#click for higher quality it's worth it!

[wtftaylr]

I MAKE MY TRIMPHANT RETURN with a bunch of outfits. I'm very happy they're finally done!! Click for higher quality!

A few notes under the cut bc i did not work on this since October to not yap about my thought process /silly (i say with peace and love)

Bounty Hunter's Duster: Her first love. She liked being able to shoot that guy right in front of Gomorrah on behalf of Francine Garret. She was loathe to part with the cool hat, but anything for Francine fr.

Daniel Sadie's Outfit: Sadie is the founder of the He-Man Daniel Hater's Club (most of the companions are part of it despite not knowing who Daniel is. It's difficult to get anything more than a sneer and, "a fucking asshole," from Sadie when asked, but for some reason we trust Sadie's opinion). Anyway, despite Daniel being Daniel, we like his outfit. I like to think she stole it off his back in the night before leaving Zion.

Dr. Mobius' Scrubs (+ Glasses): Something she wears a lot post-game while researching the Tunnelers. I just love this outfit. Also the glasses are, through some miracle, her exact prescription. She's never seen clearer.

Vera's Outfit Redux: I redesigned Vera's Outfit bc Sadie would not be caught dead with a giant flower on her hip, respectfully. I referenced a few of Marilyn Monroe's dresses! The jewelry is designed after the Tops logos, gifted by Benny. Sadie doesn't wear much jewelry but, unfortunately, she likes Benny enough to make an exception.

Courier's Duster + Wasteland Designs: Sadie sews and assembles clothing! Expanded on here, but tldr: she's 5'0" so she has to adjust a lot of things to fit her. The only outfit that's ever fit her without her needing to adjust it was the Courier's Duster that Ulysses made for her. She was both surprised and just a little creeped out. Anyway, she'll take parts and pieces from some outfits and combine them together, as seen in the last two designs.

She also made the other two New Vegas outfits from scratch, using fabric and clothing she found throughout New Vegas. A lot of clothing from the Ultra Luxe conspicuously went missing, but don't worry about it. If you tell on her she'll tell you on Benny (not the biggest threat in the world but if you piss off Benny, you piss off Sadie by extension so... not worth it.)

[pinkghostdancer7]

Winter night with Shellivision

(Click on image for higher quality)

Shelly's one of the only toons allowed to be holding a beverage right next to Vee <33

I'm so incredibly mentally ill for this ship this took me 5 hrs compared to my normal 1 hr fully Shaded drawings 😭 aaa it's worth it I love them so much

[orpheuswasmine]

A HUMAN CONDITION RAAAAAAAHHHHH 🔥🔥🔥

Once again, click images for HIGHER QUALITY WOOHOO !!!

The newest chapter of A Human Condition DESTROYED ME 😭 they made Bill so happy and before hand, I was planning on making another grand poster drawing fanart for it again !!! But I had to draw these scenes AHHH

I can’t wait to get started on the next poster promo drawing. I thought that the long hair Bill's drawing took years, but I know this upcoming one is going to take a LONG time. Worth it though! I already came up with the title names for the duology (ITS A DUO ONE OH GOSH) nicely called “The Thriving Seeds of Bill” and “The Remnants of Billy”.

Guys I will go into crazy depths of explaining the war between Bill and Billy in the upcoming fanart, but I’ll be pretty short here me thinks. Throughout the story, Bill is shown hostility, but there’s glaring moments where he drops his anger and danger, a more softer and easygoing side. It’s in the scene in the silly straw, where it was very much written that his face had lit up. I’m basically saying, even though Billy is lowkey dead, he lives on in these moments of his safety with Mabel or when he’s brought back to the memories of his younger self. We’re watching a man slowly return to a more whimsical moment before watching it die all over again.

I could say more, but I’m already yapping enough is 🥹 Plus this means I need to draw two face models for A Human Condition Bill show casing the softer and lighten up Billy side and then the hostile and sharp Bill side. I will post those as it’s own separate thing 🫡 (also, dw, Everlasting Night upcoming chapter is almost done 🙏 STAY STRONG EVERYONE)

@sapphosscribe KEEP UP THE AMAZING WRITING WOOHOOO

[justastraymoa]

Unwilling Alpha

Chapter 20 Finale

Masterlist

Warnings ⚠️ swears, abo dynamics, mentions of slave trade, mentions of rape, mentions of abuse, mentions of death, fear, manipulation.

Nothing within reflects anyone or anything irl. Pics off pinterest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`

I was vibrating with excitement and nerves. I wasn't going on stage, but I would be in backstage videos and photos, so I did get mild hair and makeup. The outfit they put me in matched my boys perfectly.

I was sitting in a green room with my Omegas going to and fro around me. Doing their own things to get ready both mentally and physically. Stretching, warming up, snacking, resting, chatting, and joking around. I was flushed with joy and having a blast.

I snapped photos and little videos on my phone and tablet cameras. They weren't nearly as good as my usual, but I still wanted to document and remember this day. This first concert with my Omegas. How much fun we were having even while everyone worked so hard. It was worth documenting, even at lower quality than usual.

We all quieted down when there was a knock on the door. Like we wanted to keep our joy and chaos for ourselves. Even if there was a backstage talker camera going around.

"Oh great! Thank you so much!" I heard Chris exclaim happily to the person at the door. It's his Australian accent that catches my attention since most the crew were still Korean speaking.

HE clicked the door shut again, a plain brown handled shopping bag in his hand. His eyes searched for and found me and he baby step beelined for me. I was sitting on a chair, Ayen sitting between my legs. The odd walk caught several others attention.

Lino straightened. "Did it arrive?" Chan nodded. "Just in time!" Lino sounded as excited as Chan looked. I was even more confused.

"What came?" I asked. I didn't know anyone ordered anything. Was it a food delivery?

