#I NEED usable fashion

[ithinktoomuchaboutcats]

I wanna dress cokorful

I wanna dress happly

I wanna dress stylish

I wanna dress without gender.

But also I want to dress comfortable and useful

I want it to be ok that my shoes fall apart

The rip in my Jeans? Jea I did it

On accident but it's character

The patches on my jacket?

Surprise they aren't falling off

I wanna dress good and Colorful

But somehow the “used” and “adveture” clothes are only old Army jackets grandpa pants

sweaters and a beanie and some hiking boots

all in 50 shades of brown and dark green

I want my clothes to be used. showing that they were. that I don't have to worry about keeping them as new So I can be me and

I want to use clothes the way they were intended too

I want useful clothes that look and feel like me

[maybe-its-5sos]

Try again (Toshinori Yagi Smut)

Requested: no

Summary: You want to add another addition to the family, he’s unsure.

Word Count: 1695

Warning(s): Self-doubt, Smut

“So What I think doesn’t matter?” You question sitting down next to Yagi on the couch.

Tho you’d been with him for years and have 2 kids, he still occasionally gets into these strange thought patterns. Yes, his self esteem has been low ever since he lost use of his All Might form, but you thought that you having been with him for so long would be worth something.

“Of course it does, dear!” His eyes shoot towards yours, as if searching for something.

“Well then, listen to me, I married you because I love you, all of you. Furthermore I prefer you in your smaller form and I’ve told you as much as thousand times. I know it’s not easy, and I know you feel down, but you need to remember that people still love you no matter what!” You say, taking a sip of your tea, offering Toshi his own cup. He takes it, looking like he’s deep in thought.

“You’re right” he says looking at you again with a smile, but it seemed a bit hollow, like he didn’t truly believe it. You decided to not push the matter further for now as your 9 year old barges into the living room from his room. “ Dad! Look” he says excitedly, he had fashioned his blanket into a cape. You smile wiggling your eyebrows at your husband.

He goes to play with him and your 6 year old joins in, playing as a villain.

You thought the ruckus in your house would never stop as your family spent their day off playing heroes and villains and god whatever else came to their creative brilliant little minds. Your husband played along with all of it.

By the end of the night, the kids were so worn out, getting them to bed was a dream. They were sleeping pretty much the second their heads hit the pillow.

You were in your bedroom, getting ready for bed as Yagi joined you. “Hey, I wanna talk to you about something when you have a moment.” You tell your loving husband as you put on your baggy sleep shirt. “What’s on your mind, darling?” He inquired.

“ I want another kid.” You blurt out, looking away, worried about his reaction. A breath hitches in his throat causing him to cough. “Y/n, Im not sure that would be a good idea, the kids would have a pretty big age gap and I don’t know if I could keep up with another kid…” he says, nudging you to face him, putting a finger under your chin to lift it, getting you to look at him.

“I know… but I miss being pregnant” you trail off. “Why would you want another child with someone like me? When we had our boys I was still All might, I still had something to offer.” He confesses quietly. Doubts swirling in his mind. It was true, you had your youngest long before his quirk became nearly un usable. It always worried him, not being able to protect his family anymore, he also thought you would lose your interest in him. To his surprise you had stayed steadfast in your love and adoration for him.

You shoot him a glare, “I love you no matter what Toshi, You have so much more to offer than just being a hero and I still don’t care what form you’re in.” You tell him, giving him a reassuring peck. In all honesty, if you had the time and he had the energy, you’d have a gaggle of kids by now. You’d be jumping his bones at every and any opportunity. Sadly tho, with your family keeping both of you busy and his injuries hindering his sex drive, that hasn’t been a possibility.

“I don’t know” he says nervously. “Just think about it, even if the answer is no, I would appreciate you giving it a thought.” You tell him, looking at him with a slightly sad look. He caught it immediately but didn’t say anything about it, giving you a nod.

Getting in bed, you fall asleep tho a little restless, he on the other hand couldn’t sleep. Toshis thoughts were racing.

He wanted to give you want you want. He always had. But at the same time he was unsure if he could handle another kid. Yagi loves his boys and would do anything in his power for them. Could he have another?

Before he knew it, the blaring alarm, rays of sunshine and tussling from your side of the bed awoken him from a slumber he didn’t even realise he was in. He keeps his eyes shut, trying to get a little more sleep while you get out of bed and make your way to the kitchen.

Cheerful giggles fill your home and delightful smells of food tingle the nose. Toshi shuffles towards the kitchen, stopping when he sees you three. Playfully preparing breakfast. The youngest is holding the spatula, while the oldest is getting things out of the fridge to set on the table. You’re cutting up fruit as you giggle at your youngest making goofy faces.

They look so much like a younger version of their father. You always wonder where your genetics disappeared to.

The breakfast was delicious, even if Toshi couldn’t eat a whole lot and everyone was all giggles. Today was the end of the weekend, meaning the boys needed to clean up their rooms and do all their homework. And man does Yagi find it sexy when you go into teacher mode. You run a tight ship. The boys already know the routine.

Your husband’s heart flutters as he watches you help your oldest do his math as the youngest also listens tho he clearly doesn’t fully understand what you’re going on about. Maybe he truly does want another kid.

Getting back to the bedroom, the boys clean and in bed, getting ready to go to sleep yourself. Toshi comes out from the shower a beautiful wide sparkling smile on his face. “I think I’m okay with trying for another.”

“What?” You question, what he said not quite registering. “ I want another baby, unless you’ve changed your mind, dear” He explains, his smile slightly faltering. “Really?!” You whisper shriek. He nods, his smile even brighter than before, you swear that smile could make you melt if you looked at it long enough.

You smash your lips into his, pulling him into a passionate kiss as you pull him closer by the drawstrings on his pj pants. “Are you sure?” You say catching your breath. “Yes.” He chuckles. As you make your way towards your bed.

He gently pulls the shirt you just put on over your head, throwing it on the ground together with his pj pants. He’s already starting to pitch a tent in his underwear. He’s gently kissing down your neck as you gently play with his hair. He reaches your breasts, gently nuzzling one as he squeezes the other, a gentle hum escaping you.

“You’re so beautiful, y/n” he says, taking one of your nipples in his mouth. He gently suckles on in, soon switching to the other. “ I wish we had time to do this more often” you murmur. He chuckles lowly, kissing down your abdomen, getting closer and closer to your core.

He gently nibbles on the soft supple skin of your inner thigh, earning a slight arch of the back from you.

He gently removes your panties, rubbing a finger in your folds. Soon his tongue follows. He’s eating you out like it’s his last supper, earning moans and groans from you, your hand stuck in his hair unable to contain your pleasure. You can feel a mile on his face as he gets you this riled up. He knows he can’t last as long as he used to, so he makes sure you feel as good as possible before the main act.

Euphoria hits you as your muscles clench, begging for a release. His tongue hits your clit perfectly, throwing you off of the cliff, bliss clouding your mind.

“ I need you” you moan, as Toshi gets back on top of you while you try to push his underwear off. He assists you revealing his massive member. Even after all these years, you’ve still never quite gotten used to it. Didn’t help that he was gone so often. “ I love you, y/n” he tells you as he’s lining himself up, giving you a deep, passionate kiss. It feels like he needs you, in a way that could never be described. It’s so loving yet needy.

“ Are you ready, sweetie?” He groans. “Yeah” you moan in anticipation. He gently pushes into you, giving you a bit of time to adjust. You roll your hips into him, signalling for him to move.

The thrusts are slow, deep and sweet. He’s making love to you like it’s the first time, no matter how many times you’ve been in this situation. He’s always just so sweet and caring. His hips roll into yours so naturally, like you’re made for each other. Youre both trying to keep it down, but it feels so good that some quiet groans escape both of you. Yagis pace quickening as his climax is getting closer.

You pull him closer, your nails gently grazing his back. He’s kissing your neck, sucking on the skin here and there but not hard enough to leave marks. Your becoming more and more breathless as you get closer to your second cumming.

His thrusts become jagged and less rhythmic as you feel him twitch in you. A few more thrusts later, you climax again, him following shortly after. He stays inside as his seed shoots into you, his breaths short and body being held up by just his elbows. Yagi shoots you a bright smile, kissing your cheek. “Hopefully that did the trick” he chuckles, slowly pulling out and laying down next to you.

“I wouldn’t mind doing that again,” you beam, sending him a wink, a deep blush gracing his cheeks.

