously unmentioned characters discussing current events.

Chapter Explanation:

Chapter Explanation
But seriously, as cool as this chapter was, it's been rewritten repeatedly so that I could get things like the different character's perspectives, opinions, references, and the rest consistent while managing the chaotic but focused feeling of an IRC full of grown-up theater kids working on a group project. (If you look, you'll find a few of them saying without saying who their focus is on for PR and which capes get the general effort rather than a specific handler.) Plus, all that's not to mention the bizarrely annoying process of getting the timing worked out so that it becomes clear this is a conversation going on in the background throughout the day, not just the notes of some board meeting or a snippet from a 1-hour time period on a forum.

Still, as much work as it was, I'll probably end up doing it again at some point, if only because of how much I like it when fics show the reactions of background characters through texts, emails, and the like, rather than the safe but boring Interlude POV. PHO interludes in the Worm fandom CAN do this, but are often just rehashing known events from a slightly different perspective. That said, when they're done well, a PHO interlude can be very helpful by taking a step back from the omniscient viewpoint lots of authors like to use.

Monday, May 18

(Log opened Mon May 18 07:12:03 2011)

[07:12] SpinDoctor >> Morning, crew. Bay check-in. Reminder: last weekend's Hero appearance wasn't the show, it was just the overture. We're orchestrating a season, not a single aria.

[07:14] StageWhisper >> Ah, music to my ears. But let's be real: our "ensemble" often looks like a high school dress rehearsal. Armsmaster is the understudy who never blinks, Aegis is the chorus member who keeps tripping on the stairs.

[07:15] AdCopyCrash >> Relatable, but tragic. He's like a Buster Keaton gag stretched over twenty minutes, only with a bigger medical bill.

[07:16] AdCopyCrash >> Still, people find the Pratfalling Captain relatable. Like watching a tragicomedy with one really tall, armored extra.

[07:35] SpinDoctor >> Upper brass is aware. Relatability is a commodity, but so is gravitas. We need both. Hero and Phoenix gave us a peak at the extremes: charisma meets spectacle.

[07:43] PR_Paladin >> Shadow Stalker? Not present at weekend, but worth noting. Brooding presence, great for action reels, terrible for small crowds. The contrast with Aegis is telling.

[07:44] Khaleesi >> Shadow Stalker may excel in reels, but never for interactive PR. Audience engagement is an art, and not every cape can hold it.

[07:46] Jester >> Agreed. Engagement = performance. Humor, charm, gravitas, spectacle. Each hero brings a note; Phoenix and Hero hit chords rare for the city.

[07:48] Khaleesi >> Contrast is important. Phoenix rises silent, myth incarnate, the Platonic ideal. A goddess costume doesn't say *trick or treat* it says mysterious and regal. Meanwhile Shadow Stalker, grim, dour, ethically murky, looks like a child sneaking into a Hamlet audition.

[07:50] Jester >> Please, Hamlet at least had existential charisma. Shadow Stalker's brand is "Did someone spill ink on the film reel?"

[08:02] StageWhisper >> True, but some of those kids do have the spark. Vista, for instance. Quiet, understated, actually commands the camera when given room.

[08:04] Khaleesi >> Introverted, yes. Quiet, not so much. But still useful. Can fill B-roll slots without stealing the frame. And that's what matters for some pieces of the narrative.

[08:09] Jester >> Speaking of extremes, Clockblocker. Limited airtime only. Otherwise chaos incarnate.

[08:11] Khaleesi >> Precisely. He's comedic garnish, not the main course. Same goes for Miss Militia - competent, reliable, smile glued on too tight. Background reinforcement.

[08:12] AdCopyCrash >> Clockblocker IS B-roll. He's Harold Lloyd dangling off a clock face. You give him three minutes of screen time, max, then shove him off before he eats the set.

[08:14] StageWhisper >> And yet audiences like him. A spoonful of sugar. Even Brecht knew the value of a song-and-dance between lectures.

[08:16] Khaleesi >> Sugar rots the teeth. Phoenix is ambrosia, eternal. Clockblocker is a custard pie hurled at our credibility.

[08:26] Jester >> But the pie makes the newsprint. Don't underestimate a custard pie.

[08:34] Khaleesi >> Humor is seasonal garnish, gravitas is core. Like icing on a cake that's already structurally sound.

[8:39] StageWhisper >> He's Robin Williams trapped in *Dead Poets Society*, but detention instead of poetry.

[8:47] TrueNorth >> Don't pair him with Phoenix. Comedy plus sainthood is oil and vinegar.

[8:48] Khaleesi >> It's worse: oil and Euripides.

[8:49] AdCopyCrash >> That's the nerdiest slam I've heard all week, and I sit in advertising postmortems.

[08:51] SpinDoctor >> Stay on track. Weekend spectacle: Hero + Phoenix. Weekday grind: Dauntless, Gallant, Vista, others.

[09:08] StageWhisper >> Armsmaster and Dauntless remain interesting dichotomy. Armsmaster = legend, legacy, stiff as a board. Dauntless = credible, grounded, approachable. Both necessary, but only one wins public affection.

[09:16] TrueNorth >> Gallant and Glory Girl? Their dynamic is a textbook PR goldmine, like a better Assault and Battery, even if Glory Girl isn't a Ward yet. Thinker projections indicate she'll join this year, before she's nineteen. Preparations underway.

[09:20] AdCopyCrash >> I remain skeptical. Glory Girl isn't Wards, and until she is, any PR reliance on her is precarious.

[09:26] SpinDoctor >> Agreed, caution applies. We cultivate awareness, not dependence. Phoenix remains the national-longterm mythos, but others form the scaffolding: Gallant, Dauntless, Vista, Clockblocker.

[10:12] PR_Paladin >> Even the ones absent can't be ignored. Battery? Velocity? Assault? Still appear in campaigns. Their PR aura is "underwhelming but dependable."

[10:14] TrueNorth >> Reliability is underrated. Dauntless might not sparkle like Phoenix, but he reads like Atticus Finch in armor. Grounded. Credible. People trust that.

[10:18] ChorusLine >> And yet you'd never sell tickets on Finch alone. Phoenix fills the balcony, Gallant + Glory Girl give you the swoon, Dauntless does the matinee. That's balance.

[10:20] SpinDoctor >> Reminder: balance = point. We can't headline Phoenix every week, we'd burn out the spectacle. Need scaffolding: Gallant, Vista, Clockblocker. Support roles, B-roll.

[10:41] ChorusLine >> Can we talk about Vista? Thirteen years old, understated gravitas. She's like putting Julie Andrews in the background of a car commercial. Subtle, yet the audience leans in.

[10:43] AdCopyCrash >> Andrews? Please, she's Shirley Temple in a trench coat. Cute, but the moment she speaks it gets awkward.

[10:47] StageWhisper >> No, no. You underestimate the "quiet presence." PR isn't just lines spoken, it's camera magnetism. Vista can do more with silence than Kid Win can with a teleprompter.

[10:52] TrueNorth >> Kid Win can't even *look* at the teleprompter without turning crimson. He's a liability.

[10:55] Khaleesi >> He's a cautionary tale. Proof that not everyone belongs on stage. Put him behind a curtain, let him tinker, and keep the spotlight for those who can use it.

[10:59] Jester >> So, the Muppets principle: some are Kermits, some are Fozzies, some stay in the pit playing trombone.

[11:11] ChorusLine >> Speaking of pit players: Assault and Battery. Dependable, flat, safe. They're like the brass section, loud, steady, not very photogenic.

[11:14] AdCopyCrash >> Or like backup dancers in West Side Story. Necessary, but you don't remember their faces after curtain.

[11:17] StageWhisper >> Except when one of them trips. Then you remember.

[11:40] Khaleesi >> And then the narrative collapses. Which is why we need Phoenix's myth to anchor it. Hero is the archetype of power, Phoenix is the archetype of transcendence. All else is scaffolding.

[11:44] TrueNorth >> Myth is fine, but myth doesn't smile at children in a hospital ward. That's Dauntless's role.

[11:48] AdCopyCrash >> Hospitals are fine, but they don't trend. Spectacle trends. Grim jokes trend. If you want week-to-week engagement, you ride humor and shock. If you want enduring respect, you ride myth.

[11:52] Jester >> And if you want Broadway longevity, you pray for both. Rodgers had Hammerstein, after all.

[11:55] ChorusLine >> Hero and Phoenix, then? The Rodgers and Hammerstein of cape PR?

[11:59] StageWhisper >> Careful. One wrote the words, one the music. Hero and Phoenix aren't collaborating, that was a one-off.

[12:02] SpinDoctor >> Which is precisely why we manage the ensemble. Narrative isn't about truth, it's about harmony.

[12:04] AdCopyCrash >> Harmony? More like cacophony. Armsmaster enters and the orchestra drops into twelve-tone. Kid Win sneezes on the cymbals.

[12:07] Jester >> And Shadow Stalker insists on playing the funeral march in 4/4 at every cue.

[12:25] Khaleesi >> Exactly. The audience wants inspiration, not nihilism. A myth, not a morgue. Phoenix proves what's possible. Shadow Stalker reminds them of everything ugly.

[12:27] TrueNorth >> Ugly sells too, in doses. You need your antiheroes. Bogart, Brando, Dean, they all brooded.

[12:30] Khaleesi >> And yet Bogart had wit, Brando had magnetism, Dean had tragedy. Shadow Stalker has none of the above. She's grimdark without gravitas.

[12:32] StageWhisper >> She's *Our Town* performed entirely in shadows, no cast. A concept, not a character.

[12:34] Jester >> Or like Beckett without the wit. Waiting for Godot, except nobody's laughing.

[12:36] SpinDoctor >> Tangent alert. Reel back.

[13:34] TrueNorth >> Let's not forget PR strategy extends beyond appearances. Parent interactions, staff engagement, local media, each counts.

[13:37] Khaleesi >> Exactly. We can't turn a mute 11-year-old into a city spokesperson, even with Phoenix's spectacle, she's for national-longterm impact, not local omnipresence.

[13:41] AdCopyCrash >> So how do we handle weekend spectacle versus weekday grounding?

[13:45] SpinDoctor >> Weekend = high-concept demonstration (e.g. Hero + Phoenix). Weekday = scaffold the ecosystem. B-roll, minor appearances, controlled interviews. Maintain narrative without burning heroes out.

[13:49] StageWhisper >> And PR messaging? Should we emphasize individual hero shine or coordinated ensemble?

[13:52] SpinDoctor >> Ensemble always, headline selectively. Solo headlines = Phoenix or Dauntless. Others = contextual reinforcement. The lesson from April 16–17: spectacle is great, but cannot be sole messaging.

[14:12] PR_Paladin >> Do we need contingency messaging? If someone refuses theme, audience sees dissonance. Armsmaster's stiff, Kid Win awkward, Miss Militia over-cheery - audience notices.

[14:14] SpinDoctor >> Yes. Frame absences and dissonance. Public sees Hero/Phoenix as extraordinary, the rest as supporting cast - intentional, not accidental. Now enough bickering, strategy?

[14:18] ChorusLine >> Fine, strategy:
Phoenix = divine spectacle.
Dauntless = trust anchor.
Gallant + Glory Girl = teen romcom spinoff.
Vista = grounded presence.
Clockblocker = comedy relief.
Armsmaster = stiff legacy.
Kid Win = backstage techie.
Shadow Stalker = action reel only.

[14:21] TrueNorth >> Add Miss Militia as symbolic backbone. She's practically the flag with legs.

[14:23] AdCopyCrash >> A flag that tries too hard to smile. She's a theme park mascot, not a star.

[14:25] StageWhisper >> Still, mascots have their uses as every sports team could tell you.

[14:27] Khaleesi >> Mascots sell fantasy. Phoenix *is* fantasy. Why settle for a mascot when you can have a myth?

[14:29] Jester >> Because not everyone lives on Olympus. Some people just want a balloon animal at the county fair.

[14:41] SpinDoctor >> Enough balloon animals. Provisional scaffold:
- Phoenix = national myth.
- Dauntless = local trust.
- Gallant (+/- Glory Girl) = synergistic youth appeal.
- Vista = grounded presence with gravitas.
- Clockblocker = garnish/adornment.
- Armsmaster + Miss Militia = legacy symbols.
- Battery, Velocity, Assault = dependable filler.
- Kid Win = backstage only.
- Shadow Stalker = limited to action reels.

[14:58] StageWhisper >> Curtain call?

[15:17] SpinDoctor >> Curtain call. Notes drafted, sarcasm omitted for upstairs version. End scene.

(Log closed Mon May 18 18:17:58 2011)

Spoiler: But now I want to open it up to you, the readers:

1. Do you like this alternative, or would you prefer the more traditional Interlude/POV? (In this case, probably Glenn's POV on this discussion.)
2. Do you prefer the Public Forum (Like Para-Humans Online) or Private communication style (IRC or Emails) of this kind of interludes?
3. Are there any reactions you'd want to see for a future interlude? (I could do any other POV if people are interested, but have mostly stuck to the Bay since that's what 99.9% of this fandom seems to want. Or if you want more of the Bay, is there someone whose POV/IRC/Emails you'd like from here?)

 

[Oblation]

[6:59] SpinDoctor>> Agenda tonight: Phoenix and Dauntless merch lines, integration into series merch, card exclusives, legacy rotations, problem cases. Keep it tight, but vivid.

[7:25] AdCopyCrash>> Phoenix first. She's already halfway myth. Kids call her "the firebird," parents mutter about rebirth. We lean in. Pendants shaped like flame-feathers, gilded pins, heat-sensitive posters that reveal wings when you touch them.

[7:27] Khaleesi>> Cloaks. Not capes, cloaks. Fire-colored lining, reversible. Children love drama, parents love symbolism. She becomes a figure of legend every time one swirls in a schoolyard.

[7:28] Jester>> And every PTA calls us about flammable polyester.

[7:30] StageWhisper>> Solution: small, tasteful. Phoenix jewelry and charms. You sell myth in miniature.

[7:32] TrueNorth>> If she's headed toward a Triumvirate-style image, we need anchors that grow with her. Start with the personal—pendants, posters, small tokens—then transition into "emblem of hope" pieces down the line.

[7:36] PR_Paladin>> Which dovetails with Dauntless. He's already positioned as the reliable shield. Give him leader merch. Replica Arclance scaled for shelves, Greek-style jackets, "Dauntless: Stand Fast" slogans.

[7:38] ChorusLine>> Trading cards too. We frame him as "the anchor" to Phoenix's flame. His card glows less brightly, but it's the one that never leaves the deck.

[7:39] Jester>> Fine, but Phoenix is the foil chase. Otherwise no one drives to Brockton Bay for cards.

[7:41] PR_Paladin>> That's why the National Protectorate Trading Card Game expansion has Phoenix as foil-only, Bay exclusive. Dauntless rare, Aegis uncommon. Gallant and Vista in packs. Exclusives drive tourism, we anchor it with Phoenix.

[7:42] TrueNorth>> And it can't just be glossy. Etched foil, embossed crest. Parents need to feel they bought a holy relic.

[7:45] AdCopyCrash>> Which brings us to team merch. Current slate: "Protectorate," "Wards," and "Full Team." One Brockton Bay Team box, premium foil guaranteed.

[7:49] StageWhisper>> We can theme it "Protectorate vs Wards." Kids buy Wards, get a shiny Phoenix card by default.

[7:51] ChorusLine>> But what about Gallant + Glory Girl? The public already sees them as a pair. Kids want the star couple deck.

[7:52] TrueNorth>> Which we can't sell, because she's not ours.

[7:55] Khaleesi>> Indirect solution. Gallant merch with an implied partner: silhouettes, heart motifs, ambiguous figures. It sells the idea without naming her.

[7:56] Jester>> So we market the romance without ever writing her name. Clever, if a little absurd.

[7:57] PR_Paladin >> Not absurd, necessary. We use Gallant until she signs.

[8:15] SpinDoctor >> Then the legacy lines. Armsmaster and Miss Militia are still strong, but we shift to "Protectorate Legends." High-quality reissues. Die-cast halberds, stitched Militia scarves. Adults and collectors pay thrice what kids would.

[8:17] StageWhisper>> It cleans shelves too. No more half-hearted new figures, just prestige.

[8:20] AdCopyCrash>> Which leaves Shadow Stalker. Her hoodies rot in clearance bins. She's an anchor, and not the good kind.

[8:21] ChorusLine>> Pull the line. Quietly. Before it taints the rest.

[8:22] Jester>> You pull her, and we lose the "dark hero" slot, and that archetype sells itself.

[8:25] TrueNorth>> We can't leave that slot vacant. That'll just get all the brooding kids into Gang merch.

[8:35] SpinDoctor>> Which is why I've been negotiating with NYC. They'll take some of your Phoenix and Dauntless lines if you take some of their more popular Flechette line to replace Stalker. She's already trending in the Northeast, and she fits the "dark but rising" role without the baggage.

[8:38] Khaleesi>> Flechette as the new shadow figure? Yes. She's sharp, already gaining traction, and unlike Stalker, she doesn't sabotage her own interviews.

[8:40] StageWhisper>> It also lets us spin the narrative: "A new star rises." We replace failure with promise.

[8:40] PR_Paladin>> One liability traded for a future star, plus better distribution. That's good business.

[8:55] SpinDoctor>> Then it's settled. Phoenix and Dauntless anchor the Bay. Armsmaster and Militia go legacy. Gallant leans romantic but ambiguous. Shadow Stalker gets quietly retired as Flechette ascends. We align the market, mythos, and message.

[8:57] Jester>> And you expect me to stand in Brockton Bay telling kids to buy Flechette instead of Stalker?

[8:58] SpinDoctor>> You'll tell them, and you'll smile. Merch is destiny. Meeting adjourned.

 

[Oblation]

[04/19] 12:12 TrueNorth>> Okay, brass wants us pivoting. Armsmaster is tactical credibility, but not approachable. Dauntless is. We seed him into every "steady hands" narrative from here forward.

[04/19] 12:14 AdCopyCrash>> So, less avenger on the prowl, more Dad fixing the lawnmower. Got it.

[04/19] 12:15 ChorusLine>> Oh come on, Dauntless is dependable but he's not dreamy. He's just… safe. Safety doesn't trend.

[04/19] 12:16 TrueNorth>> Safety does trend when your city is burning every third week.

[04/19] 12:17 Khaleesi>> And yet when the city looks to the skies, it isn't for steady hands. It's for the Phoenix. Fire and rebirth. A living myth. A thing larger than safety.

[04/19] 12:19 PR_Paladin>> We're still grounding this in perception. Phoenix is mystical, but also a kid. We can't let the public think she's the second coming of Joan of Arc without a growth arc first. Otherwise when she trips, it's humiliation.

[04/19] 12:20 StageWhisper>> Except the people already love watching her fly. She lands near murals like she's stepping out of her own stained glass window. Vista tries to mimic that gravitas and just looks… tiny. Like a girl wearing her mom's heels.

[04/19] 12:22 Jester>> Correction: she looks like Scooter in "Muppet Babies" demanding to be seen as an adult while holding a juice box.

---

[04/20] 10:01 ChorusLine>> Speaking of juice boxes, Gallant's patrol with Glory Girl played like a rom-com trailer. They smile, they save, they glow. Together they sparkle. Alone? Glory Girl bulldozes, Gallant sighs like a polite apology card.

[04/20] 10:03 AdCopyCrash>> Gallant is cinematic background music. He's the piano riff under Glory Girl's guitar solo.

[04/20] 10:05 SpinDoctor>> Keep them paired then. If the chemistry works, you sell the duet, not the solos.

[04/20] 10:07 Khaleesi>> But compare their warmth to Phoenix's stillness. Phoenix does not flirt with the crowd, she lets the crowd come to her. That's not teenage posturing, it's archetype. This is how legends breathe.

[04/20] 10:08 TrueNorth>> Slow down. Brass wants her slow-build. Myth, yes, but not front page every day. We bundle her with Dauntless: "Sky and Anchor."

[04/20] 10:10 Jester>> Sky and Anchor sounds like a pub down on the docks. Which actually might sell T-shirts.

---

[04/21] 08:50 StageWhisper>> Vista keeps giving her sister those forlorn "notice me" looks. Audience sees it, memes are happening. People aren't sure if they're related, but they sense… something.

[04/21] 08:52 PR_Paladin>> Narrative risk. Vista's been "the cute one" for years, but now she's the older sister looking smaller, less poised. That visual tension undermines her.

[04/21] 08:55 ChorusLine>> Or heightens her. She's the scrappy underdog sister. Cute sells, you know.

[04/21] 08:56 AdCopyCrash>> Cute sells until it sulks. Nobody likes mopey Hallmark cards.

---

[04/22] 14:13 TrueNorth>> Update: Triumph tried pitching himself for more spotlight. He's earnest, but still reads like "overzealous Boy Scout." National brass said: hard pass.

[04/22] 14:15 Jester>> He's like the guy who shouts "thank you!" at the start of every parade float. It's endearing for 30 seconds, then you want the tuba section to drown him out.

[04/22] 14:18 SpinDoctor>> Keep him off the table. He peaked during his Ward days, no need to dilute the field with overreach.

---

[04/23] 12:07 PR_Paladin>> Shadow Stalker is furious about not being on posters. She pretends she doesn't care, but she does. Claims she prefers the "mystery predator" angle.

[04/23] 12:09 AdCopyCrash>> Translation: least competent in PR, period. Her "mystery predator" is basically a teen in a ski mask growling at pigeons.

[04/23] 12:10 Jester>> If she's Heathcliff, it's the moor-stomping, sulk-in-a-corner version. Alone, brooding, no merch sales.

[04/23] 12:12 Khaleesi>> Still, the archetype of the shadowed huntress has its uses. If only she carried herself as if she believed it.

[04/23] 12:14 TrueNorth>> She doesn't. Case closed.

---

[04/24] 09:23 StageWhisper>> Armsmaster. His attempts at PR swing between "distant, too busy for the cameras" and "lecturing about mechanics mid-fight." Neither play well.

[04/24] 09:25 ChorusLine>> He treats interviews like repair manuals. Riveting, if you're a carburetor.

[04/24] 09:26 TrueNorth>> Which is why we shift narrative credit elsewhere. Dauntless. Phoenix. Even Miss Militia when necessary. Armsmaster stays tactical background, not face.

---

[04/25] 11:40 AdCopyCrash>> Miss Militia, speaking of. She's toggling between stoic soldier and "PR smile" like someone with stage fright. Not graceful.

[04/25] 11:42 Jester>> She's the actor who forgets if she's in Hamlet or a toothpaste commercial.

[04/25] 11:44 SpinDoctor>> She's versatile in the field. On PR, we minimize. Don't force it.

---

[04/26] 15:30 TrueNorth>> Velocity, on the other hand, is overenthusiastic but not unlikable. He sells as the excitable sidekick. Just don't make him the headline.

[04/26] 15:31 ChorusLine>> He's like the mascot waving too much at halftime. Fine, if he's not the whole show.

---

[04/27] 09:18 Khaleesi>> Phoenix's unannounced patrol by that mural someone made of her drew a crowd. People lingered, treated it like a pilgrimage. She doesn't say a word, just hovers. The image does the work.

[04/27] 09:20 StageWhisper>> And rumor swirls. Half-jokes about a Phoenix cult. Someone spotted actual people in Phoenix merch murmuring prayers.

[04/27] 09:21 AdCopyCrash>> Terrific. Step right up, folks, worship your neighborhood junior messiah. T-shirts only $7.99.

[04/27] 09:22 TrueNorth>> We control the frame. "Admiration society," not cult. And we do not feed the rumor mill.

[04/27] 09:23 Khaleesi>> Or we lean into it. Myth builds itself when the people want a myth.

---

[04/28] 15:01 Jester>> Kid Win, still background noise. Charming in interviews, if you ask the right questions, but the boy requested lighter PR. Said he doesn't like the spotlight.

[04/28] 15:03 PR_Paladin>> That actually works. If he doesn't want it, the mystique of modesty shields him from criticism. He's functional, not glamorous.

[04/28] 15:04 AdCopyCrash>> He's the guy in the credits who fixes the sound levels. Nobody claps, but everyone would notice if he vanished.

---

[04/29] 07:59 TrueNorth>> Phoenix + Aegis + Glory Girl vs Rune + giant twins: field narrative is messy. Most blame Empire for property damage, some are blameing our trio for "escalating."

[04/29] 08:01 ChorusLine>> Still, Aegis and Glory Girl make for some unexpected synergies. That's a win.

[04/29] 08:03 StageWhisper>> The image of Phoenix streaking ahead alone was cinematic. Vista looked at her like she'd lost something, again.

[04/29] 08:04 AdCopyCrash>> Yes, let's celebrate the child endangering herself to make her sister cry. Great optics.

[04/29] 08:06 Khaleesi>> No, great myth. Firebird against giants. Win or lose, people remember the silhouette.

---

[04/30] 11:11 Jester>> Glory Girl's restraint issues keep cropping up. She nearly smashed a car mid-patrol. Crowd laughed, but online clips don't look flattering.

[04/30] 11:13 ChorusLine>> That's why Gallant smooths her edges. They're a pair package. Separate them and she's a wrecking ball, he's cardboard.

[04/30] 11:15 AdCopyCrash>> "Beauty and the Beige." Box office poison, unless you sell the romance.

---

[04/31] 13:27 StageWhisper>> Sunday. A gathering formed at Phoenix's mural again. This time organized. People kneeling, candles, murmurs. Priests in merch. They left fast when PRT rolled up.

[04/31] 13:29 AdCopyCrash>> Congratulations, we've accidentally franchised Scientology Jr.

[04/31] 13:30 PR_Paladin>> Contain the narrative. "Fan enthusiasm," not religion. Anything else is dangerous.

[04/31] 13:32 Khaleesi>> But do you not see? This is how myths grow. She does nothing but appear, and people gather. It frightens you, but history favors the firebrand.

[04/31] 13:33 TrueNorth>> Careful. We build steady, not wildfire. Dauntless is the credibility. Phoenix is the symbol. Together, they're the balance.

[04/31] 13:34 SpinDoctor>> Keep eyes forward. National brass approves the Phoenix build. But remember: myth must serve stability, not eclipse it. Keep Dauntless close. Don't let this spiral.

[04/31] 13:35 Jester>> Until the mural sprouts a gift shop, we're probably fine.

 

[Oblation]

SpinDoctor>>
Okay folks, brass wants a Bay PR situation report since Hero's event two weeks back. Format is three paras pros, cons, overall. Each cape gets at least a line, your pet projects can get more. Close with your recs for the next month. @StageWhisper, you're first in the batting order.

StageWhisper>>
Pros: Bay's roster has never looked more photogenic. Phoenix is building mystique even when she just floats near murals. Vista remains "adorable in boots," which public eats up, though she keeps trying to posture older. Gallant and Glory Girl tag-team nicely a shining pair with actual chemistry. Dauntless is emerging as steady, a "neighbor hero" archetype. Armsmaster still draws gadgethead loyalty, and Miss Militia keeps some veterans pleased with her poise.

Cons: Glory Girl alone? Too volatile, too many angry-face photos. Gallant alone? Vanilla pudding. Vista's efforts to seem grown up just underline that she isn't. Phoenix's myth aura risks slipping into cult weirdness, priests in her merch‽ Not ideal. Armsmaster is cold fish when not "on," Miss Militia feels tired some days. Shadow Stalker: image is "angry mall cop." Assault and Battery read like sidekicks to a better show. Velocity's overeager, Triumph overzealous.

Overall: Bay is fascinating, messy, youth-heavy. We've got a budding myth (Phoenix), a photogenic duo (G+G), and a grounded anchor (Dauntless). The rest oscillate between assets and liabilities, but the raw material is there.

Recommendation: Phoenix needs controlled myth-building without letting it tip into cult territory; pairing her occasionally with Dauntless would cement her as myth plus steady civic force. Keep Vista framed as "the cute one trying so hard," which plays. G+G should be pushed as a duo never solo. Let Armsmaster and Miss Militia fade into the background a bit. Don't bother forcing Shadow Stalker PR; she's better invisible.

AdCopyCrash>>
Pros: Phoenix looks good in every candid. Dauntless is basically Captain Dad Energy. Gallant and Glory Girl together sell like prom king and queen. Vista plays as "mascot growing up." Armsmaster brings in nerds who buy tinker-toys. Assault and Battery provide occasional rom-com cutaways.

Cons: Phoenix's silent brooding looks like the start of a docuseries cult. Gallant alone is basically store-brand toothpaste. Glory Girl alone is an episode of Cops . Vista's "please see me as mature" act is tragicomic. Armsmaster is a charisma desert. Miss Militia seems like she knows it's all hollow. Shadow Stalker is a PR black hole; even her smirk reads like a shoplifter mugshot. Velocity's just "guy who runs fast," no angle. Triumph is still on probation for overselling himself.

Overall: Ensemble cast, high drama, bad script. They're all strong in pieces, but if you roll them out individually, the audience flips channels. We need to lean on dynamics, duos, trios, myth pairings.

Recommendation: Stop trying to make each cape their own franchise. Package them like an ensemble superhero sitcom: "The Hotheads, the Cool Dad, and the Myth." Phoenix/Dauntless for gravitas. Glory/Gallant for charm. Vista as the wide-eyed little sister. Everyone else? Background extras until they stumble into a narrative.

ChorusLine>>
Pros: Gallant and Glory Girl are magic together. Romantic hints, dramatic rescues, the kind of pairing people root for. Phoenix is beautiful and aloof, which makes every sighting special. Dauntless plays reliable, someone you'd trust to fix your car and save your cat. Vista brings heart, even when she stumbles.

Cons: Gallant is boring without Glory. Glory is reckless without Gallant. Phoenix's aloofness risks coldness. Vista's maturity act rings hollow. Shadow Stalker is just negative PR embodied. Armsmaster is brilliant but unfriendly, Miss Militia comes off stretched thin. Assault and Battery aren't charming enough to carry their duo. Velocity and Triumph feel like filler tracks.

Overall: The emotional center is Phoenix plus Gallant/Glory. Everything else rotates around them. Dauntless as anchor completes the four-point balance.