Chan handed me the bag. "We got you something. I wasn't sure if it would be done before the concert started." He looked a little nervous now as all eight of them stopped what they were doing to watch me open my surprise.

Giving them one last suspicious look, I peeked into the bag, only to gasp in absolute shock. Slowly, reverently, I reached inside and pulled out my previously broken camera.

She looked better than she had in years, and I took great pride in taking care of her. Brand new shiny casing, broken lens and buttons replaced and policed enough to sparkle. Even the strap, which had been wearing down in some spots was reweaved and stitched. I was in awe.

"This is far too much! How did you even find someone to fix this in just a day?" My hands shook as I smoothed my fingers over the camera in worship. This was beyond anything I ever dared to even think about hoping for.

"We all pitched in. And manager found the camera shop." Lino said.

"It was worth every penny just to see this look on your face." Minnie teased with a small, sweet smile on his lips.

"We know how much the camera means to you. How much photography means." Ayen started, patting my thigh. He was twisted oddly in order to watch me. And you are so good at it. Honestly, your work is better than some of the big-name photographers to have worked with.

I half smiled at him. "Hardly but thank you. Thank you all so much." I bit my lip to keep from tearing up. "I am so glad I became your Alpha. Even if I was terrified through most of our journey so far."

"There is a catch to this gift, though." Felix announced.

"What's that?"

"You have to take our social media photos for the tour. We have a higher standard now that we have posted your photos." Hyunjin answered.

I huffed out a laugh, eyes tearing up, and nodded with a wobbly smile. "Of course. I'll be glad to." I whispered wetly.

"And y/n?" Han prompted.

I hummed in question, waiting for his answer expectantly.

"We are really glad you're our Alpha too. Our Unwilling Alpha. Perfect in every way." Bin answered.

~Fin~

A/N: Originally, I had the intention of writing the entire concert of their first stop on the mini tour. However, this organically came out, and it just felt like the ending as I was writing it. And I'm all for listening to my writing. It sometimes knows more than I do. So, it's short, but it feels like a natural ending to me, and hopefully to you too.

Thank you for riding this roller coaster with me, and I really hope you enjoyed this short little goofy take on A/B/O dynamics.

Ko-fi fund

Unwilling Alpha Taglist: @xxeiraxx @hanniemylovelyquokka @breadedloafs @songleepark @f1ln4dr3cl16mv33 @hyunjinhoexxx @kayleefriedchicken @vietjeb @hityoulikebahng @juju-227592 @ionlyeverwantedtobeyourequal @royal-shinigami @bangchansfavoritenoona @straykidslvr @bookswillfindyouaway @h0rnyp0t @Svmmerstime @jennibahng @kpopandmusicpassion @jasmin-loves-k-pop @cookey-lock @possum-playground @demigoddreamon-blog @rei-reia @dreamerwasfound @jasmin-loves-k-pop @ms-flowergirl @princess-sunshyn @technicallyimportantsweets @mbioooo0000 @jisungs-iced-americano @bluesoobinnie @threeopossumsinacoat @katchowbbie @kkamismom12 @whoreforeverythingspice @alienbyhan @tinyelfperson @bitterbluemorningstar @jiniretsleftear

General Taglist @stellasays45 @beebee18 @weird-bookworm @velvetmoonlght

[noxiatoxia]

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc Beta Sprites found in the Demo

I always lamented about the lack of THH beta sprites as opposed to SDR2. It just seemed there were very little out there. And while true that SDR2 has far more easily-obtainable beta sprites, it turns out I was just being a little short-sighted.

I looked in places that I looked for SDR2 beta sprites. Old gaming articles, other games that mistakenly use beta sprites (like UTDP or DRS), merchandise...and found nothing (much).

But you know what THH has that SDR2 doesn't? A demo version.

Somehow, it never crossed my mind! I had always passively known about the PSP demo version - you know, the one where Hagakure dies - but never thought to actually check there. Until now.

And wouldn't you know it, a number of the sprites used in the demo are beta renditions!

So, preamble over. I will be covering all I know about beta THH sprites so far...from the Demo version.

As always, this post exceeded 30 images, so for the part two covering the full body sprites, please click here (it's a reblog).

If you want to look at these sprites without the GIFs, or have them for yourself, I uploaded them all here on the Spriters Resource!

Also, something I can't share over text so I took a video. The sound effects in the beta version are different, for what it's worth.

You can already tell Fujisaki looks weird, right?

Okay, for real. Let's get started.

Firstly, I'm going to go in alphabetical order by last name. I'm also going to only cover the sprites that are for sure different or might be different. Sprites where I found 0 difference whatsoever will not be shared, of course. Some characters lacked any sprites with differences.

Also, sorry for the small image quality in advance. PSP sprites, you know how it is.

Asahina Aoi

While none of Asahina's sprites are changed, her testimony truth bullet is a different story.

Overlaying her final sprite, it's like night and day. Her eyes were made smaller, her eyelashes lessened, hair bigger...clearly, while her in-game sprites remain the same as they do in the final version, this truth bullet slipped through the cracks.

Interestingly, this oversight slipped through into the final game.

However, it was correct in the Vita re-release.

The Vita version would go on to become the base version of the game for North American players and every subsequent re-release (Steam, Xbox, etc.) in other words, this oversight can only be found on the original Japanese PSP release.

This is not uncommon. SDR2 has its fair share of PSP oversights and glitches, as I've discussed here. DR1 has another one which I talked about here. I will also be speaking about PSP oversights in another post soon.

Enoshima Junko (Ikusaba Mukuro)

Enoshima has one sprite that is different from the final version, and it is extremely minor. Look at her nails. Yeah, that's it.

However, this small change has an interesting background.