“I love you, y/n”

“I love you too, Toshi”

Masterlist

Ask

With love,

-K

[hellodaydream1111111111111111]

A new toy meant a new addition to the box however, Hisoka had been putting it off. The time he would spend sewing would be a waste, especially when it was Illumi Zoldyck who was his new plaything. Not only was he strong but he was just plain adorable. Alas, his Illu was ignoring him after their first time in bed together. Hisoka was pretty sure he'd die from withdrawals if he didn't at least get something that reminded him of the assassin. He grabbed the sewing box from the closet, a pink heart with needles, thread, and felt. Perfect for making dolls of his fruits. Sitting by his coffee table he dug through the fabric throwing away colors that would disgrace his darling. Pink was certainly cute on Illumis's cheeks, black was a necessity for his hair and void-like eyes, and the color of his clothes was non-negotiable. illumi’s fashion taste was so… bland, which was why the last time the pair played a game Hisoka had bet that if Illumi lost he'd have to let the magician pick out some new clothes for him. He pulled out all the green fabrics he had and haphazardly tossed them into the usable color pile. A cutting session later he had all the pieces cut out and the doll mostly assembled, aside from his pins all he needed to do was the face but Hisoka was hoping to get some original pins from his darling when he got the chance. He started on the left eye, the process was quite repetitive so he felt the need to let his mind wander. The first time he'd ever met Illumi… The assassin had on a drab purple jacket and black pants, his only saving grace was his hair. He'd attacked Hisoka with god-like speed and Hisoka still remembered the way his blood dripped down golden pins, such a turn-on. The third time they’d met they weren't hostile toward each other. Hisoka watched as Illumi’s hair flew in the wind, blending in with the night sky from the top of the building they were on. Hisoka didn't remember how many times they’d seen each other before but, he did remember Illumi losing that bet and dragging him around different stores. He didn't remember how long they'd done just that but, he did remember Illumi walking out of a dressing room in those green clothes, a crop top, an undershirt, and pants. Which he decorated with pins around the collar and in the middle of the top. Most of all though, Hisoka remembered inviting him over and—

Ah, he'd pricked his finger, Illumi was so good at causing pain. The thought made him grin with lust. Unfortunately, it was better to clean it up. while Illumi looked stunning covered in blood, the man was far too promising for such trifling pleasures.

Past Hisoillu weekend! I saw someone here say that they felt robbed we didn't get to see Hisoka’s obsessed with Illumi phase so i figured it’d be great for this prompt.

[jonphaedrus]

been seeing a lot of posts about how glasses (and the way society acts about normalized glasses/vision correction) are great examples of how important accessibility tech for disabilities—and effective monetary coverage for those things—is. took a walk today without my glasses and remembered all over again that those posts are right and the normalization of glasses as accessibility tech, as fashion, as something people just "have" is essential and very good but also we should never forget they are actually correcting for a disability.

if you need glasses—even if your vision is fine without them, but especially if your vision is really significantly impaired without them—there's no piece of advice i wish people talked about more often than the fact that you should always, always always, have a contingency plan of how to get around without your glasses. you should know how to change the accessibility settings to make your phone or computer usable, even if you don't have your glasses on while you're doing it. if your vision is significantly impaired enough without your glasses that you wouldn't feel safe moving around outside of the home, you should look into getting, and learning to use, a tactile cane. you should know how to read the tactile labelling for elevators and signs and recognize where you are without being able to read street signs. you should keep the stuff to repair your glasses in your bag/purse/suitcase, you should know how to navigate your home, feed yourself, clean yourself, and find and ask for help without your glasses.

my vision was already significantly impaired before i broke my glasses in 2018, but i "technically" see 20/20 with my correct scrip and i hadn't taken the time to be proactive with accessibility tech on my phone or my laptop. i could get around without them using a tactile cane and backup sunglasses and having walked around the city without them, but i couldn't check my email, grade my papers, play games with my friends, or call my husband for help. i had to crash-course learn all of that in less than a week.

making use of accessibility technology to make things easier to use without your glasses can make it easier to use with them on, too. reducing eye strain and headaches because the font is of a size that's more readable or you have twilight cutting your blue light or you have tinted lenses that help fix glare from fluorescent lights or the sun, redoing the colors on a game to be easier to see or turning off significant shadows, marking buttons on your remotes or your keyboards or your light switches, being able to find food in your kitchen without having to check labels, all of that?? there's nothing wrong with that. you should learn to do it.

in a worst-case scenario, where you break or lose or don't otherwise have your glasses, being able to do basic tasks like use your phone, navigate around outside your home, or get food could save your life. the rest of the time, there's no reason to make seeing harder on yourself, and these technologies exist to be used.

i just wish more people, especially more people who are significantly vision impaired without their glasses, would be proactive and make plans and learn how to exist without their glasses. it's important! it's really important! don't forget that they're still accessibility technology correcting for a significant disability!

[breelandwalker]

So I'm on my second playthrough of BG3 (half-elf ranger this time, still gonna climb that archdruid like a tree) and I'm messing around with things a bit more. Changing some stuff up, taking different routes, making different choices, and so forth.

One of the things that bugged me the first time around was the Traveler's Chest in camp. Namely, the damn thing was disorganized as fuck. I could never find the stuff I needed without scrolling to hell and back, which was not fun when I was trying to find a necessary item or sellables for trade. A lot of useful things got lost in the shuffle.

So this time? It's an INVENTORY. And yes, I AM about to reveal the depths of my peculiar organizational madness.

Early on in the game, I picked up a few of the empty chests, reliquaries, and backpacks that were sitting around. Also made sure to grab any storage container with an obvious shape or unique name. Sent all the empty containers to camp, carried on with the mission at hand, sending other items back as necessary to lighten the carry load.

Next rest session in camp, I spent a good HOUR swapping between the chest, my inventory, the party inventory, and the various containers I'd picked up, putting in items by type so that everything was filed correctly and in a fashion that made sense.

The result - the camp chest now has dedicated containers for loot (weapons, armor, clothing, extra potions, extra scrolls, random sellable shinies), supplies (food, booze, supply packs), magic items (weapons, armor, other wearables not in immediate use), readables (books, notes, maps, missives), keepsakes (paintings, artifacts, unique trinkets, anything we want to save for a future party member), dyes, and bottled tadpoles. The main trunk space is left for barrels of useful materials and general receiving.

And now I have a usable inventory, less weight to carry around, and a cozy camp activity built into each long rest where loot gets put away and/or distributed to party members who need it.

(And yes, the party's takealong inventory is organized along similar lines. If you can be one thing, you should be efficient.)

So satisfying. 😊

[20dollarlolita]

20dollarlolita pattern school step 3) prep and pattern selection.

NOTE: Here's a link to the pattern school discord. If this link has expired, please message me off-anon and I can send you one. I like to get to know everyone in the pattern school and so I don't let too many people in at once, so that I don't get overwhelmed.

So quick summary of where we were: Pattern School is a project that I'm working on in this blog, and that has an accompanying Discord server. The purpose of Pattern School is to teach people, though hands-on experience, the consistent conventions that sewing patterns use. It also teaches basics about how to transform patterns into designs that do what you want them to do. Pattern School is divided up into steps. Each step builds on the skills of the previous one, and each one teaches new elements.

Here's the pattern school tag, in chronological order.

In step 1, everyone follows a commercial pattern with notches, grainlines, and written instructions. This pattern is for something that is not fitted to a human body/is not multi-sized. In this step, we make sure that everyone has a basic foundation understanding of how commercial patterns are made. We choose a non-fitted item so that selecting the correct fit and adjusting for body shape is not necessary. If the student wishes, an additional challenge for step 1 will be to look at a pattern, see if it's usable in lolita fashion, and make good fabric and trim selections to make a usable lolita item.

In step 2, we take a pattern for pajama pants and use it to create bloomers. This step introduces the basics of pattern manipulation. We go into how to remove seam allowance, measure ourselves for fullness, and assemble a garment from a modified pattern. Once again, there is a challenge of choosing good trim and fabric options to build a usable lolita garment.

