#helmet comparison not included

[facingthefossegrim]

Chapter 452: Forgotten

Spoilers for 19 Days, chapter 452: Forgotten

I'm gleaning a lot of information from this one; looks like Mo Guan Shan's either changed jobs or acquired a second one since the Christmas update (bro looked like a bus boy taking out the garbage in chapter 224). I'd put my money on He Tian having a hand in this hook up (it wouldn't be the first time he's recommended him for something with good pay, and it seems like a job Mo would enjoy).

I'm wondering if this takes place before or after the Christmas proposal, though, since He Tian's hair looks so different, but that could be either a stylistic change or HT just dressing up for a nice dinner. Either way, I'm not seeing any rings, but maybe they don't always wear it? Or it could be under their clothes? (It would make sense for Mo not to wear it on the job, but would HT ever go without it?)

Something to consider is that we know HT was away for a while before the Christmas events, and perhaps him being away was what soured the relationship pre-proposal. 🤔 But then if this took place before that, why would Mo not continue with this job? (So it makes more sense that this took place after Christmas, but they just aren't wearing the rings.)

It's fun to see the consistency of both character's habits here; He Tian blowing smoke in Mo's face yet again (as he did in chapter 224; so rude), and also being quickly swayed the moment Mo offers him a gift. The value doesn't even matter; we know He Tian's love language is gift giving among others, and he softened right up with this chapter. XD

Mo also has the same ride, but a different helmet this time around. Doesn't seem like the type of person who has much, but also is really into the things he's into, so. It's not a stretch to say he has multiple helmets or replaced one with the other.

Some images for your enjoyment:

[dkettchen]

how to appeal to voters of any party in this country: ask for funding for the NHS, they love that shit here 🌈🩺💊

(no but for real, fund the NHS holy heck, the waiting lists have breached containment of the trans & mental health services by now! as someone who's a patient at like 5 different specialist departments, it's rough out here)

[aventurineswife]

Urm… can I rq Honkai men reacting to your babies giving them a drawing of your family for Father’s Day?🥺 (please include Gepard and Jing Yuan and Boothill if possible pls I love your work so much)

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

Tags: Gepard Landau, Jing Yuan, Boothill, Father’s Day, Parenthood, Emotional, Fluff, Character Development, Comfort, Hugs, Drawing, Protective, Tender Moments, Character-Centric.

It was a quiet morning in the Landau estate, and Gepard was finishing his patrol rounds when his young child bounded up to him, holding something tightly in their small hands. Their face was beaming with excitement.

“Papa, Papa! Look!” they shouted, their voice filled with joy.

Gepard bent down, his gaze softening as he looked at the drawing they handed him. It was a colorful sketch, a crayon masterpiece. The child had drawn a picture of their family: Gepard standing tall in his familiar white armor, their parent beside him with a kind smile, and the child, of course, depicted with their tiny arms wrapped around both of them. The details were simple, yet the love and warmth shone through the child’s shaky lines. The family was drawn under a sunny sky, a house with flowers in front of it, and even a little silvermane guard helmet beside Gepard, as a symbol of their pride.

Gepard’s heart swelled with emotion as he traced his finger over the crayon-drawn figures. His stern demeanor softened, and for a moment, he looked at the drawing in silence. His child eagerly waited for his reaction, and he smiled, kneeling to their level.

“This is beautiful,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “Thank you so much, my little one.”

Gepard gently pulled the child into a warm hug, his strong arms wrapping around them tightly. He had faced countless battles in his life, but nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling of being loved and treasured by his family. His duty to protect them, to protect Belobog, never felt so meaningful.

“Happy Father’s Day, Papa!” the child said, snuggling against him.

“Happy Father’s Day,” Gepard repeated softly, the words more tender than they had ever been. He held the drawing close to his chest, knowing it would be a cherished reminder of this precious moment for the rest of his life.

The day had started like any other on the Xianzhou Luofu, with Jing Yuan overseeing the Cloud Knights’ preparations. He had always been a calm and composed leader, preferring to let things flow naturally, and today was no different. However, when his child appeared before him, holding a brightly colored drawing, he couldn't help but smile warmly.

“Papa!” they said, their face alight with excitement. “Look what I made for you!”

Jing Yuan’s eyes softened, and he paused in the middle of organizing some scrolls. He took the drawing from their small hands and studied it carefully. The crayon sketch depicted a grand scene: Jing Yuan was in his full armor, standing tall with a calm expression, as his child and their parent stood beside him. The family was surrounded by soft clouds, with the words “I love you, Papa” written in bold letters at the top. A small cub—perhaps inspired by his rumored pet Mimi—was also drawn by the child’s hand, faithfully recreating the spirit of his ever-present companion.

Jing Yuan chuckled softly as he examined the picture, his fingers gently tracing the lines of his own image on the page. He could feel a deep sense of pride and tenderness swelling inside him.

“Thank you, little one,” he said, his voice rich with affection. “This means the world to me.”

He set the drawing aside, pulling the child into his arms for a tender hug. His normally detached demeanor gave way to a softness that only those closest to him ever witnessed.

“Happy Father’s Day, Papa!” the child exclaimed, hugging him back.

“Happy Father’s Day,” Jing Yuan replied, his voice full of love as he gazed down at the drawing once more. The peace he had worked so hard to maintain on the Luofu, the victories and trials, they all paled in comparison to the warmth in his heart. With his family by his side, he had everything he truly needed.

Boothill sat on a worn-out bench beneath a starry sky, his mechanical fingers tapping idly on the worn leather of his gloves. His mind was a whirl of thoughts, but his gaze lingered on the quiet town below—just another stop on his long journey across the galaxy. He’d been a lone wolf for so long, it was hard to imagine a time when he’d ever know peace again. But everything had changed since meeting you—the one who had managed to make a heart as cold as his start beating again.

You stepped up behind him, a gentle smile on your face as you approached, holding something small in your hands. Boothill turned slightly, eyebrow raised, sensing the presence of your little ones—his babies. They stood just out of sight, giggling quietly, holding something between them.

“What’s this?” Boothill asked, leaning forward slightly.

One of the little ones, with a shy smile, stepped forward and held up a crumpled piece of paper. “It’s a drawing... for you, Papa,” they said, voice barely above a whisper.

Boothill blinked, his expression unreadable. His eyes scanned the paper as he took it into his hands. At first, it was just a chaotic mess of colors and shapes—lines, stars, and some strange squiggles—but as his gaze sharpened, he saw something familiar. The drawing depicted a rough sketch of your family, together. He could make out you in the center, smiling. Beside you, Boothill saw himself—his white hair, his cowboy hat, and those unmistakable red stars on his shoulders.

He swallowed, a lump forming in his throat. It was simple, childlike—but it was genuine. The scribbled lines somehow managed to capture the love and warmth that had begun to form a bond between him and the children. The warmth he thought was long gone.

One of the kids giggled, bouncing on their heels. “It’s for Father’s Day,” they added, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Boothill’s breath caught in his chest. He didn’t know what to say. It had been so long since anyone had called him a father, or even treated him as part of something like this. He wasn’t sure how to react, but the weight of the paper in his hands seemed to ground him.

Slowly, Boothill lifted his gaze, and despite the tough exterior, something vulnerable flickered in his eyes. His voice came out low, gruff, but laced with something softer than usual. “Thank you, kid.”

He paused, then looked at the other, trying to suppress a rare smile. “And you too.”

The children beamed, their small faces lighting up as they stepped forward for a hug. Boothill hesitated for a moment, his mechanical limbs creaking as he moved, but then he knelt down, gathering them into his arms, his cold metal body strangely warm with the weight of their trust.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough. Boothill finally allowed himself to relax, just a little. For the first time in a long while, he felt like he could protect something more than just his revenge.

The drawing was crumpled, imperfect—but it was his, and that meant everything.

[twopoppies]

The article is in Spanish, but it's a very trustworthy source from Argentina. That Roger was a fucking leech, hope he rots in jail

https://www. infobae. com/sociedad/policiales/2024/11/08/pesos-argentinos-para-comprar-droga-negocios-en-comun-y-dias-libres-el-oscuro-control-de-rogelio-nores-sobre-liam-payne/

This is so fucking disturbing. I know fans have had a bad feeling about Roger for a while. It sounds like they weren’t wrong.

Today, Nores is charged with abandoning Liam Payne and killing him , as well as supplying and facilitating him with drugs, in a relationship that sources in the case describe as “almost Maradona-esque, a friend of the champion , like those who surrounded Diego at his worst .” To charge him, Madrea and his team analyzed 800 hours of footage from the CasaSur hotel and opened Liam’s phone. In addition, they took a large number of testimonies, including that of Liam’s father, Geoff Payne.