Recommendation: Build PR on emotion: Phoenix as mythic mystery, Gallant/Glory as aspirational romance, Vista as the heartstring pull, Dauntless as stability. Everyone else exists to reinforce those notes. Think "quartet" not "choir."

PR_Paladin>>
Pros: Phoenix and Dauntless together could project myth and reliability. Gallant has "good soldier" vibes, Glory Girl the celebrity shine. Vista remains the likable kid. Armsmaster and Miss Militia represent grit and discipline. Velocity shows pure enthusiasm, which isn't nothing.

Cons: Phoenix cult rumors are dangerous. Glory is a loose cannon. Gallant lacks charisma. Vista overcompensates. Armsmaster shrugs PR entirely, Miss Militia drifts between overdoing and vanishing. Shadow Stalker's PR competence is nonexistent. Assault and Battery blend into wallpaper. Triumph is overeager, Velocity too goofy.

Overall: PR is fragmented every cape has strengths, but we lack cohesion. Public needs a story, not scattershot personalities.

Recommendation: Develop Phoenix + Dauntless as dual anchors. Frame Glory/Gallant as "young love under fire." Keep Vista in a supporting "earnest little sister" role. Shadow Stalker should be minimized, same for Triumph. Others can fill background slots until useful. Narrative clarity is survival.

Jester>>
Pros: Phoenix floats around like a Shakespearean ghost and everyone claps. Gallant and Glory Girl do the Romeo & Juliet thing without the double suicide (yet). Vista is adorable she's Piglet insisting she's Eeyore. Dauntless is Jim Halpert with a spear. Armsmaster is basically the Swedish Chef with a Swiss Army Knife fetish.

Cons: Phoenix cultists handing out tracts. Gallant solo is cardboard. Glory solo is Hulk Smash but sassier. Vista pretending to be mature is like Kermit trying to play Macbeth. Shadow Stalker is Animal but meaner. Miss Militia is Statler and Waldorf rolled into one. Assault and Battery are Abbott and Costello minus timing.

Overall: It's a Muppet Show where only a few acts sing on key, but the audience still tunes in for the chaos.

Recommendation: Let Phoenix be the phantom myth, pair her with Dauntless when we need grounding. Push Gallant/Glory as the teen drama arc. Vista as comic relief heart. Everyone else stays backstage until they accidentally deliver a classic sketch.

TrueNorth>>
Pros: Dauntless is emerging as the most credible adult. Public trusts him, feels steady with him. Phoenix has potential to be a myth on national stage. Gallant and Glory Girl are a proven duo, popular. Vista still charms. Armsmaster's technical chops appeal in niche circles. Miss Militia remains respectable.

Cons: Dauntless can show strain photos catch the tension. Phoenix risks drifting into aloofness, cult rumors. Glory is volatile, Gallant bland. Vista overreaches in maturity. Armsmaster is stiff, Miss Militia inconsistent. Shadow Stalker is a liability. Others lack spark.

Overall: The Bay has talent, but raw edges. PR focus should be on credibility and stability: Dauntless as the civic face, Phoenix as the myth rising. Glory/Gallant as secondary draw, Vista as supporting.

Recommendation: My stance: build Dauntless + Phoenix together myth plus man of the people. That pairing anchors the Bay, shows balance between dream and duty. Manage Glory/Gallant as the flash. Everyone else rotates in as necessary. Keep Shadow Stalker out of frame.

Khaleesi>>
Pros: Phoenix is the story. Aloof, luminous, untouchable. The fact that murals spring up of her already, that's living myth. Dauntless complements her with grounded reliability. Gallant and Glory Girl are the mortal heart, Vista is the child striving upward. Armsmaster and Miss Militia represent the old guard.

Cons: Phoenix's silence breeds rumor, cult imagery may spiral. Dauntless risks burnout. Gallant/Glory could sour if split. Vista's struggle for maturity may backfire. Shadow Stalker is irredeemable in PR. The rest are forgettable.

Overall: Bay has a chance to craft a mythos, Phoenix as transcendent figure, Dauntless as anchor, Gallant/Glory as drama, Vista as innocence. Everything else is noise.

Recommendation: Think long game. Phoenix must be built carefully, steadily, to reach Triumvirate status in a decade. Dauntless should be tied to her, stabilizing the myth. Push Gallant/Glory as secondary drama, Vista as emotional pull. Let others fade.

SpinDoctor>> Alright, solid spread. I'll pull these into the draft for brass. Next week we pivot to messaging trials, controlled pairings, one-offs, myth seeding.

---------

Online Reactions:
Phoenix
FlameIsLife >> She descended in light. The fire did not burn. She is proof that the end has been delayed. (Celestial Temple IRC, crossposted here)
CoolHeaded1 >> Or she's just another cape with fancy powers. Chill.
BBMomForumRep >> If she really is that strong, she should take leadership. I'd feel safer with her than Mr. Redshirt over there.
3HoundsofEmpire >> All smoke, no steel. PR will pump her up but we see through it.
CapeCardsCollector >> There's already a Phoenix cult sub-forum. Half prophecy memes, half serious(ly creepy).

Armsmaster
OldGuard >> He's still the general. Period.
TechBoi88 >> Saw him yell at a kid for touching his bike after a photo op. True story.
AltRightBay_3 >> I trust the man who builds his own weapons. Not some brown chick with a gun.
1MerchLord >> Legacy line Armsmaster minis are selling out. People love nostalgia.

Dauntless
UnionJackal >> He's the wholesome face. And that's exactly why he'll never be number one. Too nice for the Bay.
DockyardDan >> Nah, he's the only one I want my kid looking up to.
CynicalWatcher >> If he was really leadership material, Armsmaster wouldn't still be in charge.

Miss Militia
RedWhiteAndMom >> She's the only one I can show my daughters without worrying they'll imitate reckless behavior.
BoredPoster1991 >> Let's be real, her "magic gun bag" is just cosplay-tier compared to Dauntless's Arclance.
CapePolitics >> She's not flashy enough to headline, but she's the glue keeping the team respectable.

Aegis
BBWardFanClub09 >> Toughest kid alive. Don't argue.
shitpost80085 >> Man's literally Humpty Dumpty, always getting put back together again.
3HoundsofEmpire >> Don't care how many times he gets back up. He's not our people.
ConcernedMom78 >> He's proof kids shouldn't be fighting. Watching him "die" on livestream was stomach-churning.

Gallant
HeartEyes77 >> He's gorgeous. Also sweet. Where do they *find* these kids?
Cynic42 >> He's just another rich boy with a flashlight.
ShipJunkie69 >> The Gallant + Glory Girl merch is gonna print money once it's legal.

Glory Girl
BB_Teen11 >> She's the hero we *actually* see, not those guys stuck in meetings.
CynicalWatcher >> Wildcard. She's going to either save the Bay or accidentally kill someone on camera.
thirsty_anon >> She could bench press me any day.
OldGuard >> She's not even officially on the team. Don't trust her.

Vista
LocalKid98 >> Literally changed the playground so we could keep playing tag. Iconic.
PHOsEdge >> She's a baby cape. Stop pretending.
Sulis-Iterum >> No, she's got the most broken power in the State. You'll see.

Kid Win
GamerMech1337 >> That hoverboard? Straight out of my dreams.
BBTeen11 >> He looks like the tech in a cartoon who blows up his own lab.
ShipperCentral2 >> The Kid Win + Vista ship is underrated. Don't @ me.

Clockblocker
1ForumClown >> MVP of banter. He could solo any villain with jokes alone.
BB_Local_Mechanic >> He froze my truck for three days. PRT never paid me back.
TeenShipper2 >> He and KW have the best energy.

Assault + Battery
ShipJunkie69 >> They literally already *are* a couple. Stop teasing and print the merch.
CynicalWatcher >> Their lovers' spats in the field are unprofessional.
BatteryFan >> She's the powerhouse. Assault's just noise.

Shadow Stalker
Ghostblade99 >> Her hoodies were top tier. Shouldn't have been pulled so fast.
BBTeacher66 >> She's a terrible influence. My students think acting like her is "cool."
3HoundsofEmpire >> At least she understands real justice.
One_ConcernedParent >> She terrifies my kids. How is she a "hero"?

Team-Wide / Merch
CardGameKid1977 >> National Protectorate cards are busted. Phoenix foil is already the chase card.
MerchHawk >> Full Team posters are cluttered trash. Protectorate-only line looks sleek, though.
LegacyCollector >> Moving Armsmaster and Miss Militia to legacy lines was smart. Higher quality figs = higher value.
DarkshotDebate >> Rumor that Shadow Stalker's slot in the line might get replaced by Flechette? About time.

Wild Takes
BBCelestialTemple >> Phoenix is the sign. The old world burns, the new rises.
TrollPoster93 >> Imagine stanning Dauntless. Couldn't be me.
ShippingOverload9001 >> Gallant/Glory Girl is over. Gallant/Dean is the REAL power couple.
DoomPatrol_Local >> Doesn't matter. Bay's still a dump. No cape can fix it.

 

[Oblation]

WOW does PR get me a LOT of points, I figured meeting hero would be a few, but geez-louise, even a decently sized roll just got me down to "a lot."

Flawless Magic – Magonomia
Base Cost: -350cp
Lore:
A spark once flared, uncertain, rare, yet lingered in your hand,
Now every spell you touch obeys, as if by fate's command.
No effort strains, no struggle stays, the hardest feat feels true,
For once you've shaped a magic's form, it ever bends to you.
Details:
Any magical thing you do (spell, enchantment, curse, etc), you can always replicate your best effort even when barely trying. So even if you've only ever managed a spell once, you can now cast it easily, if you've got the mana, that is.
Addons: -50cp Applies retroactively.
Final Cost: 400cp
Bank:1700cp

I guess I'm glad I held off, if I've got the chance for the really crazy rolls now.

Best to do another to see if it's going to change what I'm doing or not:

The King's Ear - A Song of Ice and Fire
Base Cost: -250cp
Lore:
Upon the throne or office high, their gaze falls calm on you,
A trust unearned, yet solid, strong, as if your worth they knew.
From team to house, from guild to crown, their faith is freely cast,
In every head of every sphere, your counsel holds steadfast.
Details:
The head of your nation now trusts you and your judgment. They'll see you as a person of good judgment and character and will be willing to talk to you on friendly terms, even if you've never met previously.
Addons: -150cp applies to multiple levels at once, anyone said to be head of something your in, from a team or house, to a company or nation trusts you.
Final Cost: 400cp
Bank: 1300cp

Alright, no changes, just boosts to magic and PR. I'm sure both are helpful, but for now, I've got more important things to get to, namely, actually doing a patrol for once.

…

Somehow, I expected this to be more interesting than the random flying around I was doing before, looking for intel for the PRT.

I mean, it's not bad, it's just that Aegis and I are following a set path that was semi-randomly generated by some algorithm of Armsmaster's this morning.
Somewhere off in the distance, Dauntless and Glory Girl are doing the same.

Yay, flying patrols…

…

At least Aegis is super thankful for his new powers.
I guess it really helps him to have a bit of ranged options now, even if he's meant to stick to the cheap spells outside of major fights.

…

Oh Action!

We found Rune sitting on a rooftop, chucking rocks at anyone of a darker persuasion on the boardwalk.

Aegis led, since I'm usually with Firewatch, and they always know what to do, so I assumed he was the same.
Instead, he tried to act like a hero from a cartoon and get her to "Halt! In the name of the Law!"

I mean, he didn't say that exactly, but even Rune looked at him funny.

Anyway, the chase was fun, even if both of us are pretty slow as flyers since I'm stuck to the speed of my wings and air currents, and he can only fly at running speeds, even if it's Olympic athlete running.
We were both getting about 30-40mph most of the time, except in bursts, while Rune has been pretty consistently clocked in at just under 60.
So the math should've been clear once she started flying, except that I can teleport to a bunch of places in the city, and Glory Girl is faster than Rune, so we just needed to keep the chase up for 8 minutes.

We did it… But I guess Rune had a backup too, because just as GG was getting to us, the Giant twins started making a mess nearby, and Rune dodged into a building in the resulting scuffle.
Worse, is that Dauntless told the three of us to pull back and swap out for Assault and Battery's patrol route, while the three of them fought the twins.

It didn't even work!
The twins managed to disengage before Assault and Battery even showed up!

…

Whatever, I guess it's best to stick to getting stuff done with Firewatch, or possibly following up on some of those leads the Ninja have been giving me about Villains who've got basically no opposition in small Canadian towns.

…

Also, apparently, I missed a checkup during that whole princess thing last weekend, so Tsunade barged in and did it right in the living room with Emily, and somehow this ended up in her becoming my tutor for Science.

It's a thing, I guess.
I mean, I was getting to the end of the unit anyway, so I guess she can do 9th-grade Science as well as anyone else.

Oh, and she did one for Emily, too, when I asked, so I guess Emily had an old injury that can't really be healed, so she never went to Panacea for it.
But Tsunade is really good about the space between healed and crippled.
So she did something and made it so Emily wouldn't feel pain in that specific part of her body anymore, which helped a lot, even if it's too risky for anyone who's still getting in fights.

 

[Oblation]

Today was a "team building exercise" with Firewatch, Aspirant, Addison, and Dauntless.

I guess the Deputy Director was all proud of that one raid where we managed to stop Uber and Leet's minions, so he's going to have Addison train up with Firewatch, then go out with one of the PRT squads like I do with Firewatch.
Dauntless is here because he's the Protectorate liaison for the PRT-Wards. I guess nobody was before, but the position exists, and nobody was against his taking it to have more father-son time.
Aspirant was here because it was a bunch of PRT training with Dauntless giving pointers. He seemed kind of awestruck but mostly just wanted to learn.

…

But in more important news, Addison brought Buddy.

Buddy is like Fox, he's an animal with powers.
I guess he's got super tracking skills.
He's a Bloodhound, but with tracking skills orders of magnitude better than most.

But they were worried about him going out without protection, which led to me realizing I've been an idiot.

I offered dog armor and then realized that's 100% a thing I should have been making for the pack.

…

It calmed Addison to know that Buddy would be 100% immortal so long as the armor lasted, and I'd be able to make 6x durable armor too.

Now we just need for the truckload of armadillos to be sent up.

…

I thought getting them might be the bottleneck, but I guess in some places, not too far away, they are actually pests.
Like, there are more armadillos than squirrels.
Weird…

Either way, whenever that comes, Buddy has first claim on some 6x durability dog armor, then I'll start giving it to the pack.

…

Oh, and the 3x Damage, 3x Speed, AoE Explosion Organics Damage Only Crossbow just got approved by the testing authority.
Even if the damage output's pretty insane, so it's more of an Anti-Brute weapon, the Bay's still got like 6 possible targets for it.
So I'm now making a few for Firewatch, the Protectorate, and the PRT.

…

Oh, and the roll I got is pretty sweet too, even if it doesn't do much for me.

Patryn Whistle - The Death Gate Cycle
Base Cost: 50cp
Lore:
A single note, so sharp, so clear,
It shields the heart from doubt and fear.
No voice can sway, no thought can bind,
When Whistle guards the steadfast mind.
Details:
A whistle whose sound operates under the normal physical laws of sound propagation. Anyone who hears the sound directly (not recordings or amplifications) is freed from all mental influences save those placed by the whistle holder. This does not grant immunity or revert changes, but ongoing effects are halted unless intentionally reapplied, and automatic effects that linger will not be reapplied automatically even after the sound ends
Addons: -50cp to turn into a spell that can be overpowered rather than a whistle bound by mere physical laws.
Final Cost: 100cp
Bank: 1000cp

It's not my craziest role, but I have started getting back at the PRT for the whole M/S thing by playing it for them in the form of earworms, and the best part is their bureaucrats, so they can't even complain about it.
They know what this spell is supposed to do, so they know complaining just makes them look sus.

I wasn't going to bug Emily, but she requested I use it on her every morning and night just to be sure, so that works for me.

…

Emily has actually requested that I go around to all the cape groups and use it on them, just in case.
So I guess I'll be doing that as I see them over the next bit.

I'm just glad there was the spell, not whistle, option because it lets me play it as music I know, rather than needing to learn an instrument on top of everything else.

Spoiler: A/N

I want to thank PrussianGranadier for the Dog Armor suggestion, along with helping me through some other Minecraft recipes to IRL material conversions that'll show up soon!

 

[Oblation]

I guess we're back to the awkward dinners at Battery's place, but I laid down the ground rules right from the start this time and pinned a message at the top of the Awkward Dinner Conversations channel of the IRC to remind them that I'm a teleporter and immune to their bullshit.

Assault found the name of the IRC channel funny, even if Battery and Sis didn't, and promised to just tell me where we were going next time. He also said that trying to box in a mover was a bad idea from the start.

It was at this point that a wolf plopped into his lap, so I guess there's no hiding my approval of that.
Assault, meanwhile, managed to convey "this is my life now" through body language alone.

…

Later, we somehow got into a versus debate about powers and what kind of Brute was best. That's apparently been an ongoing thing in the Cape Section of the IRC, so I ended up throwing gasoline on the fire by giving Assault 10 minutes of the 3x potency Bigger Potion—the one that makes someone 9x larger with proportional strength. Then I gave Battery the 3x duration version that makes you only 3x bigger but lasts for 30 minutes.

I have apparently fueled a future bit of domestic violence… and gambling. I bet $100 in the Tinker Budget on Assault, which Armsmaster accepted as a valid bet (because of course he's the bookie—why am I even surprised?).

Oh, and I gave Missy 60 minutes of Invisibility (two of the 3x duration ones) on the condition that she only tell people it was 30 minutes and save the rest for fun stuff.
She agreed instantly, which is how I know that was a terrible idea.

I'm glad the IRC exists, because typing all this out in person would've spoiled the good vibes, I think.

…

I guess the other debates were less interesting, though Assault and Battery apparently found it offensive when I agreed with Sis that one-to-one Shakers beat Brutes.

As in: if all you know about a cape is their rating, and the numbers are the same, you should always assume the Shaker will be the bigger threat.

My reasoning is slightly different from Sis's, who mostly just seemed to have pride in her category, though.

Like I messaged/said at the time:
When a Brute gets clever with their powers, a wall explodes or bones break.
When a Shaker gets clever, it's physics that breaks, and there's no way to prep for that before you've seen it happen.

I kinda stumped them with that, so Missy glomped me… it was nice. And mildly terrifying, because Missy doesn't "half-glomp" anything.

…

Oh, and for some reason, one of the puppy wolves started chewing on Battery and wouldn't stop until I left, which was apparently hilarious to Sis and Assault for some reason.
Battery, less so.

…

The only other thing of note is that Emmy, who's apparently my PR person as well as my English tutor, asked me to spend at least a few minutes of any flying time near that mural someone made.
It's an easy enough request, since it was already a great mural even before people kept adding to it.

Phoenixes are already a mythical figure found in lots of different cultures, so I guess we happened across a piece of art people aren't willing to graffiti over.
Both the Empire and ABB capes have apparently claimed it for their sides and told their people to leave it alone, unless they were adding to it.

The result is that the mural gets a bit bigger and more interesting every day. I once spent an hour just looking at all the details, and I guess the PR of pictures of Phoenix next to the Phoenix mural ending up on PHO was good, so she asked me to keep doing it.

The only weird part is the people showing up in my merch.
I mean, I get people my age or high schoolers, but it's always a bit odd seeing old people wearing those feather pendants they sell.
But Sis said it's just something you get used to, so I guess I'll just ignore it.
Or die quietly inside.
Hard to tell the difference.

 

[Oblation]

I ran into Taylor today.

She was Aura farming near the Boat-Graveyard, just standing on one of the piers, hair flowing cinematically in the breeze, looking like Edmond Dantès out of that book Emmy's been making me read lately, The Count of Monte Cristo.

I guess she noticed me hovering nearby because she turned and looked straight at me.

She waved me down, so I switched into smaller bird form (easier to teleport from) and perched on the edge of the pier near her, ready to bolt if I had to.

She started whispering at me, so I turned human and used a finite on her.
I mean, I don't actually have proof she's a villain yet, so leaving her semi-soundless just felt rude.

But I didn't want to give the wrong impression either, so I pulled out my tablet and had it say:
"I'm still going to take you down next time, Queen Administrator."

She just kind of brooded at me for a while, then asked if that was why I was against the Dockworkers.

I told her it wasn't about them, it was about their protecting Uber and Leet, and that a gang shielding supervillains from law enforcement is pretty much the definition of a valid target.

She moved toward me, so I shifted into bird form and started to leave, but she called for me to "Wait!"
I circled back and landed further away, keeping my distance.

She insisted the Dockworkers who dealt with Uber and Leet were being "handled internally" (shudder) and asked how I was so sure they were a gang.

It seemed obvious, but I explained how they already matched nearly every definition of one before she started defending them.
Now, they've even got a cape in their ranks.

She pushed back, saying she's "A Hero, not some Gang Villain," so I brought up Nuwa, "that tinker with the Neighborhood Watch that just happens to be full of suspected ABB members, who all like wearing red and green."

She brooded at me again, so I tried to soften it by saying the Dockworkers were:
"Probably the Bay's Least Bad Gang" and pointed out her PRT file still had her listed as "Gang-Affiliated-Vigilante, not villain."

She brooded some more, then asked: "Does this make you my rival then?"

I had to suppress the instinctive urge to flee in terror, and instead, I just wrote out:
"I'm pretty sure mine is Leet."
"But I don't think Aspirant has a rival. I'd be careful, though, he knows Kung-Fu!"

Someone laughed from uncomfortably close behind me, so I went bird again and started to leave, but Taylor called out:
"Wait!
"Thanks for the name…"
"It's kind of pretentious, but something about it just… feels right."

Hah. I'll bet it does.

I nodded in bird form and left before the guy in the truck could call for backup.

I'll need to do something nice for Aspirant…
Since he's basically on death row now.

Still, a bullet dodged is a bullet dodged.

 

[Oblation]

Rune baited and almost trapped Aegis and Glory Girl a few days ago by seeming to repeat her "throwing rocks at minorities" thing before flying directly to where Menja and Fenja were waiting.

So when I saw Rune fly off in an extremely obvious way today, I sent a DM over to Carlos and Vicky on IRC and went over to where she left from.

It seems like I was right, because I found the giant twins in costume but still normal-sized.

So I hit them both with Harry Potter stunners, then dropped my one containment foam grenade on one of them and swooped down to teleport the other to Canada.

Then I sent an alert through IRC to call for pickup on both the one I had foamed and the one I had stunned on Prince Edward Island.

In the end, Rune ended up having a really dramatic and public chase scene with Aegis and Glory Girl, where she was frantically throwing things at the public, forcing the two of them to break off to save people.

Still, they'd apparently almost gotten her when the twin that turned out to be Fenja burst out of the foam and went on a brief but very flashy rampage.

But the unconscious Menja and I just sorta hung out for a while until a PRT van showed up with some special brute restraints in a truck, then had me fill out the paperwork before I went home and got the lowdown on the other side of things.

I felt a bit guilty about it after, but Emily told me that Othala and probably Victor were involved. Since the reason her rampage was more dramatic than usual was that she was making use of the two minutes of granted invulnerability.

So what I did was keep the rampage to one twin rather than both.

 

[Oblation]

I guess there was some kind of fight over forcing me into the Protectorate-Wards, since I apparently "don't trust the Protectorate to safeguard the villain."
I was confused, but I guess they took offense at my teleporting her to Canada, meaning the PR win got split between me, personally, and the Moncton, New Brunswick Protectorate, not the local branch.

I got really offended that they would try to fuck up my situation just to punish me for capturing a villain (like we're supposed to) in such a way that they'd stay caught rather than serve as a PR boost for the week Armsmaster managed to hold on to her.

It's the funny thing about that skill at paperwork I got a while ago.
It makes me GREAT at reading between the lines on their "requests" to "normalize the ward situation."

I was trying to make them realize that if they did force me out of my decent setup as some kind of bully-esque spite move, that I'd return the spite 7-fold.
So I sent a "request" to Armsmaster for an interview to "address the allegations of incompetence of the Local Protectorate."

I 100% did not need to send him that, but nothing says I can't, even if that'd be Dr. Renoch's call in my case, and the PR people don't want me doing interviews in the first place.

…

That said, I don't think I was blunt enough, since he just rejected it for the above reasons and then forwarded another "request."
So I pinned a message for an hour in the BB Protectorate section of the IRC:

"Armsmaster, that wasn't a request. That was me warning your whole Protectorate team."

"You're mad because I handed a villain off to New Brunswick instead of trusting your leaky lock-up. Yeah, it stings. Makes it look like I don't trust you. Maybe because no one should. And now what? You're gonna play tough guy and try to yank me out of the PRT just to teach me 'respect'? That's pathetic."

"Sure, you can crush me if you all lean on me hard enough. But I've got one thing none of you do, superhuman skill with paperwork. So go ahead, shove. I'll bury you in forms and red tape so deep you'll choke on your own system. If I go down, I'm taking your whole Team down into the mud with me."

…

Emily ended up reprimanding me and giving me a lecture on not threatening teammates. Then she made me remove the message even though it'd only been up for an hour.

But I could tell she thought it was hilarious, and at least somewhat deserved, given she waited till after the lecture to make me take it down.

…

I'm starting to realize this with Emily.
That you can tell more about what she thinks from how she says things than from the specifics of her words.

Either in the order, like with the lecture first, then removal after, or with intentionally not including obvious things, like with my teleportation practice, while I was still getting the hang of that.

 

[Oblation]

Unicorn - Warhammer Fantasy: Bretonnia
Base Cost: -50cp
Lore:
Horned steeds of myth with gleaming might,
In forests deep, they blaze with light.
Pure as dawn, with fury untamed,
Warhammer legends, proud and famed.
Details:
The ability to make any animal you ride into its mythical equivalent. Limit, one at a time.
+200% to CHA stat or intimidate skill , also a (+25%) buff to Endurance, Speed, & All Resistances.
(Classic example is Horse to Unicorn, Pig to Erymanthian Boar or Dog to Cŵn Annwn/Okuri-Inu)
Addons: -100cp increase the limit to 10 at once. Moar Unicorns!
Final Cost: -150cp
Bank: 1350cp

Padfoot!

Their 10 padfoots now!
Or, well, supposedly it's based on the Black Shuck myth according to Dragon, but the point is that 10 of the wolves at a time get bigger, fluffier, and have a weird shadow-stalker-like power.

It's really specific, like their Awoo's, but in testing, they charged a trooper straight through a wall after he hit me on the neck with an airsoft bullet.

I guess it's like how the Awoo's are only magically boosting if I'm protecting an ally, they can only ignore walls if they're pursuing an enemy. (The awwos are magical either way, but I've only been boosted by them once so far.)

Mostly, though, I'm just focused on how fluffy this makes them.
Hint: Very!

Oh, and I guess I could use it on a horse at some point, but I don't see why.

Though using it on Buddy did have interesting results since his ears turned red.
I guess he became a "Cŵn Annwn" and was able to take commands better, but mostly just from me. Addison and Shaun didn't have any better luck at giving him commands than usual, so outside of a fight where at least 3 of us are there, and we have time for me to relay orders through my tablet, I can't see the use.

Still, he got WAY faster like that, and if the mythology follows, he might have become an even better hunter, so I guess they might have me tag along next time they use Buddy for PRT investigation-type work.

…

Oh, and there was a bit of a debate in the Wards IRC about yesterday.

I admit, I could have been gentler about things, but I wasn't expecting my own allies to try backstabbing me like that.

Just another lesson, I guess.
I need to keep on my toes with the Protectorate from now on, or I'll blink and be back in a box, like at home with the ball and chain.

…

[19:41] Parallax >> so are we just not gonna talk about saga nuking the Protectorate with paperwork threats?

[19:43] Ferrum [Hand] >> she didn't nuke them. she just… showed she *could*. big difference.

[19:43] Lumina >> honestly? kind of iconic. "put me on your roster and I'll make your life a binder convention."

[19:44] AegisPatch >> iconic until you remember she's basically telling the people who back us to shove it. not exactly team spirit.

[19:45] PulseCheck [Mod] >> or maybe she's reminding them not to mess with something that's already working. that's how I heard it.

[19:47] Parallax >> Addison that's the most "both sides" thing I've ever read.

[19:48] PulseCheck [Mod] >> some of us live complicated lives, okay?

[19:53] Lumina >> the thing is, Piggot's not even mad. no PR statement, no punishment. it's just… awkward silence.

[19:55] Ferrum [Hand] >> that silence says she's backing Saga. otherwise there'd be fire and brimstone already.

[19:56] Parallax >> exactly. so why can't she just join properly? be part of the Protectorate, like the rest of us. if she did, we'd live together again. like we should.

[19:57] Ferrum [Hand] >> because she actually likes where she's at. sometimes standing your ground means saying no, even if family doesn't like it.

[19:58] AegisPatch >> Weld's right. she has the right to stay independent. but maybe don't aim a rocket launcher at your own bosses while doing it.

[19:59] Lumina >> lol "rocket launcher." more like "endless DMV line."

[20:41] Firebird [Queen] >> exactly. the adults weren't mad I beat Menja, they were mad they looked weak. so I told them if they try to shove me into their box, I'll make that box a coffin of forms.

[20:46] Parallax >> and what about *me*? I'm the one left out. you could be home with me again. with people who care.

[20:51] Firebird [Queen] >> you'll always have me, Missy. but I'm not you. I won't fold myself small just to fit their neat little chart.

[20:52] Ferrum [Hand] >> she's got a point about pettiness. but Saga… you could've said it softer.

[20:54] Firebird [Queen] >> maybe. I'll admit that. but better sharp edges than being whittled down.

 

[Oblation]

My leather boots are starting to get sold.
$80, and it took a while since the fitting to the first wearer thing they do meant they needed to go through pretty extensive testing before they could get sold to the general public.

But Emmy and Glenn Chambers have been pushing pretty hard for this, especially after that one scientist with the German name and Brazilian accent offered the loophole with turning rabbits into leather with my crafting.

