#soldier mods have more fun

[whumptober]

Whumptober 2023

Welcome to Whumptober 2023 — the sixth year running!

COMPLETIONISTS/PARTICIPANT BADGES CAN BE FOUND HERE

To those of you who participated last year, welcome back! To everyone joining this year, welcome!

Please make sure to read the Event Info carefully, as most of your questions will be answered there already. For everything else, you are welcome to come to our ask box or ask questions in our Discord server here.

This year’s AO3 Collection can be found here.

And this years playlist can be found here.

There are 139 prompt options in total this year - this is including the alternatives list! A special thanks goes out to those who took part in our trope vote back in July. From the 1526 responses to our list of 223 tropes, we looked through the popularity results, as well as your honourable mentions, and were able to produce this years prompts list. Stay tuned, as we will be posting some of the results at a later date!

We’re very excited to see the community come together once more and be a wild, chaotic bunch of creators and consumers of whump. Go wild with the prompts, and support your fellow creators - we wish you all the fun!

Best of luck and happy whumping,

Mods Vanne, Yenn, Kitty and Surro

(All 31 Themes + Prompts, Event Information and FAQs are posted below the cut!)

Whumptober 2023 Prompt List

No. 1: “But now this room is spinning while I’m trying just to fill in all the gaps.”

Safety Net | Swooning | “How many fingers am I holding up?”

No. 2: “I’ll call out your name, but you won’t call back.”

Thermometer | Delirium | “They don't care about you.”

No. 3: “Like crying out in empty rooms; with no-one there except the moon.”

Journal | Solitary Confinement | “Make it stop.”

No. 4: “I see the danger, It’s written there in your eyes.”

Cattle Prod | Shock | “You in there?”

No. 5: “You better pray I don't get up this time around.”

Debris | Pinned Down | “It's broken.”

No. 6: “Do or die, you’ll never make me; Because the world will never take my heart.”

Recording | Made to Watch | “It should have been me.”

No. 7: " “I paced around for hours on empty; I jumped at the slightest of sounds.”

Alleyway | Radio Silence | “Can you hear me?”

No. 8: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.”

Overcrowded ER | Outnumbered | “It’s all for nothing.”

No. 9: “Learning everything ain't what it seems, that's the thing about these days.”

Polaroid | Mistaken Identity | “You're a liar.”

No. 10: “Can’t you see that you’re lost without me?”

Broken Phone | Stranded | “You said you'd never leave.”

No. 11: “All the lights going dark and my hope’s destroyed.”

Animal trap | Captivity | “No one will find you.”

No. 12: “I haven't slept in days but who's counting?”

Red | Insomnia | “I’m up, I’m up.”

No. 13: “It comes and goes like the strength in your bones.”

Cold Compress | Infection | “I don’t feel so good.”

No. 14: “Feed me poison, fill me ‘till I drown.”

Flare | Water Inhalation | “Just hold on.”

No. 15: “I don't need you to help me I can handle things myself.”

Makeshift Bandages | Suppressed Suffering | “I’m fine.”

No. 16: “Would you lie with me and just forget the world?”

Gurney | Flatline | “Don’t go where I can’t follow.”

No. 17: “You’re the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest.”

Collar | Touch Aversion | “Leave me alone.”

No. 18: “I tend to deflect when I’m feeling threatened.”

Blindfold | Tortured For Information | “Hit them harder.”

No. 19: “I’ll take one final step, all you have to do is make me.”

Floral Bouquet | Psychological | “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”

No. 20: “People don’t change people, time does.”

Blanket | Found Family | “You will regret touching them.”

No. 21: “See the chains around my feet.”

Vows | Restraints | “Don't move.”

No. 22: “They never saw us coming, ‘til they hit the floor.”

Glass Shard | Vehicular Accident | “Watch out!”

No. 23: “It’s gonna get me by the end of the night.”

Shadows | Stalking | “Who’s there?”

No. 24: “I’ve got a head full of chemicals; mouth full of ridicule.”

Goodbye Note | Neglect | “I thought they were with you.”

No. 25: “You’re not delivering a perfect body to the grave.”

Storm | Buried Alive | “They’re not breathing!”

No. 26: “Sometimes I get so tired; I don’t even know myself.”

Seeing Double | Working To Exhaustion | “You look awful.”

No. 27: “You drew stars around my scars; But now I’m bleeding.”

Matches | Scars | “Let me see”

No. 28: “We might not make it to the morning; so go on and tell me now.”

Bloody Knife | Sacrifice | “You'll have to go through me.”

No. 29: “I only sink deeper the deeper I think.”

Scented Candle | Troubled Past Resurfacing | “What happened to me?”

No. 30: “It’s okay, just to say, ‘I’m not okay’.”

Borrowed Clothing | Bridal Carry | “Not much longer...”

No. 31: “I thought that I was getting better.”

Emptiness | Setbacks | “Take it easy.”

Alternatives List:

Betrayal

Aftermath of Failure

Brass Knuckles

Decoy

Body Modification

Playing Cards

Examination

Hunting

Drugging

Shaking

Panic

Broken

Miscommunication

Lab Rat

Reluctant Whumper

Event Info & Rules

~ Please read our extensive event info posts before sending us an ask ~

WHUMPTOBER is a month-long, prompt-based creation challenge (think: Inktober, but whumpier). There are 31 official themes this year - one for each day of the month - which can be used, skipped, or combined in any way you’d like. The 'theme' of each day is the line of lyrics.

The prompts are merely to serve as inspiration without being taken literally (e.g. you don’t have to include the exact wording of prompts into your work). Feel free to run rampant on interpretation. For example, if the prompt is "flame", you could create something with reference to a candle/campfire, your character could have suffered a burn, or the flame could be related to the 'spark' of a relationship. It's truly up to you!

In total, there are 4 prompts for each day: there's lyrics, an object, a trope and a line of dialogue to choose from.  We want to give everyone as much creative freedom as possible, as well as increase event accessibility for folks with triggers and squicks.

Creators can PRODUCE work in any media they choose, including but not limited to: writing, visual artwork, photo/video/audio edits, paper crafts and elaborate recommendation lists (not just a list of links). Creators can PARTICIPATE as much or as little as they want (i.e. you don’t have to do ALL the prompts if you don’t want to) and prompts can be used in any order. They are also free to use even after the event ends.

When uploading Whumptober content to your blog, be sure to tag the with:

#whumptober2023 …..(the event tag)

#no.1, #no.2, #no.3, …..(day number)

#lyric, #bruises, #stabbing,  …..(the theme or specific prompt you chose)

#fandom or #OC, … (ironman, originalcontent, oc …)

#medium …..(gifs, fic, podcast, art, etc.)

#teeth, #gore tw, #etc …..(trigger warnings & any additional tags. Add "tw" AFTER the trigger/content warning. )

#nsfwhump …..(only for nsfw content)

#your own tags go here

PLEASE BE DILIGENT WITH YOUR TAGGING. Only properly tagged posts are considered for archiving on the official @whumptober-archive blog. They must be tagged in the order above. An elaborate post about our tagging system can be found [here]

Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of participants in recent years, we cannot guarantee your work will be archived. A random selection of properly tagged posts from all genres will be reblogged each day.

Whumpers who produce content for 31 total theme days are considered event completionists and will be tagged in a masterpost at the end of the month. A form will be published at the beginning of November asking you to tell us if you completed the event. You do not need to post anything you have created, we rely on trust and we will not check this.

Questions not addressed in one of our many event info posts can be directed to this blog. We will not answer any questions that have been answered in the FAQs or rules already.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How does this year’s prompt list work? What do I have to choose?

You can create something based on:

The overall theme/lyric of the day

Prompt 1, 2 or 3

One or several of the alternative prompts

A combination of the above

Q. Is [specific anything] allowed?

When in doubt: JUST DO IT!

Q. Do I have to do all 31 days?

Participate as much or little as you like! Just be sure to tag your posts properly (ex. #no.7, #radio silence). If you create works for 31 total theme days you will become a completionist. But apart from that, there are no repercussions if you don’t fill prompts for each day.

Q. Can I post early/late?

Yes, you can post whenever you want. We will only reblog posts during October, but you can use our prompts all year round. The day you post will only affect your probability of being reblogged.

