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imsobadatnicknames2 · 3 months

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What's OSR? I've seen you mention it several times in your RPG posts. Is it like a genre of rpg or...?

Hey, sorry I took so long to reply to this lol you probably already just googled it by now.

But like. Anyway.

OSR (Old-School Revival, Old-School Renaissance, and more uncommonly Old-School Rules or Old-School Revolution, no one can really agree on what the R means) is less like a genre and more like a movement or a loosely connected community that seeks to capture the tone, feel and/or playstyle of 70's and 80's fantasy roleplaying games (with a particular emphasis on old-school editions of Dungeons and Dragons, particularly the Basic D&D line but pretty much anything before 3e falls under this umbrella), or at least an idealized version of what people remember those games felt like to play.

There isn't exactly a consensus on what makes a game OSR but here's my personal list of things that I find to be common motifs in OSR game design and GM philosophy. Not every game in the movement features all of these things, but must certainly feature a few of them.

Rulings over rules: most OSR games lack mechanically codified rules for a lot of the actions that in modern D&D (and games influenced by it) would be covered by a skill system. Rather that try to have rules applicable for every situation, these games often have somewhat barebones rules, with the expectation that when a player tries to do something not covered by them the GM will have to make a ruling about it or negotiate a dice roll that feels fair (a common resolution system for this type of situation is d20 roll-under vs a stat that feels relevant, a d6 roll with x-in-6 chance to succeed, or just adjudicating the outcome based on how the player describes their actions)

"The solution is not on your character sheet": Related to the point above, the lack of character skills means that very few problems can be solved by saying "I roll [skill]". E.g. Looking for traps in an OSR game will look less like "I rolled 18 on my perception check" and more like "I poke the flagstones ahead with a stick to check if they're pressure plates" with maybe the GM asking for a roll or a saving throw if you do end up triggering a trap.

High lethality: Characters are squishy, and generally die much more easily. But conversely, character creation is often very quick, so if your character dies you can usually be playing again in minutes as long as there's a decent chance to integrate your new PC into the game.

Lack of emphasis on encounter balance: It's not uncommon for the PCs to find themselves way out of their depth, with encounters where they're almost guaranteed to lose unless they run away or find a creative way to stack the deck in their favor.

Combat as a failure state: Due to the two points above, not every encounter is meant to be fought, as doing so is generally not worth the risk and likely to end up badly. Players a generally better off finding ways to circumvent encounters through sneaking around them, outsmarting them, or out-maneauvering them, fighting only when there's no other option or when they've taken steps to make sure the battle is fought on their terms (e.g. luring enemies into traps or environmental hazards, stuff like that)

Emphasis on inventory and items: As skills, class features and character builds are less significant than in modern D&D (or sometimes outright nonexistent), a large part of the way the players engage with the world instead revolves around what they carry and how they use it. A lot of these games have you randomly roll your starting inventory, and often this will become as much a significant part of your character as your class is, even with seemingly useless clutter items. E.g. a hand mirror can become an invaluable tool for peeping around corners and doorways. This kind of gameplay techncially possible on modern D&D but in OSR games it's often vital.

Gold for XP: somewhat related to the above, in many of these games your XP will be determined by how much treasure you gather, casting players in the role and mindset of trasure hutners, grave robbers, etc.

Situations, not plots: This is more of a GM culture thing than an intrinsic feature of the games, but OSR campaigns will often eschew the long-form GM-authored Epic narrative that has become the norm since the late AD&D 2e era, in favor of a more sandbox-y "here's an initial situation, it's up to you what you do with it" style. This means that you probably won't be getting elaborate scenes plotted out sessions in advance to tie into your backstory and character arc, but it also means increased player agency, casting the GM in the role of less of a plot writer or narrator and more of a referee.

Like I said, these are not universal, and a lot of games that fall under the OSR umbrella will eschew some or most of these (it's very common for a lot of games to drop the gold-for-xp thing in favor of a different reawrd structure), but IMO they're a good baseline for understanding common features of the movement as a whole.

Of course, the OSR movement covers A LOT of different games, which I'd classify in the following categories by how much they deviate from their source of inspiration:

Retroclones are basically recreations of the ruleset of older D&D editions but without the D&D trademark, sometimes with a new coat of paint. E.g. OSRIC and For Gold and Glory are clones of AD&D (1e and 2e respectively); Whitebox and Fantastic Medieval Campaigns are recreations of the original 1974 white box D&D release; Old School Essentials, Basic Fantasy and Labyrinth Lord are clones of the 1981 B/X D&D set. Some of these recreate the original rules as-is, editing the text or reorganizing the information to be clearer but otherwise leaving the meachnics unchanged, while others will make slight rules changes to remove quirks that have come to be considered annoying in hindsight, some of them might mix and match features from different editions, but otherwise they're mostly straight up recreations of old-school D&D releases.

There are games that I would call "old-school compatible", that feature significant enough mechanical changes from old-school D&D to be considered a different game, but try to maintain mechanical compatibility with materials made for it. Games like The Black Hack, Knave, Macchiato Monsters, Dungeon Reavers, Whitehack, etc. play very differently from old-school D&D, and from each other, but you generally can grab any module made for any pre-3e D&D edition and run it with any of them with very little to no effort needed in conversion.

There's a third category that I wouldn't know how to call. Some people call then Nu-OSR or NSR (short for New School revolution) while a small minority of people argue that they aren't really part of the OSR movement but instead their own thing. I've personally taken to calling them "Old School Baroque". These are games that try to replicate different aspects of the tone and feel of old-school fantasy roleplaying games while borrowing few to none mechanics from them and not making any particular attempts to be mechanically compatible. Games like Into the Odd, Mörk Borg, Troika!, a dungeon game, FLEE, DURF, Songbirds, Mausritter, bastards, Cairn, Sledgehammer, and too many more to name. In my opinion this subsection of the OSR space is where it gets interesting, as there's so many different ways people try to recreate that old-school flavor with different mechanics.

(Of course, not everything fits neatly into these, e.g. I would consider stuff like Dungeon Crawl Classics to be somewhere inbetween category 1 and 2, and stuff like GloG or RELIC to be somewhere imbetween categories 2 and 3)

The OSR movement does have its ugly side, as it's to be expected by the fact that a huge part of the driving force behind it is nostalgia. Some people might be in it because it harkens back to a spirit of DIY and player agency that has been lost in traditional fantasy roleplaying games, but it's udneniable that some people are also in it because for them it harkens back to a time before "D&D went woke" when tabletop roleplaying was considered a hobby primarily for and by white men. That being said... generally those types of guys keep to themselves in their own little circlejerk, and it's pretty easy to find OSR spaces that are progressive and have a sinificant number of queer, POC, and marginalized creators.

#ttrpg #osr

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heretherebedork · 4 months

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I've been tagged in this like five times so let's do this while I'm not distracted, a rare occurrence...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Yep, actually doubly so, because apparently I was actually named after living relatives which is frowned upon so my dad also found some dead relatives on the other side of the family with the same names to be my 'official' namesakes.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Honestly? From laughing at DFF.

