Low cost rides wsj crossword clue

Hey guys, looking for some input with what to do for suspension. I have an 07 Nightster, and in my opinion, it rides like a wagon. Through my research, progressive 412’s seem to be the way to go for the rear (low cost for decent reward), and maybe some heavier fork oil for the front? Just want to hear what you guys have done and liked/didn’t like. And most importantly, did the upgrades make it a night and day difference? I.E., was it worth it?

I posted a very condensed version of this theory as a response to another post. It got a lot of upvotes. I write long form theories for my own amusement and don't really post them, but given the upvotes, I thought people might be interested in this.
Be warned, it's a long post.
This post will have all spoilers, including for Mistborn. It will also be discussing details of the preview chapters from SA5, as well as comments Brandon has made in WoBs and his podcast. If you are avoiding previews, read no further.
The Theme of the Stormlight Archive
One of the major, if not the main, themes of the Stormlight Archive is the nature and limits of moral responsibility. Our different characters are each exploring this theme in different ways. Kaladin is learning that leadership does not mean you have to take responsibility for everything. Dalinar is learning the opposite lesson, that having to make tough decisions is no excuse for giving up responsibility. Navani and Rabonial’s discussions touch on how responsible we we are for the actions of our ancestors. Shallan, ever the weird one, is exploring if “I” can be responsible for the actions of “us”.
I want to discuss this facet of the series with three characters and do some mild speculation on what this likely means for what’s in store for them for the end of the front-half.
Szeth - I was only following orders
Szeth’s solution to the problem of responsibility is to place it outside of himself. As we can see from the Szeth flashback preview, this has been an urge of his since childhood.
“Depends?” Szeth said, stepping up beside him, half-hiding behind his father’s bulky form as he peered down at the new stone. “Depends on what? We just do what is right, don’t we?”
Szeth has an almost allergic reaction to the idea that morality could be dependent on circumstances. He wants to do “what is right” and he doesn’t want there to be any nuance in this. Later in the same flashback:
““Can’t you just… tell me what to do?” Szeth asked.”
His father refuses, and Szeth resents having to take responsibility for the moral decision making. This is clearly a deep seated personality trait of Szeth’s, more than just his religious and cultural upbringing in Shinovar (because his parents don’t share his moral absolutism).
We know in adulthood, following being made Truthless, Szeth must follow the orders exactly of whoever holds his Oathstone. He hates what he is forced to do, thinking it will damn him, but he never wavers from this, he will never assert his own moral judgement over the “taking orders” approach. Part of the reason for his reaction at the end of WoR is the realisation that he was never Truthless at all, that he had been right about the return of the Radiants. This nearly breaks him. The clear parallel is to the people of Uvara in Hoid’s tale of the Wandersail.
Later, Nale inducts Szeth into the Skybreakers, recognising his preternatural ability to follow an external code. By the end of Oathbringer, Szeth is beginning to assert his own morality. He doesn’t trust himself to make decisions himself, but he is at least willing to decide what moral code he will follow, or specifically who he is willing to follow, namely Dalinar.
We know that Szeth and Dalinar’s books could have been reversed, with Szeth being book three and Dalinar’s being Book 5. Their journeys are both about taking moral responsibility for their actions. So it’s easy to see how these could have been switched.
Szeth has had a death wish for some time now, so that he can stop sinning. He has not been able to kill himself, as this is also against his external rules. My prediction would be that Szeth finally takes on a moral choice of his own which will lead to his death. A self-sacrifice, perhaps to save Kaladin or Dalinar. I’d expect this to be a reasonably triumphant moment and that he will be able to move on in peace.
There’s a nice structural neatness to this, the front five begin with Szeth’s assassination of Gavilar. Thematically and structurally, the end of the first sequence should end with Szeth reaching the end of his journey and taking full responsibility for his moral decision making and finally “adding” instead of “subtracting”.
Dalinar - Look, I’ve said sorry, let’s move on
Oathbringer is a brutal book. We see one of our favourite characters brought low, not just in his own estimation, but in ours as readers as well. Kaladin’s experience in RoW was tough, but we the reader never thought less of him because of it. Dalinar on the other hand, we learn about his past, and it isn’t pretty. The man is vicious, brutal, rage filled and just a generally unpleasant guy to be around. This is jarring after the man we have experienced in WoK and WoR. He is, unequivocally, a war criminal.
The book ends with Dalinar taking responsibility for his past actions, and vowing to be a better man going forward. It’s a moment of triumph, he achieves the third ideal, he’s literally surrounded by gloryspren and he leads a team of Radiants in defending a city. He then writes a book revealing his actions and confesses his sins to the whole world.
And instead of being sent off into exile to atone for his sins, he’s allowed to remain King of Urithiru, put in charge of coalition forces and by the time of RoW is being thought of by former Ardent Godeke as some cross between a Herald, a Prophet and a God.
Something feels off about this. There are still arguments on this and other forums about if Dalinar has faced any real accountability for his crimes. What it certainly doesn’t feel like is the end of his journey. We know Book 5 could have been his book, so I would expect to see some significant Dalinar development during SA5.
In an episode of his podcast Intentionally Blank, Brandon talks about his view of the Grimdark genre. He considers it to be an intensely moral form of storytelling. His basic definition of Grimdark is that in this setting, doing the morally right thing will be costly. It will lead to negative outcomes for you. Brandon goes on to say that this is his view of morality, doing the right thing is costly to you. He gives the example of if you could be sure you would get away with a theft, and choose not to do this, then you have lost out on having the thing you wanted to steal, it has been costly for you. He admits this is slightly simplistic, but that it is his basic view of morality. Whether you agree with him is sort of irrelevant, he believes this. We should expect to see that reflected in his work to some extent.
Well what has doing the right thing cost Dalinar? Not much as far as I can see. It was emotionally difficult for him at the time certainly, but he doesn’t seem very traumatised in RoW, quite the opposite, he seems the healthiest he has been in a while. Yes his relationship with Adolin is strained, but not as much as one might expect between a son and father when a father admits being responsible for the death of the son’s mother.
I expect Dalinar’s journey is not coming to an end in Book 5. Whether he dies and becomes a fused. Wins and must preside over the reconstruction of Roshar or some other outcome we haven’t seen yet, Dalinar is not anywhere close to being done.
Dalinar and Taravangian are set up as the philosophical opposites of each other. Taravangian is the pure “ends justify the means” approach, and Dalinar is the pure “journey before destination” approach. Both agree that the burdens of leadership require one to have to make awful decisions. Taravangian believes that the role of a ruler is to take the sin upon himself so that one’s people can be free of it. It’s an oddly Christ-like perspective, taking all the sins of mankind upon himself in order to save them all. Dalinar believes the opposite, that a ruler can be moral, that the burdens of leadership need not stain one’s soul and that every person is responsible for their actions no matter their position or circumstances.
The interesting thing about these beliefs is that they are incredibly simplistic. They represent extreme ends of the spectrum and we can all think of counter arguments to each of them. Dalinar himself recognises this, in RoW he is frustrated with himself after a conversation with Taravangian because he was presenting only the most dogmatic version of his beliefs, and that of course there’s nuance.
There is a lot of speculation about the contest of champions, what form it will take and who will win. I have no idea. But what I do predict will happen is that whatever the outcome, Danlinar’s beliefs are going to be sorely tested. He is going to have to suffer and sacrifice and his journey is not coming to an end. Dalinar is one of Brandon’s oldest characters, and he’s named his son after him. He is important to Brandon in a way that most of his other characters aren’t. I don’t think he’s going to become evil but I also don’t think he’s reached the point of apotheosis. I do not think Brandon is done with him yet.
Kaladin - I’m way too important to be happy
In contrast to Dalinar, I got to the end of RoW and I felt like Kaladin’s journey was complete. I genuinely had no idea where we could go with this character. Yes he hasn’t sworn the Fifth Ideal yet, but in terms of his growth as a character, there’s not a lot of room left. Brandon has indicated as much in his post-RoW Q&As:
“This might be a slight spoiler for the next book, but I can tell you Kaladin has now turned the corner, I would say. You should be expecting from now on: Kaladin's still gonna have dark days, Kaladin has depression. But he turned a major corner in this book, and I'm very proud of him.”
And we can see this is the case in our preview chapter.
“Kaladin felt good. Not great. Not after spending weeks hiding in an occupied city, forced to stretch himself both physically and emotionally far beyond the reasonable limit. Not after what had happened to Teft. No, Kaladin didn't feel great. But he stood in the sunlight, looking out the window of his room. He thought that maybe he would someday feel great again. Knowing that, being able to recognize it, was enough.”
Now in other books, if we’d read a paragraph like this, we would all be terrified of the absolute horror show that was about to be visited upon Kaladin. Maybe many readers will still have this reaction. I know many think he’s going to have to sacrifice himself at the end of SA5, or that he will become a Herald and be tortured for all eternity. That he is the spear that will not break, and so he’d make a perfect replacement for Taln.
Maybe that’s right, but it feels thematically off to me. Kaladin’s big breakthrough at the end of RoW is that he is not responsible for every bad thing that happens, and he doesn’t need to be punished for it, so he can stop punishing himself. If he ends Book 5 taking on the big sacrificial lamb role, that feels like a backwards step for him.
Then there is this very intriguing exchange between Kalandin and Hesina in the preview chapter.
“I could have guessed," Syl said, "he would be tyrannical as a child."
"Not tyrannical," Hesina said. "He merely liked things to be the way that they should be. As he saw them. Children often are like that, Syl, accepting only one answer to any question because nuance is difficult and confusing."
"Yeah," Kaladin said, scraping the last of the lavis from his bowl. "Children. That's a worldview that obviously only strikes children, never the rest of us."
His mother gave him a side hug, one arm around his shoulders. The kind that seemed to grudgingly admit that he wasn't a little boy anymore. "Do you sometimes wish," she asked him, "the world were a simpler place? That easy answers of a child were, in truth, the actual answers?"
"Not anymore," he said. "'Cause I think the easier answers would condemn me. Most everyone, actually." That made his mother beam, for some reason, even though it was a simple thing to say.”
It was those three lines in bold that inspired me to write this post, they solidified a lot of my thoughts about the themes of the series. Brandon has been telling us for a while that any definitive answer to the questions of morality is necessarily incomplete. Human beings are too flawed to create a moral system which can be applied to any set of circumstances. It is my view that the “easy answers of a child” are all the various absolutist versions of morality that Brandon is having his characters explore. Kalandin, the one who is furthest in his journey, recognises this. That “nuance is difficult and confusing” but without it we condemn ourselves.
So what does this mean for the end of Kaladin’s journey? The first thing is I think Brandon is done torturing Kaladin. He’s going to have a much easier time of it in Book 5. I suspect his function in the main part of the narrative will be helping Szeth reach the point I’ve predicted for him above. But I do think this is the end of Kaladin’s journey and we will be seeing much less of him from now on. That’s not to say he will die, but he does not have much more growth to do as a character and therefore he’s going to be far less interesting.
The fact that Kaladin has reached the point where he can recognise the flaws in absolutist morality may mean he might be able to bear the Shard of Honour without going mad. Tanavast seems to have been torn apart by his conflicting oaths, leading to his madness and eventual death. I’m unsure if the Shard even can be reformed at this stage, but my tentative prediction is that it will be Kaladin, not Dalinar who is able to do this, if anyone can.
Conclusion - Journey and Destination
Brandon doesn’t really write endings where evil wins. We don’t have an example of the Empire Strikes Back in the Cosmere yet. What he specialises in is the “qualified victory”. Era 1 Mistborn is this on repeat, “we beat the Lord Ruler, but something worse might be waiting behind the curtain”, “we saved the city and Elend survived, but we unleashed Ruin upon the world, oh and most of the crew are dead”, “we saved the world, but Vin and Elend are dead”.
So what would a qualified victory be for the first half of SA5? The end of the war, but the loss of Dalinar? The reforging of Honour, but Kaladin leaving this mortal coil to take it up? Redemption for Szeth, but his death in the process?
SA5 is going to be a big book, and there are way more journeys to reach their destination than just these three. Shallan is nowhere near finishing her journey. Adolin doubtless has much more to do. Navani is going to be the mother of the space age and Venli is going to gain freedom for the Listeners.
The speculations above are entirely thematic. They don’t consider the mechanics of how any of it will happen. Brandon is known for subverting his own magic systems in a satisfying way, so even if I am right about where the stories are going thematically, it is still going to be a shocking and rollercoaster ride to actually get there. We might be able to see where we are going to end up, but as always, Journey before Destination.

Since this sub and some 4000+ others are going dark in 2 days in protest of probably this site's stupidest decision ever, I figure this is probably the last time I'll get to share my pointless thoughts on this game here, so may as well. It doesn't really matter anymore if it's full of awful takes and people just downvote and insult me in the comments, it's been a grand time and I'll miss seeing posts and having discussions over this dEaD gAmE.

Construction

• Starting off strong, construction was a mistake. While it did have potential and had some cool moments, it was ultimately a distraction from the parts of the game that most of the playerbase actually interacted with. Even now with the latest updates to it, I feel like it's still a waste of time and effort on the devs' part and I'd have preferred if that time went into something like improving existing base designs instead.

Base/Map Design

• Speaking of base design, where the hell are those shielded garages outside of Oshur and containment sites? Such a small thing would have gone a long way towards improving fight longevity and yet it just never happened.
  
• Containment sites themselves are a mixed bag of design as well. Ultimately you're trying to funnel players into three long hallways with 2 areas for them to spawn/approach from, the defender lower spawns and the attacker lower spawns or the buses parked just above. Because everyone's funneled like this, the pop ends up highly concentrated in one hallway or the other in a sort of "wave" pattern and people usually won't spread out aside from a handful of folks sitting on point to prevent ghost flips. I'd have liked to see more ways for attackers and defenders alike to get in and out of the lower levels, make use of the base's design to add more verticality to the action and break up the very predictable movement.
  
• Oshur is just a tremendous waste of potential in terms of design as well. The water and boats are just utterly squandered for some reason, despite the whole continent being designed for them. Why are the islands almost entirely cliffs that make it impossible for boats to actually engage? Where are the docks, the coves, rivers, straits, channels cutting through bases? Boats should be the centerpoint of logistics in Oshur, instead of just the most convenient means of capturing points that are just floating in the middle of the ocean with some ruins underneath.
  
• Underwater combat could have been interesting as an addition to regular combat, but when you try to limit it to being its own thing by making the only bases with underwater points, ENTIRELY UNDERWATER, you just end up with slower gimped combat. Why the hell don't island bases have sections that go down to the water, and have flooded areas? It's not like you didn't get to see what that might have been like, you flooded Indar in test and that was pretty neat.
  

Vehicles

• Vehicle play has been neglected. I'm not talking about nerfs or CAI, I'm talking about just making them a more integral part of the game. There are not enough vehicles for vehicle play and vehicle vs vehicle combat to stand out because vehicles largely lack purpose. When I get to a base to contest and I don't have a sundy, I ditch the vehicle because I can contribute more on my feet than I can in my vehicle. Unless the friendly sundies die, I don't really have much of an impetus to bring another vehicle. I also don't want to bring a vehicle from the neighboring base just to kill enemy vehicles that might be farming infantry because a) those enemy vehicles aren't really contributing to the cap, and b) my vehicle won't either. GIVE PEOPLE A REASON TO WANT TO PULL VEHICLES MORE OFTEN AND YOU WILL SEE MORE VEHICLES FIGHTING EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF JUST FARMING INFANTRY.
  
• As for what might motivate people to do that, here's an idea - take the existing CTF concept, and apply it to vehicles, but instead of all the finicky flag counts and resetting, just shift the base timer every time a flag is delivered. Place the flag and delivery points on the edges of the base where infantry can have some influence but are at a notable disadvantage to vehicles. This makes it so that vehicles can significantly supplement a base cap but aren't mandatory, and they have to move around instead of just sitting still. This can apply to air units as well at bases that have landing pads, and maybe we'd see more amateur pilots and have a healthier airgame.
  
• I also believe we can improve the vehicle logistics game by adding a new option to the defense slot of transports (valk, sundy, gal, ant?) which enables players within a certain radius of the vehicle to spawn directly into it, but with a longer timer (like 10 seconds longer than a parked bus). This does not make logistics specialist implant obsolete, as that can still work for non-transports, and also does not require sacrificing the defense slot. It also offers no benefit for squadplay, as squadmates can already spawn directly into squad transports. However, it should be a boon for solo players offering logistics or trying to catch a ride. Air transports hovering above bases to act as air spawns can also make for juicy targets for pilots, so there's another thing to encourage more vehicle and air play.
  
• Suppose I should go over vehicle balance briefly too, though that's less important than the above points IMO. We're going to focus one two key ideas here: no long-range imprecise AI, and more focus on armor vs armor.
  
  • For that first idea, the outright removal of HESH. It's been used as makeshift artillery for its entire existence, even when it was HE. Rocket pods, Dusters, and AI noseguns should have a significant increase in spread to drastically decrease their effectiveness at distance. Shorter range explosive weapons like Bulldog get a pass because their range makes them easier to retaliate against (assuming you have the means to do so), and non-explosive AI like Kobalts are fine.
  • For the second idea, an increase in mobility and weapon velocities across the board, as well as new main cannons to replace HESH because there's so few of those and they're still severely lacking in variety. With faster vehicles and more accurate weapons, we want to encourage people to be attacking on the move rather than hunkering down in place and slowly feeling out the right altitude for their shots. As for the MBT cannon replacements, here is a suggestion for each (not NSO you're fine) focused on ease of use over DPS:
    • NC gets a guided shell with the same damage profile as HEAT but the reload speed and velocity of AP. Shell is laser guided so it'll adjust towards the cursor, rather than camera-guided like the Phoenix rocket, which is kind of awkward to use and probably impossible to control at this velocity.
    • TR gets a 60mm autocannon with a 8 round mag and low spread/bloom per shot. Imagine a weaker, long-range version of the Viper intended for an accurate, sustained barrage of fire.
    • VS gets a proper laser repeater. 400 RPM or something stupid like that, piss for damage to offset the ROF, low COF because it's bloody lasers. This thing should be doing strafing runs on other tanks, or firing at aircraft and making a hell of a lightshow. Laser brrrrrrrrrt.

Infantry

• Infiltrator cloak should be a separate device you need to equip and activate to use. In that same slot is a new gadget, the nanite disruptor. Think the dildar, but instead of spotting enemies moving through, it slowly drains the shields and energy of enemies in its area, and also clears spots. For all the folks that don't abuse cloak, the cloak change won't be too bad. For the folks that decide they'd rather not cloak at all anymore, have a new and useful gadget.
  
• Heavies are mostly fine right now. The other classes have enough tools at their disposal now to offset the overshield's strength IMO. It really does just come down to getting good at clicking heads at this point.
  
• AMRs seem to be a point of contention, and I get people not being particularly happy about engineers getting BASRs, even if they aren't great at anti-infantry stats wise. To offset this, why not try a different approach - make them hipfire only ala MCG/Thumper, lower the HS mult to 1.5x, and raise the base damage so most of them (3 for DAGR since it's a quick boi) can kill infantry with 2 bodyshots but not 1 headshot. A rifle of that caliber would be hard as hell to shoulder and fire accurately anyway. Now it's a worse slug pump shotgun instead of a worse bolt-action.
  
• MAXes have already seen their share of nerfs, but I'd still like to see them be shifted more towards a support role over an offensive one. Remove all the AI options from the right arm and add a special grenade launcher in its stead that can fire the class-specific grenades of the Punisher SMG. Cure nades, repair nades, havoc nades, etc. It's a big hit to its infantry offensive capability but adds a LOT of utility already, and you can probably keep yourself alive a lot longer if you just spam repair nades at your feet lol.
  
• Revive grenades are too strong and spammy. I'd just limit the max amount you can carry to 2, even with grenade bandolier.
  

Monetization

• Let's face it, RPG/DBG is not good at monetizing this game. Yeah there's the bundles which whales and diehards will buy, but even those are becoming less attractive year after year. This is only a baseless assumption, but I'd guess that membership is what generates most of the revenue from this game. 10-15 bucks a month is a hefty subscription cost, and that's mostly just to skip queues. If the membership was for Planetside alone and not everything in DBG's roster, it'd be really damn hard to justify charging those prices.
  
• The Depot just doesn't get enough updates. It's stale. Now and then a fantastic modeller like d0ku or steve will pull through and give us some gorgeous cosmetics like the new armor sets or the sunderer armadillo skin (my beloved), but that's too few and far between.
  
• It feels like this game attempted to make its own version of a season/battle pass with the campaigns, which were interesting, but the implementation of the missions for them had major flaws and it was also too quick and easy to complete when other players weren't purposely making the missions impossible to do. If campaign progression was tied more to faction/community-wide milestones that could be reached through regular gameplay, like x bases captured or x resources gathered, it would be less of a pain in the ass and still be a special event that motivated people to play more. I think something like this could work well for this game, and to monetize it in a non-predatory way you could lock some cosmetic items in the campaign currency shop to season pass owners or members only.
  

