#it can be pretty hard to tell what they'll choose

[felassan]

All companions are pansexual!!!

Game is rated M, will contain nudity. [source]

Full article:

"In a new interview with The Veilguard game director Corinne Busche, we've confirmed that yes, you will be able to romance any companion you want, regardless of your character's gender or race. It's a bit of a surprise for fans, considering that in previous Dragon Age games, the romanceable characters had different sexual orientations. Some were pansexual, sure, but others were heterosexual, others were only attracted to the same sex, and some could only be romanced if you were a certain race (Dragon Age: Inquisition's Solas, for example, could only be romanced by female elves). But Busche pushes back on the idea that The Veilguard's companions are "playersexual," a term used to describe games where NPCs are specifically only attracted to the player character. She says she's seen playersexual "done in a number of games," and "it can be really off-putting where these characters are adapting to who you, the player, are." Rather, Busche insists that they're all specifically pansexual, and that might come through in what you learn about their backstories. "Their past experiences or partners, they'll reference them and indeed who they'll become romantic with," Busche tells IGN. "For instance, we saw Harding. I might be playing a straight male character flirting with her, but I choose not to pursue a romance. She might get together with Taash. So my perception, my identity has no bearing on their identities and that comes through really strongly." When asked if that means it won't take long for romance to become an option in The Veilguard, Busche confirms that you'll be able to start flirting with everyone pretty early, as you recruit all seven companions throughout the first act. But, she clarifies, "it's not until the later parts of the game where you really commit to romance and it gets pretty spicy.""

---

"Speaking of spicy... Of course, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a BioWare game, and games from the studio — specifically those in the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series — are known to have some fairly explicit sex scenes. Busche confirms that The Veilguard will be no different, particularly towards the end of the game: "Of course, we are an M-rated game," she says. "We do have nudity." There's also some obvious parallels to be made between The Veilguard and last year's critical darling Baldur's Gate 3. The latter became known not only for its deep romances (like The Veilguard, Baldur's Gate 3 player characters can romance any companion regardless of gender or race), but also for its sex scenes, including one involving a Wild-Shaping Druid that went pretty viral. Busche isn't afraid to admit that she has played Baldur's Gate 3, and loved it, as she's an "an RPG fan through and through": "The more character-driven party-based RPGs with deep emotional connection, the better." "What I love about the two games is I think they live side by side in a really interesting way," she continues. "They're very different games, but those emotional connections and how the narratives hook you, I think there's space for both." Specifically in regards to the sex scenes and how The Veilguard will handle theirs differently, Busche says some of Baldur's Gate 3's scenes were "shocking and comical in some ways, and I would say I loved that." "Our companions, we want them to be relatable and fully realized. So they can get spicy, but in a way that I think people will actually relate to," she says. Basically: no bear sex. Busche goes on to say that how sexually explicit the scenes are, too, will vary between characters. "Some of them are more spicy than others," she reveals. "Just like real life, our companions have such diverse personalities. Some of them are more physical, more aggressive, and some of them are more... we have a gentleman necromancer, for instance, that is more intimate and sensual." Our interview with Busche comes as BioWare continues to roll out information about the highly anticipated Dragon Age sequel, with a cinematic trailer having dropped at the Xbox Showcase over the weekend. Dragon Age: The Veilguard will debut sometime this fall."

[source]

[couldtheybekira]

Catching Kira is overrated. Let's talk about not getting caught as Kira.

This is the reverse of @couldtheycatchkira where I give you a character and you determine if they could survive as Kira.

Important note: Assume the character is completely willing to be Kira. @wouldtheybecomekira already exists.

Second important note: "Being Kira" just means continuous use of the Death Note to kill. They don't have to get into the whole "God of a New World" thing if they don't want to.

There are six categories:

Never caught or suspected: Not only does this character live to actually create their new world, but nobody ever suspects it was actually them! I better not see you vote people into this category just because you like them or it'd be funny. Actually it being funny is valid

Suspected but never caught: It's about a five percent chance. They live to make their new world, and while people have certainly suggested it being them, and some believe it, there's just not enough evidence to convict them

Suspected only by whoever caught them: The general public was fooled, but someone, likely an enemy of that character in their canon, caught on to them and brought them to justice.

Suspected and eventually caught: Look, not even Actual Kira was perfect. They slip up little by little, and they get caught.

Caught almost instantly: Oh, all of that character's worst enemies die day one? Yeah, if they don't stop to think, it's pretty easy to lead investigators straight to them before Ryuk has the chance to not tell them some critical information.

Known, but can't be caught: In other words: "I'm Kira, whatcha gonna do about it?" For characters whose abilities outside of the Death Note mean that facing the law is barely even a possibility for them. (This one is a late addition, so early polls won't have it.)

(Results/Unqualified To Say): If you don't know, don't answer. I do try to include supplementary information when I know the character, and get it out of the submitter when I don't, though.

When you submit a character, please include their source media, and if you can, an image of them from their source media.

Additionally, ever so often we'll run polls about the Shinigami Eyes Deal and Relinquishing the Death Note and your memory of it.

For the Shinigami Eyes Deal:

Takes the Eye Deal instantly: As soon as it's on the table they accept. Yes, they did hear the part about losing half their remaining life span. They said they accept.

Takes the Eye Deal eventually: They'll come around to it, or if they think they don't have that long a natural lifespan left anyway.

Takes the Eye Deal due to desperate circumstances: They're forced into a bad spot and just need to get someone off them right now, or their life is gonna shortened by a lot more than half.

Uses someone else who took the Eye Deal: You can choose who, and what circumstances allow this to even be possible.

Never takes the Eye Deal: They just don't. Ever. It's either not worth it, it's too easy, whatever.

For Relinquishing the Death Note

Relinquishes Death Note permanently; no longer needs it: They've done what they needed with the notebook. I know I said we're assuming they're completely willing to become Kira, but we never said anything about staying Kira.

Relinquishes Death Note permanently; only way to survive: Investigators are getting too close to their trail and if they're interrogated they'll definitely crack. It's possible they also make someone else become Kira, but this is a one-way street. They do not remember this, ever.

Relinquishes Death Note temporarily; never regains it: It's very hard to stick to a plan you don't remember making. They relinquish the notebook with the intent of getting it back, and simply never do. Either to a change of heart, circumstances not allowing it, or what have you.

Relinquishes Death Note temporarily; regains it: The perfect alibi, perfectly executed. You can fill in the blanks for what their plan was and how it works, they're Kira, they'll do it.

Never relinquishes Death Note: Again, they just don't.

And also also, you can submit strategies for what you would do if you're Kira! These can be found under the tag "Kira's strategies," and are polled with the following options:

Flawless Strategy; Why didn't Light use this, is he stupid?

Great Strategy; On par with Light

Okay Strategy; Anyone could think of that

Poor Strategy; You've made some critical oversights

Terrible Strategy; This would get you caught faster

[subbmissivesuccubus]

R-V (Renngoku X Fem!ReaderX Uzui)

Part 4 of my A-Z Series <3 <3 <3

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3;

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

As long as it makes you happy, the two men are willing to try whatever you want atleast once. If they try it and didn't like it, they'll let you know but they can atleast say they gave it a fair shot. Of course, they won't compromise on their hard limits so you won't get them to be submissive for you but, they do enjoy it when you take the lead, being more assertive in your affection towards them. If there are any kinks, role-plays, toys or any general change in your sex life that you want to attempt, they're always ready to try it out for you.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

You thought you had good stamina thanks to your life as a demon slayer. With your breathing techniques and rigorous training, your durability in bed also improved and you can even delay your orgasm using your breathing skills if you so choose. But you quickly realized your endurance was nothing compared to your two lovers. To be fair, you had to please both of them, but even so, their stamina was no joke. Perhaps it came with being hashira's as the control they had over their bodies and breathing was much better than yours. They could fuck you for hours and not show signs of slowing down, their cocks still erect despite dumping numerous loads inside you. And just like you, they can also delay their climax, edging themselves as they indulge in your body, loving your whines of frustration as they make you cum over and over again (you even challenged them once- telling them that you will use your breathing techniques to not orgasm no matter what they do to you. How wrong you were. Not even your breathing techniques could defeat their skills in the bedroom) without giving you the satisfaction of filling you up with their seed. They absolutely loved breaking you down into a sobbing, slobbering mess, eyes rolled to the back of your head and body convulsing from all the pleasure so having the stamina to get you to that point was pretty handy. Of course, things would have been a lot more difficult for everybody if you were a regular, non demon slaying person who'd have to clock out after a few rounds. But you're strong enough to take it <3 another reason why they adore you so much.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

At the time that they live in, sex toys are limited to just things one can insert inside themselves or objects used to clamp onto things. While Rangoku isn't one to use toys- the man thinking that two cocks to stuff into your pretty holes is enough- Uzui loves them. There's something about plunging a wooden cock inside you over and over again, giving him a perfect view of your red face, sweat dripping down your brow as you whined at the feeling, without being distracted by his own pleasure. His favorite though, and Rengoku agrees this is nice as well, is to use clamps on your nipples. Your little squeal of pain as your nipples are harshly pinched by a clamp, your sensitive bud squeezed tightly instantly makes his cock hard. Attach those clamps with a couple of chains and Uzui will pull on them as he fucks you, the threat of the clamps getting tugged off your nipples making your pussy tighten around his cock.

