#Compact blender

[emeraldlifestyleproducts]

Top Personal Blender for Smoothies and More

The Ninja BN301 Nutri-Blender Plus the best personal smoothie blender with a powerful and compact personal blender that’s perfect for making smoothies, shakes, and sauces. With a 900-peak-watt motor, it can easily blend frozen ingredients and crush ice. This blender is designed for convenience with its three 20 oz. to-go cups and dishwasher-safe parts. Whether you’re at home or on the go, the…

[kishorxox]

Portable Blender Market to Reach $0.29 Billion by 2031

Meticulous Research®—a leading global market research company, published a research report titled ‘Portable Blender Market—Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast (2025-2032).’ According to this latest publication from Meticulous Research®, the Portable Blender market is expected to reach $0.29 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2025 to 2032.

The growth of the portable blender market is being driven by increased consumer demand for on-the-go food & beverages, the rising adoption of portable kitchen appliances, and the rise in e-commerce. However, short battery life in low-cost models may restrain the market’s growth.

Additionally, the integration of smart features in portable blenders and increasing partnerships between fitness brands and health food companies are expected to create significant market growth opportunities. However, limited power output compared to traditional blenders is a significant challenge affecting the market’s growth.

The increasing preference for compact, multi-functional kitchen appliances and the growing demand for USB-rechargeable blenders that offer universal charging compatibility are prominent trends in this market.

Key Players:

The portable blender market is characterized by a moderately competitive scenario due to the presence of many large- and small-sized global, regional, and local players. The key players operating in the Portable Blender market are BELLA Sensio Inc. (U.S.), Sunbeam Products, Inc. (U.S.), Bilaca Electric Co., Ltd. (China), Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (U.S.), BlendJet Inc. (U.S.), Nutribullet, LLC (U.S.), Blufied Limited (China), BOSCH Home Appliances (BSH Home Appliances Group) (Germany), Conair Corporation (U.S.), SharkNinja Operating LLC (U.S.), Gourmia Inc. (U.S.), Keyton USA (U.S.), Little Bees LLC (U.S.), Homeland Housewares LLC (U.S.), and Capital Brands LLC  (U.S.), and Wonderchef Home Appliances Pvt. Ltd. (India).

The portable blender market is segmented based on material, distribution channel, and motor power. The report also evaluates industry competitors and analyzes the Portable Blender market at the regional and country-level markets.

Among the materials studied in this report, the plastic segment is anticipated to dominate the portable blender market. The affordability of plastic makes it accessible to price-sensitive consumers, while its lightweight construction appeals to on-the-go users. Additionally, high demand in emerging markets, greater design flexibility in shapes and sizes, plastic’s resistance to shattering (making it ideal for portable products), and the widespread availability of raw materials contribute to the segment’s dominant position in the market.

Among the distribution channels studied in this report, the offline segment is anticipated to dominate the portable blender market. Consumers’ preference for in-person inspection of product quality, retail partnerships that extend reach to non-digital consumers, in-store promotions that drive foot traffic, immediate product availability, and the higher penetration of offline stores in rural and semi-urban areas are factors contributing to the segment's dominant position in the portable blender market.

Among the motor power categories studied in this report, the low power (under 200 Watts) segment is anticipated to dominate the portable blender market. The segment’s dominant position in the portable blender market can be attributed to several factors. These include cost-effectiveness, making it appealing to a broad consumer base; the availability of lightweight models suited for portability and casual use; energy efficiency, which caters to eco-conscious users; and suitability for basic blending tasks, fulfilling quick and light blending needs while being less battery-intensive, thus extending battery life.

Geographic Review

This research report analyzes major geographies and provides a comprehensive analysis of North America (U.S., Canada), Europe (Germany, U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Rest of Latin America), and the Middle East & Africa (UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

In 2025, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the portable blender market, followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe. North America's dominant position in the portable blender market can be attributed to several factors, including consumers’ high disposable incomes, well-established e-commerce infrastructure, growing health & wellness trends, the presence of leading brands, increased demand for convenient appliances among young professionals, and the growing popularity of portable blenders for outdoor and travel use.

However, the market in Asia-Pacific is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Download Sample Report Here @ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=6095

Key Questions Answered in the Report-

What is the revenue generated from the sales of portable blenders?

At what rate is the global demand for portable blenders projected to grow for the next five to seven years?

What is the historical market size and growth rate for the portable blender market?

What are the major factors impacting the growth of this market at global and regional levels?

What are the major opportunities for existing players and new entrants in the market?

Which material, distribution channel, and motor power segments create major traction for the manufacturers in this market?

What are the key geographical trends in this market? Which regions/countries are expected to offer significant growth opportunities for the manufacturers operating in the portable blender market?

Who are the major players in the portable blender market? What are their specific product offerings in this market?

What recent developments have taken place in the portable blender market? What impact have these strategic developments created on the market?

Contact Us: Meticulous Research® Email- sales@meticulousresearch.com Contact Sales- +1-646-781-8004 Connect with us on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-research

[natsumipocket]

Music comes in many formats

[jobot]

CDs are cool. :D

[blenxer4]

Why Blenxer Leads the Pack in Compact Blenders for Travel

In the modern era of hustle culture and adventure-seeking lifestyles, people are constantly on the move — from daily commutes and work trips to weekend getaways and long vacations. Amid all this, health and nutrition remain top priorities for many. That’s where the demand for compact blenders for travel has skyrocketed. Whether it’s for your morning protein shake, a mid-day green smoothie, or an evening detox drink, having a reliable blender that fits in your bag is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Among the many options flooding the market, Blenxer has emerged as a revolutionary solution for health-conscious travelers. Sleek, lightweight, and powerful, Blenxer combines convenience and performance in one portable device, making it the ultimate choice for those looking for compact blenders for travel.

The Shift Toward Healthy Living On-the-Go

Today’s generation is more health-conscious than ever before. Whether you're a frequent flyer, a gym enthusiast, or a digital nomad exploring the world, nutrition is no longer something to be compromised. But the challenge remains: how do you maintain your smoothie or shake routine while constantly being on the move?

Traditional countertop blenders are bulky, difficult to carry, and require a stable power source. They simply aren’t designed for mobility. That’s where the appeal of compact blenders for travel comes in. These mini powerhouses allow you to blend your favorite drinks anywhere, anytime—without the mess, noise, or size constraints of traditional blenders.

Introducing Blenxer: A Travel Essential for Health Enthusiasts

Designed specifically for the modern, active lifestyle, Blenxer is not just another portable blender; it’s a thoughtfully designed product built to cater to people who don’t want to compromise on health while being on the move. Whether you're traveling for business, heading to the gym, or enjoying a weekend road trip, Blenxer ensures you never miss out on your daily dose of nutrients.

What sets Blenxer apart in the world of compact blenders for travel is its balance of power, portability, and style. It’s not just a gadget — it’s a lifestyle companion that supports your wellness journey wherever life takes you.

Power and Performance in Your Backpack

A major concern when choosing a compact blender for travel is whether it can truly deliver the same performance as a larger, stationary blender. With Blenxer, the answer is a resounding yes.

Despite its small size, Blenxer is equipped with high-speed, durable blades that can crush ice, blend fruits and vegetables, and even handle protein powders or nuts. It ensures you get smooth, lump-free drinks every single time. Whether you’re blending a refreshing cold coffee in the car, a detox juice at a campsite, or a protein shake in your hotel room, Blenxer handles it all effortlessly.

This level of performance in such a compact design is what makes Blenxer a true standout in the market of compact blenders for travel.

Lightweight and Truly Portable

The essence of travel-friendly gadgets lies in their portability, and Blenxer was engineered with this exact need in mind. Weighing just a fraction of traditional blenders and built to be compact enough to slip into your bag or backpack, it allows you to carry it wherever you go — with zero hassle.

Its cordless operation adds to the convenience. With a powerful rechargeable battery, Blenxer doesn’t need to be plugged in every time you use it. A full charge gives you multiple uses, making it ideal for long trips where charging opportunities might be limited. This makes it one of the most reliable compact blenders for travel, especially for people who love outdoor activities or work remotely.

Blend Anywhere, Anytime

Imagine sipping on a fresh mango smoothie on a train ride, or blending a spinach protein shake right after a mountain hike. That’s the kind of flexibility Blenxer brings to your life. It redefines what it means to eat healthy on the go.

This flexibility is a game-changer. Instead of relying on overpriced, sugar-loaded beverages from cafes or convenience stores while you travel, you can carry your ingredients and blend your drink exactly how you like it. It’s fresh, personalized, and much healthier.

Whether you're sitting in an airport lounge or relaxing at a beach resort, Blenxer enables a healthy lifestyle with every sip.

Sleek, Stylish, and Aesthetic

Let’s be honest — design matters. In the age of Instagram and aesthetic living, even our gadgets reflect our personality. Blenxer understands this and offers a minimalist, modern design that not only performs well but also looks great while doing so.

Unlike clunky kitchen tools, Blenxer adds an element of style to your day. Available in trendy colors and designed with smooth curves, it feels less like a blender and more like a high-end accessory. It’s a seamless fit for your office desk, gym locker, or carry-on bag.

If you’re looking for compact blenders for travel that offer both function and fashion, Blenxer is your go-to choice.

Easy to Use and Clean

Traveling often means tight schedules and limited time. That’s why Blenxer is designed for quick and easy use. With a simple one-button operation, you can have your drink ready in under a minute. No complicated settings, no unnecessary buttons — just straightforward blending.

Cleaning is just as easy. Add a little water and soap, blend for a few seconds, and rinse. That’s it. You don’t need a sink full of utensils or separate cleaning tools. When you're on the move, that kind of simplicity is priceless.

In the competitive space of compact blenders for travel, this level of user-friendliness makes Blenxer a top contender for travelers who value both efficiency and cleanliness.

Cost-Effective and High Value

Another major reason to choose Blenxer over other options is the value it offers. Traditional high-performance blenders often come with a hefty price tag. While some portable options are cheaper, they frequently sacrifice power, durability, or battery life.

Blenxer, on the other hand, strikes the perfect balance. It offers the functionality of a premium blender, the convenience of portability, and the style of a high-end accessory — all at a reasonable price. When evaluating compact blenders for travel, this kind of value is hard to ignore.

Final Thoughts: Blenxer Is Your Health Companion on the Road

In a world where we’re constantly on the move, health should never take a backseat. Whether you’re flying across continents, working from cafés, or road-tripping across the country, your nutrition and wellness need consistent attention. That’s where Blenxer steps in — the ultimate solution in the world of compact blenders for travel.

From its powerful blades and long-lasting battery to its aesthetic design and portability, Blenxer is designed to fit seamlessly into your fast-paced, mobile lifestyle. It ensures you can enjoy nutritious drinks no matter where you are, without compromising on quality, style, or convenience.

So if you’ve been searching for the perfect blend of health, travel, and modern living — Blenxer is the name you need to remember.

Take charge of your health on the go. Choose Blenxer, the smartest way to blend anywhere, anytime.

