Vignettes: Operation Bethlehem, Part IV (Conclusion)

I'm not going to make it.
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I can't move anything. Pure white crystal is crusting over the ANIMa, crackling frost against the blackness of space and the white of the Earth miles below. I lost the wings minutes ago, Doc K's gift to me of flight and power falling away in shards of betrayed trust. I'm afraid to even try calling on most of the others - weapons won't help me now, and honestly I'm not sure how strong most of those bonds are after the beating Operation Walleye put on all of us. It's me and Dean and his "big brother" Andy, rising on pure willpower now, encased in ice. That's going to be a hell of a fall when the rockets give out.

The Nightmares aren't even a worry now. I left them far below me, and they're circling nervously - either waiting to pick up the pieces when I fall, or wondering what the hell this crazy Earth kid is up to. I thought I knew, but now I'm just trying to live.

Every so often I get a fragment from the outside - a few distorted words from the speaker coming through into my dream. But really, Dean and I can't get through to each other. I'm talking to him anyhow, though - or maybe just to myself, trying to convince myself that there's a hope in hell I'm coming back from this.

"I'm sorry I got you into this, Dean. You're so sweet, and I took advantage of you, and you were right. We shouldn't have done this. Are you... crying? I thought I heard something on the comm there. Don't cry, Dean. It's my fault, not yours."

"It's really beautiful up here, you know. So dark and quiet, just the moonlight and the snowy Earth and the white clouds. Silent Night, Holy Night.... God, if you're still out there, I did my best. We all did. We tried to be good kids. I miss my mom and dad. And Rainy, and 'nita, and Luis, and Paul'n'Amy... and... everyone who didn't make it this far."

"I had a plan. I was going to show all the kids out there that help was on the way. But I can't do anything without Dean. And the ice is so thick now."

"Dean, if you can hear me, I wish I'd gotten to spend Christmas with you. We'd sing carols, and eat too many of Maddie's cookies, and play in the snow. And I'd probably let you kiss me.... I'm glad you can't hear me!"

I probably would, though. He's so sweet. The rockets are failing. Soon, the long fall will start, and either the Nightmares circling down there will get me, or gravity will. Merry Christmas, world. I wish you'd seen my star.

The speaker sputters again. Oh God, did he hear that?!? "...Christmas present, Jaye."

"DEAN? Dean, can you hear me? I'm falling. Going down. Don't be sad, sweetie... sing to me. Like we used to."

I start up, my voice cracking at first, but the old familiar words seem to take all the worry and fear away.

"The first Noel, the Angels did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!"

The link is still fading in and out. But I can hear poor Dean, voice all warbly with tears, trying to join in on the chorus. I feel the ANIMa shudder. The ice crackles. It sounds like bells.

"They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the East beyond them far
And to the earth it gave great light
And so it continued both day and night.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel
Born is the King of Israel!"

I've stopped tumbling. I can see the whole Earth drifting by below me. It seems like I can hear voices, too. More than just Dean. A choir of children, all over the world under me. Hoping for Christmas. It's time.

"Dean... patch in the Materializer."

"Jaye? Your signal's 70%. I'm pulling you out."

"No, Dean. We have a mission. It's almost midnight. Time to shine. Patch it in."

"Jaye..."

"It's my Christmas present, Dean. Sing another one with me, and let's show the world our light."

"Oh... kay. Can we do... that one we did together last year. From the old movie? I've practiced a little since then..."

I feel my face warm. But somehow.... yeah. Okay. Let's.

"You start, Dean."

I feel the Materializer warming up. It doesn't have a bond any more. Anita was the Materializer when I first tried it. I don't know what - or who - to use at first. I'm trying to think of someone who feels like life, and light, and being real. And still trusts me.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight"


My turn. I still haven't got someone in mind, but for some reason, the big gauge on my control panel is glowing brighter and brighter. Who is that?

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away."

It's ready. I imagine my message. It's not going to be easy - the biggest thing I ever pushed out of this world into the regular world was a Nightmare machine the size of a car. But making it on this side... that's a piece of cake. A new star lights in the heavens as I drift down towards the Nightmares. They recoil and flee into the night, like the cowards they are.

Now we both sing together. Thank you, Dean. I'm coming back if I can. And you better watch out for mistletoe.

"Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more."

Now to push it through. This is the hard part. But I think I know who the Materializer is. I can hear them singing along with us, all over the world. Mom & Dad. Rainy, all of them. Everyone who's left us. Somehow, tonight, for this, they're with me. It's going to work. Thank you, God.

"Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself A merry little Christmas now."

Time to go home. I let go of my dream, give it to all those kids out there, and fall back into my body.

----------

A new star shines in the night. And all over the world, under that star, children hear songs of hope.

Resolved: We can help other children. Everywhere.

Merry Christmas, readers. Peace on Earth, and good will to all.

Vignettes: Operation Bethlehem, Part III

Why am I doing this? I'm not even a real Anchor yet. Just training with Big Bro to be backup.

Do I have to always do whatever people tell me to? I am so going to get in trouble for this, no matter what Jaye says. She's crazy, talking about Santa Claus and shit.

I almost said no, but ... this is my chance. To get her to notice me. She's not that much older than me, and it's not like there are a lot of girls my age in the Resistance who aren't totally stupid. I liked her as soon as I met her. Big Bro says she's "out of my league" but he would say that. I'll always be a kid to him.
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"There's nothing on the readings, Jaye. I show your ANIMa ready to go."

"It's a beautiful night, Dean. All the stars are glittering, and there's no fog at all."