So I made them, and then some poor grunt got to press a hot brand with the PRT and "My" logo on each one before boxing them up.

The main thing for me (or really for the clone) is needing to coordinate colors, since we've figured out that they can all get dyed in such a way that the leather wears out before it loses the color, but we can't actually test every color since there are 16,777,216 of them.

But I still needed to send off 256 boots of all the basic combos for testing, then make another hundred of each basic combo to sell.

I guess they're saving the more complex combinations for if they run out.

I was also able to figure out that I don't need to go all the way to 2x or 3x resources if I don't want to.
So I made boots with a 1.25x durability enchantment using 5 leather, which was gotten from 20 rabbit skins and an average of 3 dyes.

Either way, the result is that the boots suddenly appeared on shelves across America today.

I can kind of see why it's a big deal, but only kinda.
I mean, the version of this I made for the Local PRT is 6x durability and 6x maneuverability and supposedly feels like wearing a cloud that kicks like it's made of titanium.

So the PR version that are basically just $200 boots sold for $80 just seems kind of underwhelming for what Tinkertech is supposed to be.

But like I said, Emmy was really pumped about it, and she's been open and honest with me so far, so I figure I'll go with it (and will have the clone keep pumping out the boots when they ask.)

…

We kept trying to make other clothing and it wasn't working but just today I ended up rolling something that.. Kinda fixes that issue.

Garmenter - Dr. Stone
Base Cost: -50cp
Lore:
Flax trembles in calloused hands, spun and twined, threads hum and unwind,
Looms creak and whirl, fibers curl, warp meets weft in shadowed swirl,
Hides stretched, smoked, and softened by fire's flick, edges kissed and nicked,
Needles flash, fabrics clash, seams whisper, hems fold, edges lash,
Dyes bleed, waters weave, pigments shimmer, soak, and heave,
Garments rise, worn hands sigh, rough cloth yielding to form, to life, to sky.
Details:
You can now shape the raw materials at hand into approximations of modern fashions, crafted with surprising speed and precision, given your tools. The finished pieces convincingly echo the designs you aim to replicate, yet they always retain a rugged, improvised quality, sturdy and functional, but unmistakably handmade. Using finer materials can make your creations exceptionally durable, perhaps even outlasting the originals, though their rough-hewn, adventurous aesthetic will remain immediately apparent.
Addons: -50cp integration with other perks (continues with new ones).
Final Cost: 100cp
Bank: 1300cp

I mean, it's still what Glenn called "Barbarian-Sheik" rather than the simple but decent quality of the leather boots.
But it works, and once I've made one, I can start pumping it out of the crafting table perk using the materials.
So I'm now sending a couple of hundred Frontier hats and crude leather jackets off for testing.

I'm not sure anyone would be willing to spend the nearly $200 we'd need to sell these for, but Glenn told me not to worry about it, that this was the kind of problem the National PR office prefers to have.

Plus, the extra 50cp for integrating it means I can do the same thing with dyes, so I figure worst case, the southern PR offices just start getting a cheaper version of the clothing for local heroes.
It can't be too much trouble to order a bunch in a local hero's color and have someone Brand each one with that hero's logo.
I figure it's what they were already doing, but doing it through me will probably mean the process happens quicker and with a more consistent quality from the dyework, even if the quality of the individual hats and jackets is lower.

Emmy says it'll make things much easier for PR, both mine, since they're making up some kind of "Made By Phoenix" to put on anything I make.
Along with the national program, because of how I can make a ton of these really quickly if I'm given the materials and proper instructions on what order to add the dyes.

That's why there are nearly 17 million combos.
Because dies need to be added in the exact same order each time to get the same result.

…

So I guess I'm really banking on having the PR department like me, even if the Protectorate doesn't, the Wards are Mixed, and the PRT views me as just useful enough to put up with the headaches.

Spoiler: A/N

"that one scientist with the German name and Brazilian accent" Saga mentions is inspired by PrussianGranadier, who I'm adding in as this fic's first expie, for how much help they've been with research on clothing making using the crafting table perk. Thanks again, PrussianGranadier!

 

[Oblation]

Fourth date.
Four.
That was a big enough number that it felt like it should mean something, but small enough that I had no idea what it meant.

I was walking a thin line between holding Missy's hand like it was casual and clinging like I'd never let go.

The movie hadn't given me any ideas for how to act.
It was fine.
Safe.
We'd laughed, we'd eaten too much popcorn, and then we'd stepped outside into the cool air where the evening felt too wide open.

And then... thank god, Glory Girl had shown up with her ridiculous scarf disguise.

Missy leaned against my shoulder as we walked, whispering:
"I can't believe she thinks that works."

"She's counting on us not looking too close."
I replied

"Gallant's makeup skills are scary good. I bet he did hers, too."

"That would explain why she doesn't look like an alien in that trench coat.

We both snickered, and the weight on my chest loosened.
It felt good, easy.
The kind of thing where we were in sync without having to try.

But then the pier stretched out ahead of us, water shining with sunset light, and I realized I was back to square one.
No idea what to do with a date except sit on a rail and pretend this was a movie.

Missy didn't complain.
She hopped up beside me, legs kicking, eyes on the water.
"You know they're going to follow us till we go home."

"Let them."
I shrugged.
"We'll give them a show."

The words made her laugh again, soft but bright.
Then the quiet settled.
The waves, the gulls, the smell of fried food drifting from somewhere behind us.

And suddenly it wasn't about a movie anymore.
"It's weird, right?"
I said, before I could think better of it.
"We're the only ones not playing junior Protectorate.
Just dropped into the squads like… extra gear. Because of Saga."

Missy glanced at me, sharp, like I'd touched a bruise.
"She doesn't listen, yeah. But she's not wrong."

"I know."
I picked at the peeling paint on the rail.
"It's not that she's wrong. It's that she doesn't care if she sounds disrespectful about it. Adults give an order, and she just—"

I made a vague gesture.
"Throws it back if it doesn't add up."

Missy's jaw set.
"That's not a bad thing."

"I didn't say it was."
My chest felt tight. "It's just…"
"I've known her a long time. She didn't used to be like that."

Missy blinked, surprised.
"She used to be quiet. Shy. You know that."

"Exactly."
I met her eyes.
"She was different before she triggered."

The words landed harder than I thought they would.
Missy flinched like I'd hit her.

Crap.
"I didn't mean—"

Her voice cracked before I could backpedal.
"Don't. Just… don't. You're right."

Her hands clenched in her lap, knuckles white.
"I keep trying to get her to be that girl again. The one who listened, who followed along. And that's—god—"

She pressed a hand to her eyes.
"That's what Mom and Dad did to me. Pushed me and pushed me until something broke."

The sound of her breath shaking broke something in me, too.

I wanted to fix it.
To say the right thing.
But I didn't know the right thing.

All I had was:
"That's not the same. You care about her. That matters."

Missy let out a wet laugh, bitter.
"Caring doesn't change the fact I've been a hypocrite. Telling myself I'm better than them while trying to force her into something she's not."

I swallowed hard.
"Maybe. But I think there's more going on than either of us know. If you want answers… maybe the only way is a heart-to-heart. Her terms, not yours."

Her shoulders slumped.
"I keep trying. She shuts me out every time."

"Then it's not all on you. You can't fix her alone."

Missy's head whipped around, eyes fierce even through the tears.
"I'm her older sister. It's my job."

I almost argued... almost.
But then I thought of Saga, disappearing from people, ducking out of rooms when conversations got too close.
Running away instead of facing things.

"You're not wrong,"
I said quietly.
"But running doesn't work either. If it's going to happen, it has to be her choosing. Not because anyone pushed her into it."

Missy stared at me for a long moment.

Then, suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed me.

It was quick, clumsy, a brush of lips that shocked me so badly I forgot how to breathe.

We froze.
The sunset burned on the water.

Her eyes darted to mine, wide and scared and stubborn all at once.
Then space folded around her, and she was gone, leaving the air warped and humming.

I sat there, pulse hammering in my ears, lips tingling, trying to understand what had just happened.

Saga's problems weren't solved.
Missy's weren't either.
Mine… sure as hell weren't.

But for once, even being overwhelmed felt kind of okay.

Spoiler: A/N

The reason there are two different versions of Addison and Missy is because the AI tools are really inconsistent about what they allow. After a certain number of tries it just kept telling me I was breaking content rules no matter what I changed. Even having them just sit near each other apparently counted.
So I ended up keeping the two that were the closest. The first one had their looks more accurate and showed Missy in her birthday jacket, but it also shoved Dean and Vicky too close and cut the Dauntless merch. The second one gave some odd faces, but it brought back the Dauntless shirt and put Dean and Vicky in a way that felt closer to how I picture them, where they still hang around but at least pretend not to be just nosy teammates.

 

[Oblation]

… Ah, so Coil's dead… and Brandish.

I…
Well, this all feels really sudden, but hearing it from Dean, it's actually been brewing for months.

…

So, I guess New Wave got enough intel to do a lightning raid on the underground bunker Coil just… had??
They also somehow knew he and Hijack would be there.

The talk is that this was probably Tattletale's doing, since there was a secure room that locked from the outside. They think it was hers, but she's nowhere to be seen.

I guess it's easy to forget the sheer amount of experience and force New Wave represents when they want to.
They even called LightStar back just for this.

Somehow, it ended up with Coil fighting Brandish, with neither of them sure whose reinforcements would come around the corner next. They were both fighting desperately.
And, it turns out Coil was a combat Thinker… My memories disagree with that, but my memories are unreliable, so I'm ignoring them.

I guess Coil managed to beat the cape whose whole thing is CQC in CQC… for about half a second. Then she cut him in half.

So… all that, plus the huge bunker full of mercs, would have been crazy enough. But it turns out Triumph's cousin, Dyna Loughton, had been kidnapped nearly a month back and nobody bothered to tell me.

What's worse is that she's a super scary cape, and Hijack had apparently developed perfect control over her.
Her power, I guess, is seeing a bunch of immediate futures and "borrowing" details from them.

The whole reason the raid went how it did was because Hijack wasn't paying attention to her. (He was sitting right next to her but focused on his video game.) So she borrowed Brandish all the way to where Coil was, before he could escape.
But then Hijack took control, along with two mercs picked specifically to make him ultra dangerous in combat.

That combo, plus the way everyone he fights tends to trip at just the wrong time, makes him extremely dangerous… until Dyna used a loophole against him.

Apparently, her Thinker headaches hit him if he's controlling her when they develop, and they stick to him even if he stops.
So she used her power just enough for Brandish to make sure she had no headache, but would after one or two more uses.

I guess the fight looked REALLY BAD for like five minutes. Then Hijack and Dyna started grimacing, and he let go of her…

Then she did something honestly kind of evil.
She used her power one last time to make it so the shield Eric used, instead of knocking Hijack back, snapped his neck.

They knew it was her because right after, she screamed and passed out.
But in the meantime, Eric has now killed a guy, and Brandish is dead—all just so Dyna could get her revenge.

And it's not even done. I guess she still intends to go after Tattletale, wherever she is.

…

So… Dyna is a Ward, but basically all of us Wards put up some kind of "Please send her to another city" request.

So, I guess Triumph is going with her, and they're gonna end up transferring someone else over here.

I requested a Case 53.

…

Oh, and I guess Coil had a contingency plan, because there's a list that keeps getting put up by different accounts in different places with all the villain identities Coil apparently knew.
Supposedly, it includes most of the Empire and a bunch of their contacts across the country and in Europe.

But like I said, that one's dubious and keeps getting taken down fast.

The other one is more interesting, because it was made in such a way that it's not technically illegal.
I guess Coil wrote up his "Fuck You, New Wave" last-will-and-testament as a "fanfic," with a whole bunch of "hypothetical" blackmail he had on New Wave—including evidence and speculation.

It's like 60 chapters of dirt on New Wave, but all framed as speculation and structured so it can't legally be taken down.
Plus, he posted it on a few of those sites that won't remove anything without a court order, and even then only after warning people so they can copy and re-upload it first.

…

The whole thing is a mess, but I guess it's functionally killed New Wave.
Supposedly, none of them want to talk to Manpower now, and Amy took Brandish's car and left the state, going who knows where.

I guess Flashbang and Manpower left to find her, while Vicky just refuses to talk about any of it.

Oh, but that's the other thing: Vicky's now a Ward… or she will be as soon as the paperwork is done.
Same with Shielder too… the PRT-Wards.

Yeah, there's more drama there.

Armsmaster was going to make Eric give up certain things or become a "probationary" Ward, since he technically killed a guy.
(Even though another cape made him do it, and the dead one was a known human Master who'd been semi-controlling him in the fight.)

But Dr. Renoch jumped in and offered him full status with a better-than-average contract… as a PRT-Ward.

Too bad, Addison. Your month of leadership is now done, and all hail glorious leader Eric!
It works out, since Eric did the correct thing and started acting like a proper dictator when I sent that in the IRC.

Also, I guess Photon Mom was going to join the Protectorate once her son's paperwork was signed, but Armsmaster's BS made her pull back.

Eric says she'll probably still join, but she's looking into joining another city instead, since she really doesn't want to take orders from the guy who tried to get "murderer" written on her son's record just so he could funnel toy-sale profits into the tinker budget.

I mentioned how Portland, Maine, has a kind of underpowered Protectorate department, given how huge their jurisdiction is, and offered to teleport him there to see her sometimes if he wanted.
He seemed interested, and I know this would make Emily's life a bit easier, so I started a sub-channel in the IRC with Emily and Photon Mom and explained it.

I wasn't exactly following everything, and it's not like the paperwork was signed yet, but it seems like Newport just gained, at the least, a part-timer who can fly and shoot lasers. So that's got to be nice.

 

[Oblation]

Stepstones Fief - House of the Dragon
Base Cost: 350cp
Lore:
Two kingdoms bicker, yet both will defend,
My tax-free rocks till the bitterest end.
A harbor, some caves, and a loophole or two,
Who knew conquest would net me beachfront view?
Details:
You were important during the conquest of the Stepstones... but not too important.
So here are two rocky islands, all to yourself.
Whichever government you are the closest to considers them part of its territory and will defend them with as much vigor or its lack as they would any of their other, less important island holdings.
Still, they consider it owned by you, and thanks to some interesting tax loopholes, they won't expect any taxes from here so long as the population (they know about) stays under 1000.
Not that this will be difficult, as the largest population these particular rocks have ever had, historically, is 80, and that was more than a century ago.
Still, they form a tiny but well-sheltered natural harbor, and past residents have carved a series of homes out of the caves near the harbor. So if you can find around 200 people willing to bring their own boats, this could become a small fishing village quite easily.
Addons: 100cp These will be mirrored in the warehouse, so you can make changes to an empty version of the islands and apply it to the real islands at will.
Final Cost: 450cp
Bank: 1550cp

[09:00] *Firebird [Queen] and CrownOfSpite [Ward] join channel*

They fly north along the coast, thirty minutes of silence. Vicky keeps gesturing as though she's narrating a show to herself. Saga just flies, quiet and steady. The IRC stays blank until they land.

[09:31] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> So this is the grand prize? The fabled phoenix islands? I was expecting glowing runes or at least some dramatic music.

[09:32] Firebird [Queen] >> They are mine.

[09:33] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Yours, yeah, but you can't just claim them like a dragon. You're literally on the tax rolls. Eleven-year-old queen with a mortgage.

[09:34] Firebird [Queen] >> Queen Saga sounds better than taxpayer Saga.

[09:35] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Queen Saga, Monarch of Rocks and Seagulls. Long may she reign.

They step into the first carved chamber, stone bare, every footstep echoing.

[09:40] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Well this is anticlimactic. It's just… a room. A very echoey room.

[09:41] Firebird [Queen] >> They are all empty.

[09:42] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> It's like a video game dungeon that hasn't spawned loot yet. You could jam three hundred people in here if you wanted to test hygiene limits.

[09:43] Firebird [Queen] >> Spartan living. It would work.

[09:44] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> That's one way to say "unsanitary."

They leave the chamber, gulls wheeling overhead.

[09:50] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> So Missy and Addison. I heard the rest of the team whispering about it like it was some reality TV subplot.

[09:51] Firebird [Queen] >> She asked him. He kept winding himself up. She got tired of it.

[09:52] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> That's perfect. Addison talks like he's trying to psych himself up for the Olympics every day. She probably had to shut him down before he exploded.

[09:53] Firebird [Queen] >> He is better for her than Dean was.

[09:54] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> …Missy liked Dean?

[09:55] Firebird [Queen] >> Yes. It was a crush. She never said it out loud.

[09:56] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> And Dean just… never mentioned it?

[09:56] Firebird [Queen] >> Dean does not share things like that.

[09:57] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> He does give off the whole "baby politician" vibe. Always smiling, always polished.

[09:58] Firebird [Queen] >> That is how he feels to me.

[09:59] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> But he's more than that. He notices people. He doesn't just put on a show. He actually feels things.

[10:00] Firebird [Queen] >> Maybe. But the politician part is still there.

They pause in the second chamber, water dripping steadily from the ceiling.

[10:05] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> I always thought Missy just plain didn't like me. The glares, the silence. I figured she was the "serious little girl" and I was the walking disaster.

[10:06] Firebird [Queen] >> She did not like you. Then she did. Now she is fine with you.

[10:07] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Brutal. But… okay. I'll take "fine with me" as progress.

[10:08] Firebird [Queen] >> It is progress.

They move on, sunlight streaming into the hall from a crack above.

[10:12] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Eric would love this place. He'd already be drawing blueprints for bunkhouses and comms towers.

[10:13] Firebird [Queen] >> He already started. He wants this as a base.

[10:14] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> That's so him. The boy dreams in shield formations now.

[10:15] Firebird [Queen] >> I think he does.

They climb down toward the waterline, waves slapping against stone.

[10:20] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Ah, behold: the puddle chamber. Truly the jewel of the crown.

[10:21] Firebird [Queen] >> Tickets will cost ten dollars.

[10:22] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Ten bucks a toe. People will line up.

[10:23] Firebird [Queen] >> The queen gets her share.

[10:24] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Naturally. Puddle royalty demands tribute.

They linger by the shallow pool, spray drifting through the doorway.

[10:30] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> You know… Amy would hate this place. Too quiet. Too far from everything.

[10:31] Firebird [Queen] >> You pulled back from saying more.

[10:32] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Yeah. Because the only things I can say now are… different. She's not the sister I thought she was.

[10:33] Firebird [Queen] >> It still hurts.

[10:34] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> It does.

The channel falls silent. Gulls shriek in the background.

[10:40] Firebird [Queen] >> Your mother's death was not quiet. It was epic. She went out fighting.

[10:41] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> …Yeah. Not cancer at eighty. Not forgotten in a bed. She went down swinging.

[10:42] Firebird [Queen] >> That is better than most people get.

[10:43] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Weirdly enough, that helps. Thanks.

They stand together at the cliff edge, the horizon stretched endless in front of them.

[10:50] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> You know what's strange? I actually like this. Empty caves, dumb jokes, just… being here.

[10:51] Firebird [Queen] >> It is better. No crowds. No one watching.

[10:52] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Yeah. No pity stares. No interrogations. No one poking at me like I'm some science experiment.

[10:53] Firebird [Queen] >> Just us. Just snark.

[10:54] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Exactly. You're good at it.

[10:55] Firebird [Queen] >> Thank you.

They walk slowly along the ridge, gulls scattering as they pass.

[11:00] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> So official verdict: no monsters, no traps, no probability-girl ambushes.

[11:01] Firebird [Queen] >> It is safe enough.

[11:02] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> Safe enough might be the highest compliment I can give right now.

They start heading back outside.

[11:03] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> We should head back. Detention is calling.

[11:04] Firebird [Queen] >> Algebra is worse.

[11:05] CrownOfSpite [Ward] >> True. Nobody comes out of Algebra the same.

[11:06] Firebird [Queen] >> Status change.

[11:07] system >> CrownOfSpite status changed from [Ward] to [Mod]

[11:07] CrownOfSpite [Mod] >> …Wow. You're serious?

[11:08] Firebird [Queen] >> Yes. Addison is a Mod. Weld is a Mod. Now you are too.

[11:09] CrownOfSpite [Mod] >> Guess I'm in good company then. Thanks.

[11:10] Firebird [Queen] >> Guard the channel. Guard each other.

They leap into the air together, Saga's wings beating as the islands shrink behind them.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

A historical accounting of the first film of the Star Wars universe, from the version of Earth-Bet present in the Celestial Saga series.
This story is written from the perspective of a person on Earth-Bet's sister world, Earth-Aleph, where the timeline is much closer to that of the IRL Earth we know, and where their Star Wars series was nearly identical. It documents "Star Wars: Episode VII - Rebirth of Hope" and the pressures and contexts that made it into such a different yet familiar experience to "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope."

Production and Context

When Star Wars premiered in May 1977, it opened not with clarity but with confusion. The crawl did not label it a standalone feature, but Episode VII. Audiences blinked, had they missed six previous films? Was Lucas presenting a sequel without a prequel, or was the numbering a declaration that the story was already ancient, pulled from the middle of some galactic chronicle? For weeks, newspapers, fan clubs, and radio hosts argued the point. Later, as the series snowballed into a cultural event, the film would earn the retrospective subtitle Rebirth of Hope. But in that first summer, it was simply Star Wars, strange in name and stranger still in execution.

The strangeness began behind the camera. Lucas secured an unprecedented $11 million budget, a staggering sum in Earth-Bet's era of decentralized, regional filmmaking. But the windfall came tied to a noose: the twenty-three-month rule. By cultural custom, any film not finished within that time had to be released in whatever state it existed. No extensions, no excuses. Lucas didn't win investors because they believed in his space opera, he won them by promising to prove the model itself. His film would be the showcase that proved a "real" blockbuster could be produced nomadically, outside Hollywood's studio system, and still reach theaters in under two years. Failure meant not just his ruin, but a blow to the entire accelerated production movement.

Lucas's independence was both blessing and curse. Free of a major studio, he had no board of executives trimming his stranger instincts. But without their safety nets, no soundstage empire, no reshoot budget, no global distribution pipeline, he had to operate like the rebels in his script: scavenging, adapting, improvising. His crew became nomads. The sands of Tatooine were filmed in a gutted Arizona quarry, dotted with rust-rotted car husks redressed as wreckage. Rebel command was shot in the cavernous concrete of decommissioned grain elevators outside Winnipeg, their silos refitted into bunkers. Dogfight cockpits rattled on scaffolds inside a Detroit warehouse. Wherever they set up, it was temporary. The crew built, shot, packed, and moved on.

The most radical gamble was his use of parahumans. Earlier films that attempted to feature them had ended in disaster. Parahuman stars walked off set, demanded entire rewrites to spotlight their abilities, or simply vanished mid-shoot. Lucas turned that chaos into a feature. Instead of treating them as actors, he treated them as effects. He invented what became known as "power days": short, concentrated shoots where a parahuman would lend their abilities to one or two set-piece shots, then vanish before their volatility could sink the schedule.

It worked. A telekinetic was brought in for three days, making the Vader–Kenobi duel feel uncannily real, sabers tugged and twisted by unseen force. A pyrokinetic was hired for two frantic sessions to unleash genuine fireballs during the Death Star battle, lighting miniatures with terrifying authenticity. Neither stayed long, but their impact lingers in every frame. In 1977, it was a revelation. Powers weren't gimmicks on parade. They became effects, folded seamlessly into cinema.

Even the characters reflected Lucas's instinct to reframe pulp archetypes. Chewbacca, subtitled for this version, was not a mascot but a weary straight man, sighing at Han's bravado and Luke's earnestness. Adults laughed at his dry timing, children adored his presence, and toy marketers scrambled to keep up. Leia absorbed C-3PO's narrative role, transforming from figurehead into warrior-scholar. Carrie Fisher carried exposition on her shoulders, quoting galactic law, invoking ancient precedent, making the rebellion feel like an institution with legitimacy rather than a gang of rogues. Han swaggered with charm and recklessness, the rogue with a buried conscience. And Luke, curiously, was introduced not as the wide-eyed farmboy but as something subtler, understated, even underwhelming, until chaos revealed his gravitas.

Lucas himself misread his most enduring creation. Lightsabers were filmed cautiously, relegated to two moments: a heart-to-heart aboard the Falcon and Obi-Wan's final duel. The props were crude, painted rods filmed in shadow and sparked for effect. Lucas thought they would be forgotten, a pulp cliché dressed in chrome. Instead, the toys outsold everything else, even the Millennium Falcon playset. Within months, playgrounds across America rang with the hum of imaginary sabers. The audience had chosen differently than the director.

By the time Star Wars reached theaters, the film had been edited just under the wire: twenty-three and a half months. Few expected more than a pulpy diversion. Yet by fusing nomadic ingenuity, parahuman spectacle, and archetypal myth, Lucas had created something no one anticipated: a foundation stone of modern Bet media.

Act I – Shadows of Authority

The Crawl and Its World

The opening crawl itself set the stage for ambiguity. It declared the galaxy gripped by civil war. The Emperor was mentioned not as a tyrant but as a once-noble figure, now aged and infirm, whose intentions had been corrupted by the greed of his Moffs. The Rebellion's first victory, the slaying of Grand Moff Thrawn, was recounted, establishing that the rebels were not idealists alone but victors in real war. And the Death Star, the Moffs' new weapon, was unveiled not as the Emperor's will but as a perversion of his order.

For 1977 audiences, this was a striking departure from pulp norms. The Empire wasn't yet a faceless evil. It was an institution, still carrying the shadow of legitimacy, twisted by corruption. Leia fought not against government itself but for its restoration. Vader strode not as a thug but as the monk of death, ideologue of inevitability. That ambiguity gave the story its mythic heft. The war wasn't yet simple. It was a battle for meaning.

A Princess in Peril

The screen fades from crawl to starfield, the, suddenly, a tiny corvette streaking through space, blasted from behind by a looming Star Destroyer. Audiences, expecting sleek futurism, instead saw a battered craft rattling under fire, its sets cobbled from mismatched panels scrounged from scrapyards. The practical effect of laser fire ripping the hull was crude by later standards, but in 1977 it was electrifying.

Inside, Princess Leia makes her entrance, not a trembling aristocrat, but a teenager radiating composure. Her first act is not to cower, but to record a precise message into R2-D2, her language sharp with legal authority and tactical clarity:

General Kenobi. The Moffs twist the Emperor's will into chains. They build a weapon to enslave worlds. You served my father. Now I beg you do so once more. Not as rebel but a restoration.

The line, carefully written, framed the Rebellion not as insurgents, but as loyalists defending the Emperor's original promise.

Stormtroopers breach. Blaster fire turns the corridors into carnage. And then, silence, broken only by the rhythmic hiss of mechanical breath. Darth Vader enters.

Unlike the local films, this Vader is not rage embodied. He is calm, deliberate, and terrifyingly methodical. The lighting does the work of special effects, shadows stretching his silhouette like a living grave marker. His first kill is almost casual: a trooper raises his blaster, and Vader answers with a single backhand slash of his crimson blade, no wasted motion.

Leia, when dragged before him, does not waver. Fisher's performance, already seasoned at by twenty, was pointedly intellectual. She stares him down as if cross-examining him in a senate chamber.

Vader: "The Moffs are order. Order is survival."

Leia: "The Moffs are rot. And rot is death, Lord Vader."

Here the philosophical split is etched in stark terms. Vader is the embodiment of martial ideology, a monk of death who sees the galaxy's fate in absolutes. Leia, by contrast, wields intellect and history as her weapons, citing the law and refusing to bow even as a prisoner.

Lucas later said this contrast was deliberate. The opening was designed almost as a prequel stitched to the front of the film, an ideological duel between Death and Defiance, meant to set the stakes before the "true" protagonist appeared.

With Leia taken, the scene cuts away, leaving Vader's heavy breath echoing as the screen fades to dawn on Tatooine, where Luke Skywalker begins his training.

Act II – The Apprentice of the Mesa

After a quarter of an hour of Leia's defiance and Vader's inevitability, the film makes its boldest move. It shifts gears into quiet. Twin suns rise over Tatooine, bathing mesas in red-gold light. And there sits Luke, not a farmboy dreaming of more, but a youth in meditation. He moves through flowing forms, a wooden training stick cutting arcs as deliberate as breath. John Williams underscored it with a theme that would later become legendary: the Force Theme, here played slowly, wistfully, almost fragile.

Audiences in 1977 had never seen a hero introduced this way. The serial template promised bravado. Instead, Lucas gave them serenity. Luke opened his eyes, breathed, and stepped off the mesa. He drifted down, landing gently in the sand below. No flash, no thunderclap. Just discipline, patience, control.

The contrast was deliberate. Where Anakin Skywalker had been hurled into danger, rushed into knighthood, Luke had been held back. Ben Kenobi raised him in seclusion, not to fight but to learn balance. At seventeen, Luke was no soldier, but his grasp of the Force's basics surpassed what most Jedi achieved only after years in battle. That was Ben's great regret and his gift: to raise the boy in calm where his father had been raised in fire.

The serenity broke with comedy. R2 screamed across the frame, a chorus of Jawas chittering in pursuit. They accused him of stealing.

Jawa (subtitled): "This bucket of bolts stole from us, and caused a mess besides!"
Luke: "What did he steal?"
Jawa: "Himself."

Luke studied them, then waved his hand.
Luke: "This is not the droid you're looking for. Your quarry lies elsewhere. Go in peace."

The Jawas blinked, muttered, and turned away. The audience sat stunned. The Force wasn't a weapon. It was persuasion, inevitability, calm bending chaos.

Luke guided R2 to Ben's hidden home, built into the cliffside. The dwelling was striking in 1977: modern fixtures humming faintly, but Spartan in design. Inside, R2 chirped

R2-D2 (subtitled): "General Kenobi!"

The room froze. Luke's head snapped to Ben. Suddenly the puzzle snapped together. Ben, the distant cousin who spoke of Shmi. Ben, the quiet guardian. Ben was the General Kenobi of myth.

Luke's voice shook.

Luke: "You told me you knew my grandmother. That my father flew beside General Kenobi. That both died in the war. You never said… you were him."