In step 3, we will be making a lolita or lolita-adjacent garment for ourselves. This garment will be a fitted item, and it will have a closure. What's a closure? Closures are something that opens and closes to allow the wearer to get in and out of the garment. Closures can be zippers, button plackets, hooks and eyes, IDK freaking magnets or something, if you want to put velcro as a closure then more power to ya, but your garment needs to have some kind of closure. I've made resources for how to put in zippers, but other closures are probably also acceptable. Pullover elastic is not a closure. We are making a garment for ourselves because it's a lot easier to make a fitted garment when you have the body you're using right there with you at all times. If you are always with another human being while you sew, you could probably use them, but the critical component is that you have the body accessible to you all the time.

This time, the challenge is also to make something that either can be part of your lolita wardrobe, or that forces you to choose and style something that has a lot of lolita fashion aesthetics. If you want to pick a lolita-adjacent concept, like Aristocrat or Fairy Kei, you're probably fine? If you're doing this on your own, the person who decides if you're cheating is you. If you're in the Discord, you can ask if something's acceptable and like 15 people will disagree with it before tagging me and then I make up an answer on the spot. I firmly belive that Ouji is just lolita with pants and doesn't need to be stated separately.

I previously made a very long list of garments that you can make EGL fashion with, but it's older and some of the patterns are out of print. So, here's a few hours of me going through the big 4 pattern website and finding stuff that has potential.

Dresses:

Left | Center | Right

So quick note: my image editing software kept refusing to function with images off simplicity.com, so we're going to alternate between funky screenshots and semi-competent images. I'm not sorry.

Left | Center | Right

Any time you're making a lolita dress from an existing dress pattern, you'll need to check that the skirt will hold our petticoats. Frankly, most of them don't. You've done the bloomer step, so you do have experience with this kind of modification, but I'll do a tutorial later about checking this and drafting your own skirt onto an existing bodice. For step 3, doing a commercial pattern for the bodice and then following a web tutorial for the skirt totally counts. What we're looking for in a dress pattern is the ability to mod it into a working lolita dress. Please note that Simplicity 8444 (the pirated-but-not-pirate lolita dress) and Simplicity s9735 (the “why'd you use Derpy-chan??”) dresses are not eligible for Step 3, as they are both elastic pullovers.

Top Left | Top Center | Top Right Bottom Left | Bottom Right

Blouses: However, Simplicity 8444 and s9735 both have blouses that work for step 3. If you want to build the JSK on your own and then follow the blouse pattern for step 3, you're good.

The McCall Titanic looking thing is a really fun blouse to make for this, and it's got a back zipper, so if you're not confident in your button-sewing then it's a good option.

Any button-up that goes all the way to the neck has some lolita potential. M8463 is actually pretty loliable on its own.

Top Left | Top Center | Top Right Bottom Left | Bottom Right

Vests are easy to make, don't take a lot of fabric (so you can use some really fancy fabric and have it not break the bank). You're going to have to find a good reference image for lolita but they're really good for ouji and aristocrat, so they get a category.

Top Left | Top Right Bottom Left | Bottom Right

I've just always wanted to make my own lolita coat so they get a category. Once again, you're going to need to double check that the flare fits your skirts.

Left | Right

Welcome to the weird shit category. There's a costume shop near me that sells these funky bolero steampunk things and I've always wanted to put it in a coord, so it's on here. The other one is a top that you could probably use as the top half of a JSK, so if you want to make a coordinating skirt then you could have some fun separates. I think handmade lolita needs more coordinating separates. They're a real thing but I want them to be more common.

So that's in no way a complete collection of patterns you can use, but I hope that's got some kind of inspiration about pattern. My test garment was made off an etsy pattern. There's plenty of other patterns out there. This was just the fastest way for me to showcase some patterns that do work.

We'll do a little more about looking at style lines and finding how to understand this a little better in the future, but for now here we are.

[selkra-souza]

@austintrashman What do glasses/vision correction look like for the BYG aliens?

Along with laser eye surgery and contact lenses, there's various ways to fit glassware (or otherware) onto an alien's face. Also I included some image examples of non-vision correcting goggles for funsies.

The most accessible glassware option for nedal is to install a ring around the eye stalk and fit a removable lens in front of it. One or both eyes may need a correctional lens. Fancier designs fully enclose the eye in a case that can come in various fashionable colors or shapes.

Glasses for massakas are fit around the head with an elastic strap. They can be made fashionable with jingling and dangling tassels and bells hanging off the sides.

A harness is used to hold up correctional lenses for delorix. The harness pictured above is a basic plant leather strap with metal holding the lenses, but they can come other colors and with decorative elements.

The oldest glasses design for zrai were invented by nedal for the "uplifted" zrai living among them, worn by the female at the bottom of the above image. It stays put while the upper jaw opens and closes for speech or eating. Since zrai have no arms (or much any usable appendages) It's a fairly impractical design since it requires another helper to strap it on and off using the handle on the top of the head. This antique design is really only worn by mature females living closely with their harem of males who are available to assist putting them on and off, considered by them to be fancy vintage items. The male at the top of the image meanwhile, is wearing the more practical and modern design invented by zrai. They're metal glasses that attach via magnetic buttons installed onto the face. Only a flick of the tongue on either handle is needed to put them on or take them off.

Smazels have the most complex compound lenses for their compound eyes. Each glass monocle has over a hundred correctional lenses that are painstakingly fitted for the individual, especially if by hand. Because smazel vision isn't all that advanced to begin with, and because it's enough of a hassle to commission these, that smazels without easy access computers and item printers just go without, relying instead on smell and vibrations to walk and fly around.

[firewolf111]

Hello!! If you’re still doing these-

Could I maybe have like a Prinxiety one please?

Maybe angst and then a happy-ish ending, like the others are being jerks to Roman in just the canon-ish fashion, and he like gets upset (I headcanon, for example, that sometimes this happens and he goes nonverbal), and Virgil notices and kinda quietly goes to help him calm down? Idk just the first thing that popped into my head, if you do this, do what’s comfortable/what you want‼️

Thank you for reading this!! Have a good day/afternoon/night😁

Thank you for the request! <3

Took me a bit and turned out much longer than planned. But I hope you enjoy!

Also, I based Roman's troubles speaking off of my own experiences, so it may not be perfect.

Roman stands with his hands clasped in front of him. It's a basic meeting to discuss video ideas, yet his hands fidget with each other and he fights the urge to pace. Each flip of the page has him closer to giving in to that urge. The silence is loud, only interrupted by the occasional hum of thought and the flipping of notebook pages. He is on the verge of giving in to the need to break the silence when finally someone speaks.

Logan: None of this is usable.

Roman: *freezing as his blood runs cold* Pardon?

Logan: I said, none of this is usable. Were you too distracted by your frivolous daydreams to listen? That would explain the lack of quality in this work.

Patton: I'm sure it's not that bad.

Silence once again returns as Logan hands the notebook to Patton. Patton flips through it. His expression is one of hesitant disappointment. The truth is in his eyes, though it is clear he is reluctant to admit it. He hands the notebook to Janus, who until then was watching the whole thing with an unamused expression, opting to check his gloves instead of even bothering to look in Roman's direction.

Patton: Hey, Jan? What's your opinion?

A small anger flickers in Roman's chest briefly before sputtering out. He shouldn't be surprised that Patton is asking for Janus's opinion instead of offering his own. It means he can simply agree without having to be the one to break the bad news. It's a familiar dance, though it didn't use to be Janus he would ask, he had become the most common side he'd ask recently. He wishes Patton would just outright tell him he is a disappointment instead of playing the good cop, bad cop game he does.

Janus: Hmmmm. Logan is right. None of these are useful. Best to toss them and start again.

Roman: But-

Janus: There isn't much argument to make. It'd be quicker to just start over than to try and fix these. The viewers do expect a video soon. I doubt you'd want to disappoint them.

Roman: Well, no-

Patton: Well, there we go. Problem solved!

Roman: Hold on-

Logan: I expect the new ideas by the end of the week.

Janus: Well, this was eventful.

Virgil: *glancing between Roman and the others who have began packing their stuff up and preparing to end the meeting* Hold up guys-

Roman: You're not listening to me!

Everyone freezes and looks at him. Surprise quickly gives way to frustration, disappointment, and annoyance.

Logan: Now you don't need to throw a tantrum.

Roman: I'm not throwing a tantrum!

Janus: Mhmmm. Clearly not.

Roman: Well, it's not my fault you guys are out here talking about my ideas when you don't know what it takes to make them. You wouldn't know a good idea if it knocked on your door and introduced itself.

Patton: Now, Roman, let's play nice.

Logan: *scoffing* Clearly, you're the one who doesn't know what a good idea looks like if you think this *Gestures to the notebook* counts.