Liam's father said the same thing that the courts were able to confirm through the analysis of communications and the comparison of other testimonies: that Nores, after meeting Payne in Miami at the beginning of this year, became the force that dominated his life. If the Payne family wanted to know how the singer was, then they should contact Rogelio. He was not just another friend of Liam's, under any circumstances. Geoff Payne himself said it: "Roger" was always the intermediary. "He is better than ever," he would have told the family when asked.

And this explains the charge of abandonment of a person. It is not about the fact that the businessman did not come to the singer's aid, but about the long road that led to the CasaSur hotel.

The businessman would have become a sort of de facto manager . Although they did not have a specific contract in this regard, sources in the case say that Nores operated as an "investment advisor" and that they had business in common in view of Payne's possible return to the world stage. For this, the singer's recovery from his addiction to drugs and alcohol was key. He just had to be detoxified.

Nores accompanied Payne in a deep detoxification treatment in the United States. There, a psychiatrist prescribed sertraline, the antidepressant that was found in the toxicology test on the singer's body. The specialist said it clearly: if you mix alcohol and cocaine with sertraline, the result can be lethal.

Then, another treatment in Spain was carried out, which also failed. So they ended up in Argentina. Payne was put up in a prestigious five-star hotel that was used to hosting big rock stars. They kicked him out of there. They even visited a local psychiatrist, who testified in the file. After the five-star hotel, they both went to the Patagones polo club with the singer's last girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, where the singer was photographed wearing a helmet and heels on a horse. They spent a few days there. However, Payne quickly became nervous and left the place.

Thus, they arrived at the CasaSur hotel in Palermo on the Sunday before the death. Liam did not even have a bag. There, according to the testimonies and analysis that are part of the case of the prosecutor Madrea, Nores' control would have been much more evident, with alleged orders to the hotel staff to report each expense. Nores, this time, managed Payne's expenses , while receiving calls for each whiskey, champagne or tequila that the former One Direction member ordered, with physical money delivered at the reception. The evidence also speaks of "free days" when Liam could consume cocaine.

The day he died, precisely, was a “day off.”

Thus, Nores frequently returned to the hotel to top up the bill. Payne, meanwhile, insisted on the phone, asking for Argentine pesos to pay the dealers who offered him cocaine, with photos of the bags they offered him and the corresponding prices. The prosecution suspects that Nores had obtained cocaine for him himself, which led to the second charge against him.

Meanwhile, hotel cameras filmed Liam as he wandered the halls , drunk and with a distant look.

For the time being, Nores is free, with his passport handed over to the courts and a ban on leaving the country, while he awaits being summoned for questioning by Judge Laura Bruniard. Article 106 of the Criminal Code, which defines the crime of abandonment followed by death, speaks of “anyone who endangers the life or health of another, either by placing him or her in a situation of helplessness, or by abandoning to their fate a person who is incapable of taking care of himself or who must be maintained or cared for, or who the author himself has incapacitated .” Here, the alleged supply of narcotics plays a key role.

If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison. Given the amount of the sentence, the crime is not bailable.

[vintagerpg]

This is NECA’s Ultimate version of Grimsword, the evil bruiser from the second wave of LJN Dungeons & Dragons toys, originally released in 1984 (OG version of Mr. Sword included for comparison). I will never understand why he isn’t called Grimflail, though, as the snake flail as always been his signature. It ties in with his ridiculous snake-themed armor!

Which, speaking of, I think the original Grimsword is both cool and objectively ridiculous, and previously suspected that the mix of cool and ridiculous would make it difficult for an Ultimates style figure to come off properly. As usual when I speculate, I am wrong! All the ridiculous elements are still here — the torso snake, the snake shield, the snake kneepad, the mohawk on the helmet, the bizarre ear-spikes, the faceplate that reminds me of a ‘80s dirt bike helmet. But somehow, none of that stands out as ridiculous. Partly this is just down to the quality of the sculpt and the paint job. But also, I think a lot of it is a result of physique.

Grimsword is a monster. He’s frickin’ huge. He makes Warduke look small — he is nearly a head taller! And he just hulks. It is a little hard to see in the photos, but he is just of a size that would be terrifying in real life scale. You’d take one look at that guy and feel all your bones breaking at once in your imagination. A beast. I love it.

[katerinaaqu]

Honorable Antilochus

Yes I guess I couldn't help myself and I just HAD to draw Antilochus too! Thanks to some AMAZING reblogs and comments such as @loco-bird and @deadbaguette to my two one-shots involving him

The Lament of a Life

What makes the Heart Beat

And I just HAD to draw him! And trace my favorite artwork of his! More specifically the vase art that once again is mentioned to my ask reply to @lightningthunderstorm

Of course it is obvious that I had to use the one and only vase I know that includes him as a base and then I of course added details! For starters dunno I wanted him to have his long hair down (because again yay for "long-haired argives") and his long strands of wavy hair in his artwork as well as the obviously puffy hair under the helmet gave me the impression of a person with very long hair so yeah! Had to try!

(His hair was also inspired by my dear friend @artsofmetamoor !!)

I was particularly intrigued by the shape of his bangs! I thought they were very cute and gave him even more the aura of youth so I had to add that detail to the sketch

Of course I also included mycenaean-inspired clothes and I thought about adding a small bead necklace as well! For some reason I imagined him wearing a carnelian and turqoise necklace! It does give me some air of both strength and calmness!

For colors again I was adding some average coloring for Greeks; olive complexion, brown eyes and hair (somehow also was inspired by my other sketch of Patroclus, somehow adding them in some sort of a side-by-side comparison

(Patroclus has slightly more tannish sheen to his skin and wooly curly hair, Antilochus has some more creamy olive skin and wavy silky hair instead)

Antilochus was also described like Achilles being "fast in feet" and he had an amazing killing count in the Iliad. Somehow that made me imagine someone relying on speed and stealth rather than arm strength so I gave him a slightly leaner bodytype to partially match Achilles too.

My other Homeric Character sketches:

Diomedes

Odysseus

Calypso

Patroclus

[the-light-finds-its-way]

Savathun and Sauron: a wild comparison

So I am, besides a huge Destiny nerd, a very devoted LOTR fan all the same. And when I was looking at photos tonight of Sauron from the films, I noticed there were a LOT of eerie similarities to their respective designs.

Both of them have a very tall, sort of crowned spike helmet, and the positioning of these spikes is also quite similar to one another, only Savathun's connect with another half ring at the back.

Additionally they also have similar shoulder plating with a somewhat similar shape, and also it's spiked for both. You can see it somewhat better in the next pic.

Even with Sauron doing the powerful hand gesture with his ring, and Savathun doing similar motions to let Immaru hover near her? That strikes some uncanny resemblance to me.

Their overall body language is immensely similar in many ways, the fact that both move in such inhuman patterns that defy nature.

Sauron is a beast of undeath who cannot be killed so easily as long as the One Ring exists.

And Savathun cannot be killed so long as her Worm exists, and or her Ghost.

Adding in the lore of both, Savathun began as Sathona. She and her siblings were promised a great power of immortality by merging with and hosting the Worm Gods. They believed this power was the future of their homeworld Fundament, and the people which were the Krill.

Those Worms were shared with the masses, but any and all who denied them were slaughtered. But merging with and hosting the Worms who granted the Krill power and made them into the Hive?

It corrupted them. It made them monstrous.

Yes it kept Savathun immortal, and her siblings.

But they became monsters of death and murder and destruction.

During this, Sathona became Savathun, but also later achieved many names including The Witch Queen. A liar of pure deceit and manipulation.

Sauron, similarly, was known by many names. He was Annatar, Mairon, Aulendil, many many things.

And he was created as a god of sorts. The Ainur were made by a higher being, but they themselves were immortal, with inhuman power, and considered holy beings in the way gods are seen.

Sauron was a liar all the same. He was called The Sorcerer and The Deceiver and The Dark Lord.

Countless trusted Sauron who held influence through his connection. He promised gifts in the form of the rings which he gave all races. And with the gift of these rings, Sauron promised great power to all who bore them, unity even, to Middle Earth, and yet all they did was tear Middle Earth asunder with war and destruction.

The Dark Lord manipulated, lied, and deceived the races of Middle Earth into trusting him. The Men to whom the 9 rings were granted became undead, mindless servants forever chasing down the One Ring at the behest of Sauron. They had no choice but to follow this pursuit.

They became akin to the Taken. Corrupted husks of their former beings, mindless and relentless in their pursuit of their master and maker, though for the Taken it was Oryx who made them, not Savathun.