It seems like all of Reddit is very one sided in the Reddit v Apollo dispute.
But, I listened to the phone call, Christian from Apollo said “cut me a check for $10 million and we can both ride off into the sunset” - isn’t that blatant blackmail, or at the very least a very clear ask for hush money? He did follow up saying that it was “mostly a joke” but even if its 10% serious, isn’t that still bad form?
Of course the API costs may be super high - I’m not really qualified to know what is high/low - but either way, after listening to that phone call it just seems like Christian/Apollo were looking for a buyout. Even afterwards, when he’s said that he meant Apollo to go quiet in terms of fewer API requests, what does that even mean? Seems like he’s realised he went too far and is trying to cover for himself.
I’m genuinely curious about this and not trying to jump to support either side.

this is a bit of a niche situation, but I have no idea what to do and am hoping for some help
in February, my dad (naturalized US citizen + Taiwanese citizen) was denied boarding in his flight to the US because his passport was expired. For some reason, he did not want to wait for his passport to be renewed and instead rebooked his flight and entered the US via ESTA (visa waiver) using his Taiwanese passport. Upon arriving in the US, he immediately applied for a passport renewal. In April, he returned to Taiwan for 2 weeks due to a death in the family, and he returned at the end of April (again using ESTA). His renewed US passport has arrived (to our home address in the US) 2 days before he arrived, so there was no way for us to mail it to him in Taiwan.
When this initially happened, I told him to stay in Taiwan and renew his passport there but he wouldn’t listen and has since tasked me with figuring this out for him. Is there anyway for him to “leave and renter” the US on his US passport without him physically leaving the continent? Given the costs of flying to Taiwan as well as the lost time, he wants to avoid flying back as much as possible. All four of his children are US citizens (by birth), as well as his spouse (naturalized), which means that he would qualify for a change of status… but he already has US citizenship so I have no idea if Change of Statuses while on ESTA could even apply here. Since this is a niche situation, I have no clue who to ask for help or how to go about this because I don’t want him to face problems for overstaying on the ESTA. Any advice? Is there any agency whom I would be able to contact for help/answers to these questions? I feel so lost and stressed because of this.
any advice is greatly appreciated.
edit: low karma bc this is an account I made for private/sensitive posts so I’m less identifiable
tldr: dad (US citizen) entered the US on ESTA because his US passport expired. he has renewed his passport. does he have to leave the continent to avoid overstaying ESTA, or is there a way for him to leave and re-enter using his US passport without having to pay for a flight

Part 0: Rules and expectations
Getting Eggy I decided to try out the modern version of Trainer Charms purely so I could use the Pokemon Smile icons. They’re so adorable! Rided/Cyndaquil is one of my favorite Starters, but since they don’t have a second typing they don’t stand out much.
After getting Pokeballs from HIBI/Ethan it was time to start the run! Both New Bark and Cherrygrove have encounters I can unlock with Surf or either Rod, so with that in mind I earn my first three tokens from Rt. 29, 30, and 31. Luckily, both Rt. 46 and Dark Cave had Geodude, getting me Sicib and Bicis.
For some reason my Emulator doesn’t show the circle of light around my character, so I couldn’t find the free Drug/Potion in Bicis’ home. But hey, Bicis was a girl, so maybe she’ll help with Whitney like I hoped? Neither of them had a nature that lowered their Att or Def, so I was pleased. However, when I checked their IVs I noticed one had 8 in Att and the other had... 31!? I didn’t expect the second coming of Kokum to come so soon, whoa! Her Def IV is way lower than Sicib’s, though, so it’s kind of a trade-off.
I can get two Pokemon in GX (Violet) City, though not from the water. The first is from the Bellsprout for Onix trade that will cost me $25,200 (But the Nature is... really bad), and the second comes from giving Primo a specific code that is based on your Trainer ID. After consulting Pokewiki’s Secret Code Generator I... quickly realized that the text I need to input to get my wanted Slugma egg (the only one I can get before Kanto) was translated. Miraculously, the Viet HG save file worked with the normal Japanese HG ROM, so I just played both at once and used the equivalent of Alphabet Mode to help me figure out where ボーイ +うた and やだ + かんそうはだ were. ...Though one of the words starts with Hiragana and the ‘Syllabary Mode’ uses Katakana, so I had to pull out my old Hiragana+Katakana book to figure out the Katakana equivalent.
In the end, the translation was Boy + Sing & Do Not Want + Crispy. Funnily enough, before I had pulled out the book and untranslated ROM I tried to figure it out on my own by using the original Viet Crystal method of translating the Japanese text Pokewiki gave me into Chinese, then English via Google Translate and the fourth was translated to be Skin Care. I had guessed Crispy because I thought of crispy chicken skin earlier, so I’m glad I had guessed one of them correctly the first time!
I still had to check if I managed to get the Slugma egg, though... and Pkhex said it was a Slugma, YES! Well actually, when it hatched I realized the game wasn’t suddenly calling A SHI/Primo Mageh when he handed over the egg, it was calling it a Mageh/Slugma egg. So yeah, that’s her name. I had one more encounter available before Elder Li, though. The Sprout Tower he’s in just holds a fourth token, so I headed south to Rt. 32 to catch Mali/Mareep before beating up some monks.
VS Elder Li At first I was just going to solo him with an Ember-equipped Rided, but at the end of the tower both Geodude were at lv. 7 from some switch grinding, so the team was them and the lv. 10 Rided. They won’t go out against his Bellsprout, but Hoothoot’s Hypnosis could make solo-ing annoying.
Rided’s Ember easily OHKO’d the first Bellsprout, but Elder Li threw out Hoothoot next. Rided was quickly put to sleep and she didn’t wake up after getting a Peck to the face, so I swapped to Bicis. She sadly got hit by a Growl, but two Tackles barely brought the bird to yellow HP while she dodged Hypnosis. Annoyed by how little she was doing, I swapped to Sicib... only for him to be put to sleep, augh!
So I swapped back to Bicis, who got hit with a Peck and another Growl before she could Tackle again. Two more Tackles barely brought Hoothoot to red HP before Hypnosis finally landed on her. Instead of making her power through the sleep, I decided to swap back to Rided to get ready for the second bellsprout, and... She woke up immediately, nice! Two more Embers destroyed the Hoothoot and second Bellsprout.
Yup, I’m glad I didn’t go through my usual ‘grind to lv. 10’ session at the beginning, because having more bodies to put to sleep was pretty dang helpful! Nobody lost more than 10HP thanks to that, too.
VS HEYADUO/Falkner After beating his minions everyone but Rided was okay to be in the lowest level slot (8), so I went to the grass to get Sicib to the highest level slot (13) and learn Rock Throw. ...Wait, what!? Yeah, It was gonna be Bicis, but I got confused and realized too late, ugh. Well, let’s hope his Rock Throw isn’t too weak.
Pidgey starts off with blinding Sicib with Sand, but Rock Throw lands regardless and takes it out. Pidgeotto doesn’t have Sand Attack, so he just used a weak Gust before getting knocked to low yellow thanks to another Rock Throw. One more weak Gust later and Sicib landed the killing blow/rock.
Well, Rock Throw is still Super Effective and gets STAB. Sand Attack was kind of worrying, but I’m glad all three Rock Throws landed regardless.

Team:

• Sicib the Geodude♂ (14) - Sassy, Sturdy [Tackle / Rock Throw / Defense Curl / Mud Sport]
  
• Bicis the Geodude♀ (8) - Impish, Sturdy [Tackle / Defense Curl / Mud Sport / Rock Polish]
  
• Mageh the Slugma♀ (8) - Hardy, Flame Body [Smog / Ember / Yawn / ---]
  
• Mali the Mareep♂ (8) - Quirky, Static [Tackle / Growl / --- / ---]
  

• Rided the Cyndaquil♀ (11) - Brave, Blaze [Tackle / Ember / SmokeScreen / Leer]

Box: 1^ / Deaths: 0

So I bought a 55cm Gorilla off of marketplace and have been riding it for about a month and I can't shake the feeling the bike is a little bit too big. I am betwenlen 180 and 181 cm in height and my inseam is 83cm. I've done a lot of poking around online and while QBP bikes tend to run longer in reach it seems like the 55cm should still fit me if I decrease the reach with a shorter stem. There is also a medium frame online in the same color and everything but I am afraid it would cost a lot of money and much of this years riding season if I were to purchase it and swap all of the parts over (I am not the most capable home mechanic). Besides, there are no guarentees the 52cm would fit better. The reach would be better but I worry the stack would go too low.
For further reference I have a kilo tt track frame in 55 that I always felt too stetched out on and a 20 inch mbt frame that feels pretty good. I had (I beleive) a 19.5 in mbt that fit me like a glove that got stollen early this year.
I will certainly try a shorter stem but I'm worried it won't solve everything. I have a lot of my weight going into the front of my bike causing pain in my hands and neck and I also have trouble getting comfortable on the saddle. I have been reading all about bike fit and geometry but I am a bit confused about what I should do. Get the medium frame and hope it works or get a stem and see if that does? Or should I just sell it and get a different bike? What would you do? Any insight here would help!

Navigating the path between airports and seaports can be stressful and expensive. At Peliccan Cars, we believe it doesn't have to be. Our low-cost transportation service ensures you have a reliable, comfortable, and affordable transfer from Southend Airport (SS2) to Port of Southampton (SO14).

Punctuality and Affordability Merged

When you choose Peliccan Cars, you're choosing a service that respects both your time and your budget. Our professional chauffeurs ensure that you'll be promptly transported from Southend Airport to the Port of Southampton without having to worry about the cost.

Comfortable Travel within Your Budget

Just because it's low-cost doesn't mean it's low-quality. Our vehicles are equipped with comfortable seats, Wi-Fi, refreshments, and climate control, ensuring a pleasurable journey from Southend Airport to the Port of Southampton that fits your budget.

Experienced Chauffeurs for a Smooth Ride

Our chauffeurs are professionals who provide a safe, efficient, and affordable journey. With their experience and knowledge of the best routes, they ensure a smooth ride to your destination without any unnecessary costs.

Easy Booking Process

We've made booking your low-cost transfer as straightforward as possible. With our simple booking system, you can quickly confirm your ride from Southend Airport to the Port of Southampton. You can also choose the vehicle that suits you best for a tailored travel experience.

Transparent and Affordable Pricing

At Peliccan Cars, we're committed to providing top-notch service at an economical price. Our pricing is transparent, with no hidden costs, giving you the best value for your money. Enjoy our professional service, comfortable vehicles, and reliable service without stretching your budget.
In summary, our Low-Cost Transportation Service from Southend Airport (SS2) to Port of Southampton (SO14) provides a travel experience that's affordable, comfortable, and reliable. With Peliccan Cars, low-cost doesn't mean low quality. So why wait? Book your ride today and experience the difference with Peliccan Cars!
Read More....

Hey friends, going to spend the week in Puerto Rico working from down there, just bought a ticket last night for $36, what a steal! Pro tip, you have to wait until its after midnight your time and then you can get a flight in two days, ie. Friday night at 12:05am you can buy tickets for all of Sunday even Sunday night.
Have any of you guys been? Any tips? Im a pretty low budget traveler so I don't like taxis or resorts or anything, I like to keep my costs really low so I can keep going to all these exotic locations my Go Wild pass will get me to. Let me know if you have tips on this beautiful island. I love beaches so thats first and foremost, scooter rentals, boat rides, I need to find a way to get over to that island with wild horses and pink sand! If anyone wants to meet up and have a beer I have amazing stories, ha ha, just my last trip to Costa Rica in April was fuckin wild:
https://www.reddit.com/gowildfrontiecomments/142szz3/trip_report_using_my_go_wild_pass_to_get_to_costa/

Even though I've riding/driving for over a decade, it's the first time I've been involved in an accident and I have some questions. Last month I was riding my motorcycle and stopped at a stop sign, immediately a car behind me hit me, it was an old bloke who said didn't see me. He stopped after the accident and we exchanged contacts, he said he had insurance and I said that I would be happy to get a quotation for the repair and sent it to him, and he left me there with my motorcycle.
My motorcycle has no insurance (its market value is only $3k and I use 99% of the time to commute to work where I evaluate that is low risk to hit someone's else car, never bothered to get it), my car has third-party insurance by Budget Direct.
It didn't damage much my bike but it burnt the fuses and I had to push it for 30min to the nearest Super Cheap Auto to buy the fuse and tools to put it up and running again to get back home (I was 1hr away, going to an event, don't need to say that I had to cancel because of it...) - I know I could get a tow but in my mind I didn't want to screw the man and charge him later with a couple hundred dollars more because of something I could fix myself. Apart from that just some cosmetic damages (I got some bruises but nothing major).
The week goes by and I get a quotation from the shop, it was $387. I have a chat with the guy at the shop and apparently, you have two options: 1. you get a quotation to fix it aside from insurance and 2. you get the insurance quotation that costs $200 just to get the quotation and that the other persons insurance should take care of it. I said that I would pass the info to the gentlemen who hit me.
So I msg him with the quotation and no replies, tried to call no answer. At this point, I understand that this person has no intention to pay me and honestly, if that's the case I'd prefer to let life take care of this poor soul.
But my question is (I read a lot about it but still not sure how to behave in an accident):

1. Apparently, third-party insurance is worth nothing if someone hits you? I always thought that if it's not your fault, as long you get the person's details, your insurance will go after them, but this seems not to be the case. If I want to be fully protected I'd need to have Comprehensive Insurance.
2. If I have comprehensive insurance and someone hits me, should I do anything differently other than get their details? I assume I have to contact my insurance after the accident and tell them what happens and they will go after the other person? Will cost me anything?
3. What insurance are you guys recommending nowadays?
4. I plan now to get comprehensive insurance for both my vehicles (2017 Yamaha YZF R15 and 2007 Honda CRV) Is there anything else that I should know?

So this story comes from yesterday's session involving me (DM) and the solo PC (yes it's a solo campaign). This is based in the same story with the same character that I talked about in this reddit post a while back:
https://www.reddit.com/DnD/comments/wpbzcl/a_pc_moment_that_made_me_proud/
There's not much relation per se apart from the world and characters ofc. Now let me tell of an intense close call that happened in yesterday's session. (TL:DR at the bottom)
So it's a long time in game since the interaction in the last reddit post. The PC, Variel, is now level 10 (5 Fiend Warlock / 5 Mastermind Rogue). After being attacked by a constant threat of a dangerous cult that took her brother, she leaves the city of Hazelron to begin heading eastward to reach her hometown of Devana as there's been many clues that lead to the cult and its leaders reside within its grounds. To get there, she must first ride through a thick forest of redwood trees and a mountain range. The forest journey is smooth sailing with her new Phantom Steed dubbed Lady Marshmallow (google that name and you'll see her glory). However, due to the difficult, rocky terrain of the mountains, she must travel slower in order to be safe.
I have Variel roll 2d6 for some random encounters.
Encounter 1 - On one of the nights, as she begins setting up camp, she notices there's a large boulder on the road behind that wasn't there before and quickly realizes it's flesh and not rock. Variel quickly hides and sees two large ogres arrive at her camp. The ogres are annoyed that their food is gone and both sit down saddened as their bellies rumble. They talk in broken Common about how hungry they always are and one suggests that they go down into the woods as there's plenty of food there to which the other immediately explains how unsafe that is due to too many dangers. Variel is forced to stay put for an hour straight listening before the two ogres see wolves in the distance and take chase in the instant. Variel sets up a Tiny Hut for protection and avoids any combat that could've happened.
Pretty casual right? No intensity there when you avoid it with ease. Then came the 2nd encounter.....
Encounter 2 - A few days later, still in the mountains, PC comes across tracks of a large beast (low Nature check to see what it is) with splodges of dried blood that lead up the mountains to a small outcropping about 150-200ft up. Variel, wanting to get to Devana as soon as possible, ignores this as time is of the essence. I have her roll for Lady Marshmallow's stealth to see how quiet she can be. She rolls a total of 16 (DC was 18). A part of the rocky road collapses down the mountain scaring the steed. A large impact can be heard upon the outcropping....and then another. Emerging out, she saw a large dragon-like head with brown/grey skin akin to the mountainous terrain turn to see her and make chase immediately; this time, instead of hiding, Variel prepared to dodge. Roll Initiative. (Just to clarify, the beast is a wyvern with some more HP as PC can do a decent amount of damage now)
The combat lasted 5 rounds. Variel sent out Eldritch Blast after Eldritch Blast with some hitting and a lot missing. She constantly tries to stealth but on an open, mountainous road, there isn't many places to hide. The wyvern bites and stabs PC with its stinger dealing good damage in return. On round 3, Variel decides to teleport onto the creature's back to try and deal damage directly onto its head and neck. The wyvern, in retaliation, begins to fly high into the sky to try and buck Variel off to which, after she fails to hold on with her 5 Strength, it succeeds. PC falls 120ft instantly taking 40ish damage leaving her with 10ish hp. Variel decides to play dead to trick the wyvern into leaving her alone (rolls a 12 Performance check). The beast crashes down onto the ground and sees through the trick and bites down onto Variel knocking her unconscious and due to the wyvern's multiattack, it strikes with its stinger......dealing 2 failed death saves.
The feelings of panic and fear begin to rise in both of us. This is the first time she's gone down.
I ask her to roll a death save.........10. Just makes it.
I ask her to roll another.........12. Just makes it again.
During this, I asked her for an important memory (good or bad) of her character's past. She chooses when she found her lost brother a couple sessions back. I begin to detail how she is back in the hidden basement and the two embrace. Her brother talks about his scars once more and the two are filled with glee.
Whatever she rolls next determines if she lives or dies. I ask her roll a last death save........19!!!!
As she achieves the 19, I then have brother say something he didn't say during the reunion "Don't worry. You'll find me because you're strong. I know you are." Variel awakes being dragged up the cliffside by the wyvern and quickly Misty Stepped away and managed to sneak away on 1hp.
She walks for hours not being able to find the strength to summon her steed. Eventually, Variel begins making her Tiny Hut spell when she's visited by the leader of the cult she's hunting: Vezzunith. Vezzunith has been helping Variel find the cult as he just wants to live peacefully away from it all but recently, Variel has been disliking the leader. Vezzunith explains how scared he was seeing Variel almost die and that he would've saved her had she gone under. Variel doesn't care. The two begin to argue until Vezzunith lashes out one statement:
"You know what? Go ahead, become a murderer. You talk about your rage so much you might as well listen to it. Go get yourself killed."
With some more words shared, Vezzunith vanishes leaving Variel alone. She goes to sleep but that one statement sticks with her. She dreams about doing exactly that. She dreams of killing everyone who's ever wronged her and after its all done, she begins to giggle...then laugh....then cackle. She watches as the lands around her and Devana wreathe in flames but she doesn't care. All she does is smile. Soon after she awakes the next day and gradually realizes it was all a dream and pushes on saddened by the reveal.
TL:DR - PC almost died for the first time and then had intense chat with close friend now kind of frienemy.
This was such a dramatic session and I loved every ounce of it. It was the first time I as a DM had come close to a PC death during a campaign. Even though it was terrifying as this is a solo game so if she dies, the story could end, it was exhilarating to be a part of. And the intense discussion afterwards? Damn good too. So if you're somehow reading Variel/Ariaki, cheers for another awesome moment and good luck on your journeys.

In recent years, there has been a significant shift in the transportation industry towards more sustainable and eco-friendly modes of travel. One such mode that has gained immense popularity is the electric scooter. With zero emissions, low maintenance costs, and ease of use, electric scooters have become a preferred choice for urban commuters and enthusiasts alike. In this blog post, we will shed light on one of the leading electric scooter manufacturers, Crayon Motors.
Crayon Motors is a pioneering company in the field of electric mobility, specifically electric scooters. With a vision to revolutionize urban transportation and reduce carbon footprint, Crayon Motors has emerged as a key player in the industry. The company is committed to providing innovative and reliable electric scooters that not only deliver a great riding experience but also contribute to a greener future.
One of the standout features of Crayon Motors electric scooters is their sleek and modern design. The company puts a strong emphasis on aesthetics without compromising on functionality. Crayon Motors understands that riders not only want a reliable mode of transportation but also a vehicle that looks good and complements their lifestyle. Their electric scooters are designed to turn heads and make a statement on the road.
When it comes to performance, Crayon Motors electric scooters are no slouch either. Powered by advanced lithium-ion batteries, these scooters offer impressive acceleration and top speeds, making them perfect for zipping through city streets. With a focus on efficiency, Crayon Motors ensures that their scooters have a long battery life and can cover substantial distances on a single charge. This is a crucial factor for commuters who rely on electric scooters for their daily transportation needs.
Safety is another area where Crayon Motors excels. Their electric scooters come equipped with features like anti-lock braking systems (ABS), LED lighting, and intuitive control systems to ensure a safe and secure ride. Crayon Motors understands the importance of rider safety and has taken proactive measures to incorporate the latest safety technologies into their scooters.
Furthermore, Crayon Motors is dedicated to providing excellent customer service and support. They have established a wide network of service centers and authorized dealers to cater to the needs of their customers. Whether it's routine maintenance or addressing any issues, Crayon Motors ensures that their customers have access to timely and reliable assistance.
In conclusion, Crayon Motors has emerged as a leading electric scooter manufacturer, known for its commitment to innovation, style, performance, and sustainability. Their electric scooters offer a compelling alternative to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, providing riders with a convenient, eco-friendly, and enjoyable mode of transportation. With their sleek designs, impressive performance, and focus on safety, Crayon Motors electric scooters are well-positioned to shape the future of urban mobility. So, if you're considering joining the electric revolution, Crayon Motors is definitely a brand worth exploring.