Roman: Do you know how long I worked on those?

Janus: Hm. Clearly not long enough.

Roman: You stay out of this, snake!

Patton: Roman!

Janus: Well I may be a snake, but you're the one throwing a hissy fit.

Roman: I am not throwing a hissy fit!

Patton: I mean...you kinda are. But that's okay! You're upset that your ideas aren't as good as you expected them to be. Of course, you're upset. But how about we channel that energy into something more productive.

Roman rubs his palms against his pants. Leave it to Patton to treat him like a child. He wants to scream. He wants to cry. He wants to run and hide. He wants to show them what a tantrum really looks like. His eyes remain on Patton's. He doesn't move or speak. He remains quiet, like a good little child.

Virgil: Guys. Don't you think you're being too hard on him? Surely, they weren't that bad.

Roman: Thank you, my violent violet.

Virgil: No problem. Though, don't let your ego get too big. Your singing is still annoying.

Roman: *rolling his eyes* At least I can sing. You sound like a dying cat.

Virgil: *opening his mouth to retort* Oh yeah. Well-

Patton: Roman! Now that was rude. Apologize.

Roman: What?

Patton: You heard me. Apologize.

Logan: And perhaps apologize to the rest of us for the time waste. Especially since you can't seem to be bothered to stay on topic.

Roman: But Virgil-

Patton: No excuses, mister.

Virgil: Guys. It's fine. I'm not at all offended. Besides, I was the one who pulled him off topic.

Logan: That's kind of you, Virgil, but Roman needs to take responsibility for his own actions.

Roman: *sighing* Fine. Virgil. I'm sorry for insulting your singing. I do actually quite like it. And I'm sorry for getting off topic and wasting your time.

Logan: Good. Now, back to the discussion. You are going to have new ideas by the end of the week. Correct?

Roman: But-

Logan: And these ideas will actually be usable and decent?

Roman: *swallowing* Of course, but-

Janus: *scoffing* You might be asking too much of him there, Logan.

Roman: *glancing at Patton, who says nothing*

Logan: Maybe. But does this sound agreeable to you, Roman?

Roman takes a breath before he becomes aware of the fact that his tongue feels like lead. He goes to speak, but only air comes out. He begs, not again, not now.

Logan: Well?

He tries. All he has to do is force the words out. He's done it before. Just force the words out. No matter how hard or uncomfortable. He manages to get his throat to move and his mouth to form the words, yet his vocal cords refuse to work. He can talk. He knows he can talk. He has forced himself through this before. It's all in his head.

Janus: I think you hurt the Prince's feelings and now he's giving us the silent treatment.

Logan: *sighing* Real mature, Roman.

It takes a few times, but he manages to get a few words out

Roman: sor- *he swallows and takes a deep breath* sorry. Was lost in thought.... *he takes another breath* I'll have it done by the end of the week.

Each word feels like it was dragged through his teeth and forced from his mouth, but he got it out. He can speak. He was just being over-dramatic. It doesn't matter if he had to force every word and overthink each syllable. He can speak. He just has to stop faking.

Logan: Good. Glad we figured that out. If that's all, I believe we can finally call this meeting to an end. An actual end this time.*He gives a pointed glare at Roman*

Roman just simply nods. He doesn't think he could argue again even if he wanted to. As everyone leaves, he heads to his room. Too wrapped up in his thoughts and the weight on his tongue, he doesn't notice Virgil's concerned looks as he walks away.

The door gets looked behind him as soon as he is in the safety of his room. He flops onto his bed and curls up into a ball under the blankets. He should start on coming up with new ideas, but he doubts he could focus at that moment. He'll start tomorrow.

The silence sits heavy in his mouth. It weighs down his tongue. He swears he can feel it slipping down his throat and curling up uncomfortablely in his chest. The silence converges on him. It squeezes his head and drills into his ears. It weighs heavy on his shoulders. Silence runs through his blood and veins and he hates it. Hates the way it feels tangible on his skin. He wants to claw the quiet away, to force out the words if only to get rid of this feeling.

He remains in his misery for 5 minutes, though it felt like an eternity, before there is a knock on the door.

Roman opens his mouth to respond, he isn't sure whether "come in" or "go away" would have been what came out, but it doesn't matter as nothing comes out. He exhales and opens his mouth to try again before deciding it isn't worth the energy. He reluctantly stands and opens the door, mentally preparing himself for a lecture from Logan or a "I know you can do better" speech from Patton, or even just some simple mockery from Janus. Yet, what greets him at the door is none of those things. It's Virgil.

Virgil: Do you mind if I come in?

Roman is tempted to turn him away, but he longs for the company to drive away the silence. Especially if it's Virgil. So, instead, he steps back and gestures Virgil in.

Virgil: *entering and watching Roman close the door* Are you okay?

Roman opens his mouth to speak, wanting to assure Virgil he is fine. He just has to force the words out. He can speak. There is nothing keeping him from speaking. He has forced himself out of moments like these before. He just has to speak. Just speak. Force it out. Suffer through it. Just. Speak.

And he almost manages to force out the words before Virgil stops him, realization clear in his face.

Virgil: You're nonverbal right now, aren't you?

Roman shakes his head. Because he isn't. He can talk. He's just being over-dramatic. There are people who are actually nonverbal or semi verbal. He was just being over-dramatic. He can talk, which means it isn't actually him going nonverbal or having a verbal shutdown. He can talk. He can. He just has to force it out. But he can talk.

He opens his mouth to tell Virgil that much when Virgil beats him to it.

Virgil: *opens his mouth, ready to argue before shaking his head* Okay. Do you want to talk right now?

Roman pauses. Was not speaking actually an option? Forcing words out seems like so much energy and it wasn’t the most comfortable. He wouldn't necessarily mind not talking. But would Virgil be okay with that?

Roman: *shrugs*

Virgil: That's okay. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. Do you want me to stay?

Roman: *nodding without hesitation*

Virgil: Okay. Do you want *he holds up one finger* silent company,*he holds up a second* comfort, *he holds up a third one* or a distraction?

Roman: *flips between two fingers and three, torn between the two options*

Virgil: Both comfort and a distraction?

Roman: *nods*

Virgil: Okay. How about we cuddle and watch a movie?

Roman: *considering it for a moment before nodding*

Virgil: Disney?

Roman: *giving him his best "do you even have to ask" look*

Virgil: *understanding the expression and chuckling* Fair enough

It doesn't take long for them to get the movie on and to curl up under the blankets. Roman ends up curled up against Virgil's chest, one of Virgil's hands carding through his hair as the other holds him close. As the intro plays, Roman can feel the heavy weight of silence slip off his skin and he no longer feels the need to force himself to speak. The room is filled with music from the movie. He breathes a deep breath and feels at peace, even if his tongue still remains lead in his mouth. He simply whispers airy whispers beneath his breath as the first song plays. He doesn't bother forcing himself to hum or sing or even bother making the words into something more than a simple breath. He just let's the quiet rest gently on his tongue, and he is at peace.

He doesn't need to speak. Virgil understands.

[devouredbyflame]

Deepening Relationships with the Divine

I see a lot of posts on Tumblr about how to go about having casual relationships, or showing your devotion subtly but never have I seen ways in which those who wish to move on from that realm of being would actually start having a dedicated practice. People don’t need to be subtle to worship the Gods - in fact, most practices aren’t blatant and don’t need to be blatant. It is understandable and often necessary to be in a closet but you can still have a very deep relationship with the Gods while it still being meaningful.

Here’s a list of things you can do to strengthen your devotion with the Gods as well as build and deepen your relationship.

Build a shrine dedicated to an individual Deity and take time to know Them by using it.

The idea that you need to have multiple Deities all the time and worship all of Them together is a very strange way of doing polytheism and it is a more powerful usage of space to have one singular Deity at a time rather than a mix together. People may feel less of a need to be so bent out of shape if they can’t afford offerings for an entire pantheon of Gods if they only have one household Deity and the rest are specific to other tasks or needs. I’m not saying you need to pick one above the rest, but I am saying that when you work with the Gods, it’s not about quantity of your relationships, it’s about quality and how long you actually spend together in a similar fashion.

Design your shrine to be simple.

You don’t need a bunch of things on your shrine and in fact, that won’t make it any more detectable to the Gods or show how dedicated you are as a polytheist. It is not about how much work you put into the shrine to make it more about the Gods you worship but it’s more along the line of what needs to happen when you go to the shrine, what actions you take while you’re there.

