#advanced armor

[eampro-blog]

Neo Future (AI Art)

[zomb13s]

The Monkey King: An Academic Exploration of Symbolism, Humor, and Adaptation

[singsofecho]

echo as a Mando from a self-indulgent au <3

[serpentface]

Retconned Wardi firearms- a basic handgun, a highly decorative ceremonial handgun (belonging to Faiza), and a lance-gun.

Gun tech has officially been nerfed down to hand cannons (press F) (this has been a long time coming but I'd been fallacy of sunk costs-ing myself out of retconning).

Handguns are held similarly to a shotgun, with the butt pressed into the user's shoulder, one hand gripping under the barrel, and the other free to ignite the gunpowder. These represent the most advanced firearms in contemporary usage, both in make and in their use of uniform iron projectiles built to match the gun's bore for greater range and efficiency. Lance-guns are the more basal form, usually larger and mounted with the pole held over the shoulder, and are most effectively used by two people (one to hold and aim, one to light the gunpowder).

The spread of firearms is currently mostly limited to the Eastern Inner Seaway peoples (with some additional distribution via overland trade), and actual manufacture of hand cannons and gunpowder at Significant scale is limited to the region's core powers.

The reason for this limited spread is partially due to specific elements of the technology's history. Gunpowder was first synthesized by Burri alchemists and considered to be the discovery of the legendary divine weapon + solar fire of the deity Inanariya, and its formula (along with techniques for ideally refining its components) remained a closely guarded state secret. It was used predominantly in priestly contexts to generate flame and explosive sounds (in conjunction with earlier practices of generating multicolored flames with use of other chemicals), then integrated into combustible weaponry in the forms of fire lances, which would eventually develop into early handcannons.

The treatment of gunpowder as a guarded sacred or semi-sacred substance continued with Wardi adoption, where knowledge of its making is considered a closed rite. It's name (inya tsatsul or just tsatsul, a derived adoption of the Burri iñazatsūya) still reflects a divine solar association (the Burri word means 'sun's thunder', the Wardi 'inya' invokes the sun, 'tsatsul' is an adapted loanword and has no meaning independent of the substance itself), though its priestly use is now predominantly associated with the firearm'ed Odonii (rather than priests of the solar Face Inyamache). The composition of gunpowder can no longer be regarded as a Secret by any means, though efforts to obscure the methods of its creation are still moderately successful and has kept knowledge of gunpowder manufacture more limited than the total sphere of firearm usage itself.

The actual strongest limiting factor of firearm usage is the rarity of natural saltpeter deposits necessary for making gunpowder. The practice of actively producing saltpeter via nitraries has not been developed anywhere in the setting, and all is instead obtained via natural sources. These sources are rare and limited within the current spread of firearm technology, and result in gunpowder being a limited and expensive substance to produce. The weapons themselves are also very expensive to manufacture (a good quality steel SWORD is far too material-cost prohibitive for most people to own), particularly high quality firearms designed for use with standardized ammunition.

These guns are also very basal, and logistical difficulties in their use (weight, very slow loading and firing speed, high visibility, Relatively low reach and accuracy) along with the restrictive cost of production has kept firearms far from rendering conventional weaponry, armor, and projectiles obsolete (even within the societies that have access to them). They are still, however, very devastating in use within their contemporary context, particularly in that high quality guns have a longer range than the best arrow-based projectiles, and utterly negate most contemporary forms of armor at close range.

[polysaur]

Well this is disappointing, after some surface level digging I find that Targent actually becomes GOOD after Azran Legacy??? Just because they elect Swift??? The guy who was in charge of ASSASINS!?!? My dreams of Neo Targent soldiers with flame throwers and panzer cop armor with "black spectacles" to jab at The Red Spectacles while also being canon compliant are dashed. I might just have to join the AU wagon.

[chimaerakid]

d&d stuff

[chiffer178]

The feminine urge to pilot a war mech

[digimontcgcatalog]

Magnamon ST17-13

[rotworld]

while searching for traces of ark ships that left the sol system millennia ago, sanguinius stumbles upon something extraordinary: you and your people, descendants of ancient terran travelers long believed lost to the warp. the discovery challenges everything he believes about himself, the galaxy and the future of humanity.

->sanguinius/reader. explicit; contains gore, non-con elements (in the next part), imperialism, angst, size difference, feral behavior, possessive behavior, minor character death, blood drinking.

[randy-jade-4ever]

TEAM SWITCHED UNDERSWAP SPOILERS

Decided to take the mantle and be the first to draw fanart of Sgt. Splosion. I'm excited to see more of him!!

[professionalscrublord]

Inktober 6: Golden

Saturos and Menardi, the bad guys from Golden Sun 1. And the fusion dragon they produced, so technically they're in the picture twice.