This applies to normal difficulty as well, but it is especially noticeable on hardcore difficulty.
KCD is not your average RPG with an easy start, where the first quest is something like killing a giant rat in someone's basement. In fact, the beginning is one of the most difficult parts of the whole game.
On hardcore difficulty with limited save options, and very unfavorable prices at which merchants buy things, the player struggles with being able to carry loot that will earn him enough groschen.
Because the availability of Saviour Schnapps is very limited at the start, any trip out of Rattay is very risky and it is difficult to escape enemies if you spot them late.
Once you get your first horse, even the hardcore difficulty is quite a walk in the park. The amount of loot a player can collect in a single trip will increase dramatically, so the player will no longer struggle with a situation where loot and rewards barely cover the cost of repairing equipment.
It's easy to avoid fights that look too difficult. Even a player with a low bow skill can easily Genghis Khan enemies from horseback. If he meets enemies in the woods, he can lure them into more open terrain where maneuvering on horseback is easier.
If you're lucky, every now and then you'll come across a random fight between two groups that will yield valuable loot without having to engage in combat.
Actually, on hardcore difficulty the hardest part is not getting lost, but getting lost on horseback is better than getting lost on foot because after a short ride you can usually find a place you recognize.
Don't get me wrong, I still love the game. But it's one of those games where the later stages stop being a challenge.
​
​

Link to part 2
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/13qcl3m/the_big_rock_candy_mountain_book_2_finding/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Well, this is going to be a little different.
First thing I want to say is that Kev will be back. I’m not the type to sugar coat things, he’s in a pretty sorry state, but he’s going to pull through. He’s a tough bastard.
In case you haven’t clued in yet, it’s Mike, I might not be as much of a wordsmith as Kev but I think I can keep your interest.
She was about five foot four, pale greasy skin and pitch colored hair that was just about to cross the double line from shiny into gross. Early thirties I’d guess, but with the strange shit Kev and I have gotten ourselves into she could be a million, or put together yesterday for all I know.
She was a “ Shame Monger” which was as esoteric of a job title as it sounds, and the first context me and my little buddy had on our current assignment.
The place we’re in is an old, decrepit arcade, I’m surrounded by shadowy figures sticking to the dark recesses like insects.
Kev is somewhere deep within the place sticking his neck out with God knows what ( I mean, I do as well, but I’ll let Kevin relay shit when he’s up to it.), and I’m making small talk.
“You human? “ I say, she’s not offended but raises an eyebrow.
“Are you? “ She has an edge to her, human or not, she’s seen some shit.
I laugh, running a hand over the branded lines mimicking clown patterns Art left me with after that stay in his gulag.
“Sometimes I forget about the braille.
Yeah, %100 sadly. “ I lean on the counter as I speak.
“Me too, you haven’t been working with the watchers long, have you? “ She sounds concerned, “ I’d suggest finding a new job. They have a bit of a reputation. “
“Long enough. “ I’m wary now, information is a resource I’m not willing to part with easily.
I don’t think she’s wrong, mind you, every day I spend with these wizards by another name, I like them less and less. Being sent with Kev, Jr, and the voices in my head, wandering across the country to find something called “The Fleshsmith”, is the best case scenario in my opinion. Gives me some breathing room.
“How do does one deal in shame? “ I say after a long silence. The glitched beeping of the machines becoming grating.
“Not as spooky as you’d think.
You play airsoft? I’m Tori by the way. “ Tori says, lighting up a small black cigar.
“Never got the bug, but I’ve heard of it, and I’m Mike. “ I reply.
“Well Mike, I play, and it’s a great hobby. Lots of physical activity, lots of equipment to learn about, it’s got something for everyone. For the most part, it’s an exciting activity .
But, think of the factory that makes the plastic ammunition. It’s integral, but it’s cheap, easy to make, monotonous, and far removed from any of the interesting facets of the hobby.
That’s me. I brush up against all kinds of folks, but besides the little wrinkle your friend is dealing with, all of the real spooky shit is well past arm’s length. “ she coughs, the thick, cherry scented smoke hangs in rings, “ It’s a living. “
“Honestly, I couldn’t be happier.
I hear ‘ Shame Monger’ and I was thinking torture, and, I don’t know, ghosts maybe? “ I shrug, motioning for one of the cigarellos.
She gives me one, it tastes of rose and a rich, almost syrup like tobacco.
“Sorry to disappoint. No, extraction is pretty painless, uses a kind of blotter paper. And to the best of my knowledge, ghosts aren’t a thing.
As I said, things are safe and boring. “ Tori says, taking a seat on a black waist high stool.
I let her statement hang for a moment.
“So what’s with the big guy trying to blend in, waiting for me to leave the counter? And why did he come with 2 friends and a running engine? “ I say, low but casual.
I can tell she’s annoyed at my insight.
“That’s nothing horror adjacent. Just a good old fashioned shake down, cost of doing business.
He doesn’t know exactly what goes on here, but him and his associates know it’s profitable enough they can squeeze ten grand out of me a month. “ Tori shrugs, putting out her cigar.
“You can’t give someone a discount to rattle their cage? “ I ask, curious.
“Listen to you. “ Tori laughs, “If your butcher asked you to get shot for them, would you jump at the chance? “
I make eye contact, I can’t help but smirk.
“I’ve gotten shot for less. “ My comment gets a sideways look.
“Mike, I’m seeing you, and I’ve got to say, kinda seems like you’re full of shit. “ Her reply is harsh, but I can’t blame her. I’m dressed like salesman, facial scars or no.
I don’t reply. I walk to the grimy, dim, wet floored men’s room.
Someone who chooses my line of work doesn’t get into it because they have great impulse control. And unfortunately, I’m not unique .
Since I’ve got here, I’ve felt scared, small, ineffective. I know you guys have seen Kevin’s point of view on things, and it makes me seem like some kind of wrecking ball, but that is 50 per cent showmanship, 30 per cent planning and 20 per cent not caring if I lose a piece or two.
But this situation, some low rent semi-connected asshole who thinks he’s Don Corleone? It calls to me.
The clothing I wear is designed to be reversable, and with a few adjustments, I’m no longer wearing a cheap looking used car salesman’s suit, but an antique tuxedo with a 1940s design.
The mirror is grimy as hell, I try to clear a spot, but the sad, octogenarian Esque flow from the tap isn’t up to the task.
But it’s clear enough to reflect him, standing behind me. I jump, and my heart starts to pound.
“Not the time for this. “ I say, pacing.
I try to look away, but there he is, in the corner of my vision, each time. I’d close my eyes, but that’s what he wants, he gets closer when I can’t see.
For a half second my vision is taken up by a crystal clear image of his face. That angular, pale visage inhuman by any standard, but haunting in it’s echoes of a past rooted in mortality.
I stumble backward, slamming into the wall. Panting, my eyes locked on his almost-there form.
He’s tall, wicked, and everything about him exudes power. He’s taken to looking like me more and more lately. But a twisted, malignant reflection, what I could be if I let this pulp novel of a corner of reality have it’s way with me.
“Fuck off Demi! “ I say, getting to my feet, “ I’ve got shit to do. “
Still don’t know if he is just another hallucination, or who he says he is, but Demi and myself are on pretty poor terms as of late.
I hear the bodyless old ghoul whispering what I assume are dark threats as I open a small tube of what I like to refer to as ‘Mike’s Mix’.
A combination of preparation H, topical anesthetic, and just a hint of clown white. Laugh if you want, but it stops a hell of a lot of incidental injuries in my line of work.
Demi starts to fade and I see what I can of myself in the dull mirror.
I’m a little too old for the phrase, but I’m sure a lot of you folks out there would refer to the cliché spook I’ve cultivated as “Cringe”.
I don’t disagree.
But, it’s the game I have to play right now. I’m not some invincible cursed killer, but you know what, I can certainly play one on T.V.
(Did I just try to relate to kids, then make a joke from a 40 year old commercial? This is why Kev does the writing.)
I walk out of the bathroom, reeking of fear sweat and tainted water. The foot and a half lucite rod is tucked up my sleeve, I tap the end of it against the wall as I walk.
The guy is six feet, easily, he’s fifty or so, but making up for it with trips to the gym and a few friendly doctors if I don’t miss my guess.
He doesn’t take the bait, just keeps talking to Tori, once he looks to me, I can tell he is asking her who I am, she’s smart, she shrugs after looking over.
I had an entire plan where I would embarrass the man, get him to send some guys, and make things so costly he just gave up on Tori. It’s a classic, but if it ain’t broke and all that.
But plans, like the people that make them, tend to fail at the worst times.
Once I get within striking distance, the guy turns, his speed isn’t supernatural, but a lot more than I was expecting. His punch lands well enough that I don’t remember starting to fall.
The second finishes the job before I can get my bearings.
The darkness creeps in and in it’s peace I realize how stupid it was to go in this half cocked. I was jonesing for a fight I could win so badly, I went in without a plan B.
I need someone to reign me in, back home it was Eli, here, it’s Kev. As the last bits of conscious thought leave me, I feel bad about leaving him alone.
It's the stifling heat that wakes me up, before my vision clears I smell hot, cheap leather, old vomit and years worth of attempts to mask the smell.
I’m soaked in sweat, the air is like a sauna. I’m sitting in the back of a car, I wouldn’t call it a limo, but it’s clearly built for comfort, in optimal circumstances. There’s a tinted glass partition separating me from the front seat, it’s cracked slightly, I try to tell if anyone is there, but have no luck.
“Can’t say this is a new experience. “ I say, to whoever may be listening.
I try kicking out the windows and the partition, they don’t budge a millimeter.
“If you are up for talking things over, I’m game. “ I try to pry the overhead light loose, and that’s when I notice it.
It's a note, in a thick plastic sleeve, wrapped around my forearm and stuck with some kind of adhesive.
The pain is horrible, made all the worse by the constant pouring of sweat literally putting salt into the wound.
Said wound isn’t deep, a few layers of skin down, enough to weep blood, but far away from pouring. But if this kills me, it won’t be exsanguination. Depending on how long, whoever, plans on keeping me in here, I worry about infection, necrosis, pretty much all the members of the Untreated Wound crew.
I take off the suit jacket, and tear it into strips to use as makeshift bandages, I have a feeling I’ll be needing plenty by the time this is over.
My left arm is slow and clumsy as I open the envelope. I hope it’s just shock, or swelling, not nerve damage.
It reads:
Hey, Dracula, or whatever the hell you are.
Fuck yourself, you think we don’t have ways of taking care of your kind?
Have Fun
Niko Ferang
“Well, can’t say the guy isn’t succinct. “ I say, laughing.
If I just went up to the guy with a threat and a pipe, I’d have either won or lost, and that’d be the end of it. But my genius self succeeded in convincing him I was scary enough to toss me… here.
It dawns on me that there is something obvious I haven’t tried.
As I pull the latch on the passenger side door, something inside me tells me to stop.
Visually, I can’t really describe what it looked like opening the door. The brief period before I saw what was beyond was the visual equivalent of trying to catch a greased pig.
I was left with a view, an identical car interior. The other car parked impossibly close, Their doors seeming to blend with their exteriors.
I enter, as a great man once said “Buy the ticket, take the ride. “, and my dumb ass need for assurance, bought me one hell of a ride.
Once I get in, the driver’s side door closes, and I find myself in the same sweltering heat, in the same backseat.
The damp leather sticks to my arms, I start to calculate how much water I’m losing by the minute, and the math scares the hell out of me.
I try going through the door a few more times, but the more I do, the more I realize, it’s the same car.
The fear becomes as oppressive as the wet heat, I’ve researched a hell of a lot of things from the watchers library, but infinite Oldsmobiles didn’t come up.
I’ve been disarmed, but left with my phone, and wallet. I’m kind of impressed they managed to find 99 per cent of the equipment I can hide in a suit, but hey, %1 is better than nothing.
The phone makes a useless bludgeon, I quickly retire the idea, and figure, even neutered as it is ( I find I can get online, but little else.), it’s better doing phone things than broken.
The good news is frighteningly slim.
I’ve got a few feet of polymar tarp, folded in the wallet, useful for a lot of things, but most important in my situation will be trying to get some kind of drinking water.
An emergency credit card knife, barely useful little thing, won’t do me any good in a fight, but might be a useful tool.
Three strike anywhere matches, a small hook and length of fishing line.
My lips are cracked and bleeding, it can’t have been more than an hour or two, but I’m starting to feel heat exhaustion set in.
I think I’ve found something when the knife sinks into the thin leather of the overstuffed backseat, but the shoddy blade encounters some kind of solid matter, and as I pull the knife out, the leather seals itself.
I stay still, trying to conserve energy, trying to formulate some plan.
He sits beside me now, his looming hunched frame bent in the confines of the car. His face is a blur, but I know beneath the shadows he's smirking.
“I’m way too tired for you Demi. “ I say, wiping what feels like a liter of sweat from my forehead.
His repeating, echoing laughter proves me wrong, I shiver, despite the brutal heat.
It can’t have been more than a few degrees, bit It feels like getting splashed with ice water.
The light in the car begins to dim, and with it, the soul crushing temperature of the luxury automobile drops.
I scramble to set up the tarp, I was banking on this, without some kind of temperature drop, the plastic sheet is useless.
Within an hour droplets have began to create a small stream, collecting at the cone shaped tip of the suspended tarp. Lacking anything to put it into, I catch the liquid in my mouth.
It's foul, and likely contaminated, but it’s my only option. If I’m stuck in here a week I can get by without food, brutalized by heat, I won’t make it 2 days without water.
I feel exhausted, wondering exactly how long I’ve been stuck here I check the time on my phone.
It’s almost random progression does nothing to comfort the surreal sense of dread that is enveloping me.
I don’t know when I passed out, but I wake up laying across the reeking leather, being dragged backward.
I feel fingers, dozens of them, clawing, scraping, trying to gain purchase. A crevice begins to open in the deep black leather, and I begin to be dragged into it.
I throw myself forward, landing painfully on the sticky, grime ridden floor of the car.
Fear, and the awkward ergonomics of my situation make turning around a slow, nerve wracking chore. Once I manage to, I regret the decision.
Hands, some small, some large, some seemingly cobbled together from mismatched scraps, slowly pull themselves from the crevice between the seat and back of the back seat.
They prod and crawl like insects, none ever giving way to arm, just a lumpen flow of calloused, wrist like structure, giving each an segmented, centipede like appearance.
I sit up, watching the macabre display, trying to make some kind of sense of it.
I actually scream when there’s a sharp, loud, mechanical ringing beside my head. The type of analogue noise that went out of style long before land lines did.
It doesn’t take me long to find the handle and pull out an ancient car phone, it’s a two part wood paneled brick of a thing, I pick up the receiver, “Hello” I say, a question as much as a greeting.
The voice is male, probably early twenties.
“Don’t worry about them. They can be an issue if you don’t sleep on the floor, but I’ve never seen one drag itself more than half way across the seat. “ He’s calm, but has a survivors hushed impatience.
“Who are you? “ I ask.
“I won’t lie to you man.
I’ve been in here a while, but now that there is someone else, I think I can get out. Call me Pol. “ I catch the hopeful tone in his voice.
“How? “ I say simply, still trying in vain to put more space between me and the hands.
“Not to sound cold, but if I tell you, there is a chance you just take the information and leave me here.
The first step is us meeting, you’ll know the plan by the time that happens.
I don’t lie. “ If nothing else I can say Pol seems smart.
“Fair enough, what can I do? “ I Trail off at the end of my sentence, one of the hands is pointing at me.
“You need to understand a few things about this place.
First, don’t travel at night. Nothing you are going to find is going to be any better than the crawlers.
Second, remember the numbers, 1, 5 and 9. I’m assuming you have a watch, or a cellular phone? If the time ends in one of those, you’re likely to find a new space.
Last, what’s outside of the car, on the driver’s side, pretend it doesn’t exist. “ The instructions are cryptic, but I’m in no place to turn down good advice.
“How do I know I can trust you? “ I ask, knowing the answer.
“Don’t see how I could be anything other than what I say.
Wouldn’t it be pretty obvious if I was trying to lead you astray? “ Pol’s response is reasonable, but a lifetime of being blindsided makes me wary.
“I guess so. What should I be doing now? “ I say, flipping off the hand like thing that continues to point at me.
“Get some sleep. Time, day and night cycles, they mean nothing here, and passing out in a hundred and fifty degree weather is a shitty way to go.
I won’t be able to get through during the day, so listen carefully.
If you time your travel right, you are going to be looking for two main things. The first is going to be a pillow mint, eventually you are going to starve either way, the human body needs more than just sugar, but you should be able to find enough to keep you going till malnutrition kicks in. The second is a soda can, it’s a sip, and it’s turned, but it’s better than trying to lick the droplets from the windows. “ I listen to Pol, hopefully memorizing his instructions.
Daylight brings with it reek and heat, I watch the hands scuttle back to within the recesses of the seats, shuddering a bit as I see wave like, movements in the cushions.
“God damn it. “ I say looking at the display on my knock off phone. About %50, for all I know I’ll be out in 15 minutes, but I’m not banking on it.
I watch the numbers flash by like a stock ticker, waiting to see if Pol is trying to screw me over or not.
I see 1:39 and crack open the passenger side door.
The same sweltering heat, the same basic backseat, but I know, at a glance, things are not quite identical. Part repetition from the day before, part a decade and a half playing private eye, but I can tell Pol was telling the truth.
Lipstick, smeared on the passenger window, an old handprint. It seems like something bad happened here.
The leather of one of the headrests is torn, I purposely avoid looking at the certainly not stuffing inside.
It’s like this place wants to tell a story, I can’t help but try and hear it.
I don’t find any soda, but I do find a single, red and white pillow mint, wrapper mostly in tact, sitting in a sticky patch on the floor.
I try my luck a few more times, using the cell phone as a kind of metronome, and while I do get a lot of repetition, every so often, there is a little change, or quirk.
I’ve collected two pocketfulls of mints, and found myself desperately hoping to stumble upon anything to drink. Another night of distilled sweat, dust, and God knows what doesn’t seem appealing.
I must have been too slow opening the door, I’d done it over two hundred times at this point, and the grey haze of this new variation set off every danger instinct in me.
It felt like I was being watched from every angle, despite the gloom the heat was worse, and seemed to bake a fungal reek into the air itself.
The door handle on the passenger side is mangled, the steel colored plastic twisted into a useless lump.
The leather seems slightly rotten, weather stripping peels, light fixtures are cracked and loose, it feels very, old.
I watch the phone, my eyes instinctively darting around, there are noises from the front seat and I doubt they have my best interests in mind.
I’m trying the mangled door handle but something is broken.
That being, said, with a car this old, the fish hook, with enough persistence could work,
I Peel back some of the stripping around the window, te hook begins it’s slow trek down into the mechanics of the door.
I scratch my wounded arm, it hurts, but that isn’t what concerns me. I feel a small, irregular lump.
I peel back my makeshift bandages, and what I see attempts me make to vomit stomach contents that weren’t there.
Small, brown grey mushrooms, a half dozen, about the size of a grain of rice. I feel a tingling in the wound, and panic sets in.
Opening a door like this requires a steady hand, but between the noises in the front seat, and the literally budding body horror on my arm, my nerves are shot.
I hear the partition begin to lower, and that rotten, fungal reek becomes nearly a physical force. My eyes water, my nose runs, and I hear a noise, like flowing sand.
I feel the hook dig under the proper part of the lock and pull up as I feel something wet soak through my shoe.
The door opens violently, not that I’m upset, I toss myself forward like I’m going for a touchdown, my forehead slams off of the armrest in the newest backseat I find myself in.
Before the passenger side closes I catch a glimpse of the mess that spilled from behind the partition. Rot and flesh, an aborted rotten attempt at life enraged at the universe that spawned it.
I actually feel relief at the blinding sunlight, and shining leather, and find myself relating to the monsterous mass I left behind.
I look at my arm, realizing I didn’t leave all of it behind.
“Oh, fuck me. “ I say, fumbling the credit card knife together.
The mushrooms had doubled in size, the cheap tin knife makes a terrible scalpel, I scream as I err on the side of caution, flaying a half inch around each.
I’m bleeding heavily, half of the makeshift bandages barely keeping the flow at bay.
My vision swims, I feel sick, and I fight the urge to break down into a mentally and physically broken heap.
That’s where I’ll leave everyone. Night is falling, and without a little more help from Pol, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last.
If this is the last time you hear from me, well I’m sure Kev will have you guys covered for the rest of what I hope is Art’s downfall.
If it isn’t, I’ve got a favor to ask, did you guys notice anything I didn’t? Is there anything that is more obvious from outside this displaced cluster fuck?

The humble .22 Long Rifle has remained one of the most popular rounds on the planet for many decades, and with good reason. It’s used in everything from AR platform rifles to precision bolt actions to a mind-boggling variety of handguns.
Today we’re going to be focusing on the latter and taking a close look at the best .22 pistol ammo on the market today. We’ve done a lot of testing to find out what performs the best in the widest variety of .22 pistols we could get our hands on.
Our top overall pick is CCI Standard Velocity because it’s a great general-purpose option that can do it all.
We also have more specific options for plinking, small game hunting, competition, self-defense (yes, from other humans), suppressed shooting, and a bulk option for those who want to have enough ammo to outlast the end of days.

Top 3 Ammo Picks for .22 Pistol

1. CCI Standard Velocity - Best Overall
2. Federal AutoMatch - Best For Plinking
3. Winchester Super-X - Small Game Hunting

Now let’s take a look at our overall winner; then, we’ll dive into our individual category winners and a buying guide to help you choose the best .22 ammo for your pistol and the particular type of shooting you’re doing.

