#Its like one of those situations where you keep drawing and not getting the effect you want so I dropped it and came back to it 2 days ago

[pocketramblr]

AU! Inko having a sugar baby arrangement with Giran that accidently resulted in Izuku. Izuku has no idea who his father is, and Giran doesn't find out he has a son until later when the League captures Izuku instead of Bakugo.

oh good the antidote to Nao in Situations... Giran Simping!

1- I think Inko kept the sugar baby arrangement up with several others since, runs an OF, wrote some steamy novels under her OF name, that sort of thing. got an little online boutique she's started more recently with her designs for plus size clothes and underthings. Izuku is generally aware of his mother's career and is fine with it, and is also fine with Inko working to keep most of it out of his sight. just another one of those potentially awkward things they're accustomed to but don't talk about. like his mysterious father. or his seeming lack of a quirk.

2- seeming, as he lacks the toe-joint that says he's quirkless for sure, but nothing obvious has ever shown up. he's smart, but not unnaturally so. none of the mental quirk tests led anywhere. he isn't officially recorded as quirkless, but he assumes that by now he's got to be. Huh anyway weird that he is able to specifically remember instances of quirk use with perfect clarity because he's interested in it, able to analyze what he saw even if it was only once, and also, the weird ofa memory stuff- but we'll get to that

3- so izuku's got a fairly normal life, gets bullied, sludge villain, etc etc etc. And then he gets OfA. and then UA gets attacked. And then UA throws a sports festival anyway. and then he gets brainwashed. And then he sees weird ghostly figures behind All Might! But All Might says he's seen them before too, and they can't interact. just glimpses of the people who used to wield the quirk. Izuku's seen them earlier than he did, probably either the quirk being stronger or an effect of brainwashing. Ok, cool, normal. Iida tries to kill a serial killer, less normal. The next night, Izuku has a vivid dream of scolding some child named Kotaro for drawing on his teacher's desk in permanent marker. not normal at all. He has no idea where it came from. but it keeps happening. Strange dreams- not every night, maybe a few times a month, but each time vivid and unlike anyone he knows. It isn't until he's patching up a shirt in a dream, when a man opens the door and says "Bruce! We got a lead on All For One- and his brother!" that he realizes what he might be seeing. Nervously, he brings it up to All Might, who agrees it sounds like flashes of the past users he can see, but not interact with. after all, the dreams just play out as memories with him unable to change anything. But its probably just because of how strong OfA is now, with Izuku's practice charging it up more! "It's a wonderful sign, young Midoriya, and I hope you have good memory dreams tonight. You're going to the mall with all your classmates tomorrow, right? and camp is next week! Who knows what you'll pull out of that quirk next, incredible."

4- the mall... happens. And so does camp... and Dabi ends up with Izuku instead. Shigaraki complains loudly about not getting the one on the take list. Dabi complains loudly about how he didn't see Shigaraki doing any work on that mission. Izuku- well he doesn't complain, but he does ask pretty loudly why Kacchan was on the list, and Shigaraki goes "oh, friend of yours? i guess we can keep you alive long enough to lure him here." and Izuku has just enough preservation to point out he's pretty sure that won't happen. He does, however, end up chained to a chair, still in horrible pain due to his broken bones, listening to Shigaraki on the phone asking some guy for intel on him and Kacchan.

5- About an hour later, a guy walks in with a file of papers and shoves the top one at Shigaraki. Shigraki reads the paper. Looks at the new guy. reads the paper again. Looks at Izuku. Decays the paper. Tells the new guy he's got ten minutes, and orders everyone out. Izuku notes that Kurogiri is still there. New guy, who smells like cigarettes when he gets close to Izuku, stares at him. Izuku isn't sure what he's looking for, but he glares back. New guy huffs. "Well, you're certainly Inko's, at least." That gets a reaction from Izuku. Shoulders tense. Eyebrows narrow. "How do you know my mom?" "Well, kid, I'm an intel broker. That give you any ideas?" "My mom wouldn't go to a crook like you for information." He's right. "Right. Now come on, be smart kid. If we weren't meeting on account of my job, then...?" Izuku blinks. His mother's? but- no. Absolutely not. "Mhm. If i can remember my old password to get into this account i can show you the old messages we had... dated about seventeen years ago. You're just sixteen now, aren't ya?" New guy, who Izuku strongly hopes is lying, fiddles with his phone, typing something. "And I trust Inko to be professional, loyal. So there's an eighty percent chance, at least." "Eighty percent chance of what?" "What's your quirk, kid?" It takes Izuku too long to say "Superpower." New guy laughs. "Now if I knew Inko well, and I did, then 'superpower' is not the name she would have given the name of a quirk that powered her toddler's bones... but you didn't have that quirk back then. What's your real quirk, not the one you just got this year?" Izuku is pretty sure that Shigaraki's teacher is AfO. He knows about OFA, obviously, though Shigaraki doesn't. This guy may or may not. So instead of answering, he just shrugs. "Let me guess. You didn't have one, or, something about remembering? Maybe forgetting? Attracting memories, that'd be a fun combo, hah. Or, quirkless, like I was before, you know... we each found an in." Izuku tries to glare again, but... well, the memories in ofa are a new thing... and quirks can have strange activators... "Ah! Here we go!" New guy, who Izuku would rather not think of as 'eighty percent chance of being his father', moves around the chair and angles his phone down in front of Izuku so he can see the screen. Instead of old messages, there's a notepad. He scrolls slowly so Izuku can read. The writing on it says "look. we both know AfO wants your quirk. But he isn't going to try and get it until Shigaraki's done with you, so play along, maybe some info here and there to 'lure' the bakugou kid to you. even odds the heroes get here first and you're fine. if they don't, i can get afo to spare your life. not your quirk, but he'll let me keep my son. you can't fight out of here, i'm the only out. but you can't tell anyone about this deal. Not the heroes, not the other villains. got it?" Izuku stares at the note. "Do you get it, kid?" The broker asks, quietly. Izuku is pretty sure he's going to fight a way out anyway, but for now... "Got it." "Good." The broker stands up and walks back in front of him, "Izuku, right? Open up." Izuku starts to ask why and gets a cotton swab in his mouth for it, then before he can bite on it to break it it's out again, tucked into a bag then a pocket. "What was that for?" He snaps. "Well, gotta make sure, right? eighty percent isn't one hundred." "And if i'm not?" "Then Inko will owe me one hell of a favor." "... And if I am?" "Then you will." The broker shrugs, turns to go. "Wait-" Izuku starts, then isn't sure where to keep going. The broker looks at him. "What's your name?" The broker laughs a little. "Ah, good question. What'd Inko call me?" Izuku tries to remember. She didn't usually, but he thinks there was one time when it was someone else asking... "Hisashi?" "Hisashi." The broker repeats. "Ah, see, that's poetic! Much more the kind of name Inko would come up with. She's a great writer, you know." Izuku glares so hard that the broker who's definitely not actually named Hisashi makes his way out of the room without another word.

+1- when Shigaraki comes back, he orders Kurogiri give him something strong enough to wipe that mental image from his mind, and then starts asking Izuku about his friend. And his friend's weaknesses. Izuku is unimpressed and he almost forgets his maybe-dad's plan- "Kacchan is really strong, he doesn't have many weaknesses, since he's so practiced with his quirk that-", but only almost, "I don't know, i scared him with a spider once. but we were like, seven. and i guess i wanted to send him a whole box of spiders after he stole my all might-"..... Shigaraki latches on to the 'wait, he stole things from you? potential for crime? i knew it' thing, Toga latches onto the spiders box thing, and so does Dabi but he does it in the opposite direction, complaining that spiders is so basic, and by the time he was seven, he had already tried to murder his baby brother. Magne then asks "wait, you tried to kill a baby? not succeeded? you failed to kill a baby?" which Dabi then responds by reminding her of her less than stellar ratio of successful kills. Compress asks for one of whatever Shigaraki is having, and swipes his' drink too. Spinner keeps trying to sneak closer to Izuku to ask him questions about Stain, and Izuku is slowly starting to feel like he might actually survive long enough to escape or be rescued before he is either turned to dust or tortured for his quirk.

#click the readmore we even got making fun of dabi in there #'isn't simping for giran the cure for s-' its a panacea #pocket talks to people #ask game #anon

[nebmia]

Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf: 5, Flying Circus

Flying Circus is a a game by Erika Chappell where you fly planes, have messy dramatic relationships, and find out who you are. Sometimes all at the same time. More specifically you fly *rickety planes from the dawn of aviation* and have messy, dramatic relationships, and find out who you are *in an essentially queer way*.

The first thing I love about Flying Circus is it's sheer audacity in taking pbta (usually deployed for low crunch storygame-y titles) and twisting it into a highly detailed and technical system for running dogfights. I think its really clever how Erika has taken the idea of a detailed combat system are re-appraised it from the ground up in the context of dogfighting.

There is no grid based movement here, it simply is not useful in the three dimensional world that planes inhabit. Instead your positioning is modelled through altitude and air speed, with each being tradeable for the other and spend able to perform maneuvers.

Honestly the whole system is rather intimidating (a fact the book freely admits). Each plane requires a little personal instrument panel sheet (and a few extra side sheets) that resemble somthing you would expect in a euro-game boardgame more than an rpg. The system goes as far as modelling how your plane performs as you use up your modelling fuel and with varying altitude. There are also a lot of fairly involved moves that it feels would be a little tricky to keep aware of while running a dogfight. However, from what I hear, the system works well and, once you understand it, isn't /that/ tricky to run. I think this isn't actually that crunchy when compared to your standard tactical battlers, it's just completely new (and working in a zone most people have less of an intuitive understanding of [although its worth noting that most peoples intuitive understanding of medieval style combat is dead wrong]) so we are unably to draw upon our preexisting assumptions.

You will notice I have to fall back on reports and intiitions here because I am yet to be able to play the game, which is honestly my biggest problem with it: it carves such a specific niche that I think I will really struggle to ever bring it to the table. Anyone I have talked to about the game has always responded to the effect of 'I don't think I'm into planes enough for this'.

I am also not half as into planes specifically as Erika Chappell is. But what I am into is getting deep into things in general, and this whole system excels at letting you get incredibly technical and nerdy about your plane (as far as things like exactly what radiator fluid it has, if you use the advanced rules) and making those choices actually matter in play.

ok, that's probably enough about planes (a phrase I anticipate has never once been uttered by the author of this book), what are you doing when you get out of the planes?