But Sauron pulled whatever trickery necessary to achieve his dark goal, even commanding the destruction of Isengard through his servant Saurman.

He held many forms. A vampire. An Elf. A Man.

And Savathun, too, had many forms. She possessed Osiris, pretending to be him. She was a Krill named Sathona. She became the Witch Queen, the goddess of lies and wizardry.

And both served the command of a darkness beyond their own power, and spread that darkness. Sauron's master was Morgoth. Savathun's was the Witness.

But what strikes me most?

Savathun is The Witch Queen.

And Sauron's greatest commander was The Witch King.

So yeah! Food for thought!

[kaethefangal]

Tim had quit his life as Red Robin. When he was younger he was so proud to be Robin, so happy that he got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight by Batman’s side. Everyone thought he was destined to do great things, and honestly so did he. He would’ve never dreamed of leaving Batman’s side. That was until he found out about Jason. 

Finding out that Jason died made him hang up the cape. He couldn’t bear to carry on a mantle that wasn’t his. He knew Dick willingly quit, leaving the Robin position vacant. But Jason hadn’t willingly died, and Tim could never feel comfortable in that suit knowing it belonged to a dead kid. The second robin was great, and Tim could never live up to him, and he didn’t want to. He didn’t deserve to. A few years after he quit being Robin, he resurfaced as Red Robin. Because once you lived life as a bat you could never go back, not really. It was a perpetual struggle of constantly looking over his shoulder, constantly wondering if the woman staring at him was planning something or was just admiring his clothes.

 As of now, Tim acted as an information broker.  He worked with the entire Justice League and all heroes/vigilantes, including Jason. When they’d first met Tim was bleeding out on a rooftop after he’d won a fight as Red Robin but had taken substantial physical damage. He’d been expecting a punch in the face for replacing him or at least some kind of anger or resentment. Tim was surprised when the man’s first words to him were ‘Rough night?’ and even more surprised when Jason patched him up and sent him on his way. He’d only worked with Red Hood three times when he found out the man smoked weed. ‘I thought Red Hood was against drugs?’ Tim had asked him as he watched the man light a blunt. ‘Red Hood is against selling drugs to kids. I look like a kid to you?’ Jason asked with a raised eyebrow. Tim had just shook his head and turned back to the screen that was in front of him.

Tim was focused on his current case, his brows furrowed in concentration as he went over a file that the Titans needed from him when he heard those familiar three knocks at his window. He turned his head to find Jason standing on his balcony, his helmet on. Tim stood up to let him in because at this point they’d worked together enough to be considered friends. It’d started out with only interacting for crucial cases, but they grew on each other. Tim enjoyed Jason’s laid-back but still about-business attitude and in turn, Jason savored Tim’s non-judgemental and sarcastic personality. They complimented each other well, after all, albeit in different senses and categories, they were both emotional and social wrecks. Tim was a social recluse because he didn’t know how to understand complex human emotions and Jason was anti-social because he didn’t care about human emotions.

“What’s going on?” Tim asked as he lifted the window. Jason landed inside silently, which was ironic in comparison to his imposing build.

“Nothing. Just need these scanned,” Jason pulled a case holding 5 vials of green liquid from his jacket.

“Got it. What are they?” Tim asked, taking them from Jason and placing them in the chemistry analyzer that sat at his workstation. He sat in his chair, facing away from the man behind him, which was a huge show of trust in itself.

“No idea. Grabbed ‘em off some dealer I caught on the street today,” Jason replied.

“Is said dealer still with us?” Tim asked curiously. Personally, Tim didn’t kill. He couldn’t handle knowing he’d taken a life. Though he didn’t care much about Jason’s killings it still made him feel better knowing Jason was becoming less violent and more understanding.

“With us meaning..?” Jason asked with a hint of amusement in the robotic edge that his helmet put on his voice.

“In the world of the living,” Tim put out bluntly.

“Yes. In the hospital, but alive,” Jason said, taking off his mask.

“Doesn’t it get hot inside that thing?” Tim asked, turning around to face Jason.

“Better than being dead,” Jason shrugged, taking a seat on Tim’s bed.

“You’re never gonna let that one go, are you?” Tim chuckled.

“Would you?” Jason shot back lightning-quick.

“Fair point,” Tim conceded. The chemical analyzer dinged, catching his attention. “Looks like a drug called Viper,”

“Damnit, I should have killed him,” Jason scoffed.

“Bruce wouldn’t like that,” Tim said for nothing else but a reaction.

“Since when do I care about what Bruce likes?” Jason looked at him incredulously through his domino.

“Fair point, go ahead, kill the man,” Tim waved a hand dismissively towards the window.

“And you wouldn’t have a problem with that?” Jason asked in disbelief.

Tim fixed him with the look he always gave Jason when he asked a dumb question. “Viper is a deadly poison, and he was selling it. I’m not saying he deserves it, but he deserves it,”

“So you’d help me?” Jason asked with a small grin.

“Why would I help you kill a man?” 

“I meant help me find out where he got it from and shut the operation down,”

Tim knew the answer was yes, and had to stop himself from shouting it. He pretended to think about it for a few seconds before shrugging. “Sure, sounds fun,”

Jason’s grin grew and Tim couldn’t help but smile too. 

“I’ll swing by again tomorrow,” Jason said, standing. It was then that Tim noticed Jason piling all his weight onto his right leg.

“What’s wrong with your leg?” Tim questioned.

“Nothing. My leg is fine,” Jason replied. He began walking towards the window again but Tim noticed the slight limp he moved with. 

“Okay,” Tim sighed, kicking Jason in his left knee. 

“Fuck!” Jason shouted, falling to the ground.

“Thought there was nothing wrong with your leg?”

“I said my leg, not my knee,”

“Your knee is a part of your leg,” Tim called, making his way to the first aid kit he kept in his bathroom. He inwardly chuckled at how Jason attempted to hide his injury from Tim. 

He bent down, opened his cabinet, and looked for the shiny white box with the red plus sign on it. 

He returned almost as quickly as he left to find Jason lying on his bed.

“Either the pants come off or you roll them up,” Tim said as he sat the first aid kit on his bed and opened it.

“Roll it,”

“I’m not your maid,” Tim scoffed. The smile on his face betrayed how he wanted to sound but he didn’t mind much. “Not my doctor either but here we are,” Jason countered smoothly. Tim always enjoyed his and Jason’s banter, not that he’d ever tell the other man that.

Tim stared at him unimpressed. Jason scoffed and pulled his left pant leg up. Underneath it was a deep gash that was poorly stitched up. Blood leaked out of the stitch and it looked infected, yellow pus seeping out around the edges.

“This is one of the worst stitch jobs I’ve ever seen,” Tim said. He got on his knees and began cleaning the stitch with anti-septic.

“In Roy’s defense, his hand was injured too,”

“You should’ve told someone, this is dangerous,”

Jason huffed out a laugh. “That’s an occupational hazard baby bird,”

“Stop calling me that,”

***

Tim watched Jason jump out of his window, the man leaving with a shout of, “I’ll get you some new sheets!” 

Tim hadn’t noticed the blood-soaked sheets on his bed until after Jason was already gone. Tim could do nothing but sigh and begin getting ready for bed. He walked into his bathroom, taking in his appearance. His eye bags were still dark, and his face was still on the grey edge of pale. His eyes were tired, almost lifeless. He was beginning to see his skin clinging to his bone, a telltale sign that he hadn’t been eating. He sighed and looked away.

He brushed his teeth and washed his face almost robotically, avoiding locking eyes with himself in the mirror at all costs. 

He replaced his sheets and got into bed, letting his mind take the wheel.

Viper.

They were already aware of the effects of the drug, it slowly melted away calcium that the bones needed and left it’s victims with dust in place of bones, killing them slowly and painfully. It allowed for a small period of inhuman strength, which was unbelievably dangerous. Solomon Grundy was a prime example of why people out of their minds should not be given super strength. He only hoped they could shut the operation down before Viper spread too much. 

***

“Plan?” Tim asked warily. Jason had come crashing into his room with a look of pure rage on his face a few moments earlier. He’d explained to Tim that there was a new variant in Viper that allowed the victims to live longer and made them susceptible to suggestion. Tim didn’t like drugs that made people susceptible to suggestion. Jason had his theories on what the drug trafficking rings could use it for, who they could sell it to, and none of them were good. The way Jason paced as he spoke made Tim worry that he’d jump into action without a plan.

“My plan is to track down the piece of shit that started this and paint the wall with his brain,” Jason spat.