[b-online]

🛍️ Juicer Portable Small Charging Juicer Cup Household Cross Border Multifunctional Juicer Juicer Cup

🎉 Exclusive deal[$1.70]

👉 item link: CLICK HERE

⚠️ Every New App User can only enjoy once

[hazmoonstore]

HAZ MOON Store Electric Fruit Juice Health-conscious individuals who value convenience and want to incorporate more fresh and nutritious drinks into their daily routine. Whether you're a busy professional, a fitness enthusiast, or a parent looking to provide healthy options for your family, our Portable Electric Blender is designed to meet your needs. Are you tired of sacrificing your health for the sake of convenience? Say goodbye to processed drinks and hello to fresh, nutritious blends with our Portable Electric Blender. With its compact design and powerful performance, this blender is your ticket to a healthier lifestyle.

يتميز خلاطنا الكهربائي المحمول بتصميمه العصري والأنيق، مما يجعله قطعة أنيقة في مطبخك. بفضل حجمه المدمج وسهولة التخزين، يمكنك حمله معك في أي مكان تذهب إليه. استمتع بالراحة والأناقة في نفس الوقت.طاقة قوية واس��خدام مريح: يأتي خلاطنا الكهربائي المحمول بمحرك قوي يضمن الأداء المتميز والنتائج المثالية في كل مرة. بغض النظر عن نوع الفواكه أو الخضروات التي تستخدمها، ستحظى بخلط سلس ومتجانس في غضون ثوانٍ. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، يتميز الخلاط بواجهة سهلة الاستخدام وزر واحد للتحكم، مما يوفر لك تجربة خلط سهلة ومريحة.

[writingforstraykids]

Behind the Mask

Pairing: Han Jisung x gn!reader (short mention of Chan)

Word count: 1066

Summary: You’re a makeup artist for stray kids - used to putting on faces, used to covering up the exhaustion under glitter and gloss. But when you find Han Jisung crying alone in the break room, you realize he’s been wearing a mask heavier than foundation.

Warnings/Tags: hurt comfort, angst, fluff, idol x makeup artist

do not repost, translate, or plagiarize my works in any way here or on other platforms. ©️writingforstraykids 2024 -

You’ve been told Jisung is a handful.

The staff talk about him like he’s a whirlwind - chaotic, loud, full of energy, barely stays in one spot for more than ten seconds. You assumed they were exaggerating. Until the first time you tried to apply his foundation and he started rapping the order menu of his favorite chicken place while bouncing his legs like a caffeinated jackrabbit.

Still, it was hard not to smile around him.

He made long shoot days easier, kept the room buzzing when everyone else was barely holding on. You’d even gotten used to the challenge of chasing his face with a beauty blender while he talked with his hands. What you hadn’t expected was the silence.

You were walking back from lunch break, your touch-up kit tucked under your arm, when you passed by the break room door left slightly ajar. It was supposed to be empty - set change, everyone on break, no camera crew. But you paused at the faint sound behind it.

Not laughter. Not talking. A muffled sob.

Your fingers hovered at the door. You know better than to intrude. But something about the sound - raw and strangled, like someone trying too hard to be quiet - makes your chest twist. You peek in.

Jisung is sitting on the couch, hoodie pulled over his head, face buried in his hands.

You hesitate. Then softly, “...Jisung?” His head snaps up, eyes wide.

He blinks at you like he doesn’t recognize your voice for a second. “Sorry—” you start to back out. “I didn’t mean to—”

“No - wait.” His voice cracks, barely more than a whisper. He wipes at his face quickly, smearing faint traces of eyeliner and concealer. “It’s… I’m fine. Just - don’t tell anyone, okay?”

You step inside, slow and careful, and close the door behind you. “Your secret’s safe.”

He tries to smile, but it breaks halfway through. “I’m supposed to be the fun one,” he says, a bitter edge curling the words. “Can’t even cry without ruining someone’s day.”

“You’re not ruining anything.” You sit across from him, not too close, giving him space. There’s silence. He sniffs and wipes his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie.

You reach into your kit and silently hand him a tissue. He gives a weak chuckle and takes it.

“I was fine this morning. I swear.”

“You don’t have to explain,” you say, gentle. But he does. You can see it—whatever’s cracking inside him, it needs to come out.

“I just… I didn’t sleep. My vocals were off in rehearsal. Channie hyung said I looked tired and he meant well but—” He bites his lip. “I think I’m just tired of pretending all the time.” He exhales shakily, shoulders slumping.

You nod slowly. “That’s a lot to carry.”

“I used to love this, you know?” he says quietly. “The music, the stage, the fans. I still do. But some days, it feels like I’m performing even when I’m off-stage. Like people only want the fun version of me.”

You reach into your kit again and pull out a compact mirror and a cleansing wipe. “Let me help,” you say, moving gently to sit beside him.

He doesn’t flinch when you lift the wipe to his cheek. Just watches you with those red-rimmed eyes, a little stunned by the calm. “You always know how to fix my face,” he murmurs.

“I’d rather help you feel okay inside it,” you say softly.

That makes him pause. He looks at you - really looks, like he’s seeing past the uniform, past the role. “That’s not in your job description.”

You smile. “Neither is keeping secrets.”

For a long moment, neither of you speaks. You wipe away the last of the smudged eyeliner, then gently pat his skin dry. He closes his eyes under your touch, like he finally feels safe enough to breathe.

“Do you ever just… want to disappear for a while?” he asks suddenly. “Not forever. Just long enough to remember who you were before everything got so loud.”

You nod, quiet. “More often than I admit.”

He cracks a small smile. “We should run away.”

“Yeah?” you tease. “Where to?”

“Somewhere with no cameras. No rehearsals. Just—quiet. And maybe ramen.”

You laugh, surprised. “A peaceful life fueled by instant noodles?”

“Living the dream,” he says, and for the first time, it sounds real. There’s another pause. He leans back, his shoulder brushing yours. Not an accident. He doesn’t pull away. “Thanks for not pretending I’m okay,” he says softly.

“Thanks for trusting me.” You glance at the clock. An hour until showtime. “Wait here,” you say, standing.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“Getting us that dream-life ramen.”

His brows lift. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. Instant noodles for the soul.” You return a few minutes later, two steaming cups in hand. One spicy for him. One mild for you. You sit beside him again, the room quiet but warm this time.

“God, I might love you,” he mutters.

You freeze—then laugh when you see the playful smirk on his lips. “It’s the ramen, isn’t it?”

“Obviously.”

You eat together in silence, closer now. He finishes first, sighing as he leans back.

Then the door creaks open.

Chan steps inside, glancing at Jisung worriedly. “There you are.”

Jisung straightens. “Channie hyung - sorry.”

Chan’s gaze flicks from the ramen to the red around his eyes. He reads the room instantly. “You okay?”

Jisung nods. “Getting there.”

Chan looks at you. “Thanks for staying with him.”

“Anytime.”

He nods once and disappears.

“Do you think I’ll be able to go out there?” Jisung asks softly.

“I think you already did the hardest part,” you reply. “You let someone in.” He takes your hand and holds it, just for a second. “I’ll be watching from backstage,” you say. “No masks.”

You fix his makeup one last time. Add a little shimmer, comb through his hair. He watches you in the mirror - not as an idol, not as a performer, but as someone quietly anchoring him.

“After tonight,” he says, “can we talk again? Somewhere quiet.”

You smile. “I’d like that.”

-

Backstage is a storm. But Jisung lingers, brushing your hand once before heading to his mark. “Wish me luck,” he says.

“You don’t need it. You’ve got heart.”

He looks back at you as the music starts. The lights rise. And this time, when he smiles - it’s not for the fans. It’s for you.

MASTERLISTS | PROMPT LIST | GUIDELINES

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[mxjackparker]

For people who want to have sex on their periods without seeing blood, I present: The Menstrual Sponge!

By inserting these soft tampons before sex and positioning them correctly, you can trust them to safely absorb any blood that flows whilst you're having sex without leaking or causing pain during sex. They're soft and convenient - here's how to use them:

First, you'll want to remove your menstrual sponge/soft tampon from the package. There are lots of different brands to choose from, but you want to make sure that you pick a brand that does not use sea sponges. They are not body safe. Safe menstrual sponges/soft tampons look a lot like beauty blenders and will have a few small cuts in them to help with removal.

This is how a menstrual sponge should look, though the shape might differ a bit depending on the brand! What it should not look like is something with large holes in a yellow or brownish colour and with an irregular shape. There is no way to fully disinfect a sea sponge which means you'd be introducing bacteria to your vagina.

To insert the menstrual sponge, you can squeeze it to make it compact and easier to insert and then push it inside with one or two fingers. You want to have the end without the hole in it going in first. Push it until you reach the end of the vaginal canal and it should naturally slide into place to cover the cervix. Depending on how comfortable you are with it, you can feel around with your fingers to familiarize yourself with how it feels when placed correctly.

When you're ready to remove it, insert your fingers and feel for the hole in the sponge to hook your finger in and pull it out. If you've just had sex, the sponge will have been pressed up against the cervix and the hole might be in a slightly different placement to when you inserted so take a moment to feel for it.

If you are towards the end of your period without much blood flow and had sex for a long time without a lot of lube, the sponge might get a little bit dry and feel uncomfortable to remove or feel a bit stuck. Not to worry, because this is where it being a sponge is very convenient! If you can squirt a little water inside, or take a bath if you don't want to do that, the sponge will soak up water and become soft and easy to remove.

Menstrual sponges/soft tampons are not reusable and they can get expensive, so I wouldn't recommend them for daily use in place of a typical tampon or pad. If you're using them occasionally for sex during your period to avoid the appearance of any blood, they're much more convenient.

Additional note: There are some sexual health charities and projects who give these out for free, especially to sex workers, so if this sounds like it would work for you but they're too expensive then I highly recommend looking into the resources from groups near you!

[feveredvisions]

Blue, As Always

Tom Hardy x Reader Oneshot

Masterlist here! Requests are open. Just drop by an Ask xx

Summary: An attempt at a slice-of-life oneshot where we get a glimpse into love, mischief, and the quiet magic of a long-married passion.

Note: heavily inspired by tommo's new interview with esquire <3 also needed smnthn comforting cos luteal phase during the full moon phase is hella violent brah :// (blaming my emotional n mental flareups on the moon and astrology!!) my brain is in a blender and it wont get pureed so im sorry for any grammatical errors.

Divider: @plum98

Sometimes love isn’t loud.

Sometimes it’s the gentle sound of a French bulldog snoring through a press interview in a luxury suite at Claridge’s Hotel.

Sometimes love looks like you.

There are few certainties in Tom Hardy’s life these days: the taste of Yorkshire tea brewed just right, the sharp scent of his wife’s rose talc in the mornings, and the sound of Blue—the well-fed and thoroughly loved Frenchie—snoring through even the most earnest human conversation.

This afternoon was no exception.