The game follows a cycle of mission and downtime, which you spend relieving stress (in healthy or unhealthy ways) and running upkeep on your company. This is where you do a lot of the character work and bring into focus the 'coming of age' narrative that the game intends.

Which seems a good lead in to talking about the playbooks. Each playbook is focused around a particular thematic idea or experience, which is helpfully spelled out directly in a 'themes' section for each one. This isn't a game where you play as a fighter because you want to solve problems by hitting them but rather one where you play as a Fisher because you want to engage with "a queer reclamation of the monstous", or a scion because you want to engage with "privilege and power, and what obligations come with it", or a believer because you want to engage with "a mindset that thrives on radicalism", or a survivor because you want to engage with "a metaphor for what it feels like to be a transgender person escaping an unwelcome or abusive situation".

Obviously, alongside themes you do also get a load of cool abilities to use.

Of the many games that claim to be ghibli-esque but I think Flying Circus hews closest on account of two things: understanding miyazaki's perspective on war and also due to being absolutely unhinged about planes.

#ttrpg #my stuff #Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf #Flying Circus #pbta

[ostrichmonkey-games]

Everything I see from Dark Confluence looks sick, and you should use this as an excuse to talk more about it

I don't think I've actually talked a ton about what Dark Confluence is going to be like as a completed game, so I'll take this as an excuse to do so lmao.

So, I like the souls-borne "series" a ton. But my favorite part of all the games is the world that you're let loose in and get to explore. Piecing together the story through bits and pieces, hidden clues, secrets, implication and interpretation. The goal of Dark Confluence is to do that together at the table.

To that end, Dark Confluence is all about the setting and unfolding story you all put together. It is as much a game as it is a chopped up setting book that never tells you exactly what's going on - because that's the fun! Making it all up! Crafting your own unique crumbling, melancholy universe and then rooting around in it to see what you can make sense of.

Character mechanics draw a lot from my other game Extracausal, so its a lot of tag/trait based stuff, but there's also DNA from games like Wanderhome in there, with how the Realms ("levels") and Lords of the Tower ("bosses") work. I want the game to give the table a bunch of tools for getting into weird and complicated situations, and then stringing it all together into something uniquely cohesive.

Most of the mechanics are mostly done and written at this point, all that's left is just all the other writing lmao. There's 36 character backgrounds (each with their own set of 3 unique items), 12 Realms, 12 Lords, 18 Magical Spells, 18 Artifacts, 18 Major NPCs, 36 Creatures and Wretches (and more!), all of which have embedded within them little "lore sparks" for the table to play around with. Nothing is "canon", but there's a lot of moving parts - building blocks - for the table to play around with.

You're all gonna be wandering around your unique version of the Infinite Tower (the dark confluence of the multiverse), confronting the Lords of the Tower as you shape the universe to come. Along the way, you'll meet weird and interesting NPCs, horrible and dangerous Wretches, and uncover and create your own deep lore and secrets.

As a reward for everyone reading through all this text, here's a new Artifact

Ossifrage Great Bow; tags - ravenous, violent A great bow shaped from many fragments of bones. It glistens in the light, bleeding like an open wound. Effect: The wielder never runs out of arrows, as the bow fires massive, barbed, missiles grown and harvested from the skeleton of the wielder themself. Burden: The wielder’s sternum must be kept pried open, beating heart exposed. Augments The bow can launch a flurry of smaller arrows that darken the sky The bow can steal the bones of another whom it has injured The projectiles fired from the bow leave a burning stream of blood in their wake

And! A new Spell!

Fragmentation Effect: Unleash your manifold soul, allowing the hungry, grasping hands of Fate within you to reach out and unravel whatever they touch. Requirement: Consume an entire age’s worth of Fragments, becoming infinite, fractal, and glorious. Ember Moves Like tangled strands of a knot, all Fragments are secretly connected. All Fragments must take a Curse. The howl of the dying cosmos echoes louder, consuming the dreams of those within the Realm, replacing them with something else. One of your many soul-pieces sloughs off, becoming a Fragment all its own, one with the Fate of bringing about your final Dissolution. They say that souls are the building blocks of the cosmos, and the gods merely stonemasons. From where then, do souls come from?

It's gonna be done eventually. I might be on the lookout for playtesters once I have the text done. So, keep an eye out for that maybe?

#dark confluence #ttrpg #indie ttrpg

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

EVERY WEEK I WILL POST A VARIOUS REVIEWS I’VE WRITTEN SO FAR IN 2024. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS FOR MORE UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS HERE.

___

8. That Time I Got Drunk & Saved A Demon by Kimberly Lemming--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First five-star read of 2024 🙏🏽

My friends have read this book and LOVED it, so I don't know why I'm lowkey surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it would be a cheesy and slightly boring read (I didn't read the synopsis, okay? Sue me.) But what I got was SO far from that. Full of adventure, heart, sexual tension, and hilarious sass, I found myself laughing and paying rapt attention.

I loved the MC and her responses and commentary. I can see myself re-reading this just to highlight all of her sass. She's one of those contemporary characters set in a fantastical world that helps keep these kinds of stories light and fun. There's a scene where the demon just stares at her like "Okay, so we are definitely getting married" and I don't even blame him. This woman is a BADASS.

I loved their exploration of their world and how quick it was. Some readers might want more setting development, but honestly? I'm happy with how light and straightforward it was. I also really liked the side characters and how the demon just takes out anyone he wants, especially if they threaten the MC.

This was fun and everything I wish that other cozy fantasy book had given me. The new editions of the other two books have already been preordered 😌.

___

9. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH perfectly encompasses the tortures of middle school, the changing of the people we once called friends, and the effects of grief and how a child's mind may twist in ways that might help them comprehend the reality of death.

Ali Benjamin does a fantastic job of drawing out the history of her MC and her friend. The way they both changed and how the MC came to choosing to stay silent verbally for the majority of the book. Watching her trying to find reasons for why her friend has died was heartbreaking. I can't imagine being a parent in that situation, where you know you can't help your child comprehend the change in their reality.

Also, middle school is a cruel place for a lot of kids (hi, I was one of its victims) and the levels of evil some of these kids get up to is truly astounding. It broke me a little watching this friendship fall apart and this poor, young MC having to remember the last moment she saw her friend alive.

Sometimes things just happen and this whole book is, ultimately, a great source for children grieving. Life can be messy, confusing, and sometimes heartbreaking. Benjamin's novel is beautiful and this is another one of those middle grade books that I think adults AND kids should be reading.

___

10. The Skull by Jon Klassen--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If no one has read any other Jon Klassen books, then they're in for a surprise. If they have, then they'll recognize the eeriness of his writing.

You can't tell me that the hat books aren't creepy (there's a couple of pages where the big fish CLEARLY eats the little fish in the long grass). This guy is morbid and props to kids' authors who can write a book both for kids and adults.

The artwork was beautiful as always and the story was a very, very quick read. Perfect for those 5-7 year olds who want to try something themselves but don't mind a talking skeleton or skull.

This also got reeeeeeal dark at one point and I was just thinking of how some of the Gen Alpha kids are.

Highly recommend--especially for those littles who love a little spooky with their bedtime stories.

___

11. The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic, at times funny, spicy, and full of characters I wanted to punch in the dick, THE FIANCÉE FARCE was entertaining from beginning to end.

Much like many of my reading experiences, I jumped into this without knowing what I was getting myself into and imagine my joy and surprise when the trope of "marriage of convenience" popped up. I loved watching these characters fall in love with each other, and I loved seeing the thwart the horrible people in their lives. I also loved that one of the MCs has a massive love for reading (shown through her family's bookstore).

Was this the best romance I've ever read? Not really--it had some pretty obvious climactic points and some very over the top villains--but it held my attention and I fell for the couple. I loved that one helped the other find her confidence that had been stripped from her at a younger age.

One of the things that keeps me from giving this a five star rating is how...in a bubble this story feels? Like, we meet other characters as they serve their purpose (as is the usual) but if they're not in the scene, it's like they don't exist. There's one scene where one particular character doesn't speak and it's a pretty pivotal moment for the reader to pay extra attention because this is a huge hint about this character, but Bellefleur doesn't even hint at it? It's like that character is deleted from the scene. This is like taking the adage of "when you're with me, I only see you" and using it to the max.

Other than that, this was an entertaining and sexy story of proving assholes wrong and falling in love despite you believing that you're not deserving of love. Highly recommend for enough looking for a cute romance full of family drama and fake relationships!

___

12. Ana On the Edge by A.J. Sass--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a powerful story!

One of my favourite messages that ANA ON THE EDGE could potentially give young readers that it is OKAY to be in the process of trying to figure out who you are, but also that it's okay to not have all of the answers at once.

We see the MC struggle with their identity and their relationships throughout the whole book, especially because their world has always seemingly had such clear cut gender norms (Ice skating is a huge part of her world). I can't even imagine trying to find who you are when everyone around you is imposing who they think you are on you.

I also enjoyed that we got to see some of the more pivotal relationships in the MCs life and that messy in-between with friendships when big changes happen--like sudden schedule changes, or new friendships blossom. While this book tackled pretty big topics, I liked that its core it was still truly an MGLit book that explored the importance of friendships and keeping the good ones alive (even when life gets a bit hectic.)

Finally, I adored the relationship between the MC and their mom. I loved that they were a team and even though it took a little bit of time, they had some good communication between the two of them. There were some heartwarming moments and I loved seeing them understand each other better as the story progressed.

I think this is another great LGBTQ+ book to have in my back pocket for when I need to recommend great Queer books to readers!

___

13. Mindy Kim & the Birthday Puppy by Lyla Lee and Dung Ho Hanh (Illustrations)--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's been a while since I picked up the last MINDY KIM book but this was just as cute as I remember the last two books being. There were some moments that made me tear up a little, but I'm just an emotional mess sometimes.

I loved seeing Mindy come into her own with her brand new puppy. A couple of my best friends have a puppy and as I read Mindy's adventures (or misadventures), I thought of how difficult it was for my friends to parent a brand new puppy. This is a kid's book, so I'm not surprised Mindy was able to be so successful so quickly, but in reality, puppies are a lot more work than what was shown here. BUT this didn't take away from the story at all! I love that this could be a really great resource for littles who want a puppy, but need a further understanding of the responsibilities behind it.

And much like the last two books, there were some important topics explored here: how families might look, grief, multicultural traditions, and responsibilities one might take on.

Another great addition to the series and I'll hopefully be reading the next one soon!