3. Do you have kids?

No, though I do have students.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

None. Never. My skills at sports are nonexistent.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes but not as much as I think I do.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

It depends? I can be drawn to people by many, many things but I'd say most often it's something specific that stands out? Whatever got me to look towards them?

7. What’s your eye color?

Hazel

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy ending! Scary movies tend to just make me laugh inappropriately so, yeah.

9. Any talents?

Maybe? I can touch my nose with my tongue! I can also write paragraphs of meta that are designed the be read somewhere between analysis and prose.

10. Where were you born?

Just outside Chicago.

11. What are your hobbies?

BL, meta, hiking (only a couple times a year), the occasional watercolor painting, baking

12. Do you have any pets?

Yup! Wizzard the dog and Zhadum the bunny.

13. How tall are you?

5'10"

14. Favorite subject in school?

Science and reading, typically, with social studies next as long as there was no geography. The instant you add geography I lose my mind.

15. Dream job?

Running an Autism classroom in a public school without any ABA presence and Autism-educated support staff aka the impossible dream to dream

#francis irl #ask meme #i finally did it!

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ivymarquis · 14 days

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Ivy bitches about petty stuff under the cut

Sometimes I think I wanna date men and then something innocuous happens even in the most platonic fashion and I remember that I am so insanely temperamental and have no threshold for any sort of shenanigans of any kind from men.

Anyway despite living near the 9th fucking largest city in the US, I have had a hell of a time finding someone who is confident about putting designs in undercuts. He was 30 minutes away but now he’s 45 because he left his shop and moved.

Which like. Good for him and he did great work he thinks he’s funny he told me I can either drive to him or I can drive to Oak Cliff like sir 🙄🙄 but I don’t wanna drive 1 1/2hr round trip. So there’s a shop in the next town over and I was already going to a store in the shopping center so I pop by to duck my head in and idk if the dude was the owner or the manager but the whole interaction irritated the fuck out of me.

Like, fair question to ask if I had an appointment (I did not), and then instead of being like “we don’t have any openings today (I did not expect them to)” he’s talking to me from halfway across the store “So did you just want to say hi or…?”

Like motherfucker can you please take 4 fucking seconds to walk across your shop and talk to me like an adult who wants me to spend my fucking money here.

NEway my threshhold for men who think they’re funny is nonexistent but eventually managed to get him to stop being cutesie and answer the damn question of if anyone here can put a design in an undercut but Im so fucking thoroughly annoyed Im debating between texting the number they gave me of the guy who wasn’t in but allegedly can, or continuing to make a 1 1/2hr trip for my hair, or continuing on my quest for someone closer who can do it (daunting) whose shop isn’t ran by a wiseass with no fucking customer service skills.

#i get barber shops are supposed to be a boys club but my money spends as well as the next prick’s #jfc

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ramen2jpeg · 1 year

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My linked universe designs! I don’t think I would get too into my version of my story, because it’s super long, but I still have a personal AU 😁

Time: 18 y/o, supposed to be 25 but grew up normally after Majora. Still very childlike and loves to play games. Besties with Wind

Wind: 19 y/o, continued sailing the seas as a pirate when he turned 16 since his grandmother passed away and Ariel grew up a bit more to be alone. Besties with Time, loves traveling back into kids with him.

Legend: 19 y/o, extremely pessimistic and negative after everything that happened in LA. Finds the worst in things and has some pretty deep beef with Time. Still taking some interest in Ravio though and besties with Four + Hyrule

Twilight: 18 y/o, sweet country boy who stays humble and can humble others. Gave up on love and is surprisingly individualistic. He tends to take the hardest workloads, and is physically the strongest Link. Besties with Wild.

Sky: 17 y/o, the kindest and most loving Link. He is easily taken for granted due to his passive nature but don’t underestimate him. Best swordsman out of them all, and is a great shoulder to cry on. Besties with Warriors

Hyrule: 16 y/o, shy but the most talented Link by far. Can use all sorts of magic and can learn from other Links as well. Enjoys his alone time and stays positive, looks on the bright side of everything. Very determined in nature and takes nothing from nobody. Besties with Legend + Four.

Four: 16 y/o, but outwardly looks 12. Personality depends on who you’re talking to. Link: leveled and easygoing, but can often be stoic and calculated. Red and Blue: Angel and Devil dynamic, Red is the good cop Blue is the bad cop. Red tends to go off of logic and morals while Blue tends to use his emotions the most and is spontaneous. Vio: laid back tiebreaker. Vio is the decision maker in everything because he is the most reasonable component of the Four Sword. Four is besties with Legend + Hyrule.

Warrior: 20 y/o, most cold and calculated link there is. He finds little time to joke around and is routinely the commander of many armies. Can come off as mean, but on the inside is just like every other loving and kind Link. However, if anyone is found to be out of line, trust that they will be dealt with. Involuntary besties with Sky.

Wild: 117 y/o, erratic and unpredictable, is called the “wild” card. While can mostly maintain a calm state of mind, it doesn’t take much to trip his wire. A 100 year nap messed up his inner workings considerably, so most social skills are nonexistent. Fits of rage, running off to do dangerous stunts, and destructive behavior are some of the reactions he has to triggers. He is lovely when calm though, and really enjoys playing hide and seek with Time. Besties with Twilight.

All of the Links together! If u read this all, thank u so much it means so much to me 🥹❤️

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astraltrickster · 10 months

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Making this its own post actually - I can't help but notice that some people, despite picking up on support needs language over functioning language...still can't get past the high-functioning/low-functioning dichotomy and judge it in others based solely on outward signs and just use "support needs" language as a synonym for the same flawed concept.

Like, compare two autistic people; many people will look at someone whose internet posts use choppy, "awkward" grammar and go "ah, high support needs!"...even if it turns out that a little bit of patience with communication difficulty is damned near the ONLY support need they have. Conversely, I'm "well-spoken" and don't have many strong, hard-to-avoid sensory aversions, the only real "typical" one I have is fluorescent lights and I'm pretty okay at masking that one most of the time; in fact I'm more inclined to seek stimulation than to avoid it, so...you hear I'm autistic, and, ah, low support needs, I only need to Buy Product (fidget toys, weighted blankets, chew jewelry, MAYBE earplugs for when euphoric overstimulation stops being euphoric) and I'm basically 100% abled! Right?

