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pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer · 4 years ago

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Super Fighting Roll (2-4)

(After finally learning the truth about Break Man, Roll sets off to rescue Rock from his clutches. However, there are far more Robot Masters than she bargained for lying in wait.)

Roll flew down into the lab on Rush’s back, nervously surveying the destruction. Light was still hard at work repairing the transporter system, meanwhile LaLinde busied herself patching up Elec Man, Guts Man, and Fire Man. Tempo stood not far away, eyes fixed on the broken scaffolding until she heard Roll land.

“Roll!” Tempo said. “I-I’m sorry...they…”

“Are you alright?” Roll asked.

“I’m...I’m fine. I was upstairs when it happened. I...wasn’t able to stop Break Man...and now, Rock…” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

Roll came forward, gently setting a hand on Tempo’s arm. “Tempo, you don’t have to apologize. I know you’re still healing, and trying to force your way past that is only going to make things worse. I’ll get Rock back--everything’s going to be okay.”

Tempo slowly nodded. Roll turned to LaLinde, asking, “How are they?”

“I’ve only been able to make rudimentary repairs for now,” LaLinde said. “They’ve stabilized, but they’re going to need quite a bit of work as soon as we have the chance.”

Lifting his head, Guts Man said, “Sorry Roll...we weren’t as prepared to deal with the guy as we thought…”

“I know you tried your best,” Roll said. “Thank you, all of you. Leave the rest to me.”

“Roll,” Fire Man said. “If you face that fiend Break Man, be wary! He has the ability to switch between a myriad of weapons, much as you do!”

“...I see. Thanks, I’ll be careful.” She finally looked to Elec Man, easily the worst-damaged of the three: his back had been blown open, revealing his inner circuitry, which LaLinde was carefully removing shrapnel from. “I can’t believe he’d go so far…are you awake, Elec Man?”

“I am,” he said quietly. “...It’s strange. In a way, I’m actually a little relieved to know I’m not all that powerful after all. But, until Rock is saved, I suppose that’s an awful way to think, isn’t it?”

Roll shook her head. “Not at all. I will save him. There’s nothing wrong with thinking ahead.”

Elec Man chuckled. Roll then made her way over to where Light worked, waiting patiently until he acknowledged her.

“This is all my fault,” Light said.

“Dr. Light…”

“If I hadn’t let myself be fooled so easily, Rock would still be safe. Now Wily has him, and Gamma, and…” He trailed off.

Roll hesitated. “Dr. Light...about Break Man…”

Light’s hands paused between keys. “Originally, his name was Blues. DLN-000, Blues. He was the first prototype Robot Master I designed, with help from Noelle. In almost every way, he was a resounding success...however, his power core had a flaw that caused it to degrade over time. I revised the design and planned to repair him, but when I went to do so, he had vanished without a trace. It was only after that that we constructed you, Rock, and Tempo.”

Roll remained where she was, quietly absorbing all of this.

Light turned to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry if it seems like I was hiding this from you. With his core in such a state, I thought Blues would have gone inactive long ago...I didn’t want to burden you with the idea of a brother you would never be able to meet. And I…” He sighed. “I thought it was best to grieve and move forward. If only I’d known…”

Light returned to his work. Roll said, “But, I don’t understand. How is he still active? Why is he working with Wily? And the things he was saying on the moon…”

“I’m afraid I don’t have those answers. The only one who does is Blues himself.” A window appeared on-screen, prompting a grunt from Light. “Darn...I’m afraid it’ll take me a little longer to restore the transporter. If you’re going after Rock, you should recharge while you can.”

Roll nodded. “Alright. I promise I’ll get Rock back...and Blues, too.”

Light stopped abruptly. He smiled, but it quickly turned into a tired frown. “I hope so, Roll...I certainly hope.”

***

A handful of flickering lights did what they could to illuminate the lab, or rather the layer of dust that had settled over it. Rock sat in a cage nestled in the corner of the room, and not far away, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, was Break Man. The distant sound of machinery was all that filled the air, until Rock finally looked up and stared at Break Man.

“Why did Dr. Light call you ‘Blues’?”

Break Man grunted. “That’s the name he gave me. I don’t use it anymore.”

“So Dr. Light built you. Why are you working for Dr. Wily, then? He doesn’t care about robots--”

“You think Light does?” Break Man turned to meet his gaze. “Sure he acts like it. But once you’re not of use to him anymore, he’ll reprogram you without a second thought. Just like he tried to do to me.”