___

14. Suddenly by Isabelle Autissier--⭐️⭐️.5

I had a lot of expectations for SUDDENLY by Isabelle Autissier, but we all know expectations are sometimes the death knell of a story. The cover enticed me, the synopsis further pulled me in, but the clunky translation full of thesaurus-level words and the random time-jump totally took me out of the story.

Normally, I DNF books that aren't working for me because hi, I have a massive TBR to get through before I die. But I will give Autissier this: she wrote a very intriguing beginning to her book. I wanted to see these characters survive and thrive in their new environment. A morbid sense of intrigue had me continuing the story as they mercilessly killed creatures I never thought someone could kill so coldly, and as they had massive introspection about their super privileged lives (and their first world ignorance about their importance in the grand scheme of things.)

These two characters were severely unlikable, but I couldn't help but get attached. I felt such a mixed bag of emotions towards the FMC and when the time jump happened, I felt further disconnected from not just her, but the story as a whole.

I'll be blunt: the second part of the book (or more like 3/4 way through the book) ruined this for me. I understand the importance of seeing the story of the "after" but I hated it. I think it went from being an interesting exploration of survival and humanity to the superficial experience of society marking you as a hero for surviving. I get that this is also the point: the further examination of how society is in (the character's) reality vs. the truths they realized about the societies they had grown in and how wholly unprepared they were for the battlefield of survival. I get that, but I still disliked it. From there, I felt like the story dragged and my attention wavered even more.

And don't get me started on the ending--the page I thought was going to be the last page was a better last page than the actual last page.

Overall, I liked the first half of the book. Despite the dark aspects, the gut churning choices, and the heartbreaking conclusion, I enjoyed that part. The second part of the book brought the whole story down for me.

___

15. Fake Dates & Mooncakes by Sher Lee--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FAKE DATES AND MOONCAKES was a pretty straightforward and easy read, but listen, it was FUN. This felt like I was experiencing a K-Drama or C-Drama. It was such a good time--the dramatic twists, the threats against the middle class guy dating the rich guy, and the CRAZY RICH ASIANS-like trip and event? Freaking amazing. LOL the love interest literally waits for the MC outside of his school standing by his Ferrari. This is juicy Asian-drama level stuff and I ate. it. up.

The romance was adorable and sweet and I won't lie, I sometimes forgot these were teenagers--not because of anything gross, but because these two were so mature in their actions and how they interacted with each other.

The familial relationships were so sweet and I loved how they clearly had each others' best interests in mind whenever something pivotal happened. They were adorable and I loved them.

Reading this was like experiencing some of my favourite Asian dramas again, with a dash of CRAZY RICH ASIANS. It wasn't an earth-shattering read, but five stars for solely being entertaining and making me smile with giddiness. If you want a cute gay story with some truly cute moments, then you might like this--especially as a read for when the warmer weather finally returns!

___

Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

___

Happy reading!

#Book Reviews #Book review #book reviewer #on books #on reading #book blog #book blogger #Features #readers of tumblr #books #booklr #bookish #bookworm #bookaholic #book list #my opinion #my writing #long text post #reading update #2024 reading #read #reading #reader #books books books #books and reading #books and literature #books and novels #Reviews #Review

[nerves-nebula]

Hello 👋 I love ur TMNT AU 💕 which is saying something because I usually avoid angst like the plegue. Especially with such heavy topics. I usually find that most AUs like this are just angst for the sake of angst with no other purpose except for shock value. But this AU is very well written, thoroughly thought out, and is very realistic in the interpretation of how abuse and violence effects children growing up. Other types of "angst" AUs and fics usually have me unreasonably angry and annoyed with how they practically glamorize abuse. While ur stuff has me feeling sick and disgusted (a positive thing really! Those are the feelings ur supposed to have when reading stuff like this.) because of how absolutely RAW everything is. Abuse is messed up and leaves its mark on u that'll effect u the rest of ur life. It fucks u up mentally, emotionally, socially, as well as physically. It is an ugly part of life that you quite elegantly bring to light with ur wonderful storytelling and art! Wonderful job! 💕

i mean you probably like it because it's not really an angst AU, if i'm honest. The point isn't that everything sucks or that people are in pain, that's just kind of a part of it? i dunno if that makes sense. I really appreciate that you like it, but I'm also kind of weary to put down other AU's.

I get where you're coming from with not really vibing with angst AU's, I don't really get into them much myself. they can seem gratitous nad pointless if you don't find them interesting on their own. But I think they're going for something a bit different than i am.

I think there's value in both creating and seeking out unrelenting trauma and horror and torture and pain in your fiction. Some of them can feel a bit stale or tropey at times but if those are the tropes you like then hey, you're probably have a great time!

I don't get bent outta shape about it cuz at the end of the day, it's just something some people do in their free time for fun and to express themselves. I like expressing myself with lame comedy about dark situations and bitter comics about not being allowed to die, haha. but if some ppl wanna draw gore and suffering then like, more power to them i guess!

THAT BEING SAID, I do genuinely find this flattering, that you like something that deals with dark themes even when you usually don't. it's like, AWWWW!! little old me?? and I don't want you to think I'm lecturing you or anything, I'm just giving a response I think is relevant. you're frustration makes total sense if you keep hoping or expecting one thing and getting another and it's just NOT what you wanted haha.

So yeah, thank you <3

#nnstuff #ask #asks are sweethearts

[foundationsofdecay]

TDH x Sleep Token #2

Vital Vessels Vindicate is another song from The Dear Hunter that I think resonates a lot with some of Sleep Token's imagery and thematic elements, and not just because of the name of the track.

This post is heavily localized in terms of the lyrics I'm looking at, so while as always I do recommend it, this post will read fine whether you've listened to it or not.

I'm just going to focus on one chunk of lyrics this time, which is the extension of the final chorus, leading into the outro.

We fall beneath the sea of dreams And fail to breathe, until we resurface We fall beneath the sea of dreams And fail to breathe, until we awaken again

So... lots to unpack here. Let's talk about Vessel, death, and choking underwater.

We can see, right off the bat, how this mirrors some of the themes brought up time and time again in Sleep Token's first(!) trilogy of albums, most notably with TPWBYT but we can find this echoed in the other albums as well. Drawing from TPWBYT to start, consider these lines from the very first song on the album, Atlantic:

So flood me like Atlantic, bandage up the trenches, anything to get me to sleep [...] Don't wake me, Don't wake me, Don't wake me up

There can be some debate whether Vessel wants to go sleep or to Sleep, but in either case, yes, it's not just that he is being dragged under like he's being unwillingly swept out and down by a deceptive and powerful current. He wanted this, from the start. He begs to stay asleep, flooded and frozen but in a manner that is its own cold embrace. Whether you consider the trenches to be a metaphor for self-inflicted injuries, or look at it from a lore perspective, it's exactly this. Bandage up the trenches, I don't care, trap me underneath or keep me from falling deeper but just let me be, just let me sleep. I don't want to be here anymore.

Fallen into this sea of dreams, and even as it keeps him from caring to his body's most basic needs, he would rather "crumble like a temple" and "[break] into fractions" than ever wake up. Sleep is the one comfort he has, these dreams are the only thing that he can find any solace or joy in and he'd do anything to have it.

This, in and of itself, is like a self-directed death threat, to those around him trying to wake him up, but he'd "rather be six feet under than be lonely". What is death, really, in the face of these desires? Why would he ever choose to resurface and breathe again? After all, according to High Water, he's confident that he can "hold [his] breath forever". In this, we also have an alternate possibility; if Vessel were to simply hold his breath forever, perhaps he would be able to live forever, sustained by dreams and thus Sleep Itself. Death would be irrelevant, in that scenario, or at least it would feel that way. Effectively, though, they would be one and the same.

Here's the thing, though... even if he thinks he can, he doesn't hold his breath forever. This is depicted in Take Me Back To Eden:

We dive through crystal waters Perfect oceans But no one told me not to breathe And now the weightlessness recedes

There's an abrupt shift, here. He's taken too early of a breath, and perhaps this was a mistake on his part, but the dream is over now. The illusion of this endless embrace with Sleep has been thoroughly shattered. Now, he must decide if he is going to keep falling further and let the ocean swallow him whole, or if he will try to resurface and take a true breath of air, instead of inhaling this salt-loaded sea water where it will permeate his lungs and his stomach, so deeply entrenched that nothing can wash it out entirely. In fact, he's already taken one breath underwater, possibly several, by the time he does resurface (if you believe that he did at all). It's already begun.

There is, however, a glimmer of hope in all of this. In Rain, Vessel understands that situation, he finally can see the damage that was done both to and by him, and he desperately wants to be washed clean. The salt on his hands aren't the half of it, and he seems to realize that now. The remnants of this time aren't just on him, it's inside of him, practically part of his very being at this point, just as entwined with him as he is with Sleep.

It's true that he's been ordered to remain awake for the foreseeable future, that what happened in Atlantic can never happen again, but that's nothing compared to this. He can leave the sea, can leave that situation behind him, but the remnants and their effects still cling to him and continue to harm him.

He's tipping his head back, not just spreading his arms out but opening his mouth wide to drink it all in. Asking to be cleansed with pleasure, not just on the surface level of his skin, but completely saturated. This, he's saying, is what will truly heal him.

#also something about ''you've got my body / flesh and bone'' and ''let's get swallowed whole'' re: the notes about saturation #this one got a bit heavy talking about atlantic sorry. kinda Going Through It atm #sleep token

[the-lincyclopedia]

Just saw a post that complained about the “commodification of friendship” and urged us to make “small sacrifices” for our friends, lest we get caught up in “an endless prioritization of our own comfort,” and I just . . . that opinion probably has its place, but GOSH is it the opposite of what I need to hear.

I think a lot of people can grow up in situations where their comfort and safety are consistently disregarded rather than protected, whether due to abuse, neglect, the lack of a proper diagnosis, lack of resources, or probably plenty of other factors. And for those of us for whom that’s the case, it can be really, really hard to calibrate what counts as a “small” sacrifice, because we don’t know the difference between being uncomfortable and being endangered/taken advantage of, because no one ever took our word about any of it or tried to protect us. And posts like the one I linked to can reinforce the message that we are NEVER allowed to put ourselves first.

I spent all of high school talking my then-boyfriend out of suicide, over and over and over again, while he refused to tell any adults what was going on, refused to seek any kind of help, and made it clear that he would kill himself if I tried to involve any adults or get him outside help. At the time, I was glad to feel needed, and I believed I was doing something important, but looking back, the secrecy and constant stress were terrible.