Nope! My interroception is basically nonexistent until a bodily need becomes immediately urgent and physically painful. I have almost every physical comorbidity in the book; generalized chronic pain, stomach issues, hypermobility, the works - and when my dyspraxia combines with my hypermobility, the result is me being so injury-prone that it's not even misleading to say I've been an on-and-off mobility aid user for nearly as long as I've been walking. Combine that with my lack of interroception making it hard for me to judge when I'm fatigued, and it's even worse. Sure, I have lots of highly-valued skills, both physical and intellectual; I'm an engineer, I fucking love designing and building things and do it on a personal and occasionally freelance basis, I get in the ZONE - but I can't get a steady long-term job with those skills because I'm very limited in how long I can do it for both mental and physical reasons, and no one around me wants to hire an engineer or welder or machinist or forklift operator or anything like that for a 16-hour max week, and many of the seemingly very few intense sensory aversions I do have are found in those environments (e.g., working with metals often means exposure to fire brick my beloathed) and way harder to deal with in a professional environment than on my own terms, and did I mention being ridiculously injury-prone? There are aspects of personal care I struggle with, and "cosmetic" procedures that would probably dramatically improve my life, for sensory reasons. My face-to-face social skills are...garbage, despite me having a strong interest in communication as a compensation Thing; I can fake my way through a conversation but I'm usually screaming on the inside, overthinking everything, for absolute terror that I'm getting a bad grade at human interaction, which REALLY sucks because I'm actually more extroverted than introverted, I want to spend time with people, I want to socialize more...but my brain is just out to kneecap me all the time. This isn't even getting into the ADHD side of things or other physical issues. In short, I outwardly seem...pretty "normal" even when only masking one (1) item, but in my private life...I hate to admit it sometimes because it makes people dismiss everything else I have to say, but I don't really function well. I'm lucky to have understanding people in my life, because the likely alternative for me would be, at best, moving back in with my parents for the rest of their lives, and at worst (or probably after that), an institution.

...really didn't think this was how my life would go, but the fact that no one expects someone with my strengths to have my needs, not even me until just a few years ago, well, that's part of WHY it is what it is.

Like. People like me, or indeed that fairly common other theoretical guy who prominently struggles with communication but not much else, are WHY we jettisoned high-functioning/low-functioning labels in favor of discussing support needs. "Low support/high support" wasn't supposed to be just a less clinical synonym for the exact same externally judged concept of how well someone can pass for abled and/or perform a function valued under capitalism.

Tl;dr: yes you've stopped using "functioning" LANGUAGE, but have you stopped THINKING of support needs in "high-function/low-function" terms?

#disability #serious tag #ill probably stop for now but i mean. i guess this is the month for disability seriousposting isnt it

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lilover131 · 8 months

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Clear Card Chapter 76 Analysis

HELLO!!!

I am so sorry for the lateness on this chapter review! I was on vacation when chapter 76 came out, and honestly…I completely forgot about my analysis after that. I made a mental note to do it when I returned from vacation, and that mental note obviously did not last (DAMN MY ADHD!!). Anyways, I also found myself busy looking into a lot of big life development things! For example, this week, I am officially adopting this beautiful fur baby and bringing her home!

Her name is Diana, and I hope y’all don’t mind if I spam my social medias a bit with pictures of her once she is home. Here is my gif of the month!

CLAMP never ceases to draw stunning color pages each month, and this one is no exception! I’m not surprised to see Akiho here, but I gotta say, she looks quite nice in green! I love the lily flowers in her design and it seems to be a really nice connection made to her mother, Lillie. Other than that, it seems to be a rather basic portrait of Akiho in elegant clothes.

The chapter starts with the group at Yukito’s house. The video feed from the cameras Tomoyo left them with has unsurprisingly cut out with Sakura and Syaoran entering the space where Kaito is trapped. Tomoyo asks if they just lost reception in there (I honestly find this question pretty funny), but Eriol chimes in and states that this is not the case. He lets everyone know that before the feed cut out, he did manage to see the inside of the space for a brief moment, and based on the sight of those broken clocks, he suspects this place isn’t just one with halted time, but broken time. Now, you might be wondering what this means exactly. My theory is that it means time doesn’t function normally in this space. I imagine events in time are probably twisted together or nonexistent. After all, Kaito essentially had to break time to change it, so this doesn’t really surprise me. It seems to be, from what I can tell, at least isolated to this space, but it’s unclear what kind of damage it could do if it weren’t.

Syaoran looks around at the space and tells Sakura that there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with the watch itself and that it only looks to be broken in appearance due to the pressure placed upon it. Sakura clutches at her head and seems to wince in pain. Syaoran asks her if she is all right, and she seems to have discomfort in head. He explains to her that the spell around them is strong enough to make an influence on her physically, and when asked, he admits that even he is feeling it (Syaoran I imagine has a much higher pain tolerance and hides it well). However, it seems that without the watch to guide them, they most certainly would have gotten lost. Sakura smiles and claims that this is as if Akiho herself is guiding them.

Sakura takes the watch back now that it has seemingly served its purpose and looks the trapped dragon Kaito. She says to him that she doesn’t know how to address him since she does not know his name, but that she feels the watch in her hand has a connection to him. She tries to ask him if the watch feels connected to him purely because of having the same magic power or if he is the owner of the watch. Dragon Kaito obviously doesn’t respond, but Sakura takes the moment to ask Syaoran, who has impeccable magical senses particularly for moon magic, if the magic that made the false moon is the same magic coming from the watch. Syaoran focuses in on this and advises her that they are not of the same magic and that something is different. I’m honestly really happy to see Sakura utilizing Syaoran’s skills and knowledge here. She herself is very intuitive and able to figure out things naturally, but that can’t entirely replace the level of training and experience Syaoran has, so I’m glad CLAMP has really made use of that here. Sakura deduces that the cage itself around dragon Kaito also feels different from the magic in the watch, so she comes to the correct conclusion that he is not here willingly and is locked up in here by someone else (-cough- Squid Clan -cough-).

Looking into dragon Kaito’s eyes, Sakura senses a familiarity that she recognizes it not simply because she saw him in a dream. Moreover, she recognizes that these eyes once watched over Akiho. Sakura reaches her hand out and tells him that he can’t stay here and to come with her, but before she can proceed further, the warped clocks around them appear to react, and Syaoran is quick to move and protect her with his thunder attack.

Meanwhile, in the Tsukishiro home, everyone is waiting patiently for some sort of update. Akiho seems to be the most focused and determined of the bunch, making sure she’s ready to go in case Sakura calls for them. Everyone smiles and Yukito says that he is happy they have each other.

Back in the fake moon space, Syaoran is fending off the attacks and tells Sakura that he doesn’t think his spells will be able to break the cage around the dragon, but he will protect her while she figures out how to break through. Sakura remembers Momo’s message to her through the RECORD card that there are other cards left behind and waiting for her to call their names. As she looks down at Kaito’s watch, she thinks about her mother’s watch and remembers seeing a card that looked just like it, though she doesn’t remember making it. She calls out for TIME and smiles seeing it, as this was a card she feels she and her mother, Nadeshiko, made together (that’s a sweet way to look at it!).

Sakura calls for the card to break the ‘cage frozen in time’, and this seems to do the trick in breaking it. It makes sense that this cage was built from time considering where they are and the very type of spell that triggered this trap in the first place. So it seems logical that time would be the thing to break it. I think even Kaito himself once said that spells could be broken more easily when you used time magic.