If you're really bratty and naughty, he might just use a clamp on your poor little clit...yikes.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Both of the men love to tease you and it's simultaneously amazing yet exhausting. Rengoku enjoys teasing you with words, whispering naughty things to you at inappropriate times to get you hot and bothered. Out shopping? Hanging out with friends? Before an important meeting? "I can't wait until we get home, my love. Oh, the things I want to do to your body~" "You're such a pretty little girl, you know that? And you'll look even prettier on your knees, sucking my cock~" "Mind your attitude or I might just have to throw you over my knee and punish your ass. You think I won't do it in front of your friends?"

Uzui is much more handsy with his teasing but, of course, he's a man of a filthy tongue and is capable of reducing you brain to mush with a few words. His favorite is to tease you with some gropes and touches, especially in public. Your beet red face after he lightly tapped your ass while you walked is something he enjoys immensely. Unlike Rengoku who'll take you as soon as you get privacy, Uzui will continue to tease, riling you up even more. "Such a desperate princess, aren't you? What's with that look on your face? Is you pussy already wet and desperate for me? All I did was lightly touch you, sweetheart. If you want my cock, you're going to have to earn it."

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Uzui let's out these growls from deep within his chest, the sound making your pussy clench around his cock. He also has a habit of letting out breathy laughs, especially when he's gotten you fucked out and cock drunk. He looks down at you, hair matted to his sweaty forehead with a cocky smirk on his face as he laughs at your expression, the sound making your body shudder. Uzui is one to indulge in dirty talk however so his moans are mixed with his filthy, filthy words: "Look at you- fuck- poor baby~ Crying all over my mmm- my cock. Does it feel good honey? Hmm? My fat cock- fuck yes- splitting your tiny pussy open? Hahaha- fuck- Ooo~ You're such a fucking slut for us- I love it~"

Rengoku is more vocal when he feels pleasure, his moans sounding heavenly. There was something about seeing his face red and eyebrows furrowed, mouth open as he moans in pleasure, your pussy squeezing his cock so deliciously. He'll hug you close as he fucks you, moaning directly into your ear which makes you feel so lightheaded you're surprised you haven't passed out. "So good- so good. Darling- your pussy- ah- ah- fuck- feels so good~""Good girl. good girl. Ah yes- fuck that's tight- just relax baby. Let me- oh god- let me fuck this ass~"

Your head always feels loopy and overstimulated thanks to the sex, but couple their noises while they fuck you? You need a two day break to recover. While individually they might not be the most vocal- when they fuck you together, perhaps fueled with the desire to have your attention be focused on them, they don't bite down their moans and groans and growls. The worst (or best?) is when they're double stuffing you, one cock in your pussy with the other in your ass as they both take an ear to moan into, making your brain short-wire as your assaulted by pleasure and their heavenly voices and moans.

[whereserpentswalk]

You saw an angel shopping at a convenience store. They were just sort of hanging out. It's actually a myth that all angels are less powerful than all gods, or all serve them. Angels exist to uphold cosmic law, while gods are powerful entities but are free to do what they will with that power.

Anyway, you end up going up to the angel and talking to them. It's slightly awkward at first. You expected them to be both more humanoid and more divine. They have a doll like body, made out of white hard plastic with obvious joints, their wings are made out of pure light, and they have black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They're only wearing a t shirt and baseball hat, nothing else. They seem incredibly uncomfortable being here.

You end up saying hi though, and asking them how they're doing. You realize it's not normal to talk to strangers like that but you're doing it. They seem a bit afraid to talk, but eventually you ask them if they're ok talking, and they say yes, and become ok with it. You offer them an apple, they say it's pretty but they can't eat, and they'll watch over it until it dies.

After talking for a bit they start talking with their boss, whose a very powerful angelic knight. They're negotiating with the fae again, and they need to buy some things that fae like, and they were sent to earth for the first time because thats where things are cheapest. They take this task very seriously, in angel culture one is only valued by their ability to serve their angelic duties, no other entitiy of the cosmos has a culture of such strictness. You show them some things you think might work. The apple was one of them apparently.

You end up complaining about your boss a bit. The angel asks you where you work and you point to the office building across the street from you. The angel said that they found the massive glass towers on earth pretty, that only human cities have them, and they didn't know what they were for. You've never thought of the place you worked as pretty.

The angel asks if you're a boy or a girl in a slightly awkward way eventually, and you explain that you're neither, just like them. They're a bit confused, because they thought humans had two sexes, but you explain that you chose the form you now inhabit. They tell you they would choose to be female if angels were allowed to. They tell you some demons who used to be angels chose genders, but that they'd rather die then fall so it'll never happen to them.

Eventually you have to say goodbye to them. They give you their number, it's an irrational number but your phone will call it all the same. You ask to take a photo of them, and they let you, they ask why and you tell them they're pretty. They became weirdly happy about that. You don't think angels call eachother things like pretty, especially not for just existing, for just being there. When you hug them their body is strangley cold, you remember they're closer to a machine than a human in how their body works, it's strangely calming and refreshing just to touch them. Mabye soon you can touch them again.

[lunaekalenda]

paternal figure

warnings: fem!reader, melusines call neuvillette "dad" (idk anymore what i'm doing), reader is referred as "partner" and some petnames by neuvi, purely selfish tbh.

The melusines think Neuvillette is the perfect dad. He cares for all of them, it's kind, soft and plays with them on his days off. He always pays visits and brings gifts to all of them, forgetting none, even the ones that already work in different points of Fontaine. The melusines love him as much as he loves them, that's why he's nervous when you both walk towards the little cave where they live. What if you don't like them? If they don't like you? If you get scared? If they get scared? Although they're kind by nature, he's afraid they have bad experience with humans and they reflect it towards you.

"Where are we going?" you ask again, smiling towards the man that walks in front of you, with a hand tangled on yours. He stops walking before taking air and your other hand, shiny eyes directly on yours. He's taking you there by surprise because he, the Iudex, the implacable man that looks for justice on Fontaine, was nervous as hell to tell you. It's such an important moment for him, to let you meet his family. After all, that's the best word to describe the bond that connects him, they'r their only parental figure, and all the little creatures that live a couple steps ahead.

"We're.... meeting my family today." He clears his throat, and you can't hide your surprise. Today? You didn't choose an special outfit or brought any gifts. You're about to scold your man when he keeps going. "They're a ton, and they're curious. They'll ask a ton of questions and the littlest ones will want to play with you all day long." he murmurs, taking his gaze to the entrance of the cave, too afraid to look at you. "Please, be patient with them, as much as you were with me." You catch his words easily, because he was a man that showed no feelings. It was hard at first, to get over the façade of confidence and seriousness to meet the warmest heart you could ever think of. "I'm sure they'll like you as much as I do"

Any scold words you had break down when he looks again at you. Sincerity, nervousness and a tony bit of anxiety mix on his eyes, the ones that never show anything more than confidence and love. You smile widely at him, excited by meeting his family, but afraid you won't be enough. Getting on your tip toes, you kiss his jaw before speaking.

"I really wanna meet them, Neuv. I'm sure they're amazing." he smiles sweetly, releasing one of your hands before walking again with the other still caged on his. "They are." he whispers, more for himself than for you.

You have only put a step inside the cave before you listen to tiny and quick steps. In front of you, a lot of little creatures run towards your man before hugging his legs. Their puffy hands and their little horns buried on his coat. You stay behind him smiling, looking at how all the little creatures surround him lovingly, without even noticing anything more than him. He kneels and they speak all at once.