Q. Will you reblog my post?

Due to the sheer number of content posted during Whumptober we can’t promise to reblog every single post. We will make a random selection trying to capture a wide variety of content. The following will increase your chances at being reblogged:

tag your post properly

post within 2-3 days of the theme you want to fill: if you fill the prompt for Day 1 your chances of being reblogged during October 1st to 3rd are highest and will go towards zero afterwards.

Q. What if I don’t understand a prompt/theme?

Send us an ask! We’re happy to help with wild, unhelpful clarifications or brainstorming. That being said, the themes are entirely up for interpretation. Don’t take them too literally. For example: You can be choking on a cherry, someone else can choke you or you could be choked up on emotions, etc.

Q. What kind of content can I make? Can it be NSFW?

This is a MIXED MEDIA event! You can write fic, post meta, doodle or paint, create a gifset or photo edit, link a song, or get crafty with video - anything goes. As for NSFW, make what you like, we just hope that you’ll tag your work accordingly so that others participating in the event can stay safe.

Q. Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges?

Absolutely, as long as the other challenges allow it too.

Q. Can I upload/repost my Whumptober content to other social media platforms?

Of course! You can post your own content wherever you like (or you can opt to not publish it at all). Additionally we’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there. It can be accessed here. The tumblr blog @whumptober-archive is the official archive, so please respect the boundaries of any closeted whumpers in your social circle.

Q. Can I use prompts to write a new chapter for an existing fic?

Yes.

Q. An existing fic I am currently writing contains many of the Whumptober prompts, can I use it?

If you are actively writing this fic at the moment with the Whumptober prompts in mind, yes. If you’ve previously posted something that checks the boxes, we ask that you not include it retroactively for this current year. You can, however, add new chapters relating to one or more of the prompts.

Q. What kind of characters can I write for?

Fandom characters, OC characters, human, furry, alien, cyborg, RPF, whoever you like. You can use the generic “whumpee” character or have specific ones.

Q. Does it have to take place in a specific fandom?

No, you can create works for your own worlds or for fandoms or for both. You can also create more generic or pan-fandom works. You can do cross-overs or use OCs, whatever you want.

Q. Can I use a prompt multiple times?

Yes, but it only counts once towards being a completionist.

Q. If I’m not comfortable with one day’s prompts can I use a prompt of a different day as a substitute and still be a completionist?

No, you can’t exchange prompts for different days. However, if all four prompts of a specific day make you uncomfortable, we have created an alternate prompts list that you can draw from. You can exchange any prompt with these, but please make sure not to use them twice.

Q. Where can I post my work?

Post where and how you want. You don’t have to (cross)post it to Tumblr or at all. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive.

Q. Can I start posting early?

You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? That being said, you can post early, but we won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st.

Q. Do I have to finish a fic I started/can I post WIP’s?

Yes you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish it in October for it to count towards being a completionist.  

Q. Is co-writing allowed?

Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you.

Q. Do I have to create 31 standalone pieces to be considered a completionist or can I write one continuous story?

One continuous story is fine.  The challenge is to write something for 31 prompts. If that’s spread over 31 fics or just one, you are still considered a completionist. (The same goes for every other media you choose.)

Q. Is there a min/max limit on word count?

There is no limit.

Q. Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many?

No limit and combine as many as you’d like.

Q. Is a hc/angst/emotional whump focus ok?

Of course! We are not going to establish a threshold for whumpiness. If you think it’s whumpy enough, then it’s whumpy enough. It can be physical, psychological, emotional, or any combination of the three.

Q. What’s considered nsfw?

See this post

Q. What is whump?

Typically the genre includes situations where a fictional character is hurt, be it emotionally, psychologically, or physically. Fanlore provides information here.

Q. My interpretation of the prompt isn’t whumpy at all, does that count?

If you don’t think your interpretation is whumpy, then it doesn’t count for Whumptober. Remember that whump comes in many forms, though, and that we don’t have a whump-checker or a threshold for how much whump needs to be included. If you think your interpretation contains enough whump to count, then it does.

Q. Can I start working on the prompts before October?

Absolutely! That’s why we post the prompts a month in advance. We recognise how difficult it can be creating for 31 days in “real time” so feel free to start creating early!

Q. How do I tag triggers?

tw at the end of the word, ex. #gore tw

Q. Do I have to use your tags?

Yes, if you want your work archived on the blog. If not, feel free to use whatever tags you want. 

Q. Does combining prompts count towards completion?

Yes

Q. Can we @ you?

Yes but we mostly rely on the #whumptober2023 tag.

Q. Is there anything we are absolutely not allowed to write?

There are no rules, but please make sure to properly tag your trigger warnings. And keep in mind Tumblr’s policies if you are posting it here (or the policies for whatever site you use).

Q. Where can I go for brainstorming help?

Here on Discord or come into our ask box.

Q. My characters are minors, is that ok?

Yes, but as with everything else, use clear and descriptive tags.

Q. Can I cross post on other blogs?

Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable. You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once.

Note: This is a creation challenge, please don’t repost your old work under our tags (unless it’s been changed or edited for the event).

Thanks for reading, and happy whumping!

[leporellian]

Fuck it. Opera dashboard simulator

🐲 fafner Follow

hey whichever one of you left a tenor with a sword outside my lair can you come get him like i guess he's kind of fun to watch on the doorbell cam but he won't shut the fuck up

#i did not kill my brother and morph into a dragon to deal with this shit man

4 notes

🦉 troubadoursma Follow

I need to vent to you guys about something that happened to me sorry

(warning: child kidnapping/death, burning, etc)

Read more

🍭 rosinethegingerbreadwitch Follow

You know you can use roasted baby in a lot of really good recipes if you want to salvage the situation

🦉 troubadoursma Follow

What the fuck

111 notes

🦜 dervogel-fanger Follow

i think i'm getting desperate lol are any of my mutuals single and fem-identifying and down for a committed relationship? if your special interest is birds too that's a big plus. dm me if interested

0 notes

🌞 suntemple-official Follow

I'm gonna be real we've been kind of hatefollowing that vogelfanger acct for a while and we're losing it over his recent posts... 'are any of my mutuals single' DO YOU HEAR YOURSELFFF - Mod S

🌌 star-blazing-queen Follow

(unblocking you just to talk about this sorry) FOR REAL i get commissions from him so i have to follow him but he's so fucking annoying like just die already dude please

🌞 suntemple-official Follow

No offense I thought you were the worst user on this site but then I saw him and thought Actually no she's not that bad - Mod S

🦜 dervogel-fanger Follow

.

27 notes

🛡️ herodsoldier54 Follow

the one day i skip work and its the day our boss's stepdaughter went insane stripped for him and then made out with a decapitated head in front of everybody 😭😭😭😭

#my coworkers had to kill her and everything?????

98 notes

🌺 la-tosca Follow

RUNNING FROM THE COPS WITH MY HOT PAINTER BOYFRIEND AMA

🌺 la-tosca Follow

THEY FUCKING KILLED HIM

🌺 la-tosca Follow

GUESS I'M GONNA HAVE TO KILL SC*RPIA AGAIN IN THE AFTERLIFE LOL????? SEE YOU GUYS IN LIKE 15 MIN I THINK

#PRETTY SURE THEY HAVE WIFI THERE. I THINK #ALSO HOW PAINFUL IS JUMPING OFF A BUILDING. RESPOND FAST PLEASE

493 notes

🏵️ deverteallure Follow

The legal system here is so shit I'm gonna have to hire my fucking ex to be my lawyer. Fucking hate living in Seville man

#marcy speaks #also my ex really hates the defendant which i guess is really funny #for some reason they kind of look a little alike??? if you squint

6 notes

🦢 lohengrin Follow

kids these days dont know anything about online safety

🎇 wotanswilddaughter Follow

Bro isnt your url just your real name

🦢 lohengrin Follow

You didnt see that .

