#afanofmanyhats

[heresylog]

What heresy is this

I get what they’re going for (Original Sin) but this is a bad take. We know right from wrong, it’s done. Let’s move on.

#afanofmanyhats #it’s always the baptists lmao

[beesgav]

whats mata nui to an angry onu-matoran

(aka the moment Nuju became absolutely smitten, though he would not admit this for another 500 years)

#EVERYONE knows MAVRAH is the one behind the bohrok theory ICICLE BRAIN #bionicle #whenua #ehrye #nuju #matoran #lego #bonkle #bonkles #digital #art #sketchbook #request #afanofmanyhats #also known as: i cant decide between three captions so i just use all of them

[mugbearerscorner]

Whenua for the ask game!

Anomalous Materials!

#Mugbearer Answers #afanofmanyhats #Whenua #Bionicle #Ask Game #Bionicle Ask #Joel Nielsen #Black Mesa OST #Anomalous Materials

[kanohivolitakk]

21 for the ask game!

21. something you’ve kept since childhood?

My Pikachu plush. I have this very large stuffed Pikachu plush I got as a kid and I have cherished it for years. It still is in my room in spite of being an adult.

#asks #ask game #afanofmanyhats

[afanofmanyhats]

#SaveTF2

I owe a lot to Team Fortress 2. I got into the game in March of 2015, just a few months before the Gun Mettle Update dropped. My best friend at the time had started playing it a few months earlier and had finally convinced me to make my own account so we could spend time together online too. I loved it, even though I was really bad at it. My experience with FPSs was limited before then, and for a long while I didn’t even have a proper mouse, just a touchpad on my mom’s laptop. It took a few weeks before I finally got one, but my aim is still bad.

This is also where my url came from. I knew I wanted a name fitting for TF2. At the time I owned a fez, but I wanted to expand my hat collection, so I settled on aFanofManyHats, which I still use to this day all over the internet. I love the versatility of it, as for Christmas I can switch it to aFanofMerryHats and during Halloween I use aPhantomofManyHats.

I was initially drawn to Scout and Heavy of all the classes. Scout for the ease of exploring the maps, which I needed to do as a newby, and Heavy for the power and tankiness he provided that no other class could. But as I played, primarily in Capture the Flag (horrors), I noticed that we lost a lot because no one would set up proper defenses with the Engineer. So I took it upon myself to play Engineer because no one else would. But then I noticed that I was decent at it. Certainly not Uncle Dane levels of good, nowhere close, but I was able to turn the tide of many a fight by keeping my sentry and dispenser up. In many ways Engineer was a better tank and support than Heavy was. I saw which way my hours were shifting, and decided that yeah, I love playing the soft-spoken little Texan. I’ve also taken up a lot of hours in Medic, Pyro, Demoman, and Soldier. I’m kind of a jack of all trades, which suits my gamertag.

2015-2017 was the best time for my TF2 career. I spent hours playing with my best friend, a Medic main, and ended up being part of a fair-sized circle of players. We roamed around 2fort and Upward, battled in Frontier and Double Cross, got rolled on Sawmill and Badwater- they were good times. I miss them. Starting around 2019, people began to slip away due to college and other games, including myself. I stopped getting on as regularly, and when I did, people weren’t there. I started sticking to the maps I most enjoyed, generally 2fort just for how crazy it is. 2019 is also when I hit the landmark of my first and only Unusual- a Kill-a-Watt Towering Pillar of Hats, inspired by the SFM art a friend of mine made for me that I still have as my tumblr banner. The hats are also in my profile picture.

Then the Bot Crisis hit. And it hit hard. 2fort is especially bad; I can’t remember how many times I’ve joined a server only to see it flooded with bots, with my only option being to disconnect. They spam horrific things in text and voice chat; most of the latter I skipped out on by just turning VC off entirely, which also improved my experience by shutting up obnoxious real people. Most of the time I skipped servers until I found one with real people. But eventually, I just got tired of it. I don’t want to have to flip through five servers at a time until I find one that’s got a mostly human population. I shouldn’t have to.