"Can I show you my latest paint?"

"I baked cookies, do you want some?"

"Are you gonna play a little with us?"

"Can I remake your ponytail?"

He takes his gaze back to you, as he takes a second of silence to let all the melusines get his attention on him. He takes air.

"I wanna introduce someone to you." He says. Their tails move quickly, you wonder if excitedly or nervously, as Neuvillette stands up and walks towards you, taking your hand on his again and making you walk in between all the creatures. The closer you are, the more beautiful you think they are. Their big eyes scan you from head to toes, curious, and Neuvillette presses your waist softly, indicating you to crouch near them. You can hear his tiny voices speaking between them. "She's so pretty." "She seems so kind." "She looks like a princess." "Her smile is beautiful." You can only hear good words from their mouths, all of them still looking at you with adoration, when Neuvillette kneels near you. "She's my partner. Please, treat her kindly, although you always do." One of the melusines takes a couple steps ahead, smiling sweetly towards you. "Welcome to our village! Are you gonna stay to have dinner with dad?" you look back at Neuvillette, who nods with a smile, and you accept the invitation with a wide enthusiasm. The melusine takes your hand. "Come with me, I can cook something more if you don't like it." She takes you around the village, when other melusine follows. "Later can you come to my home? I can show you my coral collection!" Another one pops from behind her. "I also have marine makeup, I'm sure you would love to try it!"

The melusines take you home by home, showing you all types of things and curiosities, sharing everything they have with you and, although they're a tiny village, you feel so loved and accepted by everyone that you feel as if it was the most special place of all Teyvat. Sèdenne takes you back to her home, where the dinner will be hosted, and there you find Neuvillette, sitting on a near chair as a couple melusines take his hair on the characteristic low ponytail he has. He smiles widely when you arrive back, and once he's sure they're done, he stands up to meet you on the corridor. "How was it?" he whispers, softly, taking your chin on his hands. You smile towards him before he takes your lips on his, making all the melusians take their gazes away and blush. "It was amazing." You whisper back, and it's true. The melusines made you feel at home. "Should we take a seat?"

Sitting by his side on the table, with his hand on your thigh and the memory of his lips still on yours, all the melusines sit on the rest, while some of them chat with Neuvillette, excited and happy to be able to share their days with their favorite person in the world.

His smile while he listens shows how much he cares for all of them and the gesture alone makes you fall in love way more with him. With his softness, his respect, his love towards them. You could get used to this.

Once the dinner is done and you help them clean, Neuvillette takes your waist, as a signal to leave. Some of the melusines yawn, but they don't want to stop talking with both of you yet. Neuvillette hugs every single one of them, and they run towards your arms right after. "Don't leave, please" "At you coming with him every day?" "Please, visit us more!" were some of the words shared with you. When you left, the tiny melusines share how happy their dad looks and how perfect you seem as the mom role they'll always missed.

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

PRIDE MONTH PROMPTS 2024

They are here!!

Last year I released them in May, and I asked you when I should release it this year. You agreed I should release it early/mid april. And I think the perfect time is now! You have plenty of time to prepare your things for June!

So, here are 30 prompts, 1 prompt per day, for all of June! Use them for writing, or for art, or why not for something else creative you can come up with?

I will now write all the prompts in the list if it's hard to read, plus some explanations/suggestion what you can do for them.

Day 1. Actually, I'm not straight. Someone kicking off pride month by telling their nearest and dearest that they aren't straight, like everyone seems to think!

Day 2. Surprise! We're dating! A couple comes out to their friends ;)

Day 3. Early signs. Early signs someone was not straight, or not cis. Or both!

Day 4. Gender euphoria. Euphoooooriaaaaa forever to end of time /j Ok no but yeah, someone experiencing gender euphoria :) It's great :)

Day 5. Surprise! We're engaged! Surprise engagement! Did people even know they were dating?

Day 6. Proposal. You can choose to show the proposal for the couple at day 5... or a brand new couple! :D

Day 7. Pride flags. Are they making pride flags? Buying pride flags? Identifying pride flags? So much you can do! :)

Day 8. Prideful baking. A return from last year! Who's baking? Are they doing it with pride? Are they making rainbow cakes? This is also a way to make some ships be cute together as they bake.

Day 9. Wedding. To quote Sam from Glee: "YEAH! COME ON GUYS! GAY MARRIAGE GOOD!"

Day 10. Shenanigans at the Pride Parade. Time to let those characters run wild at the pride parade!

Day 11. Coming out as trans. Pretty self explanatory I think ;)

Day 12. Planning for a child. Two women, two men, maybe a trans couple... any not-cishet couple are planning for a child <3 Are they adopting? IVF? However they're doing it, they're gonna get that child :)

Day 13. Two moms. Two mommies thriving with their kiddos!

Day 14. Are they dating or not? People are speculating the relationship of some people.

Day 15. First crush. Aww, someone's first crush! Have they ever felt this before?

Day 16. Alternate universe. Go crazy with this! This could mean anything from "a universe in which this ship is canon" to "they live in a fantasy world". Do whatever!

Day 17. Realizing they're ace. Self explanatory ;)

Day 18. Two dads. Two daddies on request (Sorry I've watched too much of Papás por encargo (Daddies on request) to not make that joke). They'll do anything for the kids!

Day 19. I thought everyone liked both? What??? They don't?????

Day 20. Fruity sleepover. Anything and everything can happen at a sleepover!

Day 21. Pining. They pine so hard and yet... will their crush ever notice?

Day 22. Secret dating. Or are they as they secret as they think? How much chaos do they end up in to keep this?

Day 23. Dinner. Maybe just a normal dinner in a queer friendgroup. Or maybe someone coming out at dinner. Maybe the first dinner at their partner's house. Or maybe someone's making dinner for their loved one.

Day 24. Confession. Coming out confession? Confession to your crush? Just a confession about your favorite food in the middle of a pride parade? Yeah, you decide!

Day 25. Date. THEY'RE ON A DATE THE BABIES!!! Is it a good date? I hope so!

Day 26. Gender is a construct. Not everything is binary.

Day 27. Queer group meeting. You can toy around with this a lot. A group meeting with closeted gays? A group meeting with every character from your different fandoms that you headcanon as bi that you want to interact in the group meeting for disaster bi's? A group meeting for aces just vibing? Maybe we'll meet a lot of different groups!

Day 28. Accidental coming out. Oops!

Day 29. Alternate time period. You want to play out a little love story but instead they live in the 1950s? Or maybe they live in the future! Maybe they live in the medieval times! Woah!

Day 30. Growing old together. Look at them now. Who knew they'd find each other in the world and now they're here?

I hope I'm gonna see some of you in pride month! It's always a pleasure! Also, when the time comes in June, and you want to use one of these prompts, don't forget to tag me ;)

[mcytblrconfessions-but-badder]

Hey! You don't have to post this if you don't want to but I saw you were asking for tips on how kids talk for your fic. I work at a daycare and could give a bit of advice if you're interested.

Most kids actually just talk like normal adults would but with simple grammer depending on the age.

Kids 8-12 will probably love to info dump about things they know about, even if they don't actually know that much about a topic. They'll be curious but are past the typical "why?" phase and will want to know how things work ("How does the water stay in a lake?/Where does the river go?). Kids this age currently love roblox, FnaF, and minecraft.

Kids 5-7 A really good example would be to watch one or two episodes of bluey. The way they talk and act is a very good reference.

Kids 3-4 can range pretty heavily. Most kids are learning to potty train at this time and are pretty good at communicating. They can tell you what they want to eat, they can tell you what they want to do for fun and they can tell you what they don't like about something. It's when they really start developing personality.

Though they're good at communicating, there's a lot of pauses when they talk. Lots of "umm"s and "uhhhh"s. Definitely the 'why' phase. The words they choose to use aren't very long even if they understand longer words. A kid will know what the word "understand " will mean but they'll prefer words like "know". 3-4 are WAY smarter than most people give them credit for.

1-2 is a big range developmentally.

Some 2 year olds are talking and starting potty training. Other 2 year olds are barely talking and not using sentences yet and nowhere near ready to use a toilet.

Some 1 year olds are walking, saying words, and eating table foods. Other 1 year olds can only say mama and Dada, can only crawl, and might not be eating much more than baby food and mashed potatoes.