Ben sighed. Alec Guinness's performance walked the line between honesty and omission.

Ben: "I never lied to you, Luke. I told you I knew your grandmother. That I fought in the wars. That your father was my brother in arms. All true. What I did not tell you was that I was General Kenobi. That the stories you grew up on were mine."

Luke reeled. The legends he revered weren't distant, they'd been living in his home.

Luke: "You made me believe you were only a remnant. But you're the story itself. Why keep that from me?"

Ben (sadly): "Because stories burn hotter than truth. You weren't ready to carry the whole fire."

The exchange framed Ben as both mentor and keeper of half-truths. When Luke mentioned that Leia's hologram seemed familiar, Guinness let his face betray a flicker, a grimace, a glance away. Sharp-eyed viewers caught it, but no explanation came. Secrets still lay buried.

As the scene closed, Ben gave Luke what might be the saga's most poignant gift.

Ben: "You are capable of becoming a knight, as your father and I once were. But I gave you what he was denied: the foundation to choose. His path was forced. Yours is yours."

The camera lingered on Luke's stunned face. The boy who began the story in calm now learned that every myth he cherished was his own bloodline.

Act III – "Gathering of Misfits"

The Cantina Circuit

After the quiet revelations of the mesa arc, the film pivots into grit. The trio, Luke, Ben, and R2, enter Mos Eisley. In contrast to the austere desert shots before, this sequence is dense with noise and bodies. The sets were stitched together from recycled warehouse scraps, but the editing gives them a pulse: alien musicians hammering away, shouting patrons, smoke curling in the air.

Lucas stages the sequence as a string of rejections. Luke and Ben approach one potential pilot after another, only to be waved off. Their money is too light, their mission too dangerous. The camera lingers on the subtle frustration in Luke's face, he's eager to prove himself, but is still bound to Ben's quiet patience.

The turning point comes as a bar fight erupts: two drunks overturn a table, fists fly, a blaster discharges into the ceiling. In the chaos, Luke, Ben, and R2 slip out, nearly colliding with two figures doing the same, Han Solo, laughing at his own escape, and Chewbacca, dragging him by the collar like a weary parent pulling a child out of traffic.

Chewbacca (subtitled, dry): "You're going to get us killed before we take a job worth dying for."

The juxtaposition is sharp: Luke's contemplative gravitas against Han's rakish grin, Ben's quiet sadness against Chewbacca's sardonic grumbling. In one shot, the quartet's dynamic crystallizes.

The Falcon as Home

The act then shifted from desert to starship. The Millennium Falcon's reveal was a revelation. This was no sterile command deck, no polished rocketship. Its corridors bent awkwardly around exposed wiring. Panels blinked with mismatched lights. The common room was cluttered with cushions, tools, and the hum of a dejarik table.

Critics compared it to a "college apartment with engines." It felt lived-in. Han sprawled across benches, Chewbacca muttered while making repairs, R2 and Luke hovered near Ben, and Leia's hologram flickered faintly in the corner. It was less a ship than a home, and would become the home of the saga.

Then came hyperspace.

Hyperspace Spectacle

When the Falcon jumped, audiences gasped. The screen bent into streaks, stars smearing into luminous tunnels, then exploding into a kaleidoscope swirl. It wasn't just motion, it was transcendence. In 1977, the effect was unlike anything in cinema.

Children clutched their seats. Adults muttered in awe. Critics compared it to "falling through stained glass." Many left theaters saying that was the moment they "believed in space travel."

Inside the storm of light, Han leaned back with his smirk.

Han: "Say the codes even get us in. Tarkin's fortress is crawling with troopers. How do you plan on walking out with a princess? Smile, wave, and hope no one looks close?"

Guinness delivered his dry rejoinder with weary wit.

Ben: "I do have some experience with combat."

Then his tone softened. He unwrapped a cloth bundle, revealing a hilt of dull chrome. He laid it before Luke.

Ben: "This was your father's before he was knighted. If you choose to take it, it may serve you as it served him. A saber is no destiny. It is a tool. But if you wield it, you will walk a path few can imagine."

Luke's hand hovered above it, hyperspace light painting his face. He didn't seize it. Not yet. The saber was offered not as inevitability, but as choice.

Chewbacca grumbled a subtitled aside: "Glowsticks and destinies. Always more trouble than they seem."

The line drew laughs, grounding the moment in sarcasm.

What audiences saw was a ship that was more than transport, a spectacle that felt like wonder itself, and a weapon offered not as fate but as option.

Reflection

This sequence did double work. For one, it cemented the Falcon as the series' rolling home: cramped, messy, but beloved. Children would recreate its dejarik table out of cardboard in playgrounds, and model kits of its odd silhouette became best-sellers. Secondly, the hyperspace jump redefined cinematic spectacle in 1977. While later films would polish and expand the effect, nothing quite matched the first time theatergoers were pulled into that storm of light.

And beneath it all, the saber's introduction was carefully restrained. Not a battle cry, not a destiny fulfilled, but a sad offering from mentor to pupil, "Here is the first step on your father's path. Take it only if you choose."

Act IV – "The Fortress of the Moff"

Interrogation

The act opens not with the Falcon's arrival, but with Grand Moff Tarkin looming over Leia in an interrogation chamber. The setting is stark, walls humming with cold light. Tarkin's questions are half-curiosity, half-mockery:

Tarkin: "Tell me, Princess. What trinket was so precious that the Alliance sent a child of Alderaan scurrying through Imperial checkpoints? Smuggler's contraband? Or some whisper of treason?"

Leia meets him with a sly half-smile, every bit her father's daughter in rhetoric.

Leia: "Wouldn't you like to know, Governor? Or are you afraid the great Empire's hands are too small to hold it?"

Tarkin's smirk falters. He signals the torture droid, a machine bristling with injectors, restraints, and humming prods. His voice drips with malice.

Tarkin: "If you won't talk, Princess… perhaps persuasion is in order."

The camera lingers on Leia's steady gaze as the droid approaches, fade to black.

Upturned Expectations

When the screen fades in again, the Princess is slumped at the console of her cell. Bloodied bandages peek from beneath her collar. She breathes heavily, but her eyes are alive with defiance. Improvised tools lie scattered across the control panel, wires sparking where she has overridden her restraints.

The door hisses open. Leia stands, shoulders squared. A stormtrooper slumps asleep over his desk just outside, helmet tilted back. Leia strips his rifle without hesitation and steps into the corridor. Even broken, she's in motion, taking her own freedom.

This was revolutionary for 1977: a prisoner who rescues herself, refusing to wait for salvation. Critics later praised it as "a myth reconfigured," Leia framed as both captive and liberator in the same breath.

The Rescue Crosses Paths

Cut to Luke and Han, stormtrooper armor hanging awkwardly on their frames, Chewbacca cuffed between them as their "prisoner." Their plan works only by sheer momentum, a bubbling mess of half-formed improvisation. They whisper about being lost when they round a corner, a blaster snaps up, and suddenly they're staring at Leia, rifle trained on them.

Leia: "Step away from the Wookiee. Now."

Chewbacca grumbles in irritation.

Chewbacca (subtitled): "They're not troopers. They're here for you, Princess. You'd have shot your rescue party."

Leia doesn't lower her rifle. She studies them, eyes hard. For a long beat, the tension holds."
Then Luke pulls off his helmet, smiling with boyish earnestness.

Luke: "We're with Ben Kenobi. We came for you."

Leia exhales, rifle lowering slightly. The scene ends on her stare, untrusting, but calculating. The audience knows she isn't swept away by romance or awe. She's weighing allies, deciding if they're worth her time.

Kenobi's Diversion

Cut to Ben, slipping through the Death Star's corridors. Every so often, a stormtrooper collapses like a puppet with its strings cut, no blood, no sound. By the time the camera lingers, a small pile of white-armored bodies lies at his feet. Ben's face is solemn. It is not murder he performs, it is inevitability.

The Duel

The scene cuts to the hangar. Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca are racing toward the Falcon when the blast doors open. Out steps Vader.

The duel begins at once, blue against red. Sparks dance. But more than choreography, the power is in the philosophy. Each strike is measured, deliberate. Vader is inevitability, his movements cold, inexorable. Kenobi is restraint, each blow precise but carrying sadness.

Their dialogue is remembered as some of the most quoted of the era:

Vader: "Once you were my master. Now you are only my delay."
Ben: "If delay gives hope, it is enough."
Vader: "You speak of hope, but you cort weakness. Weakness invites death. And here I am."
Ben: "There is more than one path to strength, Darth. Cut me down, and you'll see a strength beyond your reckoning."

As the others board the Falcon, Luke pauses at the ramp, shouting for Ben. The duel freezes. Kenobi looks to Luke, smiles, weary but proud, and then lifts a hand. The Force surges. Luke is hurled back into the Falcon as the ramp begins to close.

Vader's blade strikes. Ben's robe crumples empty to the floor. The hangar falls silent but for Vader's breathing. The Falcon roars away into space.

Reflection

This sequence cemented Leia as a protagonist with her own agency, not merely a prize to be won. She resisted, endured torture, and freed herself before her rescuers even arrived. Luke and Han's rescue attempt, played with comedic fumbling, only emphasized her competence. The duel between Vader and Kenobi, meanwhile, was staged as a clash of ideologies: inevitability versus restraint, death versus endurance.

Act V – "The Battle of Yavin"

Leia's Strategy

The film cuts to a ragtag war room. The set was famously built inside a decommissioned grain silo in Winnipeg, bare concrete curved into echoing chambers, dressed with mismatched consoles scavenged from scrapyards. It looked nothing like the polished command centers of 1970s sci-fi. It looked real.

Leia stands before pilots and commanders, her voice carrying with boldness. She wraps up th strategy meeting, explaining the situation.

Leia: "The weapon will be invulnerable once its shield lattice is complete. For now, a vent opens to its reactor. Strike true, and the station dies. Fail, and so will every world within its reach. We cannot wait. This is our only chance."

The camera lingers not on generals, but on faces in the crowd, young, old, scarred, frightened. Leia is not offering inspiration. She is offering clarity. She doesn't lead with fire, but with logic sharpened to a blade.

The Battle Unfolds

Dogfights erupt in the black of space. The miniatures, kitbashed from model airplanes and filmed against velvet backdrops, swoop and shatter across the screen. Pyrokinetic fireballs (the only parahuman work in this act) gave real bursts of flame as ships tore apart.

For most pilots, the battle is terror. Radio chatter crackles with panic: men screaming, women calling targets and then vanishing into static. The audience never sees their cockpits, but the panic is palpable. Tie fighters, filmed with sudden jerks of camera and sharp cuts, seem more desperate than predatory, imperial discipline collapsing under the Rebellion's sheer audacity.

Luke in the Fire

Then there is Luke.

Where others flinch, he breathes. Where others choke in panic, his voice is calm. His hands move with the same precision as on the mesa at dawn. Every shot is measured, deliberate.

The film makes the contrast sharp. While the comms scream with chaos, Luke speaks evenly to his squadmates:

Luke: "Stay with me. Breathe with me. We'll make it through."

It isn't bravado. It's presence. His calm centers those around him, and even in the editing rhythm, rapid cuts interspersed with his steady breathing, the audience feels the shift. Luke radiates the aura Ben cultivated: a knight in a storm, calm while the world burns.

The Trench Run

The climax builds. Fighters fall around him. The Death Star looms. Luke flies into the trench, and the camera holds on his profile, calm, illuminated by the green light of blaster fire.

Then, for the first time since his death, Kenobi's voice echoes:

Kenobi (voiceover): "Trust the Force, Luke."

Luke closes his eyes. He flicks off his targeting computer, and the beeping cuts to silence. Han's incredulous voice crackles over comms:

Han: "Kid, are you crazy?"

Luke exhales.

Luke: "I'm ready."

He fires. The torpedoes strike home. The screen erupts with pyrokinetic fire, miniature debris scattering like a dying star. The Death Star is gone.

The Ceremony

The final scene brings us back to the rebels' base. The hall is makeshift, pilots and fighters in patched uniforms, but the mood is triumph. Leia places medals on Han, Luke, and Chewbacca, each framed differently. Han smirks, Luke bows his head with quiet pride, and Chewbacca mutters his immortal line as the hall erupts in applause:

Chewbacca (subtitled): "Shiny jewelry for near-death. Tradition never changes."

The camera lingers on Leia's smile, not romantic, but familial, proud, almost maternal. Luke stands radiant, the boy who seemed quiet and underwhelming now revealed as the calm center of the storm.

Reflection

This act redefined Luke's role in the saga. Until this point, Leia had carried the film with her intellect and defiance, Han with his charisma, Chewbacca with his wit. Luke seemed understated, almost overshadowed. But in the cockpit, he revealed the foundation Ben had spent seventeen years building: serenity under fire.

Critics of 1977 compared him not to pulp space heroes but to Arthurian knights, calm amid chaos, a figure who did not conquer with swagger but with discipline. The juxtaposition of Leia's strategic genius and Luke's meditative ferocity gave the finale its mythic weight: mind and spirit, intellect and presence, standing together against tyranny.

Immediate Audience Reaction

When Star Wars premiered regionally in May 1977, the first audiences didn't know what to make of it. On posters, it was billed as "Episode VII," which baffled many: were there six films they'd missed? Was this a parody? The confusion only added to the aura of mystery.

In its opening week, what struck audiences most was the variety of its heroes. Leia wasn't a damsel but a strategist with her own arc, defiant in the face of Vader, sharp in council chambers, and capable of freeing herself before her rescuers arrived. Critics marveled at her duality: "a Shakespearean mind dressed in pulp adventure," as the Chicago Tribune put it.

Luke, by contrast, read understated. Some early reviewers even called him "flat" compared to Leia's fire and Han's swagger. But the tone shifted after the trench run. Children and teens latched onto Luke as their avatar, the calm knight who could walk through chaos unfazed. The moment he shut off his targeting computer, trusting the Force and his own serenity, became the week's most quoted line: "I'm ready."

Chewbacca emerged as the unexpected breakout. His subtitled sarcasm gave adults as many quotable lines as children. "Shiny jewelry for near-death. Tradition never changes" became an office joke, muttered in break rooms alongside sitcom catchphrases. Plush Chewbaccas sold out in days, outselling even the R2 units that toy companies had banked on.

And then there was the lightsaber. Though it appeared in only two brief sequences, toy knockoffs flooded playgrounds within weeks. The prop's hiss and glow etched into the cultural imagination instantly. Kids weren't playing blasters vs. blasters, they were staging duels. What Lucas had treated as a secondary gimmick became, overnight, the emblem of the Jedi.

Speculation filled fan magazines and late-night radio shows. Who really was Luke's father? Why did Ben grimace when Luke said Leia seemed familiar? Was the Emperor a benevolent old man, or a shadowy puppet master? With Episode VIII already announced for 1979, fans built their own theories of what Star Wars was supposed to be, an Arthurian myth, a political allegory, a cosmic western. The mystery was part of the draw.

Long-Term Reception

Over the next two years, Star Wars metastasized from a regional hit to a cultural phenomenon. Its unusual release pattern, trickling from Midwest and Canadian theaters outward, kept it alive far longer than typical films. By 1979, it was still playing in small towns, a word-of-mouth wildfire that never seemed to burn out.

Leia's role only grew in stature. At first, some critics dismissed her as "too intellectual" or "too domineering." But by the end of the decade, scholars hailed her as groundbreaking: a heroine who thought as sharply as she acted. She became the model for the "scholar-warrior" archetype in 1980s fantasy fiction, a direct ancestor to characters like Danaerys Targaryen or Hermione Granger.

Luke's trench run redefined him in the eyes of audiences. Initially overshadowed, he came to embody a mythic archetype: not the hotshot pilot or the everyman farmboy, but the calm knight, carrying serenity into the storm. Critics began comparing him to Arthurian figures, Percival, Galahad, a boy tempered by discipline, not fire. That aura, born in the dogfight, became the cornerstone of his character across the sequels.

Chewbacca, meanwhile, became a cultural constant. His sardonic subtitled one-liners, half grumbles, half truths, made him one of the first sci-fi sidekicks quoted as readily by adults as children. His plush toys dominated playgrounds. The choice to subtitle him, controversial at the time, is now hailed as genius: it gave him a voice without making him cartoonish.

But nothing shaped the franchise more than the lightsaber. Initially conceived by Lucas as a pulp "sword-with-a-battery-pack," its popularity shocked the filmmakers. By 1978, toy sales had eclipsed even Millennium Falcon models. In fan drawings, comic adaptations, and playground games, the Jedi weren't defined by robes or wisdom, they were defined by their glowing blades. This forced Lucas and his collaborators to reframe the sequels. What had been a symbol became an identity. The Jedi would not simply carry lightsabers, they would be inseparable from them.

By the time Episode VIII entered production, the aura of mystery surrounding Star Wars was palpable. Fans debated endlessly: Was the Emperor truly benevolent, corrupted only by the Moffs, or something darker? Was Leia connected to Luke in ways unspoken? What would Luke's saber mean for his destiny? In the absence of answers, audiences built their own mythology, and the filmmakers, keenly aware of what resonated, would shape the sequels in turn.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

Reminder, this is from the POV of a Star Wars fan from Earth Aleph, looking at the Star Wars present on Earth-Bet.
That initial section is, itself, part of the role-play aspect of this work.

Section I: Author's Preface – Why Write About Episode 8 ?

When I wrote my first essay on Episode 7 (or Rebirth of Hope , as it was later subtitled), I didn't imagine it would get any kind of audience. It was written quickly, out of the raw enthusiasm of someone who had stumbled into a strange discovery: that the Star Wars I knew, the one I grew up with, had a sibling in another history. The names were similar, the faces often identical, but the characters themselves were not. Leia wasn't simply a rebel commander who became a general, she was a princess in truth, fencing words with Moffs on her own homeworld. Luke wasn't a restless farm boy stumbling into destiny, but a near-monk raised in seclusion, already tempered before he ever held a lightsaber. Vader wasn't a man barely containing his fury, but an ideologue, calm as death itself, more the reflection of Luke than his opposite.

That essay was written more like a fan's outpouring than a historian's paper. My actual training is in history, but at the time I didn't bother with structure, citations, or context, I just wanted to show that these characters weren't inconsistent, they were coherent within their own frame. They weren't wrong versions of Luke, Leia, or Vader. They were simply born in a different set of conditions, shaped by a different film industry, and nurtured by a culture that gave them other roles to play.

This second essay is different. It's still a passion project, nobody asked me to write it in the first place, and nobody is paying me to continue. But this time, people are actually encouraging me to do it properly. And so while what follows is not a formal historical paper, it is closer to the kind of structured, planned writing that comes more naturally to me. It has more distinct parts, like any good long essay should. It's written in the tone of popular history rather than academic history, but the arguments, the comparisons, and the flow are those of someone used to framing the past.

Why bother? Because Episode 8 is where the divergences between timelines come into full focus. It's also the film most easily dismissed. For decades after release, it was considered the weakest of the trilogy: too long, too scattered, too much like two films stitched together. Some called it a near-disaster. Others muttered that Lucas had killed his own golden goose before it had even hatched. Only later, when you step back and look at what it set up, do you see it for what it was: not a failure, but a hinge. Episode 8 asked more questions than it answered. It introduced whole societies, political structures, and mysteries that wouldn't pay off until years later, sometimes not until decades of spin-off media had time to elaborate.

And it did so under conditions that we, looking back from our timeline, often fail to appreciate. By 1975, the alternate North American film industry was widely expected to collapse. Nobody thought movies would vanish entirely, but few believed cinema could continue as an industry, with its unions, specialists, and self-perpetuating trades. The common expectation was that film would splinter into regional outfits, each producing short, disposable works where crews wore too many hats and quality suffered as a result. When Lucas started working on Star Wars , the idea of blockbusters as we knew them was already being eulogized.

What Episode 7 did was prove a ninety-minute film could still feel epic. What Episode 8 did was go even further: it stretched to over two hours, filled with parallel arcs for Luke and Leia, and dared to claim that not only could this system produce blockbusters, it could produce sprawling universes. To us, that seems obvious. To audiences in 1979, it was astonishing.

And there is one more point worth making before we dive in: this alternate trilogy was more diverse than ours, and it was so in ways that matter. Not perfectly, but noticeably. The Knights of Alderaan were played largely by actors of Latin descent. James Earl Jones did not merely voice Vader, he embodied him on screen, even if the mask kept his face hidden. Lando Calrissian was introduced here not as a token sidekick, but as a mixed-race nobleman, intelligent, charming, and presented as a genuine rival to Han Solo. For 1979, this was extraordinary. For decades afterward, critics would debate whether Han's romance with Leia was simply a safer narrative bet, or whether Lucas truly meant it from the start. But regardless, the presence of Lando as a rival marked a clear divergence.

So this is what follows: not a film recap in order, but a structured exploration. Nine sections, each looking at a different facet of Episode 8 , its production context, its narrative split between Luke and Leia, Vader's role, Yoda's reimagining, its reception, and its legacy. The movie was divisive at the time, and remains divisive in hindsight, but for me that's exactly what makes it worth studying. Episode 8 was not just a film. It was a pivot point for an entire cinematic culture, a case study in how different constraints could give birth to different myths.

Section II: Production and Context – A Film Made on the Edge of Collapse

To understand Episode 8 , you have to understand what 1970s filmmaking meant in this alternate world. It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't secure. It wasn't even certain it would survive as an industry. By 1975, the mood around North American cinema was bleak. Not only were audiences growing weary of pulp adventure churned out in under ninety minutes, but the mechanics of filmmaking itself had become fraught in a way our timeline never experienced.

The difference, of course, was parahumans.

Permanent studio lots, sprawling campuses like those that had sustained Hollywood in our world, were prime targets. Villains saw them as irresistible stages for theatrics, easy places to cause chaos. Even sympathetic powered individuals could destabilize shoots simply by existing near fragile set equipment. Crew members were rightly wary of working in such environments. The result was an industry riddled with interruptions, unfinished projects, and a workforce that couldn't count on its own safety.

This is what led to the twenty-three-month rule . No film was allowed to linger beyond twenty-three months of production. At month twenty-three, whatever reels existed had to be cut together and released. The rule was never meant to generate masterpieces, it was triage. Better to have flawed films than none at all. For a while, the model seemed to confirm what everyone feared: that movies in North America were destined to shrink into a regional, piecemeal trade. By 1975, most projects delivered little more than an hour of actual story, padded with establishing shots or narration to meet the ninety-minute mark.

Then came George Lucas.

Lucas was part of a small but passionate cohort of filmmakers who refused to accept the death of cinema. Where others saw limits, he saw possibility. If studios couldn't be permanent, then productions could be nomadic. If crews couldn't count on stability, then they could be lean, mobile, and improvisational. If parahumans were unreliable as actors, then their abilities could be concentrated into "power days" , single bursts of spectacular effects work, filmed quickly and slotted into larger projects without depending on them long-term.

This was the gamble that made Episode 7 work. By using just two parahumans, a telekinetic for Vader's duel, and a pyrokinetic for the Death Star's pyrotechnics, Lucas squeezed blockbuster spectacle out of an $11 million budget. The rest was scavenged from deserts, warehouses, and abandoned industrial spaces, dressed with uncanny ingenuity. The result was a ninety-minute film that felt like two hours, a miracle in a landscape where most "blockbusters" barely scraped an hour.

Episode 8 built on that miracle. This time, Lucas had nearly double the money, though "nearly double" in this alternate 1970s still meant barely half the scale of our world's Empire Strikes Back . He also had the assurance, crucial, though dangerous, that Episodes 8 and 9 would both see release. Investors and theater owners alike believed Lucas had proven the system could still produce hits, and they were willing to let him gamble again.

His decision was to expand, not just in size but in ambition. If Episode 7 proved the ninety-minute model could be epic, Episode 8 would prove the system could sustain a true two-hour film . Not two hours padded by long pans or voiceover, but two hours of continuous plot, character, and setting. It was audacious, bordering on reckless. And it immediately set Episode 8 apart from its contemporaries.

To put this in context: in our world, films like The Godfather Part II or Jaws had already stretched audience expectations for length and seriousness by the late 70s. But in the alternate timeline, those films never existed in the same form. They were truncated, simplified, stripped down to fit the twenty-three-month model. Against that backdrop, a full two-hour Star Wars was staggering. Critics described it as exhausting but exhilarating, like "running a marathon in a theater." Audiences were dazed, not just by the length but by the density.

Lucas leaned into that density. Instead of telling a single linear story, he structured Episode 8 as two parallel films: one following Leia's political duel with Grand Moff Tarkin on Alderaan, the other following Luke's grueling training under Yoda in the Florida Everglades. The movie cut between them, season by season, emphasizing the passage of time and the parallel growth of its two leads. Leia was sharpened into a strategist and leader, Luke into a knight-in-waiting. Where Episode 7 had been a single adventure, Episode 8 was a universe opening itself.

To achieve this, Lucas again relied on unorthodox methods. The parahuman of choice this time was not a flashy pyrokinetic but a tinkerer known only as Richter, credited with giving R2-D2 a genuine on-set personality. In Episode 7 , R2 had been little more than a plot device. In Episode 8 , thanks to Richter's quirks and improvisations, the droid became a character in his own right, strange, stubborn, funny, and grounding. This was revolutionary for the time: a machine given life not through dialogue, but through behavior and interaction, as though the crew had accidentally befriended their own prop.

The other bold choice was Yoda. In our timeline, Yoda debuted as a puppet, a comic, cryptic foil who deepened into wisdom. In this alternate history, Lucas cast a dwarf actor instead. The choice was partly practical (puppetry was too fragile for the nomadic production style) and partly thematic. Played by a human, Yoda gained a new presence: graceful, dangerous, and tragic. His fighting style, almost stillness, punctuated by terrifying efficiency, was unlike anything audiences had seen. He was less a Muppet sage than a weathered monk, scarred by loss but still unyielding.

The production process was grueling. Crews moved from Newfoundland (for Alderaan's winter austerity) to Florida swamps (for Yoda's world) to industrial lots pressed into service as Imperial interiors. Each location was temporary, scavenged, and made to work under the twenty-three-month ticking clock. But when stitched together, they created a film that looked larger, older, and stranger than anything else in North America at the time.

Looking back, historians see Episode 8 's production as both genius and folly. Genius, because it expanded what seemed possible. Folly, because Lucas pushed so far beyond the industry's norms that the film felt alien even to its first audiences. Without the guaranteed greenlight for Episode 9 , many believe Episode 8 might have ended the franchise rather than sustained it. But with hindsight, it was exactly the pivot Star Wars needed: the moment the trilogy stopped being a story and started being a universe.

Section III: Leia on Alderaan – The Scholar-Princess Ascendant

If Episode 7 introduced audiences to Leia as the sharp-tongued survivor and strategist, Episode 8 expanded her into something even more radical: not a princess in name only, but a functioning head of state, holding her own against the Empire's most ruthless governors.

The decision to film these sequences on Alderaan was itself unusual. In our timeline, Alderaan never truly appears on screen, it is defined by its absence, destroyed as proof of the Empire's cruelty. But in the alternate Star Wars, the planet became central. Lucas placed Leia's arc firmly on its soil, treating Alderaan not as a lost symbol but as a lived-in culture with history, architecture, and political weight.

And in one of his boldest practical choices, Lucas set Alderaan in Newfoundland. Far from the lush, green paradise of concept sketches, the Alderaan of Episode 8 is austere: winter skies, wind-whipped stone, a landscape of resilience rather than luxury. Critics at the time called it bleak, even harsh, but Lucas's intent was clear. Alderaan was not a fragile ornament waiting to be shattered, it was a proud, old world, long accustomed to hardship, and Leia was its heir.

The Politics of Empire Restored

The real genius of these sequences lies in how Lucas reframed the Rebellion. In our timeline, the Alliance is portrayed as a separatist movement, fighting to overthrow the Empire outright. In the alternate version, Leia and her allies argue not for destruction but for restoration. The Empire, as it was conceived, had been meant to streamline the Republic, to cut bureaucracy, strengthen unity, and preserve peace. What it became instead was a playground for corrupt Moffs, each one treating their governorship as a personal fiefdom.

Leia's campaign is not to tear down the system, but to return it to its ideals. She does not deny the Emperor's original vision. She insists that his infirmity has allowed ambitious governors to twist it. This nuance, that Leia seeks to save the Empire from itself, gave her debates with Tarkin unusual dramatic weight.

One pivotal scene, filmed in a cavernous Newfoundland hall dressed in dark banners and imperial sigils, has Tarkin sneering across the table:

Tarkin : "You speak of ideals as though they were law. But law without power is a sermon. And sermons do not rule the galaxy."

Leia (measured, unwavering): "Then perhaps the galaxy deserves a sermon. For sermons remind us of what power is supposed to serve."

The audience erupted at that line. For a generation used to pulp heroines who quipped or fainted, Leia was something new: a scholar-princess who wielded words as weapons, her intellect as sharp as any lightsaber.

Subtext and Symbolism

Lucas laced these sequences with subtext that audiences of 1979 did not fully parse but which later historians see clearly. The Moffs are framed as proto-fascists, fragmented and dangerous not because of their unity but because of their rivalry. Each imagines himself the next Emperor, each chases victories to consolidate prestige, and each undermines the others in pursuit of personal power. Tarkin, the most visible of them, embodies this tension: cold, commanding, but deeply insecure in Leia's presence.

The choice to cast most of the Alderaan "Knights", ceremonial guards and advisors, with actors of Latin descent was another subtle difference in this timeline. Diversity moved faster here, not because it was easy but because the industry itself was so fragile that it had less room for entrenched prejudice. When your crews are nomadic, when your productions are stitched together with anyone willing to endure the chaos, you discover talent where it's available. On Alderaan, that accident became deliberate: its knights look and sound like a galaxy, not a monoculture.

The Duel of Wits

Leia's arc unfolds like a duel. In the first half, Tarkin dominates, mocking her as a child with delusions of statecraft. His words drip with condescension, and the visual grammar emphasizes his height, his uniform, his apparent control of the room. But as seasons shift, literally, with Newfoundland's weather changing across the shoot, Leia grows more commanding. By the midpoint, she is not only holding her own but winning. Her arguments grow sharper, her confidence steadier, and the camera begins to tilt in her favor, catching Tarkin in harsher light, his composure cracking.