On the 5th floor of the Claridge’s, in Suite 505— its ceilings painted in a bespoke hand-painted art of blue and white wisterias with colourful native garden birds perched on the brown branches; floors seamlessly covered in an oatmeal loop pile carpet; clean cream walls with french mouldings and off-white sconces with warm glowing lights for an artsy yet warm lively accent— the late afternoon sun spills through the delicate lace embroidered curtains, hanging in front of the open balcony to welcome the fresh breeze in. Casting through beautifully intricate shadows of the delicate lacework on the carpet, like a graceful moving projected image by nature with the afternoon breeze. Illuminating the room in a soft sunny glow of life. A damn good life.

Blue was snoring. Loudly. A sound of a very content canine. Earlier, the silky inky Frenchie had walked, dined on boiled chicken breast, and now found that the only reasonable thing left to do was nap.

Curled into a warm, silky-furred, compact Stygian croissant of a French bulldog bliss on the settee— his belly rose and fell with the exaggerated breath of someone who had a full stomach and zero responsibilities, his feeties akimbo. You sat demurely with your ankles crossed, sheer hosiery glinting faintly in the sun-kissed glow of the room. Ruby red silk blouse that's crisp and tucked in a perfectly pressed skirt, nails glossy in a neutral ballet-something shade, and your hair in its natural kept stature (and the dirtiest of thougts about your husband who looks absolutely eatable right now)— rubbing small absent-minded circles on Blue’s belly  (always right below his rib or he gets very ticklish on the bones) while your other hand cradled a delicate gold-rimmed porcelain teacup. Your tea had long gone lukewarm, but had only gotten better; sweeter, smoother— perfect balance of peach and lemon and a slight fresh vegetal bitterness from the green tea leaves. Paired with the buttery, nutty goodness of the pistachio biscuits, which came as one of the many fancy freebies in the hotel suite, crumbled in your mouth and mingled well with your tea. A mental note was definitely put in priority to smuggle the rest of the pistachio biscuits into your bag before checking out of the suite.

Across the room, Tom leaned back in the plush leather couch, one boot hooked over the opposite knee as he went on in his interview with Miranda Collinger, Deputy Editor of Esquire, and is in the process of collecting material for her cover profile of the upcoming May 2025 issue of the magazine where him and Blue (a pair of snazzy gentlemen) would be on the cover; Scribbling notes and recording the gospel according to Mr. Hardy.

You stayed out of it. This was his space, his time, his press junket. You just tagged along to this short trip to breathe and not mediate your two twenty-year-olds arguing over car keys for the weekend. Although, your uterus couldn’t help but grow warm and rave over the sight of your husband in a Ralph Lauren suit whilst wearing his thick black-rimmed glasses. It was supposed to be your luteal phase, and it did not feel like it at all ever since the photoshoot began. All glory to his team of genius stylists. And God, his neatly trimmed beard. You've seen him with his grizzly beard, no beard, bald headed, back at it with the beard, but it never gets old.

You blinked in hopes to erase the visions of you sitting on his beautiful face and moisturising it with your slick of appreciation. One of his many favourite things coming from you apart from your unconditional love throughout the years that you have tolerated and loved him beyond his extremely flawed design as a human being. All the ugliness that came with his Adonis-like beauty, you took all of him because fuck you love him even if he came with a missing chromosome (hypothetically). Love and your stubbornness conquering all that shit and all his shit.

You weren’t invisible. Never to Tom. He glances at you with something unspoken in his eyes. Perhaps a shared inside joke. Probably his biological sixth sense picking up on your quiet arousal…or was that the look of a woman that loves him..?

“He’s bored too.” Tom says, nodding towards the bulldog that you now placed on your silk covered lap like a furry burnt sausage. “Snoring like a pensioner in a matinee.” Then eyeing you for a brief moment. Your lower belly growls and it was absolutely not for food. 

Miranda chuckled. “He’s got the right idea, if you ask me.”

“Yeah. Had his chicken. Little walk. Time for a kip. Living the dream.”

Blue let out another snort as if in agreement. You lightly scratch the dog’s chin, absently nibbling another pistachio biscuit.

You smile softly behind your teacup because, yes, that's your life now as of date. The calm. The chaos. The man with the lion’s heart and the dog who drools on your Egyptian cotton sheets but that’s okay because he’s your third soon just in dog form (spoiled, adored, and unconcerned). For a moment, it wasn’t about legacy or craft or whatever dramatic phrase men like him get asked when they’ve done enough living to be interesting. It’s just about Blue. The snores. The calm. This.

As the interview neaared to a close, Tom looks at you again with his cheeky schoolboy smile. “Come sit with us for a bit, babe.” He says, patting the empty spot next to him. “C’mon. You’ll make this whole thing less me, yeah?”

Miranda pipes in with a serene enthusiasm and politeness. “Please, do join us, Y/N. You’d elevate the material.”

You blinked, biscuit halfway in your mouth. “I’m fine where I am, thank you.” You say with a smile. The way good wives do…and the dangerous ones too. “I’d only clutter the scene, trust me.”

“She’s being modest,” Tom told Miranda, eyes glinting. “But don’t let that fool ya. She's got a black belt in Krav Maga and can strip a glock in twenty seconds.”

“Oh stop,” you lightheartedly scold him with a laugh, dabbing crumbs from your lips. “It’s seventeen seconds, actually.”

Miranda laughs, unsure if it’s a joke. It’s not.

Before anything else unfolds, your phone begins to chime. Loud. Cheerful. Bloody persistent. “Oh!” You gasp, gently moving Blue from your lap like he’s a sleeping toddler that mustn't be disturbed. You scurry to the bedroom like your lace slip’s on fire, returning moments later with a flush on your cheeks and your now silenced phone in your hand.

“Apologies,” you murmur. “That was my birth control reminder. Middle-aged and still dodging fate.”

Miranda lets out another light laugh in sympathy and understanding, unsure how to respond. But Tom, with his damn cocky proud smirk that only meant trouble, leans back and crosses his arms.

“Can’t blame her really,” he says. Gazing at Miranda then at you, his eyes sliding up and down your body like he’s already covering you in (his) honey. “I still am quite the reckless horndog around her.”

You freeze, mouth parted. Miranda bursts into lighthearted laughter.

Tom winks at you, his lips forming a goofy charming, crooked grin that could make God himself banish Tom’s unpardonable sins like turning you into a flushed mushed in front of polite company. Always catching you off-guard when he senses you’re being uptight.

Blue, still in his sleep, lets out a grumpy snorf.

You couldn’t help but cover your face as you were laughing now too. The prim and proper housewife crumbling just enough to reveal the woman beneath: brilliant, blistering, and still so madly in love with the man who can’t help but tease you in the most unconventional situations.

Miranda turns off her recorder. “I think that’s our closer.” She begins to pack up. Being the gentleman that he is, Tom walks Miranda to the door, sending her off with sincere hug and stuffing extra packs of pistachio cookies in her bag.

Then he saunters over towards you, pressing a warm kiss to the crown of your head. Hmm Jasmine and Irises and her… To you, he smells like oud and bergamot and him. Your nails instinctively scratching his left pec through his blouse. Fuck…you could probably tear this designer piece apart to get him half-naked…

“Reckless horndog?” You murmur as you glare up at him. Mock chiding.

He grins down at you. “Oh, you love it.”

Hell yeah, you do.

Blue twitches and whimpers in his dreams of swift chases, sausages, chicken, and other happy doggy dreams. Snoring on.

In this moment, in this quiet little corner of London, the great Tom Hardy isn’t a character or a headline. He’s just a man. With his snoring dog. His wife.

And Blue, as ever, is the only one truly unimpressed and cool.

-FIN-

thanks so much for reading love u xxx

[boxturret]

BMOP: A history of the Abandoned Koro

Now that things have all come out, and the project is well and truly over, I thought I'd take a moment to talk a bit about something I worked on in the game, the "Abandoned Koro" area, now that there's video footage of a playthrough I can easily reference.

I suppose as a quick primer, I was with the BMOP team from around March of 2021 to November of 2022, serving as both 3D art lead and Level design lead for a time. There's a post out there about my experiences with the leadership of the team that I mostly stand by still, I do feel bad for how the project ended, and I have come around a bit to remember the positive times more than the negative, but that doesn't erase what happened.

So to begin, when I came on level design was a fairly inactive sub channel of the game development discord, some ideas got tossed around occasionally, but not much seemed to be happening, before I'd joined there was a rough map drawn up by the then current level design lead.

It was very basic stuff, there was a version of this map in engine that had been extruded a bit to make it a kind of playable space, one area had some trees on it and some random platforms.

One area that interested me greatly was this part in the south, the so called "Abandoned Koro"

The rough idea being that it was the Le-Koro seen in the GBA game Bionicle: Quest for the Toa, that had been abandoned in favour of the one seen in the browser game Mata Nui Online Game and the cancelled PC game Bionicle: Legend of Mata Nui, as the one in QFTT had a lot of wooden structures while the one seen in the other two was more like a woven nest.

At the time I was just a 3d modeller, and had never really done any real level design, but the concept just really inspired me, so I went off and in blender sketched out a possible level layout for this area.

I made a bunch of renders and wrote out how I thought the level could work, which can be seen in this document HERE.

For a quick overview, the idea was you'd enter the area, the bridge would break, you'd have to clear a river to activate the water wheel on a large mechanical tree that would allow you passage upwards, and then navigate through the Nui-Rama infested ruins of the village before coming to a cave.

The tree was something I poured a lot of time in to, its worthy of its own post at some point in the future.

Now I'll be honest, I was super nervous about releasing this document to the team, I thought I was overstepping my bounds. I was just a relatively new 3d modeller on the team, I didn't have the right to be talking about level design, but to my surprise people were really receptive to it, and I very quickly got added to the level design team¹.

I ended up doing a rough blockout in engine. This was back in the time before Lewa had been chosen to be the main player character, so it was still Tahu.

This was the first time I'd ever touched Unreal, so it took a while. That's why the sky is black, I didn't know how to add a skybox.

I never got in to level scripting, but as a proof of concept, I think it was successful.

You can see that in this version of the level it had already progressed, now there was the idea of using the Pakari to break the dam, so finding it was the first task on the ground.

This version wasn't in the actual demo map, because as I said before the demo wasn't really very fleshed out at the time. One thing my map showed though was that the demo was way too big. The level design lead at the time had decided the size based on how long it took to get around the map as a perfectly flat plane with no terrain, at max run speed, with no obstacles. This is a very flawed methodology to say the least. Having an actual level with things scaled to the character really started to show the holes in this, and eventually, once I became lead, the demo area was massively shrunk.

Here's a version from just a month later. The version is now part of the new, more compact demo area, but its mostly barren at this point.

This version was actually completely rebuilt from the ground up because it had been decided to try out voxels as a basis². They were a pain to deal with and this was overturned eventually. I'd say in total, including the 3d sketch I did, I re-built this map maybe 4 times.

One benefit of voxels was it was trivial to have caves, so this is where the idea of the pakari being found in a cave started to emerge.