The range is so big for these ages but the general gist is that this is the generic toddler. They WILL get into things they aren't supposed to and they WILL repeat the one curse word you accidentally say around them. I've met a LOT of toddlers who say "oh shit" and it's hard to teach them that they aren't supposed to say certain words.

Anything younger than than can be summed up as a just. Baby. There's a lot I COULD say about babies developmentally (that's my specialty and what I have in my class) but this post is long enough.

Of course all kids are different and this is just a really rough overview, and I'd say the best way to get used to writing kids is to watch videos of kids having conversations and playing and try transcribing what they're saying.

this is amazing thank you so much!

[thedubiousdallon]

Okay here's the basic premise for my Heartbroken! Taylor AU. Danny and Annette visit Toronto on their honeymoon, and Heartbreaker decides he's interested and kidnaps her. 9ish months later, Taylor is born. Taylor has an interesting childhood event by Heartbroken standards, because Annette often has enough lucidity to remember and miss the man she married and the life she would've had, though never enough lucidity to actually want to leave Heartbreaker (and only once enough lucidity to put herself between him and Taylor. That's not the kind of thing Nikos would let slide). As a result, Taylor grows up a bit closer than her mother than most of the Heartbroken are to theirs, and she grows up hearing - occasionally and in secret - about the man who would've been and who might maybe possibly actually be her father, and some snippets of what a normal life could've been.

This does not make her well-liked by her siblings, and she gets bullied pretty badly, something that is only somewhat mitigated when she Triggers. She has a lot of antipathy towards her powered siblings of her approximate age for being more socially adept and willing to earn Daddy's favor at her expense. She's got a lot of antipathy for Jean-Paul in particular, because she was part of the group assigned to bring him in, and when she failed, Heartbreaker didn't just punish her, he punished her mother.

Fast forward, and it's only a matter of time before Annette dies of abuse and neglect. With her mother gone, Taylor realizes that there's nothing holding her here anymore, and she makes an alliance with Cherie to escape together. They succeed, but are forced to separate to avoid recapture. They had planned to travel to Brockton Bay, where Taylor has desperate hopes of finding Danny and... well, when she tries to put her hopes for what will happen next into words she feels childish, silly, and depressed, so she's not gonna think about it too hard.

Taylor spends a few days in the city tracking him down, then a few more days trying to convince herself to make contact, only to be nabbed by Coil and pressed into the Undersiders. The story would their escapades as in canon, but with a focus on the difficult interpersonal dynamic between Taylor and Alec, with Cherie being added to the mix once she makes her way to Brockton for a lack of any better ideas (no S9 for her in this timeline!), with them eventually collaborating to get the Undersiders out from under Coil's thumb in something of a "let's do it right this time" reprise of their much more individualistic escapes from Heartbreaker. They would make contact with Danny eventually, but his exact involvement is TBD.

Taylor's power would allow her to detect the presence of everyone within about a block of her, and the ability to choose one person at a time within her range to tap into the senses of, replacing her own perception with theirs. This wouldn't let her read minds or emotions, but would allow her to borrow other parahumans' power enhanced senses. So, like, she wouldn't hear the information that Tattletale's power feeds her, but if Grue was in his darkness when she tapped his senses, she'd be able to see through it because he could see through it. Lastly, while tapping someone's senses, she can put words in their head that they'll hear, but they won't necessarily be able to tell that those words are coming from someone else as opposed to being their own thoughts. Exact responses to this would vary depending on the nature of the target, but one of the most subtle and consistent uses of it would be that, if she suggests specific courses of action while someone is doing something absentmindedly or on autopilot, and it's a suggestion that can be carried out fast enough that someone wouldn't have enough time to think twice, they're likely to do it. Driving a vehicle at high speed? Hard left! Got a gun trained on someone? Safety on!

Her cape name would be Subliminal.

[chaifootsteps]

feeling bad for the fans holding out hope that Via's one line from the trailer about 'you never loved me or mother you love him [Blitz]' will be part of the narrative holding Stolas accountable

if the storyboard leak is still accurate Via says that right before ditching Stolas outside Andre's castle. Viv is again framing him as the victim because Stella/Andre have been screening Stolas' calls so she thinks he doesn't care (so it's not his fault) and she gets mad at him for using anti-depressants (which is pretty transparently designed to make Via look bad and unreasonable imo). the only thing she's allowed to mention that makes some sense is his choosing Blitz over her which is similar to Blitz getting to vaguely gesture at Stolas being a pompous royal without the writers letting him use specific examples anyone would think to mention

and speaking of - it's the exact same writing issue as all the stuff with Blitz.

everything she could say that's reasonable for her to be upset about - why didn't he call her when he got hurt and was in the hospital (texting Blitz first instead), why didn't he do anything to ensure either of their safety after he knows Stella called a hitman on him, why didn't he tell her about that, why did he instead spend all that time focused on getting a crystal for Blitz only to get drunk when he got rejected, why did he risk her inheritance for sex - I'm pretty confident the vast majority of this stuff will never be brought up

instead she's only ever going to be mad at him for things that are either not his fault or unreasonable on her part. it's embarrassing to feel so defensive of a character that his 17yr old is next to be forced to take stupid pills just so the narrative can favor him

An all likelihood, they'll learn the hard way what we all had to learn...that holding out hope for anything when it comes to HB is a recipe for disappointment.

[travelingmaster-inspirations]

"I want you on your best behavior girls. Is that understood?" I said.

"Yes Mistress!" they all said in perfect unison.

I smiled and went to open the door.

"Thank you for your patience Josh. Come right in." I said, stepping aside to let him in.

"Thanks!" he said. "Oh wow... You weren't kidding huh?"

"I rarely do." I said as I followed him to the bed.

"Ok I have to admit..." he said after looking at the obedient kneeling girls nervously. "This feels completely bonkers... Like... At any moment you'll all burst out laughing or something..."

"I assure you nothing like that will happen." I said, taking the time to move to the other side of the bed so I could stand next to Becky while still facing my client. "As we've discussed before, this is very real and my goal is to earn your patronage..." I said, letting my hand comb her short mane. "It wouldn't make sense to make fun of perspective clients now would it?"

"No I guess not..." he said, still visibly nervous. "But come on... You have to admit that what you are offering is kind of out there..."

"I prefer to think of my service as... Unique." I said, winking at him. "All though I'm sure you'll agree that pimping out pretty girls is hardly anything new."

"Right..." he said, swallowing nervously. "So... You are saying that I can choose one of these girls and... Huh... They'll be my girlfriend for 2 weeks?"

"For the next 2 weeks at least, I guarantee that the girl you pick... And pay for... Will believe with all her heart that she's your girlfriend... Mistress... Human pet... Slave... Which ever tickles your fancy..." I said. "As long as you take care of her basic needs and she comes back to me unharmed, she'll be ANYTHING you want her to be."

"And... Huh... They won't mind?" he asked.

"Of course they won't..." I said, caressing Becky's mane once more. "Or to be more precise... They CAN'T mind..."

"So you've mentioned..." he said looking back at my 3 smiling slaves. "But I'll admit I still have a hard time believing that hypnosis and brainwashing could really give you THAT much control over your friends..."

"Oh Honey..." I said, letting my hand follow her main all the way to her cleavage. "You don't have to believe in any of that to be able to enjoy the fruits of it..."

To make my point, I casually grabbed her top and pulled it down to expose both perky tits. As expected, Becky showed no sign at all that she registered, which had the intended effect of making Josh's jaw drop. I let him enjoy the sight for a few moments before lifting the top back over her tits.

"I... I guess you're right..." he said, swallowing hard. "Wow..."

"I can tell you enjoyed that..." I said. "And just think... If you rent out one of my girls, her tits will be all yours to enjoy however you want for those 2 weeks... In fact... ALL of her will be yours to enjoy... When ever... How ever you want..." I said, kissing the top of Becky's head. "I give you my personal guarantee that each of these girls have been extensively trained thanks to the... 'Cooperation'... of one of my rather largely hung boy toys. So you don't have to worry about anything you ask them to do because unless you're packing something overly excessive, these fine girls will be able to handle it without any issues."

"Huh... Boy toy?" he asked, looking at me.

"What?" I said straitening up with a coy little smile. "Did you think I only hypnotized girls? No my dear... I have my own little toys to play with outside of my side business and thankfully, it happened to come in handy when it was time to teach these girls all there was to know about pleasing the opposite sex. You wouldn't believe how convenient it is to be able to condition a man to only cum when I authorize it." I said, walking slowly around the bed. "Makes for incredible sex of course... But it's also incredibly erotic to coach my girls through their gag reflex when they use a real cock instead of a boring old dildo..."