“Jay as of now you and I are the only ones on this. If you die who will help the victims?” Tim questioned in an attempt to be the voice of reason. 

Jason stopped pacing to think, at least that’s what Tim assumed, he couldn’t tell much from the helmet.

“Fine. What’s the plan?”

“Where’d you find the dealer last night?” Tim asked, turning to his computer.

“Corner of fifth and Eagleside,”

“There’s a warehouse not too far from there. I say we check it out, and if it’s a hit, follow it,”

“And if it isn’t?”

“Then we look somewhere else. The drug hasn’t hit the streets hard yet or else Bruce would know. We need to stop it before its next shipment,”

“Right. I’ll-”

Tim’s police radio went off, and he whipped his head towards the noise on his desk. ‘Hostage situation at Gotham Bank, calling all units,’ 

Tim turned his head back to Jason, who’s figure had just leaped out of his window. Tim could do nothing but sigh and run a hand down his face. He really hoped this wouldn’t get them killed.

[hellsite-proteins]

STOP POSTING ABOUT AMONG US! I'M TIRED OF SEEING IT! MY FRIENDS ON TIKTOK SEND ME MEMES, ON DISCORD IT'S FUCKING MEMES! I was in a server, right? and ALL OF THE CHANNELS were just among us stuff. I-I showed my champion underwear to my girlfriend and t-the logo I flipped it and I said "hey babe, when the underwear is sus HAHA DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DI DI DING" I fucking looked at a trashcan and said "THAT'S A BIT SUSSY" I looked at my penis I think of an astronauts helmet and I go "PENIS? MORE LIKE PENSUS" AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGESFG

ඞ

letter sequence in this ask matching protein-coding amino acids:

STPPSTINGATAMNGSIMTIREDFSEEINGITMYFRIENDSNTIKTKSENDMEMEMESNDISCRDITSFCKINGMEMESIwasinaserverrightandALLFTHECHANNELSwerestamngsstffIIshwedmychampinnderweartmygirlfriendandtthelgIflippeditandIsaidheyaewhenthenderwearisssHAHADINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDIDIDINGIfckinglkedatatrashcanandsaidTHATSAITSSSYIlkedatmypenisIthinkfanastrnatshelmetandIgPENISMRELIKEPENSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGESFG

protein guy analysis:

this is a weird looking structure. i haven't shown you the confidence rating, but its not far off from the red colour i chose. the most immediately apparent factor is how long and spread out this protein is. when i rotated the structure from how it originally loaded (second image) to the significantly worse looking one (top image) i was genuinely taken aback. there are some interesting elements of secondary structure visible, including two parallel beta strands, some more twisted sheets and a couple helices. the loops look messy as always, but with how far apart the two areas connected by the loop are, this feels reminiscent of a flexible linker. of course, neither half of this protein is functional in the slightest, so that's a mildly ridiculous comparison. this protein seemed so goofy that it only felt fitting to display it with the flattened graphics that i find give it an even more cartoonish appearance.

predicted protein structure:

[kyouka-supremacy]

hi! do you happen to have a clean verison of that knight aku cover that was released in early December with the skull helmet and flowers in the background (without the wording on the bottom)? if not that's okay! I just want to frame it and display it on my desk lolll

Hi!!! Thank you for this ask keeping track of bsd content is my passion <333

Bad news: As far as I know no official clean version of that cover has been released yet.

Worse news: It's a .5 chapter. Half chapters get merged in volume releases, so there's a chance volume 27 won't feature that cover at all. In the past, different choices were made from chapter to chapter: the ch 83.5 cover wasn't featured, the ch 89.5 cover was moved to ch 90, the ch 92.5 cover was included as bonus content, the ch 107.5 cover wasn't featured, the ch 111.5 cover wasn't featured.

Good news: Someone made a very nice redraw of the bottom part, so there's that!! Leaving here the hq raw page too if you find it to be cleaner than the English typesetting by comparison:

[sailorsoapbox]

Not Sailor Moon related, but I'd like to share this gifset/analysis of cinematic parallels between The Castle of Cagliostro and The Great Mouse Detective with you. This was a Patreon request, so consider this post a preview of what you might see if you subscribe (Tier 1 starts at only $1/month)!

Today I would like to do a quick piece showcasing some of the cinematic parallels between Hayao Miyazaki's The Castle of Cagliostro and John Musker & Ron Clements' The Great Mouse Detective. Famously, both films' climaxes take place inside the workings of a clock tower. As many Disney animators, Musker & Clements included, are known to be fans and admirers of Miyazaki's films, it is quite likely that TGMD's climax is an intentional homage to TCoC. Here are five similar scenes from each film (reproduced as animated gifs) that I would like to discuss in particular:

The Villain's Entrance: Notice that both the Count and Ratigan take advantage of the clock tower's gears to sneak up on their enemy. Their figures are similar - large, hulking bodies, swishy red capes, and an unusual head shape. In the Count's case, his head shape is changed by his goat-shaped helmet, while Ratigan's angular pointed rat ears contrast heavily with Basil's rounded mouse ears. Interestingly, the Count moves vertically, while Ratigan moves horizontally. Both villains are temporarily thwarted by their respective Damsel in Distress warning Our Hero about the impending attack. 

An Unfair Battle: Both films feature a battle to the death on an unstable surface - Caglistro's being on moving clock gears, while Mouse Detective's battle is on Big Ben's clock hands which are slippery from the rain. As mentioned earlier, both the Count and Ratigan have large hulking bodies which visually contrast between Lupin III's and Basil's lanky and significantly shorter frames. The Count and Ratigan are also armed (with a sword and rat claws respectively), whereas Lupin III had to improvise with a long wrench. Basil is completely unable to defend himself, which accords with his characterization as being entirely Brains, not Brawn. Lupin III is an adventurer, so he fares much better in this battle, but it is still heavily weighed in the Count's favour.

A Near Miss: Both movies feature a brief scene where one of the "good guys" is nearly crushed by the clock gears, only to survive from a split-second escape. Both Damsels, Clarisse and Olivia, are relatively passive in the battle and are heavily protected by Lupin III and Basil. Clarisse, being a young adult rather than a little girl, is noticeably braver and more proactive during the battle. There is brief tension when Lupin III almost looks like he will be crushed, but because of his reputation for getting out of any jam, the audience never has to worry about how he will escape. In comparison, Olivia is helpless to save herself from being crushed, and Basil has to take advantage of his knowledge on the physics of clockwork to rescue her. The scene with Olivia is significantly longer, drawing out the tension.

The Villain Unmasked: Both battles take a turn when the villain is literally, and figuratively, unmasked. A gleeful Lupin III shatters the goat horned helmet, instantly making the Count look less intimidating and more like the pathetic man he is. His stance immediately changes from murderous and dangerous, to bewildered and annoyed. The result reminds the audience that for all his ambition and bluster, the Count is just a petty criminal with delusions of grandeur. Ratigan, in comparison, shatters his own "mask." Merely spotting Basil and Olivia trying to escape from him shatters his mind, and he destroys his own illusions of good breeding and sophistication. Ratigan might be a charismatic and brilliant criminal mastermind, but when he doesn't get his way, he reveals himself to be nothing more than a feral rat.

Falling From The Clock Tower: Clarisse, who is more proactive in this battle than Olivia (for understandable reasons), attempted to knock the Count off the tower to prevent him from activating its secret. He kicks her off him in retaliation, but she and Lupin III managed to fall into the water. They are miraculously (if implausibly) unharmed, and it eventually turns out that their falling off the tower saved their lives, as the Count would be gruesomely crushed between the clock hands triggered by the secret mechanism to point to midnight. In comparison, Big Ben itself is what causes Ratigan's demise. The tolling of the tower's bells (also at midnight) would be already deafening for a human, but are completely disorienting for a rat. Disney are known to kill off their villains by having them fall off something (so as to imply their deaths rather than showing a body), and Ratigan's death is another example. Interestingly, Ratigan's fall from the tower is implicitly shown to be fatal, which contrasts with Lupin III and Clarisse's survival. The films' respective target audiences also are a factor in how their villains are defeated - Cagliostro is aimed at an older audience, so while the Count's death is not explicit, his demise is far more visceral. Knowing exactly where the Count's body is (and what has happened to it) is a more potent image; we know Ratigan likely won't survive his fall, but we don't know where his body will land.

They're pretty good movies, y'know.

[ash5monster01]

Perfect to Love

Pairing: Steve Harrington x FemReader!PlusSize

Warnings: fluff, mentions of bullying, body image issues, fat shaming, angst, trust issues.