Team Fortress 2 will forever and always be one of the most important games on the planet for me. At the time of writing this, I have 2,115 hours clocked in on Steam. The vast majority of that was spent actively playing it; very little is from idling. I love this game so, so much. While the TF2 community is certainly a mess, like any other game community, it also is filled with so much passion and simply goofy love. Team Fortress 2 itself is unlike any other game in existence, and I mean that as a compliment. Overwatch, Rainbow Six: Siege, Paladins- none of these others can come close to the weird, technical combinations of skill, dumb luck, and Source spaghetti that go into any typical game of TF2. None of them make me laugh with joy as regularly as TF2 did when it was working properly.

I don’t think the game particularly needs a content update at this point. That would be lovely, especially after the Heavy Update was promised in 2017. But honestly, at this point I just want the bots gone. I want to play TF2 against people who are pitting their skill against mine, not coding that is only out to ruin my day. I just want to enjoy my favorite game in peace.

Please Valve. Do something to help us out.

#tf2 #savetf2 #afanofmanyhats

[tiredspacedragon]

@afanofmanyhats Challenge accepted. Part 1

Don't even have to think for this part

0001: Bulbasaur

0002: Ivysaur

0003: Venusaur

0004: Charmander

0005: Charmeleon

Consistently typing the numbers might end up being the hardest part of this

0006: Charizard

0007: Squirtle

0008: Wartortle

0009: Blastoise

0010: Caterpie

0011: Metapod

0012: Butterfree

0013: Weedle

0014: Kakuna

0015: Beedrill

0016: Pidgey

0017: Pidgeotto

0018: Pidgeot

0019: Rattata

That is how you spell Rattata, right?

0020: Raticate

Spearow or Ekans? Spearow.

0021: Spearow

0022: Fearow

0023: Ekans

0024: Arbok

0025: Pikachu

0026: Raichu

0027: Sandshrew

Should I? No.

0028: Sandslash

Okay where was I. Nidoran. No. Yes? Yeah cause Nidoqueen goes there and then the males and Clefairy. Yeah, okay.

0029: Nidoran F

0030: Nidorina

0031: Nidoqueen

0032: Nidoran M

0033: Nidorino

0034: Nidoking

0035: Clefairy

I hate that the power button for my computer is on my keyboard, that is such a stupid design decision, I am going to mess up and hit it typing this quickly.

0036: Clefable

0037: Vulpix

0038: Ninetales

0039: Jigglypuff

0040: Wigglytuff

0041: Zubat

0042: Golbat

0043: Oddish

0044: Gloom

0045: Vileplume

Okay I always mess the order of these next two lines up. It's Paras and Parasect, then Venonat and Venomoth, right? Yes. That's what we're going with.

0046: Paras

0047: Parasect

0048: Venonat

0049: Venomoth

0050: Diglett

0051: Dugtrio

0052: Meowth

0053: Persian

0054: Psyduck

0055: Golduck

This takes a lot longer to type than it does to say

0056: Mankey

0057: Primeape

0058: Growlithe

0059: Arcanine

Okay, here's where I start to get a little fuzzy. Wait, no, Poliwag.

0060: Poliwag

0061: Poliwhirl

0062: Poliwrath

0063: Abra

0064: Kadabra

0065: Alakazam

0066: Machop

0067: Machoke

0068: Machamp

0069: Bellsprout

0070: Weepinbell

0071: Victreebel

0072: Tentacool

0073: Tentacruel

0074: Geodude

0075: Graveler

0076: Golem

...

0077: Ponyta

0078: Rapidash

0079: Slowpoke

0080: Slowbro

0081: Magnemite

0082: Magneton

Farfetch'd before Doduo...

0083: Farfetch'd

0084: Doduo

0085: Dodrio

Is it Seel and Dewgong here? Yeah, 'cause Grimer, Muk, Shellder, yeah, good.