"Wait... You can do that? I mean... Block a guy's... Huh... Release?" he said.

"Of course I can..." I said as I walked up to him. "In fact... If 'stamina' is a problem for you... I also offer help in that department..."

"Right... Huh..." he said, visibly uncomfortable with my proximity. "But I mean... If I huh... You know... Would happen to... Need that... NOT that I'm saying I do!"

"Of course..." I said, trying to comfort his obvious discomfort. "But then again... Having extra stamina to be able to enjoy all the pleasures of your rental does sound pretty nice... Right?"

"Right..." he said, swallowing again. "So... If I would huh... Be interested... Then... Huh... That means I have to... Huh... Let you hypnotize me and what not... Right?"

His gaze slid sideways to look meaningfully at my 3 thralls.

"Correct..." I said, chuckling softly as I placed a manicured finger under his chin, pulling his focus back to me. "You'd have to... Hmm... 'Let me' hypnotize you... You'd have to peer deep into my eyes and allow yourself to relax into them... Because you know that if you do... If you listen to my soft soothing voice and focus all your attention on me... I'll give you unending pleasure... Stamina in spades to properly enjoy the helpless thrall you are renting to fulfill your wildest fantasy... I know that's something you want... Something you wish for... Something you want to surrender to... Isn't that right Josh?"

It took him a while to process what I was saying as I watched his eyes slightly glaze over with fascination and lust. But as my low voice died down, his mind understood he needed to voice his desire.

"Yes..." he said softly, making me smile.

Dilemmas... Dilemmas...

Josh was clearly the type of man I could easily hypnotize and as it always did when I found someone like him, my mind thought up a million fun things I could make him do once he was properly conditioned and enthralled.

He was handsome enough, but very shy and awkward. The former was always a good bonus and the latter could easily be worked on as I brainwashed him.

However, I did have plenty of boy toys already and I was looking for income more than I was looking for new sources of pleasure. Which meant that it was better to keep my libido in check.

Even IF he was such a tempting target...

Or maybe...

I could see how far I can take him and slip in a few suggestions that would ensure he keeps coming back...

I didn't break eye contact, but my focus went to my 3 obedient thralls on the bed and I forced myself not to laugh because I knew that once he got a taste of one of them, he wouldn't need much convincing to rent them again...

Although a little reinforcement couldn't hurt...

Right?

[itsrainingbubbles]

Law giving Luffy a piercing

I specifically have a highschool au in mind where law does his own piercings and one day Luffy asks him for one so they skip class to give luffy an ear piercing in the school bathroom

I think ace would just say "cool" and move on but Sabo would be pissed, who did this to his little brother? Did they even use a proper needle? Was the jewelry clean? Why didn't Luffy come to him so he could get it done at a proper place? He'd try to take it out too but Luffy wouldn't let him

And when the piercing heals law and Luffy buy matching jewelry, maybe law gives luffy even more piercings (I really want to see luffy with dimples it's been on my mind nonstop)

Mgmnn but also regular pirate universe where law gives luffy ear piercings but as a date of that makes sense?

Law bringing Luffy back to his room and the two of them just cuddling on the bed talking nonsense when piercings come up and law offers to give luffy one which Luffy is ecstatic about

So law starts getting everything set up. He gets the needle out and some extra jewelery he has and they pick out the earrings together ("which one do you like?" "It's your earring, pick which one you like the most" "but I want to know which one Torao likes the most" "why?" "Because I wanna be pretty to look at for Torao of course!" )

Law even holds Luffy's hand when he does the piercing. Luffy doesn't need the comforting, he just wants to hold laws hand and this is the perfect excuse, not that he ever needs an excuse to hold laws hand

It's a bit hard to do the piercing while holding hands but law made it work (he can be as clingy as Luffy if not even more clingy, he'd never admit it though)

Law then instructs Luffy on how to take care of the piercing but Luffy insists that he'll definitely need help so that just means they'll have to see each other more often

But also Luffy with a lip ring and law staring at Luffys lips and wanting to kiss him all the time, but more specifically law being the one to have given Luffy that piercing

Even before the piercing law was always staring at Luffy's lips and one day out of the blue just blurted out if Luffy had ever thought of getting a lip piercing which luffy says he hasn't but that it sounds cool and he'd be willing to get one (he also teases law about how he especially doesn't mind if it'd give law more to stare at but law chooses to ignore that part)

So law gets everything set up and before he even gets started and Luffy is just sitting on the chair law just kisses Luffy and they make out for a while before law remembers what he was supposed to do and gets everything in place again but can't help himself from kissing Luffy in between

Luffy says something about how affectionate law is being and law tells him that after he gets the piercing they won't be able to kiss while it's healing which is news to Luffy, and he immediately jumps law and kisses him

They don't get the piercing done that day ("Luffy we still need to do the pierci-" "there's still time, less talking more kissing" )

Then Luffy finds out he also won't be able to give blow jobs and the piercing gets delayed again

They eventually do get the piercing done and Luffy is whining within an hour of how it's so unfair he can't kiss Torao which law would tease him for if he wasn't feeling the same way, it felt especially unfair for him since the jewelry made Luffys lips looks even more appealing and he couldn't kiss him stupid

[authorred]

Power Struggle | Part 2 | Sylus x gn!reader | Love and Deepspace

➺ Preface: After besting Sylus in boxing (once, for about thirteen seconds) something has shifted ever so slightly. Like he regards you slightly more than a simple 'kitten'. How is the slight change in your dynamic going to affect your relationship with him, if at all? Does he even care? Hard to say.

➺ AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ILOVEYOUSYLUSFUCK!

→ Part 1

Warning(s): Uhhhhhh mentions of NSFW? Idk I said 'cum'

The harsh red marks around Sylus' neck doesn't go away for a few days and you're afraid they'll bruise. To be fair, you did strangle him pretty hard, even if you didn't intend to at first. You just suppose you got tired of him patronizing you like you were actually a helpless little kitten with some spice to her. And maybe, to a degree, he's right. You are a spicy little 'kitten', but only because you choose to be. Yes, he may be strong in his own right with evol that is hard to counter, but you're a damned Hunter for fuck's sake. You face giant brutes who terrorize cities and can take out power grids in one Metaflux. Surely, some cocky, silver-haired and tongued man is easier to deal with, right? Right?

Well, that's what you thought, so why the hell is he just sitting obediently whilst you ice his neck? Is this another ruse to get a rise out of you? To back you into a corner before he establishes how much stronger he is? Asshole.

"This is weird," you say, holding the small ice bag up against his pulse point where most of the redness sits. It's a giant ring of red wrapped around his throat, the shape of your thighs as they strangled him for several seconds. "I didn't expect you to just. . . do this. I thought you'd be rather self-sufficient with things like this."

A low, breathy chuckle leaves his lips, and it vibrates your spine. Damn him and his sexy ass baritone voice. You don't know if it makes you want to slap him or kiss him--maybe both. "What? Did you think I believe myself to be some untouchable entity who doesn't need help every once in a while?" It's a rhetorical question, like it always is. Of course he knows you think that--everyone thinks that. He's Sylus. Not some amateur motherfucker who doesn't know how to throw a punch without breaking his fingers. "Besides, it's quite adorable that you're so adamant on trying to fix the damage you caused. Do you feel bad, perhaps?"

Your eye twitches. He's trying to get under your skin, to rile you up, to show he has the power to make you lose your patience with some well-placed (or not-so-well-placed) words. It's a power game. A power struggle. One you have a very good chance at losing, but you'd be damned if you didn't try. "I don't not feel bad," you finally murmur, keeping your eyes trained on the ring of abrasions around his beautiful neck. "I didn't actually think I'd be able to hold you--I thought you'd find a way to wiggle out. I didn't think you'd just. . . take it."

A low chuckle leaves him, his eyes closing as his head angles away from you, almost in amusement. "It seems you underestimate yourself more than I do, Sweetie," he says, his tone edged with amusement and something else. Frustration? You don't know--it's too indistinct to tell. "Some positions are very difficult to get out of, even for an experienced fighter like myself. A well-executed triangle choke is one of them. Perhaps you're meant for wrestling instead of boxing."

