Very important question and not something I actually discuss too much, but, Heli actually has ptosis in her left eye! Ptosis is a weakness of the levator muscle, and hers is congenital, so it wasn't caused by a particular accident or injury, but has been present from birth. It's not necessarily painful, but it does impact her vision in that one eye.
Heli has a complex relationship with this aspect of herself due to how other people have treated it. Her mother for instance, would always have her hair done to show both eyes, especially when she was really little, and often her friends would fuss over Heli. This further contributed to her overall relationship with presenting herself as naive and incompetent at times. ( It's an early-taught response to getting what little sympathy she can, through pity. )
But as she got older, as ableism goes, it became something she was mocked for, especially by peers, and she began to cover it up. She used to switch in this way, depending on who she was interacting with. Her uncle in particular used to talk about how unique and pretty it made her.
She doesn't uncover it much anymore, in the Neath. She's trying to leave every piece of those experiences behind her. Even if that's not how life works out.
It's so fundamental to understanding Heli that you know that she lives her friends and underneath all her 'needy' behaviors and unfair demands she is. Sacrificing 25x that of herself for them. She's so fucked up. She's so fucked up. Her and Jonathan's relationship alone. Fuck. Fuckkkkkk.
If Prudence lived in a modern AU where she was just a normal woman she would be Heli's call-in cleaner who lives in her van and never finished high school and has been bumming around, homeless, picking up whatever trades or jobs she can to get by.
And the moment Heli would find out she's been living in her van she would all but physically snatch her for the low-low price of 'I'll let you live here for FREE if you clean my house every day because you're the only person alive who does it RIGHT.' And no one in the house would question it because if Johnny can have Mal, then we SUPPOSE Heli can bring in another random bisexual.
I'm thinking about Heli's relationship to the seaside. Her being sent away to 'calm down' as a way to help her mentally, but also how it was mostly a means for the people around her to not have to deal with her.
I'm thinking about her making sandcastles and bringing all of her staff every time she goes to the Zeeside, and it's making me sad. She doesn't want anyone left behind.
Thinking of the Merry Circus as characters you can unlock and draw in the Fallen London Gacha game is like... I KNOW the By Candlelight (Prudence x Heli) yuri would be so peak and Come Flood or Fire (Hellena x Johnny) would be so upsetting to face. Players who obsess over synergy builds where you at I have a mob for YOU.
(Long, self-indulgent post ahead)
Johnny Fours
- Definitely a Support / Buff, back-line character, but in the most enraging way possible for you AND your opponent. Very hard to play with unless you are as nutty as he is and willing to have people cuss you out on mic.
- Has a literal 'low HP makes abilities cost half the MP' factor, [Death Wish] but how the fuck do you get him to 20% health when he's in the back of your formation and he's literally your Buff main. Logic says you should and are positioned to protect him at all costs, but his attack moves utilize [An Expert Chess Player] and the [Sado-Masochism] aspects to ignore front-line priority and cost him health. Meaning he can attack OTHER back-line supports and ignore your frontliners, but it damages him 1/4th of the damage he does.
- Has a [Burnt at Both Ends] bar shaped like a candle. The more you force him to attack instead of buff—and he's not a strong attacker—he will begin to ignore enemy DEF stat at a maximum of 44%.
- His buff amounts are RNG based and not set, with a hidden 88% increase in RNG if you're buffing a Hellena unit in your team and only for Hellena units. He increases CRIT and Hit Chance simultaneously, at most, by 44%. But his minimum buff is also, always only 4%, and liable to occur.
- He can play [Enchant], the common music ability as an attack or buff due to his [Horrific Violinist] aspect. It has a 44% chance rate to induce confusion on enemy units, or give his own team 44% straight temporary increase in DEF against debuffs. This can stack four times, and with [Death Wish] it halves your cast cost.
- If you have a Hellena on your team, you can insta-activate [Death Wish] by having her throw him at an enemy unit.
- There is meta about how pulling Johnny actually fucks up your overall RNG on the gacha itself and it's literally true and everyone hates it because the developers refuse to fix it. Your pull chance for common drops goes up by 4%, and this stacks for each Johnny you own. Actively decreasing your chances for rare, super rare, and even just uncommon pulls.