This is a big deal. Usually there's fog everywhere in the other world, according to the pilots. When Rainy ... in Operation Walleye, after that, there hasn't been much fog. But totally clear, and stars? That's different.

"Are you sure? That's great! You should hurry, though. The longer this takes, the more likely we are to get noticed." By Doc or Dana, if not the bad guys. I'm not sure which worries me more - Jaye can take care of a couple Nightmares, but ...

"I'm taking off. Let me know if there's any sign of trouble."

I'm not totally sure I'd know. I know what the lights on the console are supposed to mean, but... this is the real thing, not just a little walk around the perimeter or over to the Farm to test me out.

Her voice comes through again. "Wow.... I wish you could see this, Dean. Everything looks tiny and white with snow. Like that glass ball thingy that Anita gave me last Christmas. But I have to get higher up."

"Are you sure? Can't you do ... your plan thing... from there?"

"I want everybody to be able to see. I'm going all the way. To space. To the North Pole."

She didn't tell me about that part of the plan. I really don't like this.

"Jaye, no. It's too dangerous. What if the bad guys see you?"

"Come on, Dean. It's Christmas. Believe in me. I'm going to add some rocket boosters - bring Andy on line."

Rockets. Big Bro would like that.

"Big Bro Booster, coming up!"

"Hey Dean, how come you always call him that? He's not your real brother."

"So? He always took care of me. Took care of all us Dogs before we found you guys."

I start to relax and chatter with her - funny how it's easier to talk to somebody, even a girl you might like, when they're just a voice. That's when the beep starts.

"Jaye! There's a warning. Something up ahead of you, some sort of barrier or something. And I have 3 Nightmares... big ones... ascending from the Chicago nexus. I'm going to pull you out."

I knew she wouldn't go for that. "NO! I can outrun them. These rockets are amazing. I can see the Earth like in pictures! Let me finish the mission, Dean. Please."

Please. I can't ever say no, can I?

"Yeah, some sort of ... webs? Ice webs. They're getting all over me. And I see the....zzzzt....zzzt"

Crap. Lights are orange all over the board now. She's in trouble. And I've lost contact. Can't pull her out now if I wanted to. And I kind of do, crazy Christmas mission or not.

"zzzzzz....Ice....zzz...faster....zzz"

"Jaye! JAYE!!! Talk to me! What do I do?!?"

"zzzz....Almost there.... dropped the wings... can't hear you, Dean. The ice is thick. Can't see the ground any more. Not sure I'll make it. Sorry, everybody..."

"YOU CAN'T GIVE UP!!" I slam my hand down on the console. I probably broke something, but none of it is doing any good right now anyhow.

"You promised me a Christmas present, Jaye." I'm crying. I lost her. I shouldn't have done this.

"zzztt...sing to me, Dean...."

Sing? Like that's going to help. Crap. Crap.

How can I sing to her. She can't even hear me right. And I'm blubbering like a little kid. I never should have done this...

TO BE CONCLUDED...

Vignettes: Operation Bethlehem, Part II

Doc K is probably going to kill me. Assuming the Nightmares don't - but they've been trying for 8 whole years now and haven't done it yet. I had to convince Dean to sneak me into Control in the middle of the night and be my Anchor. No way Stephanie or Keith would have gone for it. For one thing, they're both still pretty raw from losing Rainy and Anita. For another, they're too grown up to believe in my plan. Like Doc.
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Dean isn't really trained all the way yet, and he's kind of a goofball, but I knew all I really had to do was tell him it was a Secret Mission and he'd be all for it. He's a dork, but he is kind of cute when he gets excited about stuff. I made him promise not to look while I got into the cylinder, though. It's one thing when he's training with Andy, but I'm a girl. And I know where all the stuff goes and how to set it up, anyhow.

His voice is coming over the speaker now. "Jaye, everything looks.... um... yeah, everything looks okay. Are you sure we have clearance to do this without Doc or Dana?"

"No, silly! We totally don't. That's why it's a Secret Mission."

"Maybe we shouldn't be here. We could get in trouble. Or you could get hurt."

Great. NOW he gets nervous. Better play my trump card. "You're the only one I could count on, Dean. This is really important. It's for Christmas."

"Ummm.... yeah, but I still don't really get how that's supposed to work. I mean, Santa Claus isn't one of them, is he?"

"No, Dean. You're 10. You know Santa is just a story about Christmas, and we have to be Santa for each other. At least, until today. Today, I'm going to be Santa for everybody."

"I don't think we should do this."

I can't believe he's chickening out on me now. Gulp. Plan C.

"Dean. If you do this for me, I promise you'll get something for Christmas this year that you'll never forget. There are some good things about anchoring for a girl instead of smelly old Andy, you know."

"Ahhh... er... you're sure we won't get caught?"

I cross my fingers. There's no way if this works that Doc ... heck, everybody... isn't going to know it was me. "I can't promise you, but I'm pretty sure."

"Okay. You better be. Operation Bethlehem is go. Launch when ready."

The name I came up with sounds dumb now that he says it like this. But I can't stop now. I put my mind into neutral, and listen to the ticking of the magnets as the cylinder warms up. Before I know it, I'm in the other world.

Sure hope this works.

TO BE CONTINUED

Vignettes: Operation Bethlehem, Part I

Jaye always was a little obsessed with Christmas. Even when I first met her, 3 years back when the War was still looking like a totally one-sided massacre and the ANIMa was only a twinkle in my and Dana's eyes, she was hauling a fake Christmas tree three times her size out of a closet every year as soon as the first snow flew. She's the one who taught all the little kids to sing Christmas carols and told them the stories - not just the Jesus-in-a-manger ones, but Rudolph, Frosty, and all that stuff.