A chuff leaves your nose, half in indignation half in triumph--two contrasting emotions that he somehow makes you feel at the same time. He's very good at that. "Maybe I can teach you a thing or two about grappling then," you reply, correcting him ever so slightly. 'Slightly'. "I don't think I'll ever beat you in boxing, so I had to play dirty. Seize your opportunities, right?"

Sylus' ruby eyes open and slide back over to you, shining bright with coy and amusement. Like hypnotism, and you almost get sucked into their color--almost. "I know a thing or two about playing dirty, Sweetie," he says, innuendo dripping from his lips like a fountain of cum instead of water. "It's only a matter of whether you can handle it, kitten."

Your eye twitches and you press the ice pack harder against his skin, letting the cold bite into his warm skin. He grunts ever so slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing from the soft noise bubbling from his throat. And yet, he still gives you that insufferable, smug expression. Like seeing you get riled up is fun. Yet, he doesn't say anything past his previous reply. "I'll be fine," you reply gruffly. You'll be fine if it's the sense of an actual fight, not a bedroom one. That one, you might lose. Will probably lose. "Besides, it's fun."

"Fun?" Sylus repeats ever so slowly, his brow quirking up.

"Do you not like a challenge? Well, maybe not, since you're used to always being on top."

The smirk that tugs at his lips is infuriating and so fucking hot.

You gently push his face away, "Stop it," you scold. "Horndog."

Sylus chuckles, his hands coming up to rest on your hips, pulling you ever so slightly closer to him. "I didn't even say anything, Sweetie," he purrs lowly, raising a hand to pull the ice away from his neck. "Perhaps it's you who has the dirty mind."

You slowly let go of the ice pack and place it on the nearest surface before looking back at Sylus. God, he's so fucking attractive it makes you want to hurl yourself at the nearest concrete wall. "You didn't have to say anything. I saw it on your face. Don't think I don't know what you were implying when you talked about 'playing dirty'."

"Oh? And did that bother you?" He pulls you in even closer, his large hands now sliding up your back, splaying over your clothed skin, feeling your muscles and curves beneath your shirt. He places his chin over your shoulder, lips edging near your ear. "Would you rather me be straightforward, kitten?" He whispers. "I'm a man of actions rather than words, after all."

Goosebumps break out over your skin as if you got dunked into a freezing cold pool. Dammit, he knows how to play the game really well. Still, you don't overtly react--not anything he can see, at least. Which is good, at least you're not melting into a puddle at his feet. Perhaps he expected that though, because you can feel him shift and pull back a little, as if to give a sidelong glance at your expression. His hold doesn't falter, but the energy changes, even if subtly.

[danieyells]

Also like if you're cool with it can you tell me to build the cards and stuff? I'm still confused with it :'(

UH! I don't really know how to build cards either lmao. I just push the buttons when they get red blips U: BUT I WILL TRY AND EXPLAIN WHAT I CAN

i was actually writing this on mobile and then i accidentally closed tumblr when it was like 87% done so MAYBE THIS WILL BE WORSE THAN INITIALLY INTENDED I DON'T KNOW. Initially I was explaining like. A bunch of unnecessary stuff about where you get certain upgrade materials so I think this'll be better and marginally more concise because I feel like there's not actually that much to explain. It's very much just "make number go up".

So from what I've been told it's better to focus your efforts on a single SSR if you have one than trying to even things out, but since you're not only going into battle with your singular SSR I try and keep other units at a minimum of level 50 and a Level 40 warding card(preferably the one it gets a link bonus with!) with 50 Potency Grade. THIS MAY OR MAY NOT BE ADVISABLE but it's how I do things personally. And then I have my SSR(s) which I focus on--one SSR gets most everything and once I have to wait to limit break it, I start giving resources to the next one down(or the next SR down.)

Now since just about every stat relies on different items to boost it up(coins obviously notwithstanding but you can very easily gain more coins) you don't really have to ration anything--just focus on boosting your highest ranked unit.

Like I said I just hit the button when the red blip pops up, but you may have noticed that when it comes to equipment the game prioritizes higher levels to higher rankings. Which. . . .

not very helpful, as it turns out! Turns out higher ranked units(SSR-SR-R-A-B-C-D-E, from highest to lowest) are generally a little better even at slightly lower levels! Because some equipment doesn't boost attributes(multiple stats) at all!!!

Higher rank = higher attribute boost. Higher level = higher battle stat boost.

see how Alan's overall power is higher with the level 95 C perfume than the level 100 E perfume? The game automatically gave him the E. . .even though it was weaker and both were available. The game checks for rarity over their level, so you may want to manually choose cards based on their stats as opposed to choosing the auto-equip button!

Also of note, sometimes a fully awakened R is stronger than an unawakened SR of the same level. . .if you have to wait to limit break your SRs, check out how your Rs are doing! They can be pretty strong too! You can always take stronger equipment and gems and such away from them for the higher rarity unit when you're ready.

@tokyo-debunker-memes made a pretty good guide to gems here and you can refer to that for any of your gem questions since I think they did a good job explaining and summarizing things! (I will say, gems go past level 9, they just can only be purchased at a base level of 9.)

The best equipment(SSR, SR, and R) can be made at Mr. Mo's Goldmine using using gold, silver, and copper materials you get there. You only have a chance get gold if you do multiple pulls there over the course of a week(the milestone resets every 7 days or so. . .or every time there's a new gacha I've noticed), so I wouldn't think too hard about SSR equipment. That's for whales. It's literally designed so that you have to use gems to even get a chance at gold material to make SSR equipment. And you need so much of the stuff just to make one it's just not worth it monetarily unless you've got insane disposable income haha.

I would focus only on the level 100s of the Mr Mo equipment(the Red Queen set and the Lotus set. The Stardust set if you wanna whale real hard.) If you get lucky enough to get enough silver and copper material you can make them, and they're stronger than anything you'll find doing Investigations or that they'll find on campus after investigations--that I'm aware of, unless they start giving out SRs and SSRs at higher level investigations which I doubt.

R, SR, and SSR equipment can be trained and given gems, just like warding cards, and raising their Special Attributes will provide additional percentage boosts to the unit they're equipped to(Necklaces, Rings, and Earrings raise HP percentage; Perfumes raise Physical Attack and Physical Defense percentages; Brooches raise Special Attack and Special Defense percentages. Warding Cards raise Attack percentage.) Try and focus on raising the Special Attributes related to the unit's attack style(noted in the 'Skills' window on the unit page.) That is to say, raise the Special Attibutes for Perfumes for Physical attackers and Brooches for special attackers so that they'll have higher attack power and do more damage. Of course, both are also important for their defensive value, and HP is also very important!

R, SR, and SSR equipments also have 'badges' which detonate they're part of a set. The more of that set you have, along with a warding card with the same badge, the higher bonus(indicated in the upper left of the unit page) you get for the character it's equipped to! The only way to change a Warding Card's badge is by leveling it up so. . .don't worry too hard about it, because moonlight paint is a pain in the ass to get.

Guardian spirits similarly should be distributed based on the ideal stats that unit should have raised. I only use SSR guardian spirits and feed any lower ranking ones to them to raise their levels. If you get a guardian spirit of the same level with stars, it's better to use and level up that one! It gives a higher percentage boost!

Generally you legit just have to look at the numbers and percentages and choose whatever's higher overall I think. Higher percentages are usually better, I think, since those will scale up with any increasing stats' individual numbers. Not that equipment have percentages, but I mean in terms of figuring out what to upgrade in general. Again, it's very much 'make number go up' from what i can tell. I usually focus on level since it boosts all the unit's battle stats by a percentage, but since everything needs different materials to level up anyway it's fine to just use whatever you get wherever you can, or save up to be able to boost your strongest units.

I DUNNO IF THAT HELPED ANY. I CAN TRY AND EXPLAIN SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC IF NEED BE?

[sylsoddsandends]

My experience with Microtia, v2!

A (hopefully) educational post!

I wrote the original version of this post back in 2021! I've learned more things since then + I've gotten better at writing, so I thought it'd be nice to remake it with some updates! So, let's get into it :)

What is Microtia?

Microtia is a congenital facial difference that affects the outer ear, where the outer ear doesn't fully develop during pregnancy like it should.

Microtia comes in four "grades" depending on how developed the ear is. At higher grades, it may also include atresia, which is the lack of an external opening to the ear canal. The highest grade, grade 4, is also known as anotia, and that means there is no external ear present at all.

Microtia can be present on its own, or it can be a part of the wider conditions Hemifacial Microsomia, Goldenhar Syndrome, and Treacher-Collins Syndrome.