As I continued to play and refine the demo it became clear how much the movement systems would need to be tweaked. There seemed to be this idea in the team that everything could be done separately and bolted together later, so character moment was all handled by someone jumping around on some big blocks in a test map whereas level design was off doing their own thing, but it really wasn't working. So while the movement felt good in a vacuum, actually putting it in context really exposed a lot of issues. You could easily jump over any enemy you could come across, as said earlier maps had to be huge in order to make the world seem big while you were running at full speed, and after about 3 jumps you'd be 20 metres in the air.

At this point the idea still was to have the entire island of Mata Nui be one large open area you could freely explore, so the sheer size of the maps resulting from the over powered movement was a major issue. I lobbied very hard to have things pulled back and eventually they were.

its a bit out of order, but here's the demo area from closer to when I left. Its a fraction of the size of the original map

Here's another video from a month later.

As much as it pains me to say it, this is basically it in terms of meaningful development. By this point Lewa had been locked in as the playable character, and the movement had been dialed back to a more reasonable degree, so I was able to really start trying to refine the area. This is where I ran in to a fatal issue.

No one else wanted to play the game.

And what was worse barely anything worked.

The level is still in what I would call a grey box state. I used a couple tree trunk assets I'd made here and there, and put in a big canopy asset from one of the many asset packs we had for a bit of ambience, but it was all still very basic geometry, easily changed or modified.

Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do for playtesting your own area. You built it: you know where everything is, what's supposed to happen, where you're supposed to go. You can try to pretend to play it as a new player, but that only gets you so far. I was hoping people on the team would play it and provide feedback³, but outside of maybe one or two people a handful of times⁴, trying to get any really feedback was was a futile effort.

The thing was that this area was very complex. If the demo was a vertical slice of the game as a whole, this area was itself a microcosm of the demo⁵. It had platforming, puzzle solving, combat, mask powers, the lot. Now unfortunately for me, barely any of those systems actually worked.

As an example, this long ledge was for a long time a stand in for vine swinging, then rail grinding⁶, then was ultimately just replaced by a platform.

So things had kind of hit a wall. I couldn't properly design areas with combat in them until combat existed in a more stable state, I couldn't design platforming sections until platforming worked in a consistent way. I couldn't even adjust the overall flow of the level because everyone else basically refused to give feedback.

But the unfortunate thing is, in August of that year they'd released a teaser trailer.

And that trailer had gotten hundreds of thousands of views.

This is where the whole development of this game really went off the rails. Now there was this push to get things in a presentable state, start set dressing and making final assets so things could be shown off.

But I refused. Everything was too up in the air to commit to set dressing, this is why block out exists, if the jump changes height its no big issue to grab the couple cubes an area is made out of and shift them up or down, if combat is found to need more space its easy to make things bigger, or add or take away walls. If something is confusing things can be shifted. Once set dressing starts now you're dealing with dozens to hundreds of objects being scattered about, even the smallest tweak can lead to a mess.

Not to mention set dressing raised its own series of issues, from plants triggering the IK on the toa's feet, making their knees go up to their chin when walking through a bunch of ferns, to collision volumes being oversized or offset, meaning that big rock face they just added has now created a massive invisible wall in another area. Once the addition of some plants caused all ledges within a wide radius to no longer work⁷.

It was a miserable state of affairs. My mental state rapidly deteriorated as I fought against this, I became very short tempered and irritable, and eventually near the end of 2022 I was kicked from the team. It was such a relief honestly.

I think the tragic thing is, set dressing is actually quite a fast process. The starting area went from looking like this to something quite like the final in about a month?

But you can't show off the first screenshot on twitter⁸.

I guess I'll spare a quick moment to talk about the final version seen in the video.

Its at 46 minutes in if the link doesn't work

Its...fine? The assets they've made are all good, though I think they lost the QFTM inspiration along the way. The thing that stands out to me is just how...little its moved on from 2022. Just look how much progress was made in like 3 months, compare that to now, 3 years later. Temporary platforms I placed are still in the exact same spot. I do find the addition of a matoran with a key for the cave to be a not great addition, if only for the fact that you need to find a tiny green man in amongst the overwhelming greenery to proceed.

One part I found quite amusing was the final enemy encounter. It was supposed to be this large hut, probably Matau's, that had been completely overtaken by a hive, and Nui-Rama would spawn constantly from it until the encounter was over.

There were a lot of concepts drawn up, but I guess it just...never happened. I also don't know why there's waves of fikou there either, that was after my time I think.

So that's really all I have to say about that version, it looks okay. Its still clearly unfinished. It kinda works more than it did when I left, but its shockingly not that much different, outside of some new assets.

I'll be honest, I did intend this to be more of a happy, reflective post, but when watching part of the developer commentary a quote stood out to me.

"Traditionally you would kind of have really basic blockout for an environment and play test that to see how the level design is working. Because of the the situation we had we were kind of forced to just go ahead with set dressing and prettying it up and everything so if it were in a perfect world I would have loved to have gotten to do some more play testing early on but we did what we could with it. And I mean you basically had to just blindly trust the process because many systems weren't working at the time things were designed." -AN UNKNOWN BMOP DEVELOPER (2025)

And I just fundamentally disagree. This was a fan project, there were no deadlines but those that were self inflicted. This process they blindly trusted just lead to a thing that on the surface looks okay, but is still riddled with bugs that were well known for years. I've seen some people on the team say the game was 90% completed, feature locked, just 3 more months of polish and it would have all been working, but from what I've seen of the game I really doubt it. They say themselves in the commentary that there's bugs they've been fighting for nearly a decade still rearing their head.

So yeah, its not exactly a happy tale. I'm quite proud of the work I did, I learned a lot, and met a lot of people I'm still friends with to this day. Its a shame the project had to end this way, and I'm sad everyone's work has gone to waste, but I'm also not going to pretend this was some amazing project that was struck down right before achieving greatness.

But most of all: Fuck you lego.

If you're interested in seeing a few more of the things I worked on in my time with BMOP, go HERE. I may post more publicly about some of them in the future, who knows. I have a post about the regional Kini temple I designed and built for the game HERE. Also some renders I did for some of my game design reports HERE.

¹-I say team, it was maybe two other people who were barely around. ²-I'll be honest here: Some people wanted to have the entire map destructible so that they could have Bohrok dynamically destroy it. For the post game DLC after we'd finished this Zelda sized free fan game⁹. ³-💯👍👀 isn't helpful feedback at the end of the day. Its supportive I'll give you that. But sometimes you need more. ⁴-One person on the team even outright refused to play the game until final release, to "save their first reactions for their stream"... ⁵-idk if its clear at this point but the "demo" is, was, and now always will be the entirety of the existing game. Oh there were ideas for other things, but nothing concrete ever materialised⁹. ⁶-You know, like Sonic⁹ ⁷-The ledge's over sensitive detection for something blocking it is one of the most frustrating things about the game's development for me. ⁸-You absolutely can show off real development stuff, there are lots of people who find that fascinating. ⁹-This game was nothing if not ambitious.

You see that kind of mop is called a "Bee Mop", because of its sponge's resemblance to honey comb.

[magnagaruzenmon]

Dragon Punch

Two birthday biasses 1 fic courtesy of Dio and Dino

Tournament Day.

Your heart pounded with anticipation as you stepped into the venue, a buzzing sea of arcade sticks, controllers, and the hum of battle cries from games running on countless monitors. Months of training had led to this moment—your shot at claiming victory at your first local for Under Night In-Birth 2.

But one name loomed over your bracket like a final boss: PinkBlossoms. The Linne player with cat-ear headphones, known for her suffocating pressure and razor-sharp whiff punishes. If luck was on your side, you wouldn’t have to deal with her early.

Your first match was called, and you found yourself facing an Enkidu main—YellowMellow. Solid neutral, strong confirms, and an uncanny ability to sniff out throws. She was a skill check, a gatekeeper. The first game was tight, but as you picked up on her rhythms and spacing habits, you adapted. By the second and third games, you were in control, steamrolling through with confident punishes and well-timed reversals.

“KO!”

The set was over. You exhaled, leaning back in your chair as the results locked in.

“Great games,” you said, turning to your opponent.

YellowMellow pouted, crossing her arms. “But I lost really bad.”

You chuckled. “The benefit of losing early? Now you’ve got nothing to lose.”

She blinked, then laughed. “Alright, alright, I’ll keep that in mind. See you around, H8STEP.”

“You too, YellowMellow.”

With your first match behind you, you had some time to breathe before the next round. You stood, stretching out the tension in your shoulders, when a familiar voice called out.

“Well, well. Didn’t even have to sweat, huh?”

You turned to see Diobronto, your training partner and one of the few people who could genuinely push you to your limits. He leaned against a nearby setup, arms crossed, his ever-present Snackbox tucked under one arm. A knowing smirk played on his lips.

“Yo!” he called, adjusting his grip on the compact controller.

“Hey, man. How’d Round 1 go?” you asked, curious.

Diobronto sighed dramatically. “Opponent rage-quit after I locked in Kuon. Said something about ‘Blender Man is an unfun loop.’” He shrugged, but you caught the amused glint in his eye.

You couldn’t help but laugh, already picturing the absolute carnage. “I mean… I don’t blame ‘em. I’ve seen what you do with that jerk. Man is not fun to deal with.”

“Skill issue,” Diobronto quipped, grinning.

The two of you moved through the tournament area, weaving past players locked in heated matches, when a familiar voice called out—smooth, confident, unmistakable.

“Hey, boys.”

You turned to see 3Step, the ex-K-pop idol turned streamer. Her signature pastel bomber jacket and perfectly styled hair made her stand out even in the chaos of the venue. She flashed a bright smile as she approached.

Diobronto and you exchanged grins. “Well, if it isn’t the legend herself,” Dio said, nodding in greeting.

Angelwomon chuckled. “How are two of my favorite boys doing today?”

“We’re good. It’s great to see you,” you replied.

“Glad to hear it.” She clasped her hands together. “Well, I hope I see both of you in the later rounds. Make it happen, yeah?”

She gave you both a playful salute before heading off toward another set of players.

Diobronto sighed dreamily, watching her go. “Gosh, she’s just so cute. I love her.”

You chuckled, shaking your head. “Then ask her out.”

Dio rolled his eyes. “Sure. As soon as you ask out PinkBlossoms.”

You groaned. “We’re rivals. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Really?”

Before you could shoot back, another voice cut in.

“Wow. So I’m just nothing to you, huh?”

A chill ran down your spine before you even turned around. You already knew who it was.

PinkBlossoms.

Sakura Miyawaki stood there, arms crossed, one hip jutted slightly to the side. Those signature cat-ear headphones rested snugly on her head, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“You wound me, H8STEP,” she continued, pressing a hand over her chest in mock offense. “I thought we had something special.”

Diobronto snorted. “Bro, you’re so dead.”

You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

PinkBlossoms tilted her head, pretending to think. “Mmm, no, I think it is what you meant. But it’s fine. I’m sure you’ll make it up to me—” She leaned in just slightly, voice dropping to something teasingly sweet. “—when I absolutely body you later.”