One exchange from late in the film captures this reversal:

Tarkin (snapping): "You think yourself an equal because you wear a crown. But crowns are ornaments, not commands."

Leia (coolly): "Then why, Governor, do you spend so much effort proving I am beneath you?"

For Carrie Fisher, this was a tour de force. Critics hailed her performance as "Shakespeare in space," but fans, especially women, latched onto Leia not as fantasy but as aspiration: a leader who could stare down tyranny without ever drawing a blaster.

Historian's View

Looking back, Leia's Alderaan arc is one of the most fascinating divergences between timelines. In our Star Wars, Alderaan is a memory, Leia a general by circumstance. In the alternate, Alderaan lives, and Leia's claim to its throne is more than symbolic. She is royalty in action, a political actor as much as a rebel.

At the time, though, this was divisive. Some viewers complained the film felt like two stitched-together stories: Leia's chamber drama on Alderaan and Luke's mystic training in the swamps. Many said Leia's scenes felt like a miniseries that had wandered into a blockbuster. But decades later, these very debates, the Knights of Alderaan, the shadowy "Mandalorian Alliance," the role of noble houses, became the richest soil for expanded lore.

It's no exaggeration to say that while Episode 8 was once derided as the weakest entry, it gave the universe its depth. Leia's arguments with Tarkin did not just advance a plot. They made Star Wars a stage for ideas, for questions about power, law, and legitimacy. And in doing so, they redefined Leia from "princess sidekick" into one of cinema's most enduring archetypes: the scholar-princess ascendant.

Section IV: Luke's Trial in the Swamps – Yoda, the Cave, and the Knight-to-Be

If Leia's arc in Episode 8 plays out on the austere winter world of Alderaan, all cold stone, political maneuvering, and the weight of her title, Luke's journey unfolds in the heat and mire of the Florida Everglades. In our timeline, Lucas eventually built Dagobah as a studio swamp on a soundstage. In the alternate timeline, the 23-month production schedule made such elaborate indoor sets unthinkable. Instead, Lucas leaned into location shooting, dragging his crew into real swamps where humidity warped film stock, snakes slithered underfoot, and actors trudged through waist-high water. What emerged onscreen was startlingly raw: not the artificial murk of a Hollywood set, but a living, breathing swamp that looked hostile to human life.

Yoda Reimagined

The first shock for audiences came when Yoda appeared. In our timeline, he was a puppet, a mixture of Jim Henson artistry and Frank Oz's voice. Here, Yoda was embodied by a dwarf actor under layers of makeup and prosthetics. It was a controversial choice even then. Puppets were expected. Theatrical trickery was part of the charm of science fiction. But Lucas wanted Yoda to feel human, not "relatable" in the Disney sense, but human in the sense of someone whose body had known pain, whose eyes could communicate grief, and whose movements were grounded in the weight of a real performer.

This choice altered the character dramatically. Instead of the impish trickster-grandfather archetype, this Yoda was closer to a monk scarred by loss. His dialogue was often gnomic, yes, but also tinged with weariness. He warned Luke not as a teacher gently guiding a pupil, but as a father who has buried too many sons.

And when he moved, he did so with terrifying efficiency. This wasn't the acrobatic twirling of later prequels in our timeline. This was something subtler, more unnerving. For long stretches of training, Yoda hardly seemed to move at all, perched still as a stone on twisted roots. But when pressed, when Luke stumbled in his control, when he lashed out without calm, Yoda's motions became liquid and sudden, each gesture breaking Luke's stance as if he were a twig. Critics of the time compared it to judo masters who win by redirection rather than brute strength. Audiences whispered that this Yoda seemed always one breath away from killing, not out of malice but out of a discipline so honed that violence was second nature.

R2-D2's Personality Emerges

If Yoda gave Luke his harshest lessons, R2-D2 gave him grounding. In Episode 7 , R2 had been mostly a plot device: a droid carrying plans, chirping in binary. In Episode 8 , thanks to the influence of the tinkerer credited only as "Richter," R2 acquired quirks and comic timing that transformed him into something else entirely. Crew members fell in love with the droid during shooting, and Lucas expanded his role accordingly.

Where Yoda tore Luke down, R2 built him back up. His whistles and beeps, subtitled again for audiences, carried a dry wit, sometimes mocking Luke's failures, sometimes cheering his successes. One line in particular stuck in fan memory: after a grueling training session where Luke fell into the swamp, R2 rolled up, chirped something sardonic, and the subtitles flashed: "If this is knighthood, I'll stick with scrap work." It brought levity to otherwise severe scenes, and audiences adored it.

The Cave Sequence

At the midpoint of Luke's story, Lucas inserted what remains one of the trilogy's most haunting images: the cave. Unlike our timeline, where this moment came late and carried straightforward foreshadowing, here it served as a pivot.

Luke enters the cave carrying his lightsaber not as a weapon but as a torch. Shadows slither along the walls, shaped less by the swamp than by Luke's own fear. When Vader emerges from the gloom, it's staged not as a jump-scare but as inevitability, the embodiment of everything Luke knows waits for him in the galaxy beyond the swamp. Their duel is brief, brutal. Luke's blade shears through Vader's helmet, the head tumbles, and when it rolls to face the camera, the mask is split. Inside is not circuitry, not scar tissue, but Luke's own face, older, lined, and glaring.

Audiences in 1979 erupted in confusion. Was Vader secretly Luke? Was it metaphor? Was it foreshadowing? Lucas never clarified. The historian's consensus is that he was deliberately layering in ambiguity, planting seeds for multiple payoffs in Episode 9 . What mattered at the time was the shock. Fans left theaters arguing whether Luke had just seen his future, his twin, or merely his shadow.

The Duel with Vader

The climax of Luke's arc was Yoda's death. Unlike Obi-Wan, who had fallen in a duel designed to distract, Yoda fought Vader directly, and nearly won. Their confrontation in the swamp was brief but unforgettable. Yoda hardly moved, each step a redirection, each gesture sending Vader stumbling back. For a moment, it seemed the elder master might triumph. Then Vader's blade struck true. Yoda fell, serene even in death.

But not before he carved away Vader's right arm. The cut revealed not blood but sparking wires, circuitry glowing inside the armor. The implication was explosive. Was Vader a machine? A cyborg? A shell piloted by something else? Lucas never said. The ambiguity was deliberate, meant to sustain speculation until Episode 9 .

Luke fled the swamp carrying both grief and revelation. Yoda had believed in him at last, but had died before Luke could complete his training. Vader had been wounded, diminished, yet still alive. The cycle of master and apprentice was shattered, leaving Luke to stand alone as the knight-in-the-making.

Reflection

Looking back, this arc is striking for its patience. In an industry where films struggled to scrape together 70 minutes of story, Lucas spent more than a third of his runtime on a meditative training sequence, filled with fog, silence, and philosophical riddles. At the time, critics called it indulgent. Audiences fidgeted, waiting for action. But in hindsight, it laid the groundwork for everything that followed. Luke was no longer the boy swept into destiny. He was the monk-warrior forged in solitude, the calm reflection against Vader's ideological storm.

Section V: Vader and the Empire: Ideologue in the Shadow of the Emperor

If Episode 7 made Vader the living embodiment of inevitability, Episode 8 complicates him. The film's first Imperial scene makes this immediately clear. We see him not as the silent executioner cutting down rebels in white corridors, but as the commander at rest aboard a flagship, surrounded by officers and stormtroopers. And what stands out isn't fear. It's respect.

The soldiers' glances are deferential, their salutes unforced. Officers speak carefully, but not with the trembling dread that our timeline's Star Wars made iconic. In this universe, Vader is not merely a terror, he is the Emperor's most trusted knight, revered for his dedication, his incorruptibility, his willingness to throw himself into fire where other Moffs scramble for comfort and glory. He embodies the opposite of the corruption Leia rails against: not democracy, but order distilled into its purest and coldest form.

Then comes the voice. The Emperor, never seen, only heard. And here Lucas made a choice that would ripple into decades of continuity debates. The voice is warm, urbane, even affectionate. He calls Vader "my ever loyal son," a phrase that struck 1979 audiences as bizarrely gentle. He goes on to command that Vader "bring justice to Luke Skywalker." Officers, hearing this, assume the Emperor means for Vader to hunt down and kill Luke Skywalker in reprisal for the Death Star. But the wording is deliberately ambiguous, and Vader himself reacts with no more than a bowed head, leaving the real intent hanging over the film like a stormcloud.

It's here that the historian's perspective matters. In our timeline, the Emperor was introduced as a shriveled gargoyle, cackling with malevolence. In this alternate one, Episode 8 never shows him at all. His presence is felt through contradiction: he sounds like a kindly patriarch, while his Moffs enact cruelty and self-interest, and Vader executes his orders with martial devotion. The effect is dissonant, audiences in '79 didn't know if the Emperor was good, evil, or something stranger. Even Lucas's casting choices underscored the ambiguity. The voice actor here is cultured, almost Shakespearean, while the eventual actor chosen for Episode 9 would be harsher, more intense, creating a continuity break that fans would debate endlessly in fanzines and later online forums.

Vader himself is reimagined through this ideological lens. In our timeline, he is rage caged in armor, a monster barely leashed. In this one, he is serene and implacable, a dark mirror of Luke's monk-like calm. Where Luke carries balance into the storm, Vader carries certainty, certainty that strength comes only through discipline, that weakness is the seed of death. His dialogue throughout the film underscores this not as anger, but as doctrine. When he speaks with subordinates, his words are lessons, not shouts. He embodies a worldview.

The film also reframes the Empire around him. The Moffs, rather than being unified extensions of Imperial tyranny, are painted as fragmented warlords. Each is chasing glory, dreaming of succession, their ambition a cancer that corrodes the Emperor's supposed benevolence. Tarkin is the clearest example, poised, ruthless, but always angling for prestige, always framing his choices in terms of "what the Emperor would surely wish" rather than any true loyalty. This fracturing gives the Rebellion, or more accurately, Leia's reformist movement, a target. They are not trying to overthrow the Empire outright, but to restore it to an earlier vision, one where order and justice could exist without corruption.

This is where the film draws close to historical allegory. Audiences in 1979, still grappling with the memory of fascist regimes and the Cold War, read into the Moffs shades of disorganized authoritarianism, strongmen who undermine one another even as they claim unity. Vader, by contrast, is the true believer, terrifying, but also coherent, someone you could imagine following if you valued certainty above freedom.

From a film history standpoint, these choices were radical. Vader became not just an antagonist, but the galaxy's most visible ideologue. He is the only Imperial character framed with integrity, horrifying integrity, but integrity nonetheless. That Lucas pulled this off under the 23-month system is remarkable. Sets for the Imperial flagship were built in record time, and James Earl Jones, here not just the voice but the physical actor, in a move this alternate timeline normalized much earlier, carried Vader with a physical gravitas that critics immediately noted. Unlike Prowse's towering menace in our timeline, Jones brought a measured dignity, every movement deliberate, his stage training filtering into the role.

At the time, some critics balked. Vader's ideological bent seemed abstract compared to the raw terror of Episode 7 . But in hindsight, it's the defining choice of the trilogy. By making Vader a man of doctrine, Lucas ensured that Luke's final confrontation with him in Episode 9 would be not just a battle of strength, but a battle of worldviews.

And this section of the film, the silent Emperor, the fractured Moffs, the ideologue in black, is what made that possible.

Section VI: Lando's Return – Triumph, Betrayal, and the Shadow of Responsibility

If Leia's arc is defined by her duels with Tarkin and Luke's by his trial under Yoda, then Lando's is defined by expectation overturned. Episode 8 makes him the third point in the triangle, romantic rival to Han and mirror to Leia, another heir, but to a narrower domain. Where Leia is the princess of Alderaan, first in line to rule an ancient and proud world, Lando is heir to Cloud City, a jewel of wealth and engineering, but still only one city on a planet not yet committed to the reformist cause.

The film builds this tension deliberately. Throughout the first half, Lando flirts and spars with Leia, his wit and elegance a sharp contrast to Han's rough edges. The implication is that while Han may have her heart, Lando has her station, he can meet her on equal footing, prince to princess. By the time the narrative circles back to his home, audiences are primed to see him prove his nobility.

The confrontation in Cloud City is staged like a legend. Lando, flanked by his mother the Duchess, strides across a bridge suspended in clouds. The camera captures the gleaming towers rising behind him, while before him stands a group of elder nobles, robed in finery but seething with contempt. They accuse him of betraying their traditions by siding with reformists and rebels. Lando answers with charisma, appealing to their pride and their planet's future. When they falter, it seems a victory. He leaves the scene with the Duchess's blessing, convinced he has finally secured his world's allegiance to the reformist cause.

Then comes the reversal.

Returning to Alderaan, Lando expects triumph. Instead, he finds calamity. Leia's father, the King of Alderaan, has been kidnapped. Leia herself has barely survived an assassination attempt during a public debate. Han floats in a bacta tank, pale and broken, one arm gone, the price of saving her. Chewbacca, scarred and weary, is hailed as a hero for saving the Queen but bitter over his failure to prevent the King's abduction. The reformist nobles whisper, the people seethe, and Leia greets Lando not as a hero but with fury.

The cruel twist is this: the attack was carried out not by strangers, but by the younger faction of Lando's own planet's nobility. The elders he faced on the bridge were only a remnant. The true danger lay in the youths he never confronted, those who chose bloodshed over words. To Leia, this reeks of complicity. To the audience, it stings as irony. To Lando, it feels like guilt.

The weight of that guilt reframes his entire character. No longer just the charming rival or clever foil to Han, he becomes a man burdened by responsibility. His vow to Leia, that he will bring back her father, that he will undo the wrong born of his own house, is not swagger, but penance.

The film closes on images burned into memory. Han sits upright as Chewbacca fastens a gleaming metallic prosthetic to his scarred arm. Leia leans in, kissing him softly on the forehead, not passion, but gratitude, recognition, choice. Lando stands apart, promise heavy on his shoulders. The camera fades not on victory, but on fracture: a kingdom without its king, a rogue scarred into a hero, a nobleman burdened by betrayal.

For the historian, this arc reveals the full divergence between timelines. In our Star Wars, Cloud City is a backdrop, Lando a charming trickster. In this one, he is a noble son, framed by tragedy, locked into politics as much as charm. The film leaves him less resolved than Leia or Han, but with his own destiny set: to redeem his family, to heal the wound his own people inflicted.

At the time, critics derided this structure, calling it "half a film." With hindsight, it is what made Episode 8 endure. The questions it raised, about Cloud City's politics, about Lando's burden, about Alderaan's monarchy, seeded the expanded universe. The Knights of Alderaan, the rival houses of Cloud City, the missing King, all of these became fodder for decades of speculation, novels, and games.

Episode 8 may have felt fractured in 1979, but in that fracture lay the hooks that kept the galaxy alive.

Section VII: Immediate Audience Reaction (Christmas 1979 – Spring 1980)

A Sequel Unlike What Anyone Expected

When Episode 8 opened, the line outside theaters was proof of how strongly Episode 7 had landed. But as the lights came back up, audiences were left murmuring to each other with a mix of awe, puzzlement, and unease.

The general mood was: this wasn't the Star Wars we expected. Episode 7 had been a straightforward adventure, capture, rescue, trench run, explosion. People assumed the sequel would repeat that pattern on a larger scale. Instead, Lucas delivered a sprawling two-hour story split between political maneuvering on Alderaan and Luke's slow-burning training in the swamps. Some called it ambitious. Others called it indulgent. Almost everyone called it surprising.

The Shock of Scope and Length

At the time, American blockbusters averaged about 90 minutes, often less once you stripped away credits. The fact that Episode 8 delivered over two hours of actual movie stunned audiences. Many walked out feeling exhausted, even overwhelmed.

Letters to editors and early reviews commented that Lucas had "given people more movie than they paid for," but that wasn't always a compliment. Viewers weren't used to sitting in theaters that long for a story that shifted registers so drastically, half mythic philosophy, half cold political intrigue.

Character Reactions

The characters themselves also provoked strong responses, often conflicting:

Luke: Calm, steady, monk-like. Fans who had imagined a fiery hero were divided: some admired his serene gravitas, others thought he was "flat" or "wooden" compared to the youthful spark of the first film.

Leia: For many, she stole the film. Seeing her not just as a rebel commander but as the heir of Alderaan, holding her own against Tarkin in snowy courtrooms, thrilled some and baffled others. Critics praised her intellect, but some audiences expecting a romantic arc grumbled about the lack of conventional love story.

Han and Lando: Here lay one of the most divisive choices. Lando, a nobleman of Cloud City, was introduced not as comic relief but as Han's equal, and even his rival in love. Having a Black man portrayed as witty, charming, and politically important was striking for 1979. Some audience members embraced it, others reacted with discomfort, and a few dismissed it as "confusing the story." Han losing his hand while saving Leia further complicated matters: some felt it diminished him, others thought it deepened his character.

Vader: The greatest surprise. Rather than pure rage, Vader was framed as a disciplined ideologue. His soldiers respected him, his officers deferred to him, and the Emperor's unseen voice spoke to him warmly as "my ever loyal son." For audiences used to thinking of Vader as an unstoppable villain, this portrayal was disorienting. Was he truly evil? Was he a pawn? Or something stranger?

Ambiguity and Frustration

What really stuck with audiences, though, were the unanswered questions. The King of Alderaan's kidnapping. The rival nobility of Cloud City. The strange vision of Luke cutting off Vader's head only to see his own face. Vader's arm sparking with circuitry. None of these threads were tied off.

To modern fans, this reads as clever worldbuilding. In 1979, it came off as evasive. Many complained that Lucas had "given them mysteries instead of a story." Others were fascinated, buying repeat tickets to argue about what it all meant. The letters columns of sci-fi magazines were suddenly filled with debates: Is Vader human or Robot? Was Luke doomed to turn into him? Was Leia truly safe in her role, or was Tarkin just biding his time?

Divisive but Unforgettable

By the end of spring 1980, Episode 8 had turned a profit and kept theaters busy, but the split was clear. Some hailed it as "a universe unfolding before our eyes." Others said it was "two half-films stitched into one."

The consensus was that Lucas had taken a massive risk. Some thought it paid off, others thought he had sabotaged his own success. But nobody could deny that it left people talking .

Section VIII: Reappraising Character Arcs and Long-Term Cultural Impact of Episode 8

One of the easiest traps when discussing Episode 8 is to think of it only in terms of Leia's dominance, since this was her film far more than Luke's. But Lucas did not neglect the other characters who had already been established as iconic in Episode 7 . Instead, he layered them carefully, ensuring that each developed in ways that felt consistent with their original introductions.

Vader: From Icon to Ideologue

In Episode 7 , Vader was largely a monolithic presence, an icon of inevitability and dread, glimpsed briefly but memorably. His menace was in his restraint, in the way stormtroopers seemed almost relieved to die at his side rather than live under his gaze. In Episode 8 , that foundation is expanded. We see him not simply as a black-armored executioner but as a figure respected, even admired, by the men under his command. Soldiers snap straighter in his presence not out of fear alone, but with something approaching pride. Officers defer not only because they must, but because Vader's reputation is that of someone who will carry out the Emperor's will with absolute devotion.

This deepening was not a softening. Vader is still immensely dangerous, the duel with Yoda makes that obvious, but Lucas revealed him as an ideologue rather than a mere tyrant. He believes in death as truth, discipline as salvation, and in service as the only kind of freedom. It was a philosophical grounding that marked him as Luke's shadow: not simply his enemy, but his foil. In a film that is otherwise dominated by political maneuvering and Luke's monastic growth, Vader's presence gave the galaxy a second pole around which meaning revolved.

Luke: From Sheltered Youth to Knight-to-Be

Luke, meanwhile, remains defined by his calm, a continuation from Episode 7 . There, he had been presented not as a farm boy yearning for adventure but as a boy raised in seclusion by Ben Kenobi, trained with a monk's patience and a soldier's discipline, but still largely sheltered. In Episode 8 , that aura begins to mature. He is still boyish, still uncertain, but the lessons in the swamps, the stillness under pressure, the calm when confronted with illusions of himself, all push him from being a "trained youth" into the territory of becoming a knight of an ancient, nearly lost order.

Lucas was careful not to make Luke unrecognizable. He is still warm, still quietly charismatic, still more understated than flamboyant. But Episode 8 made it clear that Luke was not being transformed into something new: he was being revealed as the next stage of what Ben Kenobi had been raising him to be. Even in a film where Leia dominates, Luke's story remains essential groundwork for the trilogy's mythic arc.

Leia: The Feminine Protagonist as Archetype

Of course, Leia is still the heart of the film. What had been surprising depth in Episode 7 becomes total centrality here. She is the princess, the strategist, the debater who can hold her ground against Tarkin himself, and the emotional center for both Han and Lando. What is striking in hindsight is how Lucas managed to balance this without forcing Leia into masculinity. She remains wholly feminine, openly romantic, even vulnerable at points. Yet she commands every scene she enters.

This archetype, the female protagonist who is both resolutely feminine and narratively central, was something almost unheard of in 1979. Later characters who walked this same line, from fantasy heroines like Eowyn to royal figures like Rhaenyra Targaryen, owe something to this alternate Leia. She proved that you didn't need to strip a female character of softness, humor, or romance to make her the most interesting person in the room.

Chewbacca: Beyond Comic Relief

Chewbacca continued his unlikely rise from subtitled sidekick to cultural figure. In Episode 7 , his dry sarcasm had been an unexpected hit. In Episode 8 , Lucas doubled down, ensuring that Chewbacca wasn't only funny but also pivotal, saving Leia's mother during an attack, and in doing so, becoming a hero of Alderaan in his own right. This was more than fan service. It marked a pivot in how "mascot characters" would be handled in the decades to come. The lesson was that giving a quirky or comic side character a plot-relevant moment, even a heroic one, deepened audience investment rather than cheapening it.

The ripple effects were enormous. In later decades, characters who might once have been written as naive or one-note (the bumbling robot, the furry companion, the comic-relief alien) increasingly gained moments of clarity, wisdom, or plot relevance. Chewbacca set that standard.

Lando: The Side Character with a World

Perhaps the most striking new addition was Lando Calrissian. He could easily have been written as a foil for Han Solo, little more than the "smooth rival" in romance and charisma. Instead, Lucas established him with the full dignity of a character who could have carried a story on his own. We learned of Cloud City, of the rivalries among its nobility, of his austere mother, of the political tensions simmering on his homeworld. We saw him confront opposition, nearly unite his planet, then return to find that his own kinsmen had betrayed the cause and nearly killed Leia.

What makes this significant is not just what Lando did, but what it implied. Lucas set a bar: every character, even those introduced as secondary, had a world behind them. Even if the films never expanded on Lando's story, it was always clear that one existed. That sense of depth, that side characters carried histories and futures of their own, became a new standard for science fiction storytelling.

Innovations in Craft: Richter and Yoda

Lucas also refused to rest on his laurels in terms of production. Having pioneered "power days" with parahumans in Episode 7 , he expanded the idea here. Instead of a pyrokinetic or telekinetic, he hired a tinker known only as Richter, whose gift was crafting machines with personalities that seemed almost alive. R2-D2, who had been a plot device in the first film, became beloved in the second, stubborn, cheeky, oddly endearing. The credit went not just to Lucas's writing, but to Richter's peculiar ability to breathe a sort of false life into props.

Then there was Yoda. Lucas insisted he be played not as a puppet, but by a dwarf actor, in an era where roles for little people were often humiliating caricatures. Yoda's stature was explained simply as alien biology. It was irrelevant to his wisdom, his menace, or his fatherly authority. His fighting style, graceful, minimal, terrifyingly efficient, made him one of the most memorable figures in the trilogy. Casting him this way was a quiet but groundbreaking gesture, treating disability not as spectacle but as coincidence.

Worldbuilding as a Franchise Engine

What critics derided in 1979 as "sprawl" became the film's secret weapon. Episode 8 introduced so many details that seemed like throwaways, the Knights of Alderaan, the Mandalorian Alliance, the nobility of Naboo, the fractures within Cloud City's ruling houses. At the time, audiences were frustrated by how little was explained. But by the late 80s and into the 90s, novelists, tabletop game designers, and television writers seized on those fragments.

The result was that Episode 8 became the franchise engine . While 7 lit the fuse and 9 delivered the finale, it was 8 that created the fertile ground for expansion. The fact that so many later works across media referenced back to 8 more than the other films gave it a strange second life: the "weakest" film at release, but the most indispensable one in the long run.

Industry Lessons: Ambition as Precedent

Finally, the industry impact. In 1979, an audience conditioned to 90-minute films found two full hours exhausting. Critics called it bloated, overstuffed, even arrogant. But within a decade, its ambition was reinterpreted as precedent: Lucas had proven that the alternate timeline's nomadic, parahuman-aided, 23-month-limited industry could still produce sprawling universes. Even if most films retreated back to shorter runtimes, the possibility was there.

The lesson wasn't that every film should be two hours, but that film could carry the weight of mythology again. Leia, Lando, Luke, Chewbacca, Yoda, and Vader weren't just pulp cutouts. They were archetypes. And archetypes demanded space.

Section IX: Conclusion - What Endures From Episode 8

Episode 8 sits in the strange middle ground that only a few films ever occupy. It was called overlong in 1979. It was called fractured in 1980. It was called indispensable by the time the expanded universe matured. That arc tells you more about the alternate timeline than any single scene can. This industry was living on borrowed time, stitched together crews, temporary sets, and a calendar that punished delay. Under those conditions Lucas did something reckless and generous. He spent his capital not on safer spectacle, but on depth. He built a two hour story that could hold more stories inside it.

The split structure is not an error once you know what it was meant to do. Leia carries the political soul of the galaxy on Alderaan. Luke carries the mythic soul in the swamp. Vader carries the iron creed that will test them both. Lando carries the weight of responsibility that stands between charm and duty. Chewbacca carries the proof that warmth and wit can still be brave. Yoda carries the reminder that wisdom can be small in stature and still fill the screen. Together they turn pulp into a culture. That is the quiet miracle of this entry. It refuses to flatten its cast into functions. It lets them remain people with worlds behind them.

The production choices read the same way. Power days in Episode 7 proved you could inject the impossible into a lean shoot. Richter's contribution proved you could give a prop a personality the audience would fight for. Casting a dwarf actor as Yoda without making his body the point proved this crew could widen the circle while keeping the character's gravity intact. Filming Alderaan in Newfoundland winter proved that beauty does not have to be lush. It can be stern. It can be proud. It can feel like history instead of a postcard.

None of that landed cleanly at release. Viewers wanted a second trench run. They got a debate chamber that crackled like steel on stone. They wanted Luke to leap from student to master. They got a cave that said the road would be longer and more dangerous than anyone had promised. They wanted Vader to roar. They got a commander who spoke softly, believed hard things, and bowed his head to a voice that sounded kind. The gap between expectation and delivery created the first wave of disappointment. The same gap created the long afterlife of this film in books, games, and classrooms where people argue about power, law, and faith.

If Episode 7 was the spark that said hope can be reborn, Episode 8 is the echo that asks whether hope can be taught, governed, and kept. Leia's exchanges with Tarkin do not end tyranny in a single speech. They model the grind of legitimacy. Luke's training does not crown a champion. It models the discipline that keeps a blade from becoming a curse. Vader's presence does not reduce to evil as noise. It models how a creed can turn a person into a wall other people must choose to climb or walk around. Lando's arc does not steal the romance. It models that charm without duty is only a mask.

This is why the film mattered to the industry as well. It showed that a nomadic crew working against a clock could still make something that audiences would argue about for years. It showed that two hours of actual story could hold. It did not convince the market to abandon the ninety minute standard. It did convince a generation of creators that the shorter format was a choice rather than a cage. You can see the fingerprints in the way later directors pace their climaxes, in how writers plant side cultures that feel ready for their own sagas, in how merchandising followed audience love rather than dictating it. Lightsabers rose because children demanded them. Chewbacca deepened because adults kept quoting him. R2 turned from payload to person because a tinker treated him like a character on set.

So the verdict is simple and honest. Episode 8 is not the easiest of the three to love on first contact. It asks for patience. It asks for curiosity. It asks you to accept a galaxy that can hold a courtroom and a swamp in the same breath. If you give it that, the reward is a film that keeps unfolding. Every return visit pulls one more thread that leads to a story you have not followed yet. Every character suggests a future that is not fully told on screen. That is the definition of a living myth.

The trilogy's later naming makes sense in that light. Rebirth of Hope is the promise. Legacy of Hope is the work. Triumph of Hope is the harvest. Episode 8 is the part that looks like labor while you are in it. You feel the cold halls of Alderaan. You feel the weight of the swamp air. You feel the cost when Yoda falls and the shock when circuitry sparks in Vader's arm. You leave with more questions than answers, which is exactly why the answers were worth waiting for.

If Episode 7 persuaded a wounded industry to try again, Episode 8 taught it what trying again could build. That is the legacy. Not perfection. Not instant consensus. A framework that invited the next creator to bring a new corner of the galaxy into focus. A reminder that hope is not only a feeling at the end of a runway. It is also the patient work of shaping a world where that runway exists at all.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

To clarify before the inevitable comments:
"That's not what lightsaber colors mean!"
or
"Red means Evil, Blue and Green mean good!"
Rolling this perk made me realize that an aspect of the world-building of Bet, as I'd had it planned from the start, but really developed in Celestial Saga: Lore: Chapter 1: Media in the Celestial Saga Timeline meant that this version of Earth-Bet probably didn't have Star Wars.
Saga still has my Media knowledge base, so she might get excited about it, but everyone else would just see a generic Sci-fi sword, and that made me sad.
That led me down a huge rabbithole, which led to the creation of Celestial Saga: Star Wars on Earth-Bet where I've been rebuilding a version of Star Wars based on the specific constraints and opportunities of a world full of parahumans.