1,023 notes

💃 lahabanera Follow

Here can you guys fill this out for me stat

847 notes

🌊 sentaaaaa Follow

I want that ghost man carnally

48 notes

🐇 ilcatalogoilquesto Follow

So fucking tired of my terrible boss/roommate/crush maybe?/abuser hes being so fucking annoying rn. Wish i didnt have to deal with him

🐇 ilcatalogoilquesto Follow

Nvm

17 notes

[faeriefrolic]

I feel like there are not a lot of Sims 3 simblrs left. Who have been inspirations to you lately. I want to follow more simblrs :)

It's always lovely to see more ts3 simmers !! 💖 I usually check the ts3 tags to find more players, but here's some recent simspo that's been popping up on my dash: @poisonfireleafs: I loveeeee her hair retextures sm! I switched to using just them during my last small cc cleanout (Which I need to do... again... eventually... kicks mod folder under bed haha) @erasabledinosaur Cute colorful reshades and photos, her decorating style is chefs kiss mwah mwah 🥰 @simspaghetti I love her gameplay and follow her guides and gameplay rules! Sooo many good resources here 📚 @thepettymachine Really fun and cool ts3 challenges and legacies! One of my saves is their jam legacy challenge and I plan on tackling the others sometime 🍓 @acesandfairydust Just finished a berry lepacy! So many colorful generations 😻 @swedishsimmerr Currently playing a 100 baby challenge! Good luck soldier 🍼 @ticklemerainbows Their berry legacies span so many generations!! All those color combos and palettes are so neat to look at 🍒 @bool-prop Stories involving magic and the occult? Yes pleaseeeee 🐺 @amixofpixels Colorful faeries and a huge family tree!! Dedication to the fae ✨ @papermint-airplane Storytelling and cute aliens, need I say more 👽 @greenplumbboblover Amazing storytelling with the Sunset Valley sims 🌴 @kissalopa @prettyplumbobs @simsreaper @llamabees @hiddenspriings @nikatyler @hypatiaas @nonrevsims @panicsimmer More hix completionist/lepacy players!! It's such a fun challenge so far and it's fun to play alongside others doing it too, and seeing how unique everyones games are while playing in iconic ea worlds 🌞 @pearlsim @llamabees @magiclabs @teekapoa Cute & colorful gameplay and adorable decorating styles!! Taking so many notes 📝 @bearsimz @annacake @lalarose More ts3 berry players, berries my beloved 🍑

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 8/20/2024

a little light this week bc i had a fairly wretched week, medically speaking

listening

hozier's nobody's soldier would have been on every 8tracks mix for every character. THEEEEE blorbo song of all time to the point i am already annoyed at the thought of seeing it on every spotify mix. fuckin owns tho. very fun mod sixties heist taste to the horn arrangement

-

reading

thank you philip.

polished off the Marauders (2019-2022) comics. i liked the first volume way more than these three-- they didn't quite deliver the same quality of art or swashbuckles-per-minute. also this was probably not a great choice for someone who has forgotten what little she once knew about the xmen, even though they came at the beginning of a reboot.

why did i read these? mostly bc they were readily available or with short wait times at my library and my bestie is making me watch all the xmen movies. a girl gets curious about comic books sometimes

surprisingly, i came across this one from the Pocket integration on the firefox new tabs

McDonald likens the functions of Spotify to Google Maps. “Google Maps doesn’t do the exploration for me, but it’s helpful if I go somewhere,” he says. Rather than taking us on guided tours, it provides the tools for us to navigate somewhere new. Much as it shows us what’s nearby and how to get there, and flags notable landmarks others have visited, Spotify helps us access most music, lists global listening trends, and introduces us to artists similar to those we already know. But it’s communities that help us home in on a destination Spotify can help us explore.

part two of breaking down infamous academic paper mill Hindawi and why it was bought by Wiley anyway bc they did seemingly no due diligence, bc as a whole they do very little actual work in the publishing process.

i have included a very long quote bc it is one of only two things that made me genuinely laugh out loud this week (the other was phil unsticking a claw from the couch by backflipping herself out)

One issue of Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing from 2022, edited mostly by Hamurabi Gamboa Rosales, took an average of about 20 days to go from initial submission to revision submission. This is not unlikely, it’s impossible. The easiest way to explain this is with an analogy. Say there’s a pothole outside your house, and you call the council. You tell them ‘there’s a big hole in the road outside my house!’ The person at the other end, rather than tiredly telling you to fill out a form - which is what councils do all over the world, in my experience - instead yells ‘MOTHER OF GOD! WE’RE RIGHT ON IT!’ Twenty minutes later, a bitumen truck comes HURTLING around the corner of your street at full send, with the road workers hanging out the back of it, the driver leaning on the horn and yelling ‘GET OUT OF THE WAY! POTHOLE!’ They pull up outside your house, and you see the brakes go hot. But the guys don’t even wait for it to stop, they jump off while it’s slowing down, and they grab pry bars and a burner and a kettle of bitumen, and they start hammering out the edges, pour the bitumen and start slamming it with hammers almost at the same time. In about six minutes, the hole is filled and flattened, and they admire their work for about four hundred milliseconds and SCREAM off the way they came. No sooner has the truck disappeared, then your phone rings - and it’s the council worker from before. ‘POTHOLE! *pant* *pant* FIXED! Happy to be of service!’ *click* That’s how likely the entire editorial process taking 20 days is.

-

watching

i don't understand why the third xmen movie isn't named x cubed. it extremely is not their last stand there are like a dozen more movies to go. gun to my head i could not tell you what happened in this one. whatsherface did look good as hell though

and now for the movie i actually want to talk about, Monkey Man (2024, dir. Patel). imdb says:

An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systematically victimize the poor and powerless.

i am so so so lucky that my favorite kind of fight scene — fast, brutal, right spaces with improvised weapons-- is fashionable. pour it DIRECTLY into my open mouth

i think i generally agree with a broad sweep of reviewers here when i tell you that this movie is gorgeous and grossnasty at the same time, there are a lot of ideas that aren't all quite resolved, and i am much more interested in why it has a hell of a lot of ideas (part of why they don't all get resolved).

patel's first movie, it feels very much like a movie of someone who isn't sure they'll be able to do another one, so throw everything you've got in here. a sort of famously rocky production and shoestring budget, but you would not know it. the club scenes are especially dripping in glitz and, like many stage productions, have a lot of clever editing and strategic deployment of mirrors and repeats. there's a fight scene with hanging mirrors near the end where the mirrors can't have been more than fifty bucks each but it looks SO fucking sick.

i am much more willing to go to bat for this movie and ignore some of the rough edges bc it is so refreshingly earnest, and despite the style references, is very focused on being its own thing. at some points it's going to feel like The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis) bc every movie made in a post- The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis) world is going to feel a little bit like The Matrix (1999, dir. the Wachowskis). or like when the above gif happened in the movie it did not make me want to turn it off and go watch the first john wick.

people who live in india or are part of the diaspora are a little cranky about the political parties of the film, which had to be neutered for release. while i don't think i would have grasped all the nuances even if we did have the original cut, i think it's likely some of the characters would have resolved a little cleaner if that original intent was still there.

why did i watch this? i think patel is easily as hot as tumblr darling mifune. while drafting this post i got distracted sooooooo many times trying to pick the perfect gif. some of them are too hot!!!

-

playing

fallow week

-

making

just stayin alive! just livin the fuckin dream!!!

[shitty-mechs-headcannons]

When the mechs take subsequent damage to their mechanism they shut off like a computer for a bit (completely unresponsive but still breathing), three have more visual markers than the others, there’s Tim, who’s eyes blue screen, Drumbot entirely powers off and Toy Soldier goes entirely still, no matter if it’s standing or not.

ooo fun. does this mean jonny collapses for a second because his heart stops. how would that work for nastya....

-mod fen

[swaps55]

Mass Effect Vanguard Guide

Other Guides: Guide to Basic Infiltrating | Shield Gate and YOU | Adept Guide | Sentinel Guide | Soldier Guide |

First and foremost, this is exactly what it says: a guide. It is not the right way to play this class; it is a way that I have found very effective after well over a thousand hours spent running different builds and different classes in campaign and ME3 Multiplayer. If you build it differently and like your style better, great! If you are having fun, you’re doing it right.

But if you are struggling at all with the Vanguard class or don’t click with it, this guide might help you. The build, loadout, and strategy are designed with higher difficulties in mind. This kit can easily make quick work of insanity and is a lot of fun if you enjoy using your face as a weapon.

THE BUILD

Shepard has 8 skill trees + a Bonus Power. At Rank 60, you can max out 8 skills and have enough points leftover to take the 9th to level 4. For this build, I recommend only taking Cryo Ammo to rank 4 (or skipping it entirely), and maxing everything else. 

Prioritize Charge, Nova, Incendiary Ammo, Assault Mastery, and probably a few points in Fitness here and there.  

Breakdown under the cut! 