There it was. That weird, charged energy that always hung between you two. Half trash talk, half something else entirely.

You crossed your arms, mirroring her stance. “If you make it to me.”

She grinned. “Oh, I will.” Then, with a dramatic little twirl, she started walking away. But not before looking over her shoulder and adding, “Try not to think about me too much before our match, okay?”

Diobronto whistled as soon as she was out of earshot. “Bro.”

You exhaled, shaking your head. “Don’t start.”

“Oh, I’m starting. Rivals, huh?” Dio elbowed you. “That was some real romantic comedy energy just now.”

“It’s just how we talk.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Round 2 wasn't easy.

You had to fight your way through two disjoint-heavy characters—Uzuki and Gordeau—both of whom made closing the gap a nightmare. As a Seth main this made setting up your orbs an obnoxious and herculean task. Finding the right pressure points, weaving through their massive hitboxes, and forcing mistakes took everything you had. But you managed to clutch it out, barely scraping by with the wins.

Meanwhile, PinkBlossoms?

Cakewalk.

She styled on a barebones Hyde with her secondary, Yuzuriha, landing flashy confirms just for fun. Then, in game 3 she completely dismantled another Linne main, snuffing out their movement and punishing them every time they tried to outpace her. It wasn’t just dominant—it was casual.

And Diobronto? He was tearing through his bracket, except for one notable exception.

He forfeited his Round 3 match.

Not because he lost, but because he simply didn’t want to deal with it.

When you ran into him again, you raised an eyebrow.

“You know… I never understand why you bail on big matchups like that.”

Diobronto shrugged, adjusting his Snackbox in one hand. “Ego exhaustion.”

You frowned. “What?”

“I have a limited number of good decisions I can make before my brain taps out,” he explained casually. “So, I cut down on situations where I have to make too many choices. That’s why I play defensive—it’s easier to watch and react instead of always having to make the right call under pressure.” He rolled his neck before grinning. “Besides, I didn’t feel like fighting Slayer’s master Yuzu today. Dude plays neutral like he’s coding a fighting game AI.”

You laughed. “So, what? You’re just avoiding stress?”

“Pretty much,” Diobronto admitted. “But enough about me. Let’s go watch Eunbi’s match.”

You nodded, and the two of you made your way toward 3step’s setup.

PinkBlossoms was already there, arms folded, watching the screen. When she saw the two of you approach, she tilted her head slightly, her cat-ear headphones catching the light.

“Hey, boys. Came to watch Jiwon play?”

“Of course,” you said, settling in beside her. “How’d your Round 4 go?”

PinkBlossoms smirked. “Trampled a Linne main. Not even worth talking about.”

You chuckled. “Must be nice.”

She glanced at you. “And you?”

“Gordeau had me in the first half, not gonna lie.”

Her smirk widened. “Well, I’m glad you’re still in. I’d hate to have to fight some random in later rounds instead of my rival.”

There it was again—that weird mix of competitive fire and something else.

You crossed your arms, matching her energy. “Oh yeah? Hate to break it to you, but you might have to get through him first.”

You gestured toward Diobronto, who gave an ambivalent shrug, clearly unbothered by the implication.

PinkBlossoms and you locked eyes, the tension simmering between you as if you were already on stage.

Then, Dio’s voice pulled you both out of it.

“I always hated that I wasn’t better with Kaguya…” he muttered, watching 3step’s game with a focused stare.

You and PinkBlossoms exchanged a glance, equally confused.

PinkBlossoms smirked. “You know, Dio—you definitely have a type.”

Diobronto turned, blinking at both of you before bursting into laughter. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

With that, he walked off to congratulate 3step on her latest win, leaving you and PinkBlossoms standing side by side, watching as Round 5 got underway.

And if her shoulder just so happened to brush against yours for a split second?

Well.

You’d deal with that later.

Round 4 was in full swing, and you found yourself standing next to PinkBlossoms, both of you glued to the match unfolding on the main stage.

Diobronto vs. 3step.

What had started as a technical display of high-level play had morphed into something else entirely. Dionronto’s kuon was surprisingly passive and lax the first game allowing for 3step to eek out the first set, but the second set was a different story. You watched as Dio at Eunbi alive.

“He’s scary when he plays like this,” you muttered, arms crossed as you watched the chaos on-screen.

PinkBlossoms let out a low whistle. “Tell me about it. I’ve fought him before, but this?” She shook her head. “This is a different Diobronto.”

Diobronto was known for his defensive playstyle—patient, calculating, waiting for his opponents to overextend so he could pick them apart. But when he decided to flip the switch… it was like staring down an avalanche.

And right now? Jiwon Park—3Step, former idol, streamer, and one of the most technically sound Kaguya players in the tournament—was buried under it.

The set had started out close. 3Step was playing to her strengths—impeccable spacing, clean confirms, and a neutral game so refined it felt untouchable. She used Kaguya’s ranged pressure and counter tools masterfully, keeping Diobronto in check.

Then, somewhere in Game 2, Diobronto flipped the switch.

He stopped waiting. He started hunting.

Now, he was suffocating her, giving no room to breathe. Every defensive decision she made was punished, every attempt to reset neutral was stuffed before it could even start. It wasn’t just his execution—it was the mind games. The way he conditioned her, forced her into bad habits, then exploited them like a predator toying with its prey.

On screen, Kaguya whiffed a defensive stance cancel.

That was all Diobronto needed.

Kuon dashed in. Counter-hit. CHAIN SHIFT.

The screen exploded with a brutal, optimized combo—one of those “you’re not dead but you might as well be” confirms that left 3step in the worst possible position. Low resources, no momentum, mentally shaken.

You could see it in the way she hesitated for just a split second before the next round started.

“She’s cracking,” PinkBlossoms said quietly.

You shook your head, “no she’s exhausted. You can see it in her eyes,” you counter as you watch Dio continuing to pick at her. Reading her loops and combo strings like it was his favorite manga before throwing her throw devastating combos and mix-ups.

Despite this 3step was flawless in execution, but this wasn’t just a battle of mechanics—it was psychological warfare. And Diobronto was winning.

The final round began.

3Step tried to stabilize, playing a safer, more measured neutral. But it was too late.

Diobronto had downloaded her.

He faked an opening. She took the bait.

Counter-hit. CHAIN SHIFT. Corner combo.

The crowd winced as Kuon’s vortex began. Fake cross-ups, delayed staggers, pressure resets—Diobronto was merciless, keeping her locked down with a relentless mix of feints and perfectly timed frame traps.

The moment she pressed the wrong button, it was over.

Final KO. Set count: 4-1, Diobronto.

3Step lingered for a moment, arms crossed as she watched the crowd shift around them. The air still buzzed with excitement from the last match, but her mind was stuck replaying the mental beatdown she’d just suffered at Diobronto’s hands.

She glanced at him. He was back to his usual self—relaxed posture, easygoing smile, as if he hadn’t just turned her own game sense against her.

“…Hey, Dio,” she started.

He looked over. “Yeah?”

She hesitated, then sighed. “How the hell did you get so good at defense?”

Diobronto let out a short laugh. “That bad, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know it was. I couldn’t open you up, and even when I thought I had a read, you were already two steps ahead.”

Dio scratched his head, his grin shifting into something more thoughtful. “Honestly? It’s ‘cause I had to be.”

3Step raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Diobronto leaned against the nearby setup, arms crossing. “The guy who got me into UNIST—he was an aggressive player. Like, relentless. Didn’t matter if he was plus, minus, neutral—he was always pressing something. I swear, half the time, he wasn’t even playing matchups, he was just playing.” Dio chuckled. “Dudehad one terrible bad habit of freezing up if you could figure him out though.”

3step frowned. “…So, what? You learned to counter him?”

“Pretty much.” Dio shrugged. “I didn’t have the reaction speed or pressure game to match him, so I had to learn defense. I got good at blocking, at watching rhythms, at figuring out when and why people start panicking. I wasn’t just learning how to survive—I was learning how to make people beat themselves. After that it was easy to learn the grid system and maximizing combos,”

3Step absorbed that, thinking back to their match. How she’d started second-guessing, hesitating—how it had felt like the more she tried to outplay him, the worse she did.

“…That’s why you play the way you do,” she muttered.

Dio nodded. “Yeah. My defense isn’t just about surviving—it’s about giving you just enough rope to hang yourself.”

3step let out a long breath. “Well, congrats. It works.”

Diobronto grinned. “Thanks.”

For a moment, they just stood there, the noise of the tournament swirling around them.

Then 3Step glanced at him again, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

“What happened to him?”

Dio’s smile faltered slightly. “Moved on. Life, work, you know how it is.” He sighed, stretching his arms. “We still talk, but he barely plays anymore. Shame, too—if he stuck with it, I know he’d be one of the best.”

3Step studied him for a second, then smirked. “Sounds like you miss him.”

Diobronto chuckled. “A little.”

She nudged him with her elbow. “Well, if you ever need another aggressive training partner…”

Diobronto raised an eyebrow. “You? Thought you didn’t play that way.”

3Step smirked. “I don’t. But maybe I should start.”

Dio tilted his head, considering. Then, with a playful glint in his eyes, he grinned.

“Careful what you wish for.”

For the first time since her loss, Angelwomon felt excited.

Following this Diobronto was approached by a number of other competitors and people who were all congratulating his victory.

3step sighed, exhaling sharply exhausted by the gauntlet Dio just put her through, shaking her head as Diobronto stood up and stretched, with his almost trademarked unfazed gaze—like he hadn’t just systematically dismantled one of the strongest players in the tournament.

PinkBlossoms let out a slow breath. “You ever just forget that Dio is actually terrifying?”

“All the time.”

As you watched Diobronto shake hands with 3step, a thought settled in the back of your mind.

If this was the version of him you had to fight later in bracket?

You weren’t sure you were ready.

3step sat at the edge of the setup, staring at the results screen.

Her hands were still on her fightstick, fingers lightly tapping the buttons in a rhythm that no longer had a game to accompany it. 2-1. Just like that, she was out of winner’s bracket.

“Hey.”

She looked up to see PinkBlossoms crouching beside her, a small but knowing smile on her lips.

“You played great,” PinkBlossoms said gently.

3step sighed, brushing her hair back. “Did I? I got dismantled. I’ve never felt so…” She trailed off, exhaling sharply. “Cornered.”

PinkBlossoms chuckled. “Yeah, Dio does that. One minute, you’re controlling the match—then he flips the switch, and suddenly you’re drowning. I guess why that's why some people call him

The California condor for how he picks at you bit by bit.”

Angelwomon frowned. “I don’t even know when it happened. I had him in the first game, then—”

“Then you started thinking too much.”

Angelwomon blinked.

PinkBlossoms sat beside her, stretching her arms. “You play clean. You play precise. But the moment someone forces you to second-guess yourself, your game starts slipping. Dio? He’s a specialist at doing that to people.”

Angelwomon pursed her lips. “Yeah. I noticed.”