A few months ago, I wound up on the phone with someone close to me who was having a protracted, sobbing breakdown. It was so triggering to me that it slingshotted my brain seven whole years back in time, and it took months of work with my therapist, my faith leader, and my friends to mitigate the effects of listening to that breakdown. I really wish I had said something to the effect of, “I’m sorry, this is too hard for me. Is there someone else you can call to make sure you’re safe right now? I can’t be that person at the moment.”

I understand that there’s a difference between, say driving someone to the airport or making them soup, on the one hand, and serving as an emergency mental health responder, especially repeatedly, on the other hand. But I also feel like figuring out where to draw the line is something some of us are going to be worse at than others, and those of us who have trouble with it are going to struggle with it even more and feel even guiltier about drawing those lines, when we do actually manage it, when we see posts that tell us that “we would literally never get anywhere ever” if we prioritized ourselves.

Is it possible to be too selfish? Sure. But I don’t think that’s anywhere near as dangerous as feeling like you’re never allowed to set any boundaries, and my priority is to keep people safe from the kinds of endangerment I’ve experienced.

#a lin original #i reply #suicide tw #him and me #friendship #abusive relationships #boundaries

[lilyblackdrawside]

Slay the Spire Keine Kamishirasawa character mod overview. It's a long one.

Keine strongly focuses on her Time Shift and Rewind mechanics. All of her other mechanics are heavily tied into both for better efficiency.

Keine starts each combat at Time Shift 0. Time Shift increases by 1 after you play a card. At 12 or more stacks, lose 12 and gain 1 Full Moon.

When you gain Full Moon, enter Hakutaku Form. If you have no Full Moon at the end of your turn, exit Hakutaku Form.

While in Hakutaku Form you gain 1 Strength and benefit from any bonuses other cards or relics may give you for being in this state.

Rewind is something that a lot of her cards do and it just shuffles cards from your hand into your drawpile. There is no intrinsic benefit to doing this and most cards that do this don’t give you the option not to. You can use this to save a card for the next turn or so instead of having it go into Discard because you lack the Energy or proper situation to play it right now. Some Rewind cards also reward you for rewinding cards by doing more damage, giving you extra Block, Energy or whatnot.

So let’s go over her Rewind cards, since that’s her true, central mechanic:

The cards that directly relate to Rewind can be roughly split into two groups: Those that rewind and those that benefit from being rewound. Reading Scroll is your starter Rewind card and it does a fine job. It gives good Block and if you upgrade it, the Rewind is optional.

Masakado Crisis and Yoshimitsu Crisis are pretty good, because they can refund themselves naturally by heavily eating into your hand. Of course, you don’t want to draw into them after you’ve already spent some energy but they’re usually worth the risk due to their really good numbers.

Buretsu Crisis is your prime Rewind card, because it gets around both of its flaws - Rewind takes from your hand and shuffles into Draw. Buretsu Crisis takes from Discard and places on top of Draw. It’s perfect for recycling your cards and works wonders with a bunch of synergies that I’ll go over later.

Explain Again looks similar to Buretsu Crisis, since it also rewinds to top, but since it also immediately draws you can use it to repeatedly use on-draw effects of cards like Elegance.

Deconstruction is a fairly interesting card. The Reconstruction it turns into lets you copy cards from Exhaust for 0 and it doesn’t exhaust when used. If you have two Deconstructions, you can use one to exhaust the other when its count is at 1 to generate more Reconstructions and keep fetching high-value cards from Exhaust. You can even exhaust a Reconstruction to have infinite cards to play to generate draw from Ink Bottle or stack Time Shift. Pretty good card, but very slow.

God’s Realm is a card I want to put a spotlight on. It’s one of the cards that is greatly improved by Buretsu Crisis, but it’s also a bit of a trap. With enough rewinding, you can make your whole deck free to cast. But what does that mean, really? For one, it takes a long time to actually do anything for you and while you’re actively rewinding cards instead of playing them, you’re depriving yourself of the value they’d bring you in that moment. You’d want to rewind high-value cards like Yoshimitsu Crisis, which starts generating energy after being discounted just once, but you also want to play your high value cards so you don’t suffer, so in the end they wouldn’t actually get the discount all that much.

Then there’s how you can’t or shouldn’t plan around this card in deckbuilding. You should always balance your deck’s cost and draw with the energy you can expect to have. You don’t want to sit on a hand that’s too expensive to play but you also don’t want to float energy. Even if you have Ice Cream and a single reusable X-cost card. It’s funny to cast Whirlwind with 33 Energy, but there are better things to do than float it until then.

So with taking this into account, every combat has a very limited time window where you’re actually benefitting from God’s Realm. First you’re losing tempo from playing it. It costs 3, 2 when upgraded, which could be most or all of your energy, so that’s a dead turn where you’re either taking damage or not advancing your play. Then you have to rewind the cards. Depending on how large your deck is, it could take a while to redraw them with the discount applied. Then eventually you reach a sweet spot where enough of your cards are discounted so that you can consistently play your entire hand and that’s where God’s Realm stops doing anything for you. At some point your whole deck is 0, but there’s no point to that. I love this card, because it feels so good once it got going. Having a whole hand of now 0 cost cards is great, but it doesn’t really do much for you. You usually just suffer for using this card.

I had to go back here after finishing a later segment because I forgot about Keine Ahnung. Well, it sure is a card. When upgraded, it adds THE STRONGEST into your hand instead of draw. THE STRONGEST is a 9 cost card that Retains, gives 99 Omega and discounts itself by 3 when Rewound. In case you forgot: Omega is the Alpha -> Beta -> Omega thing that The Watcher does. It just ticks for 99 damage to all enemies each turn. It’s okay. Just too slow. Keine has a different card that does the same thing more elegantly.

There’s one relic related to Rewinding: The Cursed Kimono. It’s alright. It’s just Tingsha, really.

So let’s do Time Shift next.

This group’s a bit more concise, since Time Shift is an intrinsic mechanic that just happens as you play cards. These are all pretty self-explanatory too anyway. The golden Defend and Strike are created by Enchanted Scroll, Droplet of Time is one of your starters.

Moon Shift is pretty great value. If you don’t want to play it, it’s pretty good Rewind fodder, but you can hardly go wrong with a 0 cost attack that usually generates energy.

Phantasmal Emperor is an amazing card. It deals great damage and gives a ton of Time Shift.

Amaterasu is kind underwhelming. Like, it does a good job at doing what it does, but I never really notice is being on an enemy in the end.

Tenacity of Hakutaku and Power of Hakutaku (and their third sibling who is in another category) are good pickups. Power upgrades to give 2 strength, Tenacity and No3 upgrade to give 2 Time Shift. If you have two of these or just one and some other Time Shift support, it’s very easy to permanently stay in Hakutaku form, so you get steady stat buffs. Of course, they’re very slow cards. They do nothing when you play them after all, so don’t overdo it.

Sunrise is an effect that prevents you from gaining Full Moon while you’re affected by it. This doesn’t mean that you can’t accumulate Time Shift, it just won’t be changed into Full Moon. Once Sunrise expires, all your Time Shift will become Full Moon at once. There aren’t many cards that give Sunrise, so it’s not usually something to worry about.

The relics related to Time Shift are also pretty straightforward, aside from Imperishable Night.

Imperishable Night is a buff that stops Full Moon from expiring. Sounds great, usually isn’t. It’s really not hard to keep it active just by having a few cards that generate extra Time Shift and five turns is a long time anyway. There is a potion that gives the Imperishable Night buff and that one’s pretty alright.

Speaking of potions, lets get drunk on Knowledge next.

Here’s where I should say that I played a lot of this character when it was just released and there were a bunch of changes. This affected Knowledge in a big way.

For every 2 Knowledge, draw 1 additional card each turn.

That’s how it used to be.

Then Wisdom was introduced, and with it, Knowledge was limited to drawing 2 extra cards per turn.

Wisdom increases Knowledge’s draw limit. Wisdom exceeding 3 becomes Knowledge instead.

This just gives you the old limit of 5 back. It’s honestly a bit of a farce. It was meant to nerf Knowledge, because it’s an incredibly strong effect. But in practice, it’s really easy to gain the 3 Wisdom to regain the old cap of 5. That cap wasn’t even enforced by the mechanic, but by the greater game mechanic of having a hand size limit of 10.

A lot of cards that give Knowledge also give Wisdom and once you’re at 3 Wisdom, they just give double Knowledge. Some give just Wisdom, so those are a bit slow, since having just Wisdom with no Knowledge does nothing, but it’s still really powerful. You always want to mix in some Knowledge because draw is good.

A lot of cards also directly scale with your knowledge. This is noted as Knowledgeable. Usually it’s 1:1, but some cards have higher scaling. This is denoted by a number. Knowledge can get out of hand pretty quickly, especially with block cards. There are a lot of those that scale on it and increase it.

Knowledge cards too can be separated broadly into those that generate it and those that benefit from it. Of course, you always benefit from it by just being allowed to draw more per turn.

It’s not as strictly separated as the Rewind cards though, as you can see.

The big players here are Scroll Slash, Revision Session, Scroll Storm, Long Read, Stacked Workload and Yamato Kingdom.

Scroll Slash goes to Knowledgeable 2 when upgraded and quickly becomes a big damage dealer.

Revision Session upgrades to also give 1 Wisdom when rewound and is the prime target for Rewind cards that give you bonuses for rewinding stuff, like the Crisis cards. It’s also great that it retains and it doesn’t take long for it to become a very high value block card by itself, especially with God’s Realm discounting it.

Scroll Storm is just goodstuff. It’s functionally Knowledgeable 4 (5 when upgraded) due to its multi-hit nature and advances its own damage by just being played.

Long Read doesn’t seem as great at first glance, but gets really big very quickly and is an easy source of Wisdom. The next turn block is also pretty nice.

Stacked Workload is here more for its secondary effects than outright blocking, but 10 (14 when upgraded) block for 1 is already a great deal without anything else. Fatigue is an unplayable Status that gives 1 Draw Reduction when drawn, Refreshed is an unplayable, ethereal Status that draws a card when it’s exhausted. Stings to play this card in human form, since Fatigue sticks around, but sometimes you gotta. The card more than makes up for this one downside by being excellent everywhere else.

Yamato Kingdom is also just goodstuff. When upgraded it gets an extra +1 so it’s always value. You can play it at full Energy in Hakutaku Form for big block and 5 Knowledge, if not more or just dump it. With all the extra draw you get from Knowledge you can’t go wrong with this card.