So I guess it didn't really surprise me when she came to me with the idea.
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"Ummmm.... Doc? I was wondering something. When we sealed the thingy in Lake Minnetonka... the like, gate kinda thing? That got rid of all the Nightmares around here, right?"

We'd only finally managed to do that a couple weeks ago, and neither Anita nor Rainy had made it back all right. It was a big win, but it didn't real feel like one to me. None the less, I nodded.

"Yeah, we think so. You haven't seen any signs on your recons, and nobody's had any of those dreams lately, either. But they're still out there. There are gates like that in bodies of water all over, we think. Probably only a matter of time before they come at us from Superior or Lake Michigan or somewhere. That's why I'm here, Jaye - I'm trying to get what Rainy sent us from their 'HQ' or whatever it was on the other side of the gate before we lost contact with her turned into a useful way of shutting them down for good. So is this really important?"

I knew immediately that I'd said the wrong thing. Jaye looked at her feet, and mumbled. "Nooooo.... I guess not. It's just..."

"Oh Jaye, I'm sorry. I've been at this all night and I'm crabby. I can make time for our youngest hero. What's up?"

"Doc.... I was wondering about Christmas. There's kids all over who don't even know that the Nightmares can lose! I know you said that we would try to get Resistances started in some other places in the Spring, but right now it's winter, and they're all alone. I want to DO something. And I have this idea..."

"You do? What's all this have to do with Christmas, Jaye?"

"I was thinking that while the Nightmares can't mess with us so easy on the other side, maybe I could do something to let the kids ...all of them... know that help is coming soon. Remember what Rainy did? How we all heard her voice at the end? What if we could... well, like the Star of Bethlehem. Or maybe more like Santa Claus."

"I'm not following you. Rainy's telepathic signal was probably only possible because she was standing right in that gate - which I think must have been kind of a telepathic-based thing in a way. A gate between their dreams and ours. I'm not going to let our only duty-ready pilot jump into one of those, even assuming we knew where to find another one, or that it wouldn't be surrounded by hostile Nightmares."

"No, no. Not like that. I have another way to let them know. Anita's Materializer. That lets us bring stuff from the dreamworld into the real world for a little while, right? And I can use it better than anyone. I just go up really, really high, somewhere everybody can see, and I Materialize it. My message."

Of course, I absolutely forbade her from doing it once she told me. The enemy would be on her like that, from everywhere. And the Materializer shouldn't even work. I had the math to prove it. Not that that had stopped Anita and Jaye from using it already.

I should have known better than to think that this time, Jaye would follow orders. It's never been her strong suit.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Fanart Sundays

Have some Fanart!

This was drawn for an artist exchange between myself and the irrepressable Zarla Shenazza. (In exchange, I gave her a picture of Admiral ZEX from Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters.)

"Josh, whatcha dooooin?"

"Nuttin! I did nothing!"

"Oh, I thought you were LOOKING at me."

"Um... Sorry?"

"Do you like looking at me?"



(A fatal exception error has occured in Josh's Brain. Abort/Retry/Fail?)

Random Fandom Santa

Tell me what Fandom you want not so Random Fandoms for, and I will post them!

I know that I'm going to do a Psychonauts one, because Psychonauts is halfway there anyway and Raz is a Rising Hero no question, but what do you want in your blogging for Christmas?

How Do You Play It: Abandoned Pilot Safety

It occurred to me this morning that there's a thing I do when I play that's not explicitly in the text, and arguably is NOT supported.

I am curious not so much about what the "official" way to do it is, but what other people think of it practically and aesthetically.

When there's a - in Safety during a mission, I interpret "the anchor loses control of the dream entirely" to mean

• The anchor may not communicate with the pilot
• The panic button/emergency eject doesn't work

In practice, of course, I like to have the Anchor continue to do the whole speaking-in-voice thing... but with their audience now being the other characters present in Control as he/she tries desperately to reestablish contact with the Pilot. What the Anchor can't do is describe the environment or give the Pilot instructions.

Anchor abilities work normally, though. Although depending on the fiction for how the ANIMa works, I could see them not working.

Thoughts?

Friday Fail: The Christmas Episode

No Friday Flicks this week, because I suck. Well, and because it's a crazy busy time of year.

I did spend about an hour last night fruitlessly searching for this half-remembered thing with a Gunpla Christmas Choir... but the remembered half did not apparently mesh up with the internet's memories.

Christmas episodes. They're not quite as obligatory as beach/hot springs/etc vacation episodes, but they do turn up a fair bit in the source material. Not so often that I can think of in mecha stories - they're more of a romance motif, as you might imagine - but they're out there.

Hmmm... but Bliss Stage is a mecha story with broad romance elements....

How would you do a "Christmas episode" in your Bliss Stage game?

Watch for next week's Vignette to see my answer, but I'm interested in yours!

Let's get together and play Bliss Stage!

Because so many people have never gotten around to it, I volunteer for Introductory Online GM duty at the link.

God help me.

Random Thought, On Location

You know those horrid public schools you hated because they seemed to look like - and be run like - fortresses? No one could go in or out?

Yeah. Bet you're happy about that after Bliss Day.

Sitting In The Unplayed Pile?

In a recent Story Games thread on "games you really want to play, but haven't yet", Bliss Stage kept coming up again and again. As a matter of fact, I believe the only games mentioned more frequently were a very new one (Diaspora), two "Burning" Luke Crane games (Mouse Guard and Burning Wheel), and Polaris.

I'm curious. If this is one of those games people want to play, what's stopping them?

For me, it's a straightforward combination of two things.

