#not an attacking mechanism

[regulationhottie7905]

as somebody who works with kids, the fact that some characters are genuinely scared of Nico is so goddamn funny to me 😭 like. that’s a middle schooler. that is a clinically depressed middle schooler. what is he gonna do to you? hide behind the wall when you’re in the bathroom and yell “BOO!” when you jump out????

[sangrefae]

i love getting to see day one expac launch bugs such as "eating pizza breaks male au ra faces" and "syrcus tower now has savage level difficulty mechanics"

[borderline-sanity]

GRWM as I ✨Wake Up with a Panic Attack✨

** None of this is medical advice, and is just a system I’ve worked on for myself. Everybody is different, everyone is in different circumstances.**

When it comes to the fight or flight instinct during panic attacks, I’m 100% a flight person.

I’ve dealt with panic attacks since high school and have been diagnosed with panic disorder. In high school I lived in constant fear of having an attack, which caused the attacks. It was all very cyclical. I have them less often now, but they still happen from time to time.

My go to method is to mix comforting and uncomfortable sensations and to overstimulate myself. I’ve tried deep breathing and relaxing music and the things that should logically help. But they always made me feel worse because I’m acknowledging the panic in such a head on fashion. I try to ground and overstimulate as many senses as I can, so I don’t have the energy or space to feel the panic anymore.

The initial terror, it’s going to happen. How fast you can pivot depends on the severity of the panic.

I tell myself I’m an expert in panic attack management. I have over 12 years of experience in the field and have worked tirelessly to perfect my methods. I have to convince myself I’m a pro at this, and have a 100% success rate of not imploding from anxiety. I narrate what I’m going to do and why it helps me specifically, basically what I’m doing here.

—-

My first stop is consistently my bathroom. I go through my bin of old lotions and pick a scent I have specially set aside for panic attacks. I use something that’s way too overpowering, but having something that smells bad to you is also an option. Sometimes I’ll use two different smells. The goal is to have a scent to ground you.

When I have a panic attack, my body fails at temperature regulation. Typically my feet are cold and clammy. So, I like to run some hot water in the tub and just stand in it for awhile. As I’m standing there, I apply whatever lotion or perfume I grabbed. Once my feet are warmed up, I get out of the tub and only sorta dry my feet. Then I put socks on my damp feet. Why? Because I hate the way it feels. And that harmless discomfort is going to distract me as I make my way to the next room.

I pick up a hoodie from the closet. Since I don’t know which way my temperature is going to flux, it’s nice to have on hand. I also have a big comfy shawl I use only during panic attacks.

I have to go down stairs to get to my kitchen. I take them really slow, especially with the damp sock situation. If I’m feeling too weak, I’ll just sit down and scoot down them. My instinct is flight, so staying in one room too long is no good. I usually feel safer being on the ground floor.

—-

Things might get messy in the kitchen, but that’s for future you to deal with. I used to keep a fresh lemon in the house at all times, but have moved away from that, opting for lemon juice. You can either bite into a lemon, or swish some lemon juice in your mouth and spit it out. A benefit of a fresh lemon is that it’s more messy. You’ll have lemon juice on your face and hands and that stickiness, at least for me, is an awful sensation.

You’re going to chase the lemon down with something else. I like to grab sour candy, like Warheads. But something like Pop Rocks also works. Picking an opposite flavor, like pudding or beef jerky is an option. You’re just trying to overload your tastebuds by making another harmless, but powerful distraction.

Alternatively, this step can be done when you’re in the bathroom. Swishing mouth wash and following it up with something sour is miserable. The face I make in the mirror is ridiculous and sometimes that’s enough to help soothe me.

—-

Like I said, I’m a flight person. So the next steps I either do pacing the house or on a treadmill. It just depends how steady my legs are feeling.

I grab my headphones, connected to my phone, and my tablet. I put the headphones on one ear and play music. The music is going to change every time. Sometimes you want something soothing, sometimes you want something loud. Sometimes you want music you love, sometimes you want music you hate. Having different playlists prepped helps you figure out what you’re in the mood for. I think one hit wonders are also a great option. There’s a familiarity and nostalgia that just hits the spot sometimes.

There are a few options for the tablet. You can put on a movie or tv show, and listen with your un-headphoned ear. I also like doing crossword puzzles or logic puzzles. It usually goes poorly, but I get so wrapped up in it. I’ve also found ‘Simon Says’ videos and follow those. Anything challenging and low stakes works here.