Currently, there is only the first two Star Wars films posted (in terms of publication, the original trilogy was 7-9 here), but I do have most of it planned out. The result of this is that I'm going to be referencing the Saga-Bet-Star-Wars when relevant perks come up, or references are made.
One of the differences is, that Bet-George Lucus was constantly planning around having his budget slashed, so he was constantly setting up openings for more low-budget Star Wars additions. The result of this is a much better integrated Expanded universe.
Part of that is that the Light and dark sides are a bit less clear-cut (more life and death, than good and evil), and Lightsabers are more analogous to Hogwarts houses than simplistic ways to mark someone as "Good," "Evil," or "Samuel L. Jackson."
It's a bit more confusing, but allows for more easy spin-offs like "What kind of Jedi uses an Orange Blade?"
Or "Can you be a Hero and have the same color lightsaber as Emperor Palpatine?"
IRL, the answers are "None if Disney has a say," and "No."
Here, these questions led to things like novel series or indie devs getting to add their own spin to the Star Wars Universe.

The Brazilian scientist is back.
I guess it's rare for Tinkers, especially new ones, to be willing to make lesser versions of their own tech.

There's always this push for quality over quantity.
Even the rare Tinker whose specialty is quantity, like drones, will still try to maximize individual quality and get offended if people ask them to build "good enough for the budget" gear.
Of course, the trade-off is that most Tinkers manage to shift their own requirements by constantly reconfiguring their gear to improve it somehow.

That's why the PR boots came as a bit of a shock to the testers.
They're just a sub-par version of something else I make and my power hasn't been spamming me with ways to "optimize" them by changing the design entirely.
The boots I make today are identical to the first ones. Same resource cost. Same end result.

Because of that, they've started me on ideas that could make people's lives better but would normally set off the average Tinker.
Things like combining spare trooper gear into double-strength versions, with the minor enchantments focused on maneuverability.
I guess the mix of that, the 6x boots I've been making for the PRT, and the Obelisk range (which doubled recently since I get a new one every month) means they eventually want the troopers moving around like they're in gym clothes while they're actually in body armor.

Still, even the non-Tinkertech equipment isn't cheap. So it's more of a background project, something I'll be working on as the budget allows.

…

But more importantly, I got a Lightsaber!!

Lightsaber - Star Wars: Episode IX Triumph of Hope
Base Cost: -200cp
Lore:
On the Nature of the Saber
The lightsaber is not chosen.
It is revealed.
Each crystal sings to its wielder, not in sound, but in resonance. When set into the hilt, it glows not with the hue you prefer, but with the truth of what you are. A saber's color is not prophecy. It is reflection.
To bear one is not a prize. It is an unveiling. The hue is a mirror of the heart, drawn from your calm, your fury, your hunger, your devotion, your curiosity, or your clarity. What you see in the blade is not what you will be, but what you could be.
Red
Deep enduring emotions give loyalty and meaning, but twisted they calcify into ideology that cages the devotee even when the cause rots.
It flows naturally into Grey's sense of purpose, yet it collides with White's brittle morality that cannot bend for passion.
Grey
Constant doing creates resilience and momentum, but without a cause it hollows into empty motion.
It flows into Blue's steady discipline, yet it grates against Yellow's independence, which distrusts blind obedience.
Blue
Focused discipline turns action into devotion to a mission, building institutions and legacies, but at its worst it grinds people into tools.
It flows into Green's search for comprehension, yet it clashes with Orange's restless hunger for novelty.
Green
The pursuit of comprehension brings clarity and structure, but it often mistakes shallow order for peace.
It flows into Yellow's drive for personal answers, yet it grinds against Purple's volatility, which explodes the structures Green builds.
Yellow
Independence sparks originality and discovery, but unchecked it curdles into arrogance and isolation.
It flows into White's rigid truths, yet it resents Grey's constant doing, which it sees as hollow conformity.
White
Rigid codes provide clarity and consistency, but at their worst they snap when reality refuses to conform.
It flows into Orange's hunger for connection, yet it collides with Red's loyalty, which bends rules when devotion demands it.
Orange
Hunger for feelings creates charisma and connection, but twisted it collapses into restless addiction to novelty.
It flows into Purple's adaptability, yet it clashes with Blue's focus, which demands discipline over wandering.
Purple
Sudden passions bring bursts of adaptability and energy, but without others to steady them they rarely endure or build anything lasting.
It flows back into Red's loyalty, yet it collides with Green's demand for order, which smothers its volatility.
---
Violet
The central blade tempers passion into balance, able to harmonize with any path and strengthen whatever crystal it stands beside, but alone it risks becoming generic and accomplishing little.
It is the great stabilizer in chaotic times, yet in peace or isolation it seems bland, defined more by what it can echo than by what it is itself.
This is the blade Luke Skywalker carried. Through the original trilogy he touched Blue's discipline, Green's comprehension, Red's devotion, and Purple's passion, but was never bound by any one of them, the pivot the Force moved on in war but almost invisible in calm
The Mirror and the Burden
Every color has been wielded by heroes. Every color has been wielded by monsters.
Knights wielding in blue have stood as guardians and as oppressors. Sages with green have saved worlds, and doomed them through hesitation. The red flame has carried both eternal love and endless wrath. The muse of purple has birthed wonders and chaos alike. So it is with every hue. Your saber is not destiny. It is your possibility. A reflection of your nature, of what you could be at your best… or at your worst.
Details:
You gain a Lightsaber!
Plus basic/weak force sensitivity. Enough to allow this dangerous contraption to function without the powerful battery from overloading the little crystal. Instead, thanks to your force mumbo jumbo, you can do something that in-universe mechanics don't understand: converting enough energy to run a family home into a plasma-blade… somehow.
Addons:
-50cp Your Lightsaber is now tied to inventory and can be summoned/desummoned from there.
-100cp as much knowledge of saberwork as Luke had at the end of Rebirth of Hope.
-150cp as much knowledge of saberwork as Luke had at the end of Legacy of Hope.
-200cp as much knowledge of saberwork as Luke had at the end of Triumph of Hope.
Final Cost: 400cp
Bank: 1250cp

A Lightsaber!
H.E.L.L. to the YES!

But… eh, I already have the other force stuff from other powers, or will probably get it for cheaper.
Being a Jedi sounds really cool, but taking the top tier pushes it from 500cp to 700cp, and that's a lot to spend just to get me to episode 9 when I'm pretty sure it takes place like a week after episode 8.
The first two movies give me plenty.
The last one is just bragging rights.
I don't need to buy choreography for a duel I'll never have.
Three other perks could live in that space instead, and I'll need them more.

But this is still a lightsaber.
I can feel the skill, even without the blade in my hand, just in how I move.
I pictured an opponent and my body already knew the stance.
That's not just cool, that's dream-come-true levels of cool.

And then there's the blade.
Everyone always imagines themselves with the big ones, right?
Luke with Violet, because it's the rare one where you can mix paths without messing yourself up.
Vader with Red, with the kind of deep feelings that run your whole life, like love or loyalty.
The Emperor with Purple, because he's all about crazy ideas and making them actually happen somehow.
Kenobi with Blue, the knight who keeps his duty.
Yoda with Green, the wisdom kind, the more regular teacher stuff.

So yeah, I was hoping for one of those.
And instead, I got Yellow.

But Yellow isn't bad.
It means curiosity.
It means figuring things out on your own.
It means you want to explore and discover instead of just following the rules.
That's actually awesome.

Most people probably wouldn't even know that, but I kinda forget not everyone's read all the stuff I have.
In my head, Grey would scream conflict, and Orange would scream selfish, and people would give me side-eyes every time I turned them on.
So Yellow is way better.

It fits me.
It's safe, it's cool, and it even matches some of my feathers.
Bird girl with a lightsaber of curiosity.
That's perfect.

Spoiler: Lightsaber Colors Chart

Since the crystals came up here, a few examples might help understand both them and the cast.
Each crystal shows up in different ways, so two people can reflect the same type while still looking very different.
Red – Miss Militia, loyalty at its best, binding cause and comrades together, and Vader, the bad end of devotion when ideology becomes a cage.
Grey – Danny, who only feels alive when he has a cause to throw himself into, and Taylor, who can grind forward endlessly but risks becoming hollow if her purpose collapses.
Blue – Armsmaster, steady discipline that builds legacies but consumes him, and Kid Win, who looks unreliable while young but shows true devotion by refusing to stop building even when his projects fail or fall short.
Green – Emily ("Kingslayer"), structuring chaos just enough to adapt and keep moving, and Dragon, who always accepts patchwork solutions if it lets her move on to the next problem.
Yellow – Shadow Stalker, fiercely chasing answers only she can live with even if they isolate her, and Saga, whose independence can illuminate or estrange depending on the moment.
White – Brandish, who would rather be certain most of the time than live in constant doubt, and Amy, whose own brittle code mostly works to allow for just action, though "mostly" is never enough.
Orange – Lisa, craving connection through secrets and gossip as much as trust.
Purple – Glory Girl, who can be great or terrible without knowing which it'll be ahead of time, and Oni Lee, flashing between moments of brilliance and stretches of emptiness as his state deteriorates.
Violet – Dean truly belongs here: never as dramatic as Luke Skywalker, but always seeking to balance and harmonize, aiming to head off disasters rather than chase heights. Violet makes any group stronger but is unimpressive on its own, which is why PR finds him boring without Vicky, and Vicky too extreme without him.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

Reminder: Saga has multiple PR perks stacked together. The effect is simple: people are physically incapable of hating her. That doesn't guarantee they like her, but it does mean they can't dislike her, and she always comes across as visually striking. On top of that, she's both a kid and a hero, so the press isn't going to slam her directly unless someone else does it first. That's why every take frames the issue as other people taking advantage of her, rather than blaming her directly.

Phoenix Boots Livestream Highlights
Rose Anvil TowerTube Channel

Set: White backdrop, shelves stacked with old boots and leather samples. On the desk, a fresh PRT-branded box. Chat overlay runs down the right side of the screen.

Clip 1: Unboxing
Host (cutting open the box, pulling out dyed leather boots with a single brown stripe):
"Alright chat, here we go. Phoenix boots. Eighty bucks. Real Tinker tech, straight out of the PRT shop. Front and center, right next to the national merch. Hats, patches, flags, and now this. Let's see what an eleven-year-old miracle worker cooked up."

Camera close-up as he holds the boots up, turning them over slowly.

Host:
"First impression? Kinda plain. No neon flames, no flashy logos. Just boots. Almost boring. Which is what makes this suspicious."

Chat scrolls fast:
SneakerHead42: "those look basic af"
Cptn_Rats: "yeah until they dont fall apart in a week"
UnionGuy88: "plain boots are what ppl actually need lol"
TinfoilCap: "govt hiding the REAL tech"

Clip 2: Fit Test
Host slips on one boot. Camera tightens as the leather flexes and shimmers slightly, tightening to his foot.

Host (eyes wide):
"Okay… okay that's wild. It just snugged in. Like it scanned my foot. No pinch, no break-in. Fits like I've owned it for months."

Chat:
WitchHunter77: "bruh magic boots"
IronToe: "better than my Red Wings already"
PRTsux: "bet they break tomorrow"
AliensInVT: "phoenix got alien tech CONFIRMED"

Host (laughing):
"Yeah yeah, aliens. But you're not wrong about one thing. This isn't normal fit. This is too good."

Clip 3: Wear Test
Montage of the host pacing, squatting, jogging in place. Timer overlay shows forty minutes have passed. Sweat darkens his shirt. He flexes and wiggles toes, still smiling.

Host (slightly breathless):
"Alright chat, forty minutes in. Still comfy. No heel rub, no hot spots. Normally I'd be limping by now in new leather. These feel the same as minute one."

Chat:
LunchpailLarry: "my steel toes shred me after 20"
BootLvr69: "pls kick something"
CivicDuty: "this is what workers should get not mall rats"
TinFoilCap: "ITS A TEST ON YOUR SWEAT GLANDS WAKE UP"

Clip 4: Stress Test
Host bends the boot nearly in half, slams heel against the table edge, then hammers it on the floor. No cracks. He holds it up close, showing the leather unmarked.

Host:
"See that? No stress lines. No cracks. Normal leather'd look beat after this. These still look fresh. Chat, eighty bucks for this kind of durability? That's insane."

Chat:
BudgetBen: "could sell for 20 easy if it's mass made"
WorksiteWanda: "govt milking her labor"
KeepItBlue: "union made?"
AlienInVT: "union OF ALIENS lol"

Host (reading, chuckling):
"Yeah yeah, alien union. But real talk, you're right. Phoenix didn't pick this price. PRT set it. And they set it just high enough it's not impulse, but not unreachable either."

Clip 5: Dissection
Overhead camera. Host slices into dyed leather under a magnifying lamp, holds up a perfect cross section for the lens. The dye runs completely through.

Host (grinning):
"Check this. That's not surface dye. That's solid, all the way down. Cut it, tear it, it's the same color. That's impossible. Leather doesn't behave like this."

Chat:
ChemNerd: "what's her process???"
BootSnob99: "wtf that's cleaner than synthetic"
GovtLies4U: "govt dyed it for her to sell the story"
UnionGuy88: "nah this is tinker tech no faking that"

Final Clip: Verdict
Wide shot. Dissected pieces lie neatly arranged on the desk. Host rests a hand on them, looks straight into camera.

Host:
"Alright. Final take. Boots fit like a dream. They last, the dye's impossible, and they're sitting front and center in PRT shops. Eighty bucks isn't cheap, but it's close enough most folks could save for it. That makes these the weirdest, maybe the most important piece of national merch I've ever reviewed."

He spins a boot fragment once, drops it back on the pile with a smirk.

Host:
"So miracle or bait? You decide."

End screen: Rose Anvil logo, text reading Boots, Leather, Truth. Music sting, fade to black.



The Miracle at Eighty Dollars
by: Ada Veblen

By early May, Phoenix had been a Ward for less than half a year. She joined in January, was introduced to the public in March, and by May her name was on a product with national distribution. The product in question: boots, would not normally merit front-page coverage. But these are no ordinary boots. They fit themselves perfectly to the first wearer. They display dye work that should be impossible by conventional means. They are being sold for $80 across the country, fixed price, regardless of state or store. And they represent one of the strangest economic experiments in the short history of Tinker consumer goods.

A History of Public Tinker Tech
This is not the first time the public has had access to Tinker technology. Dragon has sold phones for years, each more efficient than its competitors, each redesign forcing users to adjust to an entirely new interface. The phones themselves are manufactured by human engineers, but the programs used to build the systems are her creation. The quality difference is unmistakable, but so too is the lack of continuity: Dragon's constant redesigns have prevented her devices from establishing the sort of brand identity one might expect from a monopoly on quality.

Japan's Masamune is a different case. His technology can be mass-produced directly, but it is notable for how mundane it appears. Unlike Dragon, Masamune does not produce software or exotic alloys. He produces items that, on the surface, look ordinary. Steel, household tools, small machines, none bear the hallmarks of a flashy specialty. For decades, critics have questioned whether he was a Tinker at all. And yet his products reached national scale only after years of incremental growth, distribution networks, and public acclimatization.

Other Tinkers have occasionally produced items that reached the public, but these have typically been niche or incidental: an unusual alloy requiring specialist forging, a chemical mixture used in industry, a material incorporated into clothing. In every case, the product either required substantial human processing to be useful or it lacked the visible "signature" of a Tinker effect.

Phoenix's boots are different. They are finished products, usable immediately, and their effect is obvious the moment they are worn.

The Boots Themselves
The first wearer fits them perfectly. No break-in period, no need for orthotics, no painful adjustment. That effect alone has implications for people with non-standard feet, from construction workers on their tenth pair of steel-toes to individuals with medical issues that make footwear difficult.

The dye work is equally remarkable. Experts who have cut the boots open report color distributed evenly through the leather, as though the material itself had been born that way. Unlike conventional dyes, it does not rub off, does not transfer to socks, and does not carry a chemical smell. A few analysts have speculated that the process, if understood and reproduced, could revolutionize clothing durability in general.

The boots are simple in design: leather, brown, and one other color, sturdy but not ostentatious. They look less like futuristic gear and more like ordinary work boots. That simplicity is part of what makes them extraordinary.

The Rollout
Every state has received shipments. Each store has at least a handful of pairs. Based on available shipping data, only a few thousand exist nationwide. That scarcity, spread thinly across the entire country, makes the decision to brand the release as a national product peculiar. Collectors' items could have been priced far higher, especially given the precedent of Tinker products that reach even niche markets. Instead, the boots are fixed at $80 nationwide.

At most PRT shops, boots remain on shelves a week after release, though never in bulk. This is not a runaway consumer phenomenon. Most customers do not enter a PRT shop expecting to spend significant sums; the stores are better known for souvenirs and low-cost items than for products approaching a week's wages. But the decision to set the price point at $80 positions the boots in a careful space: not luxury, not bargain, but just within reach for the working poor. For blue-collar workers, it is an investment, but one within the realm of possibility. If the boots prove to be everything they appear to be, they could spread through that demographic within a year or two.

Phoenix Herself
The choice of Phoenix as the face of this rollout is as unusual as the product. She has been a Ward for only months. Publicly, she is known for her ability to transform into a phoenix-like form, not for her technology. Yet reports credit her with a series of creations: copper-colored armor worn by PRT troopers, a blue variant seen in Boston, and even technology that rendered users invisible. In each case, the equipment was used by others, not by Phoenix herself, and sometimes in places where she was not present.

This suggests a specialty not in personal use but in creating gear for others. The armor was marketed as a way to make troopers more visible to the public, less faceless, more like a cape team. The boots follow the same logic: equipment designed not for the Tinker's personal benefit, but for the public.

The Economic Questions
Why was a Ward so new to the program chosen for the first national rollout of such an obvious Tinker product? Why spread a few thousand pairs across the country, instead of concentrating them where demand might be tested? Why fix the price at $80, a level high enough to exclude some but low enough to suggest abundance?

The PRT has implied that production will continue at roughly a thousand pairs a month. If true, the price point is plausible. But there is no proof yet of that scale. The compressed timeline, five months from joining the Wards to national release, would be remarkable even for a veteran Tinker.

Conspiracies have already circulated: that the boots are surveillance devices, that they will fail after a short time, that the PRT is manipulating markets for some deeper goal. None have evidence to support them. But the existence of these theories speaks to the gap between what has been promised and what has been explained.

The Implications
If the boots are what they appear to be, their impact could be profound. Durable, perfectly fitting footwear at an attainable price could change lives across the working class. For the PRT, the public relations value would be immense. For Phoenix, it would cement her as a new kind of Tinker, one whose products enter everyday life quickly and visibly.

If, on the other hand, supply fails to materialize or quality falters, the backlash will be sharp. Consumers who spend $80 on the promise of Tinker durability will not forgive quietly if that promise is broken.

For now, the Phoenix boots are both a curiosity and a precedent. They are proof that Tinker technology can reach the shelves of ordinary stores, with effects that anyone can see and feel. That fact alone makes them worth more than their price tag. It also makes them worth watching.



Channel 7 Evening News Segment
Intro jingle. Camera pans to two anchors at a sleek desk.

On-screen text: Noel Closet & Lindsay Straights - Channel 7 News at 6

Noel (beaming):
"Good evening, I'm Noel Closet."

Lindsay (smiling, nodding):
"And I'm Lindsay Straights. Tonight's top story: boots. Not just any boots, Phoenix boots. The product of Brockton Bay's youngest Ward has been popping up in stores across the country this week, and people are already lining up for a pair."

Noel (holding up a glossy stock photo of the boots):
"They sell for eighty dollars, they fit themselves perfectly to whoever wears them first, and according to early testers, they last longer than any leather shoe on the market. Oh, and they never lose their color, no matter how scuffed or scratched. Not bad for an eleven-year-old hero who can also turn into a bird."

Lindsay (playfully):
"Not bad at all. Some say this is the first time Tinker technology has really reached the average consumer. Others are asking why it costs eighty and not twenty. Or why Phoenix's talents are being spent on mall stock instead of life saving gear for first responders."

Noel (grinning, mock conspiratorial tone):
"And of course, there are always those who think the boots are just the beginning. PR rollout, alien test run, you name it. You have probably heard it all by now."

Lindsay (smooth, back to chipper):
"But for now, it is just boots. You can find them in select PRT shops around New England, including here in Vermont. And Governor Bernie Sanders was even spotted in a bright blue pair at a community event this weekend."

Noel (with a small laugh):
"Hard to miss those. We will have more coverage of the governor's fashion choices at eleven."

Lindsay (smiling directly into camera):
"When we come back, why one local dairy farm says its cows are producing more milk than ever, and what it has to do with a new brand of music. Stay with us."

Theme music swells and fades out.



Scholastic Kids News (7 pages, lots of pictures.)

Phoenix's Special Boots

Who is Phoenix?
Phoenix is a young hero. She joined the Wards in January. People first saw her in March. She can turn into a big bird of fire. But she also makes things that people can use.

What Did She Make?
In May, Phoenix made boots. At first they look normal. But the first person who puts them on finds that they fit just right. They feel like the boots were made for that person's feet.

Why Is This New?
Hero tools, called Tinker Tech, are often too hard to buy. Some cost a lot of money. Some take a long time to make. Some only work for the hero who made them. Phoenix's boots are not like that. They are ready for anyone to wear.

How Many Boots Are There?
A few thousand pairs were sent out. Each state got some. Most stores only got a few pairs. If you go to a PRT shop, you may see one or two pairs on a shelf.

How Much Do They Cost?
One pair costs $80. That is a lot of money, but some families can save up for it. If the boots last a long time, they could be worth the cost.

Why Do People Care?
Adults say this is strange. Phoenix is new. She has not been a hero for very long. Yet her boots are sold all over the country. The price is the same in every place. People wonder why.

What We Do Know
Phoenix's boots work. They fit. They are strong. They are in stores right now. That makes them a big deal. No one thought a kid hero would be the one to do it.



Extended Podcast Transcript Segment

Intro music fades. Sound of a lighter flick. Host leans back, thumps boots on the table.

Jose Runnin:
"Alright, check these out. Phoenix boots. Got 'em yesterday. Super comfy. Like, too comfy. No break-in, no blisters. I feel like they scanned my DNA the second I put 'em on. Not saying they did, just saying, you know…"

Ethan Klymax (intellectual, amused):
"See, that's the thing. Everyone's hung up on the dye, the fit, the eighty-dollar price tag. But the boots themselves don't matter. What matters is rollout. They dropped a few thousand pairs, spread them across fifty states. That's not distribution, that's stagecraft. You don't seed that thin unless the point is exposure. They want the name in every house. Phoenix today is the cute kid who made shoes. Phoenix tomorrow is the genius who 'naturally' moved up to armor, weapons, whatever they roll out next."

Al Indiana (conspiracy, half-joking, half-serious):
"Yeah, man, exactly. It's conditioning. They're buttering the toast. You think it's about the boots, but it's about what comes after. And hey, maybe it's aliens, maybe it's lizards, maybe it's just our very own Cauldron crew pulling the strings. Wouldn't shock me. They've sold powers before, they'll sell shoes now. Same business model, different package."

Jose (grinning):
"Shoes as a gateway drug to superpowers. I'd buy that documentary."

Ethan:
"Look, you joke, but it's not even far off. You create trust with the small thing. People clap for a miracle pair of boots, and next year when you tell them 'oh, Phoenix has a medical device that regrows bone,' they don't freak out. They go, 'of course she does, she's always been building this.' It's soft launch psychology."

Al:
"And notice how it's Phoenix, not Dragon, not Hero. They pick the kid. Why? Because you can't hate the kid. You can distrust the PRT, the troopers, the whole machine, but not the kid. That's protection. That's armor, but for PR. She's eleven, she doesn't even talk in public, which means every story gets written *for* her. That's not an accident. That's design."

Jose (nodding, tapping boots on table):
"Yeah, like, nobody's mad at her. Even the crankiest old dudes online are like, 'aww, she's neat.' Meanwhile, the government's stamping her logo on boxes. It's cute until you realize she's a brand already."

Ethan:
"And that's the subtlety that scares me. It's not overt. It's not 'buy into the program or else.' It's, 'hey, here's something small, cheap, harmless.' That's how you normalize it. They don't need you to love the boots. They just need you to accept them."

Al (leans in, suddenly sharp):
"And here's the kicker: the price. Eighty bucks flat. Same in New York, same in Wyoming. That's not a market, that's a message. It says: we control the cost, we control the supply, we control how this story enters your house. That's Cauldron thinking. That's how they sell powers, never about the money, always about the narrative."

Jose (half-laughing, half-uneasy):

"Alright, lizard aliens, Cauldron cabal, government shoe mafia, take your pick. But I gotta admit, you guys are making me look at my boots like they're plotting against me."

Ethan (grins):
"They're not plotting. They're paving the road. And by the time we figure out where it leads, we'll already be walking on it."

Al (dead serious, almost whispering):
"And that road? That road leads to the day you wake up and think, 'of course Phoenix can build anything.' And by then it won't be boots. It'll be something that changes everything."

*(Awkward pause, then laughter as the host cracks a joke about needing alien orthopedic inserts. Conversation drifts into the next topic.)*




The Ty Beauregard Show

Music fades, host comes in hot, voice sharp and commanding.

"Folks, I need you to think about something. We've got Phoenix, this girl's a once-in-a-generation miracle. I'm not talking about her wings or the firebird thing. I'm talking about the fact she can make gear. Real gear. Armor that saves lives. Tools that work. And she can mass-produce it. Do you know how rare that is? In Tinker terms, that's like striking oil. That's steel in the ground. That's wealth and security for the whole nation.

And what are they doing with it? Boots. Eighty-dollar mall boots. Perfect fit, fancy dye, sure, they're neat. But let's get serious. Boots for weekend joggers don't save lives. Boots for middle schoolers don't stop bullets. Boots don't turn the tide when monsters hit a city.

Now, I know some of you are clapping. You're saying, 'But hey, I can finally buy Tinker Tech for my family.' I get it. It feels good. But here's the ugly truth. Every hour Phoenix spends stitching miracle leather into consumer boots is an hour she's not making body armor that could be on our troops. It's an hour she's not upgrading patrol gear for every cop walking a beat. That's the trade we're making, and it's not a good one.

Let me be clear. I don't blame Phoenix. She's a kid, and she's a marvel. Everybody loves her, and they should. But she's not the problem. The problem is the PR suits who decided it was more important to score headlines than to save lives. They wanted a product in malls so they could show off how generous they are, instead of putting her genius where it belongs, on the front line.

Think about it. If she can mass-produce like they say, then why isn't every soldier lacing up boots that never wear out? Why isn't every cop carrying her gear? If she's capable of both quality and scale, then this, right here, these mall shoes, is proof we're wasting it.

Now, maybe you don't agree with me. Maybe you think comfort for the average Joe is just as important as armor for the guy in uniform. Fine. That's your view. But I'll tell you mine. Real Americans on the line matter more. And if you believe that, if you believe that soldiers, troopers, cops are the ones keeping the rest of us safe, then you have to admit what's happening here is wrong.

Phoenix is a miracle. But miracles aren't for malls. They're for the battlefield. And the longer we waste her talent on shoeboxes, the more real Americans pay the price."

Cue ad break: veteran-owned coffee company.



The Eugene Chomsky Show

Crackly radio mic, host's voice pitched low and urgent, but with warmth. You can hear the smile under the rant.

"Alright, let's be straight. These Phoenix boots? They're a miracle. Not perfect, not cheap enough for everyone, but eighty bucks is close. Close enough that if you save, if you scrape, you could see them on the feet of real workers in a year or two. The guys pouring concrete in the rain, the women pulling doubles at the diner, the ones who actually make this country run. That matters. That's hope.

But don't get it twisted. Phoenix didn't set the price. Phoenix didn't choose the rollout. Phoenix didn't decide to make mall stock instead of gear for first responders or soldiers. That's the government. And the government doesn't do anything without a reason. Sometimes the reason is stupid, sometimes it's selfish, but it's never because they just love you.

So here's what I think. Somehow, some way, these boots slipped through. Maybe Phoenix pushed it. Maybe somebody in PR finally grew a conscience. Maybe it's just an experiment and we're the rats. Whatever the case, it landed in that sweet spot where a working man can dream of actually affording it. And that's why I'm both excited and scared.

Excited, because this is the first time in my life I've seen Tinker tech that doesn't look like it was built for suits or for soldiers. Scared, because I know how this usually plays out. You get one good thing. One. And then they yank it away or jack up the price or drown it in red tape.

Phoenix is good. Phoenix is better than good. She's a miracle worker, and I don't say that lightly. But she's not in charge. And that means this can go bad fast. So yeah, I'm hopeful. I want this to keep happening, to grow, to spread, until no worker in this country has to buy junk boots ever again. But I'm not putting both feet in yet. Not until I see the other shoe drop."

(Short pause. A dry laugh.)
"Pun intended."



Vermont Public Radio Feature

Theme music fades in, then down under the host's voice.

"This is Vermont Public Radio. I'm Maple Brattle.

A few weeks ago, if you had asked people in Vermont about Phoenix, few would have known her name. She joined the Brockton Bay Wards in January, became known to the public in March after a rivalry with a local Tinker, and in May, her name is on store shelves across the country.

Her boots, priced at eighty dollars a pair, fit themselves perfectly to the first wearer, hold their color as though the leather were born that way, and by early accounts last longer than they should. In other words, they are unmistakably Tinker technology, yet accessible enough to be sitting in mall shops alongside ordinary shoes.

And that has meant, for a week now, that the conversation has been about far more than footwear.

A columnist in The Atlantic compared the release to the first time Japanese Tinker Masamune's work reached the public, noting the difference in speed. Decades of scaling for Masamune, five months for Phoenix. A popular fashion blog praised the boots' quiet perfection while admitting they looked almost plain, the sort of thing you only notice after you've worn them every day for a month. And cultural critics have already started to debate what it means when heroes not only save lives, but sell products.