PinkBlossoms nudged her playfully. “Hey. You’re still in losers. And if there’s one thing I know about Jiwon Park, it’s that she doesn’t let one loss keep her down. Also you can still get back into winners look at Dio, he was in loosers and is now climbing all the way back up.”

Angelwomon let out a soft laugh. “I suppose that’s true.”

Just as the mood started to lighten, Diobronto walked over, hands in his wrapped around his snackbox. His usual laid-back grin faltered slightly when he saw Angelwomon’s expression.

“Oh um,” he said cautiously. “Uh… no hard feelings?”

PinkBlossoms immediately stood up, stretching exaggeratedly. “Welp! Since the culprit’s here—” She turned to Angelwomon with a teasing smirk. “—I’ll let him take over.”

Angelwomon blinked. “Wait, wha—?”

PinkBlossoms clapped a hand on Diobronto’s shoulder, giving him an exasperated look. “Honestly, Dio. How could you beat your crush like that?”

Diobronto froze.

Angelwomon’s brain short-circuited.

“…Excuse me?” she said, voice a pitch higher than usual.

Diobronto’s eyes darted between them. “Wait—what?”

PinkBlossoms just grinned. “Ohhh, don’t play dumb, big guy.” Then, before either of them could react, she gave a cheerful wave. “Alright, lovebirds! Have fun sorting this out!”

And just like that, she walked away.

Leaving them alone.

A beat of silence.

Diobronto coughed, shifting awkwardly. “Sooo… I think she’s just messing with us?”

Angelwomon, still processing, glanced at him—and suddenly, she started noticing things.

The way he kept stealing glances at her when they’d talk between rounds. How he’d always sit near her during matches. How he’d never fought her in bracket before today. And the way his usual confidence seemed a little off-kilter now that the conversation had turned personal.

Oh.

Oh.

She swallowed, trying to suppress the warmth creeping up her neck.

“…Maybe,” she murmured, then quickly changed the subject before he could respond. “A-anyway, I need to refocus for losers. Can’t let one loss get to me, right?”

Diobronto nodded quickly, seemingly relieved. “Yeah! Right. You got this.”

Angelwomon stood up, but as she walked past him, she caught herself hesitating.

Normally, she’d have just moved on.

But now?

She glanced at him again—his easygoing demeanor, the way he’d casually outmaneuvered her both in-game and, apparently, in real life—and for the first time, being around Diobronto felt different.

“…See you around, Dio,” she said, her tone softer than usual.

Diobronto blinked. “Yeah. See ya, Jiwon.”

And as she walked away, she knew PinkBlossoms wasn’t lying.

And now, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

You leaned against a pillar near the setups, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the bracket screen. Next Round was coming up fast, but your mind was still back in Round 5, replaying Diobronto’s match over and over.

“How the hell does he do that?” you muttered.

“He’s a menace,” PinkBlossoms said beside you, mirroring your stance. “Like, I know he’s always been a defensive god, but I’ve never seen him dismantle someone like that.”

You exhaled, shaking your head. “Angelwomon plays so clean, but he made her second-guess everything.”

PinkBlossoms nodded. “He didn’t even play the game. He played her.”

For a moment, the two of you stood in silence, absorbing that.

Then she glanced at you, smirking. “Good thing we just have to deal with each other, huh?”

You chuckled. “Right. Just each other.”

Her smirk lingered, but there was something else in her eyes—something sharp, teasing, charged.

“Unless you’re scared of me,” she said, tilting her head.

You scoffed. “Please. You should be scared of me.”

She took a step closer, eyes locked onto yours. “Oh? Big talk for someone I’ve beaten before.”

You smirked. “And I’ve beaten you.”

Her smile didn’t fade, but her eyes narrowed slightly—that playful, competitive fire flickering to life. “Guess we’re even, then.”

You stared at her, something in your chest tightening.

It wasn’t just rivalry. It wasn’t just respect.

It was something more.

The constant push and pull, the way she made your blood race, the way you wanted to win—but also wanted her to win, too, just so you’d have another chance to fight her again.

Before you could second-guess it, before you could think, you leaned in.

And to your surprise—she did, too.

The moment your lips met, it was like a spark igniting. It wasn’t soft or hesitant—it was charged, like the matches you played against each other, full of heat, tension, and the thrill of wanting to overcome each other.

When you finally pulled back, both of you were breathless.

She stared at you, eyes slightly wide—then, slowly, that familiar smirk crept back onto her lips.

“…Well,” she murmured, “this just got interesting.”

You exhaled a laugh, running a hand through your hair. “No kidding.”

PinkBlossoms tapped her fingers against her Snackbox, grinning. “Guess we really do push each other, huh?”

You met her gaze, a slow smile forming. “Yeah. We do.”

For a moment, neither of you said anything. The tournament buzzed around you, but here, in this moment, it was just you and her.

Then she tilted her head, mischief dancing in her eyes.

“…You do realize this means I’m not holding back, right?”

Your heart pounded.

You grinned. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The semifinals were nothing short of brutal—especially for PinkBlossoms.

Diobronto didn’t just defeat her. He dissected her.

It wasn’t angry or personal—there was no malice in the way he played. But it was merciless. Every bad habit she had, every tiny moment of hesitation—he tore through them like he’d spent years studying her playstyle.

Whenever she dropped a combo, he punished instantly. Whenever she tried to mix him, he was already blocking the right way. Whenever she looked for an opening, she found nothing but a wall.

It was the only set where Diobronto didn’t drop the first game. There was no adapting period, no feeling-out process—just immediate, overwhelming control.

By the time the set ended, PinkBlossoms looked stunned. She sat there for a second, hands hovering over her buttons, like she was still trying to process what had just happened.

“…What the hell was that?” she muttered, finally exhaling.

Diobronto, was out of it since his set against Jiwon which left him spinning but he found the words to say eventually, “That,” he said, stretching his arms, “was me playing seriously.”

PinkBlossoms blinked, then scoffed. “Well, thanks for the whiplash, I guess.”

But underneath the frustration, there was something else in her tone—respect.

Because even in a loss that decisive… she had learned something. After that she winced as she got up.

Here’s a scene where Sakura (PinkBlossoms) processes her loss with the narrator, reflecting on how Diobronto felt different during their match.

⸻

You found Sakura leaning against a setup in the casuals area, arms crossed, a deep frown on her face. Her cat-ear headphones hung around her neck, and she was staring off at nothing, clearly still processing what had happened.

You approached carefully. “That bad, huh?”

She let out a short laugh, but it wasn’t really amused. “You ever feel like you didn’t even get to play?”

You winced. “Yeah… that’s the Dio special.”

Sakura tilted her head toward you, finally meeting your gaze. “No, this was different. I knew he was good—I mean, duh, we all know that. But this wasn’t just ‘good.’ This was like… like he’d already decided I was gonna lose before the set even started.”

You leaned against the table beside her. “I noticed. He didn’t even do his usual ‘drop game one to learn you’ thing. He just went for the kill.”

She nodded, rubbing her temples. “It was like… every gap in my pressure? He knew it was coming. Every bad habit? He was already punishing before I even realized I messed up. And it wasn’t just matchup knowledge—it was me. He was playing me.”

You exhaled. “That’s what he does. He doesn’t just play the game, he plays the person.”

Sakura was quiet for a moment, then sighed. “…It was kind of scary.”

You turned to her, a little surprised. “Scary?”

She nodded, lips pressing together. “Not, like, literally scary. But it’s just… Dio’s always been chill, you know? I’ve never seen him like that. It wasn’t angry or personal, but it also wasn’t the usual laid-back Dio. It was just…” She searched for the word, then finally said, “…cold.”

That word sat heavy between you two.

Because she was right.

When Diobronto had played against Angelwomon, there had been a sense of cruel playfulness—like he was testing her, poking at her confidence just to see how she’d react.

But against Sakura?

He had just shut her out completely.

No hesitation. No wasted movements. No mercy.

“…You think he saw me as a threat?” she asked suddenly.

You thought about it.

“Maybe,” you said carefully. “Or maybe… he knew he couldn’t let you get started at all.”

Sakura scoffed, shaking her head. “Guess that means he respects me, huh?”

You smiled. “I mean, yeah. He doesn’t go all-out on just anyone.”

She sighed again, then pushed off the table, shaking out her hands like she was physically dusting off the loss.

“Well, whatever. He got me this time, but next time?” She turned to you, her usual competitive fire reigniting in her eyes. “I’m getting my runback.”

You grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

She smirked, then nudged your arm. “You better not lose before I get to fight you.”

You nudged her back. “Same to you.”

And just like that, PinkBlossoms was back.

Diobronto sat on a low concrete ledge outside the venue, a half-empty water bottle resting against his knee. The cool night air felt refreshing after the heat and noise of the tournament floor, but it didn’t do much to quiet the storm in his head.

He wasn’t upset—he had won, after all. And yet, something about the way the semifinals had played out felt… off.

He took a slow sip of water, staring up at the neon glow of a nearby streetlamp.

Why did that match feel different?

The door behind him creaked open, and he heard the sound of soft footsteps.

“I knew I’d find you out here.”

Diobronto glanced over his shoulder. Jiwon.

She had changed out of her tournament fit—her usual comfy hoodie and joggers replacing her more polished on-stream look. But what stood out the most was the way she was looking at him—not with frustration, not with playful banter, but with something softer.

She hesitated, then walked over, sitting down beside him. “Figured you’d pull a disappearing act after that match.”

Diobronto let out a small huff of laughter. “Needed some air.”

Jiwon studied him for a moment, then looked away, tapping her fingers against her knee. “…I didn’t stand a chance, did I?”

Diobronto frowned. “That’s not true. You’re insanely good.”

She shook her head, smiling but not quite laughing. “Doesn’t matter. You got in my head.”

Diobronto hesitated. “That… wasn’t the plan.”

Jiwon turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it?”

He didn’t have an answer to that.

Because the truth was—he wasn’t sure what his plan had been.

Playing against her had felt different. He had gone into that set telling himself it was just another match, that he was just playing to win.

But then she had sat across from him, fingers poised over her controls, that determined, focused energy radiating off her—and something in him had shifted.

It wasn’t like fighting PinkBlossoms. That match had been cold calculation. But against Jiwon?

He had played ruthlessly—but not because he wanted to shut her down.

Because he had wanted to see her fight back.

“…I don’t like losing,” Jiwon admitted suddenly. “But it wasn’t just that. It was you. The way you played—” She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “I could feel it, Dio. That wasn’t just you playing ‘smart’ or ‘optimal.’ That was you picking me apart.”

Diobronto stared at his water bottle, fingers tightening around the plastic. “…I don’t know why I did that.”

Jiwon was quiet for a moment, then nudged his arm lightly.

“Hey.”

He looked at her.

She gave him a small, knowing smile. “…I think you do.”

His breath hitched.

Because maybe—just maybe—she was right.

Maybe this had never been just about winning.

Maybe it had always been about her.

And from the way Jiwon’s gaze lingered on his, the way her expression softened just a little—

He had a feeling she’d known that long before he did.