Knowledge is Power is an interesting card, because it used to be quite different. It used to be a 0 cost card that gives Temporary Strength equal to your Knowledge or twice your Knowledge when upgraded. This was huge, because it’s just an increasing damage buff over and over. The new version is quite a bit worse, since you have to wait to get much out of it and until then it’s a dead draw. Keine handles dead draws very well, but still.

The Extra Thick Textbook relic is self explanatory. Nice to have, but no gamechanger. It by itself gives no extra draw, since you need 2 Knowledge. It used to give 2 Knowledge, bummer.

So let’s go over the last greater group, the History cards.

Whenever you draw or Rewind a card, deal damage equal to your History stack to the enemy with the least HP . At the end of your turn, lose 1/5 of your History rounded up.

The greatest advantage of this mechanic is the pleasant sound it makes when it ticks its damage. Sounds a bit like a typewriter, it’s very nice.

That aside, I don’t find myself playing with it very often, but when I do it works quite well.

It plays well with just about all the other mechanics. Knowledge gives extra draw for it to proc and Rewind procs it directly and also has a lot of draw cards. History is not so much something that you pick up to supplement your deck like you’d do with Knowledge. You have to really lean into it to get much out of it.

I find that a bunch of these cards are a bit clunky, to not outright call them useless.

Unofficial History, Devour History and Siphon History are just a bit too awkward. Devour and Siphon are very narrow in how they actually do something, with Devour working pretty much against your History gameplan, since the mechanic is what handles the damage and you bring Block with your cards. Of course Devour also eats status and curse cards, but they’re not that common.

Unofficial History feels bad to pick up unless you’re already fully committed to History and even then it doesn’t really do much.

The Powers work fairly well, with History of Untrodden mitigating the constant decay and History of Fantasy accelerating your buildup. All cards that deal with History have History in their name.

Dual Form is your resident „Form“ Power and it’s just... alright. You can use this in a heavy Knowledge deck to build a fair amount of History, you can also use this in a History deck to build a lot of Knowledge, but then you still want something to get the 3 Wisdom. I don’t really like it cause it costs 3. It’s heavy.

Feast of History is alright. It’s great when it’s great and does nothing when it does nothing. You know how it is.

The remaining 5 - Flow, Swirl, Conceal, Shifting and Stream, are all just good.They’re your bread and butter. You can comfortably run a History deck off of just Flow and Swirl if you have to, but Conceal adds a lot to the gameplan by letting you retain your stacks.

Gensokyo Chronicle is fine. It gives you a bit of tempo and if you can add to the few stacks it gives, you might even notice a difference. You just don’t get much from it at all.

All three of Keine’s pillar mechanics function just fine with just commons. The rares are nice to have, but I never miss them when I don’t get them and you always get a bunch of uncommons to bolster your strength.

So let’s get to the last part: The Goodstuff cards.

These are all good cards. Just take them.

Guardian is a block card that’s an Attack not a skill, which has almost only benefits.

Scold is a free 1 (2 when upgraded) weak to maybe all enemies and also an attack, which again, has almost only benefits.

An Afterlife Odyssey is great for mopping up trash and it even retains. Feel free to ditch it by the end of Act 2 if you’ve got no Strikes left to remove.

Prescience tutors anything from deck for free. If you upgrade it, the card actually costs 0 too. It draws and gives energy, how could you not take this?

HEADBUTT! is funny and used to deal damage to you when used. Upgrades to deal 45. It’s a better Bludgeon.

Passage of Time is the ultimate goodstuff card. There’s never a reason not to take this.

Land of the Rising Sun inflicts HP Loss, which bypasses Spikes, Block and Flight (you still take the damage from Guardian’s „spikes“) 20 (30 when upgraded) true aoe damage is hard to pass up. Sure, it also inflicts 2 Sunrise and you need to be in Hakutaku, but that’s manageable. Oh also on bosses the % damage actually starts to kick in and is pretty meaningful, but so does the Sunrise penalty.

Returning Bridge and Ephemerality 137 need some extra explanation. As I will have written in the Rewind section about Keine Ahnung, Keine has a more elegant way of getting passive damage per turn than obtaining 99 Omega. This is hidden in Ephemerality. This is a debuff that bypasses Artifact (I think you’re just giving a buff with malicious effects to the enemy to be honest) and has up to 3 effects. At 1+ stacks, the afflicted suffers 1 Weak at the start of your turn. At 3+ stacks, they also get -3 Temporary Strength and at 7+ stacks they also take 137 damage at the start of your turn. It’s pretty good. It’s also low commitment, since you can just rewind it. Works great with Buretsu Crisis, especially when upgraded so it inflicts 2 Ephemerality when played and Buretsu Crisis does the upgrading for you. Even if you don’t get the 7 stacks, it’s easy to get to 3 and that’s already great value. Even the permanent Weak you get from 1 is nice, since that’s easy to inflict on a whole group of enemies.

It is a bit slow, since the debuffs only kick in by your next turn, but it’s usually fine.

Ephemerality 137 used to be very different. It gave you instant Full Moon, some other buffs and would then kill you a few turns later. The new version is probably a stronger card, but I liked the old one more.

Now, Returning Bridge accumulates bonus effects when you kill bosses with it. This counts the Act 1 boss rematch event from Act 3. Each boss has a unique effect to impart to this card: The Guardian - Gain 20 Block; Hexaghost - Deal 4 damage to a random enemy 6 times; Slime Boss - Add a copy of this card into your draw pile; The Collector - Apply 3 Weak and Vulnerable to all enemies; Champ - Remove all of your debuffs and gain 2 Strengt; Bronze Automaton - Gain 1 Artifact and deal 20 damage to all enemies; Awakened One - Gain 1 Curiosity and 2 Ritual; Donu - Raise your Max HP by 5 and gain 3 Strength; Deca - Gain 9 Plated Armor; Time Eater - Time Shift 24. Whenever you play 12 cards, gain 2 Strength; Corrupt Heart - There must always be a Corrupt Heart...; Other - Gain 2 Knowledge and 3 History. Can stack up to 5 times.

It’s a gimmick card. Pretty funny, but usually doesn’t work too well. It’s risky to time this thing for the kill, but it does deal good damage when you stack Knowledge. It has to get the kill with its own direct damage though, not any added Reincarnation effects. Though that might’ve been changed. Probably feels nice when you use it on loops. I never used the loop feature.

And lastly, I have a few more relics to show:

The four Imperial Sacred Treasures

These are four very strong relics that have an interesting synergy with each other.

Mirror aside, each relic gets stronger the more relics you have.

But even if you have just one, they’re already quite potent. Orb is especially good with the immediate 1 energy and 2 draw that it gives. Sword by itself is a bit limp, but it’s a common. It’s essentially a slightly worse Vajra until you get more relics.

Country is a boss relic and usually a permanent energy relic with no downside. If you get it into act 2 it’s often a bit shaky, but at that point you can also just build towards having more Time Shift generation to support it.

If you have all four of them you get 5 Strength, 1 Energy and 6 Draw immediately when transforming into Hakutaku, a doublecast for your first Power, 1 extra energy per turn if you’re Hakutaku and heal 7 hp at the end of combat. Pretty good, especially the bg draw and strength boost.

and also let’s not forget about the Starter Relic and its upgrade:

History Eater went through a few iterations. Well, not the relic itself but rather the Composure card. In its current state Composure is a 1 cost card that Gives 1 energy, 3 Time Shift and draws a card and when Rewound exhausts itself while activating all of its effects.

It used to be a 0 cost that gives 3 Time Shift or 1 Energy when used in Hakutaku form. There was a second version too I think, but I don’t remember that one.

This third version is easily the best one.

History Creator gives you two upgrade ones instead and the only difference is that they cost 0 instead of 1. Seems a bit whelming, since you could just rewind the regular one to get its effects for free, but you really can’t argue with 2 Lanterns and a Prep Bag and 6 Time Shift at the start of combat.

You don’t even have to use them right away. If your opening hand is fine as is, you can hold them for next turn. Overall I like History Creator a lot, since it’s flexible and provides a lot of tempo.

And that’s it.

I think Keine here is a pretty well-made character. Her different mechanics are interlinked in good ways, but also each work on their own. History really wants the extra support from Knowledge and/or Rewind, but the History cardpool is so concise, that you’d be hard pressed to find yourself not wanting to pick up anything else.

All of her mechanics are also pretty fun to use. Drawing cards feels good, Spending a lot of time Rewinding cards and manipulating your hand also feels good. I’m into it.

Good stuff all around. Thematically it’s a bit dissonant in a few spots but I suppose that can be overlooked.

And finally here's a video showcasing a Knowledge/Rewind build where I didn't get much in the way of damage:

(Had to cut out the first fight vs Time Eater cause Tumblr gave me a slowplay warning.)

#slay the spire #long post

[monstertsunami]

okay i cannot for the life of me remember the names of the pafl people (i am. bad at names. as evidenced by me not having one) so gimmie the pafl ship you've got Brainworms about right now. not in the sense of love or hate, but the one that just has a specific rant locked n loaded for and which leaves you awake at night.

HI HIII IDC THAT YOU DONT KNOW THEIR NAMES IM JUST SO HAPPY THAT YOURE SENDING ME AN ASK ABT MY FIXATION DESPITE KNOWING NOTHING ABOUT IT <333<3333<3

temnova/olya would be way too obvious for this SO instead im gonna ramble abt sergei/olya my favorite ever (so-called) m/f ship<3<3

forgive me in advance for fumbling my analysis bc words do not come to me well n settling with the second-best word choice always ends up skewing the meaning.. i am also not good at organizing my thoughts at all lol :p

sergolya (made up the ship name myself bc idk if theres a widley used one oops) is a canon ship and thats why its GOOOD. bc pafl is like. REALISTIC and not in the annoying nihilistic grimdark way but just in the way that the characters feel so natural with how they interact with each other and the world and how they react to situations and how situations effect them... its just. real as fuck. absolutely insane skill on ferry's part. but this is REALLY GOOD for every pafl relationship, romantic or not, because they're complex.

sergei and olya have a flawed relationship! theres a lack of communication, sergei being sergei, olya being olya, etc. but its still so so obvious that they love each other DEEPLY! maybe olya's blinded by her insecurities and maybe sergei doesnt externalize it in an obvious way, but when you look even an inch deep into their motivations throughout the entire story, especially when they make poor decisions, its just intertwined with their love for each other.

now where sergolya REALLY gets developed is in The Mill, which specifically touches on olya's insecurities and sergei's overbearing-ness. yes this is why its my favorite pafl song :3

olya appears stoic and logical, she never looks affected by anything, she is taking a fucking prison sentence with stride. but shes still a very emotional person at heart, shown by her affection towards anya, some random kid that keeps following her home, and her getting so attatched to a mutant that she puts herself at risk to keep him safe. all very illogical, emotion driven actions that you wouldnt expect from her based on her external disposition. olya is not as untouchable as she lets off, and she is especially deeply affected by nikita's view of her. (even before kolya's death he was an asshole. fucking misogynist) she cant help but take nikita's harsh words to heart, and that effects her and sergei's relationship. she's terribly afraid of opening up to him in fear that he will leave her the same as nikita left nadya, and has trouble internalizing and accepting the love he expresses to her. she desperately wants to ask for some reassurance, some promise that he wouldnt one day just decide that shes too much of a burden, that shes not worth it anymore, and abandon her. she DESPERATELY wants him to love her, but she just cant accept that he already does love her for herself.