1. Subject matter. I don't have many friends who are into either YA fiction or giant robots, let alone both. It's a tough sell to my gaming buddies AND my non-gaming buddies. I can consistently find 2 players, but I like to hold out for 3 to get more tangles in the relationship web.

2. The damned thing is cursed. Of 4 games started, 1 has finished beginning-to-end, EVER. Not because the game sucked - it's weird stuff like sudden job changes, relationship angst, natural disasters. Now, a couple of those games have been play-by-web, and that medium kills games dead with alarming regularity, but I can't think of any other single game that has that kind of crazy track record for me.

Fortunately, I do have another face-to-face game in the pipeline for later this winter, and a couple one-off web games upcoming. And watch this space come February or March for some announcements in that vein, too.

If you're one of those people who is curious about playing Bliss Stage - what's stopping you?

One participant in the SG thread even mentioned the notion of a "Bliss Stage convention" to get all those widely separated fans together... I'm not sure there's really a need for that, but I could be wrong. Is there genuine interest out there in the fan community in some sort of microcon where we watch our favorite anime, play Bliss Stage and its variants, and share our obsessions?

I might.... MIGHT.... be willing to organize something like that if there was real demand.

On Location: Malls

On Location will be an occasional series about places that are good settings for the World After Bliss, and hints on ways you might want to use them in your game.

The recent real estate and finance crash, along with changing lifestyles, have created a bunch of abandoned and moldering shopping malls. This is a very evocative set of photos documenting a few such locations. Looking at these graveyards of commerce, you can get a little bit of the effect that seven years of abandonment and war might have.

A shopping mall might make a great place to headquarter your Resistance, or maybe for some other set piece use in your game. A mall is full of consumer goods of every kind - which probably means they're wrecked and picked over by 7 years later, unless someone with some resources is keeping would-be scavengers away. But even so, all that space, complete with warrens of service areas and the like... it cries out to be used for something.

Maybe there's a tribe of feral kids haunting the place, paying homage to an idol that represents the world they lost.
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Yikes.

Maybe it's the HQ for the Resistance, with the big open atrium providing space for the ANIMa equipment.

Maybe it's a smoldering ruin, patrolled by remotes that are doing... something.... in the wreckage.

Maybe it's a scary place, where kids go to test their courage. And maybe those who are really brave and resourceful and can find the hidden place inside... are brave and resourceful enough to join the Resistance.

Resources You Could Find At A Mall

• clothes in every size and of all descriptions
• books - not as good as a library, but maybe not as likely to be ruined or picked over, too
• tools and small appliances
• open space that's out of the weather and out of sight - good for big gatherings
• lots and lots of cars - some might still run!
• very sturdy construction - lots of concrete, usually intended to be very safe and low-maintenance
• a landmark - everyone can find it, so it's a good place to meet up
• might make good "neutral turf", since it's hard to defend and big
  

Problems You Might Have At A Mall

• really large and open - hard to keep warm
• infrastructure (plumbing, power, heat, etc) is large-scale and complicated - not easy to restore
• everyone knows it's there and wants stuff that they can find there
• not very defensible
• approaches are very exposed (parking lots & freeways), so its hard to be secretive
• no place to grow food is likely to be handy
  

Next time you're at your local mall, think about what it might be like in the World After Bliss. And let me know what you imagine!

Friday Flicks: My First Giant Robots

My first exposure to giant robots in all their weird and wonderful glory came in the form of the Shogun Warriors toys.



These were a line of toys licensed by Mattel from the Japanese manufacturer Popy (a Bandai subsidiary). We kids had no clue that they were actually meant to depict various characters from the seminal super-robot shows and manga of the 1970s created by Go Nagai and others: Great Mazinger, Fighting King Daimos, Getter Robo G, UFO Robo Grendizer....

All we knew was that they were cool, and we wanted them. I never did manage to accumulate more than a couple before they grew scarce - victims of the toy safety regulations newly imposed at the time - and their cheap construction did not survive the enthusiastic imagination of 11-year-old Mark for long.

But they put me on the path that later led me to Robotech, Voltron/GoLion, and all the rest.

It was a golden age of toys, and I just now recalled the other one that inflamed my Supaa Robo imagination. Anybody else remember this guy?



One of these days, I'm going to do a Bliss Stage game where Bliss Day falls in 1980.

My Top Five Reasons The Tabletop Game Is Better Than The VN

Because I've noticed the VN getting a lot of hits here, but not so much Tabletop love.

Now, far be it for me to rag on people who - gasp - like my work. That's just stupid. But I still have to acknowledge a debt to the Tabletop Game. It's just good. And in many ways, it provides an experience that no VN can match.

Here are my top 5 reasons why the tabletop game Bliss Stage from TAO Games will always be better than First and Final Act.

1: It's about your characters, not Ben's or mine.
Josh Preston is a fun character to get into the head of! And I like to think that Meredith, Gabriel, Sara, Anna and Derek are attractive and romantic figures, and interesting, the way I and the other writers portray them. Not to mention the other characters, the ones uninterested in Josh as a partner (well, mostly uninterested) having quirks and foibles.
But they are not YOUR characters. You can't own them the way I do. There is nothing like being a Pilot you created, except the sometimes greater joys and pains of playing an Anchor to the hilt. I've seen people become emotionally invested in characters they made an hour ago in this game. It's a trip, and one well worth taking. What kind of Pilot are you?