In the Demo version, they were originally going to be tipped white to match the red-and-white bow on her head (likely). The final sprite has her nails be a solid, bright red.

To get a better look, here's a higher-res version of the sprite from the Vita, which uses the final PSP sprite:

Full red nails.

Now, here's the full-body of that same sprite, again used in the Vita, PSP version, and Demo:

White tips!

It looks like they forgot to go back and fix it for the full-body as well, so the change only persists for the half-body sprites.

All of Enoshima (Ikusaba's) full-body sprites have white tipped nails.

What's even funnier (and cool!) is that I found that DRS not only uses PSP sprites that were then fixed/changed in the Vita release of THH, but also uses beta sprites. Up until now, I thought this was only true of a select few SDR2 characters, but I have found many incorrect sprites for Kirigiri and Kuwata specifically.

And for Enoshima...

The white-tipped nails make a return!

BTW, this is true of all Enoshima/Ikusaba sprites. Seriously, go compare any sprites where she has her nails showing from THH to DRS...

Sorry, I went on a tangent. I can't help it with these things.

If you're wondering why it was changed, my only guess is, because of the PSP's poor resolution, the team thought it would look too confusing to put so much detail into such a small area. So, they just made them solid red in the end. I doubt bringing them back for DRS was intentional, as so many beta sprites are used in that game that it makes my head spin, it was probably on accident like the rest of them. To be fair, most people wouldn't realize they grabbed the wrong sprite with a detail this small.

Fujisaki Chihiro

Fujisaki is a very interesting case. For one, all of his demo sprites are shorter than the final version. Because of this, in the comparison GIFs, the beta sprite will have an empty gap below it. I suppose they wanted him to be taller in his final sprites, so they moved him up a little.

But because of this - and because it looks like they did some color adjustments - it was impossible to perfectly sync them up. The colors are just processed differently. Because of how small PSP sprites are, it's hard to tell if very minor differences are real differences, or just pixelation differences caused by the sprite being compressed and are unintentional.

This first GIF highlights this well. Obviously, the demo sprite adds a softening affect to the colors and outlines, whereas the final sprite lacks these and appears brighter and more bold. It is then hard to tell if many of the differences are a result of this, or are actual tangible differences.

This one is much more noticeable and verifiably different. And...I actually really prefer the demo version over the final sprite. The bigger arm looks nice on him, but most of all, I like the sort of demure but disinterested look he has without the blush. It's so much cuter to me!!

Unlike above though, I think the final sprite is much better here. The demo version looks unfinished and kind of goofy. They slimmed his face down, reworked the mouth, and made the shading darker. The blush is a bit overkill in my opinion, but overall I like the look of the final sprite more. It's so fascinating to see these beta sprites and see how they decided to go about reworking them into their final versions. Sometimes, the direction the beta was in may look better to you. Other times, you're so glad they decided to go back and change it.

Only 3 differences I can spot with this one (that for sure aren't a result of the compression): his left eyebrow was moved down a little, his shirt collar was edited a tad, and they forgot to make the space between his neck and right hair strand transparent, which they fixed in the final sprite.

If you're using dark mode, you won't be able to catch that last one. Change your Tumblr theme to a lighter color (white would be best) and then look - it's very clear then.

Ishimaru Kiyotaka

You know what's funny? Ishimaru has the opposite problem to Fujisaki. His final sprite was lowered instead of raised. So, in these comparison GIFs, the one with a transparent gap below it is actually the final sprite, as I had to raise it up to match the demo sprite.

Again like with Fujisaki, some differences may be caused by compression.

His right shoulder button was raised in the final sprite, and his mouth was made into a thin line. His eyes were also flattened at the bottom more, overall giving him a sterner look. It seems his uniform collar was also raised and straightened out. I feel these very small changes did a lot over all. The amount of flat, straight lines added really hit home with giving Ishimaru the upstanding, straight-laced feeling his final character has.

This one is interesting, because it's one of those things you don't notice until it's pointed out. The final version has this sort of dusky air brush affect around the clothes, while the demo version is completely white. I never noticed that until doing this comparison. It seems a strand of hair on the right side of his head right next to his eye was shortened, and the buttons on his collar were forgotten in the beta sprite, but fixed in the final.

I'm grouping these two together as they're very similar sprites with similar differences. Both sprites had the right side of the uniform collar shaved off a bit, and they also had the button threads rounded to better fit the curvature of his chest. It seems the top sprite also had a thicker thumb in the original demo sprite.

While the right shoulder button is made smaller in the final sprite, the biggest difference here is Ishimaru's left eye. The outline was much thicker in the demo sprite, and was erased a bit for the final sprite.

Lastly, this one probably has the least amount of differences. The shoulder pad&buttons were modified just slightly, and maybe the hands were changed too? But it's hard to tell if it's genuine or just the image compression.

Kirigiri Kyouko

Firstly, I want to point out that a majority of Kirigiri's sprites were off-center in the demo. Here's the comparison before I centered them:

Here is the corrected (as best as I could) comparison:

It seems with the exception of her mouth being moved down like, one pixel, it's largely the same.

The beta sprites are also generally taller for Kirigiri, hence the weird cut off. Anyhow, the main change here is her mouth and nose, which were redrawn significantly closer to the middle of her face.

In this sprite, her whole face and jawline was reworked to be less tilted.

You gotta admit, this one is pretty funny. A comparison GIF between the two sprites makes it look like she's bopping to some music, haha.

But anyways, a lot was redone here. Her entire head - hair and all - was redrawn to be more tilted. She also wears a more thoughtful expression in the final instead of appearing like she's asleep. Her shirt collar was also touched up to fit the new head tilt.

Still, I really like this sprite. It's different enough to the point that it feels like it could be an extra sprite for Kirigiri. I think that's really, really cool.