"ill draw a circle in the sand / drive myself around the bend / in a desperate attempt to hold onto your battered hand"

now this is where the dramatic irony comes in. because seeing his internal monologue in the mill, the same song where olya was lamenting about all that, it is very very obvious that he cares so deeply for olya. now sergei has his issue with being overbearing and overprotective when it comes to those he loves, sheltering sanya to the point where she acts out and befriends yura. its his primary flaw, but god if it isnt the most prominent indicator of sergei's attachment to a person. once you know that about him and how he expresses those types of emotions, he practically wears his heart on his sleeve. he wants what he thinks is best for her and sanya and he really DOES care so so much about them both but he doesnt stop to think and its so. oh my god i just love them both so much u dont understand.

"now my only hope is that one day youll understand / ill wrap the chain round my heart and her hammering neck / and save whats left / though i know that someday this weight will come to break my back"

just the way that sergei and olya have such similar problems that manifest in different ways to affect their relationship. olya masks her emotions bc of experiences with misogyny and shes trying to be a Strong Woman and.. sergei masks his bc the environment he grew up in (& his own experiences and traumas) fostering toxic masculinity(???) and poor coping mechanisms. and so its this ouroboros of poor comminication because sergei doesnt know how to show olya he loves her and he doesnt even know thst she needs that because she wont TELL him and then SHE goes on to think that sergeis percieved indifference is his lack of affection and CONTINUES not telling him out of fear of rejection. i. UGH. these two are destroying my mind

thanks for reading if u got this far. have my favorite official sergolya doodles

(i could write an extra essay on my thoughts abt these doodles specifically as well but ill spare you<3)

#:3 #sorry this took 4 ever to answer i had to find time to sit down and write this all #BUT I AM SOO HAPPY THAT UR INDULGING ME IN MY WEIRD INTERESTS THAT U KNOW NOTHING ABT #SQUEE #sergei #olya #boss makes a dollar i make a dime thats why i answer asks on company time #pafl #schziobabble #long enough to go in my talk tag

[quirofiliac]

@killerhubby ／ cont.

Upon the other's... brags? That couldn't be right-- he wasn't necessarily bragging (normal people do not brag like that. it's unprecedented.) but, well-- what else could it have been? It was an odd sort of behavior, one that Kira wasn't too sure where to file it appropriately under. Perhaps it was best suited as a jest, with a splash of sarcasm... maybe? He wasn't sure.

There were small attempts at gauging for further reaction -- a subtle, little squint of the eyes, much like a feline would in an attempt to perceive -- but he didn't dare linger. If he tried a bit more, he's certain that that, too, would've gotten "called out" and tried to back him up into yet another corner.

He was polite and cordial but, for some reason or another, that only made the pit in Kira's stomach grow. Social interactions were always so, so dreadful. What made it even worse was that, currently, he couldn't see a proper way out.

Maybe if he were a little more tactical (he usually is, but with the picture he was currently painting for... him, it didn't feel right.) with just a pinch of affability, he probably could've walked away. There would've been no ceremony, no special effects, no fanfare-- no, none of that. All that he would've done, in that makebelieve situation, was walk away.

What else was there to say or do? Besides saying, "I have to go, now. Goodbye," obviously.

"... I see," he returned in a hushed voice, deciding to go with the safest of his options: acknowledgment. Recognition allowed for the situation to remain as "neutral", something that was simpler and far more easier for Kira to meld himself to. "It's nice, I think, that you've been keeping yourself, ehm... busy."

Mirage's so-called "hook" lay bare in front of Kira. He doesn't step near it nor does he even so much as think to look at it for too long. Its presence has been acknowledged and, henceforth, perceived. It felt a little too obvious, even as--

"Mm?"

--ah. He sees.

There's inklings of an uncomfortable sort of presence, the type where someone knew that something was wrong. But it also happened to be that type where said someone didn't know what exactly was wrong. All they knew was that something was wrong, and that it must either be eradicated or fixed. There was no other way around it, and Kira understood that feeling quite well. It was almost always an omen, of sorts, for a bigger scene in the future.

Was it a sort of prophecy? Not really. He knew, realistically, that it was just his anxiety.

"You... wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?"

He doesn't quite bite the bait (he bats at it, like a cat.) but does draw a bit closer. His steps were closer, in this hypothetical, and they were prepped for future, inevitable use. Both feet were spread apart, wide, just in case he'd need to suddenly bolt. For what reason, it was hard to say. Call it a hunch, honestly... a gut feeling.

Did women "flock" to him? He wouldn't quite say that. Sure, there were... handfuls, but he thought that sort of thing happened to men all the same. Women were, after all, fickle, little things. Each were individuals (haha, what a funny joke... his coworkers told a joke similar once. he didn't laugh, as much as he wanted to.) with their own, individual desire and preference. Kira couldn't help it if he checked all of the boxes for some of them-- he didn't ask for such heavy attention.

If he were given a choice, he'd have chosen to turn invisible for a few minutes once he left work back in those days. It'd have made his days less hard to get through, that was for sure. To be able to flick a switch and to, simply put, not exist for a few, necessary minutes? That sounded like heaven to the blond.

"I mean... in truth, if you are?" he began, still keeping his head turned away, as a snort crept out from the back of his throat. "I wouldn't disagree with you. I am pretty boring."

It's meant to insult him, he's sure but what if he wanted that? To be referred to as "boring" and, otherwise, unassuming? That he didn't deserve the adoration of several women (he thinks they were more attractive before they talked to him, anyway. most women, naturally, were like that.) nor the lingering gazes of men that followed after, almost as if to ask, "... Why him? That boring, old square?"

Mirage's words brought forth quite the possible conundrum. Was it not expected for a narcissist to want attention, to thrive off of it? Comparing them to the likes of someone who simply could not survive with their morning coffee, attention was a lot like caffeine, wasn't it? All of that had to have, at least, some bearing. Some grounds to stand on, because, well... what else was there to go off of? People barely have any concept of what "empathy" was nowadays, especially for those that were "wired" differently.

There's none of that, though, because he was over the motherfucking moon.

Everything had to be simplified, dumbed down. Instead of someone afflicted, it was someone who chose.

It made things easier to swallow, all the easier to stomach.

"Don't get me wrong, though... If you'll allow me to rewind a bit, and if instead you were talking about yourself, since that was the original topic--"

"--you shouldn't speak so poorly of yourself. I'm sure those women have their reasons for finding someone so "boring" as you attractive."

Again, though, that was assuming that Kira was a narcissist. Which, of course, he wasn't. Of course not.

He was better than that.

#killerhubby #and now we continue from where we last left off! on dragonball z kai-- #kira hitting me on the back of the head with a giant brick: #the way kira's misogyny also just... jumped out. AKMDKMFKMDMK #anyway. back to two grown man throwing pot shots at each other smh #＊ 💥 持味：in character. #＊ 💥 𝐯.one，今：another one bites the dust！！

[gentlenekomata]

hide ‘n’ seek | Sakura&Deirdre

There’s a new recreational game taking Fodlan by storm! Originally meant to help improve children’s aiming skills in a safe but realistic recreation of a battle, the game of Paint Bolts has found a surprisingly large following among others of all age groups. To play, you just need a bow and at least one opponent. Everyone is given two things: a quiver of arrows/bolts tipped with a plump, soft cloth that has been dipped in its own unique color, and a clean set of white clothes. Your goal is to navigate the playing field shooting as many others as possible with your colored arrows. Extra points are awarded for hitting areas that would be strikes to the vitals with real arrows, but the biggest priority is getting your color all over the other players while keeping your own clothes clean. The more colorful your opponent and cleaner you are, the better chance you have of winning. Just remember you have a limited set of arrows/bolts, so you better make each one count. No hits, even if your clothes are still stark white, is still a score of 0! [Grants Bow +1]

starter for @nagaficat​

Despite the petite height and a little fragile structure, Sakura couldn’t help but enjoy the participation in one of the most attended event of the period – the game of Paint Bolts. She wasn’t really keen on those kind of games, but once in a while she actually took part in the games, especially the ones that involved weapon she wanted to learn to use to be effective on the real battlefield. As a matter of fact, the aforementioned game took place in a large field nearby the monastery, a surrounded place where some object were placed in order to hide and prepare ambushes: the rule were pretty neat and simply –hit the enemy, do not get hit by the enemy.

Sakura got everything pretty quick and – after she got the white uniform and the bow with a quiver of arrows – she immediately went to the field, not even bothering to get to know her allies and party members, since ‘They have the same colour as mine, that’s fair enough!’ she thought to herself as she approached a giant overturned pipe on the ground, pausing for a moment as she needed to study the situation behind that coverage: some students and staff members – she wasn’t sure of who was who, since everyone was wearing a white uniform like her – were running scattered around the area, some of them already hit others, but most of the participants were hiding in the several locations dispersed around the zone.

A quick breath and the petite priestess tightened the grip on her bow and swiftly reached another nearby structure, a small house without doors nor windows – just an empty box with a roof. As soon as she entered, she stuck her body on the wall, quickly spying from the open window to make sure no one was reaching out her same hidden place. She loosened the tension for a moment, just to realize a sudden creak sound caught her attention from behind –someone was approaching the main entrance of the small building!

Picking an arrow and drawing the bow, she put herself in a defensive position, as to make sure she could get the enemy on surprise, yet, as soon as the creaking sound keep on moving forward, a familiar colour popped from the entrance door, a quite desolate and lost look hovered on the face of the girl as she lowered her weapon as well. At least she was the same team as her, apparently.

“Glad we’re on the same side” she giggled, putting back arrow, but still feeling a little nervous, ‘cause you could never know when an enemy might pop out. “I’m Sakura and you?” she was sure the two of them meet before, maybe in the church? This actually didn’t matter that much and as soon as she got her name, she regained the previous position, now addressing the her new ally.