The cage breaks and Kaito spreads his wings in freedom! Sakura and Syaoran quickly look for an exit and starts towards it, but when they look back, they notice that dragon Kaito isn’t following them.

However, before they get much opportunity to think about why, there seems to be an attack coming from above. And OH BOY does this attack look familiar. It actually looks to be exactly the same as chapter 33 when Kaito fended off that attack from the Clan and Association! It would make complete sense to me that this was an attack from them considering how dangerous Kaito is to them. Certainly they don’t want him escaping his punishment.

I think things are really going to ramp up action wise in the next chapter, and I do think as well that Akiho’s part is very near. I have a feeling Kaito wasn’t just staying where he was to avoid attacks from the Association and Clan but also because he doesn’t feel he deserves to. And who of all people but Akiho could convince him of his worth and to come out? I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes and what sort of repercussions will arise from dragon Kaito entering Tomoeda!

I will try to make sure I post the next analysis soon after the next chapter comes out here and won't leave y'all hanging! I can't wait for the next one!

#cardcaptor sakura #clear card #manga #chapter 67 #clamp #analysis #chrissy talks a lot #sakura #syaoran #kaito #akiho #yukito #touya #eriol #kaho #suppi #kero #tomoyo #spoilers

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sapphos-darlings · 11 months

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pls could you do a version of the new labrys flag using gilbert baker's updated 9 color pride flag? it's the same as the og flag but with an added lavender stripe, which represents diversity but which also holds a sort of special significance for lesbians. i would do it myself but my graphic design skills are nonexistent

We have that and more!

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lilyswrittenworks · 2 years

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Breaking the Ice

Warning(s): None

Synopsis: At the end of the week, you would wander into the woodlands where you’d meet up with him by the cascade and spend the majority of your time meditating alongside him or train on your own with him in the area.

Visiting the forest has become a regular occurrence for you, and not only was it your preferred location to hone your skills it was also where you got to see him almost every week. You were mindful whenever you came to join him by the waterfall to give him some space before taking your spot near the lake to practice.

It was always the same, you’d come by and greet him from afar and he would look over to your direction greeting you with a curt nod. Monotonous as it was you don’t mind it and he hasn’t complained about your presence so you took it as a good sign. Once it was time to leave you would give him a friendly smile and a wave, telling him that you would see him next week before leaving.

Unaware that he had his eyes trained on you as you disappeared into the shrubbery.

For over three months the interaction between you and him was almost nonexistent, then it all changed.

Once again you were by the cascade and on this particular occasion you were knees deep in the shallow water practicing with your steel fan in hand. Moving around the waters with grace and flow, tuning out the environment except for the sounds of the constant loud snaps of the fan opening and closing.

There was a sense of calm with every movement you made. The precision wielding the fan— snap, snap, snap!— throwing it suddenly in the air and then catching with ease. Droplets of sweat dribbled down your forehead and temple but this didn’t halt your flow. Your steady rhythmic breathing displayed your endurance despite the weight of the fan doing its work on your wrists.

With the final snap— opening the fan one last time with your arm extended pointing towards the waterfall. Stillness, your eyes were focused forward as the sounds of nature began to greet you back from the dream-like state you were in.

“Never seen someone use a fan as a weapon before.”

When you looked over and were stunned to see that he was standing by the edge of the water with his arms crossed, focused on you.

“That’s because not many people see a fan threatening,” You straightened yourself from the extended stance, closing the fan with a loud snap keeping it close to your chest. “It has its practical use. The fan won’t kill you but the hit of its iron will surely leave a mark.”

“It left a mark alright. The sound alone is enough to scare even the smallest wildlife here.” He deadpanned watching you register his words and letting out an awkward laugh.

You felt bad for disrupting his mediation without considering the repercussions. “Oh geez, I’m really sorry about that.”

He doesn’t say anything as he watches you approach. Your legs were soaked to the bone, the light fabric of your martial arts uniform sticking to your skin and went to squeeze the excess water out with your hands, leaving the fan on the ground. His gaze immediately landed onto the blackened steel fan, with his curiosity piqued he went over and picked up the weapon to examine it.

As you were straining the last bit of water from your clothing is when you were startled at the close proximity of his voice.

“Heavy plated steel on a fan,” He mused then looked down at you. “Never would’ve known a fan would be designed this way.”

There was a genuine fascination across his dark eyes. You were accustomed to the stoic expression that he always had on, it was refreshing to see how much he was speaking to you and those eyes that said so much are a welcoming sight.

“You’ll learn a thing or two from me, that's for sure, Sir.” You added with a cheeky smile.

“Piccolo.” He blurted out which made you blink in confusion until he repeated himself, “My name is Piccolo.”

There was a moment when you forgot to breathe from this. You blinked once—twice, you weren’t sure anymore until the corners of your lips curled up.

“(Y/n).”

(687 words in total)

━─┉┈★┈┉─━━─┉┈★┈┉─━━─┉┈★┈┉─━━─┉┈★┈┉─━

Part I

Part II

Your currently reading Part III

Part IV

#Dragon Ball Z #Dragon Ball Super #Dragon Ball Z Piccolo #Dragon Ball Super Piccolo #dbz #dbs #dbz piccolo #piccolo #piccolo x reader insert #reader insert #x reader #reader is a Mixed Martial Arts instructor #reader is implide as female but it is also read as gender neutral!

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pikahlua · 2 years

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I’ve been reading your metas on Ochako, and I absolutely agree that she revolves around Deku too much, even now, to the serious detriment of her character. But then I also see people countering that claim with something along the lines of, “Well, Bakugou’s character also revolves around Deku.” I don’t necessarily agree with that claim in general, but deep down, part of me wonders if they might be right. What do you think?

I hope I haven't been so careless with my words to have ever said something like "Ochako revolves around Izuku too much" without much context, but if I did, please let me clarify.

There's nothing wrong with one character revolving around another. I have no issue with any character, be they Ochako, Katsuki, or anyone else, revolving around Izuku. I don't believe any character can revolve around another "too much" in the sense of quantity. This is all just vague phrasing referring to a much more specific phenomenon.

My issue with Ochako in relation to Izuku's character is that she does not stand on her own in the story. I like Ochako very much especially in the early story arcs, but as the story progresses, a lot of scenes to do with her character become lazy shortcuts in terms of writing. The reason her later interactions with Izuku are insufferable are not her fault nor are they Izuku's--they are Horikoshi's. (I will, however, express a caveat on this opinion a little further down.)