Best .22 Pistol Ammo Overall Pick - CCI Standard Velocity

Specs

• Bullet Type: Lead Round Nose
• Bullet Weight: 40gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1070fps
• Muzzle Energy: 323 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Affordable
• Feeds well in most pistols
• Cycles reliably in semi-autos and extracts easily in revolvers
• Available in bulk

Cons

• Not ideally suited for hunting or defense
• Soft lead projectile

Why We Chose It

Our top overall choice, CCI Standard Velocity, worked the best in the most semi-auto .22s we tested it in, it’s very affordable, and you can get it anywhere that sells ammo.
Seriously, this was some of the most reliable ammo of the lot, and while it is a touch more expensive than some of our budget and bulk favorites, I think the greater reliability is worth the tradeoffs.
It was very consistent in terms of velocity, and we had a great time lining up some targets at the range and rapid-firing entire mags into the A-zone of a USPSA silhouette from 10 yards. The high initial velocity also keeps the projectile relatively stable in the air at longer ranges, for what that’s worth when you’re shooting .22 LR out of a pistol anyway.
It’s also fairly affordable at around $.12/round, which is on the higher side for .22, but nothing like what you’d pay for match ammo or anything truly high-performance. All in all, this is a great general-purpose option.
Honorable Mention: Federal Champion Value Pack. This is another great option that’s a little cheaper but still runs like a champ (it’s in the name, after all). Great performer with a standard 36gr lead round nose projectile.

Best .22 Ammo for Pistol Plinking - Federal AutoMatch

Specs

• Bullet Type: Lead Round Nose
• Bullet Weight: 40gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1145fps
• Muzzle Energy: 128 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Affordable
• Available in bulk
• Cycles and feeds reliably in most semi-autos
• Reliable primers

Cons

• Soft lead projectile
• Underpowered (may not cycle stiffer semi-autos reliably)
• Not great for hunting

Why We Chose It

Federal AutoMatch is another solid performer that works in a variety of semi-autos. It cycles reliably, and the primers go bang when you ask them to, which is honestly high marks for such cheap rimfire ammo.
We’ve all been stuck using our fingernails to pry an unfired .22 out of a chamber because the primer just refuses to do its job, which isn’t a huge deal when you’re out plinking, but it does definitely put a damper on your day.
Especially if you have to stop halfway through a mag multiple times to fix a malfunction that’s pretty clearly because of an ammo defect. With Federal’s AutoMatch, semi-auto pistol shooters will have fewer issues and much better performance, even compared to more expensive bulk pack options.
Honorable Mention: Remington Thunderbolt 22 LR ammunition is another reliable lead-nose round at a solid price.

Best .22 Pistol Small Game Hunting Ammo - Winchester Super-X

Specs

• Bullet Type: Winchester Power Point CPHP
• Bullet Weight: 40gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1435fps
• Muzzle Energy: 183 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Excellent Small-Game Hollow Point
• The copper-plated projectile is harder and more consistent than soft lead
• Reasonably priced for hunting-grade ammo
• The 40-grain bullet is about the maximum you’ll get with supersonic 22lr ammunition

Cons

• More expensive than more basic copper-plated hollow points

Why We Chose It

Winchester Super-X is a much-beloved line of hunting ammo that spans a variety of calibers, so we had high hopes for the .22 version. Thankfully, we weren’t disappointed. It fed and cycled reliably, and I’ve personally used it to hunt small game and pest animals with great reliability.
It has a fairly high velocity for a .22 LR, especially at this kind of price point, and the copper wash on the hollow point is layered deep enough that it actually makes a difference in how the bullet performs vs. a standard lead projectile with a hollow nose. Sometimes, that’s not the case.
Not all copper-plated .22 ammo is made equally, and that matters when we’re looking for .22 pistol ammo in particular because a softer lead projectile, or even a low-quality copper-plated projectile, can deform when feeding.
This can cause a jam that can really ruin your hunt if it happens when you need that key follow-up shot. For that reason, a well-made projectile is key here, and the Super-X Power Points have been very reliable on that front.
Honorable Mention: CCI Mini-Mag is another great hunting choice and the option of choice for A&E’s Swamp People, so if you want something that’s proven to work on at least gator-sized game (with proper shot placement), this is a solid pick.

Best .22 Ammo for Pistol Competition - CCI Pistol Match

Specs

• Bullet Type: Lead round nose
• Bullet Weight: 40gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1070 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 102 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Match-grade rimfire performance
• Some of the cheapest competition-grade rimfire ammo
• Very consistent velocity
• Incredibly reliable primers
• Hardened lead projectile (antimony alloy)

Cons

• Still expensive
• Lead round nose bullet is still softer than a copper-washed projectile

Why We Chose It

CCI Pistol Match is one of the go-to options for target competitors around the world. This is the official ammo of a few major national and international .22 pistol and rifle competitions, so we had high hopes for it out of the gate. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint.
Velocities are very consistent, primers are reliable, and groups are as tight as you can expect from a standard .22 pistol. If you’re going to the Olympics or there’s serious money on the line, there are some other more expensive options out there (Lapua Center-X, etc.), but for us average folks just shooting some steel challenge or what have you, this is a great option.
Honorable Mention: Federal Target Grade. Consistent velocity, good primers, and harder-than-average lead round-nose projectiles. It’s also very affordable for a match(ish) grade .22 round.

Best .22 Pistol Ammo for Self-Defense - CCI Stinger

Specs

• Bullet Type: Copper-Plated Hollow Points
• Bullet Weight: 32gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1640 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 191 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Nickel-Plated Brass

Pros

• Some of the highest-velocity commercially available .22 ammo on the market
• Copper-plated hollow points feed reliably and maintain integrity better than lead
• Extremely high velocity for .22 LR ammo (approaching .22 Magnum speeds)
• Also very capable when hunting small game or varmints

Cons

• 32gr projectile instead of the more common 40gr for .22 defensive rounds
• It’s still a .22 (not the ammo’s fault, just don’t expect centerfire performance here)

Why We Chose It

You may not think of a rimfire pistol as your first option when it comes to self-defense, and in the interests of full disclosure, it’s not my first choice either.
That said, for folks with less than stellar hand strength, very inexperienced shooters, or for those who carry a pint-sized backup concealed carry like an NAA revolver or Lifecard, then a hyper-velocity .22 is a great option, especially if you’re carrying CCI Stingers.
No .22, not even .22 WMR, is going to be able to compete with even the lowest end of defensive centerfire rounds like .380 ACP. However, with CCI Stingers, you’ve got just about the most velocity you can get out of the cartridge, coupled with nickel-plated cases that feed and extract more reliably than brass cases.
The other problem is that you have a 5-inch barrel or less on most .22 pistols, so the ammo you choose has to be very high-velocity. It doesn’t get much higher than these.
Lastly, the high-quality copper-plated hollow point bullets reduce lead fouling, feed more reliably, and have a better chance of penetrating bone than a soft-lead bullet. In soft tissue, that hollow nose helps the round expand so you get the most out of the admittedly diminutive diameter of the round.
Overall, if it weren’t for the cost, these would have been our overall pick just based on performance and the fact that they’re accurate enough for target shooting and hit hard enough for self-defense, home defense, or hunting too.
Honorable Mention: Eley High Velocity is another hollow point that has enough speed behind it to be a decent defensive candidate in a pinch. Eley’s rimfire ammunition, in general, is very high quality and a great option overall.

Best Suppressed .22 Pistol Ammo - Winchester Super Suppressed

Specs

• Bullet Type: Black Copper Coated Lead Round Nose
• Bullet Weight: 45gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1090 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 119 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Very heavy projectile
• Subsonic out of both pistols and rifles
• Very low muzzle flash
• Plated lead projectile for reduced fouling and better feeding

Cons

• May not cycle some guns
• Expensive

Why We Chose It

Winchester Super Suppressed is a great option for anyone looking to quiet down their .22 pistol.
Suppressing a .22 is a great idea in general, but having the right ammo makes all the difference.
The lightweight, relatively slow bullet makes it a great choice for suppressing, the low pressure means .22 suppressors are dirt cheap compared to something like a centerfire rifle caliber suppressor, and you have a variety of different types of ammo available based on what you’re looking to do.
Winchester Super Suppressed is one of the best-performing subsonic .22s we’ve tested, and I can personally confirm that it fed and cycled reliably in my M&P 22, Browning Buckmark, Walther P22, and Ruger 10/22.
The plated 45gr projectile leaves less fouling, which is great when dealing with traditionally dirty .22 semi-autos, which get even dirtier once you add a suppressor into the mix.
Honorable Mention:

Best Bulk .22 Pistol Ammo - Winchester Target & Small Game

Specs

• Bullet Type: Copper-Plated Hollow Points
• Bullet Weight: 36gr
• Muzzle Velocity: 1280 fps
• Muzzle Energy: 131 ft-lbs
• Casing Type: Brass

Pros

• Very affordable
• Consistent primers
• Copper-plated projectile

Cons

• Inconsistent velocity
• A little slow for dedicated hunting use

Why We Chose It

Winchester Target & Small Game, also informally known as Winchester White Box, is a perennial favorite among shooters who like to shoot a lot (or at least be prepared to). It’s one of the most affordable options out there, is frequently available in bulk packs and cases of thousands of rounds, and actually works even in cantankerous semi-auto pistols.
It’s a great multi-purpose option that works well for both of its stated purposes. As a target round, it goes more or less where you tell it to, and it goes bang when you want it to, which is all most of us plinkers really need. For more serious target shooting, there are better options, but this is a great training choice.
As a hunting round, there are better choices as well, but I’ve still hunted countless small game animals with this stuff, and so have others. It’s a solid performer vs. snakes, squirrels, and other varmints.
Lastly, it’s cheap. If you’re looking to shoot all day, want enough ammo on hand to ride out a shortage (or the apocalypse), or you’re just looking to get some training in on a tight budget, this is the choice for you.
Honorable Mentions: Aguila Super Extra is another affordable 22LR ammo option that you can get in massive quantities without breaking the bank. It’s a solid performer and one that I was pleased to find cycled well in all of our semi-automatics.
Blazer 22: Yet another affordable option for those looking to “buy it cheap and stack it deep.” I tend to pick up a brick whenever I have a new .22 to test out, and it’s my go-to for those days when I’m teaching new shooters as well.
You can also check out our full list of the best bulk .22 ammo options for more ideas.
This close look at all the best .22 ammo options out there should give you all the info you need to find the right ammo for your gun and specific shooting circumstances, but if you’d like a little more info on .22 pistol ammo in general, you’ll find that below.

.22 LR Ammo Buying Guide & Additional Info

When you’re choosing any ammo, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind. We’re going to take a look at some of the specific things to be aware of when choosing .22 pistol ammo and answer a few frequently asked questions we see a lot.

Choosing .22 Pistol Ammo for Various Uses

First, let’s discuss the most common uses for a .22 pistol and how to choose the right ammo for each.

Choosing .22 Ammo for Hunting

When choosing hunting ammo, the most important consideration is the ability to secure a clean, ethical kill with a single bullet. Now, you can technically kill anything that walks the earth with a .22, but…obviously, there are practical limits.
The reality is a .22 is only ever going to be an effective hunting tool for very small game and pest species. Think rabbits, squirrels, snakes, and the like.
For this type of hunting/pest control, you can probably get by with standard lead round nose (LRN) projectiles, but really you’ll want a copper-plated hollow point of at least 32gr and moving over 1200fps if at all possible.
This will give you the energy to deal with small game animals and pests reliably and will reliably cycle something like a temperamental semi-auto as well.

Choosing .22 Ammo for Plinking

For plinking, probably the most common use for a .22 pistol, the chief criteria is typically going to be the cost per round. Fortunately, bulk .22LR is probably the cheapest ammo on the planet, with some of the more budget-minded options coming in around $.08/round these days.
This makes it a great option for training as well, and is why you can get a .22 LR equivalent of most popular firearms, including AR-15s, Glocks, precision bolt actions, and more. This allows for some very affordable training with a very similar platform.
Is this type of ammo always super reliable? Unfortunately not, but for just blasting holes in old soda cans or exploding clay pigeons, that doesn’t matter so much. On the training side of things, you could even look at a dud primer or failure to extract as a feature instead of a bug.
After all, it forces you to practice your malfunction clears. Of course, we don’t want to spend all our time clearing stovepipes, but the occasional tap-rack-bang never hurt anybody at the range. Choose something from a reliable, well-known brand, and you’ll be just fine.

Choosing .22 Ammo for Target Shooting/Competition

For serious target shooting or competition, we need to step things up a little bit, and the bulk pack plinking ammo may not quite get the job done anymore. The sky is the limit here, and you can start getting ammo that costs $.40/round or more.
This is typically for something like NRL22, which involves using a .22 rifle to hit 3” targets at 100 yards. Not something you’d typically do with a .22 handgun unless maybe you’re Jerry Miculek.
For handguns, high-velocity match-grade ammo can be had for $.25-$.30/round because you really don’t need the consistency demanded by something like NRL22.
That said, if you’re qualifying for a major competition or there’s serious money on the line, maybe pony up for the good stuff, eh?

Choosing .22 Ammo for Defense

Lastly, and most contentiously, we have .22 pistol ammo for self and home defense.
I know, I know, it wouldn’t be the first thing I would reach for either, but for certain shooters, it makes a lot of sense. My mother is in her 70s and has arthritis, and her hand strength wasn’t super great, to begin with. For her, racking the slide on even a small .380 or 9mm isn’t an option.
She can yank back the extended grab handle on Ruger Mark IV, though. And I personally agree with her that 10 rounds of high-test .22 are a lot more effective at stopping a human attacker than harsh language or appeals to their better nature.
There are also a host of backup/holdout/micro-carry .22 options out there, like NAA revolvers, the Lifecard, and other derringer-style guns that people carry regularly. If that’s the case, and you’ve only got a few shots of an already-underpowered cartridge, you definitely need them to be good ones.
In that case, I recommend getting the highest-velocity defense-focused ammo you can. Something leaving the barrel at 1400fps+, with a nice slick nickel-plated casing and a well-designed hollow point. The CCI Stingers we talked about earlier, or Federal Punch ammo are both good choices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below you’ll find some of the most commonly asked questions regarding .22 pistol ammo.

What grain is best for 22 LR?

The grain best for 22 LR is 36-40gr. They offer a good mix of mass and velocity and will feed well in most semi-autos, including a .22 pistol.

What is the best 22 pistol for self-defense?

The best 22 pistol for self-defense is the Walther P22 Q because it offers immense reliability, great shooting characteristics, the ability to add a light, and is incredibly accurate.

What is the best 22 LR pistol for target shooting?

The best 22 LR pistol for target shooting is the Ruger Mark IV and Browning Buckmark. They are both classic Luger-style .22s that have seen great success in the production target shooting world, especially when paired with the best .22 pistol ammo.

Parting Shots

Having the best .22 pistol ammo possible can make all the difference at the range, on the competition field, or on the hunt. These wonderful little workhorses might be some of the most versatile firearms on the planet, but they can also be temperamental.
So check us out at Ammo.com if you want to buy the best 22 LR ammo from a trusted source.
Best 22 Pistol Ammo: Plinking, Hunting, Competition and More! originally appeared on Ammo.com