Summary: Beth Walker was used to living in the shadows. She had only one friend and anyone else who paid her mind usually bullied her for her size. So she learned to keep her mouth shut, her head down, and her heart closed because she had to accept the fact that she would be nothing more than the fat girl to people. That is until Robin decides Beth needs more in life and that might just include a boy who she never would’ve thought could see her for who she truly was.

word count: 1,326

→ Part 1

Masterlist

"Bertha!" chuckles from teenage boys followed the sneer that came from Colin Matterson's mouth, football captain, and all around douche. Beth recoiled into her self as heads turned to look at her and her peers chuckled. People thought they were clever adding two little letters to her name, instead they were just mean.

"Eat shit Matterson!" Robin stood and yelled to which the boy just brushed off and continued on his way to a seat in the bleachers. Beth felt her breaths coming out in heavy paces but she appreciated Robin for sticking up for her. "Don't listen to him Beth, he's an asshole"

"You know I ignore him" Beth told her, adjusting the strap to her marching band helmet. Robin took notice of how her flute trembled in her hand despite the tough facade she was putting on.

"Still Beth, people like him aren't going to matter by the end of the year" Vickie piped in. Ever since the three had been placed beside each other in the line up they had gotten to know each other. They also learned that Beth was super cool despite being silent most of the time. Things used to not be so bad until Barb Holland passed away, leaving her to be the only bigger girl left in their grade.

"I know, just hurts that he's right" both girls instantly gave offended looks, quickly muttering off how she was one of the most prettiest girls they knew but sometimes those comments didn't hold a lot of weight opposed to the mean ones. Beth knew it was wrong to not think her friends were sincere but if Colin Matterson was the one calling her beautiful things would be a bit different. Being seen at all by somebody new would be different.

"Beth nobody is perfect and you in comparison to Colin Matterson is a thousand times better and I mean it. You have more personality and good qualities in your pinky finger than he does all together" Beth offered a smile because a small part of her knew she was right. Yet after years of opposite comments there was still a small part of her that believed Robin was just saying it to make her feel better.

"Thanks Rob" but Robin knew she still didn’t get through to the girl and that thought frustrated her more than anything. Beth deserved to be seen for the amazing person she was, somebody like that shouldn’t have to hide from the world because of some stupid standard of beauty. It pissed Robin off to no end especially when she knew if Beth looked how people thought she should look she would be the most popular girl in school.

Robin kept this in mind throughout the entirety of the pep rally, walking Beth to her car, and waiting for Steve to pick her up. She was frustrated not only trying to find a way for others to see how amazing Beth was but for Beth to see herself as such. Robin knew what hating yourself could be like, it took years for her to accept being gay. Some things you can’t change and the sooner you learn to accept them the happier you’ll be. Yet since she couldn’t come up with a sure fire way she continued to be frustrated.

“What’s with you?” Robing looked up from the returns she was stacking to see Steve leaned against the counter giving her a confused look.

“What do you mean?” she asked and he quickly chuckled, a shake of his head swaying some stray hairs loose.

“You’ve barely said a word since we’ve gotten here. Normally you’re going on and on about how cute Vickie was at band practice today. You being quiet is weird” Steve told her and Robin finally sighed, falling against the counter like she had finally given up.

“It’s Beth” Steve rose his eyebrows in a suggestive way and Robin shook her head against the counter top, a sign that it wasn’t like he thought.

“Beth Walker, you remember her?” Robin asked and Steve shook his head which only caused Robin to sigh harder.

“She’s my friend and easily the sweetest girl on this planet but she gets terrorized at school, she doesn’t even know how cool she is because of how terrible to other students are to her” Robin explained and Steve suddenly felt guilty for not knowing her despite being a grade ahead.

“Why are they bullying her?” Steve asked, curious as to what reason someone would have to treat a sweet girl badly.

“She’s bigger, kinda like Barb but shorter. They call her Bertha” Steve cringed at the mean name, even he could feel the sting of it.

“That’s awful Rob” he told her and she nodded as she lifted her head from the counter.

“It is and Steve she is so great. Like the coolest chick you’d ever meet. She drives a brand new corvette and the kids still treat her like shit” Steve smiled at Robins defense for the girl, the thought comforting him to know she’d do the same for him.

“Have you tried telling her this?” Robin let out a small groan as she started to pick at a stray string on her shirt.

“All the time but I know she doesn’t listen. I can’t blame her though, when the same people keep building you up and hundreds of strangers tear you down it doesn’t do much. That’s a battle meant to be lost” Robin wished that her words could resonate with the girl but the only way they would is if someone like Colin Matterson finally came around and started saying them. Then suddenly it hit her. “You used to be a dick right?”

“Woah, what the hell?” Steve held his hands up and Robin rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean Steve, you weren’t the best guy back in the day” Robin defended and he dropped his head.

“That’s way harsh Rob, you know I’m not like that anymore” Robin nodded and began to move around the counter to face him.

“Well yeah, you’re super cool now. But guys like Colin Matterson still think you’re King of Hawkins?” Steve thought about it before nodding, he graduated with the Mr. Popular reputation even if he still didn’t feel like he had it.

“Not that I’m proud of it but yeah, those guys all still think I’m hot shit” Steve said as he crossed his arms. “So what’re you getting at?”

“Meet Beth, hang out with her in public, if people see you with her they might realize it’s not her size that matters” Steves eyes widened, totally not seeing where this conversation was going.

“I don’t know Rob-”

“Please Steve, she’s so great. It doesn’t have to be right away, I can bring her to a movie night or something. She just deserves to be seen for who she is and I can’t help her with that but you can” Steve pressed his hand to his eyes, thinking about it for a moment before turning to her.

“One movie night, then I’ll think about it” he told her as he pointed a finger at her and she began to jump and cheer. “You’re something else”

“And you’re the best Steve Harrington, truly” Steve tried to hide his smile but he couldn’t help it as he watched Robin become so happy over the thought that she could help a friend.

If Robin had claimed this girl was so special maybe it was worth a shot. Hell he never even really thought of Barb as big, it was mainly Tommy and Carol that ever bullied people for things like that. Yet he realized he wasn’t much better never even realizing her when he knew most of her grade because of Nancy. The size didn’t matter to him, but if he didn’t like her and started bringing her around wouldn’t that be just like using her?

a/n: if this is a story you guys would be interested in plz let me know, I am also aware I have not finished my Rooster Series yet but I do have the outlines for the remaining chapters so I wanted to get a head start on this. I think the concept would be cute and I’m a sucker for the fact I think Steve Harrington would be all about plus size girls. I think this could be a cute short little series <3

let me know if you want to be added to the tag list

[shizukateal]

Miraculous Ladybug Magical Girl Fashion Review -Part 1

Preamble

Ok, so. What do you people generally think of as a "superhero outfit"? Spandex, right? Tight-skinned, uninterrupted spandex covering almost all the body, or at least not straying away from the body line if you're a girl and only get a swimsuit. Maybe a cape (hood optional) depending on how dramatic you are to add some flow or, if you're a woman, your hairstyle will do that job. Otherwise you can have some form of helmet or headpiece to distinguish yourself, and that's it. That's the extent of options you have. If you're extremely lucky, they might allow you to wear a jacket.

While this description might be a bit of an exaggeration (not by much, though) I think we can all agree that this is a very restrictive set of rules to work with. It's very hard to make something that completely contours to the body visually compelling. It's hard to distribute colors and shapes and patterns in a neat way that makes you stand out when you have to compete with thousands of millions of characters with the same 3 allowed bodytypes (lean, broad, or Woman™️). Which is why we should clap even more at designs like the DC holy trinity and especially Spiderman, who not only has a fantastic design in spite of how alienating it should be, but whose look is also currently inspiring thousands of artists to make their own variations, technically also including today's very own Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

This is all a very lengthy way to say that some of the MLB people wear their fursuits better than the rest. Skin-tight onesies with fur patterns are not something everyone can pull off. Doubly so with how inconsistent the art direction in the show is, with everyone in the cast reaching different levels of uncanny valley and swagless drip. I personally think that many of them would do better if they thought a bit outside that box of "standard superhero fashion" and went for something more specific to the personalities of the characters, but there are some winners amongst the rabble. Much like the writing of the show itself, the show's design averages into a trashy sludge pile that still manages to look tempting thanks to some unexpected moments of competence. Let's sort through the pile *cracks knuckles*

Ladybug (standard and ultimate version)

You'd think it would be easy for me to just say "yeah, the bland, near fully uninterrupted polkadot bodypaint onesie is both boring and silly and the other more balanced version is a LOT better by comparison" and leave it at that, but unfortunately I also have to talk about the hairstyle. And the hairstyle is wrong in a very specific way which I don't have concise terms for, so I need you to pay attention and stay with me here.

