#maybe there's no such domino in the fallout

[shevr]

a

[dykedvonte]

Yes-Man resents a lot of things but I feel like he kinda liked Benny. It’s never implied Benny had the knowledge to continuously upgrade or update him after Emily so I like to think Yes-Man respected Benny enough to adopt some of his opinions willingly.

Like personality wise, Yes-Man is like if Benny was forced to be a kiss ass; he’s equally pointed and jerky even if unendingly helpful. No matter if you spare the Great Khans, Yes-Man dislikes them and is kinda violent about things. What this says about Benny and the way he talked about things behind the scenes is one thing but the other is Yes-Man ingrained it enough to keep it.

I can imagine Benny mentioning Vegas was for them and while Yes-Man is logical, as any machine would be, I think it’s sweet if the personable part of his programming was looking forward to running Vegas with his “creator”.

[radroachmeat]

alright I promised I would share my ghoulfucker art so here I am to deliver. thank you for stopping by the Sierra Madre please come again!

(uncropped available offsite)

[makingyourfavindti]

dean domino fallout new vegas, maybe? it is ok if he is. uh. too ghoul-y

i made dean domino from fallout: new vegas in dress to impress

thanks for the request!

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

If I have to deal with brain rot about this absolutely awful man, so do y'all! Really looking forward to playing Dead Money so I can torture you with more.

Dean Domino (Fallout: New Vegas, Dead Money DLC) NSFW Headcanons

Is the King of Swing good in bed? Complicated question; he's too selfish to say that he is with any confidence. It depends on the day, frankly. He was a massive slut back in his prime, and he's perfectly well acquainted with how to show you a good time when the two of you are in bed together. Whether or not he cares enough in that moment to bother to make you cum is an entirely different matter. There are days he wants to show off, wants to hear you tell him how good he is, but there are also plenty of days where he'll happily use your body to jerk himself off and won't think for a second about your pleasure beyond what it'll do for him. On days like that, he wants you wet/stretched enough to take him, but that's all he cares about.

I've discussed this with folks a bit in replies on other posts, but I think it's very worth elaborating on: he would be so fun to dominate. He'd be the world's most petulant, bratty sub, and so confident that you wouldn't be able to break him, that he'll stay cool and in control of the situation, no problem. However, he's sorely mistaken. Dean Domino is a brat who was made to be broken. Tie his ass up and beat him a bit. Edge him until he literally cries. He insists he won't beg; prove him wrong. It's the sweetest sight you've ever taken in. I've never met a single character who needs to have his cock slapped like a million times more than him. And honestly, I think if you gave him the full routine and then treated him completely neutrally over the proceeding few days, as if nothing had even happened, he'd beg then, too, desperate to experience what you made him feel again...though not without a lot of petulant bitching first. How dare you act like you can drag him around by his prick, just because you absolutely can if you do it right...?!

Any ongoing relationship with Dean is going to be a constant power struggle. As insecure as he obviously is, he's forever rearing to "put you in your place" in a litany of ways; talking down to you, insulting you flippantly, all the nonsense you see from him when you interact with him in-game. If you don't push back at him (or show him where his place is, per the previous point), he will absolutely walk all over you, including sexually. Maybe that's what you're into. He doesn't really care all that much as long as he's getting whatever he wants out of you.

Biter. Always has been. Used to get a kick outta fucking actors and actresses and just covering them in bite marks and bruises that would be incredibly difficult to cover with makeup, because he likes attention and he's possessive, even of toys he doesn't particularly want to play with anymore.

Almost never takes off those goddamn sunglasses (because, in my mind, he thinks they make him harder to read...plus, he has super light-colored eyes, and once he's traveling the desert, he's constantly blinded by the sun), but one of the rare times you can guarantee he'll remove them is when you're giving him head. He wants to be able to see every detail of you worshiping him with your lips and tongue.

Obviously he's big into degradation, which is clear in the way he speaks to you, about you and others. He can, however, be persuaded to be rather sweet (though still entirely self-aggrandizing) when he's in a good mood. He'll tell you how gorgeous you look...on his cock. What a pretty voice you have...why don't you sing for him some more so he can hear how good he makes you feel? Every compliment also has to basically be a positive comment to himself, as well.

Leg and ass man. He makes some comments about Vera that hint at this, but he's not usually quite so tactful about it. Will openly grope you in public, both to embarrass you a bit and because he doesn't care enough to hold back when he feels like touching you.

Really enjoys a giving you a good cum facial. He finds it just the right mix of disgusting, dominating, and possessive. If he can find a way to force you to keep his cum on your face, he will. Even better if someone else sees you that way.

[introspectivememories]

ik the cult doesn't exist in your veil au but does Bernard know Tim is/was robin? cuz if not I feel like he'd totally flirt with him without knowing it's actually Tim

also everytime I think of this au that one post with the reversed popular tropes pops into my head specifically 'guy who's nice to everyone else but you' cuz as miserable as bern might be sometimes I don't think he'd be intentionally rude to other modals ykwim??

AHSHHSHJS it would get toxic so quick

bc tim who is popping boners over bernard's bare shoulders and who desperately wants to have that connection with bear again would not let bear's fascination with robin pass by

so he'd do everything possible to not let bear find out. he'd let himself fall in love with bear during his nightly visits. he'd let bear fall in love with him even though he knows that bear does Not like tim. he'd make up extensive cover stories so that bear wouldnt find out.

and what must that be like for tim? for his former friend to refuse to interact with him. to walk into the modeling shoot during the day and have frosty glares thrown at him, only to swing by bear's apt at night and bear's waiting on the balcony, arms wide open, smile bright on his face.

do you think they talk about themselves at night? about their fears and worries? do you tim learns how to talk bear down from a panic attack? do you think bear learns that if he cards his fingers through robin's hair ever so gently, he learns that robin's spine will untense and robin's shoulder's will drop?

and when tim's castle of lies finally starts crumbling, how bad do you think the fallout is? do you think bear, despite his best efforts to not figure out who robin is, maybe catches sight of a scar on robin's back? do you think maybe bear's been thinking about moving on with tim? of letting go of his resentment? of forgiving and moving on?

maybe he sees the same scar on on tim's back at the shoot one day? maybe the pieces start falling into place? they try a superhero theme one day. tim looks exactly like robin with the domino mask on.

tim looks up to see bernard's betrayed stare, and he knows that anything they could've had is over.

[nanatsuyu]

https://x.com/nanatsuyu/status/1660987055004852224 ELABORATION PLS ?!? 👁️👁️

oh man I haven't thought about this post in a while!!

When I'm feeling particularly masochistic I like to rotate the idea in my head that Kevin is aware of his part in the narrative and it /genuinely/ dawns on him some time before he graduates that Kayleigh's passing wasn't an accident

so I haven't read all of the ec, tsc or everything Nora has ever said so I don't know if it's been touched on canonically but I imagine it probably occurs to kevin rather abruptly one day that Kayleigh wasn't just in some accident when he was younger

again I'm running on assumptions here and what I know at present time, and I touched on some of this later in the thread, but it's too convenient of a death to just be 'accidental'. there's no real elaboration behind what happened and one of the easiest ways to get rid of someone and cover it up easy is a car crash. also everything comes in threes and having two other car related incidents with mothers seems a bit on the nose.