Hypothetically, all you need is a candle to light to show that you wish for a Deity’s presence, but to make it more usable and detectable to a Deity, it is recommended you also have an image, statue, or likeness of the Deity. You can also have a bowl or a glass to fill for your offerings. Do not make huge offerings if you are going to forget to empty them out. Only make the offerings that won’t rot should that be the case, and only do that if you know you’re going to throw it out, eat it, or dispose of it shortly after.

Make a plan to go to your shrine at least once a day if not several times a week.

The more time you spend at the shrine, the easier it will be for the Deity to realize your intent of showing interest. It isn’t because you’re more devoted, are special, or show any signs that you’re worth looking into, but rather, the concept is mostly around how much energy is built up gradually over time. Energy is only built up because of the amount of time you spend there and how much meaning is there. It is not some moral issue you should feel guilty about should it not happen.

The fact is, the Gods aren’t waiting around and checking off boxes above your head so when you fail They mark it against you for the rest of your time with Them. They are, however, flawed in the way that They only can go about recognizing the material world based off of the flow of energy and how much is stored that is unique to Them.

Having a journal at your shrine to write to Them in while a candle is lit is a perfect way of building a relationship. The act of writing is a perfect way to build energy.

Keeping a specific divination tool at the shrine for that single Deity to use and to build Their energy around is also extremely important. It has to be unique to Them while also being used and stored at the site where you are making the most attempts at being at your shrine.

It is important to keep the shrine contained in a way that makes sure that other energies cannot get in. So even if you are closeted or must keep it on the low, go to the craft store and get a photo storage box. You only need a few items in there to make it meaningful. Over time, the use of those items will become more and more sacred. You can take them in and out of the box - it doesn’t matter how it’s stored but as long as it is contained and out of reach of animals and other things that can be hazardous to them and also maintain the cleanliness of the shrine. If not a box, a closet, cabinet, or bookshelf that is high up are all good places to keep it.

If you’re going to keep the shrine out in an open space, make sure the environment around the area is kept free from dust, dirt, animal hair, organized and vacuumed around it. Dirt that is built up makes it harder for the Gods to reach you energetically - cleaning the room it is in is going to be required if you have it outside of a container. If you’re low on spoons or live in a place that is impossible, a box is perfect. As long as the items are kept tidy energetically, no harm would be done if you’re not super hellbent on keeping a very energetically and physically pristine home.

Most people don’t have the space to have a dedicated area that is solely meant to remain clean for the Gods it is dedicated to. If that’s you, don’t worry about having it out at all.

I realize I’ve spoken a lot about using a shrine in this post and that is really a very important thing when trying to build a better relationship with a Deity. It isn’t about who you are or what you’re doing, it’s about recognizing the importance of what the Deity needs to get to where you are first before going about creating a relationship. That’s all that matters for those starting out on the path looking for ways of transmuting their effort into a meaningful way instead of basing it off of appearances and looks.

Gods don’t have eyes and do not see the way humans can. It is necessary that you build up energy as that is what They are and how humans and Deities can interact. Your devotional actions will likely be unseen unless you do them based on the idea that it is repeated, somewhere dedicated to that Deity, or building up a framework of a practice to continue daily.

Not because it’s a moral issue, not because you should feel obligated, but because the Divine are not omnipotent beings who know everything going on and can see everything. Otherwise, you’re not going to get very far in your devotional activities or rituals.

The usage of a dedicated space over time will make communicating with the Gods easier. Consider a shrine like a window in this world for the Gods to look into. The more you use it, the easier it will be for Them to have access to you and the easier it will be for you to hear Them. Yes, discernment is important and having a sensitivity is a great start, but it’s not the only thing that matters in communicating with your Gods.

If you are having issues listening for and hearing the Gods, the problem likely is not just you, it’s that They cannot reach you. The Gods are the most obvious beings on this realm. They are enormous. They take up a lot of space and energy. Those who have experienced Them know that it is not subtle and the more you make it easier for Them to access you, the easier it will be to have Their energy available in order for Them to talk back in a meaningful way and use what’s available in your life to communicate.

Their presence is about as subtle as an elephant sitting in your bedroom. It really isn’t that hard to detect Them once you get the hang of having Them in your specific area in this way. You’ll also know you’re not hallucinating because there is no other experience quite like it. You really won’t know what hit you.

That’s all for now. For more tips on building a shrine or finding more material on this topic, check out my blog.

[aboredindividual]

Scent gland coverings

Albeit with difference in intensity, both genders are required to somewhat control and manage their scents. Alpha has the most intense ones so it is natural that they supress their scents to not overwhelm others. Furthermore, the most important scent glands are placed in vulnerable spaces and their purpose is designed to attract potential mates, thus giving it a special reputation. Omegas who have the most sensitive and reactive scent glands are often put in position where (when unmated*) they need to cover their glands as to not be overwhelmed by external stimuli. This resulted in an branched out fashion for those personal spaces and an etiquette for it. Often times the omega child will inherit the coverings from their omegan parent

Wrist coverings

Unmated omegas who are not mature yet or didn't enter courting age yet most commonly wear simple full covering bracelets, with minimal number of accesorisation. It is modest and usable for long time.

When they will reach mature age, those bracelets will get more detailed and eyecatchy as a way to attract potential partner. The limit there is your own imagination

Neck coverings*²

Similiarly to bracelets, they are modest in look and focus more on usability than beauty. They cover most of the mating gland, partly because of anatomy but also because there could always be malicious alphas who can take advantage of this weakness and mate them without consent. Because of this, all covering for omegas are made from metal as to make it difficult for them to chomp down on it.

Mature omegas who are courting will wear more extravagant ones, not to sound like a broken record, regardless if they bought it themself or got them from the courter. Omegas often try to match the style of the bracelets and necklaces with other jewelry.

Alpha coverings*³

Alphas often use wrist guards who are sturdy and firm in shape. For most of the time, they can be a good cushioning when delivering a knuckle sadwich and have good joint support. They are not made to be a main show, but to complement and support the look.

*The unmated omegas are the only ones that wear neck covering because when they find a mate, their scent glands focuses on their mate instead of everyone around them, making it easier for them.

*² I do not refer to them as collars because of personal preference. The word in my opinion makes it feel like omega is not a human but a pet that has to be kept on a leash, which i don't approve of. Because of this i wanted to keep it as neutral as possible. Regardless, you don't have to agree with me or chuck the word out your vocabulary, at the end of the day it is all a fiction and we are all here to have fun with it :)

*³ Alphas do not have any serious reasons to wear those at all. I have a little fantasy that back in the ancient days, there was a filthy rich husband who loved his wife so much that back in courting phase he started wearing proudly those guards as a show of solidarity to omegas and accidentaly started a worldwide trend.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I know this is being presented as an Invictus related recce visit by the Sussexes. But let's be honest, there is no way that Nigeria would be able to host Invictus. Not now not in 2027.

Invictus involves participation of 23 different countries. The wounded vets of these 23 countries are treated as national assets. At least officially, on paper and in world stage they are. Nigeria being a security threat, level 4 in some places of the country, would be a big no no. Govt of these 23 countries would not allow their nationals, let alone decorated veterans, to go enmass to a country like that. The govt protocol would simply not allow that.

It's not about whether Nigeria can afford financially to host the event. It's not about how well this so-called tour goes. It's not about tourism and promoting it (which again, for the same reasons as above, becomes practically impossible).

A speculation is that this is probably about some behind the scenes deals. Since the military is involved we know this is true to some extent. We know the UK is not involved, but Harry has worked with the US military closely over the past 2 years. (For what purpose, God only knows). So maybe they are involved. And this tour is a good stage setting to take some meetings while everyone is focussed on Meghan's fashion. Lol

I would be interested in seeing who accompanies them. How big or small their entoury is. Who exactly is travelling with them. Or travel for this thing. All the names. Who meets them. How they travel to and from the country. What events they attend and where.

Since you are the national security anon I wouldn't need to spell this out for you, but you know how these would/could. I think this is a dummy visit, the real purpose is something else. And Harry and Meghan are just getting the money for Invictus and good PR in return so they are going along with it. I wouldn't go so far as to say H is a secret agent, he isn't smart enough for that. But he is a good patsy. A willing patsy. All he needs is his ego massaged. So he is a usable patsy.