The pigtails work well for Marinette. They are distinct, practical, realistic enough while bordering just slightly on the fantastic, and their mild childishness enhances Mari's romantic nature. In theory they also match the polka-dot theme and they are not impractical considering the function of Ladybug's suit, but they still go against what it's trying to do. There's probably a concrete term in shape and action line theory that better educated people than me know about, but to give you the gist of what I mean I'm gonna do another Shitty Paint Edit™️ so I don't go in too many circles explaining myself:

Ok, you get what I'm trying to say here now? The pigtails match the balance of this specific pose, but the suit is too skin-tight and it highlights Marinette's neck, so they interrupt the buildup. They don't even work well as pieces of flow for contrast, because the hair is so stiff and the ribbons are barely noticeable. Compare to itsanarkee's cosplay and how much better she looks because she has an updo. The worst part of it all is that, usually, matching a body-paint suit with a hairstyle to provide contrast in a female superhero is, like, babyshit, the bread and butter of superheroine costumes, but Astruc managed to find the one hairstyle in the world to make it work wrong because he was to proud about Marinette's design to change anything. Just give her the fucking buns already.

Chat Noir

He serves cunt. Pops pussy, if you will. The only very mild itch it gives me is that I can't see what his ears are attached to and it bothers me, although he's not the only one with that feature and I understand why they would want to hide a hair band especially in his design. I can forgive that when everything else in this design is genius. The belt tail. The way his mask sharpens his features alongside the hair and ears. The flaps on his boots and gloves that highlight how his movements put more weight in his joints. The acrylic claws, the paws on his boots. The lines that highlight his figure in just the right way. The fucking bell. Chat is easily the best design amongst the heroes.

And while this my purely subjective interpretation, I truly do think it's understated how much this outfit manages to sell Adrien's clark kenting. It makes complete and perfect sense to me at least that Marinette wouldn't recognize him like this. Adrien is just slightly generically pretty enough that you wouldn't assume they are the same person just because they're both blonde bishies, and the contrast between the two personas is high enough that it could be realistic that some people wouldn't put them together if they are not looking for that connection. Doubly so for Marinette, who is way too enamored with Adrien's personality of generic un-disruptive niceness with a touch of rich boy angst to fully reconcile it with Chat's outright spicier demeanor lightened with Pathetic Wet Beast Energy for potability.

Rena Rogue vs Volpina

Yeah, this one merits a comparison. It's a perfect example to elaborate on my first rule. Lila already stands out as another of the best human designs amongst the cast, and the sleaze she exudes lends itself a lot better to this slick body-paint tightness and form-highlighting curves. The tail-sash around her waist is also brilliant. She'd probably look even better in something more grounded, but the fact that she's already pulling the outfit off like this is still an accomplishment.

Rena Rogue on the other hand... well, everything around her head is very good and cute, and I especially appreciate the eyebrows on her mask. On paper I also like the top with its longtail, but overall Alya looks a lot blander than Volpina, because her outfit doesn't reflect her personality the way it does Lila's. It's not ugly, even if the patch of white starts to bother me because it has no interruptions as it goes down. In fact it succeeds in making Rena look kind of adorable, really, but Alya is not a cutesy girl, and tbh the overall general texture of the outfit is a lot more body spray-painting-ish than Volpina's, which also makes it look cheaper in a bad way.

The Fox miraculous may be summarized as the power of Illusion, but both girls represent two facets elaborating on that concept: where Lila is the Fox as Deceit, Alya is the Fox as Cleverness. So Lila may be... smart manipulative -Ok, sincerely speaking Lila Rossi is the single most blatant Villain Sue I have ever seen put onscreen, but what I'm trying to get at is that while she -supposedly- has some cunning, her pettiness and eagerness to speak on the fly is -or rather should be- a contrast to Alya, who goes around sniffing for the truth and thus always has a fuller picture. Because remember: the best liars tell the truth. So Rena's outfit should reflect that. It should be less slick and more street-savvy, something that the pendant with its long chain is especially well suited to.

Speaking of all these thematic parallels, am I the only one in the fandom who is extremely weirded out that Lila isn't a rival to Alya? Like, aren't they extremely obvious foils beyond both of them being fox-themed? The girl who bases her clout on lies vs the one who searches for the truth? The girl who pretends to be friends with Ladybug while bullying her civilian identity vs the girl who is friends with both? Have the writers ever exploited this ever since I stopped watching?

Carapace

Nino is almost perfect. I am genuinely impressed at how well they chose the angle of this costume. It's so easy for me to imagine a much shittier version with an ugly cowl/spiderman wannabe facemask -because other characters in this series take that approach-, but taking a page out of spider-gwen's book instead paid amazing dividends. He looks great as teenage not-mutant ninja turtle.

He only has two significant faults. One is that I feel his goggles should be tinted opaque orange, and he should wear a mask over his mouth and nose. You know, make the clark kenting a little easier, the stealth more pointed, maybe he can have a cool graffiti of a turtle beak over the mask for a sprinkle of his actual personality. The second is that the partition he chose for his crotch area is a bit iffy and yes, I am very sorry to talk about this. The shape of the partition itself is not bad but it's the same color, so it doesn't actually help the transition all that much and instead, sadly, it only brings more attention to the middle. My suggestion is that he should take a page out of Rise of the TMNT's book and make the plastron into actual armor that goes from his chest to his navel, instead of just a logo on the front. Then he can either wear black shorts or he can go the Rise!Casey Jones route and wear pants that are slightly baggy but still cinch to his ankles.

Then there's only one last thing he needs to be completely perfect and that is having an actual relationship with Master Fu since he is the direct successor of his miraculous and one of the first characters to be akumatized on account of his resentment towards adults, so I feel like there's a whole bunch of narrative foiling potential not being explored there, you get me?

Queen Bee vs Vesperia

Zoe's face is more interesting and I appreciate that, as well as the design team giving her a braid, but Chloe still wins this one. Vesperia's outfit is reasonably cool on its own, but it does very little aesthetically for her. Perhaps if the colors of her top and pants were inverted it could work, but there's something about the aggressive sharpness of its lines that Zoe's bubbly face is not matching, made worse by the black being at the forefront. That might not be a problem in civilian outfit, but only because that look is balanced with other colors. Or rather, I think she also needs a more casual fit to pull it off instead of a skin-tight jacket. I also get what they're trying to do with her bangs and I would love it were it not for the fact that it doesn't look good in this artstyle. Chloe also has that problem with her hair, but Queen Bee's style fits her a lot better in a much obvious way, and for added points I think Queen Bee wears the cord as a belt better too., so congrats to Chloe on her one win, I do hope the writing allows her to have proper character development later instead of constantly resetting her to square one for conflict.

[pawborough]

Howdy everyone!

Happy Valentine's day folks! We have the long awaited contest results in this update, as well as some small updates to fauna, and a new system for accessories.

Contest Winner

We previously held a sweepstakes to win a Design An Accessory Tier (1st place) and Monarch Tier (2nd place) and we can now announce the winners!

(We want to apologize for the low quality of the video; we wanted to crop out the advertisements on the website we used)

Over 580 people entered! 

Congratulations to our winners Emma and Erika!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Fauna Updates

As previously seen with the Featherbeau, Kintsune, and Javasqueak, we have been updating all the fauna art to match the new style overhaul.

Here is a comparison to the old artwork.

Toshi has very minimal changes. There are some minor color and shadow touch-ups, but as this was our most in-style original fauna, very little change was necessary.

Here is the new and old art.

Like the Featherbeau and Kintsune, the Phantowl has a full overhaul. With a more dynamic pose and better detail, we hope to invoke spookiness in the new design.

The new and old designs are below.

Accessories + Dye system 

Speaking of designing accessories, we've finally begun production on our accessories! Here is a preview of what we are working on, showing illustrations of the original Gilded Helm and Iridescent Trail!

Our focus is on adapting challenging items. For example, the Helm, and similar helmet items, provide unique challenges when on fluffy breeds. 

Here are a few previews of our solutions so far:

And here is a preview of our first backer-sponsored design!

Lastly, we’re very excited to announce a system we've been workshopping. 

Accessory dyes! 

PawBorough is built by the players, and it is in our interest as players to have as much quality customizability as possible. We want expansive options! All the recolors!

Accessory dyes will allow users to craft any accessory on the site into a different color. 

The system we are designing incorporates “standard” and “special” dyes. 

Standard dyes are a set number of colors which will be compatible with all accessories, meaning all accessory items get a blanket number of recolors. 