I don't think it's ever mentioned (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong I'm not an authority by any means) if Kevin was with her or not, and it's never mentioned whether it's suspected that she was worried for her life or anything in her letter. (I feel that would have been brought up if so. I think it just touched on who Kevin's father was and maybe something sentimental etc. feels weird for the letter to be kept around if it had incriminating evidence yknow)

i think maybe at some point in the back of his head Kevin realises that's a little too perfect for his mother to have just died, knowing there was an empire that was getting money out of it. she loved the sport for the sport so knowing her cocreator was interested in less than savoury directions with it would put some strain on that. (whatever relationship they had would beyond that is a bit up in the air but tetsuji seemed more devoted to his family business than any one person.) so the easiest thing would be to get rid of her, which I don't think is a hot take or anything? I'm pretty sure I've seen this thrown around a bit.

regardless I think it was something Kevin may have always thought about, but didn't Really consider until he saw just how little he meant to the moriyamas and riko. like yeah he kind of understood that to a degree growing up, but I imagine riko growing more aggressive with him maybe pushed that closer to his forethoughts that they weren't keeping him around out of just talent. there's gold star lineage and money in owning the literal son of exy, and while that's obvious to the reader, sometimes it takes a minute for things to register in such simple terms to people under all that stress, trauma, etc. maybe Kevin already understood that in canon in so many words, but then later it clicks that /that/ was a very intentional decision and direct action.

like he IS the face of exy. he is the tragic hero of a revolutionary sport. people eat that kind of drama up. and his life story may have been entirely crafted by someone elses hand. celebrities are a commodity after all. what makes more money than a poor orphaned boy destined for greatness, lovingly taken into the arms of a team and 'family' that could help guide that still? hell if they managed to cover up the raven problems by blaming them entirely on riko, that may even add more to Kevin's sobstory for fans and bring in even more money.

that's not to say Kevin isn't deserving of the respect and admiration for his talent and skill. that is all Kevin and no one can take that from him. but this niggling idea that someone laid this out for him, for everything to play out (mostly) to plan has to hit him at some point. there's something completely devastating about realising your autonomy is and potentially has never been your own, that destiny isn't really divine but instead made—but not by your own hardwork. even if all of the fallout after he death was a domino effect, wouldn't that be nauseating to know it was all according to plan?

[valiant-if]

tldr; I wanted to have something to show for the work I've been doing roughly by the end of April, but my timeline is going to be delayed. I'll still do my best to get some work done, but things are hard right now. You've stuck with me this long, so I hope you continue to stick with me. Hope everyone is doing well and hanging in there!

I'm not trying to go too much into my personal life, but the long version—with a bit of venting—is that I'm having a lot of car trouble, and that has unfortunately been a domino effect for one of the worst mental episodes I've had in maybe 7 years. I don't make a lot of money, I can barely afford the cost of a rental let alone the repairs for my car, which I need to do my job, and quite frankly the people in my life that I rely on for support are not being very supportive of the situation. There's a lot of "your decision to procrastinate on important issues is the reason you are in this position" and a lot of indirect "you made your bed, now sleep in it" going around.

Executive dysfunction is really an alien concept to a lot of people, I guess. As if I've just been sitting around thinking, "Someone else will deal with the fallout of this issue when it blows up in my face." Instead of, you know, having daily anxiety attacks about it for the last 6 months but unsure how to solve the problem because my brain refuses to function on certain things.

The hard truth is that when you are neurodivergent, neurotypical people cannot seem to understand the mental hurdles you have to take just to make it through basic day-to-day life. A lot of people describe mental health struggles as drowning, but I think it feels a lot more like someone deliberately holding you under water and not letting you up. "Normal" society is not really designed for people like us to function, and, at least in the USA, the economic situation of people living below the poverty line (of which I am one) is designed to keep you below the poverty line. These problems combined are creating one hell of a storm for me right now, and even existing is difficult.

So I'm going to try to keep writing when I can, but unfortunately I've lost a lot of the momentum that I've had over the last few weeks. I don't know if my original timeline of getting the first half of Chapter 2 done by the end of April is possible in my current state. I may just update with whatever I have at that time anyway so at least you'll have something.

That's the long of it. Thanks for hearing me out and listening to my bitching. As always, I hope everyone is doing well and hanging in there.

[ikeameatballspoisonedme]

Thoughts on Fallout show...

It's good! I really liked the Moldaver twist, I liked that she was actually part of NCR. But girl just build your settlement on top of the old Shady Sands no one is stopping you LMAO. I soyjaked when I saw the NCR Veteran Ranger outfit you guys are SO COOLLLLLLLL even tho those people weren't the rangers.. sigh

The capitalism commentary... I mean I've played Disco Elysium. Hell even Fallout New Vegas. Lol. I'd say this is on The Menu tier of commentary. It's fine! I just find it to be regular! FNV offered interesting perspective on anarchy with Followers and come on dude, Hegelian dialectics waow.... Disco Elysium is fucking Disco Elysium. It certainly identified that monopoly in capitalism is bad as shown in Vault Tec, but I wish I could've seen an alternative ideology for a better world like FNV and DE did. Where's the hopeeee

His ass is NOT Robert House !! Unironically like as many have said this contradicted House in FNV. Many mentioned that he actually wanted to stop the bombs, hence why he wanted the platinum chip but he wouldn't cave in to Vault Tec, he wants his own little monopoly his ass is NOT collaborating !! Maybe he actually didn't want it after the meeting idk lol

I do NAWT like the ghoul sorry I am a certified ghoul fucker, as you've known I am a Harland enjoyer and Dean Domino liker but the whole feral ghoul inevitability is just so stupid and sucks because it drove his whole asshole-ish survivalist instinct to do dirty deeds to get the ghoul vials. It's stupid!!!!! We could've got a perspective of someone who has to live forever but nooooo ghoul vials n shit. Also he just sucks sorry lol most overrated Fallout character of all time RAUL SWEEPS!!!!!

I do wish we see the kinder side of Brotherhood, in all 3 games they're not all bad people if you finally became part of them. We love Veronica! But outside of her McNamara is known to be kind, also Vree is awesome, etc etc... but this BoS is not out of character either. They're not kind on defectors as we've seen with Veronica

I liked Maximus :-) wait he's actually Maximus right I didn't misremember but I swear Lucy called him Titus?? But anyway. He's cool! I didn't know Lucy and Maximus actually ended up together because I've only seen her paired with the ghoul. I mean you do you but I do not sense any chemistry between them because uh, they barely spent time together???? He sold her to the organ harvesting guy and then left. Like that's it. I get that people want their Discord x Fluttershy nachos but Lucy and Maximus are cute lol let them be

Oh my god the constant flashback scenes.... They're stealing Persona 5's nachos. USELESS?????????