Kuwata Leon

It's pretty obvious to see why this one got changed. The left side of Kuwata's face is somewhat asymmetrical, and so it was redrawn to be fixed. He used to have a cute eyelash, but it got removed. His grin also used to be a little wider.

Yet another one you'll have to turn off darkmode to see! For some reason, the beta sprite has this weird black dot hovering by Kuwata's right fist. No clue why, and it was removed come time for the final game.

Maizono Sayaka

Maziono has a similar edit made to her that Fujisaki did. Her beta sprite lacked a noticeable blush, so it was upped in the final version. Her face shape was also made fuller, and her right eye edited a tad.

Togami Byakuya

For Togami, they made his eyes less narrow, his nose longer, and his mouth more clearly a frown.

Yamada Hifumi

As you can see, Yamada's hairline was fixed on the left side of his head. His mouth was given minor touch-ups, the details on the glasses were also reworked, and most prominently, they added a shadow over his face in the final sprite.

Alright, so that's it for the half-bodies. In Part 2, I'll look at the full-body sprites, as some characters have unique sprites that are only used in the trials (like Naegi!). So please check that it!

[puffballwarrior-blog]

After months of putting this off, I'm finally posting stuff for Spectral Dreams :D

Click for higher quality

Introducing the mascot, Magonyan! The Yo-Kai version of Magolor.

He's a C-rank Fire Attribute Yo-Kai freed by Nate from the Crank-a-kai. His inspiriting causes lying when you don't mean to. His Skill is Resistance which reduces effects from enemy inspirits. His Soultimate is Bombs of Fury, which is basically just a fire attribute Paws of Fury.

Edit: this has been changed! His Soultimate is now called Mago Bomb Barrage

There's gonna be a MASSIVE lore dump under the cut if you wanna read.

Over 200 years ago, he died being mauled by a dog, thus losing his limbs. After that, he discovered that no one could see him and thought he could do whatever he wanted without consequences. He snuck into a village altar and stole the crown of a tyrant, the Overlord's Crown. He put it on and fused with it, creating a powerful Yo-Kai named Overnyan.

Magonyan thought it was the coolest thing ever, wanting to test his new form's power. But little did he know, the crown he fused with was taken over by a Wicked Yo-Kai. It took over his body and wreaked havoc on the village. But before it could cause any more destruction, a little pink Legendary Yo-Kai stopped him, and he was sealed away in the Crank-a-kai.

While sealed away, he felt all alone. No one to talk to, alone with his thoughts in a tiny cramped capsule. A decade later, he heard a voice, a new Yo-Kai had been sealed away in a capsule just like he was. The voice was rambling on and on about his old master, a shogun who died in a war. Magonyan listened intently to him, even chiming in to make a conversation. They built a close friendship over the years they were trapped despite never seeing each other's faces. Until one day, Magonyan's friend was freed from the Crank-a-kai, leaving him alone once again.

It didn't take long for him to be next, however. He was freed by an average-looking human boy, Nate. Magonyan noticed how much attention Jibanyan got and decided to make a costume of him, even pretending to be him at one point. It was then he discovered his love for making costumes and made a lot of different cosplays of other cat Yo-Kai.

(Unrelated to lore but I imagine if he were in a game, you could customize which costume he wears when befriending different cat Yo-Kai.)

They wound up finding the Overlord's Crown once more but Magonyan only fuses with it if it's a dire situation, he does not want to be taken over by the Wicked again.

Soon, the stuff with Dame Dedtime happened, and Wicked Yo-Kai were taking over Old Springdale and the humans and Yo-Kai in it. In the final fight, Magonyan fused with the crown and dealt the final blow to Dame Demona. Because of this, Kin and Gin sent him back in time to try and change his fate in an attempt to "revive" Dame Dedtime, similar to what they did with Jibanyan and Whisper. He refused, choosing to die again and return to his friends. Reliving his death was scary, but worth being able to be in an afterlife with friends.

After a while, something happened and he ended up losing control as Overnyan again. This caught the attention of Lord Enma and for the sake of Springdale, he sealed him away in the Infinite Inferno. Magonyan ended up fighting the big bosses inside in order to get out, making friends with those wrongly in there along the way who also wanted out. In the end, instead of Wobblewok, he had to fight the Wicked Yo-Kai who had broken free from the crown. When things looked bad, Magonyan picked up the crown and fused with it once more, finally having it under his control. He picked up a sword that had mysteriously appeared on the ground, one that bore a striking resemblance to the Enma Blade, and used it to defeat the Wicked that caused all of this.

(I imagine the fight would be similar to the Yo-Kaiju fight in YKW3 with controlling every action)

After the fight, he's approached by none other than Lord Enma himself. He explains that he sent Magonyan to the Infinite Inferno because he thought he was abusing the power of the crown but knows now that it was the Wicked's doing all along. After he properly apologizes for the misunderstanding, he agrees to let Magonyan out of the Infinite Inferno with the Overlord's Crown and the sword he gave him under the promise that he would use their power responsibly. Magonyan agrees without hesitation and he is let out.

After escaping, he notices that Nate is nowhere to be found in Springdale, his family isn't even in their house. Where could he have gone? And what's Magonyan supposed to do now?

[shoutyourporpoise]

I bang on about plus size clothing woes every so often and am here to do so again.

Right now, the only blazer I have is one of those cheapy, polyester tissue paper blazers that wrinkles if you so much as look at it funny, so I’ve decided to set aside some money to try to get a high-quality blazer in a color and cut that I like so I can use it for future job interviews and conferences.

I found a blazer I liked because it was cut for petite sizes, then found to my dismay that their petite range only goes up to 14P, when I am an 18-20 (but still have short arms and a short torso, and require petite accommodations!). Still shrugged the too-small version on and it’s clear it’s well-made and well-cut for my figure if only I could find the right size.

