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300iqprower · 9 months

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Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 86-88: Jing Ke

[Okay I know I usually do these in order of Passive - S1 - S2 - S3 - NP, followed by the same priority of the less necessary "EX" rank ups, but I'm gonna move the S1 to last for this because it's a complete ground-up rework that'll take a lot of explaining. So instead it'll be Passive - S3 - NP - S1]

New Passive:

Qin Slayer (Augmented) -Apply Special ATK [Qin] to self (33%). -Immune to Immobilization from [Qin] enemy skills. ((Unlocks after clearing Lostbelt No.3 Section 13))

Self Explanatory really. Honestly EVERY assassin deserves an Oberon style ??? unique skill that reflects the kill(s) that made them famous, particularly since it allows a way to offset the natural damage penalty assassins have to deal with...even though they're, ya know, specialized killers. 33% effectively brings the damage up from a base .9 to a base 1.2, which I think is a fitting enough offset. The immobilization immune is reflective of how things went the second time around between the two in Lb3.

Insolent A -> Insolence Towards the Sun

Increase own Quick Card effectiveness (3 times, 3^ turns).^ Increase own Critical Strength (3 times, 3 turns^). Gain Class Affinity half-advantage against [Ruler] class (3 turns). [Quick scaling increased to 20-40%]

Pretty simple here. As always i cannot overstate how bad Quick has it, and that's made even worse when the only quick buff you have is both 1 turn AND only a max of 30%, so we're raising that slightly to 40% (but with the same base amount of 20%, to place more emphasis on leveling the skill to get its worth) and making both the critical and the quick buff split from one turn, to three attacks across 3 turns. Same number of hits, but with much more flexibility, and that flexibility is needed because if you're using Jing Ke as intended then the new effect makes it so you want this skill active as often as possible, emphasizing individual precise strikes that rely on both specific color and criticals rather than a constant boost to strength

Now against ruler enemies, Jing Ke gains both offensively and defensively the 1.5x advantage that extra classes typically get (such as what Rulers have defending against the standard non-berserker classes, or Alter Egos have when attacking cavalry classes). When combined with their new passive this also means they have near full advantage against any Ruler enemy with the Qin trait at. How oddly specific. 1.8x base damage means by default they're just as effective at taking out a certain peacocking emperor as any berserker, but without the berserker's weak defenses.

Name wise, I'm particularly proud of this one. Not just with the parallel's to Jing Ke's recurring connection to the moon through their poems, but also just the idea of that idea of "Insolent towards authority" taking up a few notches in scale to match them standing up to the "one true human". The idea of standing up to something that's all encompassing and omnipresent, that is the center of the universe, something that is unfathomably bigger than oneself, and still managing to defy it.

All I Do is Kill B+ -> EX-

Deal significant damage to a single enemy. Grants self On-Death buff (2 turns). [Activates First] - When defeated, Decrease NP Gauge by 2 and inflict Stun on a single enemy (1 turn). Reduce your HP by 2000^. [Demerit] [Caution: This can kill Jing Ke if her HP is below 2000!] <Overcharge> Medium chance to apply Death for a single enemy.^ Gain Critical Stars.v Restore a large amount of NP Gauge to yourself. [NP Refund scales with overcharge at 20/28/35/43/50%. Instant Death chance scaling increasing to 50/75/100/125/150%. On Death debuffs will default to last enemy to attack Jing Ke, or failing that the rightmost enemy. If Jing Ke dies from her own NP and the target survives, these effects are applied to the surviving target.]

God Jing Ke's NP ticks me off. Such an emotionally moving concept, such a significant event, and it's just....a mediocre damage single hit NP whose main use might as well be generating a star bomb. I'm not saying its the only NP like that but god it's the one that's always irked me since day 1. So yeah, this one had a LOT of rewrites before I finally settled on what it ended up as.

The damage is unchanged, and we're also getting one of the rare times I'm nerfing the base abilities by bringing the number of crit stars down by 10 to 10/15/20/25/30. Not only was this effect redundant, given they're a triple quick unit with a star bomb skill already, but anything I want to give this NP would be too much if I let them generate THAT many stars, and I very much want to take things in a different direction. You could frankly argue that I should just get rid of the star bomb on NP entirely and the only reason I'm not is because while Jing Ke is a triple quick assassin with a Quick Np on top of that, they have the dreaded year 1 hitcounts - including a 1-hit NP - meaning they're completely gimped for both NP and Star generation So on the subject of NP generation, that's why they get a massive refund on their NP now that effectively makes them Assassin Medea in terms of NP spam, with the same base refund and significantly lower but still notable scaling with overcharge (7.5% as opposed to an entire additional 20% per level). Oh and her other overcharge effect is getting buffed but to have double the level scaling, but...well It's an instant death effect so whatever. So let's just move onto the hook of all this!