“Special” dyes will only be compatible with certain items, and will include alternative colorings such as rainbow, pastel colors, gradients, patterns, etc! 

The benefit of such a system means all items will get a set number of varieties, and it lets us expand upon certain pieces to include alternative or unique colorings. But it doesn’t commit us to an undoable recolor demand. 

We’re still working out the kinks and pain points, such as easy to see information on what takes a special dye and what doesn’t, but we hope this will prevent item bloat, give users more creative control, and overall improve the gameplay! 

Site Themes 

We’ve started workshopping the Borough themes with our completed assets. Take a look at these previews! 

Zenith 

Luna

Pawprints

Next let’s look at a cute feature we have on the backburner. 

Ever imagine your cat has polydactyly? While we can’t break lineart, we do have a fun new feature for rare cat collectors. Every cat will have their very own paw print on their profile, with a very very small chance of having a sixth toe!

There are 55 unique pawprints!

Have fun trying for cats with silly paws ~

Stonehide texture

We’ve upgraded our asset technology! The rainbow sheen seen here on the scales of the Stonehide was a breakthrough in our coloring limitations. This texture will be applied to mystic breeds in the future and bring further quality to our assets!

Great stuff! 

On the backend, we've not done many notable new things this month, but we're continuing through as we prepare for a dedicated alpha. Longhairs were stuck with file processing complications, but we're working them out and working in tandem!

Speaking of alpha, we're looking at opening free applications for alpha and transitioning from solely an internal to a semi-external volunteer test. More information on this as we grow closer. 

To Summarize: We showed updated Beta, Toshi, Phantowl and accessory assets, the dying system, two new site themes, a cute pawprint feature, and a new texture for mystic breeds.

What to expect next month: Further accessory assets, potential alpha update, and asset and software updates.

Note for Tumblr users: Something went wrong on our end, and while this update got posted to Kickstarter, it somehow did not got posted to Tumblr. We have re-uploaded it now for proper record keeping. Our sincerest apologies.

[mariacallous]

Pundits spent the past week expressing wonderment at how Donald Trump has lumbered back into the White House with a massive show of dominance and power. What they missed is that he’s already done more damage to the two most valuable assets of the office — its legitimacy and institutional power — than any prior presidency.

Trumpers have relished the chaos and utter dysfunction they’ve rapidly and deliberately sown, calling it a “shock and awe” operation. Leaving to one side the perversion of likening a president’s governance to the mass bombardment of a military adversary, the comparison of the start of Trump’s second term to the beginning of George W. Bush’s failed Iraq War may prove to be very apt, in a catastrophic sort of way.

While many are already unfurling “Mission Accomplished” banners for The Donald, there are many red flags flying.

Trump damages himself by pardoning cop beaters

Trump has long favored pardoning friends and cronies, as well as the friends and cronies of his friends and cronies. He apparently thinks arbitrarily exercising the pardon power brings him closer to the dictatorial status he aspires to.

But by making one of his first presidential acts pardoning nearly every one of the insurrectionists — including among them those who beat, bear sprayed, crushed, and concussed police officers — Trump immediately diminished himself and his office.

During a particularly unhinged news conference, during which Trump ranted about Southern California’s water supply being shut down by a nefarious plumber who closed a “valve,” the newly inaugurated president casually admitted how little thought or consideration he had given to the vile crimes he was excusing.

In response to a reporter asking why he pardoned an insurrectionist who had tased a Capitol Police Officer in the neck, an apparently befuddled Trump responded with “Well, I don’t know,” and then said he would “take a look” at it. (Watch below.)

As if to attempt to make up for letting off the violent insurrectionists, Trump followed up his cop-beater pardons by pardoning a cop responsible for killing a guy he was chasing for riding a moped without a helmet, as well as the partner who helped cover up the crime. That only amplified the (accurate) impression that Trump has departed from basic standards of decency.

The consequence of the debacle extended well beyond Trump himself. Before he issued his blanket pardons and commutations, his toadies offered assurances that he would not be so irresponsible as to let the violent insurrectionists off. These lackeys were immediately beclowned by Trump’s actions, and then, of course, leapt into action by offering embarrassing excuses for the Leader’s actions.

These apologists aside, a number of Republicans took the rare step of criticizing Trump’s first major presidential action, which a poll showed 58 percent of Americans disagreed with. It’s not a great opening look for a would be populist strongman.

The embrace of fascism

While Trump was busy letting off cop beaters and inviting the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to become part of the “political conversation,” his top White House advisor, Elon Musk, was focused on directly associating the new regime with fascism at home and abroad.

During an inauguration day address, an ebullient Musk flashed two Hitler Salutes at a gathering of Trump supporters. Musk’s apologists later claimed, variously, that he had actually been giving a “Roman Salute” or — in an insult to persons on the spectrum — asserted that Musk’s salute was a product of his alleged “Asperger’s syndrome.”

Musk himself, however, couldn't be bothered to come up with such excuses. Instead, he responded to criticisms of his Sieg Heils with a tweet replete with National Socialist “humor,” including: “Some people will Goebbels anything down!“ and “Bet you did nazi that coming.” He even managed to include juvenile “anti-woke” humor in his Nazi tweet, saying: “His pronouns would’ve been He/Himmler!”

Lest there be any doubt that the presidential consigliere’s predilection for fascism is real, Musk later in the week addressed followers of the German far right nationalist party, AfD, and urged them to “move beyond” their “past guilt” and “get excited about a future for Germany.” (Watch below.)

Trump, for his part, has so far remained largely mum about his closest advisor’s now unmistakable embrace of fascism, even while leaders of the AfD attended his inauguration. By entering office announcing their proud association with the far right, Trump and his team of extremists are marginalizing themselves.

Open and notorious illegality

The massive stack of executive orders Trump signed provided the first indications of a serious problem: He and his cronies are simultaneously confirming their status as chronically sloppy bumblers while doing their best to destroy some of the very governmental institutions that GOP presidents, including Ronald Reagan, have used to implement the kind of rightwing policies Trump claims to favor.

Overreaching and amateurish executive orders are nothing new for Trump. He stumbled during his first weeks in office in 2017 when he tried to implement a “Muslim ban” that federal judges repeatedly recognized to be illegal and galvanized resistance throughout the country.

During recent months, Trump associates claimed they had carefully prepared to avoid the stumbles of his first term. It was therefore all the more surprising that, during the first couple of days of his second one, Trump signed many EOs that are patently illegal and gratuitously offensive to many constituencies Trump and his party have come to rely on.

For example, Trump signed an executive order that made a terrible argument for the false proposition that the president has authority to deny citizenship to the children of people born in this country. The order, which purports to deny citizenship to US-born children of undocumented immigrants, is at direct odds with the first clause of the 14th Amendment. Indeed, the order is chock full of embarrassingly false assertions of

It therefore should have come as no surprise when a federal judge appointed by Reagan imposed a temporary restraining order preventing the Executive Order from being enforced, stating that it is “blatantly unconstitutional” and observing: "I've been on the bench for four decades, I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is." Similar rulings are all but certain to come soon, and it seems highly likely that Trump has set himself up for an early, major — and entirely unnecessary — loss at the Supreme Court.

On Monday night, Trump made another blatantly lawless move, ordering his budget office to put a total freeze on “all federal financial assistance.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed yesterday that the administration’s goal is “to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington DC is in a line with the president's agenda," but those dollars are appropriated by Congress and should flow regardless of Trump’s whims. Leavitt told reporters that organizations concerned about making payroll in light of the freeze should simply directly reach out to OMB Director Russ Vought, ignoring that fact that Vought hasn’t even been confirmed yet and that the order likely violates federal law.

Trump also unleashed a series of initiatives directed at the favorite bugaboo of the far right: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, otherwise known as civil rights. Trump left no doubt that his administration will be welcoming to invidious discrimination, including by revoking an executive order issued by Lyndon Johnson in 1965 requiring government contractors to ensure that their employees are “treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.”

Lest there be any doubt that the Trump administration is doing its very best to gin up an anti-civil rights movement, the Department of Defense ordered its educational personnel to censor training videos about the historic Tuskegee Airmen, until it was publicly shamed into retreating. The administration also established a hotline to snitch on suspected civil rights workers.

While the fair treatment of members of minority groups repulses a relatively small cohort of bigots among the MAGA base, such a governmental assault on non-white Christian Americans is a problematic cause for Trump, who has been trumpeting his purportedly outsized ability to garner votes from Latinos and Black Americans.

Nihilism

In recent days, Trumpers could be heard cackling in joy over the chaos that Trump’s reckless executive orders caused throughout the federal workforce. One apparent goal of this strategy is to drive as many people out of the government as possible.