I have mixed feelings on the whole Vault Tec stuff. Yeah commentary on amazon cool! But viewing it on the context of 1/2/NV... it's just too glaring to ignore. Fallout was all about post-apocalyptic settlement! It's why we remember Shady Sands, Junktown, The Hub, Vault City, New Reno, Broken Hills, Necropolis, Goodsprings, Primm, Novac, Freeside, arghhhh so much more... is Vault Tec gonna bomb literally every single one of them?????????? Perhaps it's because NCR is the biggest settlement but idk I'd say Vault City is doing great. Goodsprings was fine, it's small but people have homes and farms and happy there outside of the Powder Gangers problem. It just missed the core of Fallout and took the "war never changes" motto on face value. Society will rebuild itself! We're not just gonna stay in the empty desert wasteland, it's all gonna be rebuilt with new ideology and it's up to us to decide which is more content to our heart to stay and help...

And speaking of settlement.... man why are every settlement so Not Normal. People on 1/2/NV talks normally even if their homes are not in the best conditions. Every single non-Vault 33 people in this show acted like No Barks lol. The thing with Fallout is that people we've meet are normal people like us in the present, even the ghouls, it's just that they are trying to live in the post apocalyptic conditions. They don't become stereotypical western hillbillies lol

Anyway. God fucking dammit leave FNV alone. I just feel like this show doesn't have the vernacular that it thinks it possesses... It missed the whole appeal of the OG Fallout and thinks Fallout is all about post apocalyptic wacky destruction and madness n shit. Even if it has a commentary on pre-war capitalism it still missed what makes Fallout settlements so interesting. And since NV is all about those settlements... begging you to leave them alone. Do not fucking destroy them because you think the point of Fallout is that humanity is doomed. Make your own fucking settlements.

I promise I don't hate this show I was actually invested throughout of it. Really amazing props and set design. It's just a show that is really good in a vacuum, but when viewed in the context of OG Fallout it fell apart. I'd give it a 6-7/10

[terramythos]

Fuck it smash or pass fallout new vegas companions + 1 character of your choise

AAAAAAAAA I am including the dead money companions you can't stop me

ED-E - ❌️ pass. Let it be known I am a robotfucker but EDI is more of a pet and not in a sexy way.

Arcade - ✅️ 👉👈 I like gay nerds and he's funny and I also like characters that are hiding things about their past. I think it is SO charming he joins low INT couriers just to help them.

Veronica - ✅️ smash for very similar reasoning to Arcade lmao. But she's also a lesbian and I'm a dude so I don't see that happening. And I want her and Christine to maybe reunite someday and not sure they would be down for that

Lily - ❌️❌️❌️ NO that is my GRANDMA

Rose of Sharon Cassidy - ✅️ smash probably as a drunken one night stand

Rex- ❌️❌️❌️❌️❌️❌️ that is a dog

Raul - tentative smash ✅️ I just really like concept of a ghoul vaquero. I'm not sure if he'd be interested but I'm open to the idea

Christine - ✅️ smash she's cute and i love her character but idk if she is interested in men. I know you can have semi romantic dialogue with her where you like hold her hand but I don't remember if that's gender locked. & also see Veronica

Dean Domino - ❌️❌️❌️❌️❌️❌️ fuck this guy I hate him I will never get a perfect ending for Dead Money because I kill him every time. hard pass

Dog/God - ❌️ probably not? I think maybe this is a tentative smash ✅️ if you get the ending where the two personalities combine. And that's still a hard maybe.

Bonus Character

Ulysses - ✅️✅️✅️✅️ smash I love his voice and he's probably my favorite character in the game even though he's almost entirely DLC exclusive. I think in early development he was intended to be a companion but that got scrapped. but I'm glad we still got a whole arc and story for him and I love how it thematically connects to the game as a whole

Fisto - ✅️ assume the position.

[just-jae]

Voltron LD Creative rerwrite

Okay, here we go.

Imma start with some superficial stuff:

All the main characters are adults (ranging 20-45). Tallest to shortest: Hunk and Keith are a close tie, Lance, Allura, Coran, Shiro, Pidge.

Oldest to youngest (ignoring Altean aging and the whole 10000 yr sleep) : Coran, Shiro, Allura, Pidge, Lance, Hunk, Keith

Allura's hair is more of a amber blonde. It's got like a slight rainbow effect (if that's what that's called) but just warm colors.

Alright less superficial stuff.

Keith's mom had a more outgoing and fun personality,. A lot more laid back and adventurous, but also verocious in battle. She can be passionate about what's right and wrong and what's nessecary. Leaving behind Keith wasn't just a testament to her dedication to to the Marmoran cause, but also to how much she trusted Keith's da with her bean

. Keith's dad was an actual cowboy (took care of cattle and the like) and liked to do funky cowboy dances. Maybe a volunteer firefighter though?

Keith also likes to do funky cowboy dances… when no one’s watching.

Keith had a crush on a neighbor who'd come to dance at their ho-down parties, but yaboi shy af tho so they never actually dated. His dad definitely teased him about his "boyfriend".

After Keith's dad's death, Keith became something of a workaholic, pouring himself into training and school, but was socially and emotionally shut down. He never really properly mourned, and had a hard time with intrusive thoughts whenever he was on the ranch, so he left it completely for the Garrison.

Allura and Coran aren't the last Alteans, the remaining ones are scattered throughout the universe just like the Galra (I mean, that was the whole point of destroying Altea-- to get revenge. So the Altaens dont have a homeworld just like like the Galrans, but the goal was never to wipe them out--- also why would they assume every Altean was on Altea. C'mon.

The Galra were originally very war like. It was their technological advancemencents that the Altaens adapted for more altruistic science. The Galra specialize in weapons and battle ships and communications while the Altaens had tech catered more toward medicine, bioengineering, and observation (telescopes, scanners, etc) But had a culture more deeply rooted in magic and mystic arts. Magic was how they initially came into contact.

Daibazaal had nightmare creatures, Altea had nightmare weather.

Zarkon was a Paladin a bit ironically. The Galra were very confrontational and defensive, often escalating conflicts amongst eachother or other planets into full out war, to the point that they were often seen more as predacious creatures than sentient beings.

Altea was one of the first planets to make peace with Daibazaal and, in-short, begin rehabilitating their image as bloodthirsty monsters, by sharing their diplomatic skills with them. This gave rise to leaders like Zarkon, whom could be very passionate and fierce if e felt threatened, but had the patience to observe and investigate a situation and indeed forged a reputation of robust reliability. Zarkon was a great leader, but was always controlling and power hungry,however those traits were used in healthier ways. Before then, those vices were more or less thoughts in the back of his head. Altea and Daibazaal worked together to forge Voltron, but at the time they were both fairly homogenous peoples (not very diverse in their personalities or mindsets) and so members of other species ended up as the other three paladins. The first Green and Blue paladins were both from the Dalterion belt, with Yellow actually being a wanderer alien of no particular planet (was mixed species too cause scifi).

The Fallout happened because of Altean witches being shady on multiple accounts and a domino effect leading to the death of a paladin. Broken trust, grief, and anger-- along with Altens generally tending to deny or trivialize the existence and influence of witches... or any bad thing in general-- escaelated social problems amongst their respective planets, opening old wounds until the destruction of Daibazaal, turns the Galra on the Alteans.