I can describe most characters' arcs in a way that allows them to stand on their own in the story even when they "revolve" around Izuku. Katsuki's character arc unpacks the dual "victory and rescue" pillars that make up All Might's "symbol of peace" by demonstrating the ideal of victory while simultaneously showcasing his journey to understand the "rescue" pillar from square one. Iida's character arc demonstrates the ways in which a hero must navigate rules and principles, how a hero must come to their own conclusions on what value the rules and principles actually provide and when is the right time to uphold or break them. Kirishima's character arc is about self-acceptance, self-improvement, and comradery in the face of societal messages that conflict with one's own personal values. Shouto's character arc is about finding the balance in one's identity between what's inside and outside the self, how a person takes their hardship and pain and trauma and uses it to save others instead of perpetuating the cycle. Hell, Mineta's character arc is about learning what it means to be "cool" and "attractive" and "admirable" in a hyper-sensationalized, commercialized, oversaturated superhero society. All of these character arcs rely to varying extents on Izuku acting as a foil or paradigm-changing force.

Ochako's character arc is...

...uhh...

...

...all over the place or nonexistent, and I can't decide which.

At first, it seems like her character is designed to mirror Izuku's. She is a very nice (if a little bland or awkward) person who just wants to help people but slowly learns that developing her strength/combat skills would just as well serve her goal of becoming a rescue hero. This is a similar character arc to Izuku's, but there's no chance on earth her arc would show more depth or nuance than Izuku's own character arc. So is she on the same arc? Or is she there to bump Izuku in the right direction when he strays from the path? Either way, that's not development for her. Indeed, the way it works out whenever they talk in the latter half of the story is they just totally agree with each other. No challenge, no insight, nothing. They're just like "Yep :)" but in the longest, most boring way possible. Every time.

She's not tied in to the plot with All For One or Shigaraki in any way at all. There is no connection between her and the villains except Toga, who seems to have been designed entirely to face Ochako. But Toga herself is kind of shallowly developed through most of the story. There is no crux of Ochako's character she challenges other than...they both maybe sort of crush on the same boy. What a life-altering showdown that's gonna lead to! [/sarcasm]

The crushing is played for laughs and kinda cute the first two or three times, but the problem is that after Katsuki vs. Ochako, we get such a good moment where Izuku tries to cheer up Ochako but Ochako cheers him up instead. It seemed for a moment like she did have something meaningful to teach Izuku in his journey to heroism, but then we've had no moments like that between them since. It's just virginal blushing and stuttering over and over and over again with no developing relationship between them. They don't grow as a result of being in each other's stories, or if they do, we're made to just assume it happened while they blushed or something. The "crush" moments are shortcuts in the writing that don't demonstrate any actual development from point A to point B. They're just fluff that accomplish nothing in each scene. It's useless and boring. Poor writing, like I said.

But...if we assume there is no IzuOcha endgame, if we treat all the IzuOcha teasing as a subversion...

Maybe we have something here.

You see, later in the story, Toga does sort of develop into something a bit more interesting with her disdain for how society tries to force her to repress herself such that she could never be happy. But...is Ochako the proper foil to this arc? I don't know. Am I supposed to believe that Ochako's occasional jealousy at others for merely interacting with her crush Izuku is the same level of depth? That Ochako's repression and decision to ignore her feelings is...correct and good? That this is the solution to the problem Toga presents? I really don't want to believe that. I think there must be a middle-ground these two "rivals" will reach.

At best, I want to hope this is a question of imposition on others and the violation of people's boundaries, about making others happy without sacrificing your own happiness, about respecting others' feelings while also being sure to respect your own. And if that's the case, Izuku is really just a bystander unrelated to all of this--which is why I think this is the part of Ochako's story in which most people have taken any interest. It ties a lot more of their interactions into Ochako's development than their crushing moments. Take for instance how Ochako is against going to rescue Katsuki when he's kidnapped: she warns Shouto that Katsuki will probably feel humiliated if they go save him. That insight becomes a key factor in Izuku's rescue plan--and it's entirely because Ochako recognizes they need to respect Katsuki's emotional boundaries.

That's not the only moment either: at the sports festival, Izuku is not keyed in to Ochako's anxiety. When he figures out what is going on, he offers his advice for her match, but she rejects it. She realizes she needs to disentangle herself from Izuku's shadow to make it on her own as a hero, so she accepts that she and Izuku should be rivals. And when he tries to comfort her after her match, she does not accept that either. She’s sad, but she’s not willing to be vulnerable with Izuku at all. In fact, she cheers him up instead. What I'm getting at is: these two are at their most interesting when they oppose each other. They never successfully open up to each other, and each time they seem to want that, nothing meaningful happens. But when they maintain their boundaries and actually find conflict, well, that's where Ochako as a character seems to thrive. But she thrives on that with relation to everyone, not just Izuku. It's interesting when she pisses off Katsuki, when she teases Iida, when she notes the differences between her family's financial means and Momo's, when she sides with Kirishima over all the other girls in class, when she decides to throw down and get competitive. These are the moments when she stands on her own and isn't just a redundant female version of Izuku.

It's why at this time I don't want IzuOcha endgame to happen. I don't have a problem with either character or with the ship. I just think that result doesn't serve their character arcs very well. They haven't developed a relationship like that in the story to justify such an endgame. They do better when they conflict--at least so far. Horikoshi is gonna have to lift a ton of extra weight to carry them to a point where a romantic relationship between them makes sense and satisfies.

And I'm not actually convinced that's what he's gonna try to do in the end anyways.

#ask pika #anon ask #ochako uraraka #this is not an anti-izuocha post #this is an anti-izuocha in canon post #and a pro-ochako uraraka post #fanon-izuocha can stay and have cookies

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cptponcypants · 1 year

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A Year of Recovery

I am the 7th overseer (player) of @dorfposting‘s Dwarf Fortress succession fortress Gerbilgod. Here are the results of my year of running the fortress!

1st of Granite, 156

Gentledwarves, I am uncertain that I have ever before encountered catacombs so large and yet so full. The tombs are nearly all occupied and many slabs memorialize the fallen untombed. This place needs a turn of good fortune, but - alas - it appears that they look to me to deliver it. I will do what I must, but can make no promise to these desperate folk.

Much in the fortress appears to already be in good order. Food is in abundance, the mechanisms of most industries are in place, and standing orders have been given to keep essentials flowing. The issue, however, is a dearth of labor. We already have only a small number of residents, and this problem is exacerbated by many of them being permanent residents tied to particular jobs within the fortress rather than citizens proper.

I will attempt to convince them that it is in their best interest to throw their lot in with the rest of us and join the fortress in earnest. If I succeed then we can begin training them into skilled professionals who will hopefully be of more use in attempting to keep things afloat. More important than that, even, will be the ability to draft them into the militia, which is presently nonexistent.

(I've heard that if you remove the entry under the 'Labor/Locations' menu of permanent residents, they are more likely to become real citizens, so I'm going to give that a shot.)

Also in the interest of establishing a more robust defensive force, I am considering assigning a full-time laborer to steel smelting work. We have sizeable stocks of iron, processed coal, and flux stone, so the only thing preventing us from full-scale steel production is labor and time. If my attempts to convince our residents into citizenship are successful, I may assign one of them this task.