Put simply, Jing Ke now has 500-Year Old Obsession on steroids directly built into their NP. Rather than 2 turns NP seal and a useless DOT though, it instead immediately reduces charge by 2, which depending on the situation could be much more or much less useful AND it also ensures it doesnt make the CE obsolete AND even more than that allows the two to stack with each other should you so choose to orchestrate that scenario. Of course, this comes at a cost. The NP actually has a second nerf compared to before....though depending on how you view it, it might not actually be a nerf. Jing Ke now loses double the HP, at 2000 per NP. This combined with their new refund potential means they risk burning through their own HP, even recreating their own death as they strike out at an opponent only to die immediately after. Should they die this way, instead of being based on who last damaged them their grudge will instead target the one they used their NP on (assuming the enemy survived, otherwise it once again defaults to the rightmost enemy remaining).

SO, tldr, their np is now much less about the crit stars and more about spamming it until either Jing Ke or their target dies, and even if the former goes first it's not without the last laugh as they throw a massive wrench into any enemy plans to buy their remaining allies a moment of opportunity. Which is a perfect lead in to Jing Ke's completely reworked first skill:

Restrain A -> The Perfect Moment EX-

Increase own Critical Star Gather Rate by 200% (3 turns). Gain Critical Stars. Apply Ignore Invincible to self (1 time). Apply Evade for yourself (1 time). Apply Target Focus to all allies except self (1 turn). Apply Fated Hour (Opportunity) to self if there are at least two of this unit’s normal command cards available: -Locks currently dealt set of Command Cards (2 turns) -Decrease your Critical Star Gather Rate by 500% (1 turn). -Apply delayed buff: Increase own Quick Card Star Gathering Rate (1 turn). -Apply delayed buff: Gain Critical Stars after 1 turn. -Apply delayed buff: Increase own NP Strength after 1 turn. [10-40%] -Decrease own ATK by 35% (1 turn). [Demerit] [Skill cooldown changed to 9/8/7. Star bomb scales from 5-10, NP Strength up scales from 10-40%]

I love you deck manipulation <3 ...even if you along with the sheer number of other effects are forcing me to increase the skill cooldown by more than i'd like. But hey that's why it's a full on rework i guess. This is the first of a potentially reoccurring effect I've decided to call "Fated Hour." The general idea is Fated Hour always involves either shuffle or deck lock mechanics combined with other effects that reflect an attempt to recreate what could be seen as the servant in question's "zenith" or otherwise pivotal moment in their legend. In Jing Ke's case, they find that once in a lifetime moment to strike a seemingly untouchable enemy, and they take it. Naturally, this has the qualifier that Jing Ke must have the ability to launch a precise attack, meaning Fated Hour will only activate if at least two of Jing Ke's command cards is currently available (which in combination with an NP would mean an Extra Attack chain is available). If not, then the skill's effectiveness is drastically reduced meaning you need to actually plan this out by counting cards to get the skill's real value rather than bank on RNG.

Without Fated Hour, The Perfect Moment becomes, if nothing else, a powerful survival tool. For the current turn target focus is applied to all other allies and Jing Ke gains an evade charge for insurance against the likes of AOE NPs, as well as a single hit of Ignore Invincible for the same indefinite duration as the evade. Fated Hour wouldnt trigger simply from having an NP available, so this could be used to grant Jing Ke a temporary Ignore Invincible ST NP while they have less than the required 2 command cards available. That said, Fated Hour is clearly what everything really revolves around.