At first the Black Lion willingly participates, not only sharing the pain and distrust, but also being more nieve influenciable, like a child basically, but eventually it becomes conflicted by the killing and Zarkon's blind rage, and indulgence in his controlling tendencies, still emotionally attached, it rejects Zarkon and allows itself to be locked away, not even trusting itself to choose a good paladin to replace Zarkon.

Then history happens and--

Okay so Lance is indeed a sharp shooter. His whole theme is precision and perfection. He's accurate with just about any weapon, and is phenomenal in tight spaces and dynamic, high-speed settings. Personality wise e tends to be impulsive and impatient, nit picky, vain, and superficial, quick to make other's deviations from an "ideal" out to be a flaw to fix. He starts out really annoying at first but he means well, he's just misguided about image and what-not. Also Lance is the cooky, foody one and a snob about it.

Hunk IS AN ENGINEER, and mechanics/physics expert. He's very attentive to the conditions of things, particularly when it comes to problems, and is good at telling real problems from inperfections. He's a good listener who tends to other's internal turmoils and helps the team mesh together by supporting everyone and tending to their needs. Sometimes this can be a bit onesided as Hunk may sometimes feel he has to be strong and invulnerable for everyone else, becoming burned out or neglecting his own care.

Allura grapples with the fact that Altea's allies turned on them and wiped out everything she knew in a blink. I imagine she's got some trust issues and at first is particularly sensitive to infighting. From her perspective the Galra were either lying the entire time or the very idea of an alliance was fragile to begin with. The fact that it seems the entirety of the Galra went along with wiping out her people and then turning on the rest of the universe muddied her optimism and makes her more wary and hesitant to give the benefit of the doubt.

However, these are more subconsious fears that effect her knee-jerk reaction to things. The other paladins, starting out rough to begin with, and being prone to inner conflicts, help Allura to remember how strong and reliable forged bonds can be. She ends up investigating more of Altean and Galran history to try to make sense of what happened to cause the trust formed between them to collapse.

Shiro's backstory is much like the original.... EXCEPT there's no clone shinanigans. Shiro was absorbed into the black Lion and then revived- unlocking the ability to astral project and teleport.

At first, the Black Lion doesn't accept ANYONE, as the new Paladin, as it's too busy dealing with Shiro's soul or whatever. It's basically a scifi fantasy withdrawal/shutdown as he started to reflect on the fact that defeating Zarkon wouldn't end the imperialism of the Galra empire-- it seems like an impossibly endless feat. So the team has to learn to function without a head to Voltron. This is when Allura really steps up to be more involved on the front lines. She ends up spending alot of time with the black lion, empathizing with it, while also mourning Shiro, and she confides in it, especially given that they were both stuck in the castle for 10k yrs just to jump into a universal war.

So- yeah, eventually, Allura becomes the Black Paladin.

Allura is the one who realizes Shiro is IN the black lion, and works on learning some kind of magic finger flittering to revive him.

After Zarkon's defeat, the team start to see more Galra opposing the Empire, not through flat out fighting it, but basically by under-the-table acts like voting against certain moves, conveiniently failing missions, Becoming secret allies to previously conquered planets (especially if they're on the outskirts of the empire and barely get looked at-- especially as generations pass.

Passive aggression. That's what it is. "Fuck imperialism, but also we were born on this conquered planet and the Empire is still pretty brutal, so. :,/"

The Blade of Marmora are considered a suicide squad and necessary evil for opposing the empire on such an intimate level as they often participate in war acts to maintain their cover, but have been vital in weakening the empire from the inside and gaining intelligence through their many moles. The Blade is part of the reason the Galra haven't advanced even further than they have, haven't found the lions, or Altaens and are only just now developing their super juice. It looks like they haven't done much but they have, especially for an organization that only started forming after the twisted intentions of Galra imperialism became apparent.

Shay joins Hunk and helps maintain the castle ship as a mechanic. She also journals to practice writing and reading. She ends up creating her own little scripts bc she finds them easier to use. It takes some time to teach her the ropes, but she helps out however she can. Gets a bad case of homesickness after a few weeks, but, you know who doesn't. Occasionally she goes back home.

Pidge was always a tomboy :'D So infiltrating the Garrison was more a matter of looking like a different person than a different gender :V. Just makes more sense to me that that would work better than just cutting ones hair and wearing a short and pants instead of a dress.

Mat died for real. Idk, I feel like the show made a big mistake punching me the gut and then going "haha just a prank bro". NOPE. Its my headcanon now. Mat's gonna stay in the ground and enjoy the tears I shed.

Maybe Pidge looks into it, in denial at first, and uncovers some journals or records about Mat that confirmed he was dead but also leads Voltron to new allies. I thought it was a nice touch to show the mortality of rebels, and why more people aren't opposing the Galra.

Prince Lotor gets a complete makeover, He looks a lot more like his dad, and is a bit of a mess. Like in the original, he goes through much the same arc, except he's not this brittish mastermind, he's still really smart, but he's a mess...a lot like Keith, and relatively young, like, younger than Keith (20), so like, 18-19 ish in galran ages. Imagine OG Lotor and LD Keith fused.

UUUMM...

Sendak and Haxus, and Throk. They do more. Like, seriously, they were good villains'. They still get taken out, but its more than just, Haxus falling, Keith just surprise attacking, and... idek what happened to Throk.. did he even die? *does research*

Throk goes rogue, full chaotic evil.

Some shipping stuff since its crossing my mind:

Shiro/Allura, they're literally mom and dad.

Hunk and Shay, are literally sweethearts, I think I'd love for them to be platonic friends too. Either works. Like, c'mon they adore eachother. Beasties frfr.

Like I said before, Keith/hometown cowboy crush. Keith feeling like he's already thrown es life away (the life he had on the ranch with his friends and whatnot) is something that makes him progressively more angsty. He becomes a high-functioning angster, longing for the life e had before the Garrison, but always being more afraid of the pain of all those emotions than the feeling of being alone or afloat.

When thy go back to earth Hometown Crush has also joined the Garrison, but as Casualty Control. I initially chose casualty control just bc I felt it was a pretty cool but overlooked specialty--- but for those who know what it is, it ironically also implies certain things about his and Keith's relationship

I'm thinking, for Lance/Pidge, he initially picks on Pidge a lot, but develops a crush on her bc "Pidge is awesome!". Its one of the first times he's actually been interested in someone for reasons other than looks or status. But, Pidge is not into Lance seeing him as a baby (even at 22) bc he's immature, and initially thinks he's only interested cus shes a girl and Allura already rejected him. She realizes later that he's being genuine, but again he's still pretty immature so it's a bit of a slow burn for them. Like literal years of work flirting- mutual work flirting.

Zarkon/Haggar, but, they weren't together before the "war". Heck, they didn't even know eachother. Haggar was practicing dark magic before and appealed her use the the Galran Empire just to save herself, and expand her reasources. Overtime, she gained a following of druids and floated up the ladder of power until she was at Zarkon's ear.

Seeing that she is the very thing that wedged the Galra and Altaens apart, they're a very ironic pair, and they're aware of this. But its been 10K years of being evil assholes, Zarkon doesn't give 2fucs about Altaens or witches anymore. And his relationship with Haggar has been marinating for a long time... and is mostly platonic... mostly.