15th Granite, 156

So far, I have not managed to convince any of our residents to engage in real citizenship, but I have not given up hope. They will not join our military but may yet be willing to perform labor.

Furthermore, an elven caravan has appeared. I will see whether they have brought anything worth having and whether we have anything to give in return.

21st of Granite, 156

The elves brought little of worth, but I traded for it anyway in the hopes that someday they may bring something of more use. I also noticed no small number of trade goods crafted of flux stones. Our supply of flux is large but not endless, so I have forbidden the further use of flux stones for crafting purposes.

10th of Slate, 156

I have established a dedicated furnace operator and assigned them to a furnace with orders to produce only pig iron and steel. The weaponsmith will first be tasked with the production of an assortment of steel battleaxes, maces, warhammers, and shields before moving on to armor. The aim is to prepare to fully equip 3 squads, each with 8 axedwarves supplemented by a macedwarf and a hammerdwarf.

The idea is that axes are reasonably effective both against the unarmored, with their limb-loppery, and against the armored, with their large striking surface and good force multiplication. Then, the hammer and macedwarves can further support anti-armor efforts as well as provide more pulping in the event of needing to fight undead.

13th of Slate, 156

Migrants! And many of them! A full twenty two(!) new dwarves have joined our dingy outpost, and all but one are grown adults ready for labor and, of course, militia service. They were all drafted immediately apart from the medical professionals, who were assigned posts in the hospital.

After the draft, we now have two full squads of non-essential dwarves ready to be assigned barracks and rotate through training. Given that the old barracks have been overtaken by butchers workshops, I have designated space for new ones to be hewn from the earth. They will be near down to the magma forges so as to ensure militia dwarves are able to patrol for wandering magma creatures regularly.

24th of Slate, 156

One of the new woodcrafters immediately set about creating a new artifact for the fortress: a walnut wood earring!

I'll be honest, I wasn’t much impressed by the notion of a simple wood earring, but upon closer inspection it looks pretty neat!

It has also occurred to me that in order to accomplish my defense goals I will have to re-open the passage to the magma forges. Closing them was perhaps judicious in the past, but I am hoping now that things have calmed down enough that this won't invite total disaster.

2nd of Felsite, 156

The first Forgotten Beast of my tenure has arrived. I have done my best to identify what gaps my predecessors have left in our defenses that might allow access to the cavern it has appeared in, but I cannot be sure I have identified all possible routes. At the least I have identified one door that I think must be walled off to prevent a flying beast from entering, so I shall assign a dwarf to dedicated construction duty and hope they are swift.

4th of Felsite, 156

It seems my concerns were unwarranted. Even if the beast ever had a path into the fortress, it became immediately distracted by the presence of another of its ilk which quickly slew it upon their meeting. Good riddance, I say, and I hope its killer soon dies from its injuries.

21st Felsite, 156

It has come to my attention that there is the spirit of a bard haunting our dwarves. Despite its fullness and the number of slabs already stood within it, it seems our hall of memory is far from sufficiently memorializing all of our previous fallen. This will have to become a major aspect of my activities, now, as the restless dead are the last thing we need.

Upon closer inspection, this appears to be in part because there are a great many corpses left untombed. I will begin expanding the tomb complex immediately.

11th Hematite, 156

A human caravan. Two of them, in fact! Naturally our overworked Broker is taking some time to get to the depot, but hopefully some useful trade can be accomplished.

Work expanding the tombs is proceeding at pace. There are more than a few ghosts now, however, and we've already had one of our human residents scared to death.

Also, my layout of the barracks for our hopeful 3 militia squads has been completed. All of the rooms are hewn and smoothed and most of the furniture has been designated if not laid out. The only thing missing is to finish producing armor stands and a few weapon racks for the attached armory rooms.

17th Hematite, 156

The were-tortoise mayor was re-elected. I suppose this demonstrates our residents' opinion of local government.

The human merchants had little of use, but some cheeses and exotic meats seemed a reasonable enough excuse to dump a load of tattered clothes onto them. They don't seem to mind anyway.

20th Hematite, 156

The expansion on the tomb complex has been mined, but now it must be filled. The current rate of door and coffin production is insufficient, so our dedicated miners have temporarily been put on stonecarving duty. We needed to give some of these miners a side-job anyway.

8th Malachite, 156

One of our recruits was killed by a giant olm in an area exposed to one of the cavern layers. I think I will start walling these places off so as to prevent any more pointless casualties. We need these people to live until we can train them into soldiers dammit!

14th Malachite, 156

Another seven migrants - this time one of the new arrivals is an expert record keeper, so I have appointed them bookkeeper and assigned them an office. Hopefully this helps take some of the workload of our present manager/broker/chief medical dwarf. These new migrants will fill in the gaps of the latest fallen dwarves in the existing squads and begin to fill the third.

9th Galena, 156

The new barracks is just about complete, with the first set of armor stands being designated for placement in the militia commander's squad's armory. Here it is in all its boulder-filled glory!

Presently the squads are set to train periodically but I may set up a new schedule for them that trains more lightly until we boost the population further.

15th Galena, 156

Oh come on. We were just getting back on our feet here.

Well, Mr. Udil Etesathel, Recruit. Yeah, you with the axe. Have at 'em.

I guess at the least I won't have to quarantine them.

Please just punch alpacas until you bleed to death...

Why did the were-creature have to be the veteran mercenary!

16th Galena, 156 Ok, the were-camel’s bled to death now. I genuinely don't think there are any dwarves that tussled with him and lived so I'm going to hope that nobody got infected and this was a one-time single-shot temporary setback of just under 10 individuals mixed between citizens and residents. All while the monster hunters stood around and did nothing. Typical.

1st Limestone, 156 Given our latest mercenary misadventure, I am inclined to temporarily make our tavern accessible to citizens only so as to discourage dangerous guests from setting us back further. I may well go about carving out a new publicly-accessible tavern near the trade depot that can be locked down in the event of more were-creature guests.

Furthermore, I have a concern that may not warrant immediate action, but has loomed over all my efforts so far this year. Many dwarves, especially those longest-term residents, are generally unhappy - some of them very much so. This is almost certainly due to living in a place piled with corpses and haunted by the restless spirits of those who once inhabited said corpses, but despite our present efforts to alleviate that particular problem, it's slow going. It may be worthwhile in the mean time to provide something new and energizing into the lives of our dwarves. This idea may be foolishness, but given that we have a river, a series of mist generators would not be untenable. I'll blueprint something out but we may have higher concerns.

13th Limestone, 156 Our first full moon since the werecamel attack - only the tortoise mayor transformed! I dare not count on this sort of luck again.

We also received a caravan from a neighboring dwarven civilization. I traded for some thread, quivers, waterskins and the like, uncertain whether our textile industry is functioning properly and knowing that waterskins and quivers will be useful for our militia if we decide to expand it to include crossbows. I sent them back with such a load of tattered clothing as to be the talk of their mountainhomes for the next year. Why they agreed to take it all I still cannot comprehend.