Hellena
- Solid Defense unit with fun mechanics and a 'nerf her ASS' meta. It's not her fault that team synergy makes her busted, you're all just mean.
- [Atlas Underground] is Hellena's main perk and it means that she experiences a 5% overall stat boost for each Merry Circus member on your team, meaning she can earn a maximum of a 30% buff right out the gate if you have a six-member team set-up.
- [Bleeding Heart] can be activated for three turns, to direct all frontline damage to Hellena. Given her high DEF and HP, this is largely optimal and in-line with usual game mechanics
- Has a [Dread Metamorphosis] bar that fills as she is buffed by teammates. Buffs from Johnny fill this bar faster than other units, and once activated, she can transform into her secondary form, gaining a 25% SPD, DEF, and ATK boost and going into [Painful Rage] for two turns, hitting enemies indiscriminately.
- [Open Fortress] ability allows her to take a fully defensive position for four turns. This is often used before activating [Bleeding Heart].
- Can throw her teammates across the frontline to let them target backline supports, at, of course, the cost of danger to them being open to all enemy units. When she throws Johnny it is imperative that You Kill That Fucker Before He Goes Back.
Helimeri
- Our favorite Ranged / Support unit by far, though her upgrade aspect means most of her best abilities are locked until you get her to three stars, at least. Heli, I love how your vulnerability issues shine through in all things. Let the people underestimate you even out of your original game.
- Obviously uses a hunting rifle, but said hunting rifle comes with a [Reload Time] mechanic that can be very annoying without a Prudence on your backlines. Can shoot every other turn without support and must hit a [Reload] before shooting.
- Her [Enchant] attack has 89% chance to cause confusion. At three stars, this becomes a certain effect and can target three units at once.
- [Dog Whistle] can summon 1-4 attacking hounds onto a chosen unit and cause a stagger effect. Sometimes, a Prudence is mixed in. Don't ask how she got there. At three stars, effect now lasts four turns.
- Her [Thin Patience] bar gradually lowers as fights go on, and when it runs out, she gains 50% ATK and CRIT. The more stars you've evolved her to, the faster the bar empties.
- Johnny's buffs have a 50% chance to grant her an action surge due to their synergy combo. The animation is him irritating the fuck out of her by making fun of her last action.
Prudence
- You can use Heli's [Enchant] attack on Hellena to reduce debuffs and give her a 15% heal. They have a little chat animation and it's Heli encouraging her for doing a good job.
- Support / Buff unit. I think she's very solid overall in multiple routes people decide to play her... Her synergy as Heli's support is just so busted that why would you do anything else.
- [Duitifully Polished] for a quarter of her mana bar she can buff the nearest Ranged unit a 200% crit increase on the next hit.
- [Mending Hands] casts a gradual auto-heal that restores 20% HP for three turns, on a single unit. Stackable three times for desperate measures.
- [Lady Over Life] is an activate ability you can turn on to reduce her mana gains per turn by 20%. In return, it destroys a Ranged unit's [Reload Time] restriction. Meaning Heli can now shoot EVERY turn. You can turn it off at any time to restore her mana regain.
- [Face Thief] ability costs a large amount of mana, but allows her to steal the 'face' of an enemy unit and take on their directed buffs and heals for one turn. This opens up said unit to be attack-prioritized. Cannot steal auto heals already applied to a character, however. Only buffs and heals activated that turn.
- Her [Enchant] ability is purely a buff, action surging a chosen unit and giving them a 20% SPD buff. Prudence is depicted jumping up and cheering. If you use it on Heli, it makes her smile before she shoots. Prudence can use it on herself, and you get to see her hugging her own arms before she gets back into fighting stance.
Sometimes I chew on Heli and Jonathan by their ankles because. Your dynamic??? Your dynamic is so??? I made you, but even I'm like...??? You two are so fucked up about each other. And your self perceptions. Like what the fuck. Stop that... but also don't stop. Fuck is wrong with you.