“Let’s keep an eye on both side, shall we?”

#nagaficat #support deirdre #bow +1 #//hope this is okay >w< #fighter mastery #hide n seek

[constructionaccounting]

557: Becoming A Better Project Manager By Improving Communication Skills

This Podcast Is Episode 557, And It's About Becoming A Better Project Manager By Improving Communication Skills

In the construction industry, communication takes many forms, including written reports, drawings, emails, and face-to-face meetings. Each form of communication has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. For example, written reports and illustrations provide a permanent record of information, but they may not be as effective in conveying complex ideas as face-to-face interactions. 

  Understanding how construction business owners and project managers, like you, if you do both (a one-person company), adapt to their environment, and facilitate procedures could make your company run smoother because there is no money in workplace chaos.

  However, the thinking patterns and comfort zone of a well-trained staff or subcontractor are defined by the following:

If it isn't broken, how can I ensure it stays that way?

When it fails, I fix it, then I look for the root cause and work on that

I maintain it so that it does not deteriorate into an emergency

Everybody is my client; I work for the internal and the external client

When I have to fix things, I must not have done my job right in the first place

I gain recognition from knowing things are running smoothly and predictable

My clients are important; the world revolves around them

I don't know everything, so I ask lots of questions to uncover problems and opportunities

I delegate responsibility to those who can handle it, and I guide them to success

I read instructions because somebody else learned it the hard way and wrote about it

Everything under my control is my responsibility; therefore, I empower myself to fix it

Construction Project Managers loathe unpleasant surprises, so I seek to eliminate unpleasant surprises

When a severe problem arises, I work with the team to develop a plan before it gets out of control

Finally, I don't reinvent the wheel; I find who is doing things right and copy their success

Effective leaders are conditioned to avoid emergencies by being proactive and having systems to deal with emergencies. After the crisis has passed, they are ready to evaluate the emergency's root cause and implement change in the system to avoid a repeat performance.

That's why excellent communication is crucial in the construction business workplace. With so many moving parts and various stakeholders involved, clear and concise communication is necessary to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal. Poor communication can lead to costly errors, delays, and safety hazards. 

To become a better leader and improve communication in the construction business workplace, it is essential to establish clear lines of communication and ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. 

Regular meetings and check-ins can help keep everyone informed and up-to-date on project progress and any changes or issues. It is also important to encourage open and honest communication, where team members feel comfortable sharing their concerns and ideas without fear of retribution. This can help to foster collaboration and creativity, leading to better outcomes for everyone involved. 

One way to improve and encourage collaboration and clear communication in your workplace is by practicing simple ways to improve it:

1. Always maintain control of your emotions in stressful situations

Leaders are often called upon to make difficult decisions under circumstances that are not ideal. If you can keep a cool head and calmly make decisions in a crisis, the people around you will begin to recognize you as the go-to leader when new or challenging situations arise.

2. Remain focused on the conversation at hand

When you are in the middle of working on a project, it is easy to get tunnel vision that prevents you from focusing on what is happening around you. When someone engages you in conversation, always try to stay focused on what they are saying. 

Occasionally, repeat your understanding of what the other person just told you. Not only will this behavior make them feel you value their input enough to listen, but it will also increase their respect for you as a leader/coworker.

3. Pay attention to your body language

It is important to remember that your body language can be just as essential as what you say. If you are in the middle of a conversation with someone and they see you furrowing your brows or not making eye contact, they could walk away with the impression that you are disinterested or angry with them. Try to maintain a neutral expression when conversing with your staff or coworkers.

4. Do not interrupt

People approach you when you are a leader because you have the answers. However, it can be easy to speak without a complete understanding of what is being asked and provide someone with incorrect information. Always allow the other person to finish their thought and ask their question in its entirety so you can give a thoughtful, helpful answer.

5. Do not make snap judgments when speaking to someone

Occasionally, leaders are sought out when someone has made a mistake or poor business decision. If someone you are leading comes to you and admits they have done something wrong, try your best to withhold judgment. Sometimes, this will require you to listen to their side of the story and reschedule a meeting later in the day or week to discuss a more productive course of action. Other times, it may be as simple as asking them for their solution and addressing it from that angle.

6. Be consistent with your feedback

Always consistently seek opportunities to offer cheerful and negative feedback when leading people. Many issues in building sites can be prevented by merely mentioning positive behavior when you see it and constructively pointing out negative behaviors as they occur in hopes of ending there.

Final thoughts

If you are looking for ways to lead more effectively, communicating better is one of the most accessible and valuable skills you can learn. Effective communication will help you gain the trust and respect of individuals around you, one of the most valuable assets you can acquire.

Overall, effective communication is essential for success in the construction business workplace. By establishing clear lines of communication, encouraging open and honest dialogue, and utilizing the right communication tools, construction teams can work together more efficiently and effectively to achieve their goals.

As we move forward, let's focus on improving our business practices, streamlining our processes, investing in our employees, and, more importantly, ourselves. We can succeed tremendously by providing our team with the necessary tools, training, and support to excel in their roles. 

  Wishing you a prosperous and successful new year!

  PS 

We offer free resources to help you save time and money that you can download and print now. 

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA, co-founded Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on managing the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 1-800-361-1770 or [email protected]

Check out this episode about Contractors Marketing - Accounting - Production (M.A.P.)!

[premiertaxservice]

Premier Tax Service Inc.: Your Reliable Tax Adviser

Charge season can frequently be an unpleasant season for people and organizations the same. With a bunch of guidelines, derivations, and structures to explore, many individuals wind up needing master direction to guarantee they meet their monetary commitments while boosting their profits. That is where Chief Duty Administration Inc. becomes an integral factor. As a deeply grounded charge specialist co-op, they have been a confided in accomplice for endless clients, making the course of expense readiness and documenting extensively more sensible.

The Groundwork of Trust

Chief Expense Administration Inc., situated in the core of [City Name], has fabricated a standing on the underpinning of trust and unwavering quality. With a group of experienced charge experts, they have effectively taken special care of the duty needs of a different customer base for a long time. Their obligation to precision, consistence, and client fulfillment has procured them a devoted client base.

Experienced Assessment Experts

At the core of Head Duty Administration Inc. is a group of exceptionally gifted and experienced charge experts who have a top to bottom comprehension of the consistently developing expense scene. They keep awake to-date with the most recent assessment regulations, guaranteeing that their clients get exact guidance and help with exploring the intricacies of the duty code.

The group at Head Expense Administration Inc is knowledgeable in both individual and business tax collection, empowering them to give fitted answers for a large number of clients. Whether you're a sole owner, an entrepreneur, or a singular citizen, they have the skill to meet your one of a kind requirements.

Customized Administration

One of the champion elements of Head Assessment Administration Inc. is its obligation to offering customized support. They comprehend what is happening is one of a kind, and they carve out opportunity to survey your particular conditions to foster an expense technique that best suits your objectives. This customized approach separates them from one-size-fits-all duty programming and online stages.

Proficiency and Practicality

With regards to burden documenting, time is frequently of the pith. Head Expense Administration Inc. is known for its effectiveness and obligation to fulfilling time constraints. They work perseveringly to guarantee your expense forms are documented precisely and on time, freeing you from the pressure and bother related with somewhat late duty arrangements.

All year Backing

Chief Assessment Administration Inc. doesn't simply vanish once charge season is finished. They offer all year support, which is vital for those managing charge related matters whenever. Whether you have inquiries concerning monetary preparation, or duty consistence, or need assistance with an IRS review, their specialists are accessible to direct you.

Last Contemplations

In our current reality where monetary guidelines and expense codes are persistently changing, having a believed accomplice like Head Duty Administration Inc. is significant. Their group of experienced experts, obligation to customized administration, effectiveness, and all year support pursue them the go-to decision for people and organizations the same. Thus, when the following duty season draws near, consider enrolling the help of Chief Assessment Administration Inc. to guarantee that your expense experience is as peaceful and remunerating as could be expected.

For more info:-

premier tax service inc

premier tax service

[hxrpooner]

just finished mass effect 2 here is my brain vomit

The Good

The combat was sleeker and more polished than ME1. Overall I enjoyed the gunplay a lot more. Being able to vault over things was also really fun.

I really liked the paragon/renegade interrupts. A good way to spice things up. Enhanced the feeling of player choice. Just a really nice touch.

LOOOVED the crew. I also thought the conversations with crewmates were just better overall than ME1.

I liked the loyalty mechanic and loyalty missions. I thought those were cool.

I think the decision to kill Shepard, resurrect them, and have the whole crew break up, was pretty fucked up and awesome. It was cool going to see where everyone was at after all that time. I especially thought the angle they took with Liara was really cool and interesting.

I liked listening to the news reports and seeing all the other ways Shepard’s actions from ME1 carried over with NPCs and stuff.

In general there were so many moments that harkened back to ME1 that I enjoyed. Like yeah it was very fanservicey and yk what I am a sucker for fanservice. No notes.

The DLCs were really good, especially Lair of the Shadow Broker. Except Overlord. I have beef with Overlord.

I’m glad they took out exploring planets with the Mako. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved the Mako. But driving over featureless terrain for long periods definitely lost its charm after the first several times. On that note, I appreciated that they made the vehicle sections in the Firewalker DLC a lot more interesting than the ones in ME1. 

I like the overall concept of the Suicide Mission. I like how unique consequences unfold based on the choices you make. And I think it’s good that they made it legitimately difficult to keep your whole team alive without looking at a walkthrough. Would have been really silly if it was easy. 

The Bad

The atmosphere was much more “sleek modern sci fi shooter” than the more... space opera, vibey situation of the first game. I don’t really know how else to describe it. The new vibe wasn’t BAD, but it drew away from what I feel was a big draw of ME1, which kind of sucks.

I don’t really like how they changed charm/intimidate checks to paragon/renegade 

I wasn’t very fond of the reloading mechanic. I mean, I think adding reloading itself freshened up combat, which was good, but I didn’t like that it auto-reloaded for me sometimes but not others. And it felt like some guns ran out of clips way too quickly.

The powers in 2 were kind of boring, ammo powers especially. Squadmate combat was very lacking because they had so few powers.

Whatever the fuck was going on with David in the Overlord DLC was bad. I’m very iffy on how they treat his autism and how that relates to his personal autonomy. But I also feel like the game just does not treat what was done to David with a sufficient amount of revulsion. I wasn’t happy that the game didn’t give you an option to kill Gavin outright.