I think Zarkon might even find it funny that the Empire is now the perfect entity for witches to thrive in.

Lotor initially is infatuated with Allura, but it's just infatuation. He does get a bit snot-nosed about it, thinking Allura couldn't see past his Galran blood and seeing it as an excuse to rip on her vices, but its a learning point for him to not have his insecurities blind him to reality. He gets over it once he accepts that Allura's disinterest isn't amanifestation of shallowness or a personal attack. She also makes him realize more about himself than the mix blood he's always ridiculed for. Allura salvages it pretty well.

Okay.. that's enough shipping stuff.

As far as endgame go. The show is very much a power of friendship theme, about building connections and mutual care. So, I guess, the endgame would be the sympathetic Galrans, the ones who HAVE learned to appreciate freedom and connections, instead of perpetuating the heirarchal chain of dominance and control, create their own web, and "join the fight" so to speak, by disrupting status Quo's left and right, and employing the empire's own robust tech and man power against it. It's like the American Revolution, but in space.

Call me a glutton for grief, but I was legit actually thinking that Earth would be destroyed just like Altea. All the signs wwere there, the Atlas being built, "Carrying the world", all the romancing about Earth and whatnot.

It seemed like they were going to put us in bith altean and Galran shoes and really make us understand what it meant to have yourworld destroyed, coming full circle. Maybe Haggar even straight up replicates the event that destroyed Daibazaal. And it just went to show not only how far removed modern Galra are from their history, but also snapshotting why it's so impactful when we see everything that we associate with ourselfes and our identity, and the place we called home, obliterated.

Or on a happier, more conclusive note, all the allies Voltron makes along the way make their defense of Earth successful, and they beome the first planet the Galran's fail to conqure, where at the end of the first season, Voltron barely made it out alive facing Zarkon alone.

[simplegenius042]

Fallout characters react to Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged (or at least their variants in it)

Was inspired by AO3 user StrykerKitsune with their fic "Miraculous watching Hellsing Abridged with a twist" and their hilarious (and kind of chilling) interpretation of the cast of Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir watching Hellsing Abridged by TeamFourStar but instead of the main Hellsing cast its replaced with variants of the Miraculous cast who are watching it (So instead of Alucard, Seras, Integra and Bernadotte, they were variations of Luka, Marinette, Kagami and Adrien respectively). The funniest and unique react fic I've read so far (considering instead of watching Miraculous, that cast watched themselves play the role of the Hellsing Abridged cast) and I'd advise you give it a read if you want to burst in tears.

Anyway, thinking about that today gave me a surge of inspiration to write a react fic... but with (most) of the Fallout cast watching variants of themselves playing the roles of the main cast in The Schmuck Squad's Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged.

Solemn and sometimes fun seriousness watches pure absurd crack.

This will include characters from Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4 and maybe Fallout 76 while we're at it.

Now as for the characterization of the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, the Lone Wanderer, the Courier, the Sole Survivor and the Resident, they will be based on my Fallout OCs:

Elrand Brandt (Vault Dweller), Finidy Mona (Chosen One), Alph Dolen (Lone Wanderer), Ryder (Courier), Nate Gust Sarid (Sole Survivor) and Vega (Resident). None of my other OCs (e.g. Ortega "Ore" Brantley, Marissa "Ress" Bishop, Arcane Urias, Mathias "Mason" Talos, Aggravor, etc) from A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore will be included, as this is purely for Fallout. I will be posting my Fallout OCs' character sheets (?) from now to whenever, before the polls of course.

The "watchers/reactors" will mostly comprise of the Fallout protagonists (who will be my OCs to avoid vague personality conflicts plus other things with a mostly voiceless and customizable character), their companions, story-relevant leaders, one or two DLC relevant characters and whoever else I personally think should be there. None of them will include antagonists (unless the antagonist/immoral figure is a companion or story-relevant, like Myron, Dean Domino, Ulysses, Strong, X6-88, Porter Gage, etc).

However, on the "Abridged Variants" side, characters will be chosen through polls that I'm gonna be posting either everyday or every week depending on how I feel. These polls will discern which Fallout character plays the abridged version of the Jujutsu Kaisen cast, and I will be presenting options I personally believe could do some good but also an optional "name a character in the tags" (and if it's a Fallout protagonist, just call them by their titles if you can't remember my OCs' names). This will include protagonists and antagonists. Now the size of the variant characters will only be as large or as important as those that significantly appear in the abridged version, not the source material (so Junpei's teacher, his most minor bullies, the unnamed student who interupts Itadori's "spooky little flip-flop grilled cheese bullshit club", etc won't be casted as variants).

I'll also find an OC to host this little reaction because why not, you know?

Anyway, to summarize: Gonna make a "Fallout characters watch/react to their variants in Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged", will include characters from most, if not, all of the Fallout games, characterization of the Fallout protagonists will be based on the OCs I have for them, will not include the mystical OCs from A Radioactive Calamity of Love, Bombs & Gore, character sheets for the former OCs will be posted before the polls, said polls will indicate which characters become a Jujutsu Kaisen Abridged variant (and the time period of the polls vary depending on character importance), watchers/reactors only include protagonists and characters of importance and will not include antagonists (excluding amoral/immoral companions or story relevant non-companions like Ulysses), but variants will include both protagonists and antagonists. Extremely minor characters or unnamed characters won't be casted and lastly an OC of mine will be the host of the reaction fic.

Hope this made sense. Will be posting OC Fallout sheets first and then the polls.

[waitingforwinterwinds]

ASOS; Steel and Snow: 20 CATELYN III (pages 273-284)

Robb puts an ally to the chopping block when said ally kills two team Lannister hostages in revenge for his own dead sons, the Stark/Tully fam try to keep a hold of the situation, and Jeyne asks Cat for advice on helping her husband.

-

Only the fact that some had spears and others empty scabbards served to set them apart. All were clad in mail hauberks or shirts of sewn rings, with heavy boots and thick cloaks, some of wool and some of fur. The north is hard and cold, and has no mercy, Ned had told her when she first came to Winterfell a thousand years ago.

I feel like there's something of a metaphor in there, in that ally and enemy look the same, and which is which doesn't make a difference to their fallen foes, or those left to pick up the pieces.

...Karstark makes an unfortunate point. In absolving his mother in order to absolve himself of his broken oath instead of even a symbolic punishment, Robb has said the treatment of prisoners outside of his orders is not treason no matter what is done to them even against his orders.

Robb has effectively traded his own forgiveness for the "sanctity" of the law. (all of which is made worse by the fact Robb is an oathbreaker now, and why should men keep oaths to him when he does not keep his own.)

Her son wanted comfort, Catelyn realized; he wanted to hear that it would be all right. But her king needed truth.

I don't really have a comment here, just that this line hits hard, damn it's raw. The internal conflicts it contains.