They weren't just moustache-twirling villains being evil for the heck of it, they genuinely believed they were doing the right thing. But they were also huge assholes, so it's ok to kill them. Right? They started it!

We'll just tell the courts they fell down that lighthouse well on their own.

This game had a kickass soundtrack too, damn.

Also, I'm blaming being in a car accident for the delay. (Even though the delay began before the crash.) All ok here, just a bit sore at the mo, other party is ok, it was their fault, they didn't try to dispute the events, so that's a relief at least. My car is totaled. Their giant black truck looked pretty much fine in comparison.

[goddessofroyalty]

I know it's not an ask but I've been thinking about a scene with young Vi and Powder searching for their parents at the beginning of Arcane but it's Naph and Amaranthine after the fight with Noxus was over.

Amara and Naph got out of the safe place where they were hiding and decided to search for their dads (and the rest of their family as well). There's destruction kind of similar to what we've seen in the og scene with Amaranthine holding her brother's hand as a protective big sister.

The difference is that they do find their parents with some injuries but alive and well. After Jayce helps Viktor to stand up they notice them but before they can react the kids run toward them and hug them. Then Jayce and Viktor start tearing up while hugging each other and their beautiful children realizing that the worst is over (the rest join in later).

I absolutely accept scene ideas as well as asks!

I would say whoever is looking after them has clearly dropped their responsibility but if the battle is over and it's clear who won they're probably a bit distracted trying to help organize the clean-up that needs to happen after the fighting's over. Two kids easily lost in the general chaos of that (especially if they had been told to stay put but decided to go find their parents instead).

One of the first things they're told by their parents (past the relief of everyone being alive) is definitively that they shouldn't be there, that they should have stayed where it was safe. Neither Jayce nor Viktor wanted them to see this destruction (wanted them to see all the bodies). Those two in particularly probably ended up right in the center of it because I imagine the Hexgates would be a big part of the battle and that was their creation together, it makes sense they end up there together to either destroy/defend them (whatever is needed). But of course the two had to know if their parents are okay (if anyone in their family is okay).

Personally I would switch it to be Viktor helping Jayce stand. But I've given Viktor his Machine Herald armor for this battle and while it could be damaged the narrative echo of Jayce being supported by Viktor to help stand after all the times Viktor supported Jayce to help stand calls to me. Either way there's definitively repairs that armor is going to need and the mask of it has probably been lost in the battle or the after-events. And the two kids can recognize their parents anywhere.

They end up a pile together of relief and exhaustion as the adrenaline of it all bleeding out of them. The other members of the family joining the collapsed pile as they reach them. All looking over the destruction that resulting from the battle and knowing they'll have to clean it all up (that they'll have to rebuilt) but at least they are all alive and can rest for a bit first.

[robo-dino-puppy]

horizon forbidden west | aloy 103/?

[lagrange-one]

Ｇｕｎｄａｍ　ＲＤＦ－３０４

[sims-tec]

A return to form. The X-02 Advanced Power Armor, nicknamed the Black Devil, was adopted by the Enclave as their service uniform after the destruction of their oil rig. Not as protective as the original advanced power armor or the later Hellfire armor, but it's still formidable. Better than no power armor, am I right? Helmet in glasses, left arm in armband, right arm in bracelet, torso in necklace, legs in garters, and requires into the future. I've created a custom institute paint for the suit, and I'd like to thank ToastyFresh for creating a brotherhood of steel paint for it as well. Happy Fourth of July! God bless America, and God bless the Enclave!

ToastyFresh: https://www.artstation.com/toojb

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VA8I62H5LkzS9E3V-E-eTLKhiPc8q_48/view?usp=sharing

SimFileShare: https://simfileshare.net/filedetails/4753608/

ShareMods:

[cienie-isengardu]

Khaos Reigns (2)

So far, my two biggest complaints about new Mortal Kombat storytelling is the lack of Tomas in Lin Kuei-focused  Khaos Reigns and lack of sensible logic behind characters’ choices. This is not really about how characters behave toward each other as this is rooted in the previous game, but how weak is the reasoning that pushes the story forward. Which sadly is how the whole attack on Kuai Liang’s wedding feels to me. We have Bi-Han’s lie 

Cyrax: I still cannot believe that Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld. That he agreed to break up our clan.

that has no backing up. A certain time has passed between MK1 and current story mode, right? So if Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld, then logically Outworld forces should showed up in Earthrealm or the Fire Lord would knock on their door to say sorry guys, no more Lin Kuei; something Lin Kuei would be first to know. Even more, since apparently Lin Kuei were asked to protect Earthrealm in dire need in the previous game, something they refused to do (as we were told by Tomas). Liu Kang capitulating to Outworld would be a political change hard to miss. So it is no wonder why Cyrax is not buying it, as this lie makes little sense.