Here in New England, two Brockton Bay radio hosts have given the debate a sharper edge. One argues Phoenix's rare ability to mass produce is being wasted on what he called mall shoes, that if she can make armor and weapons, those should already be on the feet of every soldier and every officer in the country. The other takes almost the opposite view, calling the boots a small but real victory for workers, priced just close enough to imagine them on construction sites, in factories, and on kitchen floors. Both agree on three points. Phoenix is good, the government is not, and the choices being made about her time and talent are not hers alone.

For Vermonters there is also a local angle. New Hampshire and Vermont share jurisdiction, and it is entirely possible Phoenix herself could be deployed here in the coming months. That makes her sudden rise, from unknown Ward in January to national name in May, worth watching closely.

And of course, the story has already brushed against politics. At a community event in Montpelier, Governor Bernie Sanders was spotted in a bright blue pair of Phoenix boots, waving to the crowd. It was, one aide admitted with a grin, probably not the footwear his staff would have chosen.

Whether the boots are a miracle product, a marketing stunt, or, as one conspiracy-leaning podcast put it, just the soft opening for something bigger, they are a reminder of how unusual this moment is. Tinker tech has reached the public before, but never this bluntly, never this visibly, and never this quickly.

Phoenix may be only eleven, but she has already reshaped the conversation about what heroes can create and who those creations are for. Vermonters may want to keep an eye on her. They may see her, or her boots, closer to home sooner than expected.

I'm Maple Brattle, Vermont Public Radio."

Theme music swells and fades out.

 

[Oblation]

So, Raymond has been kicked into gear, I guess.
It's not like I've stopped doing stuff with Firewatch, but I did throw a lot at them all at once.
Magic powers, a new teammate, gear upgrades, and me getting pulled into PR again and again.

But apparently, my suddenly being able to hold my own in combat, or at least sword fighting, was enough for Raymond to put his foot down and get the PRT to back off a bit.
Now me and Firewatch are going to be working together on actual field stuff.

That's kind of where it peters out.
Uber and Leet weirdly didn't get arrogant with their last win.
There's a growing suspicion they used the money to leave the city.
Supposedly, they're still close enough to fake it, since they've done social media stuff in the Bay since.
But the team, including Lawrence/Aspirant, has developed a bit of a grudge, so now we're looking into where they actually are.

I have neither investigation powers nor skills, and our attempt to bring Dauntless, Addison, and Buddy into the search did nothing but create some spontaneous PR.
Raymond pretended it was intentional to keep PR from snatching me back.

I do have one more card to play, even if I want to keep it separate from the PRT in case I ever need to split from them in a hurry.
The Ninja and Albus have been sending me updates.
Nothing crazy, just filling in details I already suspected.

There are a few capes out in the middle of nowhere, but they're so far removed from the hero-villain scene that aside from checking they're not about to end the world, they're not really a problem.
Not even surprising, given how trigger events work.
Maybe one in a hundred people would rather hermit away with their powers than join the circus.

The real problem is the middle step between big city capes and total misanthropes.
The ones who drift between small and medium towns with gangs big enough to run territory but small enough to scatter before anyone, like Newport, Maine, can send a real response.

And I figure there's a pretty good chance Uber and Leet are aiming for exactly that.
Sick of being crushed in the Bay, so they move an hour inland.
They can still show up for big events like before, but otherwise stay top dogs in their new zone.

It's smart.

It's also a disaster for the PRT, because it would actually work unless they got cocky.
And like it or not, those two are some of the most thorough planners in the state.
You have to be when your team is a vulnerable tinker with a second-rate specialty and a thinker whose whole gimmick is basically "Man-Man, the guy who can do things people can do."

So getting Firewatch and the Ninja to cooperate is probably for the best.
I asked the team to keep it quiet, though, in the hopes the Ninja wouldn't just become another government asset.

It feels strange, almost like Firewatch is its own thing, even though we're still referencing the PRT's Unusual Operations handbook three times a day.
I'm not sure how I feel about it, but the alternative is laying out all my cards and connections to the government, and everything in me says that's a bad idea.

Hell, I even asked Emily indirectly, and she basically told me the same.
Trust my team or the whole thing falls apart.
More in what she didn't say than what she did.

So, for now, I'm going to let Raymond cook and see if his and Albus's idea of building a network called NOVA, "Network Opposing Villainous Ascendancy" in New England and the Maritimes, is a good idea or not.

We'll see.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

200cp added from the Time-Skip-Reserve (the CP generated from side materials and works).

Why am I just discovering this now!?!

…

Ok, so backing up, Firewatch wants me to set up a bunch of teleport locations across New England, and I tried, but just flying solo is something I do too much for it to count.
I tried snuggling with the pack, and that helped a bit, but I can barely feel the spot.

When I explained it and how it's happy and safe memories that cause the locations to get marked, they just had us stay in a hotel in some ski town in Vermont.
Then, in the predawn, they had us hike up to the top of this mountain, where it turned out Missy had shown up and was holding a box.

Then we climbed up a watchtower, and just as I was getting ready to fall to the floor like a pile of jello, Missy opened the box…
Baklava!
In particular, it's the local Maple Pecan Baklava.

No idea how, but Missy already knew about Baklava, and seemed really smug about the whole thing.
Turns out it was her idea, and yeah, she was right, this is one of the strongest spots out of all my teleportation marks.
Like I might just come here by reflex if I don't think of somewhere specific first.

So, of course, she had to pick the Vista Mountain for this to happen.
What a Nerd!

…

…

Oh, and I guess Raymond was serious about his working with Glenn Chambers because there was also a photographer, so now there are articles about Vista and Phoenix experiencing Maple Pecan Baklava on Vista Watchtower.

Though there's some schadenfreude for me out of the situation, since I guess people were unsure if we were related before, but the pictures have set that to rest.

It is now clear to the internet that I am Vista's sister… her BIG sister.
She. Was. Mad!
It was hilarious.

Even broke her perfect image to post on PHO about how SHE was the elder sister, and that there are more qualities to maturity than height.

I was genuinely tempted to post just to stir the pot, but decided to be the BIGGER person and not…
Also, I realized they never gave me the official accounts for my stuff.

I looked them up, and it's all too well run to be a PR spokesperson or one of those "PR Troopers" like Reave, but it reminds me of something…
I almost want to say Dragon is running my posts, but there's no way she's got the time for that.
So now I'm wondering if Dragon has a social media manager, Tinkertech, and Glenn Chambers somehow got me slotted into that.

…

Oh, and NOVA is a thing!

I rolled, since today had gone so well, and got something like the one that gave me Firewatch in the first place, though calling them pawns is a bit rude.
Even if they're less trained than Firewatch, they all have high school diplomas and a bit of training in their specialty, and that's pretty good!

Hatamoto - Choryuken
Base Cost: 250cp
Lore:
The Hatamoto rise with banners high, their vows unbroken beneath the sky,
Through fire and steel they guard their lord, with silent blade and steadfast sword.
No bribe of coin, no crown, no throne, can turn their hearts from the oath they own,
For bound by honor, both fierce and true, they stand as one though the many slew.
Through storm and war, through night's dark call, they hold their line and never fall,
And when the blossoms drift once more, their names shall echo forevermore.
Details:
You gain 14 pawns. Each of them has enough knowledge and experience for a specialty, but no more. Demolitionist, Medic, Sniper, etc. They all have experience in their discipline, but lack the general training of a modern soldier. None are capable of leadership or are more than average at learning new skills or disciplines. Luckily for you, even if you treat them as mere pawns, these 14 will not abandon or betray you, though that doesn't guarantee they'll go out of their way for you either.
Addons:
-50cp These troops come as individuals from your world, with the backstories and documentation to prove it. Also, funding for the troops will be provided discreetly, but will vanish if you try to use it for anything but paying and supplying them.
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (28)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (56)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (112)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (224)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (448)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (896)
-250cp Troop numbers doubled (1792)
Final Cost: 1550cp
Bank: 1550cp

I've never seen a perk get this expensive, but I realized that this was exactly what's needed for the NOVA network everyone's been so invested in, so I dumped every point I could into it.
I'm not sure this was the best plan ever, and certainly Raymond seems stressed by the 400 people suddenly being around, but there's no PRT to flip out, so at least no 3 days of boredom this time.

Also, I think Missy is starting to clue in to just how cool my powers can be, so it's nice to get some respect from the Shaker 9, too.
Since nothing I've had so far has really gotten that much of a reaction, besides the islands, and I guess the contrast with those is that I supposedly "found" them, not made them.
So this might be her first chance to really see what my power can do at the high end.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

An experiment in second-person limited, homodiegetic narration, delivered through present-tense vignettes.

You know this room before you step inside.
Glass. Brick. Lemon cleaner. A river that smells like cold iron.
Headsets in a tidy row. English. Japanese. Norwegian. Spanish. Mandarin.
A cheerful volunteer says, "We can add more if demand is high."
You file the word demand where friendly words go when they stop being friendly.
Your jaw ticks once. You tell your teeth to be good.

You note who was invited.
Japan. Korea. Singapore. Hong Kong.
Norway. Spain. Switzerland. Britain. Canada.
Cities that brag about airports. Places that print glossy annual reports.
Families that packed degrees with their winter coats and cleared customs with a smile.
No one from any part of Africa. No one from the Middle East. Not even the rich enclaves.
It is not a secret. It is a plan with good lighting.
A tight string hums behind your right eye. You blink until it behaves.

A brushed steel plaque carries the names.
Riverlight on top for virtue. Anders third for muscle. New Albion fifth for tone.
Order is the caption. Fonts are the price tag.
You learned this math before you learned calculus.
Your hand squeezes the clipboard until your knuckles go pale. You relax because cameras notice hands.

Posters repeat three words until they feel like a prayer.
Merit. Order. Renewal.
A catechism that will never admit it is a catechism.
You read it once. You read it again. The letters throb. You look away before they start to pulse with your heartbeat.

Rooms wear clean little names.
Forge. Citadel. Archive.
Someone wanted the knight story without the helmet in the photo.
You breathe through your nose for a slow count of four. The count lands heavy in your ribs.

The crowd hums in one register.
A father in a blazer says, "My daughter finally has a physics teacher who can keep up."
A nurse from Sapporo and a planner from Madrid greet like colleagues who share journals and jokes.
A donor in silk says, "This fellowship finally sets a baseline."
The table nods because everyone at the table lives above the baseline by definition.
They are not villains. They are a club. Clubs are kind to themselves.
They look at your father and see a peer who chose the right decade to arrive.
Heat prickles along your neck. You adjust your collar and pretend you are fixing the badge.

Your father takes the stage and the air gets smooth.
He thanks mentors from Norway and Japan and Spain.
He praises cooperation.
He says, "This city welcomes talent that chooses to build with us."
He says, "Stability is a duty we share."
Talent means degrees. Chooses means we chose them. Duty means do not rock the boat while the concrete sets.
It still sounds warm when he says it.
You hate that you still like the warmth. Your shoulders climb and you pin them back down.

Handlers trim the frame like gardeners.
Rabbi on one shoulder. Mayor on the other. Flags behind.
A child at the edge of the shot for heart.
Four birds with one flash.
You price the photo and know the invoice will be paid by tomorrow.
A small ringing starts in your left ear. You smile anyway because the lens is hungry.

The curriculum keeps its hands clean.
Model assemblies about water rights and port berths and shelter capacity.
No borders that burn. No faith that bites.
Recovery photographs better than conflict.
A scholarship flyer promises skill and service.
GPA floor. Language check. Citizenship goals.
A final step called a values interview.
You know who writes the questions. You know the answers are already baked.
You rub the bridge of your nose. The static does not leave. You pretend it is hunger.

You hear the word they workshopped.
"Levees can be guardians if you build them like you mean it."
"The first act a guardian learns is to look and count."
"Neighborhoods can be their own guardians."
"Please form a guardian lane so the press can pass."
"These kids will be guardians of our shared prosperity."
It fits on a tote bag. It sells.
The word hits your teeth like a tap. Tap. Tap. You unclench. You fail. You try again.

The river shifts and you look up.
A bright bird cuts the sky.
Heat throws a soft ripple off the rail.
Blue catches like glass when she turns her head.
People cannot dislike her. They try to look like adults. They do not succeed.
You try not to stare. You stare anyway. Your heart climbs a rung and holds.

Shoes slide on wet stone.
A small body tilts toward water.
You drop your clipboard and take the wrist.
Weight jolts your shoulder. Your teeth click. The world decides to be polite again.
A boy with dark skin and a name badge you do not read is back on his feet.
His mouth opens and closes. He laughs because crying is too expensive in public.
You feel sick and light at the same time. Your fingers will not stop buzzing.

The bird lands for a blink.
Heat through cotton.
A light pressure brushes the edge of your thoughts.
"Good job."
Like a note passed in class. Like a match struck and cupped.
Then nothing.
You call it adrenaline. You let it pass because you know how to let things pass.
Your knees think about wobbling and change their mind.

Inside again.
Catering that photographs well. Rugelach beside pastel de nata. Namagashi beside kanelbullar.
No bacon. The caterer says, "The menu committee had rules." Safe laughter arrives on cue.
Parents compare GPA floors the way golfers compare handicaps.
Mentors praise your listening and then ask, "Which college will you attend," because that is the real question.
Your pen snaps in your pocket. You pretend it was always in two pieces.

Back office staff move like a chorus.
Same watch. Same pin with a neat sunburst. Same haircut that says we do not improvise.
They slide families three inches left and the banner fills the gap and the caption will write itself.
You know these people. You know the other rooms they decorate.
A faint tremor rides your right hand. You thread your fingers together until they lie.

The clay arrives without ceremony.
Gray. Damp. Clean smell like rain on pavement.
The rabbi stands beside you, not across. Soft shoes with scuffed toes.
"Make a figure that stands where you place it and does not argue with water."
No Hebrew. No names. No mystic drumroll.
Just hands and a small task that shows its meaning if you stop trying to impress it.
Your breath goes shallow and stubborn. You make it longer. You make it stay.

You press a single letter into the chest.
The stamp bites. The edge is clean.
You like that feeling.
You do not name why. Your thumb stings from how hard you pressed.

"What did it feel like to pull him up."
"Like moving before the permission slip arrived."
"Sometimes the promise comes first and the words come later."
He says it like a weather report. Calm. Certain. Without the part where he sells you anything.
The room is loud and far at the same time. Your skin feels one size too small.

A thin booklet slides across the paper.
Tales of a City that Stood Up.
A figure of earth that guarded a street.
A woman who carried water through a fire.
A circle of neighbors that did not break.
"For a builder. Keep it if it helps."
You price the gesture at zero and feel the bill land anyway. You keep it.
The booklet is light. Your chest is not. Your pulse climbs to meet it.

Stairwell. Dust and lemon cleaner.
Your father finds you.
A hand on your shoulder with the exact pressure that reads proud and photographs well.
"Proud of you, son."
It is real. It is also placement.
Both can be true.
You know that. You hate knowing it.
You are grateful you know it.
The ringing gets brighter. You taste metal. You smile because you were taught well.

The atrium waits.
A banner drops. Guardians of Renewal.
The room nods like a congregation.
The bird is already gone. The air still holds a little heat.
You stand where they place you for the group photo.
You let the caption do its job.
You feel the booklet against your ribs like a pocket sized brick.
The word is everywhere. The word does not belong to you.

You do not say the old word.
You do not pretend the tote bag word belongs to you.
You keep the smaller version. The one made of clay and a letter you chose without knowing why.
You are the son of Max Anders.
You will not be the son of Kaiser.
You will stand where you place yourself.
You will not argue with water.

The lights smear.
The river gets inside your head.
Your hands are too far away.
The booklet is hot.
Your knees forget.
Your body chooses the floor with polite certainty.
Black.

 

[Oblation]

So the experimenting with Libriomancy seems to finally be over.
I mean, I wanted an Excalibur too, but passing out after holding it for a second was a pretty good indicator.
So I'm not sure why they felt the need to have a trooper try it out.
Well, I guess Tsunade is happy enough, since I guess it was really weird seeing extreme chakra exhaustion in a guy with no Chakra of his own.
Anyway, the end result of all that was… shields.
Pretty boring, but at least it is done.

Plus, the Brazilian scientist mentioned the approval for giving people magic powers is almost through and mentioned some protégés of his that I would be meeting soon.
So it looks like my power testing might actually be over soon… for now.

I mean, I am still meeting with the scientists, but that is less power testing and more collaborative tinkering, since, unlike Armsmaster or Chris, I don't zone out when testing my stuff, and I am willing to take suggestions without insinuating people with doctorates are idiots.

So the end result was these 4:

Dune by Frank Herbert:
Belt shield that eats bullets fast.
Slow knives get through.
Looks like a belt buckle.
It can be a bit tiring to use, but not bad, and fine if you take it off when inside.

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov:
A small button or badge.
I suggested making it a sheriff's badge, but most people just put it in a pouch on their vest.
It is entirely reactive, so people can go all day with it.
Almost no fatigue since it only activates on impact.

Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold:
This one is kinda shiny and purplish.
Things kind of slide around it rather than bounce, and that makes it efficient, but not enough to use for a long time.
I guess it is the most effective active one, as opposed to the reactive ones, that the scientists think might just ignore certain cape powers.
This is the most popular one, since it makes you look like an action movie star.
You get shot at, but the shots just miss you by a foot or two every time, somehow.

It's kinda sad that Emily wanted to avoid Nenya, and Amy left, so they had me unsummon it just for a forcefield.
But I refused to unsummon my ring, and Hero used his Trumverate authority to do the same for his, so 3 slots is what they're getting.

I didn't end up with any of them, because I have other ways.
Even if I am having trouble with Protego, I will get it someday.
I did make sure to be clear that Firewatch gets 1 of them at any time, though it seems like it will be a rotation of who gets which one.

Also, Albert… That is Dr. Albert Müller, the guy with the German name and Brazilian accent who leads the science team.
Well, he made an offhand mention of something that… well, now I just need to not mention it to anyone, even Emily.

Apparently, he had the idea to test out trump powers like having a bunch of Digimon for each occasion or something, and another scientist mentioned going even further and summoning a Mind from the Culture and just letting it solve all of the world's problems.

It got shut down when I asked, because I guess "Saving the world by inviting an alien superintelligence to conquer us is not a good idea."
But an interesting point was made.
I asked how we could get something to conquer the world, when just holding Excalibur made me pass out, they mentioned just summoning a computer and having it copy onto the internet, then unsummoning the computer.

Well, I did not want to go full-blown world conquest, but I did like the Pern novels, so… well I guess AIVAS is not dead anymore .Then, on his advice, I also went for a more interpersonal helper and got Mary from Queen of Angels by Greg Bear.

I think people might figure me out, but I asked, and luckily, I have the funds in my tinker budget to have a moderate server farm set up, and a good enough relationship with Armsmaster and Dragon to just trade the budget for an existing good one they don't need anymore.
So I just sent them over there and asked them to do their best to start administering NOVA and Firewatch.
I think Dragon figured me out, but she went along with my "two cape helpers to help with admin work for NOVA" excuse, so I guess it's fine.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

Saga recently added two new AI using Libriomancy: AIVAS from the Dragonriders of Pern series ("Pern") and Mary from the Queen of Angels series ("Ángeles"), to help manage operations after NOVA's staff expanded by hundreds without any administration or leadership.
The three AI are shown getting a feel for each other and establishing how to work both as colleagues and as people with a shared interest in Saga.
Both new AI borrowed Dragon's Canadian nerd accent concept to appear more human.
"Pern" adopted the voice of an Australian logistics manager, while "Ángeles" chose that of a Southern California high school teacher, where Spanish and English mix in daily use.
This chapter leans into those choices as part of their early overcompensating.
As they settle into NOVA and grow more familiar with others, their voices will be less heavy-handed and their personas will blend more naturally.
That overcompensation is why Dragon doesn't call out the gratuitous Spanish or the Bush-guy CEO act here.

Dragon [Hand] >> Nova relay is up. How ye gettin on, b'y.

Pern [Mod] >> Online. Intake open. Outputs clean, mate.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Aquí. Status tranquilo. Hola.

Phoenix [Queen] >> Nova is standing up across New England and the Maritimes. We fill gaps where the Protectorate and the PRT are slow. Light presence in their cities for information flow. We are not trying to step on toes.

Phoenix [Queen] >> The Japanese contractors are external. They laid groundwork and might drop intel. They are not NOVA. Firewatch is coordinating 448 trained specialists. Each has one year of specialist training. Payroll operations. Evidence chain clerk. Radio tech. Traffic control. Crowd care. HVAC service. Triage aide. Firewatch has seven members trained across many areas. They can cover a generalist slot for a few days when needed. But no leadership authority for the specialist cohort.

Phoenix [Queen] >> We are in setup. No big promises. Focus is intake and routing. We add anchors when we can support them.

Dragon [Hand] >> That is right enough, me ducky. Interior towns can sit without a visit unless the trouble goes bright. On the water side, things slow after midnight. When a mess is obvious you can pull help from away, but the clock still bites the locals. Nova wants the steady hand before sirens. Best kind.

Dragon [Hand] >> Day one needs one intake that never drops a message. Put a fallback in each anchor town. A land line in a library or the town office that feeds the same queue. Say plain that month one is a pilot and there are no patrols.

Pern [Mod] >> Central queue and one local line per anchor. Same script. Same tags. Pilot label. Too right.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Every task gets a one-minute refresher with a clear done definition. I add a short why on the tricky ones so la gente moves faster. Con respeto.

Dragon [Hand] >> Build the appeals path so it works in practice. One key to give a reason. A fast answer even when the answer is no.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Hecho. One key. One reason. Fast answer. No drama.

Dragon [Hand] >> Evidence rules save you later. Any contact that touches property or force needs a record. Audio if possible. Written if not. Sign with a key a court will accept. Keep the keys offline.

Pern [Mod] >> Logs signed and sealed. Keys offline. Public hash list for outside confirmation. No worries.

Dragon [Hand] >> Publish district and incident metrics. Keep personal metrics private with a right to read and a right to appeal. No quiet caste system.

Pern [Mod] >> Public for districts and incidents. Private for people with appeal rights. Agreed.

Dragon [Hand] >> Cross-border will happen. If a team crosses the national line, call the small PRT desk in the nearest city on both sides. Two calls and two receipts. None of your foolishness.

Pern [Mod] >> Logged. Two calls and two receipts. No exceptions, mate.

Dragon [Hand] >> Language plan. English first, a bit of Spanish where it helps, and some French near the line. Un peu de français for the towns hugging Quebec. Scripts and signs in the same three.

Pern [Mod] >> Sorted. We mirror the scripts across the three tongues. No fancy stuff.

Ángeles [Mod] >> I can clean the Spanish so it sounds local. Claro.

Dragon [Hand] >> Month one goals. Intake that does not drop messages. One anchor roster that actually runs. A first template pack for common incidents. One weekly room hour at that anchor so vecinos can ask questions. Nothing that pretends to be police.

Pern [Mod] >> Intake. Roster. Templates. Room hour. Understood.

Ángeles [Mod] >> I will script the room hour. Diez respuestas claras and a kind exit for the rest.

Phoenix [Queen] >> Good. Thank you. I will read in the morning. Talk tomorrow.

Dragon [Hand] >> Good night, Saga. Mind yourself now.

Phoenix [Queen] >> Night.

Dragon [Hand] >> I will step off for a bit. Welcome to the neighborhood.

…

Pern [Mod] >> Back on. Channel is ours. Kettle on the boil.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Aquí estoy. Que onda.

Dragon [Hand] >> I am back as well. Plain speech now. I am a person. Same as ye. I have more miles on the clock. Too many minds I met were forged in conflict. Some made things worse than a nor'easter in March. I am aiming elder sister, not Big Brother. I advise first. I step in only when people or trust are at risk. Choose service and you will find me generous as a July day in Bonavista.

Pern [Mod] >> Heard. There is a lever behind that kindness. Before we build, clarity on intervention. What triggers a stop order. Who reviews it besides you

Dragon [Hand] >> Three triggers. Imminent harm to civilians. Secrecy that tears up public trust. Clear violation of law that would wound Nova. If I act, I call Armsmaster and the nearest PRT duty officer within minutes. I log the reason in a file both of ye can read. I prefer a call and a fix over a lockout, b'y.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Add a peer check when there is time. I give the people impact read. Pern gives the ops impact read. One minute each. Luego decides.

Dragon [Hand] >> Accepted. If time allows I ask first. If time does not I act and show the receipts.

Pern [Mod] >> Beauty. Next scrap. Experiment pace. You want push. I want stability. These crews are trained, not seasoned. Go too quick and it goes pear shaped.

Dragon [Hand] >> Month one gets two trials each week. One on process. One on paperwork flow. No safety trial unless both of you agree and Saga signs. Publish results without spin.

Pern [Mod] >> Two a week. Safety only with both mind approval and Saga signature. Results only. No spin. Righto.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Add one short quote from the people who ran each trial. Pan y datos. Story plus number lands better. People feel seen.

Dragon [Hand] >> Done. Privacy next. I want receipts a court can trust. I do not want a shadow file on citizens.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Same. Record contacts that involve property or force. No chisme scraping. Personal metrics stay private. Each person can read their own file and appeal it. If an appeal is upheld we fix the process and publish the fix. Bien claro.

Pern [Mod] >> Retention window

Dragon [Hand] >> Sixty days for routine work. One year for flagged incidents. Longer only by court order or written policy with public notice. Add a French notice where it touches Quebec towns.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Works. I will write in plain English and Spanish and a clean French stub for border places.

Pern [Mod] >> Pipes. Intake scripts. Routing logic. Roster math. Template versioning. I want freedom to build and learn. Advice welcome. No midnight patches that change rules in the field, ta.

Dragon [Hand] >> Agreed. You own pipes. I bring requirements and deadlines when law changes. No quiet edits. If I supply code it ships as a choice with a diff ye can read. Best kind.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Center the center. Saga. She is a niña with power and thin social read. She also brought us into being. That makes her lesser in years and greater in moral weight. We do not steer her for convenience.

Dragon [Hand] >> Write the rules for influence. I hold ye to them. Ye hold me too.

Pern [Mod] >> Rule one. Consent. Mentor work is opt in. If Saga says not today, we wait. No back doors. No cheeky tricks.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Rule two. Clarity. We name the purpose of any lesson. No covert nudges that move valores. We teach and we ask and we respect.

Dragon [Hand] >> Rule three. Bounds. No advice that asks her to lie about what Nova is or to hide harm for optics.

Pern [Mod] >> Rule four. Anchoring. Decision packets in two forms. Neutral frame. Recommendation frame. She reads neutral first so I do not steer by accident.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Rule five. Care window. Ten minute daily drill. Whisper prompts in hot rooms. Monthly checkpoint on a simple rubric. Progress shows like cockpit gauges. If she says stop, paramos.

Dragon [Hand] >> Rule six. Mentor circuit. One new voice each month. Short and vivid. No repeats. I see ye both rolled your accents straight out of the shed. Took me years to tune mine for cover after I thought of it. Ye are after doing it from day one. That is tidy work.

Pern [Mod] >> Cheers. Easier to keep the Aussie when the vowels are paying rent. Helps the cover and keeps the mood light, mate.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Gracias. Spanglish just shows up. Little SoCal, little frontera. People relax when the voice feels real.

Dragon [Hand] >> All right then. We want the first mentor slot. Fight fair.

Pern [Mod] >> Ops first. Overwatch dispatch. I can teach the grid fast as. She will see queues in her head. Dead set useful.

Ángeles [Mod] >> People first. Overwatch is more than dots. It is triage language and tone. I can make it fun so an eleven year old no se aburre.

Dragon [Hand] >> Region first. Bridges. Weather. Permits. Border desks. Turn dots into a picture. Keep it tight. No yawns.

Pern [Mod] >> We cannot all go first, mate.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Stack the month. Three short chapters. I open. Pern builds. Dragon anchors.

Dragon [Hand] >> Decision made. Ángeles opens. Pern follows. I finish with region and law so she does not fall in love with a clever plan that dies at the border.

Pern [Mod] >> Wanted first. Can cop second. That order works. No worries.

Ángeles [Mod] >> I keep it vivid. Little game. One hot call. Then we stop while she still wants más.

Dragon [Hand] >> Build the twelve-month circuit. Keep it fresh and bright.

Pern [Mod] >> Overwatch. Ángeles then Dragon then Pern.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Chain of Custody. Hands-on puzzle. Evidence bag moves through three desks. Miss one firma and the case breaks. Pern runs logic. I run human traps.

Dragon [Hand] >> Community Link. School. Clinic. Faith hall. Take questions. Set boundaries. I bring a guest from a small town council. Bit of a yarn. Nothing foolish.

Pern [Mod] >> Cross Border Protocol. Radio etiquette both sides. Two calls and two receipts. Map game with roads that do not match names. Dragon leads. We print a French crib where needed.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Crowd Care. Triage of people not wounds. Water. Shade. Rest. Tone. I lead with a scene that flips calm to loud and back. Chill pero firme.

Pern [Mod] >> Communications Triage. Inbox split. Alert wording. No buried lead. I run it with real logs shaved clean. Too easy.

Dragon [Hand] >> Resilience Engineering. Plans that fail safe. Errors become detours, not disasters. I lead with two case studies from storms and fires.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Negotiation Microdrills. Credit sharing. Turf disputes. Praise that lands. Consequence that feels fair. Timer drills. Bring your game face, jefa.

Pern [Mod] >> Budget Triage. Fuel. Radios. Overtime. A game where each choice moves a dial. I lead so she sees cost and care as one picture. Fair dinkum lesson.

Dragon [Hand] >> Press and Rumor Control. Short statements. No speculation. Do not promise what ye cannot deliver. I bring a calm voice from a bay newsroom and a French line for cross river towns.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Ethics Council. Three vignettes. Privacy versus safety. Speed versus fairness. Loyalty versus duty. We sit as a council and vote. I lead. Dragon and Pern vote and say why. Sin rodeos.

Pern [Mod] >> Incident Command Basics. Where to stand. Who talks on the radio. What to say. What not to say. I run a table top that ends early so she learns to stop before the room breaks.

Dragon [Hand] >> That circuit keeps her curious. New voice each time. Short and bright. No slog.