Part 1 - https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/11ovngn/i_play_a_game_they_call_sleep_points_every_night/
Previous Part - https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/13deva8/i_play_a_game_they_call_sleep_points_every_night/
When I got home from school, even though I knew the clock wasn’t literally going to try to eat me alive like it always seemed to want to on weeknights, I still watched it intensely, dreading every minute that passed. Even though this had all been what I was hoping for over the course of the last week and a half, going through with everything I would need to do to meet up with Anastasia at her house in the middle of the night still seemed way scarier than just dealing with the clock’s nightly threats against my life which, by that point, had become something of a routine for me.
At 11:00 PM, my parents looked like they had gone to sleep. I would wait another hour as Anastasia had advised. I would leave at midnight. And that wouldn’t be a problem since it was a Friday night, and my clock wasn’t going through its usual changes. By that time, the clock hadn’t started glowing or even turning the slightest shade of red.
When midnight did come, the clock was still in the same state as it was at 11. My parents were still asleep. They hadn’t even gotten up for a bathroom break. I turned on the kitchen lights, hoping it wouldn’t wake my parents up. It didn’t. I went to the kitchen table to take the keys to my father's truck. They weren’t there. I had no idea where else to look for them.
I tried looking all around the kitchen and living room. I checked mom and dad's bathroom. Nothing. I didn’t know how I would make my way to Anastasia’s house now. I could just picture her, spending all night at her back door, waiting for me to show up, without me ever coming. Maybe I'd find the keys tomorrow. But that seemed like a fat chance since dad wasn't gonna be driving anywhere tomorrow.
I wouldn't have him to find them for me. It looked like I’d have to wait a whole nother week on any answers now.
I had recently invested in a new watch. I had some allowance money left over from when I was a kid. My school has a little gift shop with small things like school-themed wristwatches, so after my last class of the day, I stopped by and picked up a College High watch so I could check the time without needing to look at the clock in my room or at my phone. I'm bringing this up because at around this point I was watching with increasing anxiety as time was passing by. According to the watch, the time now was 12:30 and I still didn’t have any access to my father’s car.
I was already feeling hopeless enough, just thanks to that fact, but then I remembered that I still didn’t even know how to get to Anastasia’s house.
Since I still didn’t know where the keys were and it didn’t look like I’d find them any time soon, I figured I’d take a break from looking, and go on my phone to look up her address on google maps. I knew I shouldn’t have been using my phone since it was apparently super important not to let it die. I figured it must've been one of those rules like keeping my head under the blanket when the monster showed up, along with the rest of my body. But I would only need my phone for a few minutes. Just enough time to look at google maps and sketch out a rough map of the route from my house to Anastasia’s.
The first thing I noticed when I typed in her address was that, thankfully, her house wasn’t too horrendously far away from mine. It would just be a 4-mile drive. So hopefully this meant that, if push did come to shove, I could still just walk there if I had too. I’d probably be late, but that would be better than not showing up at all. So, I at least had that as a back-up plan if nothing else. But it would still be risky. It would take a lot of time to walk there, and then to walk back. Maybe mom and dad would be up after all was said and done. Maybe they’d hear me coming back inside the house, regardless of how I made it to Anastasia’s. Maybe I’d wake up Anastasia’s parents too.
Since I only had an hour and thirty-five minutes left, I had no time to worry all that much about any of this though. I had to get to work, jotting down the path to Anastasia’s house. I would turn left out of my driveway, stay on that road for about a mile and a half, then turn right and stay on that road for another half-mile, then turn left for another mile, and then left again for a final fourth mile.
Another thing I noticed was that Anastasia lived out in the middle of absolute nowhere. I thought I did too, but Anastasia’s house was on a whole nother level of out there.
Fortunately, that meant I’d be driving pretty much exclusively on backroads, so it would literally be impossible to take a wrong turn after I made my first turn out of the driveway and the next right turn after that after about a mile and a half. It also meant that I would be pretty much guaranteed not to run into any other drivers, especially at that time of night. But I guess her remote address explained why she didn’t have the internet connection she would need to do a video call.
Since it was a quarter to 1 by that point, after I found out how to drive to her house, I put on all the layers I could find, took the flashlight that my mom had given me for the walk I had went on during the week prior, and started trying to walk over there, without my parents’ car, despite her recommendations. Even though it was four miles by car, I wouldn't have to worry about staying on the road if I just walked there. If I walked in a straight line, I could get there in just over 2 and half miles or so. I had decided to leave, not out of the front door, but out of the door in the hallway that led to the garage. That door made less noise than the front door.
Unfortunately, I started to get the sense that I hadn’t thought this plan through when I realized I would still have to open the garage door in order to make my way into the outside world. Which, yeah, made considerably more noise than the front door. But then I realized it didn’t matter, since I was gonna have to open the garage door anyway if I wanted to get the car out of the garage and onto the road. So, I had still made the right decision. Except no I hadn’t, because I had just remembered that I still didn’t have the car keys, and so I was supposed to be ditching the whole car idea anyway and had just randomly forgotten about all of that.
I know that all probably sounded pretty messy and wasn't very easy to follow, but maybe someone else reading with ADHD can relate. But anyway, confusing thought processes aside, I walked out the front door and started making my way to Anastasia’s on foot. It really was freezing though. I really did wonder if I could actually make it all the way to her house.
Before I even made it to the end of the driveway, I began to change my mind and decided driving really would be a more reasonable alternative. Obviously, the backroads wouldn’t even be close to snow plowed. But the snow only looked to be about maybe 6 or 7 inches deep, which was still driveable enough with the snow-proof tires that my dad had on his truck. This level of snow isn't all that uncommon around here, so those tires are pretty much a must-have for anybody living in deathly cold climates like us.
So, I could still drive despite the snow, albeit only very slowly what with how much the snow would slow me down. But I was supposed to be driving slowly anyway because I was only 14 and didn’t have a license. But I still couldn’t drive without those keys. Then I remembered I still had my bike in the garage. It was supposedly “all terrain”, so hopefully that meant it could handle the snow. I went into the garage, got my bike out, and tried riding it. Unfortunately, the tires on that bike weren’t even close to capable of handling the snow. I tried pedaling as hard as I could but hardly got anywhere before falling over. I had a feeling this would probably happen. It seemed like a dumb idea but, since I didn’t want to steal my dad’s truck and I couldn’t even seem to find his keys anyway, I figured it was at least worth a shot.
I was just about to say “fuck it” and try meeting Anastasia again on some other night when, just as I had put my bike down in the garage, I had seen that my dad had left behind his keys in the key slot of his car door. Apparently, the reason that they weren’t where they usually were was because my father had locked the truck and just forgot to take his keys with him. I turned the key sticking out of the driver’s side door and it opened. So I really could get inside of his truck after all.
I put the key into the ignition and then put it in reverse. The truck made quite a bit of noise when its ignition started, so I had just hoped that I hadn’t woken up my parents with that. Luckily, my garage is on the other side of the house from where my parents sleep, so the sound did at least have a long way to travel. Once I started backing the truck out of the garage and into the driveway, I ran into another problem. Since the roads weren’t plowed, they were just as snowy as anywhere else. So even with the rearview mirror, I had no idea where my driveway stopped and the road started. I figured I would just keep backing up until I felt like I’d gone far enough.
Far enough came sooner than expected though. Eventually, the car had very clearly backed into the grass, meaning I had backed up too far. Fortunately, I saw that I hadn’t veered too much out of the straight line I was trying to go in, because driving in reverse meant I could see the truck’s tracks right in front of me with the help of the headlights. The car fell onto the grass from back to front. So that meant that the road was now directly in front of me. Since I needed to take a left from my house if I was facing away from it, and I was now facing the opposite direction given that I was looking right at it, that meant that I now had to make a right turn in order to still be going in the right direction.
I took a moment to make sure my logic was right and, once I felt confident, I turned the truck right and then tried to feel for where the road was based on how well the truck was able to move. Eventually I was able to drive relatively smoothly, so I took that to mean that I was back on the road. I tried to angle myself properly so that I wouldn’t wind up veering off the road again. Now and then I would wind up driving myself off the road. But since I was only going like 5 miles an hour, I was able to catch myself before the car wound up falling into any ditches or something.
Since the road was entirely empty, I eventually made the decision to just drive in the middle of the road. Or at least, wherever I thought the middle of the road was. That way, I’d limit the likelihood of driving myself off the right edge.
After about 20 or 30 minutes of driving painfully slowly, I finally saw the sign for my first turn. Since all the turns I was making were fairly sharp ones, they were basically all 90 degrees, there were road signs that I could use to gauge when I should turn without needing to see the road itself. So I still knew when to do it, even though I couldn’t see the road under all the snow and I couldn't use GPS since my phone had to stay on the charger at all costs.
But the snow still made those sharp turns very difficult to make. So I had to start all my turns pretty far ahead of where they actually would’ve been in the road. Naturally, I wound up driving off the road when making literally all of them. But I was always able to work out where the road was supposed to be soon enough. I guess since people are more likely to veer off the road when making turns as opposed to when they’re driving straight, there didn’t seem to be any ditches around all those sharp turns, thankfully enough.
After I made that first turn, I checked my watch. It was now a quarter after 1. I still had 50 minutes to go. I wasn’t making great time, but I had still made it about a third of the way in only about 25 minutes. If I kept up the pace, I’d be there after just under an hour of driving. Which would put me there a little bit after 2 AM. So, pretty much exactly at 2:05, the time we agreed on.
I kept on driving incredibly slowly for what felt like forever. Finally I had made my last turn, and after a bit, I could see lights from the houses off the side of the road in the distance. I figured that this must be the neighborhood Anastasia lived in. If you could even call it a neighborhood. The houses were so hugely spaced out that it hardly even made sense to say you had neighbors. But then, she really did live out in the middle of nowhere.
Every time I passed by a house, I got out of the car and looked for an address with my flashlight. This slowed me down, but it still ensured that I would be headed for the right house. I kept the slip of paper with her address on it since I knew that, without that sheet, I’d absolutely forget which address was hers. I was actually pretty pleased with myself for having thought ahead like that. I usually didn’t. I guess I still usually don’t, if I’m being honest.
I was worried that this whole procedure of getting out of the car to scope out for an address every time I passed a new house would make me late. But fortunately, Anastasia’s house was the third house I came across on that street. So thankfully, I didn’t wind up having to check that many houses and it only cost me maybe another 5 minutes. When I checked my watch, I found I had actually arrived sooner than I had thought. Even with checking every house I had come across up to that point for the address, it was only 1:50.
I had made it with 15 minutes to spare. That meant I had made that last two thirds of my trip in about the same amount of time that I had spent on my first, meaning I had wound up going twice as fast. I suppose as I had gotten comfortable with driving, I sped up the car a little without even realizing it. Doubling your speed sounds like it should be a huge difference, but when you’re only going from 5 miles per hour to 10, I guess it must be pretty hard to notice.
Since I had so much time left and the weather outside was still hellishly cold, I stayed in the truck with the heater blaring. After a couple of minutes, I noticed an ominous red light glowing out of the side of the house. That seemed off to me since surely that couldn’t have anything to do with Anastasia’s clock. It wasn’t a weeknight and even if it was, it was still well past midnight. I remembered what she had told me about how I was still on Stage One. Maybe the fact that she was on a much later stage had something to do with what I was seeing. The fact that I was still on Stage One did, after all, seem like it had something to do with the fact that I was only threatened by the clock on weeknights.
My curiosity had gotten the better of me, and so I braved the cold and snow to go check out what was happening. There was a window on the side of the house. The curtains were left open so with the red light blaring from it, I could see inside fairly easily. Especially since the house was only one story, so it wasn’t like the window was too high up off the ground for me to see through, either.
My fears had been confirmed. Upon looking into the room, I could see exactly where the red light was emanating from: the clock on the nightstand. The face inside was as clear as ever. Every feature slowly growing, approaching the glass in front of the clock’s face. But it wasn’t looking at me. It was very clearly directing its vile and hateful gaze at the person under the covers.
The person had her head covered underneath the blanket, so I couldn’t directly tell who it was. But I figured it had to be Anastasia. For one, there was no way in hell anybody else in her family was playing Sleep Points too. I mean, what are the odds of that? And for another, the room pretty clearly looked like it belonged to a teenage girl about Anastasia’s age. Everything looked like it was pink and had all kinds of frills to it. I even noticed some boyband poster on the other end of the room. If this wasn’t the most stereotypical teenage girl’s room, I had no fucking clue what was.
Finally, 2 o’clock had come. I could see why she had told me 2:05. I had never seen the monster from the clock break out. I had always had my head under the covers whenever it happened. But since this was Anastasia’s clock and not mine and since the face in the clock was staring her down and not me, and since I had an entire wall separating me from the thing, I guess I somehow managed to muster up the courage to watch the monster in action.
Suddenly, the hands and numbers of the clock’s face began to almost melt into the monster’s face. It had broken out of the sheet of glass holding it back. But that seemed to be the only thing that was broken. The rest of the actual clock remained pretty intact as the unspeakable thing from within started to slither out of the clock and onto the floor. Since the hands and numbers were still on its face, it kinda looked like they had been imprinted on it like some kind of tattoo artwork. It very quickly expanded in size and let out this unholy screech that I could hear very loudly even from behind the window. But Anastasia was still sleeping very peacefully. Totally motionless like nothing at all was going on.
It prowled around her bed, looking for the slightest sign of motion. It looked almost skeptically at her. As if it could tell whether she was really sleeping or not. And God only knows what would’ve happened to her if she wasn’t. Eventually, the monster seemed satisfied with what he saw and shrunk himself down to his original size. He slid back into the clock, and as he did so, there was one last glow of red light. The glass had been restored. It was now 2:01.

​
Previous Next>
​
Without that horrendous bat flapping around and causing a mess for me, I'm now able to focus all of my efforts on bringing down the blinded bear colossus. It is unfortunate that I lost too many owls in the aerial battle, and that Alexa is too exhausted to help out herself, as that means I won't have any reinforcements available from them coming to Jackie’s aid any time soon. That being said, I know just the fish who might be able to make an early return in their stead.
Since they’ve been resting since the start of the battle, Selene and Hecate have been able to recuperate a bit of their mana pools already. Considering that I’m near 100% confident that it doesn’t matter how much the big bear regenerates if it can’t breathe, plus the fact that it doesn’t take too much mana just to hold some water in place, there’s not much reason to keep them benched much longer. Somehow though, I doubt it’s going to be quite that easy to take the bear colossus down. So why don’t we improve the chances of success a bit with all of this free manna I find myself currently swimming in?
Thanks to the sheer quantity of invaders Deepholm is swarming me in, I’ve got more mana to make use of than ever before, and I’d be a fool not to put it to good use. The steep requirement of having to pay 4 times the mana as any of my other scions to upgrade them is hardly an issue at this moment, so I begin the process of pouring my power into my fish. All the while, I keep an eye trained on the battle at hand, waiting for whatever it is the bear will try next. Deepholm scions don’t just meekly turn over and accept their defeat after all.
While I’m only halfway through providing upgrades to my fish scions, my caution is proven entirely warranted as the bear scion bellows its frustration and rage at the top of its lungs. Unable to proceed along a straight path due to Jackie’s constant interference, the colossus hunkers down for a moment in my lake and covers its head with its paws. Then, as soon as its eyes have had a chance to regenerate once more, it peeks out and gets a lock on my location before Jackie inevitably puts more arrows through the freshly grown eyes. This time it hardly pays the attack any mind, reaching down to its flank with those huge claws and ripping free a sizable chunk of its own flesh. With a great heave, the bear scion sent the chunk sailing through the air where it crashed with a meaty splat against the trunk of my tree.
First of all, …gross. Secondly, that bear has surprisingly good aim to be able to nail the part of my tree trunk that is perfectly in line with where my core is. Lastly, heh-heh, I’m in danger. Unable to use its sight, and no longer able to rely on the bat scion for its sonic guidance, the bear has resorted to using smell to guide its way. And what better trail to follow with one’s strong sense of smell than the stench of one’s own blood and viscera? Without a moment of hesitation, the bear scion is back on its feet, and charging forward once more.
This time, there’s truly nothing we can do to stop its advance, the bear’s nose is too big to fully destroy the bear’s sense of smell, even with Jackie’s arrows desperately blasting pieces off of it. With a tremor that I can feel throughout the entire island, the bear scion slams headfirst into the high cliffs, which only serves to daze the beast for but a moment before it starts awkwardly clambering upwards. I curse vehemently, at this rate the colossus will reach my tree before I’m done with upgrading the twins. I can cut it short and make the current upgrade the last one, but it will still take a minute or so for the twins to become accustomed to their strengthened bodies.
It doesn’t take long for the bear’s claws to scramble against the top of the cliffs, digging in for extra purchase, shortly followed thereafter by the beast’s snarling and arrow-riddled cranium. The twins have only just finished absorbing the mana from the latest upgrade, they’re not going to make it in time. It is at that moment that my saviors made their gallant entry into the fray. Cutting a swathe through the remaining army of normal invaders charged not any of my scions, but the brave surviving members of my defensive forces. Having abandoned their defensive chokepoint in the entrance cave, a combined throng of brawler bunnies and leopards led the way as my froglings and flechette-pines provided cover fire. Beside me, I can feel the consternation roll off of Giorno as he tries to keep some semblance of organization in place amidst an attack that he had most certainly not ordered.
Though our tactics have done a great deal in leveling the playing field in the battle between denizens, there are still a lot of enemies left to deal with, and this attack will only open us up to many more unnecessary casualties. Underneath his annoyed countenance however, I do detect a hint of pride in their reckless attempts to buy me more time. An attempt that certainly pays its dividends.
With a series of tremendous leaps, the brawler bunnies and leopard forces bound up to the limbs of the bear scion and begin hacking away at it with sharp claws and stone swords. They scale up the beast, slashing at every joint and every digit along the way. The colossus roars in pain and slips from the cliffside as the tendons in each limb are systematically severed time and time again. But this moment of victory comes at far too steep a cost.
When the bear scion crashes back into the lake, its sheer mass flattens dozens of my brave denizens at a time. From there it thrashes about, crushing some more of my stalwart defenders and sending others flying through the air. Not wasting the opportunity, my denizens lead the enemy scion over to the remnants of the invader army, where both sides become equally devastated by the beast’s angry flailing. I try to call my denizens back, telling them to retreat, that they’d done enough already. When that failed, I resorted to using some of my mana to make it a direct order. Retreat already! The twins are on the way, swimming around the south side of the island as we speak. There’s no need for any more of you to die!
I can feel the mana drain away as the orders take hold, but then I got a unanimous response back through Alexa’s network. Every single one of them started the retreat and then volunteered themselves to be a rearguard to help cover the escape. Even though technically they were following through with my order, not a single denizen so much as turned around or took a single step backward. They were loopholing me! Those damnable, brave, fools were refusing to leave until my scions could arrive. Who the heck taught you bastards to test the limits of the rules and look for ways to bend them in your favor anyhow!?
It took less than a minute for my twins to arrive. But it took even less time for the bear colossus to finish with its rampage. Now the only living combatants faced each other over a lake stained to the same red as the bear scion’s eyes. As a healer, Selene has seen more than her fair share of nasty injuries, as well as plenty of corpses from my previous encounters with Deepholm’s invaders. But even still, all that experience could not have prepared her for the sight of the slaughter before her. All the violent thrashing had thoroughly frothed the water of the lake, but rather than help hide the bodies below with the white foam it only served to accentuate them by clinging to whatever pieces remained above water.
It left my poor fish heartbroken. Disgust and despair raged inside her alongside a powerful wave of guilt at not recovering fast enough to be able to come to their aid in time. I know, sweetie, I know. But those denizens out there? They bought us enough time to stop any more atrocities from happening. They bet everything on you two and Jackie, and now it’s time to make sure we don’t waste a single death. All that anguish and sorrow you’re feeling? I need you to use it. Use it to hone a blade in your heart to turn against those who spread such senseless violence. It’s time to take up the second half of the saint’s job and smite down that walking calamity of a bear. And you’re not alone, Hecate is right beside you along with Jackie, and together, I know you all can do this.
Pep talk done, Hecate gives her sister a loving nuzzle under her chin before turning her hate-filled eyes to the bear scion as well. She isn’t taking kindly to all the desolation wrought by the colossus either, and is especially pissed by how upset it is making her kind-hearted twin. The white crescent moon mark on her forehead glows faintly in response to her roiling emotions, while after a few deep breaths, Selene’s black crescent moon mark does the same, her eyes now steeled in vindictive determination.
As one, they lifted a massive ball of water into the air and slammed it into the bear scion’s face, completely covering it in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, I begin the process of funneling mana into Jackie for her own upgrades. The beast hasn’t shown any magical capacity besides its regeneration, but who knows? Maybe it has something up its sleeve that would save it from the same fate as its companion. Better safe than sorry in this case, no?
Evidently, I was correct to prepare for the backup plan, because rather than struggle against the water bubble encasing its face, the bear colossus calmly slurped the water down. The vast amounts of suction overwhelmed the amount of mana the twins could use to keep the water in place, and so it simply disappeared down the beast’s gullet with a taunting smile that seemed to say, “Thanks for the refreshing drink, I was feeling rather parched”. Not a smidge of magic was used, or needed, to easily trounce my hopes of drowning our problems away. What stood before us surely could not be described as anything but the epitome of relentless brute force, a fact which has now been hammered home rather insultingly by the defeat of my plans through lung power of all things.
With a challenging roar, the bear plowed forward while ignoring the twin’s follow up attacks. Right, plan B it is then. If we can’t suffocate him, then we’ll just have to overwhelm his regeneration with more damage than it can keep up with! In but a moment the bear scion has slammed into my cliffside and begins scaling it once more. This time, Selene and Hecate are there to stop it from making any meaningful progress, their watery slashes biting deep into flesh and disabling limbs long enough for the next attack to land. Where Hecate’s attacks strike necrosis quickly follows, seeping into the flesh until the entire mass falls off to be replaced by newly regenerated meat. Meanwhile, Selen’s strikes shine with the radiant power of her light mana, her slices digging deep through muscles, tendons, and all the way to the bones beneath.
Together they manage to keep the colossus pinned in place to the craggy wall of my island, allowing Jackie all the time she needs to hop around and unleash a torrent of her aether arrows. Rather than strike into the beast herself however, I have her shoot the cliffs themselves where she then sprouts much more massive vines than usual to grasp at the enemy scion and bind it in place. I know that the twins will run out of mana long before I can bleed this invader dry in a battle of attrition, so instead my goal here is to line Jackie up for one big shot to put an end to this colossus once and for all.
Bounding up to the top of the cliff, right over the massive head of the bear, Jackie grows the limbs of her bow out further than even its longbow form, one side planting itself firmly into the stone. With a mighty heave, she stands upon the bow’s limbs and pushes down with all the strength in her legs while hoisting up on the drawstring with her arms. A ballista-sized arrow grows into place, aimed straight down to the skull of the beast below. Through this, Jackie channels the full force of her wind aether. With my hand on her back, I speak softly to into her mind through the bond we share.
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Let’s do this Jackie, together!”
Through my hand I channel even more mana into Jackie than before, really packing it into her as fast as the upgrades can handle. 2 more, then 5, then 10. The power swirls around her like a maelstrom that would have left anybody else gritting their teeth to ride out the storm. But not my Jackie. As much as I pushed the mana into her, she matched me by pulling it into her control right away, weaving it into her aether flawlessly. Around the arrow tip the air began to swirl, faster and faster, like a drill turned up to turbo speeds.
This obviously did not go unnoticed by the bear scion, but it was too late for the behemoth to avoid its fate. Bound up tightly in Jackie’s vines while Selen and Hecate kept its prodigious strength locked away through their continuous onslaught. Their mana has already depleted dangerously low once again, but their combined efforts have bought us all the opportunity we need. All the enemy can do is flounder uselessly in its restraints, glaring balefully at Jackie and its impending doom.
With a boom the arrow disappears from Jackie’s bow, boring a path straight through the entire length of the bear scion and continuing deep into the ground beneath it. Jackei’s wind arrow had accelerated freely without any resistance, twisting the air in front of it out of the way and turning the space in front into a devastating drill. Meanwhile, just behind the shaft, the collapse of the resulting vacuum pushed the arrow along even faster than any projectile has ever flown before in this world.
The twisting motion of the air and the shockwaves from the collapsing vacuum bubble didn’t just serve to speed up the arrow however. Like a delayed reaction after the arrow had already sped through, I watched as a spray of blood exploded from the bear’s body, accompanied by the splash of water beneath its feet. I watched as the beast’s jaw was ripped away to hang loosely by a strip of flesh on the right side of its head. From there the arrow had traveled down into the beast’s shoulder and blazed a path all the way through its chest cavity, the aftershocks ripping the bear’s body apart and leaving its left side barely attached anymore. It looked as if some giant had cleaved its axe down the bear’s side, all the way from the shoulders to the hips.
The scion had managed to avoid an instantly fatal blow by twisting its head as far to the side as possible, but that proved to only postpone the inevitable at this point. With that much damage to the internal organs, it couldn’t hope to recover in time. We’d done it, we’d won!
Joyfully, I turned to Giorno, ready to send some mana down to Kelvin next, but what I saw froze me in my tracks. This whole battle, Giorno had been his usual calm and composed self, issuing orders and cooly commanding our forces. But now, he was trembling with a visual amount of fear, his skin blanched of all color. Thoroughly spooked, I racked my brain for anything I might have missed, but I got my answer sooner than expected.
“Kill it, kill it now! We don’t have any time, finish it before it's too late! It’s going to do something to the bear!”
Dutifully, Jackie and the twins ready their next attacks to hasten the bear scion’s demise, but something Giorno said stuck out to me. Wait, the bear is the subject of his sentence, not the object for some reason. But…, that would have to mean…
With wide eyes, I come to a dreadful realization, I never got a mana notification for the bat scion. No, no! No WAY that bastard survived, right? Feeling the sneaking march of dread closing in on my throat, I check the spot where the bat scion had crashed into my island. There it lay, wings in tatters and its chest caved in from impacting the ground, lying in a pool of its own blood. By all accounts, it appears to be dead. But that’s when I notice something off. The pool of blood is moving.
Right before my eyes, I watch as little bubbles capture air inside, and then get mixed in the blood as it slowly circulates out of the lethal wounds and then back into the bat’s body. It must have kept conscious through the crash and is now using its blood magic to just barely keep itself alive. Would that be all the bat was up to, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. But no, all around the crash were scattered splotches of fresh blood, drawn out into a foreboding set of interlocking symbols when viewed from above. The bat was casting something, using its own life as fuel. With a weak wheeze in place of a laugh, the bat scion spoke for one final time.
“Glory be to the Mountainlord. Blood Arts: Sacrifice.”
Accompanied by the ding of a new notification, I watched in horror as all the blood was forcibly wrested from the bat scion’s fresh corpse, instantly mummifying it into a dried-out husk. Then that mass of brackish liquid moved faster than it had any right to, thin tendrils shooting out from the main body quickly dragging the blob to the edge of the island. Before any of my scions could react, it had already latched onto the dying bear’s head and begun pouring itself forcibly through every orifice it could reach.
Writhing in agony at the black-red liquid shoving itself down its throat, nostrils, and eye sockets, my scions lashed into the bear’s body with as much strength as they could, but to no avail. The wounds would begin closing before their attacks could even finish, and from the bear’s torso sprouted several bloody tentacles which wrapped themselves around the dangling left side, pulling it back into place with a wet squelch. The newfound regeneration didn’t, perhaps couldn’t, stop there however. All over the colossus’s body something churned beneath its hide.
Every single muscle in the behemoth’s body squirmed as it doubled, then tripled in size, in some places rupturing the skin as it struggles to contain the roiling mass of flesh. Muscle fibers sprung from the fur like weeds sprouting out of fertile ground, twitching and flailing about looking for something to connect to, until the beast’s entire form was nothing but a bulging mass of undulating flesh vaguely shaped like a bear. From the monstrosity's head, the repaired jaw split open far wider than anything still attached to the skull should allow, revealing row after row of sharp fangs growing into place all the way down its throat.
With an unearthly screech, the monstrosity easily tore itself free of the vines and took a swipe at Jackie with its misshapen foreleg. Nobody must have told Deepholm that inflating your musculature so much is a direct reduction in flexibility however, because the blow was slow and cumbersome, allowing Jackie to easily vault backwards out of reach. But Deepholm didn’t need to care about such silly things like flexibility, or the limits of a physical body, as halfway through the swing a series of cracks could be heard as the bear monstrosity’s muscles broke every single bone in its arm, causing it to suddenly stretch out on just the muscles and ligaments, increasing in speed as the limb turned into an impromptu flesh whip tipped with giant claws.
Caught completely by surprise, Jackie could only try to form a hasty shield of roots with her life aether, but the abomination’s claws sundered it with ease, cleaving through her bow, then her arm, and finally raking across her torso. My girl hit the ground, hard, and didn’t get back up. Meanwhile, the twins were still desperately flinging any kind of attack they could think of at the bear horror, all to no avail. This affront to nature had such strong regeneration now that nothing in their repertoire could hope to leave any lasting damage.
With thundering steps, the abomination practically oozed up onto my island, all four legs standing firmly upon my territory for the first time. A few steps brought it close enough to brush up against my trunk, and then it sunk its claws deep into the bark and tore a ginormous chunk of wood free. As easily as tearing apart cardboard, Deepholm’s monstrosity began to dig its way deeper and deeper towards my sanctum, and inevitable destruction. From beside my core, a loud snap rang out as the inspector’s white-knuckle grip finally crushed the handle of her kanabo.
“Damn it all, I can’t just sit here and let this happen! I have to–”
Whatever she was about to say was cut off as she took her first step forward, weapon raised with the intent to join the fray. Instantly she was beset by floating swords made of light on all sides, not even given enough time to swear before they all plunged into her body. With a gasp Lydia fell to the floor, covered in wounds. She’d managed to use her ki to shift the trajectory of enough blades away from her vital organs, but she was still grievously wounded and wouldn’t be doing any fighting any time soon.
In what felt like no time at all, the fleshy abomination had reached the final bit of wood separating me from the outside world. With a psychic scream of determination, Leonardo charged forth, combining his life and kinetic affinities to try and brace that final barrier, but his efforts were carelessly brushed aside as the bear’s claws crashed through anyways, collapsing a pile of splinted timber down upon my peaceful crafter. From above and behind, Alexa had joined the twins in trying to drag the enemy scion back, but with barely a sliver of mana left between the three of them, they were little more than flies buzzing uselessly through the air to it.
Fully exposed to the outside world for the first time since my birth into this world, I was now face to face with the monstrosity as it raised its claws for one final strike. But oddly, all the fear and terror that had frozen me still before was utterly absent. I couldn’t even focus on the looming mountain of death in front of me, nor on the panicked shrieks of my scions as they struggled to the last. Rather, my gaze fell upon the prone form of the very first scion I had designated. My strongest defender, and the most earnest girl you would ever meet. With my focus beside her, I could tell that my brave girl was just barely hanging onto life, but she wouldn’t last long at this rate. Every shaky breath was accompanied by a wave of anguish washing over the bond.
Even without a proper physical form, I knelt beside her and gathered her up into one final embrace. I’m so sorry Jackie. The UI might call you guys scions, but truthfully you have all been a family to me, right from the start. I never had one, back in my previous life, so I know I must have messed up so many times, in so many ways. But even still, I had a blast getting to know each and every one of you, wishing for each day to stretch into infinity so I could enjoy our time together forevermore. But I’ve failed you, I’ve failed you all. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a life full of happier days, and I hope whatever comes in the next life, you can forgive me.
“You’ve been the best daughter I could have ever asked for. I love you.”
Jackie PoV
Everything hurts. My ears won’t stop ringing, and everything around me is moving in super slow motion. Through blurry eyes, I can see my arm lying just out of reach, still clutching my bow tightly, well, half of it anyways. Further away, I can see the blurry shape of the gross thing from Deepholm tearing its way through Mama’s tree. The twins and Alexa were swooping around behind it, but there was no stopping the beast anymore. Pain throbbed through my chest, my heart heavy as it slowly pumped my blood out onto the ground.
I’d failed, again. Right when it mattered most. Some huntress I’d turned out to be. Sure I was able to handle the regular invaders, but against every enemy that ever posed a serious threat, I’d been beaten every time. When I first lost to Miss Lydia, it hadn’t been so bad. Mama told me to learn from it and grow stronger for next time. I’d been useless too against those water birds on the first day. So I trained, and then I trained and I trained and I trained some more. Till the calluses on my paws were bleeding, I practiced every day.
For some reason Mama didn’t like that though, so she forced me to take breaks pretty regularly after that. At first, it felt like she didn’t have faith that my efforts would help with anything, but that feeling faded pretty quickly. She’d always have a bowl of those red fruits she calls strawberries ready for me by her core. Then when I would get settled in beside her and begin munching on the sweet fruit, she would tell me unbelievable stories about the world she remembers from her past life.
Apparently, her old world had jackalopes too, or at least stories of them. Mama says they supposedly had lightning in their veins they could move so fast. Lightning! The big flashes in the sky that make the air go boom. That stuff! The jackalopes from Mama’s world must be really amazing if they could do that. Nervously, I asked her a bit more about it, feeling rather inadequate by comparison, but she ended up talking too much about how technically lightning is in every living creature, but just really really small amounts of it? And something even more confusing about something called eel-ektons that makes it charge based on if they’re in a good mood or not?
Mama does that a lot, going off on tangents about difficult subjects for a long period of time, but even though I couldn’t understand most of it, it is nice just to sit back and listen to her speak. Eventually, she would always notice her rambling, and swap to asking me questions instead. I felt really proud when she asked me so much about my experience training with ki, and later on aether as well. She’d always thank me for my hard work, and for helping her figure out how things work in this world. It made me happy to think that Mama needed me, and that all my efforts were slowly paying off.
And it really felt like I had been improving too! I’d wrangled all the rowdy brawlers into line, and chased off that group of novices. But then that big flying scion came and knocked me out of the fight before I could even tell it was coming. Kelvin was barely a few days old and he had to handle that nasty bat all on his own! And despite all the work I put into developing my aether, I then lost to Miss Lydia again right after that. It felt like I was stuck in place, running as hard as I could but never getting anywhere with it. I did my best to hide it from Mama since she’s so perceptive, but it really hurt.
And now, even after all the faith and strength Mama poured into me, I’d still managed to let her and everybody else down. They’re all going to die, because of me. I’m not sure which is worse at this point, the pain from my injuries or the pain from my failures washing over me. I watched through bleary eyes as the gross bear tore open the deepest part of the tree, and revealed Mama’s core for all the world to see. It’d been a few weeks since our last break together, so when I saw the soft green glow of Mama’s core, it stirred up a weird mix of relief and regret in my heart. I’d missed that comforting glow, but also the only reason I could see it now is because I’d doomed it to oblivion.
Grief filled me up to the brim, and all I could do is wordlessly apologize over and over again.
To my surprise, however, I could feel her presence nearby, and that comforting warmth brushed aside my apologies to fill our bond with light instead. I don’t get it, why is she here? Why is she focusing on me, when the enemy is literally right in front of her core, staring her down? Why is she wasting her time on me when I can barely even move anymore?! And even if I could, we both know I would just let her down some more. So why, why does it feel like I’m back by her side, listening to her tell stories at length, feeling so comfy and secure?
“I……ry….J..ki”
Go on, go! Leave already and focus on someone else, maybe they have a chance to save you, to fix things. Haven’t I failed you enough? I, I can’t do anything but disappoint you. I…I can’t be like the jackalopes from your stories Mama. I’m not good enough for that. I’m sorry.
“..b..en….f…….to me……..t…….ro……sta…”
Despite shoving my weakness, my numerous defeats and doubts to the front and finally showing Mama everything I’d tried to keep hidden from her through the bond, absolutely nothing changed. If anything, the feeling of closeness only increased and that warm feeling wrapped me up even tighter, never wavering for a moment. For a moment, the ringing in my head subsided, but my eyes must still be playing tricks because I thought I could see a bunch of golden sparkles floating in the air around me, forming the vague outline of a person with her arms wrapped around me. The next words came through confidently and clearly, and finally put a name to the feeling I always felt when Mama’s attention was on me.
“I love you.”
…Why? When I’ve already let you down so many times, when you’re about to die because of me…why spend your last moments on this worthless rabbit who couldn’t save anything? The bond held no answers for me, only that same persistent warmth, refusing to relent for so much as a moment. Over in the tree, the bear monster had raised its claw into the air, readying the final strike that would take Mama away for good. A few tears slipped free from my eyes and dropped down to join the blood at my feet. Belatedly, I realized that at some point I must have stood up, but that doesn’t really matter right now.
In fact, standing there, basking in the feeling of being wrapped up in Mama’s love, it felt like a lot of things didn’t matter. My doubts, my fear of not being good enough, and the pain of being proven right. It all felt like wisps of smoke being carried away on the wind. They scattered against the constant reinforcement pouring out from the bond, powerless before it. She’d seen all of my shortcomings, witnessed every downfall, and yet this was always her response. Yellow sparks crackled through my fur, and larger arcs of energy began to flicker back and forth between the branches of the antlers on my head.
Slowly, all the world began to fall away. The ground beneath my feet, the stench of death hanging upon the wind, even the tree itself, along with the slow-motion bear scion bringing its claws down for the kill. There was just me, and there in the distance, the light of Mama’s core, calling me home like a beacon. Under her light, I remembered the simple truth that Mama has always seen and understood so much more than me, guiding me as best she could and celebrating both my success and failures alongside me. For this moment in time, all those complicated and difficult subjects stopped being important. All those times spent hoping I could measure up to the lofty heights she spoke about seemed a silly waste of time. All I had to do was stop trying to become something else. Maybe, just maybe, I was already everything that Mama could see in me, and I just hadn’t realized it yet.
I crouch down low to the ground, those strange sparks increasing in intensity, coiling inside of me like a power I never knew I had. My ears and paws were starting to char black from all the energy flowing through me, but I didn’t feel a thing. After all, none of that mattered. With a mighty leap, I left the feeling of solid earth behind. Wait for me just a little longer, ok Mama? I’m coming to your side.
Blood flash-boiled.
Flesh charred into shattered lumps of charcoal.
Bones fragmented and caved under the tremendous forces at play.
Jackie never got to experience the joy where in this, her latest challenge to a race between herself and the sound carried along through the air, the wind finally lost.
Neither did she get to see how, for the first time in its life, the bear scion’s body was lifted fully up off of the ground and flung to the side like gravity had suddenly reversed its direction.
But perhaps..., someday, there would come a time when she’s relaxing with a bowl of those delectable strawberries once more, and she’ll get to listen to Mama’s voice as she regales her with another one of her wild stories. A story where one little rabbit made all the difference in the world, and through her actions did save the day. Now wouldn’t that be nice?
​
Previous Next>
​
Author Notes://
Here it is, the big one! I've had this chapter in mind since before I even started writing this story. In fact, it's what made me say fuck it, I'm gonna try writing it out and see what happens. Sorry again for the long delay on this chapter, I didn't want to split it into anything smaller, so it ended up pretty long. Also, yay! First scion PoV, just like you guys wanted right? xD
I hope you enjoyed reading this part, and I'll see you all again next time for the final conclusion to the Deepholm Arc.