Incendiary Ammo: Incendiary ammo might be one of the most brokenly overpowered skills in the game. The explosive evolution adds a flat damage value vs. a percentage on every other shot, which is insane. On rapid fire weapons that do less damage per shot, like the Tempest or the Typhoon, you're basically doubling the amount of damage you're doing. Add the area of effect you get with the explosion? You're now inflicting this chaos on anyone else who’s nearby. Are you using a piercing mod (the answer should be yes)? You now have a shot at another roll for another explosion, because the damage call can pass through the armored target and torment the cannon fodder behind it. A piercing mod reduces the damage on your bullet, but not the explosion. This is super insane on shotguns, because you get a shot at the extra damage roll per pellet, not per shot. Shotgun blasts have multiple pellets per shot.

Have I mentioned that this is affected by increases in power damage? So any power damage increases you take in Assault Mastery make incendiary ammo better.

Rank 4 – Damage. To hell with your squad. I mean, your squad is amazing. But trust me, you want to be selfish with incendiary ammo. You can do so much more with it than your squad can.

Rank 5 – Are you handy with headshots? Take Headshot damage. Would you rather have more ammo capacity? Take Ammo Capacity. Whatever makes you happy.

Rank 6 – Explosive Burst. Always take explosive burst. There is no universe in which you want anything other than explosive burst.

Cryo Ammo: This is your dump stat. I don’t even put my leftover points in cryo ammo, because the circumstances in which you would choose cryo ammo over incendiary ammo do not exist, if you are going for maximizing damage. Cryo ammo is really nothing more than a debuff, and you know what’s better than a debuff? Killing it. Now, if you just want to snicker at enemies with a health bar freezing solid and toppling over, that’s different. 😊 But when it comes to higher difficulties, cryo ammo just doesn’t stand up to the effectiveness of other ammo powers.  

Pull: Pull doesn’t provide nearly as much benefit as your other skills, so I suggest speccing into it last. It can, however, be a fun way to toy with mooks if you’re bored of scattering them like ninepins, and offer an alternative for dealing with Guardians if emptying a shotgun full of fire into their mail slot doesn’t quite do it for you. Pull will also prime biotic explosions. It’s not elegant, but you can do it.

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I go for Radius, because as a Vanguard nothing stays alive long enough for duration to matter. But if you are having trouble with timing to get biotic explosions, you can choose Duration here.

Rank 5: Lift Damage vs. Expose: Go for Expose, which increases all damage to the target, including biotic detonations. Again, things don’t stay alive long enough for lift damage to do much for you.  

Rank 6: Recharge Speed vs. Double Pull. DOUBLE PULL. Why would you choose one pull when you can have two? This skill already has one of the fastest recharge speeds in the game, so choosing recharge speed doesn’t gain you anything.

Biotic Charge: Biotic charge, of course, is the signature skill of the vanguard, and while there are plenty of playstyles you can use that don’t hinge on charge…why would you? Charge is stupidly fun. You can be reckless, silly, and stupid, and no one can stop you. You’ll make so many things explode you can hear colors. There isn’t a problem your face can’t solve, unless the problem is on a platform out of bounds.

Charge is also a detonator power, which means you can set up biotic explosions by painting a target with warp, reave, dark channel, and even pull, and then slamming your face into it. Charge will also create a fire explosion when you ram your face into something that’s on fire from incinerate or….incendiary ammo. Hey, who has incendiary ammo and can make their own fire explosions? VANGUARDS. 

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius. Dealer’s choice. Do you want to smash for face against one thing with all the force? Or smash your face against all the things with less force? ME3 tends to emphasize cannon fodder over high tier enemies, so if you’re a little shy about running straight into the arms of a banshee and prefer to use yourself as a bowling ball into a pile of husks, go for radius. Otherwise, go for damage.

Rank 5: Weapon Synergy vs. Power Synergy. For most playstyles, power synergy is what you want here, especially if you like to spam Nova, as power synergy makes your nova hit harder. However, if you prefer to charge into something and then stick your shotgun down its throat to set it on fire with fire bullets, take weapon synergy.

Rank 6: Bonus Power vs. Barrier: I recommend barrier here, because the number one problem vanguards have is not giving a fuck, and having charge give you your shields back when not giving a fuck lands you in a sticky situation will generally save your life. Also, the cooldowns on this kit are so fast you really don’t benefit that much from randomly getting a free one to justify giving up those shields you really need because nova.

Shockwave: Shockwave is another detonator for biotic explosions, and it’s a handy mid-range attack when you’re stuck in cover or don’t want ravager goo all over your face.

Rank 4: Force & Damage vs. Radius: Shockwave’s biggest weakness is its short reach, so I choose radius here. NOTE: In the Original Trilogy, this skill is bugged on PC. Choosing radius actually causes this skill to do ZERO damage. So if you are playing OT on PC, choose Force. This bug appeared to be fixed in LE when I tested it.

Rank 5: Detonate vs. Reach: While reach would be great, because again, range is this skill’s biggest shortcoming, detonating combos is what makes shockwave so good. I recommend detonate, unless you find yourself not using it for explosions.

Rank 6: Recharge vs. Lifting Shockwave: Either one will work here, really. Lifted shockwave is cute, and can help you set up explosions, so I tend to choose it.

Nova: The companion skill to Charge! A lot of people are afraid of Nova because it depletes your shields. But I encourage you to practice with it, because if you get comfortable with the pattern of charge + nova + shoot it on fire until it’s dead, there isn’t much of anything a vanguard can’t handle.

Yes, even banshees.

Rank 4:  Force and Damage vs. Radius: You can choose either here, though I will give the lean towards force and damage. If something manages to evade the radius, stick a fire shotgun down their throat to make them think about what they’ve done.

Rank 5: Power Recharge vs. Half Blast: I recommend power recharge here, because decreasing the effectiveness of nova means it dies slower, and Power Recharge speed increases your recharge speed by 25% across the board for 15 seconds. That means CHARGE recharges faster. Which means you can lock yourself in a continuous loop of faster recharge by charging and nova-ing until everything is dead. Remember, this kit does not have a grenade power because SHEPARD is the grenade. Realize your full potential and blow everything up.  

Rank 6: Pierce vs. Sustain: Don’t be tempted by Sustain, and the allure of sometimes not using up your barrier. Choose Pierce. Not only does this make you more effective vs. Armor and Barriers, but also shields, which is something biotics aren’t great at. If you feel naked without your shields, remember you have a FIRE GUN that can protect you until Charge is primed and ready to give you your shields back, and Rank 5 means that recharge is faster.

Assault Mastery: Here’s where things get stupid. Assault Mastery makes all your badass shit even more badass.

Rank 4: Damage vs. Influence & Force: I understand that the Influence bonus is really attractive here, but we’re focusing a build that services combat, not story, and Damage brings you to a 20% power bonus vs. the 10% if you choose I&F. Remember, power damage not only affects your biotic powers, but also your ammo power. Remember how stupid Incendiary Ammo is? This makes it stupider.

Rank 5: Squad Bonus vs. Weight Capacity: Be selfish. Your squad is great, but Shepard is a god, and do you know how your make gods even more badass? Let them bring heavier guns.

Rank 6: Shotgun Damage vs. Power Intensity: Even if you primarily use a shotgun and don’t rely heavily on powers, the 20% power damage bonus from Power Intensity is better, because it also applies to Incendiary Ammo. And it gives you the freedom to use other guns if you want to.

Fitness: Let’s make this short and sweet: As a vanguard, you are not punching things with your fists, you are punching things with your face, so for ranks 4, 5, & 6, go Durability, Barrier Recharge, and Durability.

Bonus Power: I recommend any biotic power that sets up combos, since setting up combos is what Vanguards are not great at. Between Reave and Dark Channel, I prefer reave, because you can paint multiple targets, it staggers the target, it stacks, and it gives you damage reduction. I do NOT recommend Flare. While it is a really cool power, it has a painfully slow recharge speed, and vanguards need to move fast.

Reave:

Rank 4: Duration vs. Radius: I choose radius, to paint more targets. It’s not gonna live long enough for duration to matter.

Rank 5: Damage Reduction vs. Recharge Speed: The recharge speed is a little painful, so if you aren’t having trouble staying alive, you can choose it. If you’re dying, damage reduction will help.

Barriers & Armor vs. Damage & Duration: You can go either way here, but I prefer Barriers & Armor, because you can fire a reave at a banshee and then ignore her while you go bowling with the cannon fodder. When all your toys are dead, you can then ram your face into the banshee so she explodes.     