The “be careful what you wish for” adage, however, could not more aptly apply. In situations like this, it’s always those who have the most sought-after skills and expertise that exit an organization, taking with them essential knowledge and abilities.

Trump’s moves may seem brilliant to nihilists who take glee in blowing up large portions of the government regardless of the consequences. But, as George W. Bush learned during Katrina, people get mighty angry when they find essential government services they rely on have been stripped away or placed in the hands of stooges.

Just as importantly, these attacks on governmental agencies and the personnel that constitute their essential infrastructure will hobble Trump’s efforts to carry out his extremist agenda. His acolytes imagine that they can restock the government with fellow extremists who just happen to have the skills and expertise required to ensure essential functions are preserved. It’s as if Trumpers don’t remember the huge costs past presidents — including Trump — have paid for putting cronies in charge, particularly during emergencies.

The first test is already upon us, as Trump confronts a rapidly escalating bird flu epidemic that is already resulting in egg prices far above those Trump used against Biden during the 2024 campaign. This is happening even as Trump is effectively inviting mission critical scientists and inspectors to leave the government’s employ.

On a longer term basis, Trump is already well on the road to doing just what the most successful far right president, Reagan, deliberately avoided — blowing up the institutions that will be essential to any actually successful effort to “remake” government.

As Reagan and his advisors recognized, it was essential to maintain the foundational infrastructure and prestige of lynchpin agencies like the DOJ, Treasury, and State Departments. Without them, a president’s powers are drastically diminished. But Trump and his acolytes are too enraptured by the flames and explosions resulting from the bombs they have been lobbing at public servants to think much about the potential consequences, including for their own agenda.

While Trump has been playing the role of The Great Dictator and ruling by decree, trouble’s been brewing. He just decamped to the sort of place he will spend much of the next four years, a golf course at a Trump resort. He’s summoned GOP lawmakers to Florida to pay him large sums and discuss perhaps the most important task of Trump’s next two years, but one he clearly finds uninteresting — passing critical legislation.

Trump and his sidekick Musk came close to causing a government shutdown, for absolutely no reason, just before Christmas. Since that time, Trump has evinced a characteristic lack of interest in the nuts and bolts of passing budgetary legislation. He reportedly told congressional leaders to come up with a way to get the debt ceiling raised to pay for his tax cuts and report back to him.

While Trump tries to keep his distance from the excruciatingly difficult task of passing anything through a House that has only a nominal Republican majority, he has also reportedly demanded that Congress pass a single, massive piece of legislation encompassing his entire agenda. It will renew and expand his unpopular tax cuts for the rich and gut essential programs — likely including ones for veterans, healthcare, education, housing, and nutrition.

The problem is that Trump and his team can’t afford to lose more than a couple of GOP votes to pass such a bill. Passage therefore requires a yes from pretty much every Republican lawmaker, from the “budget hawk” extremists to those in perilous positions in swing districts.

This, of course, is where the rubber hits the road. Many of the massive cuts in spending that GOP leaders have been floating will hit key Republicans constituencies even as Trump pushes for even more tax cuts slanted in favor of the ultra rich. Trump and his party are pursuing this strategy despite the fact that similarly regressive tax legislation, as well as a failed attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act, contributed to a major midterm loss for the GOP during Trump’s first term.

Trump is relying on fear and relentless pressure (the only type of politics he understands) to compel reluctant GOP lawmakers to vote for a bill that seems likely to doom some of them in under two years. But if only a few of them conclude that passage of Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” is likely to end their careers, it could be delayed and stripped down. Furthermore, successfully passing the bill on a party line vote could impose huge political costs on Trump and his entire party, given how unpopular key elements of it are likely to be.

In the meantime, Trump’s popularity — which while at a high for him, remains below 50 percent — could well start to decline, lessening his appearance of political invincibility.

Opportunities presented by disaster

Readers should not construe this assessment of Trump’s opening moves as a prediction of either his political demise or triumph.

Trump and his crew are plainly at war with democracy and are determined to stay in power regardless of how unpopular their policies may be. But the unpopularity of many of Trump’s policies, as well as the sheer idiocy of many of the his actions and those of his cronies, offer real opportunities to the opposition.

Whatever happens, nobody will be able to blame Trump and his party for failing to provide their opponents with a lot of ammunition to fight back.

[reconstructwriter]

So I Finally Finished Attack of the Clones

...for the very first time. When did this movie come out again? I am late, is there still room on this bandwagon? Anyway more thought vomiting on this movie...

Sith Pattern: I do appreciate that Palpatine is old, rich, white male fascist. Dooku is old, rich, white male fascist. Anakin shakes things up a bit by starting out young and poor but he’ll get there and has the rest down. Meanwhile our heroes are Padme Amidala, Mace Windu, Yoda, Bail, etc. Would have loved for George Lucas’ original casting of Obi Wan to have gone through! This does make Mirror!verses and morality flip AU's very weird because the Galaxy is being saved from aliens by three white guys? Unfortunate implications aside I can suspend a lot of disbelief about laser-swords and magic IN SPACE but I gotta draw the line somewhere.

Anakin’s attachment: Is well-shown here with convenient comparison to Cleigg – her husband and her son, the two who should love Shmi the most. At her funeral Cleigg is all ‘you’re in a better place. Thank you for the time we had,’ vs Anakin’s ‘I wasn’t strong enough to save you, I won’t fail again’ and ‘I miss you’. Exact opposites. Cleigg was entirely focused on Shmi while Anakin was focused on himself.

Also Anakin’s focus kinda screwed up Obi Wan’s mission when he wasted precious moments FINDING Anakin to get his galactically-important message through.

Mace Windu Not Killing Dooku: Shatterpoint, along with some fanfics, has Mace beating himself up for not ending the war by killing Dooku but my man you’re too hard on yourself! You only killed Jango when he decided to fuck around and find out with you in the death arena. Dooku did not fuck around and find out so your only chance would’ve been to throw away all your Jedi morals and stab him in the back! Thus risking becoming Darth Tyrannus 2.0 and screwing the galaxy.

Jango why did you fuck around and find out? I get Mace held a laser sword to your throat and you had a working jetpack going into the arena…but that arena is No Man’s Land. Even if Galidraan was canon you could’ve stayed back and taken pot shots.

The scene with Boba giving one last keldabe kiss to his father’s helmet is heartbreaking! Ouch!!!

Padme: So I kinda get being willing to confess her terrible taste in men on Space Fantasy Death Row. She doesn’t want to live a lie and is straight up expecting to die so what does it matter if she confesses? And then she does live so consequence time! Still feels like she’s ignoring the genocide – or George Lucas is ignoring the obvious implications. Genocide does work for foreshadowing Jedi genocide and Nazi comparisons (boy howdy does it!!!). But murdering every single member of an entire tribe down to the babes in arms doesn’t work for ‘Anakin doesn’t Fall here, he just dips his toe in the Dark’.

Padme otherwise doesn’t seem too terribly out of character throughout. She stands her ground against Anakin and where she does give in – rescuing Shmi – or chooses to go after Obi Wan? Well both did do her immensely big favors it’d be weirder if she brushed them off. Plus, rescuing both comes with additional benefits – no assassin will look for her on Tattooine (it worked before) and Obi Wan’s rescue could offer the opportunity to discuss peace with the Separatists before war happened.

And it did – in the cut scene :P

Dual with Dooku: So Anakin did put his duty first when Padme fell in the (barren, sans enemies) sand with an ally but damn if his attachment to her wasn’t still affecting him. The hot-headed idiotic attack was the worst possible timing! Why does everyone beat Mace up (including the man himself) for not killing Dooku but give Anakin a pass when he had every chance of ending the war Right There if he’d been able to keep his head on straight for two minutes.

The End: As with the first movie, we end with Mace and Yoda clearly knowing what the Sith are doing, though they're split with Mace believing Dooku while Yoda thinks its a trick. And I think they’re both right because I read somewhere Dooku and Palpatine were hoping to sow doubt between the Jedi and the Senate but also was telling the truth – from a certain point of view. Anyway, they aren't oblivious. Yoda straight up says the Shroud of the Dark Side has Fallen.

The last scene really drives that home! How the beginning of the war is the beginning of the Empire. The war kills the Republic and this is repeatedly smacked into our brains with the imagery of Palpatine standing at the head of everyone else, the most powerful Supreme Chancellor ever as the army of white-clad troopers marches out into the galaxy below him. The Destroyers lift off. The Empire’s freaking theme music plays.

Overall the movie had its high points and stinkers but that was a damn fine end!