Nigeria would be hosting the 2029 games. Plenty of time for them to turn it around if they wanted to but I think Nigeria is just playing chess, using the Sussexes to get more from the UK/Commonwealth while balancing offers from Russia and China too.

[whydoibe]

Ok so here's an idea for a ninjago au that could be possibly good

So what if jay was sensi wus son like biological son this would happen instead of wu falling for misako (temporarily he had a crush on her rember) he would fall for jays mother and she fall for him but eventually something would happen to her and she disapear leaving wu alone with thier young son Jay wu (yes his last name would be wu) wu would fight garmdon when he turns evil when jays around let's say 3 anyway garmdon would be banished to the underworld and the weapons hidden but wu would fear for his sons safety leaving him with the walkers jay would grow up similar but with sensi wu always their listing. every so often jay would have no clue the person visiting him and protecting him is his biological father till that faithful day he tries to fly with a machine but this time it doesn't fail well the machine does he doesn't thoe jay would feel himself faling to a roof top but this time he would feel himself not getting closer instead feeling a the wind In his face but crash the machine falling down to the roof top than how was he jay realised that this didn't make sense before feeling a gust of wind from behind finally realising this didn't make sense before crashing into a bill board looking around confused before deciding to go home he got a bit more than a few strange looks on his way home confusing him until he finally saw his reflection horns what the a tail wings what the hell happened to him he didn't like this this is a dream right this needs to be a dream right jay would start to run towards home before a figure would drop from a roof top sensi wu. wu would smile at his biological sons utter distress at his apreance on the verg of tears of distress would introduce himself (not the fact he's his biological father that's for when he's older) Jay would join the monstary spending 3 months thier before Zane got introduced to him but jay always seemed to be the favourite pupil not by much just sensi being more cousis with him and teaching him a lot more stuff like he knows about serptine I know sensi telling people stuff that's impressive and way wu would grow a father like bound with jay much to his relief jay would notice the other students didn't have dragon features his wings and tail only apearing when In distress him and wu are the only ones who know about the when cole joins jay and him grow a friendly rivaly but become good friends but one day sensi would task jay with a mission to retrieve the master of fire jay questioned this but wu would tell him to not question wu just needed to time to prepare to the others what jay was much to thier shock sensi would explain he only told them because soon they'd go on a mission and that jay might start to look different at cetrian times.

‐--------—----------------

Jay would turn up at the black smith wearing a blue gi and crashing into kai and nyas lawn after being chased by skeletons on jets jay would spot the master of fire kai he needed him and nya the master of water though for some reason he's not allowed to her that for some reason oh well the master of fire approaching him cautiously nothing imdently the dragon features much to jays distress telling him its ok that he's here to bring them somewhere then the clouds go dark and skeletons would approach jays eyes going blue and a eyris going down in a straight fashion similar to a dragons jay pulling out his nuchuck before realising he needs a sword asking kai if he had any kai nod giving him an bent and snake like one but still usable jay running at the skeletons thier body's falling apart as he cut through them kai jiong in that was until seeing nya get kidnapped and dragged away nya kai cried much to jays fear he failed sensi and got someone kidnapped his fear caused him to hyper ventilating his horns growing teeth sharping jays eyes stared to slightly glow a golden tint of blue hid wings growing sharper and deeper blue his tail elongating. Jay walked over to kai asking him If he needed help taking him to the monstary the rest of the pilot going the same until jay found himself with a whispering vioce in his shadow garmdon telling him a secret that he is Wu's biological son Jay would debt this but garmdon would give the obvious facts jay was clearly part dragon and obvioslouly at least on some level oni these facts would be undeniable to jay. The pilot concludes with everything remains similar to the show but jay would be looking at wu with conflict and a feeling of abandon questions jay would keep this secret wu would notice jay becoming distant to him and question him why only for jay to walk out to train while wu keeps asking until jay just yells at him to shut up cuasing a slight rumble in the sky cuasing the others to run outside to catch jays for turn less human his dragon features turning more oni wu would look at him until jay just admits he knows he's his son and Is asking why would you abaden him why sensi would look on in shock as kai and Zane run to sensi Cole running to hug jay would barely notice Cole as he hugged him asking sensi why would you him admiting he was scared for him questioning everyday if he made the right choice knowing he didn't saying he was always thier watching montering insuring he was safe and that no one brought him harm just that he loved him his son he was always proud of him and never meant for him to feel abandoned jay would calm down his features retiring to thier more netrual dragon like versions wu would hug him with the others. The perspective of everything would change jay and wu becoming a more acin to dad and son

I dub this ninjago child of creation au

I will continue this

[therobotmonster]

My Turtles of Grayskull 'Druthers

Okay, since the line is apparently not a limited-concept run but is going to instead run till the doors fall off, I'm gonna lay out my hopes and dreams for sweet-as-heck dumb conceptual mashups.

Lets stick some silly chocolate and some stupid-fun peanut butter together and make a decent candy and an awesome cereal.

I might be hungry.

Anyhow, lets make some monsters!

Ace Duck

I love the Tales of the Gold Monkey-inspired pilot Ace Duck more than the next guy, but this is MOTU we're dealin' with, we need ARCHIE Ace Duck.

He's literally born to be here. Basic body, skeletor feet, reuse the April O'Neil wings, little red thong or trunks (from the wrasslin' line), plus he can get stratos's little arm wings, and an alt head with the Stratos Mask on (evoking a lucha dore mask).

Ty-Gor - NInjor / Tigerclaw (but green!)

Ninjor gets mutated with Eternian Tiger DNA to become Ty-Gor.

Not limiting myself to the Fred Wolf era here. Basically its Ninjor with a Tigerclaw head (masked and two-eyed, unmasked and eyepatched), only with the green with orange stripes eternian tiger coloration. He gets a terror-claws skeletor claw, an eternian six-shooter (later usable for Rio-Blast) and the beastliest feet they can muster.

Mutant Evil-Lyn

Seeking to empower herself with this new "mutation" magic, Evil-Lyn made a potion of mutagen and Mantisaur venom. Ironically not her worst scheme.

Mantenna pelvis with new insect legs, Evil-Lyn torso with humanoid and mantisaur-mutant heads (still wearing her tiara as a mantisaur), slip-over mantis-claw weapons.

Kurai-Khan

I mean, it's not like she hasn't been here before. Lore establishes the Eternian magic gives her full control over her snake-form, and the ability to command the snake men... save for the Ratsnake King.

Deluxe figure, reusing a LOT of Lady Slither, But using Stephanie McMahon legs and torso, some new snake-gauntlets and a swappable set of heads. Snake-head has the spit-fx feature from Kobra Khan, flared cobra hood. And a katana, obviously.

General Pig-Iron - Pig-Head / General Traag (By way of Rokkon)

Krang's mutagenic experiments continue, this time he combines Sun-Man's Pig-Head and the Rock-Soldiers' DNA to make one stone-tough pigheaded warmonger.

The sculpt is mostly Rokkon, with a new stony pighead-face and more Traag-y chest (with ammo bandolier to mimic Pig-Head, 'natch)

The Ratsnake King - Rat King / King Hiss

Disappointed by the Rat-King's failures, Skeletor fuses him with the shed skin of King Hiss via sorcery and good old fashioned mutagen. The new horror can command serpents that were beyond even King Hiss's reach.

Ratsnake King uses the King hiss snake parts, with a new head & chest armor built on a mummy-esq reinterpretation of Rat King, snake-y crossbow and staff. Give him the Reptilax tail so he's a little snakey even in his 'human' form, he's a mutant, after all.

Mutagen-Man-E-Faces

This idea is from @skeletor-enjoyer who posted it in the replies to my previous glow-up post on this dumb-as-heck (affectionate) line.

This one's easy. New torso that allows for the Man-E-faces gimmick and a clear torso that can hold a gooey guts insert. Human face looks like nonmutant Seymour Gutz, Robot face replaced with foot-soldier (toonstyle) face, monster face is a hybrid MM/MEF monster face.

New limbs that will later be reused for Slushhead. Multiple replacement hands/limbs (clawful hand, etc) to simulate mutation/shapeshifting powers.

Foot 'Sploders - Foot soldiers / Blast-Attack

Krang: You know what Skeletoooorrruup? I like the iDEa of robots that are SUPPOSED to exPLooowwddee! Why can't YOU be this kind of go-getter Saaaaakiiii?

Shredder: You always undermine me in front of the crossover villains!