The Weapons

The weight capacity bonus you can get from Assault Mastery means Shepard can be this powerful and carry some REALLY good guns. I recommend weapons with a high rate of fire to take advantage of Incendiary Ammo. Shotguns are the obvious choice, but any weapon with a high rate of fire that keeps you close to or at a 200% cooldown is good.

My favorites are the Piranha and the Hurricane, the latter of which can take advantage of a power mag bonus. But since you are already giving up a valuable mod slot for the power mag, if you need a stabilizer to use it comfortably, I’d recommend going with something else. The Talon is a good choice because it is lightweight, fires quickly enough, and it has a damage bonus to shields and barriers. Basically, it’s a pocket shotgun. The Reegar is a weapon that can be REALLY dumb, since it melts shields, and it benefits from a piercing mod, but its drawback is that it is very short range on a class that already struggles at range. If you want to use it, I suggest the piercing and thermal clip mods.

Speaking of the range issue. I have two words for you: The Indra.

The Indra is an automatic sniper rifle, one of the absolute best weapons in the game, and Shepard can carry it and STILL HAVE A 200% COOLDOWN. Also? It costs 10k credits on the Citadel at the beginning of the game. Is it counterintuitive to carry a sniper rifle on a Vanguard? Yup. Is it immersion breaking? Possibly. But remember, this is a combat guide, not a story guide. Put the Indra on Shepard with Incendiary Ammo, and congrats! You are now invincible.

How to Play

Vanguard is a high risk/high reward class. It’s designed to play fast and at close range, so if you are trying to play it like an adept, you might not get good results. Get comfortable playing with your shields down (you’ll get them back with the next charge), don’t be stingy with medigel, and don’t fret too much about top tier enemies like phantoms and banshees. You might occasionally get sync killed, but truthfully, your damage output is so high you can often stagger them out of their murderous intent. Even turrets can’t stand up to this kit:

Turn on incendiary ammo the moment you load into a mission and leave it on. I suggest mapping charge, nova, and reave (if it’s your bonus power) to the hotkeys so you don’t have to use the power wheel for each, and make it a muscle memory. Charge everything. Nova with impunity. Shoot everything that isn’t dead until they’re on so much fire they wish they were. Use the power wheel to pause the game and get your bearings or figure out what’s shooting you. Use your squadmates to either strip shields or set up biotic explosions. Use and abuse combat roll to get out of trouble if charge is on cooldown. If you’re about to die, charge first, then medigel. Reload canceling is your friend. (If you are not familiar with reload canceling, I plan to make a post about it.)

A vanguard should rarely stop moving, except for the occasional stint behind cover to regroup, reload your gun, or set up an explosion. If you stop charging, you’ll probably die.

This class is a hell of a lot of fun if you let it off the chain and go hog wild. Don’t be afraid to die. Taking the risk – even if it doesn’t pay off all the time – helps you get comfortable with the batshit playstyle if it’s not something you’re used to.

I love all the Mass Effect classes, but this one is my favorite because this is how I really love to play the game. I hope this guide helps!  

[incorrect-murderdrones]

ANDDD WE HAVE A QUOTE MASTERPOST! ALL QUOTES BELONG TOO: @the-island-of-quotes HAVE FUN AND FOLLOW THAT PERSON :D -Mod Kai

N: This is what Victor would look like if he was doctor Seuss.

Uzi: There's a socket in my pocket, maybe this will help me fix my sprocket.

Uzi: It's not a 5, or a 6, or a 10, I have seem to have lost all of those again.

Uzi: And when it comes to wrenches, it seems all of them have disappeared off my fucking work benches.

Uzi: So even though there is a socket in my pocket I can't even use it to fix my fucking sprocket

*Next day*

Uzi: Another tool another day, I dropped some more shit in this fucking engine bay.

Uzi: But it's okay because I bought this car to get from point A to point B.

Uzi: And after one week of ownership I'm kinda hoping this thing gets crushed by a fucking tree.

Uzi: I've wanted to sell this car since week one, but nobody wants to buy it when it has every problem under the sun.

Uzi: This car will just remain broken and collect some dust, and eventually this piece of shit will start collecting rust.

Uzi: But at this point I don't really care! I have the time, nor money or energy to try and repair.

Uzi: I'm just gonna say fuck this, and sell this shit on craigslist to some guy named Chris.

______________________________________________________________

V: I now proudly present, the life and times of earnest Hemingway in aproxamently 3 and a half minutes. GO! Born in Chicago in 1899, son of a physician and a musician, reasonably uneventful childhood, decided to study Journalism. Enlisted with the Red Cross during World War I, got BLOWN up in Milan and spent 6 months in hospital with severe shrapnel wounds in both legs. Fell in love with a nurse, they decided to get married. He came home to prepare, she stayed there and ditched him for an Italian soldier, which initiated a life long pattern of him rejecting women before they had a chance to reject him. Got a job as a foreign correspondent, fell in love with his roommates' sister, married her and moved to Paris. They hung out with Gertrude Stein. They kicked it with Pablo Picasso. He started writing in earnest, no pun intended. Moved to Toronto, had a kid, moved back to Paris, published a couple of books. Cheated on his wife, got divorced, married the other woman. Converted to Catholicism... Cut his head open after pulling on a cord thinking he was flushing a toilet and instead ripped a skylight from the roof and smashed it onto HIS FACE! Moved to Kansas City, had another kid, his dad committed suicide, he shot a lot of bears for some reason. Had a car accident, had another kid, went to Africa to kill some wild animals and got dysentery karma! Published another book, moved to Cuba, SHOT HIMSELF IN THE LEG WHILST AIMING AT A SHARK! Cheated on his wife, got divorced, married the other woman. Published "For Whom the Bell Tolls," sold half a million copies in a couple of months and got nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Cheated on his wife, got divorced, married the other woman. Became the self appointed leader of a band of village Militia outside of Paris and was subsequently brought up on charges for contravening the Geneva Convention, and GOT AWAY WITH IT LIKE A FUCKING CHAMPION! Got pneumonia, moved back to Cuba and spent most of his spare time on his boat TRACKING NAZI U-BOATS WITH A MACHINE GUN AND A PILE OF HAND GRENADES I AM NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP! Had a few more car accidents, three more concussions, got CLAWED WHILE PLAYING WITH A LION... Got depressed, drank. Got fat, published a couple more books, went back to Africa to shoot some more wild animals, and barely survived two separate plane crashes in the space of 24 hours, winding up with a fractured skull, internal bleeding, cracked spine, ruptured liver, first degree burns, and a paralyzed sphincter muscle karma! Won a Nobel Prize, had a file opened on him by J. Edgar Hoover, left a bunch of shit in a safe in Cuba and moved to Idaho, paranoid that the feds were following him WHICH THEY WERE BECAUSE HE SPENT MOST OF THE 1940S WORKING FOR THE KGB, AGAIN NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP! Suffered from hepatitis, nephritis, hypertension, hemochromatosis, anemia and impotence, karma. Got committed, received way too much electroconvulsive therapy and came out all fucked up, started hinting at suicide so immediately got recommitted, received another couple of months worth of electroconvulsive therapy, got released, put both barrels of his favorite 12-gauge shotgun into his mouth and BLEW HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF! WHAT A GUY!

______________________________________________________________

N: Welcome to applebees! What'll it be? Apples or bees? Congrats, you get bees!!!

______________________________________________________________

Doll: Now that I've added the milk to the cereal tell me, is that milk now a beverage, a broth, or a sauce? Answer carefully Khan, you're wife's life depends on it!

______________________________________________________________

Uzi: If the conspiracies about life being a simulation are true whoever is controlling my Sim I JUST WANNA TALK!!

______________________________________________________________

N: Do you think god stays in heaven because he too fears what he's created? That's a quote from Spy Kids 2 have you ever seen it it's like peak cinema.

______________________________________________________________

Uzi: Who needs sleep when you run on equal parts NyQuil and Methamphetamine?

______________________________________________________________

V: Just remember Uzi people die when they are killed!

______________________________________________________________

V: Ha! You're pointless!

Doll: Thirty nine buried.

*Gunshot*

Doll: Zero found

______________________________________________________________

N: Which one of you was gonna tell me tea tastes different if you put in hot water?