0086: Seel

0087: Dewgong

0088: Grimer

0089: Muk

0090: Shellder

0091: Cloyster

0092: Gastly

0093: Haunter

0094: Gengar

0095: Onix

0096: Drowzee

0097: Hypno

0098: Krabby

0099: Kingler

0100: Voltorb

Voltorb is indeed 100, I do know that, so we're right on target

0101: Electrode

Oh what's here though. Wait no okay so Voltorb is there, then Electrode, no of course yeah because Marowak is right behind Gengar.

0102: Exeggcute

0103: Exeggutor

0104: Cubone

0105: Marowak

0106: Hitmonlee

Yes, Hitmonlee is first...

0107: Hitminchan

0108: Lickitung

0109: Koffing

0110: Weezing

0111: Rhyhorn

0112: Rhydon

Chansey in the middle...

0113: Chansey

0114: Tangela

0115: Kangaskhan

0116: Horsea

0117: Seadra

Oh so many two-stage Water lines, which is next. Oh do those numbers work? Starmie 121? Yes they do.

0118: Goldeen

0119: Seaking

0120: Staryu

0121: Starmie

Blanking. Oh are we into the one-offs? Yes, so Mr. Mime.

0122: Mr. Mime

0123: Scyther

0124: Jynx

0125: Electabuzz

0126: Magmar

0127: Pinsir

Wait, actually, should I? Should I do alternate forms too? Megas and regionals and such? No, you know what, no. Stopped and thought about it, and no, that's not the challenge, and I'd have to backtrack at this point anyway, so I'd have already failed, so no, gotta stay focused.

0128: Tauros

0129: Magikarp

0130: Gyarados

0131: Lapras

0132: Ditto

0133: Eevee

0134: Vaporeon

0135: Jolteon

0136: Flareon

I swear, if something like the order of the Eeveelutions gets me...

0137: Porygon

0138: Omanyte

0139: Omastar

0140: Kabuto

0141: Kabutops

0142: Aerodactyl

0143: Snorlax

0144: Articuno

0145: Zapdos

0146: Moltres

0147: Dratini

0148: Dragonair

0149: Dragonite

0150: Mewtwo

0151: Mew

1 down, 8 to go.

#pokemon #pokedex order #my hands are going to kill me for this #can you figure out how i've memorized this yet?

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

They met in the playground, second grade, when he grew impatient and pushed her out of the way. He said it was his turn. She cried, and tattled on him. There was the start of their enmity. By fourth grade they were vying for the position of top mathematician, both well ahead of their level and determined to beat the other. They didn't care about anyone else, just each other. Each year, as they clawed their way slowly up school, they took it turn about: not deliberately, that was just the way it happened. By twelfth grade both had got it four times, and now ensued a bitter struggle. He didn't hand in any English assignments, while she barely slept, and drank a lot of coffee. Except when they were working at maths problems together, they pretended the other didn't exist. Her second-favourite subject was English, and she despised him for skipping it. In the end, he failed English and had to retake it, but had the vindictive pleasure of beating her to the top spot in maths by precisely one point. She rubbed it in that she'd be a year ahead of him at college, though. They both planned to take the same course. The year passed; and once they were no longer at an equal level, oddly enough, most of their enmity was gone, and they worked together. Sometimes his marks were higher than hers, but neither grudged the other their small triumphs. They had worked out a semblance of friendship. It came to her last year of college. He all but gave up his own course to help her with the last push; she had got into terrible sleeping habits, and drank nothing but extremely strong coffee. It was beginning to tell on her health. But together they carried her over the finish line, and it came to graduation. He stood, clutching a large bouquet of flowers, and putting them down only to clap his hands raw when she graduated with the top marks. "You'll be doing this next year, I suppose," she said, after. He smiled. "I shall. And what will you do?" "I was considering taking a gap year," she admitted. "In fact I think I will. I've tired myself out rather." Which was a fair statement, for she looked like a ghost. "We can keep studying together, though." "You look like you need a good long rest, not to bother with my coursework. Besides, it should be a walk in the park for me now, having studied all the same stuff with you all this time." He was trying to be kind, but her expression changed and he did not understand it. "Of course," she said. "I understand. Good luck, then." She smiled warmly. "I might see you around. Or I might not." For the first time, she embraced him; he clung to her for a moment, then let her go. And as she walked away, she glanced back over her shoulder, and knew only then that she loved him.