Fine. Let’s say I’m willing to invest in a good tailor in addition to buying a higher-end blazer. I am delighted to say that I found that the blazer in question IS being offered in “plus” sizes, albeit under a totally different name for reasons unclear to me.

But when I click through to the size chart for the listing, it just has a size chart for their XS to XL line! I had to go to the company’s site and hunt down the measurement page to even know which size to order. This makes it pretty clear that they don’t really think of their plus size clientele as worth anything much, since for someone else this might just be a lost sale due to frustration.

Finally, look at the model pics:

You can see even from these pics that, while the petite version is cut to fit to the model’s form, the plus size version is not. The top of the sleeves slump off the shoulders rather than conform to them, and the back seam puckers rather than laying flat (and would appear to lack the princess seaming at the waist to get it to tuck in and flare at the hip). Also not sure if this is a difference in color correction for studio lighting, but the material doesn’t even seem to be the same.

So assuming I *do* splurge on this jacket, which would cost more than the petite version even if the petite was going at full price right now, I expect to receive a poorer quality product which won’t even fit me properly without paying extra to get it tailored (despite the fact that, again, the petite version was correctly proportioned for my body and could’ve just been produced with the understanding that a person can be both fat and short(/short-torsoed)).

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

[fansplaining]

In the waning days of 2024, we're highlighting all the incredible reporting and commentary we've been able to publish this year thanks to your continued financial support. (If you'd like to help us publish more in 2025, click that link! Even $1 a month helps.)

First up, Kayti Burt, who wrote a fantastic piece for us back in April on the precariousness of being a fan-journalist in an already precarious media industry:

To be in entertainment reporting and cultural criticism today means to constantly be fighting to do a good job in an industry that feels increasingly designed to chisel away at the dignity of the work and profession. Most days, aspiring to a higher quality of writing feels less like a fight against intentional industry bias—as fans may assume is the case—than it does a fight against the negligence that comes from ongoing institutional decay. 

Click the link above to read the whole piece or listen to an audio version—and you can also hear Kayti discuss the topic further on the accompanying episode, one of our final interviews before the podcast went on hiatus this summer.

[dontforgetukraine]

@/RachelPAV: I have been in Ukraine for several weeks now meeting with everyone that PAV supports. Since 2022 we have supported several hundred volunteers in Ukraine with flights and equipment, both civilian and military. These are some observations based on what they report: 1. This is an entirely different war than it was in 2022 or 2023. The drone threat has changed everything. EVERYONE has agreed on this. The situation a year ago seems completely inapplicable now. 2. The needs in Ukraine are almost entirely military. The needs for civilians are drastically less than they were just a year ago. There are some small Ukrainian groups doing an excellent job assisting people when necessary and there is only a limited need for foreigners to be involved. 3. Being issued poor quality goods is still a surprisingly common occurrence. There are still fake tournaments out there. Same with fake NVGs, fake ACOGs, etc. 4. The injury rate and death rate for foreign military volunteers is higher than ever before. There are no signs of this changing. 5. The biggest needs continue to be the very non-sexy and non-exciting needs that have always existed. Car repairs, fuel, rent for the team house, ecoflows, and generators are needed by everyone. Most volunteers express the most gratitude that our donors are willing to help cover rent and fuel as without this they cannot do their work.

This checks out with everything I've read from articles too. Foreign soldiers that come over to fight are taken aback by how different the war is from wars they have experienced where they had air superiority. Then there is the amount of drones. Drones, drones, drones.

The last point is especially true. Check out the Donation Guide Master Post if you want to help out with the "non-sexy" and "non-exciting" needs.

Or if you want to help out a big-nonsexy fundraiser but super needed item, Constantine (aka @/Teoyaomiquu on twitter) has one going for excavators that is approved by Liberty Ukraine. You can find the PayPal link HERE or just click on the link to the twitter post.

Constantine writes"

"Why is this so important? Whether it's for offensive or defensive operations, the front lines have become much more dynamic, with the line of contact constantly shifting. This means new fortifications are urgently needed, but digging by hand is too slow, and our troops can’t keep up. Additionally, infantry units need to construct their own fortifications without depending on centralized units that sometimes misplace positions. This is crucial—it saves lives by providing shelter from UMPK bombs, artillery, and FPV drones. In the video, you can see an excavator donated by @/LibertyUkraineF to the 26th brigade, doing incredible work fortifying a Krab position. I spoke with an officer from the brigade, and he told me this machine has been a game-changer. It has significantly improved their security, reduced losses, and saved countless lives along with tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment. Help us continue making a difference."

[sydney-carton-of-sour-milk]

The Many Illustrators of A Tale of Two Cities 19: Fred Barnard

Surprise! And Merry Christmas!

I'm not even gonna bother to talk formally here. I have had. These. On hand. For. A year!!! Just! Waiting! For the right time to post them! And what better time than Christmas, a holiday I personally celebrate and a holiday defined by gift-giving? Thus, my Christmas present to you, dear reader:

Crisp, beautiful, & hand-scanned by me¹, here, for possibly the first time in Internet history², is a complete³ and high-definition⁴ set of Fred Barnard's iconic twenty-five illustrations⁵ originally made for the 1874 Household Edition⁶ of A Tale of Two Cities.

" She curtsied to him (young ladies made curtsies in those days) . . . . He made her another bow "

No other words are necessary here. Happy Holidays, and Enjoy!

( Unlike the others, which are embedded in the text, the above is a full-page illustration, rotated. )

And there they are. Have a wonderful last week of the year, everyone! See you New Year's Eve!