Uzi: Y- you we're putting it in cold water???????

V: N. Answer the question N!

N: Yeah??? I thought for like five years people just put it in hot water to speed up the tea-ification process, didn't realize there was an actual reason.

J: You don't have the patience to microwave water for three minutes??

Doll: Why are you. Putting it in the microwave to boil it?

J: Do you think I have the patience to boil water on the stove?

Doll: It takes less than a minute!

J: Doll is your stove powered by the fucking sun!?

Doll: How long does it take to boil a cup of water on your stove?

J: LIKE SEVEN MINUTES!

Doll: Just stick the mug on top of the stove on medium heat and it boils in two minutes, less if you use a saucepan.

Lizzy: Crying your putting the whole mug on the stove??? On medium heat??? Your stove is enchanted!

Uzi: Every drone in this exoplanet is a fucking idiot.

Cyn: DO NONE OF YOU OWN A FUCKING KETTLE!?!?! REMEMBER TO FOLLOW: @the-island-of-quotes AS THEY OWN THESE QUOTES :D

[textingtroublesanswers]

hi my favorite mercenary blorbos (and hello unfathomably based author ily and I love this fic/platonic)

What is the stupidest thing anyone on base has ever done? (incl Miss Pauling haha)

-Gnarff

:] have a nice day

Mod B: I am unfathomably based :D!

Ludwig rubs the bridge of his nose, "Stupidest thing anyone has ever done? My my, you are not making this easy on me."

Mikhail nods, scratching his chin, "Hard choice, hard choice. Doktor once got stuck in wall during match, because he forgot to take backpack off."

Ludwig snorts, "That is hardly THE stupidest thing anyone has ever done. Scout recently drank antifreeze!"

"Second time. If it happens more than once, is not as stupid." Ludwig levels him with a glare, but he does have to admit there's some truth to that.

"Engineer built us a tactical disco ball only once."

"Da, but was fun until little Scout throw something at it & activate guns on it."

"Sniper once brought a live crocodile to the base."

"Is Australian. I ask Engineer afterwards, & he say it was normal."

"What about Pyro making molotov cocktails to throw into piles of paperwork & taxes?"

"Doktor helped her."

"I'm the only man on this base who fills out the paperwork, it was catharsis. Ok, but you have to admit that Soldier rocket jumping with leg casts was both stupid, & weirdly smart."

"Maybe. Maybe... Oh, I know what is stupidest thing someone on base once did." Mikhail grins down at Ludwig cheekily.

Ludwig swallows nervously, "Aheh. Go on?"

Mikhail grins even wider, "Someone on base, Heavy won't give out name, once threw temper tantrum at dinner, because he got months messed up & thought someone else forgot their anniversary."

"I wouldn't call it a 'temper tantrum'." Ludwig huffs.

Mikhail comes up behind him & hugs him, "Nyet, just being whiny, needy baby." Ludwig crosses his arms, even as Mikhail begins to kiss him.

"It was a moment of weakness... You love me, don't you, Kuschelbär?"

"Forever, мой голубушка."

[ambasingresident]

Thats right boys and girls, I've made a new THSC AU that is based in the HOI4 mod, "The New Order: Last Days of Europe". Introducing the "On The Fields of Black Siberia AU" (or the "Green Scissor Black Shashka AU")!!!!!!1!1!1!1

(Drew the duo joining in on the fun Vasily's troops are having)

This AU shows life in Siberian Black Army (a warlord state in post-collapse Russia that is ruled by anarchist in TNO) territory in the perspective of Vasily Shashka (my oc) and Ellio Ovelot (@yunaisky 's oc) who both explore the territory through their shenanigans, whether it's making origami, learning how to dance like a Russian soldier, "forcefully making negotiations" with a company owner about the wages of the workers, or dealing with the NKVD of Yagoda's Irkusk or the military personnel of Pasternap's Tomsk who are preparing to invade Vasily's homeland to retake lost territories.

More shite about this will be added soon.

Context:

https://www.tumblr.com/ambasingresident/725717155807641600/drew-a-soldier-of-the-siberian-black-army-from-tno?source=share

https://the-new-order-last-days-of-europe.fandom.com/wiki/The_New_Order:_Last_Days_of_Europe_Wiki

[crepes-suzette-373]

Every other day I find more Kamen Rider nods/callbacks in Germa, and it's getting really obnoxious, I just keep wondering what sensei is trying to do with this. If he's just having fun because he really likes Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, this is kind of going overboard.

Maybe he's just trolling Toei with this nonsense??? Toei as a studio runs Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, Sailor Moon, Pretty Cure (another magic girl show), and of course One Piece. Maybe he thought it'd be funny to make this bizarre combination of all the above and he just happens to really like Kamen Rider the most??

Sometimes the nods are too serious to be a joke, but on the other hand it's also super absurd at other times.

The Super Sentai team look is almost a camouflage, lore-wise they're definitely closer to Kamen Rider. Plus, Kamen Rider itself did have its "evil team" with rainbow scarves (all identical suits, though). Funky belts and scarves? That's the classic Kamen Rider's iconic look.

And then the Germa leader in the comic book resembling the military-looking guy (a KR villain commander). Based on the rough drafts that military look almost was designated to be how Judge actually looks before sensei scrapped it (too obvious, maybe?).

Kind of hard to see but in the screenshots you can also see the evil organisation's logo (on the floor in the middle of the table) looks like the Germa eagle symbol. And the setup of the "table under throne" in the left screenshot looks more specifically similar.

He's been mixing up various tropes from multiple seasons so it's just really

The term "modified humans" 改造人間 that was used to refer the the siblings is something that was characteristic of the Shouwa Riders (the really old ones from 90s and older). This is not "cyborg", by the way, just genetic modification. Like, in American superhero terms, Captain America or Winter Soldier would also categorise as 改造人間.

Sanji's backstory and the exoskeleton mods and even "evil twins" is more specifically Kamen Rider Black. The raid suit can transformation pose are the newer riders (Heisei Riders) from later in the 2000s onwards.

The original Kamen Rider villains, the Shocker group, were legitimately just flat out Nazis (or affiliated to them), and I honestly think the weird look in Germa is because of the Kamen Rider Easter Egg. Not because sensei was thinking "Germa = Germany".

Certainly we don't know when this stuff turned into this, as the old drafts proved that there was a time he designed "Sanji's family" to just look mostly normal. The father who was named Saint Germain looks just kind of like Pedro but human. Yonji looks like pre-timeskip Sanji but has a sword.

To me it felt more like he was going for the French/Saint Germain angle at first, then suddenly it became Kamen Rider and the Third Reich stuff crawled in. Sensei does a lot of research I'm sure, but I mean, most Japanese text usually calls Germany "Doitsu". Even the WW2 stuff would refer to them with something-Doitsu.

Unless he picked up a text with English words in them, he might not have really noticed Germany is spelled "Germany" in English. We don't know either way, that's why I don't like to assume for certain.

Anyway, I'm not sure how much of this can serve as a predictor. If it really is a straight reference, Sanji might then just adopt the mods completely. As mentioned above, the old Riders were "modified humans". The evil organisation were the people who forcibly gave them the powers they never wanted. They just reject the evil intent, but embrace the power because they're using it for good.

But if this is all just trolling, then scrap all that and now I know nothing.

[thalwhore]

Intermission

A little Tally fic to get down my thoughts on their turbulent dynamic. Set in a universe where Eira (oc) is the Dragonborn and Sulba (oc) is one of her followers. As always Taliesin belongs to @dynamite124 (go install his mod if you're on pc 🔫 he's so fun and worth it)

.

"You know, the only reason you're alive right now is because of Eira." The Redguard snarks, eyes focused on the opposite end of the room- anywhere but at him.

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of that fact. If not for her I'd have probably bled out back then." Taliesin replies, still dutifully bandaging his comrades wound. "It's a miracle really, that she even stumbled across me. I can't say I'm not grateful."

Sulba growls. "Not what I meant."

"What do you mean then?"

"That I'd have killed you by now if it weren't for her."

Taliesin can't help but bark a laugh. "Oh dear, something tells me you're in no position to fight at the moment. We barely got you here, I sincerely doubt you'd have held up against a single bandit."

"I could kill you in your sleep."

"But you won't."

The Redguard looks annoyed, scowling at Taliesin before returning to glaring a hole into the wall opposite her.