"Th Others can take her, then," Robb cursed, in a fury of despair. "Bloody Rickard Karstark as well. (...) and all the rest of them. Gods be good, why would any man ever want to be king? (...) I told myself... swore to myself... that I would be a good king, as honorable as Father, strong, just, loyal to my friends and brave when I faced my enemies... now I can't even tell one from the other. How did it all get so confused? -"

D&D suck at their job = 🥛

I'm sorry, but show!Robb felt whinier, like he wasn't having much internal conflict beyond "this sucks but I gotta", (or maybe I'm remembering wrong because it's Been A While) Book!Robb is fully cracking under this pressure and you can feel it. It's not just "oh no, things are going wrong" it's the falling dominoes of consequences out pacing him before he can see they're there, and it weighs on him.

(also I'm thirsty and I wanted to excuse to drink... I think I'm coming down with something...)

... why were the boys naked? just sleeping nude? is that a thing? they don't have PJs and won't sleep in their clothes?

"Old gods or new, it makes no matter," Lord Rickard told her son, "no man is so accursed as the kinslayer."

I just had a mental image of Ardyn Izunia tearing this book apart for coming for him like that.

... damn this execution is a heavy scene, it feels like there are moments in it where Robb could turn back here and avoid his fate, but it's a lie. They've locked themselves into course with their actions, and at this point there is no turning back, no avoiding this execution or its fall out. The fallout would be devastating either way.

"It's a hard thing, to take a man's life." "I know. I told him, he should use a headsman. When Lord Tywin sends a man to die, all he does is give the command. It's easier that way, don't you think." "Yes," said Catelyn, "but my lord husband taught his sons that killing should never be easy."

... you know what? D&D suck at their job = 🥛

Because I really don't think they got this. It's a central theme, responsibility and the value of life, and it seems to have just flown over their heads in favour of cool sword fights and sexposition. But it's so present in the books? all the characters who have killed people, you can see how it weighs differently to them, the people and circumstances and justifications and reasoning and the trauma. and D&D just ask "how many packets of fake blood can we buy with this season's budget?"

"Jeyne, child, you have wed the north, as I did... and in the north, the winters come." She tried to smile. "Be patient. Be understanding. He loves you and he needs you, and he will come back to you soon enough. -"

This feels both like a poetic way to talk about culture shock between the south and north, but also like Cat's saying "you've married into a family with a history of mental health issues." Because yeah, there are vibes in the Starks; depression, anxiety, lowkey autism. And that is good advice for living with people who do have mental health stuff going on: be patient, be understanding. Most importantly be aware that it's a long haul, whether there's meds that can make things "better" or not, some mental health stuff is a 'for life' thing.

The girl did seem to have a good heart, just as Robb had said. And good hips, which might be more important.

Ehehehehe

[funky-gobbo-art]

Fallout!mafia 3 au

Idk I'm just trying to get it out of my system lol.

Instead of the far future I assume the Great War happened in the early 1970's, the events of the Stones Unturned DLC was the domino that sped up the process that ended up leading to it.

Lincoln gets secured in a Vault, because of his CIA ties and being an exceptional soldier in Vietnam. I guess I'm gonna go on a mix of Fo4/76, with the cryostasis sleep but also opening up shortly after the bombs drop. People leave at different times according to when they got into the vault. Lincoln's like the last dweller to get out I'll say....5 years later.

As for Donovan, despite leaving the CIA in '69, him and Marshall probably get dragged into a bunker thanks to the government knowing about it happening before the bombs hit. And since the CIA doesn't exist in Fallout and I think the Enclave and the CIA have some overlap, I'm saying here any CIA agents were all made to assimilate into the Enclave. Also knocked out for maybe 5 years...or less. I assume the bunker is under that safehouse right outside the Hollow into the Bayou.

Yeah.

Hyperfixations go brrrr

[mutxnts]

hi ashhhhh i challenge you to do all the multiples of 5 for the ask meme >:) or else if that’s too many then the multiples of ten cksbcmbdmd

ooooh okay multiples of 5 here we go!!! thank you vyn for always sending these in, love you 💖💖

(putting the answers to these under the cut since it got long)

5. Favourite Culprit?

this is hard bc i don't really like any of the culprits lmao but maybe kristoph? or manfred von karma, since he unintentionally caused a HUGE domino effect on such much stuff, which ultimately led to his own downfall

10. Favourite trial from all the games?

already answered here!

15. Random headcanon you can share?

now that i'm trying to pick one out none are coming to mind lmao but hmmm i think that after the gavinners break up, klavier takes some time off from making music to reflect/take some time for himself/take apollo on dates/deal with the fallout of his brother. but this isn't a permanent break, i think he does come back at some point to release solo music bc songwriting really helps him cope with some of the stuff he experienced. it's a lot more serious of an album compared to the stuff the gavinners put out, so he's hesitant to even release it, but i think with apollo and trucy's encouragement and support, he would eventually release it!

20. Did you ever write fanfiction for Ace Attorney? If so, which one is your best piece

my best piece of fanfic for this fandom is something i haven't published yet jkfdsgkjdgh i have 3 wips that i really love but just haven't had any motivation to work on them, so they are sadly just sitting in my drafts 😔 but as for published fics, i would say maybe forever and always? mostly bc i'm partial to doing deep dives into characters and why they're Like That

25. Favourite rare pair?

i don't think i really have any since i mainly just like the main ships sdfgjklsjdflg but uhhhh apollo/clay? athena/juniper? idk, these seem like fairly common ones to me lol

also phoenix/grape juice KJDFGKJDKJFG

30. Character you’d push off a cliff with no hesitation?

dahlia lmao but also mvk

35. Smartest murder plan?

it's gotta be damon gant, right? he faked all this evidence, promoted lana and made it so that she would basically do everything he asked, and fired/demoted the detectives assigned to sl-9 so they couldn't do any real investigating themselves. luke atmey also deserves a shoutout though

40. Honest opinion on Phoenix Wright?

If phoenix wright has a million fans, then I am one of them. If phoenix wright has ten fans, then I am one of them. If phoenix wright has only one fan then that is me. If phoenix wright has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against phoenix wright, then I am against the world.

(i really, really love him, but you already knew that!)

45. Someone who would’ve made a fun prosecutor but isn’t?

maybe... franziska? don't get me wrong, i love her, but i do remember thinking it was annoying how often she made these ultimatums during court where you could only ask one question or answer it correctly once or you would lose all your health or whatever. from a player perspective that was always kind of annoying since the judge just went along with it lol. but honestly i don't really know for this question sdfgjgjksdf

50. Favourite moment?

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE AHHH THIS ISN'T FAIR

okay just to name a few: unnecessary feelings, franziska bursting into the courtroom with the evidence in farewell my turnabout, miles as a defense attorney, any reunions between siblings (like lana reuniting with ema, mia hugging maya for the first time since her death), kristoph finally getting his comeuppance, the end scene of dual destinies (minor spoilers for aa5 for the rest of this answer so just skip to the next question vyn jklsdfjklfgd) where phoenix is smiling and proud of how far his proteges have come

55. Two characters you’d like to meet?

trucy and ema!!!