And this is where things usually begin to ease up. If my legs are too wobbly, I’ll just lie on the floor. Sometimes I go back to the lemon juice / sour candy. But eventually, my body is just exhausted and overstimulated. And there’s no more room for panic.

Once I feel myself winding down, I’ll get an electrolyte heavy drink. My go to is Pedialyte Zero Sugar packets but it doesn’t really matter what you use. I’ll have something light to eat if I feel up to it, usually just crackers.

When the panic has finally eases up and I feel safe again, I’m usually left exhausted. I fall asleep wherever I land, usually on the floor because it just feels nice and sturdy. When I wake up, I take care of any messes I left behind. And I drink more water.

—-

Important Notes and Additional Tactics:

Drink lots of water. Just have water dead drops everywhere.

Make it a point to keep yourself stocked up on supplies. Future you needs to restock supplies and put things back for next time.

Fidget toys are great and should also be in every room if possible. I like to use different ones depending on which room I’m in, just to keep up variety.

Ice cubes under the armpits or on the back of the neck are great. I guess anywhere works, I just find the cold distracting. As they melt, I’m left with water on my clothes. Similar to the damp socks, I hate this feeling.

My plant misting bottle stays in the kitchen and I’ll use it to spray my face or arms. Having glasses makes this more annoying, which is the goal.

I personally like to turn on as many lights as I can, but I understand this isn’t always possible.

Stepping outside can be helpful, just be mindful about it.

Reach out to people if that’s an option and you’re comfortable with it.

Walk through your routine when you aren’t in the middle of a panic attack. Developing this type of muscle memory helps you to be familiar and prepared. Remember, you’re the expert in panic attacks.

Take time to reflect on things. The day after a panic attack, I find a quiet place. I think back to everything I was feeling and who I was during the panic attack. And I talk to that past version of me and comfort her. Sometimes I find it easier to write it all out.

—-

I typed this while experiencing a panic attack. Usually I just narrate these things to myself. Recently, my older brother has started having attacks similar to mine. My hope is that sharing what I do to get myself through a panic attack will help at least one person. It is truly one of the most defeating and vulnerable experiences. I feel like I’ve lost so much time to my anxiety, I’d like to think I can help someone avoid the same struggles my younger self dealt with.

**None of this is medical advice, and is just a system I’ve worked on for myself. Everybody is different, everyone is in different circumstances.

[nilla03]

𝑈𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐻𝑂𝑂𝐷’

𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑡：𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑡��𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑥 𝑖𝑡

𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠：𝑚𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛！，𝑠ℎ𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

“Damn it…” you groaned, slamming your hands against the steering wheel. You were so close to reaching your vacation destination, but your car had other plans. The engine sputtered, making the most awful grinding sound that made your stomach drop.

You frantically dug through your purse, heart racing as you searched for the card your friend had given you—just in case something like this happened. After a few desperate seconds, your fingers brushed against a light orange business card, and you let out a relieved sigh. It read “The Wrench & Ink”—the name looked bold and cool in thick black letters, and the address was just past Solvang.

Without hesitation, you threw the card back into your bag, turned the key again, and despite the ominous rattling from under the hood, you pushed the gas pedal down. You had no choice but to keep going, praying you’d make it to the shop without breaking down completely.

You pulled into the parking lot of The Wrench & Ink, your car still making those weird, unsettling noises. You cut the engine, the rattling finally coming to a halt.

As you climbed out, the warm summer air hit you, the sun hanging low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the small mechanic shop

The place had an old-school charm, with rusty signs, a couple of vintage cars parked out front, and an unmistakable vibe that was both gritty and cool. You hesitated for a second, glancing around nervously, before stepping inside.

That's when you saw him.

Tall, broad, with grease-streaked hands and a fitted black t-shirt that clung to his frame in ways you shouldn’t be noticing, a name tag with a dark font “Armin “

His blond hair was slightly messy, pushed back just enough to reveal the sharp cut of his jaw, the piercing blue of his eyes—eyes that raked over you the second he saw you standing at the counter. And the tattoos—God, the tattoos.

Black ink curled around his forearms, disappearing beneath his sleeves. You caught glimpses of more when he wiped sweat from his brow, revealing something scrawled along his ribs.

You tried not to stare. You really did. But then he smirked. “You lost, sweetheart? Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” His voice was deep, smooth, teasing—the kind that made your stomach tighten.

“I, um… my car,” you manage, feeling ridiculous for how easily he’s unraveling you. “It’s making this weird noise, and—”

“Lemme guess.” He steps closer, leaning a little too far over the counter, crowding your space in a way that makes you forget how to breathe. “Rattling under the hood? Maybe a little grinding?”