¹ painstakingly over a period of several days because some individual illustrations took several hours of trial and error to scan them with the degree of detail and accuracy they deserved😌 ² by my thorough (if not desperate at a certain point) research anyway🤪 ³ there is of course... one more illustration, completely separate from these, that Fred Barnard made from A Tale of Two Cities... but that will be for a different post altogether one day😉 ⁴ I know Tumblr can crunch image quality, so if you want the super high-definition versions of these, feel free to DM me😁 ⁵ if you're curious about any of these, this link is worth a click because it gives a description and context to all of the illustrations! all of them!!🤩 ⁶ technically, the edition that I own is a combination of A Tale of Two Cities and Sketches by Boz and is undated - and Barnard created his illustrations for Sketches by Boz in 1876, so this can't be from the original 1874 print - but as far as has ever been indicated in my research, it is of some variation of the Household Edition😎

& the standard endnote for all posts in this series:

This post is intended to act as the start of a forum on the given illustrator, so if anyone has anything to add - requests to see certain drawings in higher definition (since Tumblr compresses images), corrections to factual errors, sources for better-quality versions of the illustrations, further reading, fun facts, any questions, or just general commentary - simply do so on this post, be it in a comment/tags or the replies!💫

[baejax-the-great]

Had to scroll thru your blog and click unspoiler on the da4 critical tags and check the replies to see your salty exchanges (i love salt) and you know what? I still havent finished the game bc i hate every cutscene but i do plan to give it an honest review when im done but. The dora the explorer thing is about all i've had to say so far summed up in one perfect sassy sentence. Literally my da4 tag has become "the way this game REALLY holds your hand" and for what!! Into nonsense.

Anyway i just wanted to commisserate.

Stay salty.

Ps. i support speedrunning the end of overboard my body is ready and i believe in u.

Ahh, thanks! even if people are out here encouraging my WORST impulses 💀💀

Honestly I feel like such an asshole with how I feel about this game. If I were a better person, I'd just stay silent and move on with my life, and I mostly have stopped posting about it. I've blocked a bunch of the tags and I really do believe in just letting people enjoy things even if I find myself wondering if we played the same game.

I will say if you are able to grind through it, the final quest of the game is higher quality than the entire act that precedes it, so I think it's worth getting to the end for that small bit of payoff.

Anyway, have a repost of my favorite meme I've made so far (even if it totally flopped lmao. I mean I didn't know what Epler looked like prior to making this meme so it's more than a little niche).

[pictureamoebae]

Hello I recently downloaded "Otis camera tools" for DAI and I was wondering if u could assist me with it, for some reason when I try to use the "IGCS CONNECTOR" dof doesn't activate properly, I click to render the picture but it shakes around on the screen and doesn't do anything ^^' I've never used mods like this so idk what I'm doing sorry if this isn't what u usually help with

Hi anon,

IGCSDOF doesn't work like a traditional DoF shader. It takes a little getting used to.

I'm guessing you've read the guide on Frans' website about IGCSDOF? So you should understand the basics from there. Make sure you have the companion IGCSDOF.fx shader activated in your load order. You want it to be at the bottom of your load order. The only thing below it should be film grain.

Basically what happens is:

choose whether you want fast or classic mode (if you're using TAA/DLAA/DLSS/FSR you'll want to use classic mode) and choose the number of frames to wait (for classic you'll probably want 4-5 to be safe, for fast you'll likely want 2 but you may need to experiment to see which produces the sharpest in-focus results)

decide what you want to be in focus, and turn on the magnifying box and position it over that part of the image

move the focus slider until the double images overlay each other perfectly and sharply in the area you want to be in focus

move the intensity slider (above the focus slider) until the part of the image you want to be blurred has its double images a distance away from each other - the further apart they are the more blurred it will be (this is the hardest part to get used to, but you'll quickly learn what you need to aim for)

readjust the focus slider if it became slightly misaligned when you adjusted the intensity

make any adjustments to quality and bokeh shapes (if you're making a test render to check the bokeh/blur intensity, set the quality to low at first so it renders quickly, and then change it to higher once you're happy)

start the rendering and wait for it to finish

take your shot

end the session

Depending on the mode (fast or classic) and quality you chose, the number of frames you wait, and the fps of your game, the rendering part can take anywhere from a few seconds to several long minutes. That's completely normal.

While it's rendering, it takes hundreds of separate temporary shots from different angles. This is why it looks like it's moving around on the screen. It then blends all those shots together into one final one, and that's when you take your picture.

It is complicated and confusing the first few times you do it, but once you've practiced a bit it'll become a quick and easy process. The hardest part is being patient while waiting for the render to complete. I've waited over 20 minutes before. It's totally worth it.

[indigos-stardust]

Four Keys: Character intro, Vix (Vio link)

<Click for higher quality, thank you!!>

Redesigned: (I adjusted his weapon choice and clothing.. I forgot his hoodie, its supposed to be connected to his tunic <:< )

The next two drawings are some older designs, he doesn't use a spear anymore: Not to mention his color scheme is different.

Context: In this world elves aren't their own separate species. They're a result of two biologically different species having their own offspring. The more fantastical elements of both parents are unable of being carried onto the child so it essentially nuetralizes those features entirely. (Such as a winged species and a non winged species having a non winged child. Things like limbs and special abilities can't be carried on.) Although certain traits, such as feathers or other small traits can still be found.

Over time, through generations of elves there have sprouted different elf centered towns, often being trading hubs, on the boarders of different kingdoms. Elves born of several generations of elves are considered Thorough elves, while elves the product of species crossover are called First Generation elves.

Vix is a mysterious monster hunter, making his wealth from valuable monster parts. A materialistic and opportunist loner, he spends his days drifting from different towns and through the wilderness with the soul purpose of making that coin like the king he is. After all, with no home and no family, there's nothing he has to worry about leaving behind.