@afanofmanyhats for u

#original fiction #my writing

[jurakan]

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve! May I have a fun fact?

Alright, let’s talk about the Leprechaun Christmas special, because I mentioned it an @afanofmanyhats asked about it. Today You Learned about The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold.

Do the children still know of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials? They were stop-motion animated movies like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and all? They used to show on ABC Family (which is now Freeform) all December. Some were adaptations, like that one and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Others were original Christmas stories. And then you have… whatever this is. I somehow caught it airing and I’ve never seen it since, but recently a friend of mine brought it up, and a lot of it came rushing back to me.

I remember being utterly baffled by this for existing. It’s quite obviously a stretch for a Christmas film premise, but someone went and made it! So it’s A Thing.

I’m going to be real with you: I don’t remember all the details off the top of my head. The fan wiki (yes, there’s a fan wiki for Christmas specials) has a full summary. The gist of it, to the best of my ability, is that a young Irish sailor boy goes ashore to a small island to grab a tree for the crew to use as a Christmas tree, but he happens to pick the one tree that has an evil banshee/hag imprisoned under it. This evil hag is after the gold of some leprechauns that live nearby, and they’re less than thrilled about that, so they had Saint Patrick, or a leprechaun equivalent, trap her in a magical spring under a tree.

I’m not making this up:

Our Irish sailor boy learns from a friendly leprechaun the history of the tree, the island, and the gold, and then has to do some sort of quest to re-capture or vanquish the hag/banshee. Also at one point the banshee turns into a beautiful woman to trick the sailor boy or something.

Look it’s really, really weird. Weirder than the usual Rankin-Bass stuff–not because the Plot is that much weirder, but it’s not based on anything other than “What if we made a Christmas special featuring leprechauns?”

[Also according to the wiki, Rankin wanted to have a treasure hunt contest to go along with the special, but it didn’t pan out because they were scared it’d put kids at risk.]

Anyhow! Yes! This is a real thing!

#Rankin Bass #Christmas #Fun Fact Friday #Today You Learned #leprechauns #Ireland

[toaarcan]

Video for you @afanofmanyhats

[yarn-alchemist]

Finished project: Knight Helmet

Made this for @afanofmanyhats. He wanted it in gold instead of silver.

The wonkiness is my fault, not the pattern's. :)

Here is the pattern from OMadFruit.

#crochet #my work #yarn alchemy

[turagapohatu]

Here’s a link to Red Star Games’ take on Bionicle D&D. (Thanks to @afanofmanyhats for sending it!)

https://www.redstargames.org/doronai-nui

[mugbearerscorner]

have you listened to the Longest Pony yet

Yeah! I was going to DM u about it a few days back but got caught up on stuff hahah

#Mugbearer Answers #afanofmanyhats

[kanohivolitakk]

Pridak

OK WITH MY THIRSTING IM NOT EVEN SURPRISED AT THIS OOINT

#asks #afanofmanyhats

[afanofmanyhats]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Bionicle - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Lhikan (Bionicle), Tuyet (Bionicle), Nidhiki (Bionicle) Summary:

Before the Toa Metru, there were the Toa Mangai. A team of eleven heroes coming from different corners of the Matoran Universe, united under the leadership of Toa Lhikan to defend the City of Legends from danger. The only tales that have been well-known so far are the betrayals of Tuyet and Nidhiki. Here, the memoirs of Toa Marn, Toa Mangai of Earth, and of Kodan, the Chronicler of the Toa Mangai, shall fill out the record. Learn the dynamics of the four Toa of Ice that made up a third of the team; discover the struggles of Naho and Kanae, the Toa of Water and Plantlife, in the face of their sister's betrayal; find out about Motara, the Toa Mangai of Stone, and his history with the Nynrah Ghosts; and witness the decline of Metru Nui from its golden age, as constant existential threats from the Dark Hunters drove Turaga Dume to greater paranoia and control. Here, you will read about heroes and villains, traitors and paragons, freedom and despotism. Read a new legend of the BIONICLE.

