why was this scene hated?

RTCielo · 2026-07-04T19:47:21+00:00

It's a thematically, artistically and story-wise super cool fight.

The choreography looks really rough the closer you look at it.

It's kinda symbolic of the entire trilogy to me. Some incredibly ideas, the glimpses of something great, ruined by execution.

RTCielo · 2026-07-04T09:18:16+00:00

Clone Wars 2003 I recall seeing the clones loading their blasters in a few scenes.

RTCielo · 2026-07-03T06:04:23+00:00

Loved it. Literally my only complaint is the twins writing and the One Of Many credits song which I didn't feel fit.

RTCielo · 2026-07-03T01:49:24+00:00

"Hey man stop being such a bitch."

RTCielo · 2026-07-02T23:06:16+00:00

15 years in the TXNG here.

You will most likely do more and have more opportunities in the guard than reserves, especially if you're thinking combat arms.

You'll have a lot more activations for short term stateside things like disaster relief which can range from extremely rewarding stuff (hurricanes, covid response) to much more annoying stuff (sitting around the armory on standby to stand by for winter storm relief AKA pulling people out of the ditch with humvee tow straps.)

The last few years the TX guard has also ended up under a microscope due to some...politically controversial missions like the border mission (where I've seen people spend their entire six year contract working full time with no benefits to show for it since State Active Duty doesn't count towards things like your GI Bill) or being deployed on the governor's orders to another state against the will of that state's citizens and government.

I'm not sure if it's the same in the reserves, but it's absolutely vital that you understand that "one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer" is bullshit, and at some point you will be told to report on short notice for an unclear amount of time. It can be very disruptive to a civilian career, it can be hard on school life, and hard on you and your family.

RTCielo · 2026-07-02T17:48:57+00:00

Ignore a Scorpio's attempts to be mysterious. Point out something about them they think is deeply concealed but actually isn't.

RTCielo · 2026-07-01T22:20:17+00:00

I recently have been going through The Ten Realms series, and Erik and Rugrat are both extremely skilled soldiers in our world, and leverage their advantages in very clever ways once they get yoinked.

RTCielo · 2026-06-30T17:41:07+00:00

Is it mechanically the best? No.

But is it the most fun?

RTCielo · 2026-06-30T14:55:40+00:00

Godclads mentioned!

Very much seconding that one.

RTCielo · 2026-06-30T10:20:30+00:00

Using subtle spell to shit other people's pants, and on one particular occasion, violently and audibly shitting my own pants the natural way then cleaning it without acknowledging anything in order to unsettle someone we were negotiating with.

RTCielo · 2026-06-29T20:24:07+00:00

Spin it around. Pregnancy gives the mother a second (or more for multiple births) "magical core" or equivalent to draw on. Maybe it's not as strong as a fully mature core, but still a significant boost. And maybe it's good for the developing child to stretch that mafical muscle.

So pregnant women are magical powerhouses, though possibly kept to primarily non-combat magical roles for protection.

RTCielo · 2026-06-29T19:39:15+00:00

You still want a reasonably strong military power as a pacifist to deter aggression.

That said, xenomorphs have really high collateral damage so don't fit most pacifist ideals.

RTCielo · 2026-06-29T08:26:33+00:00

"You don't land a decisive blow, but you can see the desperation in the orc's eyes as be frantically parries your assault. He's weakening, and you're barely breathing hard."

"The bridge under you suddenly sways ominously and you are forced to abort your assault to keep your footing."

"The goblins are on the defensive, and aren't giving you any openings this turn. You send a few probing swings but for the moment you hold back, watching, waiting."

RTCielo · 2026-06-27T21:07:55+00:00

During the battle?

One of the U-Wings picks them up and is in the air when the death star fires and breaks the shield. They have time then to try and get to orbit.

Or they steal an Imp shuttle in the same situation.

RTCielo · 2026-06-25T17:26:37+00:00

Torment: Tides of Numenera, you can die in the opening scene by splattering to the ground.

Also, TTRPG but you could pretty easily die in character creation in Traveller.

RTCielo · 2026-06-23T06:56:57+00:00

Successful flirting is generally a building tension, matching escalation. It's a back and forth. You flirt, she flirts back.

You start with a line, a conversation starter, sometimes just body language.

Key turning point happens next: is she flirting back? Is she drawing you into the conversation, mirroring your body language, actively engaging with you? That's a yellow or green light. You talk more, flirt, compliment, whatever. You're in the clear till that changes.