With a sigh, her Altmer companion snips the remainder of the bandage, securing it to her arm before packing the supplies away. "I'd recommend against magic until she comes back with a potion for you, believe me- its not pleasant to fight with."

"You're not pleasant to fight with."

"Will you please stop acting like a petulant child!" Taliesin snaps, rising to his feet. "I understand that you have issues with the Thalmor, but that's no reason for you to be so hostile to me when I've very clearly left them!"

He turns away from her, packing the medical supplies away in one of the parks Eira had given them. Ear twitching as Sulba mutters something under her breath.

"If you're going to shit-talk me, at least have the guts to say it to my face."

"I asked why I should believe you."

It gives the Altmer pause, securing the straps in silence. "Honestly? You shouldn't. We're trained in subterfuge, anyone who knows anything about the Thalmor is right to be wary."

He expected Sulba to be happy with the statement, to look at him with a shit-eating grin that says 'I got you'. But she doesn't. Instead she's staring down at her shaking palms.

"What, have I upset you?"

"Your existence upsets me."

"You- Oh not again! We're talking in absolute circles! If you're going to hate me for having the audacity to exist, at least be creative about it. Or better yet- tell me why."

"You really want to know? You want to live with that knowledge?"

"I assure you, it can't be worse than anything I learned or saw during the war. Whatever the Thalmor put you through, I probably had to participate in enacting in thricefold."

She hesitates a moment, holding one hand in the other. "Thalmor killed my parents."

Taliesin scoffs. "Hardly a unique tale of woe these days, there must be more than that."

"And I watched."

"...Now we're getting somewhere. Go on, what horrors have been burned into your memory to make you hate me?" He asks, rather flippant about the whole thing.

It receives a brief scowl from Sulba, but that expression is quickly overtaken with grief. "I...I was only eight. You already know this, but Hammerfell has always opposed Dominion rule, thanks in large part to its people. My parents were such people." She starts.

Taliesin winces. "Yes, I also know Thalmor actions there can't exactly be described as legal, even in wartime."

She nods. "My parents saw the colours of the uniform, had me hide in a crawlspace built into the home in case of such a thing. They..." there's hesitation, a shaky inhale of breath to steady her nerves. "They were both burned. A flame spell, no matter what they did they couldn't put eachother out- try as they may. And the Thalmor soldiers...they just watched, seemed to enjoy it, even."

She hiccups a sob, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle it. "The fire spread but they didn't leave- I thought I was going to burn to death with the home. By the time they left i- I was choking on the smoke, I barely managed to get out before the building collapsed on top of me."

Sulba takes a moment to steady herself, Taliesin sitting patiently all the while.

"I passed out after it, some researchers found me near the still smoldering ashes- took me with them to Skyrim. They figured I'd be safer with them here."

It's then that Taliesin finally speaks up. "I'm...I'm sorry. I know that won't mean anything to you, but I truly am. Nobody should have to suffer that, least of all a child."

She looks blankly at the robes he's still wearing. "Even just the sight of those gives me nightmares, I can still smell the smoke now, the burning flesh. Its very distinct, you know? No other scent like it."

In the morning he'd wear robes more typical of a Skyrim mage, in blue and white, a far cry from that of the Thalmor colours.

She'd nod a silent thanks, and their previous discussion remained between them alone while her general anger at his presence seemed to lessen.

A shaky bridge formed, but a bridge nonetheless.

[sebbiesolace]

"I'm sensin' some curiosity from ya... I’ll work backwards, then."

*Parker scratches at his chin, thinking momentarily before beginning to count off on his fingers.*

"One. Do I want to leave?

Yeah. I may as well have some fun first, but I think I can speak fer all of us when I say I miss the sun.

Issue is, we're what, 3 miles underwater? | don't got much of a plan, so any help is… appreciated, in that regard."

*He ticks another finger.*

"Two, Correction: We've met before. Not long enough to warrant an introduction, mind, but I don't give gifts like these two to just anybody."

*He gestures to the guards, who occasionally spasm weakly, still unconscious. He gives a resonant chuckle, amused at his handiwork.*

"Three...”

*Parker slides a bullet out of a spare magazine, examining it in the dim light.*

"Did you know that in every batch of ammunition, one in three hundred thousand rounds has a dud primer? One in three hundred thousand!"

*He rolls it over in his fingers, before neatly sliding it back into the mag. His smile gleams more than the bullet did.*

"Now, I've always been good at beatin' the odds. Lucky, lucky Levi. Blessed by Fortune, Cursed by Fate. Always captured, never caught. Not lucky enough to keep my left leg, but ya can’t win ‘em all.”

“Anyways, they tried setting it off when they noticed I was trying to fiddle with it, but it just kinda… clicked, paused… then detached.”

*Parker pauses to think.*

Not much story to tell past that. I snuck around for a bit, found these two separated from their unit, cracked em over the head usin’ my leg as a club, then brought ‘em to you.”

"6 and a half, this facility is.. pretty deep down."

[He tilted his head, earfin twitching and he re-situated, pinning the two soldiers with his tail. Sebastian tried to think- When had they met? Did it even matter?]

"Jeez... Talk about LUCK...."

[Slowly, the gears started to turn in his head. Urbanshade made a MISTAKE. Sure, it was RANDOM, one in 300,000, but it was a mistake nonetheless. A BIG one too.]

"It just... didn't go off? Blessed by fortune indeed...."

[A strange expression wormed onto his face, excitement and fear warring for the limelight. He picked the walkie talkies off the soldiers, carefully turning the dials, honing in on a frequency. It sounded like... static, but nonetheless, he grinned]

"Bingo... These can reach surface control. You ca-"

[He cut himself off. He didn't WANT to lose a friend down here. He WANTED company. didn't he?]

"You can... contact HQ now. The most I've heard guards do with these is order supplies, though..."

[Liar. They used these things to call submarines.]

mod::}

[randomthefox]

Getting sent into limbo by the Time Eater is a far more horrifying fate than anything ever portrayed by Archie or IDW. But the characters didn't freak out or whine after what they experienced with the Time Eater. Unlike in archie/idw where everyone cries themselves to death over every little thing.

And since clowns on twitter think "character crying equals deeper and darker" you have people who truly believe that everything in the games is silly kiddy fun while the comics are oh so gruesome and bleak compared to everything else in the entirety of fiction.

Archie/idw stans literally can't think. They can only feel or interpret things in the exact manner the story explicitly tells them to.

The reason the darker elements of the Sonic games work is because they don't dwell on it. They don't mire themselves in misery and melodrama.

For as much as idiots people go on about Maria the "12 year old girl getting shot!!!!" the games are very tasteful in how they depicted that event in every game where it's included. In SA2 we only see Maria talking to Shadow when he's inside the capsule.

In Shadow the Hedgehog we see a GUN soldier pointing a gun at her, but when the gunshot goes off the screen just flashes to white.

During the scene for one of the flashback levels, we see Maria falling in slow motion and then it fades into her talking to Shadow in the capsule.

We never actually SEE Maria getting shot. It's all very much implied and heavily alluded to but it is never SHOWN on screen. The emphasis is entirely on Maria's final words, her message of hope for mankind, not on the pain of her death. Not on the tragedy of what's been done to her. There's no bloody splash on her character model, we never even witness the impact of a bullet.

The games show RESTRAINT. The fucking Archie/IDW comics don't know what the word restraint even means. And never do the jeering bleating jackasses who wort about how "kids going to see Sonic 3 are gonna be traumatized by seeing a 12 year old girl getting shot lololol" and also they never played the games. I don't know how Sonic X depicted Maria's death but I'm just going to assume it was cringe and shit and blame that show for the way people talk about it like the GUN soldiers started playing jump rope with her entrails or whatever the fuck they're going on about.

I'm playing Sekiro right now so I feel like making a comparison to that: Miyazaki games never depict on screen decapitations. Decapitations TAKE PLACE in the stories of these games, but they're never SHOWN. The big huge massive exception to this is the Guardian Ape in Sekiro, but the thing is THAT decapitation DOESN'T ACTUALLY KILL THE ENEMY (because arguably, it was already dead and just a body being puppeted). Even within that same game one of the endings have a character holding the decapitated head of someone in his hand during the cutscene, but it's so hidden under the bottom of the frame that we didn't even realize that's what was happening until people viewed the cutscenes with a free camera mod. Beheadings factor into the stories of these games surprisingly frequently, but the actual decapitation is always off screen. This is because Miyazaki doesn't just have gore and brutality in his games for its own sake. It's to serve an artistic purpose.