The world faded away.

Diobronto barely had time to process what was happening before Jiwon closed the distance between them, her hand resting lightly against his shoulder as she leaned in.

And then—

Her lips met his.

For a split second, his mind went completely blank.

Then everything crashed into place at once—the warmth of her touch, the faint scent of her perfume, the way she tilted her head just right like this was something she had wanted for a long time.

Diobronto lost himself in it.

His heart, so used to holding back, waiting, second-guessing, finally felt vindicated. His hands moved instinctively—one reaching up to cup the side of her face, the other gripping the edge of the ledge for some kind of grounding as he kissed her back, deep and unrestrained.

Jiwon smiled against his lips before breaking the kiss, just enough to rest her forehead against his.

Diobronto chased after her without thinking, lips parting slightly as if to pull her back in—

But before he could, she giggled, pressing a finger lightly to his lips.

“If you win…” she teased, eyes gleaming with mischief. “There’ll be more where that came from.”

Diobronto blinked.

Then he grinned.

“Guess I better not lose, then.”

The Grand Finals

You stood at the setup station, controller in hand, waiting.

Diobronto was nowhere to be seen.

The TOs had already called for him twice, and you were just about to text him when he finally strolled in, looking way too casual for someone about to play grand finals.

“Where have you been?” you asked, genuinely confused.

Diobronto just grinned, rolling his shoulders as he set down his Snackbox.

“Later,” he said. Then, with a smirk, he added, “Right now, I have to strip you for parts and sell them back to you at a higher price.”

You blinked. “Wait, what?”

He repeated it, plugging in his Snackbox, fingers tapping against the controls like he was already hearing the rhythm of your demise.

Then—

You got absolutely demolished.

No warm-up rounds. No Dio-style “lose game one to download” strategy.

Just pure, ruthless dismantling.

Every attempt at pressure? Stuffed. Every attempt to bait him? Sniffed out. Every scramble? Not even close.

The crowd, normally rowdy, had gone eerily silent—like no one could fully process what they were watching.

Because this wasn’t just Diobronto playing well.

This was Diobronto, fully locked in.

Masterful. Unshakable. Unstoppable.

When it was over, and he had 3-0’d you faster than anyone in the venue expected, you just sat there, staring at the results screen.

You turned to Sakura, who looked just as stunned as you felt. 3step, too.

“Where the hell did that come from?” you muttered.

Diobronto, still catching his breath, only lifted a hand and pointed toward the crowd.

You followed his gaze.

Standing near the front, hands clasped together, was Jiwon.

She was beaming.

The moment Diobronto took a step toward her, she closed the distance in an instant, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him into a kiss.

The crowd erupted.

You laughed, shaking your head as you clapped him on the back. “Have fun, big guy.”

Sakura stepped up beside you, watching as Eunbi practically devoured Diobronto in front of everyone.

She sighed, stretching her arms above her head. “Welp. Something tells me Eunbi and I are gonna have to switch apartments tonight.”

You chuckled. “Yeah, sounds about right.”

Sakura smirked, nudging your side. “Come on, Helios. Let’s get out of here before they start charging admission.”

You laughed, shaking your head as you grabbed your bag. “Sure.”

And with that, you left them to their well-earned victory celebration.

Meanwhile Pink Blossoms approaches, “well that was informative,” she said. You nod then reply,

“Yeah I didn't know he could do all of that, he usually plays so safe but he just beat the breaks off me.” you sighed then felt a warmth slither into your arms.

“You did well though,” Sakura said before adding, “now let’s go to your place. I have a feeling Jiwon and Dio are gonna want privacy.

You shrug and say “fair” as the two of you drive back to your place.

The ride home was quiet at first—just the hum of the car engine and the occasional whoosh of passing streetlights.

Sakura was in the passenger seat, legs pulled up onto the seat as she scrolled through her phone. You could tell she was checking the tournament bracket, probably watching clips of your matches and maybe even hers.

It was comfortable, but the whole night still felt a little surreal.

You glanced over at her. “So…”

Sakura didn’t look up. “So?”

You drummed your fingers against the steering wheel. “We should probably talk about… ground rules.”

That made her put her phone down. She turned, raising an eyebrow. “For what?”

You gave her a look. “For us.”

Sakura blinked, then let out a short laugh. “Oh my god, we’re really doing this, huh?”

You smirked. “We just made out in the middle of a tournament. Yeah, I think we’re doing this.”

She grinned, but then tapped a finger against her chin in mock thoughtfulness. “Alright. Fine. Ground rules.”

She sat up, shifting so she could face you properly. “Rule one: no throwing games just because we’re dating.”

You scoffed. “I would never.”

She side-eyed you. “You say that, but if I ever catch you going easy on me—”

“I won’t,” you assured her. “But that goes both ways.”

Sakura smirked. “Like I would ever go easy on you.”

You chuckled, then nodded. “Okay. No mercy in competition. Got it. Rule two?”

Sakura hummed. “Rule two: fighting game trash talk is still on the table.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Even after what happened tonight?”

She gave you a look so smug it should’ve been illegal. “Especially after what happened tonight.”

You groaned. “Great. Can’t wait to hear about this for the next ten years.”

Sakura laughed. “Hey, you signed up for this. Rule three?”

You thought for a second. “No getting mad if one of us knocks the other out of bracket?”

Sakura nodded. “Fair. But—” She pointed at you. “If we ever meet in grand finals, loser buys dinner.”

You smirked. “I hope you like paying.”

She grinned, crossing her arms. “Oh, Helios. That’s adorable.”

The teasing felt familiar, comfortable, but underneath it, there was something warm and real.

For so long, you’d seen her as your rival, your greatest challenge in bracket.

But now?

Now, she was also your girlfriend, and she held this softness you had only seen glimpses of beneath the sheen onf confidence she always wore, However all semblance of soft and tenderness leaves when you get home. Sakura and you are less foreplay all gas. As soon as you get back to your place she's taken off her clothes and is ramming your cock down her throat. She stares up at you smiling her eyes crinkling in a way that further drives your lust for her. You need to fuck her your body tells you, and before you can think you lift the poor girl by her waist and impaling her on your cock, “fuck!” Sakura gasps.

“Warn me next time she says mewling as you lift her up and down your cock. She moans as her walls wrap and squeeze around you in a seal so comfortable you never want to leave.

“Shit Kura! Why have we never done this before?” You asks. Sakura’s eyes roll back while you fuck her and she breathlessly says,

“I don’t know,” in between morning your name.

“Well from now on we’re doing this every weekend because fuck Kura you feel so good,”

Kura moans at your demands before begging you to be serious. You groan as she moans your name until you feel your balls tense and you unload inside of her. Overwhelmed Sakura passes out in your arms.

You manage to get to a bed before you pass out as well still inside of her.

You wake up to a pleasurable sensation but overwhelming pleasure and pain mix as you are roused by Sakura riding you.

“Hey baby,” she says “sorry for starting without out you I was just so horny and wet and you were still so hard when I woke up,” she apologized and you groaned as you came in her again. Sakura chuckled and said, “Finally I have been riding you for 45 minutes. She said. You chortle and despite the fact that until moments ago you were still asleep Sakura smiles at you before lowering her face to your crotch

“Can we go again? It is my birthday after all, well for another hour at least,” she says, and laugh before obliging her

Jiwon spends the entire ride back to her place with her hand slowly moving up and down Diobronto’ cock. He could barely contain his moans until Jiwon whispered in his ear “don’t fight it baby moan for me. Tell me exactly what you want,”

Breathlessly Dio answers. “You I want you.”

Jiwon smiled as she finally gained the upper hand tonight before straddling Dio as he drove back the car lurched but Jiwon had unshakable confidence in Diobronto.

Jiwon began slowly grinding on his crotch. She moaned while grinding on his crotch. Diobronto could barely hold on as she continued dry humping him in the car.

“I’m gonna need you to cum for me baby,” Jiwon moaned. Dio groaned barely able to keep focus on the road but Jiwon kept pseudo riding him.

“I need it baby. I need to know you want me,” she says.

“Please a nice big messy load,” she encourages as she grinds on him. Jiwon stares into Dio’s eyes as she watches him come undone. He cums violently as She continues to ride him. Jiwon smirks before bringing Dio in for another kiss as they pull into her driveway. As the enter the house Jiwon stops all contact with Dio who's very understandably confused, “huh?” he asked.

“No more until my birthday,” Jiwon said.

“I do want my first time to be special after all,”

Dio rolled his eyes and said, “you're diabolical,”

Jiwon smiled then said, “yes but you love it. Now come on. Help me find a new main because I'm helping you learn kaguya,”

“Why?” Dio ask confused.

“Because kaguya is your baby girl I think I should find me a big boy to to be commiserate,” she said smirking.

Dio laughed and said “alright one more game,”

[zeehasablog]

Canary & Sons' Small Piano-Forte

Voilà! I am happy to present my own "square piano" for your historical sims to hone their piano skills!

In an age when domestic music making was usually accompanied by a lady at the harpsichord or Spinnet, the advent of the square piano was hugely significant. These compact pianos were designed and made by John Zumpe and sold from his house and workshop in Princes Street, at the north-east corner of Hanover Square. The oldest surviving examples are dated 1766. Many harpsichord players took to them immediately – their tone sounded so charming to ears that had known nothing but the harpsichord and organ – and these 'small Piano-fortes' were so inexpensive! Plain examples sold for as little as £18 – about half the cost of a single-manual harpsichord from Jacob Kirckman or Burkat Shudi (these being the two leading makers). For thirty years the harpsichord and piano-forte existed side by side, regarded as equally useful instruments, depending on what music you wished to play. Consequently, in many homes, in London or in Paris, you might find both instruments, often in the same room, their owners deciding that a 'small Piano-forte' could be readily accommodated. It would take up little space, and when closed it looked much like a side table. (source)

Following manymany tutorials, I have decided on my finished product.

It is a fully closed square piano, with loads of deco slots on it, so you can clutter up the place, while still managing to practice your playing.

I decided on just two wood shades, and for variety, there's 9 different stool cushion covers.

There's so many different designs of square pianos. Some have pedals, some don't - some have levers, and dampeners.... There'd be parts of the top which open - so that you can see the strings, and tune when needed (or to increase the volume). From 1768 onwards, three levers were installed in that small space to the left of the keyboard - so this would open up as well, in order to access these.

I had to decide how much I wanted - do I want it open at all? If so, both sections? I am not really very good at making things in blender, so it worked out better for me to do it closed up.

I also decided to keep pedals: though I don't recall seeing an animation where the sim presses the pedals, the game has cones here for pressing, so it's definitely possible!

I worked supersuper hard on this, so I really hope you all like it!

Download now, for free, via Curseforge!

~~ Terms Of Use ~~ 

[simdertalia]

🐚 ACNH Mermaid Set 🧜‍♀️

50 items | Sims 4, Base game compatible.

Type “ACNH Mermaid” into the search query in build mode to find  quickly. You can always find items like this, just begin typing  the title and it will appear.