You nod, caught in the way his lips curl like he’s enjoying your reaction. “Yeah,” you murmur.

“Mm.” He hums, tapping a finger against the counter, blue eyes dragging over you—slow, assessing. “Could be a lot of things, sweetheart. Might take some time to figure out.” You swallow. “How long?” His smirk deepens. “Couple hours. Maybe more.”

You know exactly what he’s doing. And judging by the way his fingers lazily trace over his own wrist, over the ink decorating his skin, he knows you know.

“I, um—”

“You shy?” he interrupts, head tilting slightly, the glint in his eyes downright wicked. Heat floods your face. “I—no, I just—”

His chuckle is low, rich with amusement. before nodding toward the garage. “C’mon, sweetheart. Let’s take a look at what I’m working with.”

You’re pretty sure he’s not talking about the car. And when his hand just barely brushes your lower back as he leads you inside

You know for a fact this is going to take longer than a couple of hours.

The deep rumble of the garage door closing sent a shiver down your spine. The air was thick with the scent of motor oil, grease, and something undeniably masculine-something that belonged to him.

Armin wiped his hands off on a rag, his tattoos flexing with each movement of his toned arms. He looked up at you from where he stood, leaning against your car with that same cocky smirk that made your stomach twist. His blue eyes glinted under the dim garage lights, like he already knew what he wanted-and he knew you'd give it to him.

"Car's good as new," he said, voice low, rough around the edges. "But we got one little problem."

You swallowed hard. "Wh-What problem?"

Armin took a step forward, closing the space between you with slow, deliberate ease. "You didn't bring enough cash to cover the full job, sweetheart." He tilted his head, feigning disappointment. "Now, what are we gonna do about that?"

Your breath hitched as he reached out, fingers grazing the hem of your top, his touch just enough to make your skin prickle with anticipation.

"I-I can go to the ATM," you stammered, trying to keep your voice steady.

Armin chuckled-low, deep, teasing. "Nah," he said, voice dripping with something dangerous. "I think we can work something out right here."

Before you could protest, his hands rough and firm, pulling you against his solid frame. The cold metal of his belt buckle pressed against your belly, sending sparks throughout your body.

Armin's fingers traced slow, lazy circles along the soft skin of your lower stomach. his touch rough from years of working with his hands. His calloused fingers dragged over the thin fabric of your tanktop.

"Look at you," he murmured, tilting your chin up with his knuckle, forcing you to meet his gaze. His blue eyes were dark, half-lidded, hungry. "All shy, all quiet... but I bet you've thought about this before, haven't you?"

Your breath hitched, heat flooding your face. "I-"

Armin chuckled, low and knowing.

"Thought so," he mused, his fingers dipping under the hem of your top, skimming against your tan skin.

The garage felt too small, the walls closing in, trapping you in the heat of his presence.

The faint scent of oil and leather clung to him, mixing with the warmth of his collective tan skin as he leaned in, his lips just barely grazing your jaw.

"You ever been touched like this before, sweetheart?" he muttered against your skin, voice rough with amusement. One hand slid lower, settling on your hip with a possessive grip.

You shook your head, breath shaky. "N-No..."

Armin groaned softly, his fingers tightening, his other hand tilting your chin up higher. "Fuck, that's cute," he murmured. "Shy little thing... letting me be the first”

"Still wanna pay me in cash?" he taunted

Your hands gripped his shirt, your body already betraying you. "I-"

Armin smirked against your neck, his fingers tightening just enough to make you gasp.

“Yeah, that's what I thought."

[violetscanfly]

Out of reach

[lichposting]

This happens when you follow me btw

[void-bitten-ghost]

Husk teaches Angel some shuffling tricks one night and the spider picks it up like a natural. 'Something, something, good with his hands' followed quickly by a jovial 'shut the fuck up'

Anyway, Husk also ends up gifting Angel a deck of his own design with the heart motifs and the gold gilding and everything. There may also be some pale pink in there too but he'll never admit to that. Angel cries. It's a whole thing but they're pretending it's not so everyone (except Charlie) is just leaving them to it

But yeah, Angel having a panic attack in his dressing room, reaching for something, anything, a powder, a drink--

He knocks something over, turns to see his bag upturned, and cascaded across the floor like little flashes of golden rose petals? That deck of cards

He gathers them with trembling, feverish hands. Organises them slowly. By suit. Then by number. Then, when some feeling returns in his hands, he tries the simple shuffles. Not as smooth as when Husk was teaching him, but the movement helps direct his spiral into something less destructive. Failing that, he drops them on the floor again to mix up like that. Doesn't matter if its not pretty, it just needs to be real. It needs to keep him even and controlled

When the worst passes, he attempts the shuffles again, successfully, and feels a sense of pride and accomplishment, if only a flicker of it. Before he leaves he brings the deck up for a kiss, smelling a brief whiff of hard whiskey over the cloyingly sweet smoke all around him.