10th Sandstone, 156 Eight more migrants, including a blacksmith. They are not particularly good as of yet, but I think I will start training them up constructing flasks for the militia. Also these new arrivals can fill out the gaps in our squad that was decimated by the werecamel attack and get us back to having two full squads and one 7-strength squad! I do not expect more migrants this year, but if more come in spring, we should be able to finally fill out our militia properly.

25th Sandstone, 156 It came to my attention that steel production has been dramatically delayed by two crucial smelting jobs being stuck in the traditional smelters which have halted production in favor of the magma smelters - this held up the entire process. The blocker has been removed by simply deconstructing them - now for progress and the power of magma alone!

18th Timber, 156 Finally! After much labor to produce slabs, coffins, doors, etc. I've finally managed to get enough residents focusing on furniture hauling duty that they're actually filling out the catacombs and putting ghosts to rest. We've lost a handful of residents and animals to these hauntings, so I can only hope we can continue at pace with this.

25th Moonstone, 156 There is a path to the caverns somewhere. I don't know how, but residents have been getting down there and are being attacked by cavern dwellers! We've lost two to this nonsense already, so I'll have to figure out how to plug up the gap.

Having inspected the fortress layout, I believe the only viable path may be some dangling up/down stairs that hang over the cavern. Perhaps ghosts have haunted citizens causing them to dodge and fall down the gap? Either way, I have designated the bottom of these for removal and shall floor over the gap and re-route the stairs, but will remain vigilant for more pathways.

15th Opal, 156 It appears my hypothesis has been confirmed. Somehow one of the cavefish people seems to have climbed up into these dangling stairs, but was quickly dispatched by the militia. Once the gap can be floored over, we should have security again.

1st Granite, 157 It seems my time is now up. I have endeavored to leave this place better and more secure than I found it, and I hope I do not flatter myself to think that I indeed have. Though I suppose the migrants would have shown up either way so I can't take that much credit.

Nevertheless! The barracks is complete. The militia is equipped with weapons and shields. Armor is soon on its way.

Some of the last gaps into the caverns are designated to be plugged, and a new airlock into the lowest is nearly completed in case a mission to retrieve corpses proves necessary.

(these floor designations are necessary to prevent cavern invaders from climbing the foliage below up into the downwards stairs, which used to be up/down - whoever’s next, make sure they get finished!)

Some new quarters have been carved and designated to be furnished for the furnace operators and smiths in order to keep metallurgy moving swiftly.

Last and certainly not least, the catacombs have been expanded, furnished, and zoned (or at least designated & zoned). This has not altogether stopped our haunting problem, and may well not sufficiently memorialize all of our dead, but these structures and the many unengraved slabs that remain should provide much fodder with which my successor can work to put all of our remaining spirits to rest.

And with that, to my successor, I say good luck! Beware of the were-beasts, and do not trust to the soldiers to defeat them. Now I retire.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I've chosen to dorf (or rather gorb) myself as our only goblin resident. Please don't throw them into the magma sea! I've named them 'Smörtukbuse', which is the goblin for 'fancypants' ('poncy' not appearing in the goblin dictionary) but without the diacritics which I couldn't figure out how to type into the text box.

Many thanks to @dorfposting setting this succession fortress up! This is the first opportunity I've had to get in on one and it was very enjoyable.

#gerbilgod #dwarf fortress #succession fort

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kissagii · 1 year

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attention mutuals!!

and followers too :)

to kick off the holiday celebration, we'll be decorating a virtual christmas tree!

send me an ornament or two that you'd like to add to our tree and i'll use my (nonexistent) graphic design skills to put it all together. anyone can join - mutuals i talk to, mutuals i don't talk to, even followers that feel like joining in!

i'll post the final tree on november 30 with the rest of my holiday season event, so please send in your ornaments before then

in terms of what to send in: any image you want! it can be formatted like an actual christmas ornament or not. perhaps a drawing, or an image of your favorite character. maybe a cool photo you like or a funny meme. everything has a place on the tree :)

#{🎄 - holidays}#hehe this is exciting

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theclaymorrigan · 10 months

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FORGING THE SWORD OF THE GREAT QUEEN 📜 Scroll Three:

Sinder and I showed the encircling figures out open palms. I was calculating which targets would be best to drop in order to break the circle. The Thalmor had built up on my natural archery skills and combined them with stealth. I was able to draw and fire as a continuous act by my parents. The Thalmor had honed this to firing multiple shafts simultaneously and intimate familiarity with vital spots to place them in an opponent's anatomy. If these Forsworn were mortal, I could possibly fell then all before any could reach Sinder and I. But they were not closing in and seemed as perplexed by us as we were of them.

When we had spotted them from the ridge earlier, The Wild Hunt had come to mind. Some of the masculine figures had shillouettes reminiscent of Hircine, resonating with the chord struck when Sinder had asked for my Bosmeri name and I momentarily had recalled my childhood. Hircine was known to lead what was known as a wild hunt. The same term was applied when Wood Elves invoked a final option in times of dire peril and became shifting, nigh-unstoppable beasts. But this band was neither. Sinder's nostrils scanned the breeze.

"Bretons," he whispered to me.

It was the year 145 of the Fourth Era. The politics were beyond field agents such as Sinder and I but, from what I understand, the Empire, spread thin with war against the superior forces of The Aldmeri Dominion, had been expelled from the region of Skyrim known as The Reach. The Reachmen had petitioned The Empire to recognize their sovereignty, but Titus Meade II and his Empire were a bit preoccupied at that moment. To my Thalmor masters, this was a perfect opportunity to gain yet another foothold to strike at The Empire of men from. If this unrest could cut Cyrodill off from their Nord reinforcements and possibly gain for The Dominion this Reach region, so much the better. They were quite willing to parley with the occupiers of Markarth. Cerum Saudalf led my special forces team to intercept an Imperial envoy and its escorts. Having spotted this unknown band during our reconnaissance of the Imperials, we tailed them into ambush. Or had we?

The silence stretched on uncomfortably. Weren't Reachmen of Breton ancestry? Was Forsworn how the rebels of the Reach called themselves? All our briefings had focused on Imperials and their Nordic vassals. Sinder and I were operating blind. This band appeared barbaric by Altmer standards but, again, I was reminded of what had once been home. My conditioning from over a decade of torture and indoctrination began to teeter.

"Is this forseen, Queenspeaker?" asked a burly warrior. They spoke the Tamerelic language but I still didn't understand.

"Perhaps, Bridron," answered the most beautiful female I had yet beheld as she stepped forward.

Perhaps it was the time of year (Summer Solstice) or perhaps the glow lent her in the gloaming. Perhaps Sinder's unintentional prodding of buried memories combined with the wilderness aspects of these Forsworn clad in hide, bone and feathers. Perhaps it was my still young age, burgeoning into adulthood. Make your own choice; all that matters is that I was deeply smitten and any chance I would nock an arrow against her was immediately nonexistent.