If you'd like more fancy clinical information, I'm gonna direct you to this website :) I'm not a doctor.

What effects can microtia have?

Probably the most obvious effect of all is that microtia is a visible difference. People will notice, and they will wonder about you. When I was younger, I was asked more than once by my peers if I had been in a fire! To which, hey, it's none of your business!

I know most adults, at least, understand that it's rude to ask, but I still wear my hair down near-constantly, just to avoid any attention getting drawn to my ears. I've never gotten them pierced, for the same reason.

If atresia is present, then microtia can also be a cause of deafness. Whether a person with microtia is involved with the d/Deaf community may vary (I am not), but it's still pretty hard to hear when there's no way for the sound to actually get to your inner ear.

Some people opt for reconstruction to change this- essentially, plastic surgery to open up the ear canal and make the ear appear more "normal". Others get a bone-anchored hearing aid, aka BAHA– sound can be conducted through bone, so a BAHA delivers sound as vibration directly to the bone. Still others (like me) choose not to change it– I feel my ears are fine as they are, and I would rather the people around me simply be accommodating! (More on this in a bit!)

I, specifically, have microtia in both my ears, with atresia on my right side. This means I am unilaterally deaf. Unilateral hearing loss requires some different considerations than bilateral hearing loss– I can still generally hear and understand others, but I have trouble with a few things, which I'm going to give their own subsection right here.

People standing on my right side– I generally call it my "bad side" but that's definitely not the most neutral thing to call it and it'll vary person to person what they're comfortable with. If someone stands on my bad side I will struggle to understand and keep track of them, and I may not even realize they are speaking to me if I didn't expect it.

Due to this I try to always stay to the right of others and stand at a little bit of an angle.

Unilateral hearing loss causes a loss of what we call "distance perception", much like how loss of vision on one side causes a loss of depth perception– my brain can't compare inputs from both ears to tell where a sound is coming from and what sounds to prioritize.

This means that I am bad at Marco Polo, buuut it also means that noisy areas can be especially overwhelming and I can struggle to follow conversations there. I hated my high school cafeteria with a burning passion.

The little things! I can't wear earbuds in my right ear, and they get uncomfortable quickly in my left. I need the earpieces of my glasses bent further so they stay on right, and I can't wear face masks that go over my ears. If I get earwax or water in my left ear, I will really struggle to hear at all. It's a pain in the neck!

How can you (and/or your characters) be accommodating to someone with microtia?

Don't ask invasive questions! Seriously, it's really uncomfortable, they'll tell you on their own if they want you to know.

Stand and walk where they can hear you well! If you do this on your own it's really nice and shows you care.

Use the language they are comfortable with! There's not as much of a "person-first" versus "identity-first" thing with microtia– I mean, I guess I could be called a "microtia-having individual", but it'd just feel really clunky. But I'm not the spokesperson for every person with microtia out there! So respect the language they'd like you to use.

Be mindful of situations where they might be struggling to hear you, and make a conscious effort to include them in conversation! Remember how I mentioned the cafeteria? Yeah, I might not have hated it so much if the people I knew actually tried to have intelligible conversations with me. Also, please just repeat stuff if we ask, it just feels like you're purposefully leaving us out if you say "never mind".

Why am I writing this?

This is the most important part of this whole guide to me!

The thing is, I've never seen a character with microtia in media, and only once or twice in art. As much as I would love to see characters who look like me, that just doesn't happen.

Yeah, microtia is rare– it occurs in somewhere between 1/6000 to 1/12000 births– but even by that logic, for every 60 to 120 redhead characters, there should be one with microtia! And I know a LOT of redheads in pop culture.

Furthermore, even the discussion of microtia online is pretty heavily focused on family and what they can do to "fix" microtia. And while I won't bash people who did go that route– if its right for you, it's right for you!– I see my ears in a neutral light and would rather just treat them as a part of my body like any other.

I want to be able to have conversations with people like me and commiserate about how annoying it is to have someone try to talk to me and be unable to understand them, or how convenient it can be when someone is apparently being annoying off to my right side and I don't have to listen to them!

So, I hope this little guide post of mine inspires you to include microtia in your artwork, or for that matter, to include other lesser-known differences! I'm sure there are other people out there hoping for the same thing I am. So go forth and talk to them, include them, and I bet they'll be really happy to see themselves, just as I'll be :)

If you've still here after this little ramble of mine, feel free to ask questions or provide suggestions if you have them! I'd love to hear what you have to say, too ^^

[daemon-in-my-head]

Past Dark Urge Asks - 10th Edition:

Listen, fellas, I really thought 'go hard or go home'. Let's humanise some demigods. Oh yes some are hella vague, you are welcome.

Any major physical changes? Any impairments? What are they and when did it happen?

Post-Tadpole Durge is pretty messed up, what does past Durge think of these changes? Do they think it won't matter as they'll still be daddy's favourite assassin even with a head injury?

Out of all the companions, which one would've been an easy victim for past Durge and why?

Would any companions have had any chances with past Durge? Who and why?

What sort of 'real world' clothingstyle would past durge have loved? Are they the type to join a subculture like punk, goth, etc. (Aesthetically at least)?

Speaking of clothes, streetwear or formal clothes?

Durge is old money incarnate, but what do they think of new money? Did their view change after their homemade lobotomy or meeting a young man with a quick and easy smile?

What's their aesthetic like? Describe it to me. Or better yet, hand over the link to that Pinterest mood board we all know exists (at least in theory, go do it).

Any favourite flower? Did they actually decorate things with it or was it a secret hidden pleasure? Do they maybe just like the symbolism, smell, what have you?

Did they ever get to enjoy receiving gifts? From whom and which one was their favourite?

Hot or cold foods?

Do they drink? Which is their favourite liquor? In what situation would they prefer a nice glass of a little something?

How entitled is Durge on a scale of 1 to 'gods favourite little gorebaby deserves the world (or its end)'?

Favourite body part? And of whom?

Can durge ride a horse? Did they sneak around the cities rules pertaining the ownership of horses?

Bribing or threats, which is their preferred method? (Murder excluded)

Bhaal, of course, has his favourite colours, but which colour is your Durges absolute favourite? Did it change after their brain was messed with? Can they even see colours?

Their love language? Did anyone ever experience it in the past? Did they survive it?

Did they ever consider leaving the gate? What for and where would they go?

Did they maybe even leave the Gate in the past? Why or why not? What kept them there or drove them away?

Bhaal despises hope, but what does Durge think of it? Is it fun to play with? A lil bit of sadism never hurt somebody or do they despise it too?

What's their favourite crime? Excluding murder of course, pick another one beside that.

Did they carry money around with them or was their name enough to pay for anything they'd desire (or the explicit death threats they'd mumble)?

The temple has a lending library. Did Durge use it too? What was their favourite genre or did they stay far, far away from books?

City or village? What would they choose if they were given the choice?

Durge is well spoken and presumably well read as well. Who taught them? Did they attend an academy?

At one point or another Durge had friends. What were they like? What was Durge's position in the friend group?

Did they ever attend a street fair or similar city festivities? Did they enjoy it? What was their favourite part?

Did they ever attend a ball or banquet? Run me through their typical evening at one of these 'parties' and tell me whether they hated or reveled in it.

Which of the seven deadly sins would represent them best? Also pride is banned from the list, pick a 2nd one that would fit instead (listen I know y'alls Durges)

Gambling? Yes, no, are they good at it?

Cigarette baron lord Enver Gortash would like to know if Durge would indulge themselves in his business or if they prefer not to? Did they try before or quit already?

What's one unique trait that you think really sets them apart from other Durges? It may be physical, mental, a worldview or a part of their backstory.

Flowery, sweet or spicy scents? Not to say, perhaps, musky?

Melee or ranged? Arcane? Sketchy deals in a dark ally? (Fighting style, I mean fighting styles.)

About the author; do you love them in a 'oh my precious baby' sort of way or rather 'I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do to you' way?

Do they like fish? Baldur's Gate is a port city, I'd imagine they've tried it at least.

Also can they swim? How did they even learn it?

Heat. How do they deal with it? Do they deal with it? What's their body temperature like, as in warmer, colder, perfect average?

If you have any other ocs, do they exist in the same universe and did they ever meet Durge? What was it like and if they didn't, what would it be like? Would anyone survive?