Always suggested: bb.objects ON, it makes placing items much easier. For further placement tweaking, check out the TOOL mod.

Use the scale up & down feature on your keyboard to make the items larger or smaller to your liking. If you have a non-US keyboard, it may be different keys depending on which alphabet it uses.

Remember that you can resize items in game with your keyboard! Note that if you have a non-USA keyboard, that it may be different keys, but it still works.

I hope you enjoy!

Set contains: (Buy Mode) -Bed | 1 swatch | 2420 poly -Chair | 2 swatches | 1226 poly -Coffee Table | 1 swatch | 2406 poly -Divider | 1 swatch | 2388 poly -Dresser | 1 swatch | 1671 poly -Fainting Sofa | 1 swatch | 2347 poly -Fountain (I forgot to get pics 🙃) | 18 swatches | 2690 poly -Lamp (functional, turn brightness down) | 1 swatch | 1217 poly -Nightstand (made by me) | 1 swatch | 628 poly -Rugs (cone, scallop, & starfish) | 1 swatch each | 630, 558, & 994 poly -Sand Dollar Table | 10 swatches | 2204 poly -Seashell Arch (I forgot to get pics 🙃) | 6 swatches | 3589 poly -Seashell "Screen" | 6 swatches | 2410 poly -Seashell Seat | 9 swatches | 1188 poly -Shelf (floor) | 2 swatches | 1506 poly -Shelf (wall) | 2 swatches | 690 poly -Vanity Table | 1 swatch | 901 poly -Wardrobe Closet | 1 swatch | 1208 poly -Bottle 1 | 5 swatches | 186 poly -Bottle 2 | 7 swatches | 227 poly -Clock | 1 swatch | 1882 poly -Compact | 6 swatches | 220 poly -Coral Decor | 6 swatches | 618 poly -Cowrie Shell Decor | 11 swatches | 1180 poly -Crown Decor | 4 swatches | 1212 poly -Crystal Ball | 5 swatches | 298 poly -Music Box | 5 swatches | 1077 poly -Perfumes 1-6 | 3, 4, 5, 2, 5, & 5 swatches | 208, 93, 280, 175, 88, & 210 poly -Sand Dollar Decor | 10 swatches | 1716 poly -Shell Decor 1-4 | 6 swatches each | 494, 484, 1024, & 462 poly -Shoes Decor | 5 swatches | 800 poly -Starfish Decor | 5 swatches | 274 poly -Trinket Box | 3 swatches | 78 poly -Wand Wall Decor | 3 swatches | 748 poly

Build Mode: 1 swatch each -Floor Pastel -Floor Sand -Floor Underwater -Wall Pink -Wall Sea Horizon -Wall Underwater

I offer anyone who wants to, to add proper vertex paint to the lamp item. My vertex paintbrush in Blender doesn't work the way it is supposed to, no matter what I try. If anyone wants to add the vertex paint I will update the file with the fixed version & credit to the person who added it. Without this paint on the mesh, the whole item illuminates strangely when turned on, so turning the brightness down can remedy that issue until it is fixed. I am also working on figuring out why I'm having this issue in Blender.

📁 Download all or pick & choose (SFS, No Ads): https://simfileshare.net/folder/198833/

📁 Alt Mega Download (still no ads): https://mega.nz/folder/RspmSYRS#sjQNNOMvBK3CdKgt3E3IeA

📁 DL on Patreon

Will be public on September 4th, 2023

Happy Simming! ✨ Some of my sets will be early access from now on. If you like my work, please consider supporting me:

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[copperbezel]

Zephyr Slip

At the end of last year, before I'd begun working on Bit Cobalt, I ran into some paleoart of Austroraptor, a dromaeosaur (raptor) from Argentina. Austroraptor is one of the largest dromaeosaurs, with a long, narrow, Big Bird snoot, conical teeth that probably point to fishing, and small forelimbs, as well as leg proportions that hint at a runner. Much of the paleoart I saw depicted Austroraptor in waterbird colors, which gave it a soft and friendly appearance, immediately my new favorite dinosaur.

So I drew an Austroraptor and then a robotic one, adding a quail topknot or ahoge feather, and started to think about making a transforming figure that would change from this animal into a humanoid robot. But a transformation from cute robot girl to cute robot girl, except one of them is a dinosaur, seemed a bit redundant, and there would be compromises in both directions that would detract rather than add.

But a couple of months later, I saw a particular motor scooter and something clicked, and the game was on. I love motor scooters, and they're a fantastic accessory for other figures on the shelf. I went through two foamcore prototypes to nail down the transformation, making it as simple and sturdy as I could manage and making sure both modes would scale well with other 1/12 scale figures.

I also started collecting some reference images for details I could nab and integrate, and to nail down the scaling of the scooter.

After I had something that worked, I drew up some concept art for both modes and started modeling. I was able to streamline the design a couple of steps further in the 3D model, and then it was all carving up shapes, fine tuning, etc. Probably the longest phase of modeling was after I had my model roughed out into shape, but needed to build the joints, firm up the edges, define all the contact surfaces, and apply subdivision surfaces. I found it useful to rig the model and set a couple of animation steps in Blender for the two modes so I could simply page back and forth between them.

I had to set the design on the back burner while I worked out the kinks with my 3D printer and built my last couple of projects. Then I made a test print to identify any trouble spots, and after a couple of tweaks to get the feel right, it was time to print and finish the real thing. Zephyr Slip is the first thing I've printed in "color", and thanks to some dyes I need to experiment with more, she won't be the last. That means a much more durable finish for parts that have to slide against one another or clip into place. I did add a gloss coat to some surfaces of the black elements, but it shouldn't show chipping much. (Unlike the kickstand, thanks to my terrible decision to paint its feet.)

Like my previous figures, Zephyr's eyes (and console) are just printed gloss paper under a coat of gloss varnish, and her headlights and taillights have some clear resin poured in over the paint and cured into place for lenses.  Cutting plastic windows like the ones on my Vertigo GT for the lower headlights didn't have the same effect, so they got the same clear resin treatment. The decal designs themselves were made in Blender, because I've given up on Inkscape's interface, but I think they came out okay.

The joints are almost exclusively 3mm ABS rods, although her hip joints are Kotobukiya Hexa Gear joints, which gave me a sturdy pin and hinge in a compact package and without visible pegs. I'm looking into options to make the pegs show less while being easy to remove for the construction and painting process. Despite some care with the tolerances, I did have to widen some peg holes and mush some pegs during assembly to get her pose well and snap together tight into either mode. But everything does clip solidly into place, resulting in a really playable figure. 

As my first fully transforming figure and also my largest, Zephyr Slip is definitely the biggest figure project I've tackled so far, and I'm extremely happy with the results. Posability is probably her weakest area, but she can pounce and emote, and with her solid handfeel and satisfyingly snappy transformation, I'm happy with the design. 

Paleontologically, I've followed most of the proportions of the real animal, although her torso should be a little bit longer, and her tail half again as long. She should also have visible first fingers, and I'm playing into the paleoart meme of bare snouts on dromaeosaurs that shouldn't have them. The proportion of thigh to shin is exaggerated, and the tail should have some left-right sway even if it's inflexible in the vertical axis. But it pleases me that she is both a roughly accurately scaled Austroraptor, and also a fairly realistically scaled scooter (if a bit chunky).

As always, due credit to @aprilpowered and Workbenchmaniac for support and feedback along the way, as well as Nemocyte (Tumblr | Twitter), whose feedback helped me to work out (among other things) the articulation needs of a theropod figure, something I'd never had to think about before.

[kbs-and-fds]

Yo, Welcome to my photography blog!

This is a photography project with a focus on older digital cameras sold before the mid 2000s. I've been working with these sorts of cameras since 2022, which grew from my interest in retro computers that I have had since 2020 or so. Here, I'll introduce you to my cameras, my computer rig, and try to convince you that this is a cool hobby.

General Q & A:

Whats in the name? - Kb refers to Kilobyte, all of the photos I take with these cameras only take up a little over 100 Kilobytes of digital storage per photo. FD refers to the physical media the photos are stored in, currently one camera uses floppy disks (FD), the other two use compact flash (CF) and smart media (SM) cards. unfortunately, their shortened forms do not rhyme and so they do not matter.

What can I expect from this blog? - amateur photography using old cameras, I guess. I'll say some nonsense below each photo but you're free to ignore it. I don't plan on reblogging anything here, so don't expect that. I am the star of this blog. me me me. I tend towards finding weird buildings/architecture, "liminal spaces", sunsets, and generally trying to see how well I can make a photo look like a blender render in a Kane pixels video. don't expect any consistency, though. the medium will remain the same but the vibes will absolutely fluctuate with my mood. I'll try and tag things correctly if it's off putting.

Are you a cool person? - I tend to be! I don't want this place to be alienating for anybody but assholes who don't deserve to see the stuff I do. being a tumblr blog, I follow a lot of the standard stuff. jerks are not welcome and I'm not gonna give you the pleasure of an argument if you do turn your head round these parts.

who are you? - trans pan girl. takes pictures. listens to Femtanyl. much unlike Peter Parker.

My Cameras

Mavica FD-7

released in 1997, this was the second of Sony's "Digital Mavica" line of cameras. it records photos of around 50Kbs in size to a standard 3 1/2" floppy disk. it has some standard features like a manual focus wheel, 10x optical zoom, and exposure control. I haven't found a strict source but I believe this camera is less than one megapixel. I actually have a few different Mavica cameras (a fd-71/75/83/85/87 and a cd-1000) but they aren't different from the fd-7 enough to justify being used often. I'll make note on individual posts if I use 'em at all.

Kodak DC220

released in 1999, with a quality of exactly one megapixel the DC 220 is a weird little thing. it has custom software, connects to a computer via com ports with a transfer speed of ~11,000 bit/s. (roughly 30-60 seconds per photo in my experience) you can add custom text to your photos in the cameras built in software, and attach custom audio to each photo. it is a pain in the butt to get working, but it's quirks make it worth the frustration.

Olympus E-10

made in 2000 with a quality of a whopping four megapixels, the Olympus E-10 is the newest addition to my collection, and possibly the nicest camera I'll ever own. it's a fixed lens DSLR camera capable of 4x zoom, you can easily adjust the aperture and exposure on the fly, it's photos tend to be a whole 100kb in size (1/10th of a megabyte!) and to be entirely honest I have no idea how to use it. but I will eventually!

My Computer

I try to use all era-appropriate tech to transfer photos and do any edits, this is the computer I do all that processing on! its a Dell Optiplex gx1- the daddy of pretty much any computer used in public schools (Chromebooks don't count) It's got a Pentium 3 CPU clocking at 500MHz, 512mb ram, running windows ME. it has all the original Kodak DC220 software installed, and I can't really access the Kodak's photos any other way. I've also got a few other weird bits attached to it -an HP sketch pro cad tablet and an external data cartridge SCSI device. both work, but I don't really bother to use them, they just look neat.

that's about it. have a good one! thanks for reading this all, if you did.