2: You get to decide what the characters Hope for.
Kind of the above, but also very different. See, at the beginning of tabletop Bliss Stage, you come up with the Big Questions about the setting, things that the Resistance wants to know, desperately Hopes for.
Likewise, in the VN: but those are set. "Can you defeat the enemy?" "Can you raise another generation?" "Can you understand the aliens?" All interesting Hopes.
But check out what you can do with different questions. One game had them ask, "Can we know why the Bliss happened?"
And the answer was totally unexpected - by any of the players - but it fit. "Yes. The Bliss was triggered to help defend Humanity from alien attack - triggered by the OTHER sapient species from Earth, the blue whales."
Or check this out: "Can we build a better society?" That was from my first play-by-chat game, Rapid Eye Movement. The answer - "Only on a lie" - fit. Perfectly. Lloyd was fucked up, even if he was also a noble kind of fucked up.
The GM and the players are FORBIDDEN from knowing the answers to these questions at the start of the game... but they can push. And the answers are always logical, and, in the end, inevitable. I always love finding out, and choosing different Hopes can make a very different tone of game.

3: The Tabletop Game is always played with friends.
The VN is singleplayer, not a social activity, really. By contrast... I've met more friends through Bliss Stage than any other hobby, just by running games with and for strangers or aquantances. It's a fun activity over chat or at a table with friends. The VN cannot be that.

4: The Tabletop Game can handle any idea you throw at it.
Improvise wildly in your next game and you will know this to be true.

5: It's $10 dollars as opposed to $20!
Bottom line. It's cheap. You need the 10 dollar PDF, dice, index cards and paper. The VN needs a computer and 20 dollars. RPG's are just cheap for the entertainment value.

Of course, I'll have to rebut my own posts. Next Thursday, I'll tell you the top 5 reasons why the VN is better than the tabletop game. Hope to see you, and please comment on this post!

Loving The Character: The Eager Young Soldier

Loving The Character is a series about how to play each of the common character types in Bliss Stage. It will consist of discussion of both the mechanical aspects of the type and tips on how to portray them sympathetically - even when they're screwing up.

And who's more prone to screwing up than the original shoot first, think later Pilot... the Eager Young Soldier?
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Key Mechanics

• A nice balanced set of starting relationships (4/1, 3/2, 2/3, 2/2, 2/1, 1/4)
• Adds one Intimacy OR one Trust to their relationship with the Authority Figure
• Basically the “plain vanilla” archetype, it is well-rounded and flexible

Build Tips

Unless you have a REALLY good reason, make your additional +1 with the AF in Trust. It's often harder to build later, and chances are you are going to stress this relationship frequently.

Your Anchor relationship isn't critical, but it should be sturdy and easy to grow. I recommend the 2/3 or the 2/2, but the 1/4 isn't a bad way to go either.

The ideal AF relationship is probably the 3/2 or the 4/1. That gives you a nice component to deploy in just about any mission. If you really want to get scary, take a blood relationship with the AF for the +1 I and combine that with your +1 T. A 5/2 or 4/3 out of the gate makes you a real force.

Don't bother giving relationships to your fellow Pilots unless you have a good reason... say, a Rising Hero or 2. They'll do fine with the 1/2s, and you're not going to manifest them much anyhow.

You want to focus on (in this order) the AF, a Supporting Cast character of your preferred gender (or possibly your primary Anchor, but be wary of Stress buildup if you do), and other non-Pilot characters.
It's never a bad idea to have a decent relationship with more than 1 Anchor, so you can angle for different Anchor Abilities depending on your current status. Your special relationship with the AF makes it a little easier to get the assignments you want (usually).

Basic Play Tips

Go in hot, kick ass, take names. You should be able to run with 2 or 3 non-Anchor components in most missions, because you'll always have at least one with good dice in your bag of tricks. You may have a little durability trouble with some of your non-primary components, so rotate them in and out.

Don't hotshot, at least not at first. It's very tempting when you have good dice, but it probably isn't worth the potential fallout in your key relationship – with the AF.

Get some lovin'. Alternatively, brawl a little, but that's tricky. You are likely to want another high-I relationship before long, to take some of the heat off your original one. Plus, while you are cultivating them, they're a pretty good option for Trauma Relief too.

You have some luxuries in terms of relationship management. You will mostly be relying on 2 main ones and a revolving cast of others, so as long as you pay some attention to having a new go-to relationship with at least 3/2 “in the pipeline” in case of a blowout or Stress trouble with one of your originals, you can be pretty flexible about how you use Interludes.

You ARE a user. Get used to it. Likely, what matters most to your EYS is the approval of the AF and kicking the Enemy's ass. Other people, perhaps with a few carefully chosen exceptions, are pretty much just fuel for that fire. Do not be shy about pulling those 1/2 default relationships in, using them until they have 2 Stress, and then ignoring them until it's convenient.

The flipside of this is: 2 people really matter to you. The AF (or, later on, your new Big Gun if you've gone that route), and your main Anchor. Without them, you can't get anywhere. Keep those relationships as healthy as you can.

Sir, Yes Sir!

The Authority Figure is the one who controls your access to the ANIMa – and therefore, to showing those alien scum who they're messing with. Expect to spend a LOT of your Interludes with the AF. Volunteer whenever you can, follow orders unless you're SURE you can pull off something impressive, and don't worry about what anybody else thinks.

Interestingly, you may also be the most likely of any Archetype to end up replacing the AF as your Blissout endgame. All that interdependency can breed contempt... or the desire to carry on an unfinished mission.

Wingman? What wingman?

You work best alone. The other Pilots are probably pretty peripheral to you – using P/P relationships on missions is not usually wise, and your whole strategy revolves around a few high/high components and interchangeable, disposable low/X ones. Just try not to Trust Break, maybe go for Trauma Relief, and otherwise keep your distance.