60. Character you relate to?

phoenix, but specifically during 7yg bc i feel like he really struggles to find a purpose during that time in his life and that's also where i'm at rn in mine

also penny nichols strangely enough bc she works in my field and actually kind of looks like me (i do have glasses, but not as big and round as hers. also i don't have freckles)

65. Outfit you’d like to wear?

bruh no joke i had a dream one time where i wore phoenix's 3 piece suit and ever since i've always wanted to wear one bc i think waistcoats look so nice on everyone!!!! i haven't even worn just a plain suit before but that would be fun too

70. Describe Dahlia Hawthorne in 3 words!

she deserved it

75. Character you would kiss?

phoenix HAHA but also maybe klavier

80. What case was the one that got you actually hooked?

i feel like turnabout sisters or turnabout samurai were ones where i was like oooh this is interesting but turnabout goodbyes was where the ace attorney brainrot finally sank in and i knew i was doomed

85. Which character would you introduce to your parents?

funnily enough i think klavier would be super nice and know how to flatter my parents lol. but maybe mia since she seems pretty calm and levelheaded and wouldn't do anything weird while meeting them?

90. Your NOTP?

any of the gross ships of course but hmmm maybe like klavier/daryan? i just don't really see it happening personally. same with trucy/pearl, i don't ship it personally and just think of them as friends. i also really don't like how in the credits or whatever of t&t it's hinted that phoenix and iris both kind of have feelings for each other still, so phoenix/iris is one that i'm not a fan of either

95. Which character would you redesign?

phoenix to show off more cleavage like his mentor KJDSFGJFDSGKJDFG

no but like maybe franziska if she comes back in aa7! oooh or maybe klavier, but i wouldn't completely redesign him, i would just give him a cool performance outfit for turnabout serenade

100. Phoenix Wright or Miles Edgeworth? Who do you like better?

oh my god this is the question this is gonna end on sdfjklgsdjfkldfsg sorry miles but i prefer phoenix <33

[themachinehead]

Staff Augmentation vs. Legacy System Challenges — From External Pressures to Personal Stress

When you’re working with legacy systems, change is rarely straightforward. These systems are the backbone of your operations, but they come with a unique set of challenges. Transitioning to something new? That’s where things get complicated—and risky. It’s not just about adopting new technology; it’s about managing the domino effect that these changes unleash across your organization. One issue leads to another, and soon enough, external pressures, team tensions, and personal stress all collide.

Imagine a key team member with deep system knowledge leaves unexpectedly. You’re scrambling to fill the gap, and then a critical feature fails, putting data and operations at risk. Or maybe a system issue surfaces on the Friday before a holiday weekend, stretching resources to their limit. It’s a pattern that’s all too familiar: problems stack up, each one intensifying the next.

This is where staff augmentation becomes more than just hiring extra hands. It’s a strategic move that brings in specialized skills exactly when and where they’re needed. Whether it’s stabilizing data, filling knowledge gaps, or easing team workload, staff augmentation offers a tailored solution to manage each layer of these overlapping challenges. It’s not just a quick fix — it’s a way to regain control, support your team, and navigate complex transitions smoothly.

In this article, we’ll walk through real scenarios that demonstrate how these issues arise together and explore how staff augmentation can help you handle the ripple effects — keeping operations steady, morale high, and stress in check.

When a Key Employee Leaves and Everything Goes Sideways

Legacy systems can feel like mysteries locked inside the heads of a few key people. So, when one of those people leaves unexpectedly, it’s not just a staffing issue—it’s an operational crisis. You’re left with an information void just as new problems crop up, like data loss or a critical feature going down.

Suddenly, it’s not just one challenge; it’s a domino effect where gaps in knowledge, team strain, and technical issues all collide, threatening stability across the board.

Facing the Fallout When They’re Gone

You can feel the impact immediately. Data becomes harder to track, essential features start glitching, and the whole system feels unstable. Without your expert to rely on, you’re left scrambling to keep everything running smoothly, knowing the risk of failure is growing with each passing hour.

Data Risks Multiply: Many legacy systems lack basic safety features like automated backups or version control. Any slip-up with data storage, without the right person to fix it, becomes a major operational risk. Now, without your go-to expert, there’s no easy way to retrieve lost data or secure what remains.

Features Start to Fail: Those custom tweaks and features—ones that only your veteran employee truly understood—begin to act up. Clients notice, deadlines loom, and you’re one step away from a full-blown system outage.

How Staff Augmentation Steps In: By bringing in data recovery and system experts quickly, you can stabilize the situation. Data specialists can jump in to secure or restore critical data, while legacy system experts handle core functions, minimizing disruptions and keeping essential features running.

The Team Left Behind — And the Pressure They’re Under

Without your legacy expert, the remaining team members are stretched thin, suddenly juggling tasks they didn’t sign up for. Everyone is taking on extra responsibilities, and tensions start bubbling up as frustrations rise.

Workloads are out of control. Each team member has a full plate already, but now they’re managing tasks they weren’t trained for. Errors pile up, deadlines slip, and the frustration is almost palpable.

Rising tensions. When people are under pressure, collaboration suffers. The usual flow of teamwork turns choppy as misunderstandings grow, small issues become big conflicts, and the stress starts taking a toll on morale.

Knowledge bottlenecks. With the main expert gone, only a few remaining team members know parts of the legacy system. The result? Workflows get stuck, bottlenecks appear, and even minor questions cause major slowdowns.

How staff augmentation eases the load. A skilled temporary hire can handle the technical tasks, letting your team focus on what they’re good at. Adding short-term training support also fills knowledge gaps faster, easing tension and making sure everyone knows what they need to keep things moving.

The Personal Toll on Each Team Member

It’s not just technical overload; the personal strain is real. Team members are thrown into high-stakes roles, often feeling overwhelmed, unprepared, and isolated in their efforts to hold everything together.

Unfamiliar responsibilities. Faced with complex, unfamiliar tasks, team members start doubting themselves. “Am I even capable of handling this?” becomes a daily question, eroding confidence.

Burnout risks rise. With everyone pushing longer hours and taking on extra work, burnout isn’t far behind. Energy levels drop, productivity dips, and the cycle of stress and fatigue intensifies.

Isolation and pressure. Without the right support, employees feel like they’re on an island, with no one to turn to for guidance. The pressure to perform without slipping becomes overwhelming, especially when they’re uncertain about their new responsibilities.

How staff augmentation supports well-being. Temporary specialists ease the load by covering critical tasks, allowing your team to focus on familiar work and avoid burnout. Plus, having external experts to collaborate with reduces isolation and boosts morale, giving your team the support they need during a tough transition.

Bringing Stability Back

When a key person leaves unexpectedly, and everything feels on the brink, staff augmentation offers more than just a quick fix. It provides essential skills and knowledge when you need it most, restoring order amid chaos. With the right support, your organization can keep data secure, reduce team strain, and rebuild confidence—turning a potential crisis into a manageable transition that strengthens your operations.

Balancing Tech Demands and Team Tensions

When you’re integrating new technology into a legacy system, the pressure is on. There’s a constant need to innovate, to keep up with new demands, but that doesn’t mean everyone is ready for change. Your team faces the push to ideate, prototype, and implement new features while still managing the familiar weight of legacy tasks. But then resistance kicks in—longstanding team members might push back, refusing to share knowledge or even outright resisting the changes.