"Speak if you were consecrated to The Lord Of The Hunt at birth; to He you would call Hircine," she commanded.

"I was!" I was compelled to answer after a moment's realization that this was precisely the case.

"Then we have come for you," she stated.

"But, Morrigan, er, Queenspeaker," objected the warrior, "This is but a wisp of an elf and his hunting beast!"

"You doubt the prophecy?" She retorted. "The Matron bade us come to this point on the river at this designated time and, no sooner than we arrive, he appears. If it is not who we seek, dispatch and disprove him in the name of The Maiden, The Matron, and The Morrigan."

"With relish," he leered and strode at me. He wore the antlered headdress, bore a facsimile of a sword crafted from wood and bone, and was half again my size. The gathered circle watched impassively. It was to be one on one. All I had was a hunting bow, a quiver of arrows and a dagger.

"In The Names!" He shouted as he swung his weapon. I instinctively parried with my bow as I drew the dagger. I expected to swat his cut aside and end the fight with a dagger stroke at the opening then provided. But the Forsworn Sword belied its primitive appearance and cleaved my bow easily. I was forced to turn the attack aside with the dagger instead. The strength behind his blow was barely turned aside at the cost of the dagger being knocked from my grasp. He raised his arms and readied an overhead strike to cleave me in twain.

Unfortunately for mighty Bridron, I was quicker. My hand flashed to my quiver and I pierced his heart with a handful of arrows. He clutched at the cluster of shafts and fell dead upon the rocky riverbank.

"Behold our new Claymorrigan," the beauty proclaimed. "The new Sword Of The Great Queen."

TO BE CONTINUED…

#elder scrolls #youtube #elder scrolls blades #original character

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birdmenmanga · 2 years

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thinking also about how being a mother isn't defined by being good at housework or other "feminine" stuff because we have seen! shuji! the father! us the one doing the housework! yoshimori is even good at baking! it's not a gender-locked skill! but it's expected of her to have a motherly touch, a womanly care, because if sumiko doesn't have that then she has failed as a mother, yes?

thinking also about birdmen as a reaction towards kekkaishi as you said and how I've always thought that since birdmen aren't bound by human mindset then their concept of gender let alone gender roles would probably be nonexistent either

anyway sumiko reincarnated as a birdman thanks for coming to my TED Talk

OHHH MYYYY GODDDD okay okay thank god I already wrote an essay on this so I don't need to set aside the whole day trying to write an answer for this but by god. am I passionate about Yoshimori and baking

It's implied that the time Yoshimori and Sumiko tried to bake a cake for Masamori was Yoshimori's first time baking... and in my own personal headcanon I think Yoshimori continues baking in part because he likes it... but in part to prove to his mother that anyone can bake. Even if you don't have experience. Even you, mom. (A wish.) Even you. (A plead.) Even you. (A prayer.) Which ultimately isn't quite the right mindset— it's still very much an "I can fix you" sort of move, but then I think Yoshimori is able to let baking go at the end because... well, maybe she didn't have to be fixed, in the end.

okay and another thing is that I really love the lipstick as part of Sumiko's design!! Like it says SO much about her... that she feels like she isn't an adequate woman... and in some ways she's even given up on being one... and yet we see that she can't let go of it... that she still feels obligated to LOOK feminine even if she can't BE feminine... augh eating sand every day over sumiko fr!!

It also really fucks me up that Sumiko had a housewife phase because there's the implication that there was a point in time in which Shuuji wasn't doing househusband shit and it's just like. I'm squinting so hard trying to picture Shuuji in a suit going to do office work or something idk and it just looks like he's attending a funeral tbh

AND YEAH. SO TRUE BESTIE!! the birds about to reinvent their entire identities!!! gender is but a spice in the great soup of identity. idk what I'm saying here but yeah. I don't think birdmen are beholden to gender the same way that humans are. I'm going to go the extra step and say that humans shouldn't be beholden to gender the way we are currently lmaoooo

Yeah anyways I'm here to say you're absolutely right and uhhh sumiko besties with the holy spirit more at 12

#kekkaishi #birdmen #asks #sumiko sumimura #eva olulu #yarrayora #literally the hugest brain ask I've ever received holy shit #me frothing at my mouth trying not to talk about the queer metaphor but I really do think. like the gender stuff. I really do think.#barbara's talk in her castle... head in hands...#also eva is ABSOLUTELY the holy spirit in the holy trinity. ende=god and takayama=jc #dying on this hill but also like. it's so supported by the text so really I would be dying for nothing

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fox5358582 · 2 years

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Week 10 - mastery over the wheely chairs

I'm so glad that this class had such sick chairs to wheel around the room on when I needed to move from place to place. I feel like I'd finally been granted true freedom via a beautiful, four-legged plastic carriage of true comfort and ultimate mobility. I'll forever miss gracefully back-pedaling into the sides of the tables when I wasn't looking where I was going, and painfully smashing my kneecaps into the metal bars under the tables.

In all seriousness, I genuinely really enjoyed this class, and I felt like I was given a wonderful opportunity to experience the full design process. While I feel like it would been slightly more immersive if we took one single product through the whole process, I still feel I successfully grasped all the ideas and built myself a strong understanding of the different design stages with each exercise.

I was initially quite uneasy about the class, as my sketching ability was pretty nonexistent to begin with - however, this class has shown me that while having sketching ability is definitely a bonus, you can absolutely convey your ideas in other ways through rough and 3d models, brief and stylistic sketches that don't have to be perfectly accurate like my brain used to tell me.

This course has really helped me to especially develop my modelmaking skills, particularly in the stages between initial ideas and further refinement - Weeks 6 and 7 felt so productive, and blue foam modelling is probably my new favourite prototyping method. Previously I would have just jumped straight into Fusion and spent hours changing the smallest things, then waiting for renders, etc...

It surprised me at first, but one of my favourite exercises was actually the perspective drawings. I'd done them in the past in a chaotic and messy way, which had always driven me away from trying them again, but once we were shown how to draw in perspective to the correct measurements my mind was genuinely blown. As someone who loves to work with precise tools like CAD, seeing all these random lines joining from two points at a seemingly random position on my page to create such a precise geometric object was super satisfying, and I'm really glad that I now have the tools to do it myself.

Making these tumblr posts and seeing other people's progress through the term has also been an absolute treat, especially when you consider that this is the alternative to exams. I've just loved seeing how everyone comes up to solutions to all these exercises in their own unique ways, and then how everyone has presented them in their own unique style. It's super interesting, and I'd love to see this style of assessment again in the future.

Most importantly, I just want to say a huge thank-you to Gonz, Sarah, and Rob for running such an enjoyable course. This is easily the one I feel I've gotten the most from during this degree. I also want to say thanks to everyone else for leaving such insightful comments and posting such wonderful work for everyone to see.

See y'all next term.

#ides1262 #week10 #unsw

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