Laying in wait among their allies, Jing Ke spends the current turn preparing to strike. They decrease their star gather to nothing, both to prevent their own criticals drawing attention to themselves and to allow their allies a better crit chance. They also give up a hefty amount of their already below-par attack stat this turn in exchange for a an even heftier and much more valued NP strength buff the next turn; the aforementioned survival tools naturally exist to increase the chance they're going to make it to that next turn. This is all naturally in addition to the usual benefits of locking command cards. ...On that note, however, this is where it becomes important to count cards. The ignore invincible applies to the next attack from Jing Ke regardless of whether it is needed. This combined with the fact that fated hour requires you have at least one of Jing Ke's normal cards means in order to get maximum efficacy you'd HAVE to have no more than the minimum requirement of 2 of Jing Ke's cards available. Most of the time you won't need that ignore invincible in theory but the sheer fcking number of bosses they slap it on says otherwise but it'd certainly make dealing with a certain Ruler's NP much easier. How very fitting that they'd remain a particular challenge for Jing Ke to properly assassinate...but either way, Jing Ke will still receive a hearty buff next turn. Their actual attack stat will remain unchanged aside from the aforementioned NP buffs, and they're still reliant on their third skill for Quick and Critical buffs, but they'll have the tools to take full advantage of those buffs with a delayed activation on Restraint's original star bomb and a burst of quick-star-gather. The fact that the gather is color specific of course means there's yet another requirement to optimizing the skill, as you'd ideally need not only 2 of Jing Ke's cards, but specifically 2 of their quick cards for maximum damage. What's more, 10 stars is not enough on its own to guarantee two crits, in fact double that would be needed, so if you dont want to leave it up to chance you'll need to make sure that Jing's allies be it by card or skill can generate an additional 10 stars between turns.

This is all a very long winded way of outlining all the requirements needed to truly take advantage of ALL this skill now offers, but given all the new kit brings it's hopefully worth it. More flexible burst damage, anti-ruler F2P niche, sacrifice tactics, and now quick crit synergy with everything from ignore invincible to deck lock. I dunno if it rounds out to Ten Steps per say, but it's clear that when Jing Ke is allowed proper planning, naught will stay their pace.

#artist: JinGreyPaladin #artist: EnduranceEX #yes i am aware that Insolent is the localized version of a skill that's actually supposed to be #about Jing Ke getting drunk and violent. I dont care. I prefer to treat these characters with respect.#fgo #fgo meta #fate grand order #hypothetical rank ups #jing ke #my beloved....#without question the most time i've put into one of these since Jekyll and Hyde #i always feel like im forgetting an important tag but screw it it's 3am and ive been trying to get this out for months POST

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bluecatwriter · 5 months

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Writer asks

O ho HO heck yeah I love surveys! (Thanks for the tag, @mrpinniped!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

109 and counting!

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

356,656

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Dracula, but I have racked up a fair number of Dorian Gray and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fics, plus some Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein, and Moby Dick.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Doors Everywhere

I Too Can Love

In Every Sense

Angels Unawares

For Safety Reasons

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to respond— comments always make my day, so I want to let people know that I appreciate them (plus it's fun to chat about plot points or characterization details with readers!).

6. What's the fic you wrote that has the angstiest ending?

Probably The Breaking Point, where Jonathan dies before he even reaches Dracula's castle.

7. What's the fic you wrote that has the happiest ending?

A lot of my fics have very happy/sappy endings, but probably the most unabashedly happy one is Love Multiplying.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Fortunately I have gotten only a few snarky comments here and there; the comments are overwhelmingly positive.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Ugh, so much smut. One moment I'm minding my own business, the next moment I'm tearing my hair out trying to write yet another threesome without making it turn out confusing and/or incredibly goofy. My favorite smut is the kind that's the site for dealing with a lot of Big Feelings (even though those are the hardest to write), but I also write fluffy, not-very-serious scenes too.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I've written a few Dracula/Dorian Gray crossovers, which have been a lot of fun!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not for fanfiction, though I've done a fair amount of cowriting in the past on other kinds of writing projects.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I have a lot of favorites, but Jonathan/Mina has got to be the top! I absolutely adore them as a couple, and more than that, their relationship is a non-negotiable backdrop of every Dracula fic I write. I just can't imagine splitting them up!

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but don't think you ever will?

I haven't officially given up hope on any of the many (many) fics sitting in my drafts folder, but time will tell. ;)

16. What are your writing strengths?

I feel like I'm pretty good at characterization, especially expanding on what we can glean from a character in canon.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot! Plot is so hard for me— every time I write an even remotely plotty fic, I drive myself batty doing it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'll occasionally put in a word or phrase in a different language, but since I only speak one language, if there's an extended sequence in a different language I'll just italicize the words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

On Ao3, Dracula, but my very first fic I ever wrote down was a Steven Universe fanfiction (that will never see the light of day). (If you count stories I made up but never wrote down, my first fandom was Disney's 1940 film Pinocchio— when I was a tiny child I remember making up a story about a girl who helped rescue all the boys-turned-donkeys from Pleasure Island. My first fix-it fic!)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I think my favorite overall is Love Multiplying, just because writing it was such a journey and I poured so much love and care into it.