#a new hat for my collection #the chronicles of the toa mangai #bionicle #bonkle #toa mangai #lhikan #nidhiki #tuyet #here y'all go #still getting used to writing again #and Ao3's formatting #but hopefully this is readable #I don't have any kind of schedule in place for writing new chapters #since a baby tends to ruin those #but I'll update as often as possible #enjoy

[tiredspacedragon]

There's another one

So Kirika's post about Teridax's destiny has reminded me of one of my absolute favourite post-canon theories.

So we know that Teridax's destiny was supposedly to, at the end of Mata Nui's mission, take control of the GSR while Mata Nui moved to another robot, and the two would reform Spherus Magna together. Of course that is ultimately what happened, just not in the way the Great Beings planned. Dramatic irony and all that.

But here's the thing.

The Prototype Robot was toast. It blew up before construction of the GSR even started. The Great Beings couldn't get its power source stable enough to actually work, and the only way Mata Nui was able to hold the thing together as long as he did was by using the Ignika to keep the power source in check, which it was never intended to do because it was never supposed to leave the GSR. As far as the Great Beings were concerned, the Prototype Robot was off the table.

Which means

If Mata Nui was indeed supposed to inhabit another robot all along and work in tandem with the GSR to reform Spherus Magna

Then that means that somewhere, there's another one.

Somewhere on Spherus Magna, there's another giant robot that we know absolutely nothing about.

And that makes me feel like a kid on Christmas.

#bionicle #@afanofmanyhats #this is the new post i mentioned :P #and okay #we don't know literally nothing about it #we know that it likely has gravity powers like the others #and probably has an energized protodermis-based power source like the gsr #but that just confirms the existence of another EP deposit on Spherus Magna #and that could lead to all sorts of shenanigans

[jurakan]

The Persian Warrior Elite

Alright! @afanofmanyhats! I promised to talk about Persian military elites, so! The Immortals! If you’re the same age as me, you probably remember them as those kabuki ninja guys in 300. 

Yeah, okay, that’s not accurate. You probably guessed that. But they were A Thing, and if you see any depictions of ancient Persia, they’re probably mentioned in one capacity or another. They’re the main group of heroes the protagonist belongs to in the new Prince of Persia game, and their armor (heavily influenced by 300) can be acquired in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Though it’s much more likely they looked like this:

It’s unclear if this depiction is actually meant to be the Immortals, though it matches their description.

According to Herodotus, the Immortals were both the Persian king’s elite guard, as well as a special heavy infantry unit consisting of ten thousand soldiers. They were known for having huge reserves waiting in place wherever they went. Thus, they were ‘immortal’ in a sense–because no matter how many died in battle, their number would always replenish back to ten thousand, making it seem to their enemies like they never permanently died or could never be all killed.

Of course, there are some people who have some questions. We don’t have a record from Persian sources about a unit by that name, and Herodotus was… not the most reliable of sources, especially when it comes to the Persians. We do, however, have evidence that there was an elite unit of ten thousand, so this is perhaps what Herodotus meant. Someone on Wikipedia suggests that he, or his source, confused the Persian words for ‘immortal’ and ‘companion’, which is possible, I guess? Either way, it’s a pretty badass name for a group, so no wonder the name was revived in the 70’s.

#Fun Fact Friday #Today You Learned #history #Persia #Immortals #Achaemenid #ancient history