First Chapter
Chapter Eighteen
Chao peered at the holographic display at the front of the landing boat as she talked to an international audience. “Okay, folks! You can now see the Coalition Exploration Bureau’s ship Exultant Finger of Rithro. It’s missing its usual armor configuration; normally, this corvette would have triangular cones of armor at the front and back. But they re-configured that armor material into a shell to prevent us from seeing them as they flew towards Earth. Merely as a precaution; they flipped the shell around a few weeks ago to display their ship to us. They even extended their radiators towards our planet, which to them is a signal of surrender.”
She smiled at Parvati, who floated next to her. “Pretty cool, right?”
“Very cool indeed!” exclaimed Parvati. “So where is the damage?”
Chao pointed. “See these toroidal tanks around the middle of the ship? They hold hydrogen for the ship’s fusion drive, but after tangling with that Breaker some of them got punctured. You can see the holes there, there, and there. That means they’re now limited in how long they can burn the reactor. Plus the FTL drive is now pretty much kaput. It apparently uses a lot of energy.”
Parvati pondered the display. “Faster than light,” she mused. “We need that. After we get the fusion drive technology, of course. Assuming that ever comes out of committee.”
Chao laughed. “Well, that’s why we’re here, right? To show all of humanity what could be ours.”
“Will we go outside? I mean, for real outside?” The actress reached towards the display, halting when she realized there was no physical screen.
“We’ve got pressure suits. Should be okay, we did plan for going out for a few minutes to get some direct video. It’ll be limited in time, those suits aren’t really meant for proper EVAs…”
“Oh, that’s no problem!” said Takh from behind them, causing both women to do the equivalent of a zero-g jump. For someone so big, he somehow managed to just…arrive on the scene. “We’ve got plenty of components on board, we can make you all some proper hardsuits!” He grinned at the camera on Chao’s chest; watching an udhyr grin was an awe-inspiring sight, what with all of the teeth and mandibles. “It’s all snap-together for any body type, it works just like your Legos!”
Parvati, of course, was the first to regain her composure. “Thank you Takh, I’m sure that will be very welcome. One thing has occurred to me; even if our material is successful in allowing you to patch your tanks, you will still require hydrogen to fill them, yes?”
The XO’s cheer didn’t fade. “Of course. We’ll find a nearby ice-containing body and extract us some hydrogen. We already have a few candidates chosen. You can all come and ride along! It should be fun to watch.”
“Yes, very fun.” Parvati met Chao’s eyes in a clear unspoken message of is this guy for real?
A much smaller hand crept its way around Takh’s leather-armored shoulder. “Now, my dear,” said McCoy. “We mustn’t interrupt the PR people. They’re half the reason we’re out here, after all.” She winked at the two other women; both of the latter winked back.
“Oh, of course!” Takh bowed formally to the two. “Forgive me.”
“No worries,” said Chao.
“There is nothing to forgive, my good sir,” replied Parvati with an equally formal bow.
The huge alien and petite corporal vanished, leaving the two women to watch the ship as the boat headed for its docking cradle.
“They are utterly adorable,” said Parvati.
“So are you two,” said Chao.
“Sorry?”
“You and Ravindar. I’m not saying to make your move right now. We’re gonna be on camera for a while, and I know I just made a bunch of people on Earth go squee. But you need to tell him how you feel.”
For once the actress looked flustered. “I…I couldn’t, he’s so brave and strong…”
Chao’s voice sounded out like the slamming of a vault door. “Stop. I had the same problem. I was into someone who was brave and strong. Not as big as Ravindar, but then again few people are. Then I found out he was into me too, but because he thought I was smart. I’m not as smart as he thinks I am, but I’m not going to tell him that.”
Parvati glanced into the rear of the landing boat, where Martinez was in the midst of puttering around with the human and alien crew. The actress now looked thoughtful. “I see.”
“All I’m saying is, you don’t need to be exactly in-sync in terms of what you see in each other.” Chao smiled. “Heck, you might even find out that you’re in-sync in ways you didn’t see coming.”
The dark-haired Indian fixed Chao with a stare. “I sense there is a story somewhere in there that you’re not telling me. Ah well, as you say it can wait until we are all no longer under the camera’s gaze.”
__________
Master Sergeant Wilkes smiled down at the spidery alien. “Kifa, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. Consider it part of your helping us to train. This person made a living while driving one of the highest, fastest aircraft we’ve ever made.”
“Oooh!” Kifa looked very pleased at the idea. “That’s a good area to focus on! Where orbital mechanics and aircraft mechanics meet.”
“Indeed.” Wilkes nodded at the near door. “You may come in, sir.”
A man walked in, his face stretched taut in the way which only scar tissue can appear.
Kifa peered up at him. “Forgive me, this is probably very insensitive, but…were you injured?”
He laughed. “I sure was! Burned to a fare-thee-well!”
“Oh, I am so sorry!”
He smiled. “No need to be sorry. Hey, do you want a headpat? Word on the street is your species like that sort of thing.”
The xyrax rocked back and forth on its legs. “Well, a human headpat is always welcome….”
The man reached up and wiggled his fingers, making a great show that his pinky had full range of motion. “See this? Pure miracle that I can do that. The surgeon putting my hand back together, just on a whim, decided to put a pin in here so’s that my pinky finger can grasp properly. Good thing too, otherwise I would’ve never made it through the physical training.”
He then reached forth and with that rebuilt hand dispensed quite a few righteous headpats onto Kifa. After a mutual moment of happy bonding, the xyrax spoke again.
“What training were you pursuing?”
“The same thing you and I are gonna be doing for a week or so.” His eyes, narrowed with scar tissue, lit up. “My dear Kifa, I’m gonna make you into a Sled Driver. God willing and the creek don’t rise, we might get to do it for real and not just in the simulators. They’re already pulling a bunch of Blackbirds out of mothballs. Hell, even the Russians are offering us titanium for building new ones. Seems like everybody’s got a fire lit under their kiester.”
Kifa’s eyes, already big and black, got even bigger. “What is a Sled Driver?”
“Why, it’s only the best profession on the planet, my little blue-furred friend. We get to go fast.”
__________
Joachim regarded the cylindrical, human-sized tank with some trepidation. It looked far too much like a transparent coffin. “You want to stick me in that thing?”
Zawahir nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask, sir. It is entirely up to you, in the end. But if this works…” He waved at the tank. “If this works, then you will emerge from that tank physically in your twenties.”
They both regarded the tank for a moment, which was full of a clear and, at the moment, a very exclusive liquid.
“Corina too, of course,” said Joachim as he leaned back in his wheelchair. “If it works on me first.” He still wasn’t quite sure where he was; there had been a lot of back-and-forth with planes and whatnot.
“Of course,” said Zawahir. “That goes without saying.”
“Then the two people injured in the DC attack. This will regrow their limbs, correct?”
“Well, naturally.” Zawahir smirked. “They’re the Borlaug Institute’s big publicity stunt, after all. Testing on two people before-hand should be enough to let us know if it’ll work on them.”
“Of course.” Joachim gazed at the tank. “I’ll do it, on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“If…if I don’t come out okay, I want everyone to know that I tried, right? And I do mean everyone. All of humanity.”
“I’m just one person. At the moment, I can only promise that I’ll say what I can.”
After a moment, Joachim nodded. “Then put me in there. I just need to talk to Corina beforehand.”
“Of course, sir.”
__________
The blue-suited woman with a blonde pony-tail smiled as she stared into the camera. “Welcome to Summit Technologies’s livestream of Point-Counterpoint, I’m Amy Coulson. We are currently talking about and debating the latest announcements in space-based systems. As everyone is aware, this has become a source of great concern in the last month or so.” She nodded to the beige-suited man next to her. “This is Walter Higgins, formerly of TRW and who now works for Northrop-Grumman. Walter, to start with can you tell us what the current status is of the repair effort for the alien craft?”
Walt leaned forward, putting his forearms on the desk in front of them. “Well, the main concern is if the plates we’re providing for patching will actually work. So only one of the Rithro’s boats was launched…the one with Chao Me Chu and Parvati Devdhar, they’re towing the fifteen-ton loft provided by ULA to avoid wasting too much energy. Just in case the patching doesn’t work.” He winked at the camera. “I assure you, as someone in the aerospace industry, ULA is going to be very proud of that for a good long while. Anyways, at the moment, they are approaching the L5 point and we should be able to get some spectacular pictures of, well, everything. Of the Earth from near the Moon’s orbit, of the Moon itself, and most importantly of the Rithro.”
Amy nodded in a comradely fashion, but Walt was not fooled. He’d dealt with reporters before. “Sounds intriguing, and I’m sure everyone on Earth looks forward to such sights. But mere patching will not be enough to solve the ship’s issues, correct?”
He sighed. “You’re right. One of the ship’s fusion engines was damaged, and that limits their top speed. Think of it as…you’re a big ocean liner with three propellers, and one goes down. You might still be able to steer using just the other two, but you’re not going to be as effective or fast as you might be.”
“Effective,” she mused. “I suppose that our helping fix their fusion drive is among those bits of alien tech currently prohibited?”
“Yes. I have heard some rumors that the Borlaug Institute in Iceland has had some great initial success, so I hope that soon we will be able to tackle the fusion drive problem.”
She stared at him a bit, which he knew was a bit of theatricality. “Such a repair would make them more capable against these so-called ‘Breakers’, correct?”
“So-called? Now, Amy. Don’t tell me you’re agreeing with those lunatics?”
In the weeks since the simultaneous attacks, a few manifestos had cropped up online. All mostly spouted the same nonsense; at least, nonsense in Walt’s eyes. They all said the same thing; that the Breakers were fake. That this whole rigamarole was a false flag effort by the Coalition, one intended to get all of humanity under their thumb.
“I don’t agree with them,” said Amy, to her credit. “I’m merely stating the other side of the conflict. Yes, I think most people agree that there is an alien ship up at the L5 point which has been grievously damaged. I do trust the evidence of my eyes. I’m sure our two…”
“Five.”
“…five brave souls heading out to that very point at L5 will see exactly the same thing as the Hubble did. But. Have you considered, just for the sake of argument, that evidence of an attack is not evidence of Breakers? Perhaps this is some local dispute, and the crew has set up some sort of fake attack. They could intend to use us as shock troops to settle it.”
Walt leaned back in his chair as he went through the longest twenty seconds of his life. He knew things, thanks to his role. He also knew that if he spoke them aloud he would be burning his entire career right down to the waterline. “That is somewhat possible. But not probable.”
She leaned forward, as if sensing she had him on the ropes. “Why?”
“Because they didn’t need to.” His gray eyes were calm as he stared at her and measured his words. “Do you have any notion, any single clue, of the firepower that ship possesses?”
“Um…well, no, that part’s still classified.”
“I will give you a hint. They have a spinal railgun that could, with around three shots, turn any metropolitan area on earth into a molten crater. They have nuclear-tipped missiles, even one of which could burn a city to the ground. They didn’t need to play nice, Amy. Those aliens could have stood off in orbit, smacked a few cities, and then gotten on the radio to dictate terms of our surrender. We’d have no choice but to comply.”
He stared daggers at her, half expecting some black-suited guys with earpieces to jump in and haul him away. But nothing happened, it was as if the world was holding its breath. “They did their very best to treat with us fairly, to treat us as equals.”
Amy looked away. “I…I hope that is true.”
“It is.” He glanced behind his shoulder for any Men In Black, but nobody was there so far. Maybe he should continue. He assumed a smile, one which he did not feel. “Anyways. We will see what they see, when they get there. There is, also, the international consortium’s proposal for the Sea Dragon.”
The reporter rallied, clearly grateful for the change in subject. “Ah, yes. You’ve reviewed the designs of this craft. Is it really necessary?”
“At the moment, yes. Starship holds a great deal of promise, but they’re still trying to crack the reusability and multiple-refueling issue. This design does permit reusability…of the first stage, if nothing else…but it isn’t strictly necessary for success. Success, in this case, consists of tons to orbit.”
“Why something so big, though? Won’t it be an issue?”
He chuckled, feeling surer of himself. “That’s why we’re launching it in the ocean, in the middle of nowhere.”
She actually looked troubled, so he figured he’d throw her a bone. “The first launch won’t have anything…controversial.”
“But Walt, the second launch is the issue! Nobody has launched this much radioactive material into space.”
“We need to, Amy,”
“But on an almost untested rocket? From a design which is decades old?”
“We have top people on it,” said Walt. “Including people from that era, who know exactly the pitfalls and also have access to modern technology.”
“Which people?”
“It’s still secret as to their identities. But like I said, I can confirm rumors that the Borlaug Institute is already paying significant dividends.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Over a billion dollars funneled into a figurative black hole in Iceland. Why would you believe anything they say?”
“They’re going to have some serious proof soon,” said Walt.
__________
Iceland. Joachim had never, ever expected to visit Iceland. But yet here he was…again. He stood with no cane, with nothing supporting him but his own two legs. He stared at a nearby volcanic massif, one covered with green lichen. The spring was coming in, and the ground around him was similarly strewn with fuzzy green growth. His beard and hair were now coming in dark again, with only a hint of gray at the tips to betray his true age.
He heard some light-footed steps coming up the trail behind him. It must be Zawahir.
“Why the hell am I back in Iceland?” Joachim replied.
"This is where the tech is, at least for the moment. How are you feeling, sir?”
“I feel…like my old self, Zawahir. I forgot what it was like to have knees that don’t hurt anymore. How is Corina’s, er, ‘tanking’ proceeding?”
“Very well, sir. I am overseeing the procedure of her ‘tanking’ myself, I just wanted to come and let you know that everything is looking good.”
Joachim looked down at the back of his hand. It was no longer wrinkled, no longer showed a welter of age spots. “When?”
“She should be out in…seventy-two hours. That’s how long it took you.”
“Good to know.” He turned to face Zawahir. “My friend, I am going to need every single internet connection you have for the next seventy-two hours. I have a lot of design work to take care of in that time frame; I will need to have a lot of meetings using those oh-so-clever ‘online’ apps. I’ll be indisposed after that.”
“Sir?”
Joachim stepped forth and placed a newly-strong hand on Zawahir’s shoulder. “My dear Zawahir. I am now physically twenty again. In the next three days my wife, the love of my life and she who I hold dear above all else, will also emerge from your magic alien goo and she will also be physically twenty years old. What do you think will happen after she is thus reborn?”
Zawahir’s eyes widened. “Oh. OH! Yes, of course. Please, follow me.”
Joachim chuckled to himself as he followed the man towards the low-roofed buildings of the Borlaug Institute in the distance.
__________
Chao was now clad back in her pressure suit; fortunately, the aliens were quite adept at helping the humans back into their cloth-and-glass cocoons. She looked over at Parvati. “Neil can bite us.”
Parvati grinned. “For sure. Neil was a very great man, but sadly he never got to see an alien starship.”
Chao checked the readout at her wrist, ensuring that she was indeed sealed up and pressurized. She looked over at her four fellow humans, and received nods in return. “We’re go, Captain Sadaf.”
The on-board crew of the Rithro were now back in their chromed, faceted hardsuits. “Depressurizing,” said Sadaf. “Please monitor those to either side, sing out if you see any stress.”
Chao reminded herself to breathe normally as things just got…quiet. Very quiet. She managed, through sheer willpower, to not have an utter panic attack as she realized that there was nothing between her and a life-sucking nothing except for a few layers of fabric and plastic.
She glanced over at Parvati, who looked to be also in the midst of trying (and fortunately succeeding) at combating her own panic attack behind her Plexiglas helmet. “Doing okay?” asked Chao, and immediately felt like an idiot for asking such a stupid question.
Still, Parvati nodded. Chao felt a tap at her shoulder, and looked over at Martinez. The corporal grinned at her from behind his own transparent head-cocoon. “Doing okay?” he asked with just the right bit of cheekiness.
Chao slapped his shoulder, but it was a playful slap. “Dipshit.” She forgot, in the moment, that she was begin transmitted live to the world. Her curse was thus broadcast to pretty much every kid on the planet, who then gleefully repeated her curse-word until they all got smacked by their parents.
She didn’t know that at the time, her entire world was the airlock door that now opened to reveal…black.
Utter black.
Chao had enough experience in zero-g maneuvering to push herself towards the door. “Oh. Man. Folks, this is it. Gonna step outside, for at least a little bit.”
She could feel both Martinez on one side and Sadaf on the other. The latter figured; the captain struck Chao as a ‘lead from the front’ type.
“Grip the frame,” said Sadaf. Through the translator bead her voice was deadly calm. “No big muscle movements, just kind of…drift where you want to go.”
Chao obediently swung herself up and out of the boat, reveling in the fact that now she was seeing the Exultant Finger of Rithro in real time. The long ship stretched alongside a clamshell-like shield, its radiators stretched out towards the Earth in a gesture of surrender.
Speaking of which…
Chao kept a firm hold on the doorframe as she looked behind her. A small, fragile, blue-and-white marble floated before her, a sphere which looked to be the size of her thumb-tip held at arm’s length. Chao did so with her free gloved hand, watching her thumb occlude that fragile-loooking sphere. And in that moment, her world was completely changed.
It is one thing to know a fact. It is one thing to meet aliens, to accept that they are from oh so very far away, that your world is but one little dust mote drifting in the vast and limitless cosmic ocean. But it is quite another to see that fact laid bare before you, where you can witness it in real-time through nothing but a Pexiglas helmet. Chao now knew. Everyone she’d ever known, everyone she’d ever heard of, every king or warlord or emperor or internet celebrity who anyone had ever heard of had lived down there, upon a sphere that looked to her like the most ephemeral of soap-bubbles. She had the crazy notion that she could just reach out one gloved finger and pop it.
She also knew that millions, perhaps billions, were watching this live via her bodycam. Perhaps they were going through the same epiphany.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she knew she was on the verge of tears. No, that was a bad thing. She was in freefall; there was no way for those tears to stream down her face. They would just collect over her eyes and blind her. So Chao breathed in deep and managed to tamp down those threatened tears.
“Chao?” called out Sadaf through her comm. “Are you all right?”
“I’m good, Captain. Just…next time…, we send up a poet.”
__________
Shaw hated, hated, hated having to use a wheelchair to get around. Most of the time he could wheel himself around using his substantial arms, but every so often the nursing staff would try to get oh so helpful and try to push him towards where he was going. Several of them had nearly lost limbs of their own thanks to such efforts.
Still, he was alive and that was a good thing. Although…watching Agent Milton Vila and his family, who were nearby as he went through his own convalescence, made Shaw reevaluate his life choices. It would be nice to have a wife and kid to hug while one went through the worst thing ever. But he was too old, such things were well behind him. While on autopilot, Shaw wheeled himself down the tiled and very off-white hallway with a sour air. One which told the entire staff that he was Not To Be Disturbed. He was thinking of a particular girl, one with the cutest pigtails and the sunniest smile. Yeah, she would have been the one, if he’d had his head on straight back then.
And then, in spite of his ‘Fuck the Fuck Off energy’, someone did block his path.
He stared at a pair of narrow legs, clad in narrow pants, then looked up with a distinct lack of humor. “I do believe you are in my way.”
The dark-skinned man blocking his path smiled, but it was a gentle smile. “I am. But, I am very sure you will want to hear my offer. Both you and Agent Vila.”
Shaw regarded him with gimlet eyes. “Oh, really? What’s your name?”
“I’m Zawahir Ibn Harith. I am the head of the…”
“I don’t give a single solitary fuck,” said Shaw. “I’ve had plenty of people trying to get me to tell them my life story since I got my leg removed with extreme prejudice. I don’t know how you got in here, but you strike me as someone just like them, Harith. So. I may be minus one leg, but I can still fuck you up but good. I can fuck you up so bad you’ll never shit right again. Do you wanna get out of my way now?”
The man’s smile didn’t change. “Borlaug Institute.”
“What. Really?”
“Really, sir. Both you and Agent Milton Vila. It sounds…very cynical, but you were the two that we wanted to heal first. As an object lesson to humanity. Do you understand?”
The notion made Shaw’s mind reel. “Heal?”
“Fully. We have successfully restored two people to the prime of life, and we are now certain that we can do the same for you and Agent Vila. With all of your limbs intact. We have done a great many tissue-sample experiments, and it appears that the regeneration also re-grows limbs.”
Shaw looked down at his missing lower leg. “And you’ll do the same for Milton?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Stop calling me sir, I work for a living. Call me Mack.”
“Very well…Mack. I won’t lie to you, this has been planned well in advance. But it turned out that limb re-growth for humans also unlocked certain regeneration within our cells, particularly the telomeres…”
Shaw held up a meaty hand. “Just…I’m a dumb grunt in such matters, don’t bother to tell me how it works. So you have some kind of magic goo that you slather over me and hey presto I’m twenty again?”
“That is more or less the shape of it, si…Mack. You will need to be immersed in the ‘magic goo’ for at least three days. Perhaps more, since this will also be regenerating a limb.”
“Either way, I go first,” said Shaw, with a flinty glare up at Zawahir. “I’m the test subject, and you need to test me good after I get re-birthed from your goop. I know you said you’d done it on two people, but we need to make sure this doesn’t give me some kind of bullshit super-cancer before Milton goes in. He’s got a wife and a kid. If he has to use a prosthetic instead of magic alien goo, then he has to use that instead. Understand?”
Zawahir gave Shaw a little bow. “Of course. I do believe you are quite the appropriate test subject.”
“Oh, go fuck yourself. Where is this shindig taking place, anyway?”