Skeletor: Don't stop on my account! I haven't had this much fun since Grizzlor fell into the slime pit! NYAH!

Excuse to make a somewhat functional Blast-Attack chest. Foot Soldier head with cartoon bomb in place of the foot symbol, long forearm sculpt (useful for 200X Beast Man) with arm-shield accessories. Tons of weapons. Legs from various wrasslers' with pants/boots.

Doctor Orkocutt the Fugilock

Orko uses his magic to fix the Fugitoid, but the spell goes awry, merging them into a single magi-technical absentminded genius. They work better this way, but trouble is bound to follow.

Orko Body, with premolds for a Netflix Orko in Classicverse arms, and a new fugiod-in-a-wizard-hat-head, with many many exchangeable hands.

Mutant Buzz-Off - Buzz-off/Killer Bee

A partially-translucent mutant like He-Man and the other corrupted hero mutants, only Buzz-Off is... kinda wild... wild enough I had to photoshop, albeit in a Q&D...

The basic idea is mutant Buzz-Off uses Mantenna's legs, Mosquitor's torso, a new head that's still compatible with the Mosquitor-grabber, Buzz-Off's left arm, Clawful's right, alt head of grimacing half-killer-bee Buzz_off. The goo is green or purple instead of red, for a mutagen-feature.

If compatible with the Mantenna legs, using the Buzz-Off feet is preferable, the same with the Skeleton Warrior arm and the left arm.

Bionaceraton - Triceraton / Bionatops

Ancient power arises as a Preternian ancestor to the Triceratons is awakened.

I mean, once again we pull out the Andre the Giant mold, this time giving it a tail and a Triceraton head, and slightly remolded chest armor. Garnish with sci-fi guns, put out in a handsome green colorscheme.

Mutant She-Ra - She-Ra / Swiftwind

Having last been in contact with Swiftwind before exposure to the mutagen, She-Ra's becomes an uncontrollable mutant Pegasus.

Am I suggesting they put a Unicorn head and Sorceress Wings on She-Ra, possibly with new 'buff gal' limbs that would make a Netflix-inspired Scorpia Possible? Yes. Yes I am. She's got a unicorn-horn spear weapon and is filled with a horselike rage.

Optikk

Look, its the TMNT crossover. You are required to have at least one of the New Adventures Mutants there, and Optikk is the most on-brand for the concept.

You can make him out of mostly Roboto Parts with a new armor piece for the collar and a new eyeball-head. Or just make the collar lock onto the head joint and have a free-spinning eye.

Mona Lis-Ra - Mona Lisa / She-Ra

Someone has to use the power sword while She-Ra's a nightmare mutant abomination!

It's pretty straightforward, She-Ra torso and upper arms/legs, new finned female lower arms and legs, new tailed female pelvis, new head. She-Ra's gear plus some extras to be shape-shifted forms for the sword.

Savanti Romeo and Renet

They're just there They're already designed for this world. To justify it, they have... uh... Savante has the dragon blast dragon that was used with Ricky the Steamboat Dragon, and Renet has... uh.. the time staff thing Gwildor used. Yeah, that's the ticket!

Bonus Round: Obligatory A-Character Variants:

TechnoWizard Dontatello - Backdoor Donatello #1 figure.

Anti-Eternia Raphael - Archie Comics fans know why.

Mutant Teela - She's a snake, again! This time give her a real snake head and a tail guys.

Mutant Skeletor - Goat Skull head, goat legs.

That's it for now, but even though many of these are a stretch, I'm sure it demonstrates the blood isn't nearly squeezed from this stone.

[lilac-the-void-pup]

I've noticed, as I've transitioned from functioning mostly normally to using a white cane, that I get more people deliberately avoiding me, which is odd to me, because before I started using my long cane I would get people walking up to me, giving me the usual "oh I like your outfit!" and whatnot, typical of the only person with a goddamn sense of fashion in my small town, but I dress the same as I did a month ago now and people will make extra effort to get out of my path- like now when I get people walking up to me in public it's usually "wHy ArE yOu UsInG a CaNe, We MaDe EyE cOnTaCt" and then I have to explain that I'm not entirely blind to an angry person who thinks I'm not really disabled and the difference between a long cane with a red tip(what I have, indicates some usable vision) and an entirely white long cane (what an entirely blind person would use for those of you that dont know :3) and now I get more people claiming I'm not really disabled enough to be using what I need because I am capable of some sight

it's really odd, and I wonder why people get angrier with you if you publicly use disability aids, maybe this is a me thing, or a Southern US small town thing, feel free to give me your experiences with stuff like this in the notes!

[fictionalafvsmybeloved]

So your blog is the land of non-credibility right? And you review tanks? So could you review this 'gem'

I haven't done one of these in a while, so why not start off with this Wonderful design by Blacktaildefense.

(also I'm gonna change up my standard format a bit)

I'll let you know right here, this thing is more of a dumpster fire than you think.

Let's start with the basics, size. It's too big. 4 feet wider and 10 feet longer the M1 Abrams. It's longer and wider than the Maus and Char 2C, the two tanks known for being ridiculously big. It's too wide for standard US highways and railroads so the only way you can transport it is by air or sea. And its "amphibious", with almost no way to propel itself through the water.

Next is the engine. It gives the tank a mindboggleing 55 horsepower per ton, leading to a ludicrous 65 MPH top speed at an equally insane 1 mile to the gallon. BUT THAT IS A LIE. Because this uses a wankel engine, AND WANKEL ENGINES HAVE LAUGHABLY BAD EFFICIENCY. But that's not all! This is a diesel wankel engine, and you see a diesel engine works by compressing the air with its pistons until its super heated, then injecting the fuel into the chamber, causing it to combust. A WANKEL ENGINE CANNOT DO THAT, SO THE ENGINE DOESN'T EVEN WORK. And I just noticed that the drive sprocket is either missing, or half the size it should be.

20% Chobham

20% Titanium

60% Fullerene (misspelled, of course)

This is the absolute nonsense that supposedly makes up this thing's armor package. Chobham.... is not a material, it is a LAYOUT for composite armor (and an outdated one too). Titanium is very expensive, and also what the Air Force makes their planes out of. So now you're competing with the Air Force for materials, good job. Fullerene, oh boy every 2-bit sci-fi writer's favorite nanomaterial. Nanomaterials have two big problems. First, they are extremely expensive to manufacture, even on the "nano' scale. Second, the physical properties of matter change as they are scaled up. YOU HAVE NO GUARANTEE THAT THE IN-LAB NANO-SCALE SUPERPROPERTIES WILL TRANSLATE INTO 20 TONS OF USABLE TANK ARMOR. As for the thickness, it's listed in just plain inches, with no way to tell if it's talking about RHA equivalence or the actual thickness of the armor elements in that area(nor does it differentiate between hull and turret armor). If its RHA equivalent, then the armor is weaker than the Abrams. The armor at the rear is ten times thicker that it needs to be, and is just increasing cost and maintenance complexity for almost no benefit.

As for the guns, why don't we start small. Two 7mm MGs, I'm sure he means 7.62 NATO, right? Those two machineguns have twice the ammunition they need. A 20mm autocannon for firing at aircraft (not pictured but still listed). The original design plan for the M1 Abrams had one too, but the Army removed it for being "superfluous", that should tell you all you need to know. The primary armament is a 145mm smoothbore... howitzer? Howitzers are lower velocity guns designed for indirect fire, what the hell is one doing on an MBT? And it comes with- SWEET MOTHER OF GOD! WHY DOES IT HAVE 85 ROUNDS OF MAIN GUN AMMUNITION? With no blowout panels?!? If this thing takes a hit the entire vehicle will scatter itself over a 200ft area! And here I though Russian tanks where explosive. And why does it have 40 degrees of gun elevation? Is it meant to pull double duty as an artillery piece? You're just making the crew training times longer.

This overgrown, overbudget do-it-all abomination has sci-fi super armor, a magic nonsense engine, and the ability TO SWIM; but no thermal sights. Absolutely moronic.

They packed the crew in there like sardines. Six crew members, SIX. Does it have THREE loaders? Is one of them pulling double duty as an old fashioned radio operator? Do they need that many because they're using single-piece brass cased ammo? Are they using stackable charges to pull double duty as an SPG!? Do not tell me, I don't wanna know.

The final two features of note are: The "full 3d stabilization" of the drivetrain, hull, turret, and gun. I have no idea how or why you would stabilize those first three. And the smoke mortar. Mortar, not launchers. smoke mortar, like one late WWII German tanks.