I kind of wish there was more conflict over the decision to blow up all those Batarians in the Arrival DLC. Because that was like hundreds of thousands of people and we just.... kablooey!!! There were scarcely any moments for Shepard to even wonder if there might be other options. It’s fine for the game to force you to kill them in the end, but I wish we gotten to linger on it a little more at the time (especially since the ethical ramifications of exploding all those people ARE shown to be important later on... just not until AFTER the mission is over, and even then it’s honestly more about Shepard being in trouble than anything else).

I was sad that a lot of the ambient dialogue stuff got removed. You can’t chat with squadmates and get flavor dialogue about whatever area you’re in unless you happen upon a specific “talk to X” location, and there were far fewer times where your squad would idly comment on whatever mission you were doing. It made them feel more like inanimate objects than characters.

I did Jack’s romance path, and I thought it was really bland. I don’t know about the other romance options, but... idk, I wasn’t impressed. The dialogue just wasn’t that interesting.

I think they blew their load a little too early with the Suicide Mission. It felt like it should have been the end of something; I’m sensing that they kind of set ME3 up to fail, here. The end sequence of the game was also shorter than I would have liked.

I felt like a big skeleton robot monster was a very silly choice for the final boss. The concept of THOUSANDS of humans being disappeared and then literally turned into goop is appropriately horrifying. But all that, only for it to be used to make this goofy looking skeleton thing... idk, it mostly just made me laugh.

#i know i know i am so late to the party #whatever #mass effect 2 #yelling.txt #i feel like most of the stuff i liked was stuff they kept from me1 #overall me2 was... fine. like yeah it was pretty good #but not as good as me1

[rizzlybeare]

-Old and trusted

This is for putting on the straps around massive recycled cardboard crates. It was originally used for a flat metal strip that was put around the bale and tightened by pulling backwards and forwards to tighten it. When the strap is tight, the handles open sideways and a metal clip is inserted and closed onto the metal strapping, holding it firmly in place. This is now done in exactly the same way but using a nylon strap which is fused with heat to seal it.

It caught my eye how the new machine has changed only slightly but they still used the same technique they have always use. Showing me that it does not always have to be something innovative to make it work and does not necessarily have to change if it works perfectly.

This is the modern version of it and how it is used, It is still used with the same technique but the metal strips are now nylon. The main part that interests me is how the technique has maintained the same but the machine has slightly changed. As I mentioned before, if something works there is no need for it to be changed.

Once I had realized what that object did I suddenly remembered that there is a baler where I work, I didn't realize it was the same thing until I found that behind it are the nylon straps that pull all the squashed cardboard into a cube. This baler squashes all the cardboard that is put inside of it and also wraps it up.

And these 3 objects all do the same to obtain this final look.

These are how bailing cardboard boxes end up looking like. And below are how bailing can also be used to keep smaller things strapped together and properly kept.

-Bearly a door handle

This is a peculiar door handle that I came across when I travelled back to Spain and visited a friend at his home. It is a door handle in the shape of a bears head that has very detailed factions. The set back eyes give it a haunt look, but with a comforting feel.

The door handle made me see how people tend to open the door because of the places it is worn and polished. I saw how they opened the door and all grabbing the ears and putting the palm of their hands on the nose, making these parts shiny.

I realized that a door handle doesn't have to be just a circle shape or something you push down. Seeing this has made me look more into door handles and they way they look and how they are being used in different ways. -Getting a Hand opening the door.

Coming across this door stop me in my tracks, the simple but effective idea is ingenious and practical. It also felt welcoming and fun. The metal was cold to touch but the detail was incredible. Experiencing the fun you can have with an everyday object that does not take itself very seriously will bring a smile to the users face.

I realize we should try this approach on many more everyday items instead of sticking to the normal and copying what was done before.

-Art with dots

Coming across this artist, that interested me because of how simple his work looks but also at the same time so deeply detailed and how he plays with lights in the dark. Even though this painting is done just with simple lines anyone can tell it is Paris. These lines resemble the light and the shadow at night in Paris.

I felt myself drawn into the picture, it was like it was alive, I could almost feel the hustle and bustle of a busy Paris nightlife.

The use of the bright colours in contrast with the dark greys gives the painting its life like appeal, this makes it possible to really feel a painting without it having to be finely detailed. -Takashi Murakami

A Japanese artist of the 20th century called Takashi Murakami is a very interesting artist who can make really complex drawings out of one simple design, I relate this kind of art to Lego as I mentioned earlier because of the fact both situations start with one block/image that builds up into a complete work of art that can appear complex to those who don't look further the what they initially see. This also reminds me of LEGO bricks that are a simple little piece of plastic but if you put them all together you can create amazing structure that would be very complex. But are they actually complex? I think that they can be considered simple because they are made out of many of the same thing. Not to me confused with a building because it is much more than just bricks. -Deco Art

Having studied leather as a material has made me focus on leather when I see it, having seen this art deco chair showed me what I had learnt from it. As leather is such a formal material it makes it look much more professional. The leather is complemented with two side arms wich are made out of chromed metal and creates the perfect balance between futuristic and tradition.

The aerodynamic look expresses the change in attitudes from the Victorian times to the exciting 1920s art deco revolution.

-Jacques Émile Ruhlmann

The 1920s deco-furniture was a prime example of sleek and functional designs that covered a complete range of items over the decade, such as chairs,display cabinets and tables. A prime example of what Art Deco means would be the designs of the designer  Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann that created magnificent and beautiful chairs and tables that resembled incredible curves in furniture and how remarkably perfect and refined his furniture were. I particularly like a writing table he made because of how he made the support of it a semicircle. This particular one is veneered in macassar ebony with the working surface covered in a calf leather which gives it that professionalism that the simple things need.

-Brutal chairs

Adding some chairs for some reason makes me think it is more comfortable than without it.

-Slick chair

-Slick chair

There isn't really anything fascinating about this chair/sofa but I like how it is made and how it is simply a block with a curve in it. The dark colour gives it some formality and slick. -Awkward cutlery

I'm starting to realize how simplicity really draws my attention and how unique I think it is. Seeing this cutlery does make me doubt if it would work or not but even though it is simple you can easily tell what they are and what they are used for.

-From studying to eating

This is an innovative idea, changing everyday objects into useful and reusable everyday items.

The simplicity of this idea appeals to my past experiences of working with plastics, from changing one object into something functional. It has also made me look at everyday objects and wonder if they could be used or adapted slightly for another use.

-Simple sink made luxurious

The marble looks really nice in this bathroom and is really big, I like that you wash your hands in like a puddle. This makes it a weird way of cleaning them but because of how it looks it makes it look formal/posh. Some things can be a simple structure with and easy way of using but because of the material it completely changes how we view it. Certain materials make simple structures look more complex.

-Re-Sizing

I came across these hangers when I went to IKEA, I thought they were such a fun way to change the regular hangers we see everyday. These little changes can make an impact in the way places are decorated. What I find most interesting about this is how resizing things can give them a different use and change its original one.

Having different type or chair for a different hanger in a different room can help with the decoration and ambience of it. -Bending the light

Although this is nothing new and can be found in any household, the multitude of lights hanging together just seemed to spark up my imagination. Even though the picture does not do it justice it shows that simple things above your head don't have to only be functional but can also be beautiful as well. This made me think that making lights more elegant and better looking will also encourage people to look up as in this modern society everyone looks down and do not experience the beauty that is often above them.

This has shown me how the smallest of details can really make a difference.

-Is this jewelry?

This is a company that does very brutalism orientated jewelry in my perspective. Lots of their jewelry is ordinary but there are some things that stand out like this bracelet. The first time I looked at it I thought it was metal but when I looked it up I realized it was leather. The materials it is made out of are leather and sterling silver for the adjustment system. This bracelet is the kind of thing I think about when I hear brutalism. Making this out of materials that aren't usually used for that type of thing.

It interests me how people make things like jewelry out of materials that I would never have thought about to make it.

-How times have changed

Watches live on our wrists, in our pockets and we think very little of them in general. But they are works of art inside and out. They have been put into space and deep in the ocean. It shows it items can be functional tough and beautiful as well.

Watches are actually a very complicated device in the inside but on the outside they make them look like something very simple and easy that are just 2 stick pointing and two numbers.

-Don't get mad

This is a product called the Wastebasket. It is made out of Eco-friendly plastic and rubber. The colour and shape immediately caught my eye and had to look more into it. The idea of this project was to try and calm down anger or create a product that can feel fun and joy in the act of throwing when angry. The designer looked for a humorous design so it could allow joy and fun to reduce anger.

What interested me the most was the backstory to this product, because the first time I saw this I just thought it was a table which was a bin. Once I had read into it I was even more interested and I eventually found out that it was designed by joom design located in Seoul, Korea.

This made me realize that just because something looks like it has an obvious use to it, it does not mean it is for that use.

-Keywings

This idea really intrigued me because of the simplicity of it and how effective it is at the same time. Something that is so basic and helps so much. When I came across this at a key shop, immediately I thought how good this idea was. I have struggled sometimes opening a locked door because of the size of the key, so this product is something that would help me.

The fact that it is just a key attatchement and not necessarily part of the key makes it so much better by being able to remove it and add it when pleased. Having been in that situation really makes me interested about the object.

Having seen how efficient this product really is makes me realize how small details and difficulties can be solved in a simple way to make some ones life so much easier.

-Fusion

While I was making my waste not project I realized how beautiful the combination of all the colours of the bottle caps wore. How all of the caps melt together and formed a sheet. Once I put light through it it created this really call pattern that also made this cool colour on the walls. That made me think about using the knowledge I got from this project to make more things from recycled plastics, expanding, experimenting and bring new life to these throw away items that no one gives a second look.

-Simple is perfect

Simplicity shows elegance and understanding with a few lines and curves. No one would be in any doubt of what this sign means and what its intended use is for. Most people wouldn't even notice this small detail but for those who use it makes a difference. The fact that it is cut from metal gives it some permanency rather than just a sticker on a sign. Putting a little extra effort and detail into the most normal everyday objects can make things stand out in an artistic and open minded way.

-LEGO

I have always played with LEGO as a kid and I still really like them, but I feel that simplicity really does have a space in it. These are just blocks that are different shapes and sizes and such simple things, but as you put them together you create incredible structures that can be very complex.

A LEGO structure is simply something made out of lots of simple little blocks. it isn't as real life structure that is more that just brick, when it comes to LEGO it is only the blocks that create the structure.

In conclusion, a set of simple things doesn't make something complex.

#Youtube