That kind of restraint and artistic purpose is how the "dark" and "mature" elements of Sonic are always handled. Sonic Adventure has genocide. Sonic Generations had Sonics friends being trapped in a hellish limbo. Sonic Forces had Sonic imprisoned and tormented for six months straight. Sonic Frontiers has the characters shown nightmarish visions while trapped in cyberspace. But this is never misery for the sake of misery, and it's never dwelled on for drama. Compare and contrast a direct example: Sonic having the cyber corruption in Frontiers against the metal virus infection in IDW.

The purpose of Sonic's cyber corruption in Frontiers is to demonstrate his willpower and determination, his indomitable spirit that will never slow down and never give up. Which has a massive impact on Sage since her being influenced and developing because of her exposure to Sonic is a defining element of the game's story. Sonic is suffering but the emphasis is on how he is continuing on undefeated regardless.

Let me ask you a sincere and genuine question. Let me ask the fans of IDW this truthfully and for real: what is the purpose of this? What does this accomplish narratively? Thematically and in terms of the story telling, what does this accomplish? Why is this being written in this way? Can you even answer that? Ian Flynn thinks this comic is a dumb baby comic for dumb babies and that if you want something that tackles mature themes to go read something for adults instead. So I am GENUINELY asking. Why in this comic is Sonic on his hands and knees suffering in agony from a virulent incurable body ruining infection beating himself up over the consequences to his philosophical outlook on life and previous decisions he's made? This does not amount to anything. Sonic himself does not change as a result of any revelation had about this, he in fact later aggressively REJECTS the idea of changing when he's telling Zavok about his principles. No OTHER character develops or changes because of this. The world is not impacted by it. So literally, why is this happening as part of the story?

The answer is for the sake of misery porn. The comics have no deeper thought put into its narrative decisions. There is no theme being explored. There is no characterization being developed. There is just Things Happening. And Then Another Thing Happens. And there's no artistic purpose to any of it.

These comics are garbage and their fans are morons.

[muralikesgames]

Well this mod is exciting (made by same author for Emote Dogma). The event encounters, such as the ones where monsters attack a town\city, have much more variety now. Fun times!

In the above, there was a Grim Ogre disturbing the daytime peace in Volcanic Island Camp, a Lich who attacked Bakbattahl at night, and a Griffin who targeted a soldier as prey in the Vermundian wilds (Culling Request event).

[rattling-reverberations]

The Sounds From All Around

This blog is dedicated to my original Wuthering Waves characters. The mod of this blog (@drowning-in-cabbages) is the same mod who runs the following blogs

@thewanderingpuppet

@tales-of-eternity

@feathers-and-song

I am Oc, AU, and Crossover friendly!

Because of the nature of my character, Hawkmoth, this blog does deal with dark subject matter such as:

Possessiveness

Obsessiveness

Body horror

Arachnophobia

Bug eating

Deathly illnesses

Religious themes

Implied cannibalism

Death and murder

And many other topics related to mutilation of the human body

Subject matters will be tagged accordingly

Click here to read more about Hawkmoth, the muse of this blog!

(More muses to come)

Rules are as follows:

NSFW is allowed, but keep in mind it is more than just sexual content. This will also include very grotesque depictions of gore and body horror.

Don't be rude. Those who are will be blocked

No shipping wars

While ships don't necessarily have to be discussed, I would prefer if they were. If you think your muse would bond well with Hawkmoth (or any of the others as they come out) please discus through a dm with me first. I will make exceptions if I think the two have good chemistry.

Please have fun

Tags:

Call of an Echo (Interactions with other blogs)

A hexing (Interactions with Hawkmoth)

Fading whisper (Anon asks)

Leader of the lambs (Interactions/asks relating to Scar)

Cultists of many (Interactions with Fractsidus members)

Madame Magistrate (Interactions with Jinshi)

Misplaced soldier (Interactions with Jiyan and members of the Midnight Rangers)

TW: [insert trigger here] (Post contains sensitive subject matter)

Call from Afar (Character lore)

🥬 Cabbage Creations (Posts from the mod themselves)

[doom-nerdo-666]

(Pic from Doomwiki)

Something common in both mapsets and gameplay mods is replacing the SS guards and Keen.

It's how you get custom enemies in certain maps or mods with extra/secret enemies.

Of course, if you mix a mod and map that do both, they tend to clash.

But regardless, it's a fun thing so i thought of making a list of some examples.

And specifically about the Wolfenstein enemy and hanging Keen, so Romero's head or the "dead Lost Soul" thing aren't in it.

(Note: feel free to mention some because this list could have more examples)

In case this is long:

The Rebirth: SS guards are replaced with a snowman that can shoot you while Keen is replaced with an hanging Mario in a secret Mario themed area.

Ancient Aliens: SS guards are replaced by armored alien troopers (?) that shoot plasma and turn almost invisible to move around and Keen is replaced by floating skull things that shoot homing rockets (They have the same graphics as the spawn cube in FreeDoom).

Scythe 2: SS guards turns into that one red Doomguy with a Plasma Rifle and Keen becomes the Afrit, flying upper halves of red Barons that throw multiple fire balls.

TNT Revilution: I know the SS become a plasma turret but not sure about the Keens, are they the ones that shoot rockets?

Doom Zero: SS become the "alpha" Lost Soul (That originally had the hitscan attack but ever since the Unity add-on, it now shoots a Caco projectile) and Keen becomes a Dopefish.

Eviternity: Has more custom enemies but the SS replacement is the Former Captain (Who despite being a dual wielding chaingunner, actually shoots projectiles) and Keen becomes the Astral Cacodemon who shoots multiple fireballs.

Doom 2 The Way id Did: Because the secret levels are themed after Commander Keen, both Keen and the SS are replaced with characters from that series (SS becomes the Dopefish and Keen becomes a Yorp).

Epic 2: SS become some invisibility/camouflage alien-like guys that predate the ones we see in Ancient Aliens. Keen has his sound changes because of how he's used in some level.

Jenesis: SS becomes a zombie UAC marine and Keen becomes a fleshy monstrosity with twisted faces that shoots rockets and is the final boss.

Moonblood: SS becomes the Mother Demon from D64, who shoots Manc fireballs, Rev missiles and even a generic rocket.

50 Monsters: SS becomes a Chaingunner that drops an ammo clip, which is something i've seen other mapsets do. Keen becomes the Afrit.

Obituary: Keen becomes a dead player while SS becomes the "high tech guy" who's semi-invisible and has 2 guns.

Hacx: The Roaming Mine replaces the SS it seems.

FreeDoom: Why didn't i add this? SS become French sailors i think? They don't even have a dedicated level, really. And Keen becomes an alien inside a jar you can break, which is treated as a level prop.

4 Seasons of Doom: SS become a zombie with a BFG-kinda that shotos Manc flames (They also explode when they die) and Keen becomes an Imp hiding in a trash can.

Space Hunter: The SS are changed visually/mechanically to reference the Wizzrobes from Zelda (Called the Nazrobes here) and killing them grants access to a magical rod with new attacks. Keen is replaced with Mario stuck on a vine and you can hurt him to change to small Mario before dying in typical Mario fashion.

GMOTA: The SS are skeleton copies of the playable characters who are weak and laughable, sometimes a Revenant appears.

Hard Doom: It brings back other Wolf 3D enemies like the officer with the pistol and the silent mutant. Keen is replaced with a hanging torso-like creature that shoots projectiles so it's a basic threat.

Complex Doom: It gets crazy with the SS because it brings the dog enemies, mutants, some other soldiers and Mecha-Hitler. Keen is replaced with DarkSydePhil.

Demonsteele: SS are some armed Yakuza guys i guess, because they might be based off those Shadow Warrior guys. and Keen becomes an anime girl bodypillow.

MetaDoom: The SS represent soldiers from some ports of Wolf 3D, one of the Mac stealth games and RPG as if Wolfenstein was "Metafied" too. Keen resembles characters from other id titles like Dangerous Dave or Hovertank 3-D.

Doom Delta: The SS are replaced with the more basic Wolf 3D guard/soldier enemy.

Legion of Bones: The SS are replaced with those red skeletons with swords that used to be on FreeDoom and they shoot those firey skulls from Heretic i think.