Then he runs into some idiots in the woods. A selkie folk man that looks like he's about to combust from the heat and... whatever the fluffy four-armed heeto cheeto-lookin' one was. They were just, helplessly struggling to make their way through the muddy mosquito filled swamp. Honestly, it's like they never even learned any basic survival skills. If the swamblins didn't eat them, then the bugs would first. An absolutely miserable, pathetic, and sad sight. They were probably getting so desperate by now. Not to mention the selfie man has such a luxurious looking for shawl... Perfect.

They're grateful for his service<3 And of course, he'll guide these poor sucke- souls to the nearest town! Once arrived, he's already planning on how he was going to negotiate, when they start thanking him for his "act of kindness." Weird, but its payment time.

They are broke. Vix wasted all of that time, while he could've been monster hunting, for nothing. Not a single rupee. So what does his genius mind do? He passive aggressively follows them and begrudingly lets them stay with him at the inn. He adds it to their charge though.

Apparently, these broke b--ches, are on some quest following this magical sorceress lady who's promising them safety? They also mentioned the magical lady disappearing and talked a weird amount about being on a "magical quest" ... Yeah, those guys were definitely on fairy dust. But still, if "Flicker" and "Buwe" were really going to go treasure hunting for some magical artifacts, they'd definitely run into some rarer monsters... And well, once they realize he was listening in instead of sleeping, instead of getting offending.. they ask for his service and help since he knows the monsters here so well.

The coin he makes from these guys better be worth it, because they're only burying themselves deeper into his debt by the minute. Whatever, hopefully they'd be a good investment. He was considering cutting his losses and telling this fire moth to buzz off with the wings he doesn't have but... nevermind. Flicker's pleading eyes didn't change his mind, they just reminded him of the shine of rupees, that's all. Strange cases always were riskier, but had the possibility of an even better reward.

----

Okay, so these guys can absolutely shred into monsters. Very good to know. They could probably shred into him too- Buwe's selfie form was ferocious with an even thicker hide and a fearsome jaw and claws to match. The Nari'shi could create flames by simply moving around the enemy? He didn't even know that they existed before, much less could create flames?!! The loot from the monsters though... It's... It's definitely not enough to pay for their debt from his knowledge and expertise! So, he's simply going to have to stay with them for a little bit longer!!

They rescue, or "assist a great hero in the making" as the avian put it, some chick facing off with a whole lynel. The poor thing's wing is messed up though. Honestly, the guy lost horribly, probably just some wannabe treasure hunter... "Gren" with his baby feathers and holy s--t that's a really expensive set of gear and is that a family insignia?

Oh. Oh this guy is loaded. Alright, alright, maybe he will stay with these weirdo's alot longer. He's an official member now! And as an official member that means Gren would need to share the benefits from that insignia including all the discounts and-

Okay, sure Flicker keeps acting like he has personal beef with this obvlivious air head, but honestly! M o n e y. And sure, flicker may have attempted to strangle Gren with all four of his arms but Buwe handled it! Like Buwe said, family is family! And family shares everything from blood from sibling fights and money!

Nothing could possibly go wrong, and the weird woman who apparently isn't a hallucination keeps yapping about some "ancient curse that will suck the life out of the very earth" but honestly it can't possibly be a real thing. Vix is gonna make some much money from these dolts. And his abandoned orphan sympathy card is really only gonna help.

Gren (or green) is next! Then we can get into the shenanigans and *shudders* plot

[xoxoladyaz]

Anyone in the mood for a little wlw boarding school Steddie?

Part One / Part Two

She couldn’t believe it.

Tamara Thompson.

Stella huffed, kicking the trunk that sat innocently at the edge of her bed. “How – how dare she – ”

The door to her quarters squeaked quietly. 

Her roommate had returned.

“Stella - ”

“Don’t,” Stella spat, whirling around to glare at the newcomer. “What on earth were you thinking? Do you not care what would have happened had you been caught by Headmistress Click?”

“Nothing, because we have been careful,” her dark-haired roommate ground out, not shirking from Stella’s furious gaze. 

“Careful? You’ve been careful?!” She barely refrained from shrieking. “Just how long have you been – been - ”

“Go on, say it,” Edie Munson sneered, as if her daring her to speak it aloud.

Fine. “Kissing Tamara Thompson!” She hissed quietly, as though she was worried someone would overhear them, even in the privacy of their room.

“We’ve done more than kiss,” Edie replied coolly, stalking towards Stella. Stella, who stepped further back on impulse because she can’t, she couldn’t – 

“Does that horrify you, Miss Harrington? The thought of what improprieties your dear roommate has committed? A roommate who has seen you in your bed - ”

“How dare you,” Stella hissed. All of the blood in her body seemed to rush to her face. “How dare you say such things to me, and how dare you be so careless with your future!”

“What future? A future where my father marries me off to whatever man pays the most?” Edie spat back. “A future where I’m forced to bear his children, in which nothing that I have is my own?!”

“That is all of our futures, Edwina,” Stella spat back, ignoring the way that Edie’s eyebrow twitched at her given name, “and you would have thrown it all away for the likes of Tamara Thompson!”

“I - ” Edie’s sudden confusion matches Stella’s own mounting horror. “I – what of it? Are you so worried about me sullying her sterling reputation, is that it?”

“Of – of course not,” Stella said quickly. “I just don’t see how she could be possibly worth the risk, or what qualities she contains that make her so superior to - ”

Oh. 

“To?” Edie asked quietly, her eyes locked onto Stella.

“To someone else,” Stella finished weakly, glancing away from Edie.

“Is,” she heard Edie swallow, “is there a particular someone else you had in mind?”

“Of course not, why – how could there be,” Stella sniffed, finally turning her back to the other girl. 