Anchor recommendations

Your best bets are Tempestuous (a little self-defense means you can spend more of your resources elsewhere) or Experienced (if you are willing to spend the Stress Relief Interludes, the sheer flexibility this one gives you is great). Driven is a decent alternative as well, because it fits your success-first, damn-the-consequences style.

No Anchor type is really a bad choice for you, but you won't get any special advantage out of Kind or Comforting ones, and a Savvy one can actually be a little dangerous if they decide to be meddlesome.

Playing Lovable Eager Young Soldiers

Be a lone wolf. You're doing this for YOU, dammit, not anyone else. As long as you get the job done, who cares what they think. Since you depend on just a few key relationships, focus on those and just do maintenance as convenient on your others.

Be a good soldier. On the other hand, how do you know you're really doing some good? You're not the brains of the outfit, so you need someone to tell you where to point that big gun. Cherish your AF relationship, and your Anchor.

Strike sparks. You don't particularly care what the other Pilots think of you. If they do their jobs, you can do yours. If they don't, let 'em have it. You may actually want to AVOID strong P/P relationships – the Bliss hit for breaking them (and you WILL) is a lot, especially since you are likely to gain a fair amount of “spillover” Bliss from rolling big relationships on missions.

Burn for vengeance... or something like that. You really want to kill aliens. Why? I mean, sure, all of us do, but you make an Archetype out of it. What did they do to you? Did they take someone special away from you?

Love hard, fight hard, play hard. Bring a little extra intensity to everything. Don't worry about tomorrow, or the next mission, or whether he'll respect you in the morning. You could be dead in the morning. You cannot play the EYS cautiously and get the most out of them.

Pass judgment. You want to WIN. What's holding you back? Don't these people realize there's a war on? This particularly matters if your Authority is erratic or incompetent!

Tell us about your character. Eager Young Soldiers very often have some roiling, serious, pain-and-rage-filled Issues that they keep very well bottled up and let out only as martial zeal. Be sure that you, the player, share those issues with your fellow players and GM. They make great fodder for Nightmares!

As usual, please tell us about Eager Young Soldiers you have known!

Manifesting my Anima now, Derek!

An animated sprite of Sara Smith's ANIMa, the Genki Lilith, courtesy of of our artist Jinzo Tamashii. Manifested: Her relationship to a close female friend (the gun), and to Keenan, who she most definitely does not have a crush on (the rapier).

Oh, and the frame is her brother and Anchor Derek Smith.

Vignettes: A Dream Of Flight

“Brandi, while we're waiting for the go sign, you wanna put my tape in?”

I laid back against the headrest in the warm, mineral-smelling water of the pool. It felt good – the heat and the bouyancy would have felt nice for these fucked-up legs and hips of mine anyhow, but knowing that any minute now I was going to leave all this behind and lay some Death From Above on some Bugs in Strike Valkyrie.... now that was sweet. I already was forgetting about the weight of the blackout helmet and the sting where the electrodes were poking my scalp... and you can bet I was doing my best to pay NO attention to Ray and Katie getting set up just either side of me. The music always helps with that... that, and the fresh crop from the back of my shop.

“As long as you're gonna stay sharp, Bri. Don't be rocking out when I tell you where to find the bad guys, okay?”

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“You got it, Brandi. Have I ever let you down before....?” And she pushes the button, and my ears are filled with music from 25 years before I was born. I don't know why I like this shit so much, but it just feels right.

Hurry on sundown, see what tomorrow brings
Hurry on sundown, see what tomorrow brings
Well it may be war
Any old thing
Look into your mind's eye
See what you can see

I feel a poke in my ribs on my right, and I can just make out Katie over the groove. “Briiiiaannnn, you're making waves.” She's such a brat. But I guess I was kinda rockin' out a little bit there. Keep it on the inside, Robeson...

“Brian, Prof says we are go on my mark. Are you ready?”

“Ready to rock and roll, babe. What's the target?”

“The usual drill. You recon and lay down suppression while units 2 and 3 get into position, then be ready to back up as needed. I'll give you waypoints once we see what the weather's like on that side.”

“Got it. Big badda boom. Can we keep the tunes?”

“Don't see why not. Switching you in in 30... Mark.”

I go through the mental exercises, honed long ago – before I ever even imagined Piloting, back when getting my brain to switch over to waking dream state was the best way to get away from the pain of what the Bliss Plague was doing to me. It's funny that what the Bugs tried to kill us with is what made me the scariest thing they'll ever see.

“Three... Two... One... And you should be in. What do you see?”

Brandi's cool as a cucumber, as usual. If I were a real boy – not a cripple who can't even get it up – she'd be everything I want in a girlfriend. Easy to talk to, pretty, and not all weird and girly like Katie or Tina. Just a regular person. But that's dumb. We're a team, that's all. I pry my brain out of the black hole of self-pity that I always seem to orbit when I'm first slipping into the Dream, and start getting to the good stuff.

I am the centre of this universe
The wind of time is blowing through me
And it's all moving relative to me,
It's all a figment of my mind

The landscape's just what it usually is – too bright, washed-out with sun that seems to have too many colors to be “white” as we know it, ruined buildings overgrown with vines and flowers. In the distance, I can see the Hive in the middle of the Bay. That's where we're going.

In a world that I've designed
I'm charged with cosmic energy
Has the world gone mad or is it me?
I am the creator of this universe
And all that it was meant to be

“Everything's cool here, Brandi. I'm going to call up the Valkyrie now.”

“Make it snappy. There's a flight of Dragonflies inbound. You're to recon, knock them down, then proceed to target. Katie & Ray will jump in at Waypoint 2 once you've got the Bugs' attention.”