Tagging @yallemagne, @see-arcane and @0nelittlebirdtoldme in the lowest-possible-pressure sort of way. (You can also post it as an askbox meme if you don't want to answer all 20 questions.)

#ask game #writing #fanfiction #dracula daily

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cakecorner · 2 years

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Sunny Day Jack & Jekyll and Hyde

So, I'm finally going to try putting this sideblog to use, because I started thinking about how I've seen a few comparisons being drawn between Sunny day Jack and Jekyll and Hyde, and as someone who's on and off hyperfixated on Jekyll and Hyde for years now, I've got some thoughts. Specially pertaining to the question of, in the comparison between Jekyll and Hyde and Sunny Day Jack and [redacted], who's Jekyll and who is Hyde?

(Warning, general rambling and nerding out about a very old novella incoming. I might start sounding like an overly enthusiastic english teacher. Also mentions of death. Also also minors do not interact, the game is adult only)

Now, I'm not going to discredit anyone's interpretation of who's who, because what fascinates me about this comparison is that both interpretation actually works based on the information we get from both the game and Stevensons novella.

First there's the interpretation that [redacted] (or well Joseph I think I heard his name was?) = Jekyll, and Jack = Hyde. This one's works because well, Jack does infact seem to be the new persona, similar to how Hyde's is a new persona taken on/created by Jekyll. (Just how similar their relationship in that regard is something that seems to be left to see, but it looks pretty similar.) You can also draw parallels how both Jack and Hyde is, well, "the bad side", bcs of Jacks Yandere tendencies. Not to mention that both are considered to be unnatural in some way, be it how Hyde was created through mad science or Jacks ghost situation. In some ways you could also argue that if Jack is the persona that's left after what happened after and/or because of his death, it's also slightly reminiscent of how Jekyll eventually was fully taken over by Hyde.

Then there's the interpretation that Jack = Jekyll and Joseph = Hyde. My reason for drawing this comparison is because of a few reasons. One of them is because of how Jack reacts after eating the worst yogurt, which seems to have reminded him of his previous life as Joseph. Jack is clearly terrified and traumatised over being reminded of him, not to mention that this was supposed to be a yogurt that sunshine created from what they had learned about him. He doesn't want to be him, in Jacks POV it's Joseph that's the bad persona that he has to brush under the rug, he can't let his sunshine know about him being or having been that person. This has a very notable parallel to Jekylls relationship with Hyde. Hyde is the bad persona that does the bad (or well whatever victorians at the time considered bad) things, this is because Hyde is (atleast from how I read it) all the "bad" things Jekyll wants to do but can't because of his morals or his need to keep up his image as the great Doctor Henry Jekyll. Hyde is Jekyll without any of the restraints that keeps Jekyll “respectable”, with a completely different appearance, making him the perfect mask or facade to use when Jekyll feels he has to be free of his restraints. And then he can become Jekyll again, and go on like as if nothing has happened, with Hyde disappearing "like a beath upon a mirror". Long ramble short, both Jekyll and Jack is the persona that they want the world/sunshine to see, and they fear the connection between them and Hyde and Joseph being recognised.

In the end you can't really say anyone works more then the other, they both fit in some ways. This is possibly because Jack is the one we're so far most familiar with in the game, and it is through his view of himself that we get the most unfavourable sight of his old self. I think that what makes the comparison interesting, because in some way Jack's deal feels more complicated then Jekyll and Hyde's situation in some ways, especially since the novel is only from the POV of people who (often rightfully so) have a bad view of Hyde (you shouldn't trampel over children or beat people to death with a cane).

Now, is all this important to either Sunny Day Jack or Jekyll and Hyde? Probably not. So far as I understand the only connection between Sunny Day Jack and classical literature is that it's very loosely based the phantom of the opera. And my knowledge on that book is pretty slim either way. This was mostly ment to be a little fun, and an excuse to ramble about an old book I like. So if you've somehow read all of this, thank you :).

#reposting this again bcs I think by blog broke or something last time I tried to post this??? idk #sunny day jack #somethings wrong with sunny day jack #swwsdj #sdj

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