But yeah, that deck goes wherever he does. He stores it with his tommyguns

[sketchlm]

Honestly seeing discourse about the Bad Kids killing the Rat Grinders is very funny because... They've killed so many people. Like sure there's a discussion about in-character motives and everything, but also the BK's just kill a ton of people. Most people don't play DND and consider 'non-lethal' options. Brennan kept reiterating it at the start of the season. Murder is literally above redemption on almost everyone's list of priorities in Spyre. Aguefort literally establishes the concept of 'adventurers' as just violent wanderers that go around and kill things that they feel like need killing, this is literally what they go to school for.

The season started with them killing a bunch of fervent cultists, and the Bad Kids only started considering mercy when they started getting tired. I wouldn't have minded the Rat Grinders getting a redemption arc, and maybe they'll get revived somehow, but also the Bad Kids barely consider mercy to people they don't know, so people they HATE getting that sort of treatment already seemed off the table. Not to mention, this is instantly after the Rat Grinders tried to kill the Bad Kids and the entire student body, and are in the midst of casting a wild, out of control spell to raise a new god of wrath.

They literally killed Ragh and only decided to spare him because they went a little too far with their torture power play after they revivified him after brutally killing him. Aelwyn was too slippery to keep down consistently. Literally every character roughly their age that they're antagonistic towards that's still alive is part of the exception, not the norm.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Thinking about attacks of opportunity today, and how they're sort of a vestigial remnant of d&d's past as wargaming system.

Back in 3.x/pathfinder people were taking attacks of opportunity ALL THE TIME, because nearly any action other than attacking provoked an AoO. This upped the tactical factor, but slowed things down both in that the resolution of the actual attack took time, and it took up DM bandwith, remembering which characters had spent their attack of opportunity (to say nothing of characters that could perform multiple attacks of opportunity in a round)

Nowadays it seems AoO only serve to condition players to NEVER MOVE IN COMBAT. By the time they're past the first couple levels where they have enough hitpoints to risk a stray attack or two they'll be thoroughly conditioned to stay stock still in combat and only move when the enemies infront of them have fallen.

Recently I was partially inspired by the in development MCDMRPG to take a look at how attacks of opportunity could be made more of a tactical consideration while at the same time simplifying them to run at my table. Here's my current thinking:

You don't roll attacks or damage rolls for attacks of opportunity, they just happen, with the target receiving the minimum amount of damage for a possible attack. No feats or other abilities apply. The idea is to make the damage numbers small so players and enemies consider diving out of combat more often.

A character can make an unlimited number of attacks of opportunity so long as they still have their reaction. This benefits disengaging and those effects that "switch off" reactions like shocking grasp even more.

Certain coordinated groups of enemies ( highly trained soldiers, packs of wolves) make automatic attacks of opportunity on a target when one of their numbers/their leader makes an attack. This makes getting swarmed by lesser opponents a legit danger for characters regardless of level, even tanks.

Just some idle ponderings, figured I'd share them and see what ya'll thought of them.

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König aka The Human Weighted Blanket pt 1

Let it be known by anyone and everyone that, based on my stupid quick google searches, only less 4% of US men are taller than König. Less than 1% of women in the US are taller than König. So, if I'm guessing that the majority of english speaking fans are in North America or Europe (and this is a very uneducated rough guess), which are two places with very tall people, then I am going to make the uneducated guess that König has probably met only at most 5 people in his entire life that are taller than him. The likelihoods of you being in that 5 are slim, so bear with me when I choose to write a YN shorter than König. Again, forgive me for being a bit discriminatory when writing here, but if you'd like a post for taller YNs, please tell me.

Okay, so, König is big, we just covered this in the above paragraph. But the thing is, height is one thing. Weight is another. To keep a man like König fit, he eats a lot of food, and I think he builds to be a broad man as well as a tall man. This is someone who makes a door frame look small when he ducks through it (which btw, average standard door height is 6'8). So with such a big body, such immense strength, he has learned to be a very gentle man.