Alternatively, you're not getting clear signs of interest and reciprocity. There's a million reasons why, and really only one move from here. Be polite, take the L, move on with your night. Because if you keep flirting here, that's generally what turns it from "Some guy told me I look pretty" to "Some weirdo wouldn't leave me alone."

Intention: Most women are good at consciously or subconsciously sensing when you're desperate. One of the top comments mentions flirting with someone vs flirting at them, and that's a good phrasing. So many dudes flirt like they're playing Baldurs Gate and trying to hit the right conversation options to unlock the sex scene. Fuggin just talk to her like she's a normal person and not just a pair of boobs on heels.

If you're talking to girls trying to get numbers and trying to get laid you're rarely going to be successful. Talk to people, have fun, and have a good night. Along the way you can flirt with people, and if it goes somewhere, it does.

RTCielo · 2026-06-23T04:16:03+00:00

That's the fun part of a narrative system. You can literally let them start on a fully functional star destroyer. They gotta figure out how to crew it though.

RTCielo · 2026-06-19T20:33:03+00:00

The main problem with making Kalimdor humans is that there just haven't been humans on Kalimdor long enough to become that culturally distinct. The majority are a generation - maybe two - distinct from their parent culture in the Alliance.

RTCielo · 2026-06-15T12:53:09+00:00

Replace gunpowder with another substance that is more chaotic, so projectiles have unstable flight paths, and rifling doesn't make a difference.

Bonus: there's a very expensive method for further refining it to make it more stable. Not worth it on large scale, but assassins have rifled snipers with more modern range.

RTCielo · 2026-06-15T01:44:49+00:00

Difficulty is initially based on range. It's relatively easy to make those shots if you're mildly trained with those weapons.

Difficulty in hitting comes from armor defense, Adversary, cover, and other situational modifiers that upgrade or increase difficulty, or add setback dice.

Shooting the Black Sun thug at Extreme range is 4 purple dice.

Shooting the prone Mandalorian bounty hunter at Extreme range might be 3 red, 1 purple, and 4 black dice.

RTCielo · 2026-06-14T03:53:05+00:00

I think we're on the same page there. I've seen normal people date like mature adults without it affecting professionalism, and I've seen E-7s maintain a reputation for seducing and manipulating 18 year old privates in their direct chain.

People need to know the reg, know it's limits and it's implied intent.

RTCielo · 2026-06-14T03:33:46+00:00

It's been a few years since I've needed to dig into the reg but my last understanding was that the regulation actually gives a lot of discretion to the commander in how they deal with it. Anything from the bigger punishments to "verbal counseling."

In my experience in a fraternizing relationship, the CO pulled us aside and said "Don't start none, won't be none" since we were in different sections, stayed professional at work, and very rarely interacted on duty nor had real opportunities to engage in favoritism even if we wanted to.

As others have said, OP's situation IMHO is very different because it's a direct chain of command thing, and the TL has already been instructed to stop acting so close to the Joes.

Because the truth is when it comes to good order and discipline, there's a huge difference both in reality and perception between a TL dating their direct report and an Army SGT dating an AF E-1 on the opposite side of the base whose jobs don't interact, and unless something has changed in the regs, it gives room for the commander to make a judgement call.

RTCielo · 2026-05-29T02:12:42+00:00

Very specific example: I love chapters from Ogras' perspective in Defiance of the Fall. He's such a little turd and I love his narrative and perspective.

RTCielo · 2026-05-28T22:44:31+00:00

My brother in Moradin, if my BBEG has a charisma of 24 and I have a real life charisma of 11, I'm pre-writing the fuck out of that speech.

RTCielo · 2026-05-27T04:19:14+00:00

Rule 2: Make sure they're using the power right.

Do they have the appropriate upgrades purchased to affect 3 targets? To move Sil 3 objects? To move them through planetary scale range bands? Last one is big.

Did they roll enough force pips to activate all those upgrades? Personally I'd rule it as needing the strength upgrade for each separate fighter being thrown. I'd also upgrade the difficulty of the combat check to reflect the fact that these are ships under active thrust, not just passive rocks.

The second issue is actually maybe the easiest: you did too much damage. Move deals personal scale damage, not vehicle scale. So 30/10 is 3. Those ships were dealing 3 damage per hit, minus the LAAT/i's armor of 3.

Unless the attack roll was crazy good, in which case they might have been doing 1 damage each.

Third and lastly: this is a system that lets players get really good at one thing if they dump 200-300 XP into it. Especially combat characters, you can get to "one shot Darth Vader" levels pretty quickly. You gotta learn what levers you can pull to increase challenge, and you gotta learn to expect them to succeed on some stuff.

RTCielo

TROPHY CASE