Dragons, Bhaal, Bane and Gortash love em. How about Durge? Are they somehow incorporated in their design?

What's a trait they have that you could never, ever guess from the way they look?

Children, yes, no, how many, what's the best way to prepare them?

Abdirak my baby girl, what would their interactions have looked like? Did they ever meet pre tadpole? What is the gore baby thinking about the lady of pain's priest?

Can Durge drive a carriage? Are they good at it? Would anybody survive if they were in control?

Night owl or early bird?

Also, open book or mysterious stranger?

Pants or skirts/robes? And I mean this for every durge regardless of gender.

Top 3 favourite past times, cannibalism and vivisections excluded.

Do they do their own laundry or is it Scels job? How many shirts have been ruined by Scels hands already?

What do they prefer to be addressed as? Their name, title, nickname, pronouns or just as 'you'?

Open and honest duels, or back handed trickery? What do they prefer?

Art gallery, opera or hunting tournament? Let's just play pretend those exist.

Are they more of a sweet tooth, do they love it savoury or do they prefer their mouth burning from the hot spice? Perhaps they just prefer a neutral taste?

Did the gazette ever print an article about them (or their deeds), what's the headline and what did they feel about it?

Outdoors or stay at home kinda person?

Did they ever hear about the great Wizard of Waterdeep, Mystra's Chosen and if they did, how? What do they think of him then vs now.

Was it them who came up with the cipher or Gortash?

Story behind their name? Is there any story?

Their most treasured memory with Orin? Why do they treasure it? Love, spite, sibling rivalry win?

Dear creators, would you like for your own Durge to meet the Durge of another creator? How would that look like? Who would survive?

Hats. Yes, no, why? Took too long styling their hair? Everyday is bad hair day?

The sweet sweet smell of gore, we've all heard about it. But is it really sweet to them? Or does it just smell like metal and rot?

Did they debate stealing anything else from Mephistopheles vault while already down there? If so, what item was it and what can it do? (Maks up some stuff)

Their sign(s)?

Jealousy, is it a problem, could they care any less?

Speaking off, did they have any partners before the whole tadpole in their brain bit? If not was there a reason?

Pretty much 99% of the nobility and political leaders in Baldur's Gate is corrupt. What did they think of it? Did they enjoy the infighting and maybe took advantage of it?

Worgs or Gnolls, which species is their favourite?

Have they ever been imprisoned? Why, by whom, how fast did they escape?

Would they survive in modern times? Could they adapt easily or would they be desperate to return home?

They don't exist in Faerûn, but hypothetically speaking, which TV show/series would be their absolute favourite?

What's their usual mood/state of mind like? Happy, focused, grim, about to snap someone's neck from irritation?

Graveyards, a nice place to hang out or a crime scene to be avoided? Did post tadpole Durge ever discover a gravestone dedicated to them?

Would they prefer a small and cute pet or a large and scary beast? Besides Gnolls and Worgs that is. Just as a vibe.

Did they ever tell the other Chosen about their own plans to rid the world of all life in father's name?

Also, did they know that the others would probably betray them? Did they perhaps even prepare for it already, or were they oddly naive enough to trust them?

Do they wear accessories (earrings count)? Which one is their favourite?

What languages does Durge speak? Is there any interesting story as to how they've learned them?

What went through your head when you crafted these little Durge doll, dear creator? Are they a self inserted of sorts or as far removed from you as possible?

What do they think of bugs and arachnids? Annoying, gross, fun little creatures? How do they treat one of these things when they see them?

Sleeping. Do they do that? Do they avoid it? Are they generally unable to for one reason or another?

Coffee or tea and why?

Realistically speaking, would Durge be able to sit down long and still enough for a portrait or would they move within 5 minutes tops? Any reason for that?

Would your durge like you? Why or why not? Would it depend on whether it's pre or post tadpole and would it change if they knew you're the reason for what happened to them?

Most Durges have piercings, tattoos or both. What's the story behind them? What's the story behind the lack thereof?

Durge needs to spend a day with someone and they aren't allowed to simply murder their companion. What would they do instead? How would they spend that day?

How do they wear their hair? What's their preferred style? Did their hair go thru any kind of changes, whether length or texture, at any point during their story?

What's the easiest way to piss them off? Interrupt them when they're focused, wake them from a nap, ignore them?

Old blood gets crusty, a feeling most don't particularly enjoy. How do they deal with the plethora of blood and viscera they often face?

Does Durge have a loud voice or are they always asked to repeat what they said because nobody audibly understood em?

Nail Polish. Yes, no, what colour, do they get someone else to do it for them? Do they even take care of their nails are they crusty and each one has a different length?

Dried fish/meat and jerky, apparently a really hot debate, but where does Durge fall? Do they like it, do they detest it, do they have a secret stash hidden somewhere?

Hyperfixation. Yes, no, what topic has their mind in a chokehold and how much do they enjoy info dumping?

What's their personality type? Talking about the '16 Personalities' test. (You can find it here if you haven't heard of it yet)

How many blankets and pillows are in their bed at any given moment? Just one set for them to catch a bit of rest or is it more akin to a fabric fortress with comfy things galore? Any teddies?

What's their sexual/romantic orientation? Do they themselves know? Do they simply not care as they're too busy being gods favourite little flesh baby?

Their favourite piece of clothing? Any story behind it or is it just too darn comfortable?

Wild card - tell us a story, fact, idea you'd like to share about Durge or their creation.

Wild card 2 - followers ask whatever they want (ofc, keep in mind to be nice y'all).

Psssh, cool people ask the person they're reblogging from a question in turn. And if their social anxiety can handle it, ofc. Don't pressure yourself, author's and those who ask, this is for fun, but this is a hell of an essay for one person to just create so ask each other stuff, it's impossible otherwise. If I do see someone genuinely pull it off and actually answer all questions in 1 post again though, I'm sending you a coffee or nice snack or smth. Brother you've earned it that's some real dedication to sit down and answer all 100 questions. Anyway thus the series is concluded and I shall get back to wrapping up other WIPs rotting away.

[nobroth]

Alistair: You know, they'll never take you. They're very picky about who they let in. Harlots, murderers, yes. Maleficarum, oh no. Leliana: Your comments betray your ignorance, Alistair. The Chantry accepts all. Regardless of what they've done. Alistair: Well, you must be familiar with a whole other Chantry. The one I know wouldn't hesitate to shove a Sword of Mercy right through her heart.

Alistair's comments to the Blood Mage in the Circle Tower that you can release are pretty telling. He seems to think that just practicing blood magic - even if the blood you're using is your own - is automatically worse than murder. (We're gonna ignore the harlots thing bc Ferelden canonically has no law against sex work so that's.... weird. If I had to guess it's an attempt by either Eamon or the Chantry to keep him from reproducing and having more wild heirs about but. idk.)

Alistair makes several comments about mages like this, often couching them in humor or sarcasm, but the consistent and repeated statements tell me that he really does, at his core, have an issue with blood magic and blood mages but further than that, any mages outside the Chantry. He taunts Morrigan for as much.

He actively fights it, but he still plays his role. He tattles on Morrigan and her Mother. He "harasses" the Circle for the Revered Mother at Ostagar. He makes uneasy statements to Wynne, even. He's trying to do these things, to break these chains, but it's hard for him.

I don't think Alistair willfully hates mages the way that Cullen does. But he certainly had the lashes put to him to try and make him so.

Alistair both hates the Chantry and has deeply internalized the things that they have harshly barbed into him. Do I think he enjoys the idea that mages are his enemy? No. He mentions as much. He thinks what the Templars do is cruel, and horrible. He's sad to learn about Wynne's son.

But as it often is, it's complicated.

Alistair wasn't just "any" Chantry abandon, after all. The Revered Mother knew he was Maric's son. Possibly the future King, if anything happened to Cailan. They wanted to make sure that he was devoted to the Chantry's views. It's pretty clear that they really pounded these lessons into him, to the point that he is parroting their views even while actively attempting to struggle against them. Even though he doesn't enjoy them, doesn't necessarily seem to WANT to think this way, the words still come out.

Meredith tells him "perhaps next time Ferelden chooses a King, they will choose one who takes his duty to the Maker seriously". I think that the Chantry folk who "raised" Alistair probably also held this idea.

And Alistair is struggling against it, even as early as Origins. In DAII, he mentions trying to help any mages he can outside the Circle, but that there "aren't many". He's trying not to let this linger. He's trying not to behave like they wanted him to.