König is the type of person who really makes an effort to control himself. He has extraordinary self discipline that he makes an effort to exert every day. He's not the kind of guy to be caught slacking in this department. He's not gentle to an effeminate state, he's still a big gruff man, but if he wanted to he could crush a watermelon with his hands. He is quite careful when opening bags of chips. As a teenager, his mother would have him vacuum up his messes, which is probably what drilled this principle into his head.

So this is where you come in.

König is always gentle and careful with the amount of force he puts on other people. When you tell him to lay on you, he's a bit confused.

It doesn't matter if you're 4'8 or 6'9, he's going to be worried about you. Obviously more if you're a pipsqueak (like me, hehe), but even if you're tall and strong like him he'll still be nervous. He really isn't used to this sort of request. Who the heck asks for this? Who tells him to do this?

If you're asking just because you want him to, he's much more hesitant. Why would you want to be crushed? He's never really heard of such a thing. He can't understand why. Sure, he'll do it, but you probably won't get his full weight (not until he realizes that you're serious about this, at least). He doesn't lay on you for long, and he doesn't push you in any way, and instead is constantly asking if you're alright because he's worried he'll break you. He is so confused.

If you're neurodivergent or something, then he'll understand a bit more, but he'll still be nervous. It'll take less convincing to get him to relax, but still he'll worry. After all, you're a human being and he doesn't want to hurt you. He especially doesn't want to hurt you because you asked for him to do something nice for you. That would devastate him.

Now, the thing that will crush him. If you're having an anxiety attack, you needn't tell him twice. He'll do anything to help. Genuinely. He knows what anxiety attacks are like himself. He'd never wish that pain on anyone else. So if you manage to string the words together to ask for help (and I am so proud of you for being so strong), he'll do it for you without a second of hesitation. Well, somewhat. He'll lay on you, yes, but he'll hold back a bit. It might take you telling him you'll be alright for him to fully relax himself. So yes, you will need to remind him you're okay, but only once. Then he'll do it for you. And the next time you have a panic attack, he'll do it again without you having to ask again. He'll do it for you whenever he can.

[the-untalented-photographer]

[frogwithastrawberry]

What if after crawling out of the harbor Kaz made sure he knew how to swim, and how to swim with extra weight, because he didn't ever want to rely on someone or something else if he ended up in the water again.

It's one of the things that started the rumors that Dirtyhands wasn't human. Fisherman would see him walk out to the docks in the dead of winter, fully clothed in his coat and all, and then dive into the water, no matter how rough it was. They all assumed that he was dead, because no one ever saw him get out of the water, yet he was always back the next day.

They assumed that he would stop when he broke his leg and started using a cane. But he didn't. They watched the scrawny kid, cloaked in mercher black clothes and a heavy wool coat, limp down the dock, take a deep breath, and jump in the water again.

At some point someone suggested he might be a tidemaker, but no one ever saw him control any water. He'd just dive in. And it's widely known that he wouldn't have made it this far in life if he was using tidemaker powers visibly. So they all just assumed that Kaz Brekker was a non-human entity incapable of dying.

[lunavagans]

Started playing the dino game. Have Green and my first tame. Her name is Alloy and I would kill for her :D

And a very tentative attempt at shading:

[aislingsurrow]

Without Taking New Pics, Post Your OC as...

Romanceable NPC

Quest Giver NPC

Final Boss

Saw folks doing this and saw it attributed to @fairygodpiggy! What a fun idea, and if you haven't done it yet, do it!

[giotanner]

General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody are forced to make an emergency landing on an hostile planet far from the Republic: Tatooine.

This is where they find a mechanic willing to help them... 2/?

SO. Anakin SAVED his mother!! And he met Qui-Gon Jinn, but for 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 he didn't go with him. What is the reason according to you?

Obi-Wan still doesn't know that there are slaves and freed slaves on Tatooine...

Every REBLOG helps my comic a lot!

Instagram | ko-fi | prints & stickers

[tubbytarchia]

Flower husbands tag is once again discourse with air. "I'm so tired of discourse and toxic FH shippers hating on me" girl where. Who is hating on you. Can the Flower husbands tag please just be flower husbands again I'm so tired of one person yelling at a cloud and then 10 others joining them to bitch about discourse that does not exist. I wanna see Flower husbands again not this. Where are those two gay guys. Show me the discourse. Actually show me. Please I'm begging. Show me. Show me how toxic FH personally attacked you.??