“Right,” she heard Edie mutter behind her, defeat in her voice, and Stella should let things die. She should let those words in her throat remain unspoken. But her pride is stronger than her fear, how dare Edie Munson fight so vociferously for Tamara Thompson but apparently not do the same for – 

“Yes.”

The word is quiet, yet clear. Clear enough for her to feel the sharp intake of breath against her clothed back. “What did you say?”

“You know I don’t make a habit of repeating myself,” Stella said, her calm words undercut by the shake she was feeling in her hands, her neck, her very bones. 

“Stella.”

“I just find it rather insulting that you would dedicate such passion to someone who clearly has no intention of returning it,” she continued quickly, “and who could not possibly care about you as much as you care for her, especially when there are others, perhaps, who know you more intimately and hold you in higher esteem beyond which Miss Thompson couldn’t dare to dream, and - ”

A warm hand touched her arm, and at its touch the hand’s owner grew stronger, more confident, and suddenly Stella found herself turned back around and only a breath away from Edie Munson. Edie Munson who, for all the time Stella had spent cataloguing her expressions, was looking at her in a way that she’d never seen before. 

“Stella,” Edie spoke softly. Her tongue briefly wet her lips, and Stella was helpless to follow their motion. “You must know.”

“Really? What is it I must know?”

“Stella,” Edie admonished, and any bravado Stella conjured immediately fell to dust. “There is no one I hold higher in esteem than you.”

“Not – not even Tamara Thompson,” Stella asked, although she phrased it as more of a statement, as if daring Edie to contradict her.

“Not even Tamara Thompson,” Edie replied faintly, and the light in Edie’s eyes slowly started to flare back to life. “Stella - ”

What words that followed, Stella would never know, because at the sound of Edie speaking her name, at the growing hope in her expression, Stella could not help herself. She grabbed hold of Edie’s face, the way she’d seen Edie holding Tamara, and drew her in for a kiss that stole the very breath from both their lungs.

Edie was frozen against her, but only for a moment. “Stella,” she murmured into her lips, and suddenly Edie’s strong arms were wrapped around her waist and Edie was kissing her back, kissing her with a fervor that made Stella’s knees feel weak. “Stella,” she murmured again, and then their kisses grew frantic and Stella could barely breathe, could only whimper against Edie’s lips in the hopes that she understood just how much Stella was burning.

“Breathe, Stella,” Edie finally pulled away, breathless herself. “We have all the time in the world.”

Stella felt dizzy – from the passion of Edie’s kiss, from the warmth in Edie’s eyes, from the happiness she dare not name – and she reluctantly drew her arms away, attempting to straighten out her now askew dress. “I trust there will be no more of this Tamara Thompson nonsense,” Stella asked (declared) again, her eyes darting away from Edie just in case.

Edie cupped her hand under Stella’s chin, drawing her attention back to her. “Why would there be,” Edie chuckled in disbelief, “when there is you?”

Stella’s eyes watered as she desperately tried to regain her composure. “Us,” she corrected softly, assuredly.

“Us.” Edie murmured, her eyes dropping to Stella’s lips, and.

Well.

Well. 

Us.

[cinnaminrol]

So you Saw that Computer Spec Post that's been floating around

And realized that the cheapest Laptop they recommend is still out of your price range but you need one for work or School.

I'm here to tell you that if you're on a serious budget, buy the older, Higher end computer. Go look for that 8th generation i7 laptop. Where I am (Canada) the models that they're suggesting as "Budget" (Current Generation i5 systems) Cost between $800-1200.

For a lot of people, they don't have $800 of budget, especially if they're a student. And If you need a computer now for work or school, and your budget is $400-ish, you have to buy what you can get

For new laptops in Canada, a New $400 laptop looks like this:

This is e-waste. This barely counts as a computer. This is so slow that your average phone has more power then it. It is so slow ten year old i5 computers will run laps around it. If you See Pentium or Celeron, the laptop is not worth your money. What you should do is go onto someplace fairly reputable, like BestBuys website, go to their laptop section, and click on the Refurbished option. Why not get something of FB marketplace? Because anything sold as Refurbished in a store has a 1 year warranty. When you're looking for older refurbished laptops, you want to buy something that's listed as an i7 with 16GB or ram and an SSD, which is similar to the other guide, but I'm here to tell you that anything that goes back even as far as the 8th generation (i7 8xxx) is going to do just fine. The other upside is that often the laptops that are in this range are of higher construction quality - better hinges, better keyboards, better screens - so you're getting a nicer laptop by purchasing something a bit older.

This Thinkpad is an absolutely stunning deal - and it's also only slightly slower then the $800 laptop that started this. If you're running excel, working with large PDFs or even running statistical models on this, you're not going to appreciably notice the loss in power over that $800 model. What you will notice though, is that it's more then twice as fast as the $400 Acer laptop above. And unlike the Acer listed earlier, you could actually play some games on this too! While not an absolute beast, it will play games like StarRail or Genshin, or even Fortnite well enough to give you some entertainment. Buy the old laptop if you need the laptop now.

TLDR

Buy the Best Quality at your Price Point, even if its older or used. A used, older i7 laptop is still an i7 laptop, and it will be better then any Celeron or Pentium laptop, even if the Pentium is brand new.

[metallic-scaled-scarf]

A commission for @lilarus ! This was an honor, and a blast all around— from color, to the overall theme.. I am very happy with this one. I also have a scanner now, so watch out! Hot, high quality art images in your area!

This one was a doozy, I wish it hadn't taken as long as it did, but the payoff was well worth, I'd say! Thank you again, buddy.

Click image for higher quality!

If you'd like to commission me, my sheet can be found here, or in the pinned post on my main blog @metallic-scaled-scarf . As of now, I have 2/3 slots open!

WIPs below.

Reblogs > Likes