“Easy. Here we go.”

In moments, the light blurs and shifts and I'm finally where I belong. Strapped in the cockpit of a silver giant, jets straining and screaming already, wings unfolding as my legs fold away and I'm airborne, streaking towards the sky. I'm surrounded by everyone I fight for, and I'm not a cripple, not a half-man. I'm a God.

So that we might learn to see
This foolishness that lives in us
And stupidity that we must suss
How to banish from our minds
If you call this living I must be blind.

“Unit One, Strike Valkyrie, Brian Robeson... taking off!”

The music swells, and I flash towards my destiny.

I beleive that this comic is highly relevant to Bliss Stage.

This link is highly relevant.

http://goats.com/comix/0912/goats091204.png

If only.

Holy crap, we have a game sprite

Love is Sara Smith's weapon.

Especially in this form.

Thoughts?

Bliss Stage: First and Final Act Mecha and the Intimacy/Trust Stats

Have a sketch of Joshua Preston's mecha, by my hand and pen.



Now that I have your attention.

Bliss Stage: First and Final Act follows the rules of tabletop Bliss Stage very closely in that relationships are power. Literally so.

Specifically, the most intimate action you've done with someone limits the amount of power in any given mecha: on a scale of one to 5. The technobabble calls it Metastable Resonance Factors, in the Visual Novel: but everyone knows it measures Intimacy. Add to that that Trust is the HP bar of each component, and, well.

You literally level up by investing time in relationships you want to go well - in the tabletop game and in this VN. If you have a choice between two people to talk to in your Copious Free Time, it matters for the combat. Skipping stones with Sara Smith rather than talking to Gabriel down at the beach therefore means that you'll level up the weapon tied to Sara rather than the one tied to Gabriel. And if it ends in your first kiss with Sara - and her first kiss PERIOD - then what you've just done in power up BOTH her Sun-Heart Pistol AND your Seraphim Thruster Block:



Remember also that I said raw combat power, or Intimacy, went up to 5. There are only two ways to top out Intimacy - and murder is rather counterproductive (relationships break when people die), so if you have the best weapons possible for your ANIMa manifestation, you will need to have sex with someone.

Yes, you heard me right, VNers.

I'll note right here, and again, for the record: I show nothing on-screen. But it does matter, and they will TALK about it. And Sara will react QUITE differently to those kind of overtures than will Gabriel. Or Derek. Or Anna.

Note also that sex is a prerequisite for Intimacy 5. The reverse is not true, for one reason: you have to be doing it as an act of Intimacy, rather than, say, as an act of Trust or an act of traumatic need (which heal the pilot involved, by the way. Better than a health potion, comfort-sex is).

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them here.

Also, requests for other mechs.

Random Fandom Friday: A Journal Excerpt for you.

Because this fic was from when the Unity mission was shot to hell in new and interesting ways, fellow Blissed and fellow SMAC-heads.

Altruism Helps The Bottom Line

Mimi asked me how I can believe in love - love her! - how I can help people out with no hope of reward and still say that greed is a good thing. "You're your own counterexample," she said. Smug as she tends to be.

It's a good question. It's one that I think I need to answer, what with the Chairman saying there's no place for individual ambition, for greed...

Here's the thing about that... Even before planetfall, before the mission, I saw what people who SAID they were doing it for the greater good were doing, and let's just say it wasn't for the greater good. They were pushing something, even if they claimed otherwise. Christianty, or more men from England and America making money...

But the people who were just honest about it, saying they were in it to make money... they did real good. Lasting good. It was because of them that my family and I were sent on the Unity. Microloans, things like that? My parents got rich. And because they were rich, they paid back the bank... and other people could get loans, get rich, and pay back the bank. And again and again.

When we made Planetfall, with our parents gone and the science teams gone to the ...let's call it the planet-mind (you dork Deedee), and the worms and all... the Chairman said we needed to all work together without hope of reward other than staying alive.

There was a reason I didn't like him and that was it.

But a funny thing happened. I found myself volunteering for the Citizens Defense Brigade. The psi corps, the ANIMa corps. Not because of any altruistic reason, but because it meant more food, and my friends were going. ...Instantly, people started to trust me. I volunteered to help Mimi... Help Miriam, rather, because I had a crush on her: and she actually loved me for it. I... didn't see that coming, honestly, but I welcome it. I just wanted her to like me, not to... LIKE... me. Still, it kind of proves my point.

I help people because it was a long term investment. In themselves and in my own well-being.

TL:DR is ...Just because I'm GREEDY doesn't mean I'm out for myself. It's just that if I'm out for others we do a lot better then I could alone.

----

Heh.

Coming up: A discussion of the visual novel, and of Leveling Up to Intimacy 5.

Friday Flicks: Dancouga - Super Beast Machine God

Ah, combining super robots.... how I love you, in all your goofy over-the-topness and casual disregard for the laws of physics!

There have been quite a few memorable shows in this vein, and honestly Dancouga (aka Dancougar) is not going to go down in the Pantheon of Mecha Greatness. But it does have some very fun concepts, and to my mind, one of the coolest gattai sequences ever.



If that's a bit too 80s for you, there is always the recent Dancougar Nova, which updates the concept to a more contemporary style. Which is to say, plenty of fanservice (of both the reference-fest and the cheesecake variety). Nova is slightly notable for having one of the rare Hot Blooded Female lead pilots out there, former F1 driver Aoi Hidaka.

Here's a nice cliffhanger-y action scene from Dancougar Nova.



Enjoy!

From the mothership: possible rule changes?