FINAL SCORES

Credibility: 2/10 - Just Stupid

Coolness: 3/10 - WarThunder Sad Eyes Tank

BONUS

War Thunder for the PS1

The Areo-Gavin is up next, and I think it might drive me to alcoholism. See you soon(ish).

[felassan]

BioWare blog post: BioWare Community Update - All By Design

02/23/23

Welcome to the first Community Update of 2023!

As promised in our last BCU, this time around we’re discussing what our game designers are up to. The responsibilities of a game designer can differ from studio to studio, so we’ll first jump into how our team is handling the design work for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf™. Let’s get to it!

When we use the term “designer,” we aren’t referring to someone who visually creates outfits or environments, as you might expect from a fashion or landscape designer in the real world. In game development, those would be our artists. Our designers help craft, balance, and conceptualize the player’s journey—working with artists, programmers, writers, and more to build out the game in a highly collaborative process.

In this blog, we’ll look at a key RPG system and how three distinct types of game designers are involved in making them.

- Systems Designers work on a variety of features across the game, like skill trees and difficulty levels. Their goal is to create a vision for features that will directly impact the player’s experience. - User Experience (UX) Designers, collaboratively with systems designers, take the vision and explore how players will interact with it by creating mock-ups and early user flows. - Technical UX Designers then build it in-engine, working with the systems and UX designers in a constant back-and-forth, keeping the player’s experience and usability in mind at all times.

There are many other kinds of designers, too! Gameplay designers focus on creating and balancing the moment-to-moment gameplay, technical level designers create the building blocks for level designers to map out the player’s journey through locations, technical UI designers tailor how information is clearly surfaced to the player, cinematic designers craft scenes for the best storytelling experience, and narrative designers make sure the story’s flow of information to the player is a cohesive experience.

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of being a game designer, we’re going to talk about how they’re working together on Dreadwolf. Past Dragon Age™ games have all handled RPG systems, such as the player’s progression, differently, so naturally, we’re being just as experimental on Dreadwolf, taking the learnings of the past while also trying something new.

Skill Trees are a fundamental part of a deep RPG experience and give our players the ability to customize how their character functions in combat. A key belief on the team is that when a player invests a skill point, it should have a clear, tangible effect on the game, such as an ability or impactful perk. What those are and how they’re implemented in-game is handled by multiple designers, starting with a Systems Designer!

Luke Barrett: "Whenever we're envisioning something new, we're always presented with a Problem Statement we're trying to solve. Sometimes, especially for larger systems, they are very high-level, such as “The Player needs meaningful choices as they progress through the game,” or “The Player needs to feel more powerful as they progress through the game.” Together, these combine into a variety of different ideas as there are many ways to solve those problems, so it helps as a general rule to start introducing constraints and Player Statements to narrow things down. A Player Statement might be something like, "As a Player, I want my choices to matter.”" "Through the use of working sessions and brainstorming meetings, we narrow down what type of solution we want to pursue and then move on to doing competitive analysis. In this case, we made a vision board with pictures of skill trees, talents, etc. with a list of pros and cons. We also counted how many unique nodes existed and how far the player could realistically invest."

Intro of original design doc for Skills

Luke, cont.: "We take all of this information and write up a vision doc (sometimes called a 1-pager, design doc, or brief) that’s intentionally very brief and digestible and pulls together all of these problems, constraints, and user statements. It encapsulates our goals for how the design will solve them. Here is an example of two of our original statements and some bullet points under them:"

Luke, cont.: "We really wanted to have something that allowed the player to character-build in a way that allowed them to reach their “player fantasy.” And because we're supporting so many choices, we've designed something that can be customized widely, as opposed to a more linear progression system."

Initial design goals following the Player Statements

Luke, cont.: "Once we have enough constraints and player statements together, then we (finally!) start building the design. This is where we start doing prototypes and work with UX to flesh out ideas to see how a design may feel, both as its own entity and how it works with the rest of the game. Fun fact: I built a very early prototype in Excel for one of the ways we thought about solving the Problem Statements using a lot of buttons and scripting. (Important note: Designers aren't programmers! :) )"

Very early prototype for skill tree functionality exploration—names are placeholders

And that’s just the beginning! Once a game designer like Luke has established the vision of the feature to address the Problem Statement, it then moves over to one of our UX Designers to start exploring how our players might interact with it.

Bruno Porrio: "As a UX designer, my job is to approach design in Dreadwolf from a player-experience perspective. Our team partners up with other devs across the project and through ideation, prototyping, iteration, research, and feedback we help shape the vision for how players will interact with the game—from in-world signs and how the player affects the world to user interfaces and interaction design." "Let’s use the skill tree as an example. We take what starts as an early vision from the systems design team and poke holes, ask questions, and start developing what the feature will look and feel like (in this case, through user-interface design). We usually start with sketches, interactive wireframes, mock-ups, or in-game prototypes and validate them through testing and multiple rounds of feedback. At the end of the day, it’s a process where the system informs the experience design, and the experience design helps shape the system."

Initial class specialization skill tree wireframe—node total & layout subject to change

Bruno, cont.: "After multiple rounds of iteration and validation, we landed on the finalized design of the skill tree (which we can’t wait to show you). It was very important to us that the fantasy of playing a certain class and the customization options would come across clearly and at a glance without overwhelming the player. It was key to our team to take something that is usually complex and make it accessible and simple to read." "Overall, I love the skill tree. Not only because it’s an intuitive, fun part of our game, but because it’s also a great example of how the Experience Design team can help craft the vision in partnership with the systems design team."

From there, another designer jumps in to take the vision and mock-ups and turn them into something tangible in the Frostbite engine. We call those devs our Technical UX Designers. Game Designers, UX Designers, and Technical UX Designers constantly work together, providing back-and-forth feedback on each other’s work all the way until a feature is completed.

Kelsey Wicentowich: "Once the design is in a good place and the system has been stood up, it's passed over to a Technical Designer (like me!) for implementation. Technical UX Designers are actually a relatively new position at BioWare. The first ones were originally brought on a few years ago to help bridge the gap between the UX designers, programmers, and artists as UI (user interface) technologies changed and advanced."

In-engine mock-up—not representative art

Kelsey, cont.: "We use mock-ups provided by the UX Designer as a starting point and build out the UI in-game, including the general layout and navigation of the screen. Every UI is a collaborative effort between the XD (Experience Design) team and other pillars of the game team. We go back and forth with programmers and other game designers to figure out how to gather the data we need to display to the player. Larger features, like the character screen, really come alive once you start pulling in even more departments like character design and lighting to bring it all together." "But the work doesn't stop once the feature is functional in-game. It's at this point that we can truly start to evaluate how it feels and how it reads to a player. Does the navigation work well? Is the information overwhelming or confusing? Designs change and iteration continues until we find the right balance between the designer's vision and the player experience."

From features like the Detailed Stats page that cater to RPG enthusiasts to hand-crafted locations you’ll come to explore and more, design is a topic we could talk about endlessly. It’s a subject we’ll likely touch on again in the future, too, when we talk about other parts of game development, so keep an eye out!

Every week, we see so much amazing community artwork from all of you. It’s always a delight to share some of the incredible pieces here! Seeing you bring these characters to life in unique styles is such a wonderful treat for everyone on the team. [click here to see the art and art section]

This year, we also wanted to provide you all with a direct way of asking us questions. Now, we can’t answer every question, but we’ll try to answer what we can in our upcoming BCUs. There will undoubtedly be some that we’ll have to save for later, though.

Questions like “when will a big reveal trailer drop?” or “when does the game come out?” are things we’ll save for official announcements. However, if you have questions about a BCU’s topic (including past BCUs), games we’ve made, or other relevant questions that come to mind, please feel free to ask! You can even just ask a fun question you want devs to answer.

We’ll be keeping an eye out on Twitter (#AskBioWare), community subreddits, and community Discord servers for questions you all want to have answered. We’re looking forward to answering some!

Thanks for giving this a read! We hope you learnt something new and better understand how we’re crafting Dreadwolf. Everything we do is in hopes that we can make something great for you, and getting to talk about that is something we’re eager to do. We have a lot more we want to talk about, too.

As always, please let us know what you think of these blogs! We love hearing your thoughts—it really helps us when we’re deciding on the things we want to share.

Until next time!

—The BioWare Team [source]