Are two claws better than three? That is one of the many questions I’ll be attempting to answer as we delve into X-23’s cards! Here I will go over her cards in great detail, try to predict which aspects and archetypes she will like, as well as estimate where she’ll rank in terms of power.
Disclaimer #1: X-23 has just been previewed. I have not played her, this is all simply theoretical and done for fun!
Disclaimer #2: This is my longest deep dive yet! Skip to the conclusion if you want a shorter read! Just read the bullet points at the end for the quickest read.
But let’s cut to the chase.
Identity Card - Alter-Ego
X-23 or Laura Kinney as she’s called in alter-ego is, in many ways, much like Wolverine. She has a giant REC of 6 and has a setup ability to put her claws into play. And while yes, she is high damage and has plenty of healing, the similarities really do end there. She functions entirely differently.
So let’s hit the boring stuff. She’s got 10 hp and the standard hand size - 6 in alter-ego, 5 in hero form. Not great, but not bad - distinctly average. She also has the Mutant alter-ego trait and X-Force hero trait as you'd expect.
As mentioned, she has 6 REC and this is by _far_ her best stat. 6 REC is monstrous and shouldn’t be underestimated - she doesn’t automatically heal when starting the turn in her hero form, meaning there’s no opportunity cost for going alter-ego to use it like with Wolverine.
Given how dangerous it can be to drop to low hp in the pursuit of not missing value from a large REC stat, she will like any well-costed increases to her hit points. So far, we haven’t seen an equivalent of Adamantium Skeleton, but you can bet that Endurance, the unannounced but probable Honorary X-Force card, or even Symbiote Suit are all on the menu as potential cards for her deck-building.
Increasing her hp will help her in other ways - but we’ll get to that.
Like Wolvy, she has a setup ability to put her claws in play. Unlike Wolvy, she has a second ability that she can actively use throughout the game. It’s an action to shuffle either the Honey Badger ally or the Sisterly Bond event from her discard pile into her deck and then draw a card. The shuffling of either card is a cost, so you are only able to use it for the sweet card draw if either is in your discard pile.
Unfortunately, it appears X-23 only has one copy of Sisterly Bond and she seems heavily incentivized to keep her signature ally around on the board at all times. Which is to say, her alter-ego ability won’t always be online to use. But it's much better than not having one. ...Like Wolverine.
But let’s get to the good stuff.
Setup Ability - Shhnk!
The ability is very simple. Put X-23’s Claws into play. So let’s talk about those.
Her claws have the weapon trait, the permanent keyword, and have a hero action that reads: Exhaust X-23’s Claws and take 2 damage → X-23 gets +2 ATK until the end of the round.
As you can see, suddenly her 6 REC is looking a lot more useful. And she has other sources of healing which we’ll soon cover. She also has multiple sources of readying, and thus you can really start to get excellent value from these. If anyone has ever played Quicksilver with Maximum Velocity, multiple readies with a +2 ATK boost is incredibly good! And she can pull the trigger every turn - as long as she has the hp!
Identity Card - Hero Form
Her form is, quite frankly, amazing - and her entire kit has fantastic synergy with it. As do a lot of aspect cards.
She’s another 2 THW, 1 ATK, and 2 DEF hero. The same as Cyclops and Angel - apparently this has become popular! But like both of those heroes, she has a ready source of damage. In this case, the claws we just talked about. By taking 2 damage, suddenly she’s a 2 THW, 3 ATK, and 2 DEF hero.
2 damage might seem steep, but remember those readies I talked about? They’re here. X-23 has an ability called Living Weapon. It’s a response which says after she takes any amount of damage, ready her (Limit once per phase.). So, at the most basic level on our turn, we can always thwart for 2, ready by taking damage from our claws, and then use our basic ATK for 3 damage (or even just another 2 thwarting!).
If she attacks twice, it’s 4 total damage (1 and then 3). If she thwarts twice, it’s 4 threat removal total (2 and 2). She has to take 2 damage to do so, but restoring 2 hit points is generally considered to be roughly the equivalent of one resource.
Remember Captain America? He's pretty good. By discarding one card (read: one resource), he too can ready to potentially attack twice, thwart twice, or some combination. And he too hits a maximum of 4 damage or threat removal, but even he can’t hit 3 damage and 2 threat removal like this while X-23 can.
What I’m trying to say here is that X-23 is going to be incredibly, incredibly consistent. Notably in solo play but still amazing in multiplayer. Even before you look at your cards in hand, you can basically guarantee defeating any one of most minions or clearing most side schemes. That versatility and output from Turn 1 is rarely talked about from Captain America but I believe it is one of his greatest strengths. Now? One of X-23's.
Lastly, I need to bring attention to the fact that the Living Weapon response, the thing that readies her, is once per phase. You can defend with her on the villain phase and, should she take a point of damage, she’ll ready straight back up. Nice. Cap can’t do that either.
In short, if you’re being compared to Captain America, you’ve done good. Right now? X-23 is looking very strong.
…But maybe all her other cards are bad? Heh.
Signature Ally - Honey Badger
…Who names these characters?! Anyway, Honey Badger is a key weapon in your arsenal. Why? Because she readies you. She’s a 1 THW, 1 ATK, 2 HP ally with a printed cost of 2. She also, curiously, has the X-Men trait. This is weak, but her ability is very strong.
Her Hero Response reads: After Honey Badger takes any amount of damage, ready X-23.
This is very good because X-23 has great stats and we’ve yet to scrape the surface of how high her ATK can really go. If you’ve ever used the Web-Warrior ally of Peter Parker, you know just how good allies that ready you can be. Since consequential damage works for this, the timing will be largely comparable to Peter Parker except she’ll be defeated first before you can use her response if you spend her last hp on an ATK or THW.
With a great ability comes great potential to boost her hp and/or keep her healed. Or even recur her with something like Make the Call, Chance Encounter or Regroup.. See, you are going to want to keep Honey Badger in play as much as you can. Because readying is awesome. And we have other cards that benefit from her sticking around.
By readying you, she effectively has a THW stat of 3 or an ATK stat of 4+. And, since she delivers 1 of either the ATK or THW herself, it’s in some ways able to be split and she can definitely pop Toughs for you. So she’s already a solid ally before you factor in boosting her hp and/or keeping her alive. And all those other cards that synergize with her.
Remember the X-Men trait on her? Every aspect has a Training upgrade that adds hp. Expect to see one or more of these in all her best decks. Maybe a little X-Mansion to heal her, or Game Time, etc. Med Team, Command Team… There are a lot of options. And all of them end in Honey Badger readying you a LOT.
…In short, if your signature ally is being compared to the Web-Warrior version of Peter Parker, you’ve done good.
…But maybe, just maybe, all her other cards are bad? Hehehe…
Let’s check out her events.
Claw Mastery
A 1-cost event with the caveat that it’s “max 1 per round”. What does it do? It’s a hero action that says, until the end of the round, X-23 gets +2 attack - and, if Honey Badger is in play, her attacks gain overkill.
This is super good.
If you don’t ready her again, it’s not so hot. But if you do even once? That +2 attack becomes four damage between two attacks. Combine this with her claws’ +2 ATK bonus and she us hitting 5 ATK and is really going to love more ways to ready. If you make a basic ATK, ready, repeat a few times? We’re in Quicksilver territory. And between Leadership shenanigans with Honey Badger, or Protection shenanigans with all its direct readies? You can deal massive damage here.
Battle Fury isn’t quite in the same league, but it’s starting to make sense why it was reprinted with Wolverine now. She’ll love that too.
This is easily one of her best cards, you just need to combo it. And I say it’s one of her best cards before we even discuss the potential overkill it gives you. Note the overkill is for all her attacks, not just her basic ATK. You could drop Into the Fray on a 1 hp minion and, in addition to removing 5 threat, deal 5 overkill damage. Nice.
Sisterly Bond
A 0-cost event that is a Hero Interrupt - when Honey Badger thwarts/attacks, add X-23’s matching power to Honey Badger.
So, despite Honey Badger having 1 ATK, if you have just played Claw Mastery and used your Claws? This 0-cost card basically gives her a total of 6 ATK for one use. And even without Claw Mastery, it’s still very good at giving either 3 damage or 2 threat removal for 0-cost.
This is like Leadership’s Teamwork card in reverse, except nobody has to exhaust either. If you boost Honey Badger’s hp and/or heal her, this card is a must-play. And her best builds are almost certainly doing this.
It’s very efficient and super flexible with serious combo potential on top. And remember her alter-ego ability? Once this is in your discard pile (looks like only one copy), you can shuffle it back into your deck.
…This is easily one of her best cards too.
Regenerative Longevity
A 1-cost event and an action, meaning it can be used in hero or alter-ego form, that heals you and Honey Badger for a total of 4. It’s reminiscent of Wolverine’s healing card and is one of her two previewed cards to have the Superpower trait.
So, for two resources (1-cost + the card itself), we get 4 healing. This is basically what we should expect for our money for identity healing. However, the ability to heal Honey Badger as well is extra valuable given how ridiculously good Honey Badger is for us.
Is it one of her best cards? You’re going to have to draw it at the right time (after you’ve played Honey Badger), but then? Kinda. Keeping Honey Badger alive and healthy is incredibly valuable. Every hp restored to Honey Badger is another ready, and your readies hit HARD.
Next up? Upgrades and supports.
Sisterhood
If all three of her events and her setup ability, her claws, all combo-ing with Honey Badger wasn’t enough of a clue, here’s the final card that cements the theme: Honey Badger is vital and you absolutely desperately want to put her in play and keep her in play.
X-23 is the first hero we’ve ever seen who works so closely with their signature ally. Wong, Mantis, Vivian and maybe even Gambit come close, but not quite like this. Though, to speak of Vision, keep his Hickory Branch Lane card in mind here. This is her version of it.
Sisterhood is a 2-cost support that has an action (alter-ego or hero form) that says to exhaust it, discard an X-23 card from your hand, then search your deck and discard pile for Honey Badger and add her to your hand.
In other words, wherever you are and whatever is happening, you can always find and thus play Honey Badger once Sisterhood is in play. Whoa.
Now, I generally think beefing up Honey Badger’s hp (and, ideally, other stats) is going to be the best move, but recurring her with this? This can be a great option if you lean into it. Notably, in leadership, the Team Training card is going to do huge work here by giving Honey Badger +1 hp every time you play her. This will also combo really well with Danger Room. Just grab her, play her, and use Danger Room to immediately find and put a Training upgrade on her. And repeat as necessary.
This card is basically infinite copies of Make the Calls for your best ally. As long as you have another signature card in hand that you don’t mind swapping for her.
Nice.
This card? Easily one of her best - for the right build. Otherwise, it’s probably dead to you if you find Honey Badger first and have built the deck to keep her alive forever. However, even with such builds, this could be pretty valuable to find Honey Badger sooner if you happen to draw this first. Honey Badger is just that good.
Puncture Wound This upgrade is basically a delayed event and is reminiscent of Nebula’s techniques. Play it, benefit from the passive bonus, wait, and it goes off in the next round.
And I love it.
It’s a 0-cost card that you can only attach to an enemy that X-23 or Honey Badger have attacked this turn. The attached enemy gets -1 ATK. And then, as a forced response that triggers after the player phase begins, you must discard it - but for doing so you deal 3 damage to the attached enemy.
So, first things first - 3 damage for a 0-cost card is great. This is Turn the Tide levels of efficient. The downside is that it's conditional, also like Turn the Tide. Given X-23’s crazy damage, minions are unlikely to survive - you’re mostly putting this on the villain aside from a few edge cases and mostly in multiplayer (Surprise Contender? Dragon? Sleeper? That Future Past guy I forget the name of?). Normal minions won’t live long at all.
But for a hero who hits hard and fast, hitting the villain is going to be something you want a lot of the time, especially in solo where she can definitely melt through their hp. And if you’re focusing down the villain, you don’t want to be putting a ton of resources into your defense. And this is where the -1 ATK comes in useful.
The slight downside, the anti-synergy here, is that if you reduce the damage you take too low while also defending? You won't take any damage and so won't ready back up with your hero ability. It's going to be a fine line to balance that will vary with each scenario.
We believe she has two of these in her kit and they do stack, so for a total of 2 effective resources you can put both of these on the villain, take -2 from any attacks they make, then they take 6 damage. That’s crazy.
What’s even better is when you consider multiplayer. First of all, this is an upgrade. Cyclops is going to be able to Optic Blast off of it. Secondly, every single attack the enemy makes will be affected by that -1 ATK. So you’re really helping to protect the whole table.
The combo I’m most excited for is with Cyclops (again) and Storm, two of the best multiplayer heroes already. If Cyclops attaches Practiced Defense and Storm changes to her Blizzard Weather, you can play one Puncture Wound too and now the villain has -3 ATK for that entire villain phase. Or -4 if you draw into both of these.
But a lot of other characters will love the -1 as well. Spider-Ham might not need the help, but this will help him take lower chunks of damage for efficient toon counter generation. Drax? Now, when he takes attacks, he takes less damage too. The Groot ally? Suddenly it’s surviving a lot longer. The same goes for Spider-UK.
There are probably even more multiplayer combos I have yet to think of. There are a lot of handy little interactions.
What’s also good about this is that it makes “taunt” cards a lot better as well - cards that make the villain attack. Traditionally, cards like Toe to Toe and Bait and Switch haven’t been worth it. Whether they are now is still debatable, but certainly they get better if you can factor in the villain having -1 ATK. And remember the new card with Angel, actually called Taunt? That works great here as well.
There’s theoretically a situation where, in 4-player where everyone has their own copy of all the content, you have X-23, Storm, Cyclops and Drax, all running 3x Taunt or 3x Toe to Toe, with the first three using their -1 ATK abilities to weaken the villain throughout the game while everyone grabs massive value from these cards.
I love this card.
Grim Resolve
And now for a traditional upgrade. So traditional, in fact, that it’s basically just Clarity of Purpose. The main difference? Its cost arrow says you must TAKE 1 damage rather than DEAL 1 damage, which is relevant with the new 1.5 rules when it comes to potentially blocking the damage.
If you block damage (let’s say with Energy Barrier) from a cost which says TAKE, then you have not actually taken the damage since you prevented it. But if you block the damage from a cost which says DEAL, the damage was still dealt - you don’t have to take it to have fulfilled the cost.
(If this is confusing, while I will try to help in the comments, I recommend looking for some youtube talks on it or scouring the pages of the new 1.5 rules reference!)
Like Clarity of Purpose, it’s a 1-cost card which you exhaust to generate a resource. Clarity of Purpose has you also deal a point of damage to yourself as an extra cost. Grim Resolve has you take a point of damage as its extra cost.
It’s good! Now, you can pop your Claws to get +2 ATK first before using X-23 at all, then make a big basic ATK, then use Grim Resolve to ready then and make a second one. It gives a lot of flexibility in the timing of when you want to ready with her hero ability.
But it’s also just an ever-so-slightly worse version of Clarity of Purpose. Still, Clarity is a powerful card and X-23 has a lot of healing. You can totally run both, whether to just to find one earlier or even put both into play.
Pain Tolerance
Last but not least, we have X-23’s consistent healing card. This upgrade is 2-cost, Superpower traited, and has a Response - meaning it works in both hero and alter-ego form. It says “After you play an X-23 card (including this one), heal 1 damage from your identity.”
Any rules followers will immediately recognize the reminder text being something absent from Sky-Destroyer, another card that triggers upon playing itself, so that is a welcome addition here that should help a lot of players out who otherwise might not realize it. And so we can, in some ways, also consider this to immediately include a 1 hp heal before we even really start using it properly.
So - three effective resources for 1 hp, then 1 hp every time you play one of your signature cards. I can tell you right now that, given how ridiculously good her signature cards are, you are going to want to play them already. And not just that but, as you may have spotted throughout the preview, all X-23’s cards are cheap. So, not only do you want to play them already purely because they’re so darn good, but you can play a lot of them because they’re so darn cheap.
In short, this thing is going to give a TON of healing. Outside of an unlucky hand, this is likely a minimum of 1 and sometimes up to 3 or, if the stars align, 4. And it will likely trend on the higher side if you thin your deck or build for card draw or some kind of recursion (Mutant Education, etc! And her alter-ego ability).
It’s not mind-blowing, but she’ll benefit more from the healing than most heroes will.
And that concludes the signature cards previewed so far - let’s take a quick look through some deck-building options for her.
Basic Cards
With the Mutant trait, she’ll love a lot of the X-Men supports. With an X-Men signature ally who is key to her entire deck, she’ll also love the X-Men supports.
X-Mansion? Heal Honey Badger. Danger Room? Beef up Honey Badger who you can easily recur, and thus get multiple uses from Danger Room on just her. Cerebro? Perhaps find her faster.
Weapon-X? Find more signature cards because 1) they are awesome and 2) she will heal the damage from Weapon X with the card drawn thanks to Pain Tolerance. This can also find Honey Badger sometimes.
X-Gene? Maybe. Definitely if you run Mutant Education.
Endurance? 110%. Symbiote Suit? Honestly, she is clearly one of the better characters for it in the entire game.
Professor X is also a stand-out ally. She lacks confuses and doesn’t always want to thwart. The confuses will help her go alter-ego and use her massive REC, cycle cards back, or heal Honey Badger with X-Mansion.
Oh yeah. And Game Time for Honey Badger. That should really speak for itself. Readying yourself through readying and healing an ally? All for 0-cost? Incredibly good.
Perhaps most importantly, the new basic side scheme she brings that rewards the linked cards will be super powerful for her. It’s called Specialized Training, and she really wants the Combat Specialist reward most of all in most decks. I’m not going into great detail on the new cards here but if you haven’t already, please please check these out. +1 ATK and card draw in any aspect is immensely helpful. It has a decent cost to get it, but if you do? It's superb.
Aggression Cards
X-23 has a plan. Boost her ATK and ready. Aggression can help with both.
In terms of ATK boosting? In addition to new card “Now I’m Mad”, there is the classic Combat Training and even Fluid Motion. I don’t see her loving Brute Force, but I’m sure there’s a novelty meme build where you boost her ATK to insane levels.
For readying, there is largely only Battle Fury. She doesn’t really need another source of incoming damage, but she loves readying so much I can’t see her not using it. Expect this in a lot of decks.
I also think Hand Cannon has her name written all over it. Certainly, she can get Overkill from her Claw Mastery event, but it’s not consistent every turn. Hand Cannon will boost your ATK further and make sure none of your damage goes to waste.
Skilled Strike definitely fits with what she wants to do. With the Weapon trait on her claws, she can technically use Mean Swing and Fusillade far more reliably than most heroes - but I think she’d rather focus on keeping her hp high to just use her claws directly. Better to block with allies or stun the villain than exhaust her claws for something else, in my opinion.
She will actually possibly like Quick Strike. One of the first heroes to genuinely do so without niche builds?
And let’s not forget Papa Wolverine. Who also, like Honey Badger, wants Attack Training which X-23 110% wants to run here.
And do you know what Skilled Strike, Wolverine, Hand Cannon, Combat Training, Now I’m Mad, and Attack Training all have in common? The physical resource. Drop Kick and Jarnbjorn are both on the table. And I think she’ll like them both.
While you might not want to use all of them, that is potentially a whole deck there that just wrote itself into existence. Just add Sunfire and Psylocke like almost every modern Aggression deck.
She is going to be strong in Aggression and hit very, very hard. With the thwarting to make it very solo-viable (if you don't just speed to victory with huge damage!).
Justice Cards
X-23’s plan here is in good hands. She can’t boost her ATK, but what if we, say, gave her Heroic Intuition and just readied her for thwarting? Or split her focus? Perhaps mixed in Making an Entrance to heal? Seems good, right?
Justice also has the best access to confuse. Which means the most reliable access to heal Honey Badger through X-Mansion. And, you know, use her massive REC. And she can find Honey Badger quickly with Chance Encounter if she needs to. One Way or Another? More card draw for her amazing cards, and more healing per turn on Pain Tolerance from those cards. Having a side scheme out to thwart also sets her up well to ready with her claws even if the villain only added a measly 1 to the main scheme. Thwart→Claws→Attack.
Everything here is going to run very smoothly. And she is going to want the cards Psylocke comes with. Something she doesn’t appear to have are any status effects and Upside the Head solves that very efficiently. And with great confuses, comes great ability to use Float Like a Butterfly. With her own ready and Honey Badger’s, she is getting a bunch of damage from it.
Mission Training? That’s Honey Badger’s Justice ticket to Game Time town. That goes in every Justice deck she ever has, surely.
I don’t see any other incredible cards for her here. Just lots of very solid cards that work for most heroes, and will for her too. While it won’t play as fast as Aggression for the most part? With fantastic threat removal here, great access to alter-ego healing, and her innate damage, it’s looking hard for X-23 to actually lose in this aspect.
Leadership
Good ol' Leadership. Where do I start? X-23 is the hero who, as mentioned, resolves the most around her signature ally. And Leadership is the ally-centric aspect. I could probably write a whole deep dive on the possible combinations here.
Let’s hit the basics. Danger Room Training to enable Game Time, X-Mansion, and just get more use from Honey Badger? Auto-include.
And if you’re bringing Danger Room Training, why not bring Beast along?
Pixie can grab Honey Badger for you, or Beast or Professor X, or anyone other X-Men should you bring more.
Inspired is great if you go for the voltron angle and keep her alive forever.
Rapid Response? Eh. This actually immediately gets us a ready from Honey Badger when it deals damage to her after reviving her - but it’s not optimal for her here. Regroup is obviously a great option in multiplayer, but when is it not?
Make the Call is going to be particularly exceptional for Honey Badger recursion decks. And is always an S-tier card in general for any ally you need at any time.
The Leadership side scheme we’ve seen so far, Call for Backup, will be another way to find Honey Badger.
Team Training, so Honey Badger gets an extra use every time you recur her? Super good.
Innovation to heal Honey Badger? Why not.
Then there is Command Team to ready Honey Badger and thus yourself. You might even run it with Lead from the Front given that both you and Honey Badger will get a lot of value from it. If Honey Badger attacks twice, and you attack four times, that’s 6 damage before you factor in other allies and potentially more readies from Game Time or anything else.
There is Clarity of Purpose which I’ve already talked about. You could totally put it on Honey Badger though if you plan to heal her and buff her HP! Is it worth it? Not sure.
And of course Kaluu. As a combo-centric hero, you’ll love it when he grabs you Claw Mastery when you have a bunch of readies lined up in hand. Or vice versa.
Leadership is, at the end of the day, Leadership. It’s incredibly strong on its own and, with all the support for Honey Badger, it’s going to be one of her most popular aspects.
Protection
And finally we have Protection. My initial instinct for X-23 was Aggression or Leadership, and I was already wondering if Justice might exceed them for its consistency, but Protection? Protection might just out do them all. At least for solo play.
Picture the scene.
You’ve used your claws and played Claw Mastery. You have 5 ATK. You wink at Drax, knowing you both share the same devastating damage now. It’s time.
Suddenly you use Leading Blow. What Doesn’t Kill Me. Then Counter-Punch.
BOOM.
And let's not overlook the potential with Repurpose.
The sheer amount of readying or cheap damage based on your ATK stat here is incredible. And with Repurpose, you potentially have more than 5 ATK for all those other readies and Sisterly Bond.
Energy Barrier can help you defend the villain attack and ready without taking too much excess damage. Perfect defense? Not here. She wants to ideally defend but still take at least 1 damage. And this, of course, is the best card to combo with Repurpose. And then that brings Electrostatic Armor into the mix for a splash more damage and another Repurpose target.
Protective Training goes straight onto Honey Badger. It’s basically an auto-include like all the other X-Men Training upgrades in the other aspects.
Med Team and provide extremely consistent healing for Honey Badger and can help you in a pinch.
Iron Fist and Tackle are going to help her keep the villain under control and still help her pile on the damage quickly.
But really, I cannot overstate the value of those readies/ways to use her basic ATK. Using X-23, her own ready, the ready from Honey Badger, and let’s say drawing 2 of them alongside Claw Mastery? That’s 25 damage. And all you had to play first was Honey Badger.
More with that Combat Specialty upgrade from the new basic side scheme. More from Repurpose.
She is potentially going to run faster than Quicksilver and hit harder than Drax.
Rush has never looked so good in green. And even if you don’t love rush strategies like me, it’s hard to deny the potential. You can try to go slower, use these tools to clean up the board, and still do extraordinarily well!
Conclusion
Overall, X-23 looks amazing. She is basically a fusion of Wolverine and Quicksilver that came out looking like Captain America with a tiny pinch of Drax who really, really likes their version of the Peter Parker basic ally. And if you like any of those heroes, or you’ve ever enjoyed readying a Web-Warrior with Peter, I think you will really like X-23.
At least if you can also enjoy working closely with an ally. Some people don’t like allies, and that’s okay. But, for X-23? She can be good without Honey Badger, I think. If you broke the official rules and removed the ally from the deck, she wouldn’t be the weakest character in the game by far still. But she does lose a lot.
Unrelated to the ally, I will say I am predicting her to be the least popular of the X-Force from a general standpoint. I think many players will just see her as a clone of Wolverine - which is only true in terms of her story, not her gameplay. I also think she is a combo-centric character where it’s hard to see the value of her cards individually/without playing her. But, like Drax, will likely become a fan favourite over time.
For me personally, and this goes beyond the bounds of a hero kit deep dive, I think the biggest strike against her is the card art. It might just be me, and I mean no disrespect to any of the artists or whomever is responsible for the creative decisions, but it doesn’t work for me. We have various greys and blacks on a grey/black background. Her alter-ego art is off-center, her identity card just had a plain brown background.
I like the art for Claw Mastery, Sisterhood and Pain Tolerance. But I do think she has the worst-looking cards of all the heroes from this wave so far, and perhaps the X-Men and Web-WarrioChampion waves too.
But you know if I’m picking on the art as my first and only negative, it’s a very good sign for the rest of her. In terms of fun? I think she’ll score high and pleasantly surprise people.
In terms of power? She has a lot of strengths, but also a couple of weaknesses. But her strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses by a landslide. So far, I have mostly focused on her strengths. So let’s cover her weaknesses quickly.
Her only true source of resource generation or card draw we have seen so far is Grim Resolve. And it’s a good card! But it’s not quite like those heroes who can draw extra cards every turn, or have a couple of extra double resources, etc! So her economy, while fine, isn’t great. I don't believe her alter-ego ability is reliable enough to contribute much.
Fortunately, it’s partially offset by her low costs and she gains a lot elsewhere in areas many high economy heroes do not.
The biggest obvious weakness is that she has no status cards - but in a game where we are getting an increased amount of steady and stalwart, it’s less of a factor. Likewise, we’re getting more access to status cards in the aspects. The exception to both arguments are Toughs but, as a hero who wants to take damage, they are less desirable for her in many situations compared to the average hero.
Cyclops doesn't have any status cards, nor does Wolverine. They get get by. But it's still worth noting!
And lastly, she is somewhat fragile. She is a 10 hp hero who wants to take damage, just like Wolverine, but Wolverine has two advantages. One, his healing is automatic from Turn 1. And two, he has Adamantium Skeleton in his signature cards - a +4 hp upgrade. Now, she can defend and ready immediately with her hero power, but it’s not guaranteed. Against weaker villains, notably on standard, she might not take enough damage to ready. And against stronger villains, particularly on expert, she might still take a significant amount of damage despite defending and readying.
It is of course a great perk of her ability that she can ready in the villain phase, but putting her in the line of fire when she already wants to take damage on her imminent turn and likely did on the previous turn can surely be rough, especially if you haven’t got her healing upgrade out yet.
But smart deck-building can cover everything. As alluded to, we have a good few status cards accessible in most aspects now. She has access to X-Gene as mentioned earlier as well as things like Weapon X, and we have plenty of “fragile” characters who do very well with a healthy supply of allies or stuns built in - plus her healing when she finds them - plus her epic 6 REC.
Another small weakness is that she’s draw-dependent to a degree. Her stats are great with just the use of Claws, but she’ll have quiet turns and large turns. Drawing Claw Mastery? Her damage goes up a lot. Drawing it with Sisterly Bond or other readies? It spikes. But you’re not going to get all those pieces together all the time, and some turns none at all.
Fortunately, as kind of mentioned, her base output is veeery good. And if you build into Honey Badger, keeping her out and alive means every turn will still be huge.
The final weakness I see is her reliance on her signature ally. With some bad luck, Honey Badger (and Sisterhood) could be hard to find. There are ways to help find her - but again, you also have to find them to find her, and most of them have costs of some kind. It's possible for this to sometimes be difficult.
But that was just a look at what I think are her weaknesses, and I hope I have not hurt your impression of her. The rest of the article is strength after strength - and all in all? She is looking brilliantly powerful. Here’s a quick summary:
Strengths:

