Face In The Viewport : A BattleTech Short Story | Battletopia Stories

[@brockpaine]

Well done! One of the aspects about the Clans that I find most distasteful is their unwillingness to see "old warriors" with more honor. Instead they call them 'solahma' and sneer at them for not dying young. Horse here is Exhibit A about why this is a terrible attitude. "Fear the old man in a profession where men die young."

[@HalIOfFamer]

Yeah for how much "warrior society" they are they seem to not respect the most proficient ones. Even kuritans are more honorable when they are not testing their katanas on the necks of civilians.

[@derekburge5294]

Always enjoyed the post-Invasion falcon stories. Horse, Joanna, and Diana were fun characters. It's *found family* but super dysfunctional. Great reading, Shrap!

[@battletopia]

Thanks buddy, and thanks for helping pick it. Loved it when I found it, more Horse is what I say!

[@jamesripley8031]

Clan culture really is all over the place. The first books to give you a look into them were the Jade Falcon trilogy, from which we get Horse et al, and the… is it Blood of Kerensky trilogy? The one where Phelan Kell gets captured by the Wolf clan. Jade Falcon trilogy would have you believe that all cleaners are the same, inflexibly honorable and hidebound (ironically the books show you this through characters who do not fit that mould). Where as the Wolves are a very different sort. Still holding to an alien sense of honor, they are more political, more pragmatic. Dare I say, more Inner Sphere-like. Later stories flesh out some of the other clans. Turns out the Smoke Jaguars are more Falcon than the Falcons, and the Ghost Bears have this cool Family vibe going on. Honor Codes are a thing all clans value, but they each have their own take on just what that means, and how willing they are to flex when the paths to honor and victory are not compatible.

[@battletopia]

What I hear there is contradiction. Contradiction. Contradiction. I've only read a few Clan stories but it does leave you scratching your head doesn't it. Although I am glad that each clan does have its own character. There are a few home clans that would give Clan Falcon and run for its Falconness I think!

[@jamesripley8031]

@@battletopia I suppose Contradiction is a good enough word. But really, if you think about it, any culture is rife with contradiction, right? Every group of people lives with a tension between what they value, and what they do when push comes to shove. And when other cultures come into violent contact (which, as lore for a war game, basically all of the stories involve this), it tends not to bring out the very best. Even when the culture is ostensibly "all about war" in the first place...

[@Victor-056]

@@battletopia I think it is more they are reflective of their Totem Animals. Clan Wolf's animal was the Strana Mechty Wolf, which are _Massive_ and highly social animals that were also cunning and stealthy hunters. You do not survive for that long by being stubborn and overly deadset in your ways to the point of your pack's destruction, and they tend to respect the opinions of others, as long as the Pack/Clan is not compromised in the process (Meaning ideals that bring short-term benefits but long-term negative consequences end up rejected.) Clan Ghost Bear are familarial and very glacial in their movesets, never _just_ charging in like morons, and instead, willing to lie in wait and let the enemy come their way... Much like the Ghost Bears themselves. The same thing with ideals and opinions within Clan Wolf more or less exist in Clan Ghost Bear, though Ghost Bear are usually a lot slower to accept change. I do believe this was what let them survive the events of Tukayyid with their fighting forces intact, since once they realized where it was going, they basically pulled out most if not _all_ their forces and returned to their territories, allowing them to maintain their territories after the Clan Incursion while most of the clans were beaten back with their strength reduced. Jade Falcon seems to be best described as "Looking down at all", and if we look at flock mentality, once a bird gets too old, they become seen as "Useless", since they can no longer fight as well, and more often than not, the Young, and foolish, tend to win against the old. This would explain why we get Jade Falcon Warriors being scorned if they get too old, or if they are "Freeborn" (Not Conceived from a carefully arranged marriage or an Iron Womb).

[@dapperbardgames1041]

Every time I hear one of your stories it makes me want to record one as well. I did it once for a different franchise (no SFX, but I did add BGM) and I'd love to spotlight a BattleTech story as well, but I'm not sure if I have time enough to do all the audio editing. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[@battletopia]

Thanks for tuning in dude. Yeah takes a surprisingly long time to edit and produce. Well if you ever want to colab in the future let me know, I am always keen on doing new stuff to spread the battletech love!

[@richter6699]

Your channel is criminally underrated. This is brilliant. Thank you! ❤

[@battletopia]

Thank you for tuning in and the kind words.

[@arrgylerawrgyle3784]

Likes for the ego, comments for the throne of lies!

[@squizzlor]

This videos thumb nail, firt impressions I had on this art just quickly looking at it. I thought the elemental pilot was burning alive, in anguish. I stick by this perspective, as it makes me chuckle.

[@battletopia]

You aren't alone in that respect! Thank for tuning in and hope you enjoy the BBQ ;-)

[@rafale1981]

Thx for reading this! But what i don’t understand is how a freeborn fits into an elemental suit

[@battletopia]

Thanks for listening. As far as I am aware, Horse was a bigger guy but the suit inner layer is designed to wrap around its wearer. I guess elementals are just bigger to make their suits more powerful, but there is probably a bit of writing magic involved.

[@GliderBane]

Here is a rude comment to show my thanks for your work and fool the algorithm into showing your good work to others.

[@battletopia]

Thank for tuning in!

[@gs1312]

Well read! Excellent story

[@battletopia]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@roguedexx938]

Elemental Armor so cool

[@battletopia]

Thanks for tuning in. I love elementals, great little can openers. It was the largest bit that drew me to the story, someone using elemental armour that wasn't a hulking 9ft elemental