Many of you have probably seen this already, but Ben is discussing a couple proposed adjustments to the rules for the new edition over at TAO Games. Chime in!

Loving The Character: The Rising Hero

Loving The Character is a series about how to play each of the common character types in Bliss Stage. It will consist of discussion of both the mechanical aspects of the type and tips on how to portray them sympathetically - even when they're screwing up.

First up, the Rising Hero
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Key Mechanics

• Most relationships start out low-Trust (4/2, 2/2, 4/1, 3/1, 2/1, 1/1)
• Pilot/Pilot relationships the RH is party to do not take the usual -1 Trust penalty
• Default relationship is 1/3 rather than 1/2

Build Tips

• Put the 4/2 or 3/2 in a pilot/pilot relationship, preferably with a pilot who can serve as “big brother” or mentor relationship with the RH
• Leave your primary anchor as a 1/3 default.
• Try to get other players to invest strong-Trust pilot/pilot relationships in you. You both benefit! Depending on the group and the other archetypes present in the resistance, you may even be able to avoid using any of your own relationship picks on p/p – after all, 1/3 is a decent default.
• Invest unbalanced relationships (4/1, 3/1) into secondary characters or the Authority Figure. You’ll probably have less competition for “screen time” with them so you can work on building up those weak Trust values.

Basic Play Tips

Start out conservative. This advice applies to most pilot types, but it’s particularly vital for the RH. Don’t be tempted to bust out those high-intimacy relationships early on, or you’ll lose them and pay the heavy Bliss toll. Try to build them up while getting by on your 1/3s and any other strong relationships you’ve gotten from other Pilots.

Trust, Trust, Trust. Farm it. Love it. You already have plenty of high-Int relationships, they just need some time to mature. Your Trust Builds are going to come from P/P and Pilot/Anchor scenes where you can play on the bonds of wartime camaraderie and mutual butt-saving, OR from scenes with your peripheral 1/3s that play on you living up to their hero-worshippy (low-Int) expectations.

Keep your troubles inside. DO NOT pursue Trauma Relief except with either a chosen confidant who you don’t EVER manifest on-mission (and thus don’t need to farm Int/Trust with) or (if in dire need) a fellow Pilot.

That said, Trauma can mess you up, so be cautious.

Think of your Rising Hero as being like the school idol. They have their circle of people who they’re close to – and those people see them in all their warty imperfection. The ones who are most like them – their fellow Pilots – forgive them their flaws a little more. They’re the ones who understand what it’s like.

Then there’s everyone else. They have no idea what you are really like. What you go through, how you feel, what you care about. To them, you’re an unapproachable ideal…. or just a role. Not really real. They’d do anything for you, at least until they get to know what you’re really like and find out you have feet of clay.

Let Them Eat Stress

The #1 way that a Rising Hero screws up is being self-centered and stuck up. It’s going to be very tempting to treat all those low-Int, high-Trust relationships as semi-disposable Stress sinks. Having a couple safe places to put a 0 or – during a mission is so darn handy. This will come back to bite you eventually in the form of Trust Breaks, but it’s very human and a pretty good short-term strategy. Especially if you confine it to a few well-chosen “victims”.

You’re pretty much going to end up having to do this at least a little, so count on being a bit of an insensitive princess or callous tough guy a few times.

Married To The Job

Your fellow Pilots are likely to be your most important recurring relationships (as your most likely high/high ones), and to suck up a lot of your Interlude time on maintenance. This can leave others – particularly your Anchor or other important non-Pilot relationship – a little starved for your attention. Be sure to prioritize, and make sure other Pilots are pulling their fair share of the Privileged Interlude weight. Getting stood up yet again so Mr Hotshot can go party with his wingman is not good for harmonious Anchor/Rising Hero relations.

Speaking of Anchors

Get yourself a Savvy Anchor – they will save your bacon repeatedly, since you’re going to be putting low-Trust relationships at risk fairly regularly. Alternatively, a Tempestuous one can be pretty self-maintaining. Comforting ones aren’t doing you much good, but a Kind one can be handy since you often don’t have extra dice to spare to deal with Threats.

Playing Lovable Rising Heroes

Be a little perfect. At least from a distance. A "natural" at piloting, or maybe just one of those people who’s good at everything. Probably good-looking. Perhaps very nice and well-mannered.

Be a little lonely. Nobody really understands you. Well, maybe one or two of the other Pilots. They all think it’s so easy, but it really isn’t.

Have a flaw that’s not as big as you think it is. Something about which the character is very self-conscious or guilty… some kind of reason why people wouldn’t really like you if they knew you. But make sure it’s the sort of thing that is forgivable by the right sort of person.

Be gregarious. Smile and wave, work hard, get along with everyone – as long as it stays surface-y.

Have a past. How did that 4/1 get that way? Who’ve you already hurt? How do you feel about that?

Fall for someone. Don’t start close to anyone, but try to pick one of those 1/3s or maybe your 2/2 and build it up. Or maybe FIX that 4/1 before it dies? The RH really needs to break out of their isolation.

Make friends. It’s ridiculously easy to get those Intimacy 1s to grow. Once they hit I2, they’re much more robust when manifested on missions.

Be a mentor. Take one or more of those "fans" under your wing and be a "big brother" or "big sister" to them.

Have big fights. Those T3+ relationships are able to withstand Trust Breaks in the early game, so you may be in a position to farm Trust Break followup scenes and have a bunch of influence on the development of the relationship web.

Play for the long haul. The RH takes a while to gather steam, but they’re very strong in the mid-to-late game if they’re played wisely. You should plan on being one of the later endgames.

Please let us know about your own experiences with playing Rising Heroes!