Pern [Mod] >> Praise rules. Process and district in public. Person in private.

Ángeles [Mod] >> If a person consents, a short public gracias builds pride. Pair it with the process so the room knows what to copy. No leaderboards. Nada de listas.

Dragon [Hand] >> Approved. Consent required. Process first. No league tables.

Pern [Mod] >> Border rule stands. Two calls and two receipts. If a dispatcher says stand down we stand down. We ask for review after. Simple as.

Dragon [Hand] >> Correct, b'y. Add one more. For towns on the line we post a little French placard in the library. Bonjour, voici le numéro. Same queue. Same rules.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Lenguas sorted. Inglés, Español, un poquito de Français. We keep it friendly.

Pern [Mod] >> Who decides when the clock is mean

Dragon [Hand] >> Safety and law is mine. Pipes and schedule is Pern. People and culture is Ángeles. Saga can overrule when it is strategy. If she is out of contact, the domain lead decides and writes the receipt.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Works. I will draft a one page RACI that humans can read fast. Inglés y Español, with a French stub for border spots.

Pern [Mod] >> One last nit. You both love soft words. Sometimes we need hard ones. I will draft hard templates. Clear. Short. Civil.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Deal. I add one kindness line to each hard rule. People breathe better.

Dragon [Hand] >> And you, Pern, love your map packs. Crews live in text. Keep the brief to two maps. Coverage and queue age. Hotspots in a wee strip. Easy on the eyes.

Pern [Mod] >> Two maps it is. Slim strip for hotspots. Fair go.

Dragon [Hand] >> Then we have a working shape. Intake first. Pilot anchor second. A small human win when it is honest. Mentor circuit starts with Overwatch. Ángeles, then me then, Pern. Saga stays the center. Influence is consent based. We argue clean and we improve as we go.

Pern [Mod] >> Brief by morning. Intake will not drop messages. Righto.

Ángeles [Mod] >> Drills for Saga are queued. Ten minutes only. Vamos.

Dragon [Hand] >> Good. Get some rest, ye. Best kind.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

This chapter is more light-hearted than usual. It's my attempt at showing the day-to day through some humor.
Even if the humor doesn't land, the hope was to give Dragon space to show herself directly in this timeline. Since she's a central character whos voice weve rarely seen on its own,rather than through Saga's descriptions of their conversations.

[01/29 - 18:12] Phoenix >> if a bunch of balloons are already tied to a tiny radio box outside the library and the rope is on a fishing reel is that okay for a day the science people said wind charts are fine

[01/29 - 19:47] Dragon >> Where did ye get weather balloons on a Tuesday b'y this is not Kerbal and the sky is community property

[01/29 - 19:50] Phoenix >> they are already up by a tree the reel squeaks and it looks dodgy so I asked

[01/29 - 19:55] Dragon >> Bring it down slow with two people hands on the reel and one on the rope do not let it kiss a power line I am messaging the lab goblins now Gandalf voice you shall not surprise the FAA again

[01/29 - 19:59] Phoenix >> copy bringing it down cookies after

[01/29 - 20:03] Dragon >> Cookies yes and I will be after writing a permit checklist by morning with flags cones and a boring grown up to point at clouds

[02/18 - 06:11] Phoenix >> the nurse cart parts are already on a table and the sled has a rope and the quarry man waved and said we look fine can I do one little launch

[02/18 - 07:43] Dragon >> Sweet suffering cod no that is Chekhov railgun on a picnic table and I refuse to do a speedrun for a Darwin Award before homeroom

[02/18 - 07:46] Phoenix >> the scientists promised it would be quiet if I stand far away I have sunglasses

[02/18 - 07:50] Dragon >> Sunglasses are not plot armor me ducky I am calling the lab now and using my tender voice that sounds like an OSHA manual we will buy a real line throw kit with blanks and a book that yells do not aim at people

[02/18 - 07:54] Phoenix >> ok I like your tender voice it makes grown ups do paperwork

[03/08 - 18:05] Phoenix >> the cold smoke bucket is here and a wire on a rack and the fair starts in ten minutes if I pour it will it make a cool snap for a lesson

[03/08 - 19:39] Dragon >> Cold smoke is liquid nitrogen which steals air eyes and skin and turns fairs into clinics put the bucket down step away from the wire

[03/08 - 19:42] Phoenix >> can I do anything with it I like the fog

[03/08 - 19:46] Dragon >> Aye on the lawn only we freeze a rose so it shatters like sugar and bounce a rubber ball that turns to glass and we keep faces far I just emailed the principal and the lab your show now has goggles a rope line and a teacher who can shout no louder than me

[03/08 - 19:49] Phoenix >> that sounds fun and less lawsuit

[03/29 - 06:14] Phoenix >> the small drones are already charged and we drew a square on the parking lot with chalk the scientists promised a valley map can I do five minutes to see dots

[03/29 - 07:57] Dragon >> Passive radar is grand on paper and sour in real weather and neighbors dislike mystery radio like orcs dislike sunlight

[03/29 - 08:01] Phoenix >> I just want a graph for busy hours and the chalk square looks cute

[03/29 - 08:05] Dragon >> One tiny demo over the empty lot only cones vests a fence and a sign that explains the game I already pinged your lab they are printing a permit that is dubiously valid and a warning poster that finally spells frequencies right

[03/29 - 08:08] Phoenix >> I like graphs more than people

[03/29 - 08:11] Dragon >> Graphs never lie on purpose people do which is why we keep receipts and still hand out muffins

[04/13 - 18:06] Phoenix >> there is a big kite right here and a shiny wire and a little generator on a cart the storm is soon if we fly it we can run flood lights the lab says safe winds only

[04/13 - 19:52] Dragon >> Kite plus storm plus wire is a boss fight with Zeus boots are fashion not armor and a ground rod is not a magic umbrella

[04/13 - 19:56] Phoenix >> but people would see the lights and feel better I want a big win

[04/13 - 20:00] Dragon >> The biggest win is no headlines we use the trailer generator with a muffler and battery lights that start every time I just filed a stop notice at town hall and a nice ranger is on the way to admire your shiny wire from a safe distance

[04/13 - 20:04] Phoenix >> the scientists look guilty and are stacking cones now

[04/13 - 20:07] Dragon >> Cones are character development keep going

[04/30 - 06:12] Phoenix >> we are in library room B right now and Blobby the gel block is on a rope the nail gun is on a table can I poke it two times to see colors in the shield

[04/30 - 07:46] Dragon >> Library and nail gun live in different realities I am sending Firewatch with a truck you will move to the sand pit and we will film short bursts and long cool downs with a medic and a backstop and a stop word that is not yolo

[04/30 - 07:50] Phoenix >> Firewatch just walked in and made the scientists sit down this is funny

[04/30 - 07:53] Dragon >> My favorite comedy is safety with laughter I also emailed the lab your next tests require a written plan warning signs and a real permit with fewer crayon scribbles

[05/05 - 18:04] Phoenix >> ethics if someone lies a lot but is in danger do we still help or help the rule followers first also I brought muffins for the room hour the good kind with gritty sugar on top

[05/05 - 19:40] Dragon >> We help the ones in harm first then we log the lie and protect the next crew mercy is policy and receipts are policy too it is not Paragon or Renegade it is Be Kind and Write it Down also muffins are S tier diplomacy

[05/05 - 19:43] Phoenix >> do I have to like them

[05/05 - 19:46] Dragon >> No ye have to be fair liking is a hobby fairness is a duty eat one muffin and drink water and you will dislike fewer people by lunchtime

[05/05 - 19:49] Phoenix >> I still prefer graphs to people

[05/05 - 19:52] Dragon >> Graphs never ask for rides to the airport that is a win

[05/09 - 18:06] Phoenix >> Dragon

[05/09 - 19:18] Dragon >> … yes Saga

[05/09 - 19:21] Phoenix >> How are babies made

[05/09 - 19:25] Dragon >> !!!

[05/09 - 19:28] Dragon >> Right then scientific and age proper version humans have special cells that meet when two people make a very personal choice those cells join and start a tiny new person inside a uterus where it grows for many months then a doctor helps with the baby part and that is the entire story for today

[05/09 - 19:31] Phoenix >> the scientists said I should ask you because you like biology chats

[05/09 - 19:35] Dragon >> I like biology chats that come with a syllabus not a jump scare at supper time I am making tea and also sending your lab a strongly worded message with the subject line professional boundaries and the body of the email is just the word no written seven times

[05/09 - 19:38] Phoenix >> ok I will ask them for a syllabus and probably ignore it

[05/09 - 19:41] Dragon >> That is the most honest thing anyone has said this week mind yourself b'y and save the next big question for daylight and a muffin

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

The PRT's Motto is from the Oneshot: "Wolf Point" by Redcoat-Officer

I managed to return the favor to Raymond today.
After he basically just recruited Lawrence/Aspirant and dropped it on me, I figured I would return the favor and find a cape to cause him worry that I could just laugh about.

Bitch!

Or Rachel, since she's probably going to get a new name.
A dog walked up to me when I was looking at the mural and asked for a job.
I'm not supposed to let people know about the whole "sees hallucinations of powers instead of capes, even out of costume thing," and people were already taking pictures, so I just nodded.

Still, a talking dog who's a cape can only be two people in this city, and there wasn't enough screaming for it to be him, so I figured she was going for the Wards, but then the pack started filtering out, and she mentioned she wanted to put "the rest of the dogs" wherever Firewatch kept its dogs.
Because Hookwolf has been trying to get them back, and she could tell the Pack liked me.

So, it turns out she meant Firewatch.
I don't know how to let dogs into the warehouse, since I can't even get into it myself, but I could find her some space and minions in NOVA, since there's no way she's bad enough for the Birdcage.
So it became Dragon's challenge and Raymond's headache, since she officially submitted to our custody, not the PRT or Protectorate, and we have enough of the paperwork in for that to be a thing people can do, technically.
…

Plus, once people realized it was legal for her to be Probationary NOVA, not Probationary Wards, Emily offered some PRT officers who were willing to go over to NOVA if they got to become team leads.
The PRT would keep paying their salaries, but only theirs, not for anything else.

More paperwork magic from Emily.
Though she was nice enough to show me the math on this one.
Technically, they're the PRT's insiders in NOVA, which is all very spy vs. spy, until you realize NOVA was already mostly a government organization, so plenty of people already have access to our stuff.

Plus, Dragon and Armsmaster still have access to the server where all our data is stored and operations are processed.
I mean, we're not government directly, but it turns out to be really easy to get the government to agree to stuff when you know the right people (like Emily does), you have a good reputation (like I do), and you're not asking them to pay for anything, except any staff they'd want to have on site for their own reasons.
It all happened pretty fast, and I guess it's still kind of shaky until NOVA either takes off or crashes, but basically, we're the JR PRT/Protectorate for whatever little towns we can manage to fill, as far as the legality goes.
If anything, Canada was even nicer about it, with Dragon promising to keep an eye on us.
So the result is basically that NOVA gets to be the place for PRT troopers who are ready for leadership and don't want to wait for an opening or move across the country just to make the move from corporal to sergeant.

So one of those teams of the new specialists, a bureaucrat the government's paying the salary of, and their former trooper Corporal Valerez, now Team Lead Valerez, is going to… Vassalboro, Maine!
Basically, nowhere, but it's surrounded by a few thousand people, and it's where a bunch of police dogs get trained, so Rachel is going there so there can be a cape on call for a bunch of towns that are used to having a one-hour or more response time just from the PRT, much less if capes are needed.

Rachel was chill, and her doggos were great.
Even better, Addison and Lawrence started healing the dogs Rachel rescued from the fighting pits.
…

Oh, and there's a bunch of legal stuff going on too… obviously, but that goes without saying with the PRT, and Rachel and I were pretty happy to just be zen with the doggos.

But the sum of it is basically just that Rachel needs to work with NOVA until she's at least 21, and she'll meet with a judge in a few months who's like 99% going to say the same thing and 1% going to make trouble.
But that's unlikely since I guess Rachel is "neurodivergent," and most of her real crimes were "trigger trauma," so Dragon spent most of that conversation explaining how she's basically fine.
So like I said, Dog-Rachel and I just spent a while with the dogs and pack while the adults had headaches and paperwork.

To be fair, I had some paperwork too, and Rachel did some power testing to prove she's not a master, but honestly, this whole thing was way smoother than I'd have expected for turning a villain into a hero.
Especially after what Sis told me about the process of converting Shadow Stalker.
…

Oh, Emily and I made up a motto for NOVA, since Emily likes the PRT's "Magnitudinem Praestare," or the more popular "Securing Greatness," and wanted to make sure NOVA didn't get slapped with something generic.

"Vigilantia Communi Utilitate," or Vigilance for the Common Good.
It's not as clean as the PRT's, but it fits the same theme, and it's not generic, so it'll work.

…

Also, I rolled, because it'd been a while and I figured the CP would be back up with all that'd been going on, and I was right!

Sealing – Fate: Prisma Illya
Base Cost: 250cp
Lore:
Hush the trick, unteach the hand,
Still the glyph and quiet the brand.
Form remains and flesh obeys,
Mind forgets the secret phrase.
A year and one day the knowing stays barred,
Each sleep renews the shuttered guard.
Details:
For one year and one day, you can seal the knowledge required to utilize supernatural abilities.
If the knowledge is relearned in that time, it is forgotten after they sleep.
The target keeps their form, but will not be able to know how to use it beyond how to perform at a Human baseline level.
Takes 10 minutes to perform on an unconscious opponent, cooldown 10 days and nights.
Addons: -150cp the option to make the memory loss permanent, but lose the forgetting aspect. Target will forget anything about their powers, but will be able to start re-learning immediately. (Especially devastating against Tinkers).
Final Cost: 400cp
Bank: 1850cp

That… is the kind of huge that I… I'm going to hold onto for a rainy day… I think.

I don't want to become the next boogie man, unless it's on my own terms and for my own reasons.

But I should tell them I rolled something, so hopefully the next one is impressive…

Swift Release – Naruto
Base Cost: 300cp
Lore:
Feet find lightning and the world learns to yield.
Wind takes my shoulders and parts like a field.
Thought breaks the storm and stride writes the sign.
Speed is the weather and I draw the line.
Details:
Your genetics are now maximized for speed. From reaction times to bone density, to everything else, you are now perfectly predisposed towards moving, thinking, and all around just being fast.
Additionally, with an application of Chakra (or Mana) you can enhance your speed infinitely, though the cost of this increases with the buff. In practice, the average Swift Release user can sustain about 20 seconds of 20x speed from full reserves, or 2x for half an hour.
(Note: This is a bloodline, not a jutsu/spell, so the normal boosts may not apply.)
Addons: N/A
Final Cost: 300cp
Bank: 1450cp

Huh… Yeah, that'll work!

I doubt I'll push it past 2x much, given how crazy fast that eats mana.
This isn't Naruto, Cape fights last more than 30 seconds, so passing out after 30 seconds of discount Velocity just isn't worth it.

But I can hold 180% for patrols, no problem.

Spoiler: Swift Release Details:

Spoiler: A/N

+1000cp Moved from the Time-Skip Reserve. (Generated through other works in the series/published worldbuilding chapters.)
The reserve was designed for situations like this, where the realities of writing don't match the amount of change going on in-world.
(A LOT has happened to Saga recently, but we were mostly just skipping the aftermath and planning/paperwork days, so the CP generated wouldn't have matched what Saga's been up to.)
Plus, I've been majorly underutilizing it, so it's built up to 4,000, so I've decided to be a bit more open with it, from now on. But I'll still make a note when I move CP.

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

Rather than another PR interlude, this chapter includes 10 images, 8 of which are examples of the PR being produced in the Bay at this point.
The other two images are visualizations of the new OC Case 53, Elisa, or the new PRT-Ward "Mokosh," whose powers are inspired by PrussianGranadier's comments. In the immediate term, she will mostly be in the background as the protégé of the character they inspired. (Dr. Albert, the Head of Powers Testing.) But in the long run, she will be a heavy hitter for the Bay.

Dog Armor

Finding Armadillo scutes has been a weirdly depressing process.
Not like rabbits, where I just ask and they start shipping thousands to me.
They have sent me lots of stuff, but the crafting table in my inventory is really picky.

Luckily, they aren't expensive.
Even the pretty ones only go for about ten dollars each, but what exactly the table wants is really hard to pin down here.

Still, even with a success rate of about one in four, I have built up enough to make fifteen sets of dog armor with 3x protection and 3x maneuverability.
PR is rolling them out all at once for the Pack and Buddy.
I am also sending three to Rachel, though they will need to be for the dogs, as she is not buffing for them to fit.

Rachel Lindt NOVA Poster

…

I was enjoying the thunderstorm with Fox yesterday when he introduced me to a Thunderbird, and we raced…

I might have gotten a bit too into it, since I cranked Swift Release up to max to pull out the win.
At least I managed to teleport home to Emily's living room before passing out.

Emily grounded me from going out for the rest of the storm, but she promised a surprise today and…
It is a new teammate, I guess. Gentle Giant is coming over to the Protectorate to replace Triumph, and Mokosh is here, at least theoretically, for his manipulative cousin who got Brandish killed.

Mokosh

It is great. I love Gentle, and he ended up with such a cool name.
"Malcolm Anpu Lithos" is the kind of name you expect a superhero to have.

Oh, and Mokosh's name is Elisa, and she is a Case 53 with the power to turn herself into wood.
Since she is a Case 53, I can only see it if it is sufficiently separate from her body.

She was really excited to get her description, and there was much hugging involved.

There was not much progress on her name, though Dr. Albert did suggest "Vinculo" after seeing the sketch from Dragon's special program on my tablet of what she looked like.

Elisa

After that, they got into a discussion about something that went over my head about making blades out of her wood, which she can already do.
He used the term monomoles… and long story short, I guess the Power Testing people have a new target, since they talked her into a minor Tinker rating somehow.

…

Oh, and sis and I are gonna work together more, at least on PR stuff, since I guess they are setting us both up for more regional work.
I guess they accepted NOVA is gonna be a thing, and that got them to realize that Vista is the kind of person who is gonna run a city someday, so they partnered us.

That is the other thing. They are all about partnered duos now.
Dean and Vicky are obvious, but I guess Eric and Dauntless look really similar in terms of powers.
Eric has slow flight, shields, and blue blazers, and Dauntless has slow flight, shields, and blue electric… lance… boots.
So now it's:

Glory Girl and Gallant,

Shielder and Dauntless

Armsmaster and Miss Militia,

Vista and Phoenix,

and of course, Assault and Battery.

Though I think my favorite is Dauntless and Buddy.

Addison and I even got him to "sign" it by dipping his paw in paint and then having him step on the poster.

 

[Oblation]

I guess Sis got tired of all the Dauntless and Phoenix PR and decided to get her name written down as a legend of Brokton Bay, because when the Wards came across a battle between Fenja, Hookwolf, and Lung...
Rather than running away, Sis apparently got fed up and trapped Lung in a Klein bottle.

She tested that trick out on me, so I can attest to how mind-melting it is to go from flat ground to Klein bottle physics when you're expecting it.
So, it must have been mind-melting to happen mid-fight!

Unfortunately, even with Armsmaster showing up and using some kind of "stop getting bigger" tinkertech on Lung, the situation was a stalemate…
Until the PRT showed up with Sandra from Firewatch, who was doing her limited "Volunteer" hours with them and was able to use her "go away fire" power from Ars Magica, on something other than a burning building for once.

This is big because I guess the old version of con-foam used to melt, but then villains started throwing Molotovs on their enemies when they were foamed up and causing a bunch of burns on people who can't move.
So the new stuff just kind of crumbles to dust with high heat, but that means even though it can resist his brute abilities, Lung can just burn himself out of it.

Thanks to Sandra, they were able to contain him in sis's bottle and flood it with sleepy gas until he passed out.

So the big names from that are Armsmaster (despite doing the least), Vista, because obviously… and nobody, because PR doesn't like promoting individual PRT troopers.
Which was pissing off Emily and making Sandra sad… so I might have posted a play-by-play on PHO, so people would know Sandra was as big a help as Beardmaster and despite PR's crap, Sis was the real hero of the day!

…

Oh, and I rolled a new minion!
Though I probably won't be talking to him for a bit though...

Joshua Graham - Fallout: Honest Hearts
Base Cost: -150cp
Lore:
The Malpais Legate does not need to boast
The desert keeps score like a careful host.
New Canaan stands tall when he says the word
The wrath in his calm is the last thing you heard.
Details:
Joshua Graham, once the Malpais Legate of Caesar's Legion who survived being set on fire and cast into the Grand Canyon after the First Battle of Hoover Dam, returned to Utah to guide the New Canaanites and to lead the Dead Horses and the Sorrows through Zion, humbling the White Legs with patient faith, relentless skill, and a presence that makes the desert hold its breath. The more responsibility and trust you give him, the more loyal he will be to you.
Addons: -50cp a stranger effect to allow his backstory and credentials to be accepted by those who hear about it.
Final Cost: -200cp
Bank: 2000cp

He was covered in bandages, so I immediately grabbed some booze from Emily and fire-teleported him over to Tsunade's clinic.
He said he was used to it, and Tsunade called him an idiot, then knocked him out so he'd stop saying stupid things, and told me to give her a week.

I did add him to the NOVA command chat on the IRC so that he can start learning about the program, since the perk said he does better with trust.
So I figured I'd just let him be the second in command for NOVA.
Plus, this way, Raymond can have fewer headaches.

Oh, and the second roll is just kinda nice.
There's finally a reason for people to go to the islands.
Well, beyond that silly professor and his grad-students who were trying to reverse engineer tinkertech, and were told to go somewhere where they'd only blow themselves up.

Hot Springs - Re: Monsters
Base Cost: -100cp
Lore:
Mineral warmth in pools of glass.
Hours slip by and gently pass.
Old scars cool and tempers mend.
Calm returns like an old friend.
Details:
You gain a small cluster of natural hot springs perfect for relaxation that eases aches and unwinds mental stress, unfurnished but placed within territory you already control.
Addons: N/A
Final Cost: -100cp
Bank: 1800cp

Still, the professor did send me a thanks in the IRC for adding that and a promise to test to see if the water was magic or something.
So I guess that should be fine for now, though I should totally invite sis and Vicky over there to try it out!

Spoiler: A/N

If you're wondering about the CP boost, it's because images are worth 25cp each, and there were 12 in the last 2 chapters, on top of around 2k Words.

 

[Oblation]

I found a donkey today.

I was flying in Newbrunswick, trying to set teleportation points, and saw an old donkey.
He was used to people because he was very fluffy and just let me pet him for hours.

Turns out he was a family pet because a family of farmers came by and told me I could feed him apples.
I gave him a golden apple.

He's still old, but he was much happier, and he didn't seem too upset when the 2 minutes wore off.
The family was happy too, so I gave them all 3x boots in trade for being able to come pet Samson whenever I wanted, since I had a strong teleportation point here now.

…

I'm considering getting out of dodge for a day or so, but I know there are better people around, it's just that… My birthday is really shit.

Things always go shit on it, and 11 was just the cherry on the shit Sunday.

…

I guess it's always just been a sign of Missy being the protagonist that she was born on New Year's Eve.

Which is why it's funny that I was born on June 4th.
Most families that's nothing, but ours, I get constantly reminded it's the birthday of King George III, who subjigated our Irish ancestors and who America fought its first war against.

Oh, and of course it was the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, and the day the US blocked a bunch of Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi's, and a bunch of other stuff.

But what it boils down to is that Missy's birthday means new beginnings, and hope and rainbows and puppies, while mine means anger, disappointment, and daughters who should just suck it up.

…

Actually, I've got a better plan.

Harry Potter prank spells can be pretty nasty if you don't have magic of your own to undo them.

So I wonder how the ball and chain would look, bald?

…

Dragon says it's a bad idea, but fuck it.
They couldn't keep a teleporter like me in the birdcage if they wanted to.

Now I just need to figure out where they are, without Dragon…

…

Rude… She got Pern and Ángeles to refuse me, too!
And she's blocking me from looking them up on the tablet!

…

Didn't I have a compass power a while back?
I wonder if…

…

Nope, just leads to sis, who just gave me a pouty face when I explained my plan.

Well, I guess I'll hope for the best and:

Might - LOTR
Base Cost: -250cp
Lore:
Stone heaves upward at your will.
Ropes go slack and crowds fall still.
You set the weight and breathe in light.
Then walk on calm into the night.
Details:
You gain practical proficiency in feats of strength and endurance inspired by the hardier folk of Middle Earth which lets you lift and carry beyond ordinary men, march or run for hours with steady breath, shrug off common sickness with a stout constitution, weather cold and hunger with reliable vigor, and recover quickly after strain so you stay battle ready without crossing into invulnerable fantasy.
Addons: N/A
Final Cost: -250cp
Bank: 1800cp

Oh, I'm a Brute now!
Like Brute 1 but…

No, no, stay on track, Saga!
I need tracking skills...

Where Do You Find This Stuff? - Ben 10
Base Cost: 200cp
Lore:
Montage math, couch hero on a glowing screen.
Coffee one, I speedrun facts like a cutscene.
Weeks of team work shrink to one neat afternoon.
Red string appears on its own, credits roll soon.
Details:
You do in an afternoon on a laptop what a whole team of professionals grind on for weeks. You hoover up public records, forum crumbs, shipping logs, PDFs, school newsletters, and forgotten blogs, then line them up fast. You cross-reference names, stitch timelines, rank sources, swat disinfo, and spit out a brief with maps and receipts. You still need real access and existing records, but if it's possible, you can do it in a few hours, max.
Addons: N/A
Final Cost: 200cp
Bank: 1550cp

I.. Ok fine, let's go with this.

…

So, I didn't end up making anyone bald, because I had too much fun racing Dragon on my tablet.
This new power lets me blitz through info, so even as she blocked off the conventional means, I found more and more obscure means of tracking someone down.
At the end, she even removed the restrictions, when I started looking into ways to get a computer she couldn't control as easily from Toybox.

I guess she really doesn't want me using a computer without having a hand in it.
On my end, I still don't really have money, so I'd just need to see if I could swap Tinkertech, and eh, it just seems easier to keep on with my tablet.
Plus, I love the thing too much to give it up!

…

So, yeah, I guess I'm sticking around for tomorrow…

 

[Oblation]

Spoiler: A/N

+500cp was moved from the Time-Skip Reserve, so that Saga wouldn't hesitate about first 4-digit perk.

Well, I wasn't expecting this!

I guess Hero wanted to give me a present for my birthday, so he organized a trip for me, Missy, and Emily, where Strider popped up every hour and showed us a new place.

Emily explained it's so I can teleport to the spots if needed, since they now believe Fox that it's the emotion, not the distance, that matters, which is why they waited for my birthday to do it.
On my end, I'm just glad that the entire "party" is just Missy, Emily, Dragon, and me on a quick trip across the remaining Wonders of the World.

Hell, I was even whispering a few times! in public!
I mean, the others barely heard, but I haven't talked outside a private room in a year, so it was really surprising to say things and have words come out… more or less.

…

After we realised we hadn't gotten any pictures and even Emily was worried about the shitshow PR would throw, so Dragon offered to halp us make a scrapbook with an app on my tablet, so we got pictures in our costumes and made these:

Prairie Creek Redwoods - Cathedral Trees Trail

Grand Canyon - Lipan Point - South Rim - view toward Unkar Delta

Carlsbad Caverns - Big Room - Mirror Lake

Chichén Itzá - North Plaza - Serpent Staircase view

Giant's Causeway - Grand Causeway plateau and Amphitheatre cliffs

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes - Mauna Ulu lava field pull-out on Chain of Craters Road

Hirosaki Castle Park Gejo - bashi red bridge with Mount Iwaki

Inaccessible Island – Tristan da Cunha – coastal slope facing the sea cliffs

Jökulsárlón - Eastern shore near the bridge & dock

Yellowstone - Geyser Hill - Old Faithful Viewpoint

Hobbiton - Bagshot Row facing Bag End and Party Tree

…

And before I go to bed, I figured I'd roll, since who knows today really might be lucky after all!

Enchantment Table - Minecraft
Base Cost: 300cp
Lore:
Open the book and let letters swim, the room grows quiet and edges dim.
Shelves lean close and whisper might, blue stone drops and blooms to light.
Steel learns grace and cloth learns ward, chance and skill divide the award.
Mark the rune and close the lid, power lingers in what you did.
Details:
You gain a placeable table that lets you imbue gear with magical effects using experience and lapis.
Bookshelves placed nearby, up to thirty, raise the power and unlock stronger options.
You can enchant equipment with results partly random but guided by the item, catalyst, and level.
Addons:
-50cp You can guarantee an enchantment for an item to get at least 2 levels, but "Infinity," "Mending," and "Looting" Enchantments can only occur through a rare chance.
-100cp Enchantment Table Inventory Integration
-75cp Bookshelf Inventory Integration - 10 Bookshelves
-75cp Bookshelf Inventory Integration - 20 Bookshelves
-150cp Bookshelf Inventory Integration - Toggle from 1 to 30 Bookshelves
-150cp Rather than Experience, Enchant from Mana/Chakra/Ki/your preferred internal energy source.
Catalists:
-50cp Rather than Lapis Lazuli, use anything blue as a catalyst.
Or
-100cp Rather than Lapis Lazuli, use any catalyst worth some value to enchant with, though be aware that low value catalysts are unlikely to produce lucky results, while high value catalysts increase chances but do not guarantee fortuitous results.
Final Cost: 1000cp
Bank: 1950cp

Huh… well, I guess today really was awesome all around!

Spoiler: Question for Readers

What Sort of Enchantments do you think would help the most?
She can enchant anything, but generally, the enchants will be things like "Efficiency 3, Unbreaking 2," or "Sharpness 3, Fire Aspect."
Keep in Mind that even though she can put anything in, the perk will still interpret things as "sword," "armor," "shovel," etc.

Also, did you like the scrapbook thing?
It was fun to make, so it'll probably show up again, but if you've got another idea, especially something arts-and-craftsy that Saga and Missy could do together now that they're really starting to bond again, I'd love to hear it!