• Incredibly high damage
• Super consistent thwarting
• Very low setup
• Very low cost curve
• Mutant traited
• Lots of deep aspect synergy
• …Did I mention incredibly high damage?

Weaknesses:

• Low-ish economy
• Semi-draw reliant
• Reliant on her signature ally for full power
• No status cards
• Somewhat fragile

And I will say that the "weaknesses" aren’t really that bad while the strengths - particularly the top four - are especially good! She will hit hard, hit fast, find thwarting while she needs it, and have it all basically at her fingertips from early on.
So, where would I rank her overall and next to the other X-Force heroes? Great question. Of all the X-Force heroes, she has been my toughest one to rank. I will also say all five X-Force heroes revealed so far are ones I am predicting to be in the top 20 of what will then be 48 heroes.
For her specifically, I think the scenario is going to make the biggest difference compared to the other few X-Force heroes. She is damage incarnate, and I think tougher scenarios that can slow her down, that prevent her from winning too quickly, could see her notably fall off when she runs out of steam. On the other hand, she’ll glide through low hp villains like a hot knife through butter.
But I do think, with her best builds and some optimization, she will truly be a force to be reckoned with. So I’ll peg her to fall somewhere between the 7th best and 17th best, with my best guess right now specifically being 12th-ish. She hits very hard and can deal with pretty much anything from Turn 1, and I think that versatility is huge. But I also think that, for the most part, she’s fairly honest.
But, since she has so many combos and I've not played her at all with any of them or any approaches to Honey Badger, I really wouldn't put money on this exact placement. Just know she is going to be amazing.
In some ways, despite being so different to Wolverine, they are still very similar. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He too is high damage, low setup and - especially early game - can be a little fragile unless you build otherwise or ignore his claws. And while it will probably depend on the rest of her cards and whatever X-Force support we get, I will end by saying I do think she will be the better of the two. In my opinion? X-23 > Wolverine - for fun and for power!
Whew! We got there. Thanks for reading and I’d love to know your thoughts! Am I way off the mark? Do you agree? And is there anything I missed? I am sure there are some great aspect cards I overlooked!