(Personally I think it would be better if Lin Kuei were not “deceived” but simply wanted their independence and supported Bi-Han for this goal alone, while Sub-Zero letting his father die still works fine as the shocking revelation to cast a doubt in Cyrax’s mind.)

Then we have Sektor and Bi-Han acknowledging Cyrax suspecting their deception

but apparently this is not a concerning enough to, you know, not including her in the attack or not giving her the top-technologically advanced armor, if you can't be sure of her loyalty.

Bi-Han said they will be ready when Cyrax learns the truth but as the story goes, there are no backup plans for that scenario. Sub-Zero does not deny he lied or killed his father and I really wonder what he or Sektor expected to happen? Yeah, so much for being ready to deal with the problem they were aware of from the start.

Same with the stealth attack on the wedding. Lin Kuei warriors successfully got unnoticed inside Wu Shi place,

where the wedding was happening. And instead of some of those ninjas quietly opening one of the gates, Sektor was using her guns to destroy the main gate, losing the element of surprise.

A tactical surprise that she and Bi-Han wanted to use it to their advantage.

Not to mention Lin Kuei warriors had no problem with getting past the not-even-so-high walls so it is not like the main gate was so necessary for their army to get inside. Or if they have such great firepower, they should thrown some grenades over the walls or set bombs before frontal attacking. Just saying.

Okay, that could be just Lin Kuei arrogance or testing the armors in battle (something they could anytime anywhere), but one would think a clan that for ages was doing commando-like work for Liu Kang would get the stealth attack correctly. Especially since one of the first things Sektor told us on screen was that Lin Kuei were not trained for Tournaments but for war.

Cyrax is overall a fine character, but for me she lacks an edge the MK9’s male Cyrax had and thus feel, well, meek. The story shows her as a person with a strong moral sense, however Bi-Han literally said to her the mission is to attack Kuai Liang and his clan. Harumi chose to fight back so why is Cyrax so surprised that Lin Kuei warriors were ready to kill her? It’s not part of their missions, she said when attacking her own people to save Scorpion’s fiance/wife-to-be, but for me this shows how much Cyrax is just naive and detached from reality. The previous game showed us that Lin Kuei brothers are ruthless fighters (Bi-Han was ready to decapitate defeated Shang Tsung, Kuai Liang effectively killed his opponents with no hesitate), so Cyrax jumping to rescue a woman that killed her own comrades kinda made me wonder, why she is even that important to Sektor or Bi-Han to be involved with them so close? Like, there is little I can see that could interest Bi-Han or Sektor in her, as she is presented from the start as disrespectful toward her superior and mentor (Sektor) and way more idealistic than any of them is. Literally the first argument she has with Sektor and her criticism about ambush & sneak attack tactics feels a bit off, considering this is what Lin Kuei were doing even as the good guys, presumably for centuries and with full approval of Liu Kang (as was seen in previous game).

Sure, we could say Cyrax is new! She knows no better… but then storyline openly claims she and Kuai Liang knew each other before he left the clan and even were once friends, so it is not like Cyrax just joined the Lin Kuei. On one hand, I understand why NRS went with Cyrax’s personality in such a direction, on another, she feels so un-Lin Kuei, I have no idea why Sektor and Sub-Zero even bothered with her in the first place. Like... what was so special about Cyrax for the whole fuss about her from their perspective?

In all fairness, I’m also a bit confused how MK1 and Khaos Reigns follow the same storyline. In the previous game, Bi-Han was captured by Kuai Liang after the ill-fated mission and presumably imprisoned. Then somehow Lin Kuei was asked(?) to aid Liu Kang in the battle against the sorcerers

so how is that the news of Sub-Zero allying with Shang Tsung is still a secret to anyone  if Lin Kuei already made a decision to abbadon Earthrealm in need - story wise, after Bi-Han was defeated by Scorpion and captured? So I’m to believe Scorpion took compromised Sub-Zero to Lin Kuei headquarters like nothing happened, did not mention the whole allying with enemy, then left to honor tradition and dad and joined Liu Kang and some time later he is angry at Cyrax she believed in a not-well prepared lie? Is this me, or did NRS not connect all the dots together between the first game and the additional storyline and kinda every character took damage to intelligence so the story could go from point A to point B?

The relationship between certain characters is frustrating, I won’t lie about it. But I’m much more frustrated by how the logic and consequences of events feel either forced or make little sense. I do not except a brilliant, smart storytelling from a fighting game, but when characters that are supposed to be competent and/or trained for a specific job suddenly share one brain cell - and no one is using it at all - kills a great chunk of enthusiasm I had for Mortal Kombat.

I may not like my fav characters being robbed of their original complexity and yet still enjoying the fact they are part of the storyline. I do however take a great offense when story mode turns them into incompetent idiots just to push plot from point A to point B.