The Push for New Features, and Why It Feels Like a Losing Battle

The call for new features is loud and clear. Clients want more capabilities, executives expect tech upgrades, and your team feels the pressure to deliver. But that’s easier said than done when the foundation is a decades-old system, and innovation feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

External ressures for innovation. Stakeholders expect new features that fit modern needs, like integration with cloud platforms or enhanced data analytics. But the legacy system’s limitations and patchwork updates make even small upgrades feel like major overhauls.

Resource strain on your team. Team members are trying to juggle feature ideation and development while maintaining the legacy system’s stability. That workload—combined with tight deadlines—stretches resources thin and fuels frustration.

How staff augmentation keeps innovation moving. Bringing in experienced product development and technical specialists adds much-needed expertise without overloading your team. These specialists know how to work with legacy systems and can focus on prototyping new features, so your team isn’t pulled in too many directions.

The Resistance Factor: Navigating Interpersonal Tensions

With new technology, the friction isn’t just in the code. Some legacy team members have been running the system for years, and they see change as a threat. They might withhold knowledge, resist learning new tools, or challenge every update, creating a tense atmosphere for the rest of the team.

Knowledge hoarding and pushback. Legacy team members might keep vital information to themselves, creating bottlenecks. Or they might resist updates, adding friction every time the team tries to make progress on a new feature.

Collaboration breakdowns. When some team members are eager to adopt changes and others refuse, it creates an “us versus them” environment. This divide leads to miscommunication, stalled projects, and a breakdown in teamwork.

How staff augmentation eases interpersonal tensions. A third-party specialist can bridge these gaps. By bringing in neutral experts who know legacy systems, staff augmentation provides a buffer, encouraging knowledge-sharing and easing tension. These specialists often bring new perspectives, helping teams work through resistance and fostering a more open, collaborative environment.

The Emotional Strain of Change Fatigue

Everyone on the team feels the push-and-pull of these demands, but some feel it more acutely. For newer team members, adapting to the legacy system can be exhausting, and for long-timers, the constant pressure to learn new tools and adapt can lead to burnout. It’s a cycle of change fatigue, self-doubt, and frustration.

Stress of “proving yourself”. Newer employees might feel they have to prove themselves by adapting to both the legacy and the new systems. Meanwhile, veteran team members feel pressure to “keep up” with tools they aren’t comfortable with.

Risk of burnout and low morale. When deadlines loom and tensions run high, it’s easy for team morale to dip. Employees start to feel isolated, questioning if they’re capable of handling the changes and struggling to find energy for yet another update.

How Staff Augmentation Protects Well-being: Adding external experts takes some of the strain off the team. Temporary specialists handle the technical work of integrating new features, freeing up your team to focus on what they do best. Having that support lightens the load, reducing burnout risk and giving everyone a bit of breathing room.

Strengthening the Team, Even Through Tension

When team dynamics get strained and innovation feels like an uphill battle, staff augmentation can turn things around. By bringing in neutral specialists, you’re bridging gaps, easing tensions, and creating a team that’s ready for change. Staff augmentation isn’t just an extra set of hands—it’s a way to keep the team cohesive, focused, and capable, no matter how tough the transition.

The Holiday-Time Incident and Its Ripple Effect

Picture this: It’s Friday afternoon, right before a long holiday weekend, and just when everyone’s wrapping up, a major issue surfaces in your legacy system. Maybe it’s a critical feature breaking down, a data processing glitch, or an error in an essential workflow. Whatever the problem, the timing couldn’t be worse. With limited staff available over the holiday, you’re facing an uphill battle to keep things stable until the full team returns. This is where everything converges—external pressures, team dynamics, and personal stress combine to create a high-stakes situation.

Facing External Timing Constraints

When issues hit during a holiday, they don’t wait for convenience. Extended downtime threatens stability, making the stakes even higher. With limited in-house support, any delay could mean dissatisfied clients, unmet deadlines, or even compliance risks if the problem lingers too long.

Operational impact of the timing. An incident at this point throws the whole system off balance. Regular workflows get interrupted, service levels drop, and every hour of downtime becomes more costly. Knowing that your skeleton crew will be stretched thin over the weekend only amplifies the risk.

Escalating client and stakeholder expectations. External stakeholders—clients, regulatory bodies, partners—expect stability regardless of timing. They don’t see a holiday; they see a potential lapse in service, and that can lead to strained relationships or financial repercussions.

Solution with staff augmentation. Having an on-call emergency response team through staff augmentation allows you to manage this crisis. These experts are ready to jump in, troubleshoot issues, and maintain operational continuity, even during holidays. With this added layer of support, you avoid extended disruptions, keeping your clients and stakeholders reassured while minimizing damage to your system.

Managing Team Dynamics During a Holiday Crisis

The strain doesn’t just stop at operational impact. Your in-house team is likely to feel the pressure to “hold down the fort” during a time when they’d typically be taking a break. This is more than just an inconvenience; it’s an immediate burden on morale and teamwork.

Interpersonal pressures and burnout risks. Being asked to cover during a holiday, especially on short notice, can lead to resentment and burnout among those who are asked to stay. When people are called to handle more than they’d planned for, tensions rise, leading to strained relationships and, often, mistakes in critical moments.

Struggle with team communication. With part of the team off-duty and others scrambling to keep things running, communication can get chaotic. The team’s usual rhythm is off, and minor misunderstandings turn into time-consuming setbacks.

Solution with Staff Augmentation: By introducing rotating on-call staff from a staff augmentation provider, you reduce the pressure on your permanent team. These professionals fill the gap, covering key responsibilities and ensuring your team isn’t running on fumes. With support in place, your core employees don’t have to shoulder the entire crisis alone, helping keep team morale intact.

The Personal Toll of Unexpected Responsibility

The holiday season is often when people expect to unplug, recharge, and spend time away from work. But when a crisis lands on their plate unexpectedly, those hopes quickly fade. This unplanned responsibility can take a heavy toll on their well-being.

Overwhelming sense of responsibility. Being the go-to person during a holiday crisis means missing out on much-needed rest and relaxation, often with family plans disrupted. The emotional toll is real—employees feel stretched, isolated, and pressured to deliver under tough conditions.

Stress and exhaustion. When employees face a major incident without backup, it quickly leads to burnout. The stress of a high-stakes problem combined with the disappointment of a holiday spent at work can leave them drained, impacting performance long after the issue is resolved.

Solution with staff augmentation. Temporary on-call experts from a staff augmentation service provide critical coverage, letting your permanent staff take time off as planned. By lightening the load, you’re allowing your employees to prioritize their well-being while ensuring continuous support. This kind of backup not only handles immediate issues but preserves your team’s energy and morale, setting them up to return recharged and ready to take on their usual responsibilities.

Keeping Operations — and Morale — Stable

A holiday crisis doesn’t have to lead to chaos. With the right staff augmentation strategy, you can respond to critical issues without sacrificing your team’s well-being or letting downtime stretch on. From emergency troubleshooting to on-call coverage, staff augmentation provides the expertise and support needed to handle crises smoothly, even at the most inconvenient times. It’s about more than just filling in—it’s about ensuring that your team, your system, and your organization stay resilient, even under pressure.