#prudence prose

[johnnyfoursandco]

( Warning for possible eyestrain, blue and red contrasts, low-detail gore, and blood. )

Prudence...

[johnnyfoursandco]

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.

[johnnyfoursandco]

SHE HAD A FACE. AND IT WAS HERS AND HOW IS SHE SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT THAT. SHE LITERALLY GREW OUT OF HER OWN FACE AND THEN HER PARENTS TAUGHT HER, AT BEST, HOW TO GET A NEW ONE, AND LEFT.

SHE LOST HER OWN FACE BUT SHE *HAD* ONE.

[johnnyfoursandco]

While working on asks, I just have to point out that Heli, as of now, has no idea Prudence can't return via the Boatman. So she's just. Sending her off into the world to do things on her behalf.

And she doesn't know.

[johnnyfoursandco]

Sometimes I think about how for Prudence and Heli they're both each other's first healing, intimate relationship, both in spite of their dynamic and because of it. But also have to deal with the dread consequences of. Their past relationships. And their inner understanding of them.

Mrs. 'a relationship is painful obligation and a shackle and you WILL be hurt and you have to do everything to protect yourself but I want an equal who will give me love and I need to be loved please stop hurting me I hate you why can't you love me' Hannah.

And Miss 'I'm so lonely it leaks out of me and people like that enough to sample it, but no one ever stays or will ever stay for me, I've accepted that I can never be good enough but I ache for it still, I'll hurt for it because I am always hurting for it' Prose.

[johnnyfoursandco]

Thinking about my maid and noble lady again... I think they daydream a little bit sometimes. What if I told you they daydream about having gotten to be little girls and teenagers together and growing up and being thoughtlessly weightless. What if. What if what if is a bittersweet wound in their bed and it bleeds when they hold each other too closely.

[johnnyfoursandco]

Prudence having visible gums, especially when she smiles... and freckles...

[johnnyfoursandco]

Thinking about what Prudence's epithet should be and came across the idea of the 'Exacting Lady's Maid'? Unsure.

I think it helps me also consider what other people see when they encounter Prudence because she's, you know, not just this bumbling thing that doesn't take herself seriously at all. She just struggles with less-than-literal instructions and how to process them. She's a grown woman and a person who has been forced to be gravely independent and fend for herself because the world has refused to be kind to her, for a multitude of things completely outside of her control.

I think 'exacting' works for how Prudence communicates and gets frustrated with people she's not as familiar with. She seems harsh and rude, she doesn't laugh at your jokes because they confuse her, and when she has a task from Heli it is treated with the utmost seriousness so she doesn't enjoy wasting time with small talk. No playing at being polite outside of what is exactly procedure and in precise order. She will demand you break down your meaning if you appear to be playing coy with her or she's just in a rush. It's not personal, it's just a little to be on a time limit AND have to deal with miscommunication on top of it!

And when she does try to joke or be light-hearted, she sometimes feels she has to explain exactly how it's funny, because, she's trying to be inclusive to the fact that you may not understand her jest! She wants other people to be able to get her little quip! To socialize like others do! But the average person won't see her do those things, either.

And she's very neat, because, it's her job to be. She likes her patterns, her habits, her routine. On the outside, Prudence comes across as a somewhat stuck-up person who harshly expects precise communication and acts in ways that can be construed as her being a 'neat-freak'.

She's the Exacting Lady's Maid.