Rock blinked. “...What?”

Break Man looked away. “He decided I was defective, so he tried to reprogram me. Tried to destroy who I am and overwrite me with something he thought was more palatable. Seems like he wasted no time in replacing me. And now, he’s turned Roll from a lab assistant into a war machine…”

“Being weaponized was Roll’s idea. Dr. Light was against it--he only went through with it because there was no other option.”

Break Man scoffed.

“And when Dr. LaLinde removed Tempo’s emotions, he was against that too. Dr. Light cares about all robots, he would never--”

“For all you know, those memories might not even be real!” Break Man shouted, turning suddenly. “What proof do you have that he didn’t reprogram you too?”

Rock thought for a moment, and then said, “I guess...I just trust him.”

Break Man threw his hands up.

“If you really think Dr. Light would do that to you...I’m sorry. But there must be some kind of misunderstanding. I’m sure if you just talk to him--”

“I have nothing to say to him!”

“But you’ll talk to Wily? Wily does reprogram robots!”

Break Man averted his gaze, quietly replying, “I...have my reasons.”

“So you hate doctors who reprogram robots, except for Wily? How does that make sense?”

“He didn’t reprogram me!”

Rock gritted his teeth. “Is that it? Then why were you acting so worried about me and Roll?”

Break Man said nothing. A screen on a nearby console flared to life, and Wily’s voice came from it: “Break Man! How is our guest doing?”

“...Fine,” Break Man said.

“Good! Roll should be arriving soon, and we want to keep him in good condition to get those Energy Elements back! Neheheh...Gamma’s already so wonderfully powerful! I can’t even picture it with thrice the energy!”

Break Man glanced at Rock. He took a step towards the console, but before he could say anything, red light flooded the room to the sound of a blaring alarm.

“Ah, that must be her! I’ll have the others get the door--you just sit tight for the moment. It won’t be long now until we take our revenge on Light, nehehahahahaha!”

***

An imposing castle in the shape of a skull towered above Roll and Rush, flanked by smaller warehouses and radio dishes that formed a tight grip around it. Several mass-produced robots had tried to fend her off, but she had not allowed them to even slow her down as she stormed towards the gate and broke it open with a Hard Knuckle.

“Wily!” Roll shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the dim entrance hall. “I’m here for my brothers!”

She ducked, only narrowly avoiding a thin boomerang as it cut through the air. Standing in the center of the room was a Robot Master with bright red armor, a golden crest decorating his helmet and similarly-shaped spikes jutting off from his arms. Grinning, he said, “Took you long enough. I could’ve gotten here in a fraction of the time!”

Roll aimed her buster. “Where’s Rock? Where’s Blues?”

“Hey now, don’t be rude! The name’s Quick Man, and I’ll have your full attention!”

Roll fired a warning shot. Quick Man darted out of the way, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. He sent Roll sprawling with a punch, and then leapt back, folding his arms and chuckling to himself. Rush chased after him, but he backed away just fast enough to remain out of the dog’s reach.

“I don’t have time for this,” Roll said as she picked herself up. “Please just let me through!”

“Tch! You don’t seem to understand the position you’re in.”

Quick Man hopped over Rush and dashed at Roll. She fired a charge shot, making him veer off-course, and followed immediately with a Magnet Missile, the homing projectile very nearly finding its mark. Roll stayed on her feet as Quick Man hit her again, managing to fire a Gemini Laser into the room. Distracted, Quick Man was knocked back towards Rush, who tripped the robot and pinned him to the floor. He swiftly pushed the dog back and began hurling boomerangs at Roll, until the Gemini Laser struck him in the back and stunned him. Roll prepared to launch a Hard Knuckle. The next thing she knew, however, pain was flaring in her side, and she fumbled, missing her shot. Quick Man raised a glare, but it wasn’t directed at Roll.

“Idiot!” he said. “I told you I’d handle her!”

Roll looked over her shoulder to see another Robot Master standing there, one with blue armor and a dome of yellow glass atop his head. Shrugging one shoulder, he said, “You weren’t doing a particularly good job of it.”

“Just go, Flash Man! I’m more than enough!”

Roll fired at Flash Man. Suddenly, he was standing a few feet to the side of where he had just been, and Roll realized she had taken damage again. Smiling at her, he said, “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Quick Man attacked her before she could try again. Leaping onto Rush’s back, she headed towards the hall’s ceiling, circling around while weaving between shots. “That ability’s going to be trouble...we need to deal with him, or we won’t get very far.”

First firing a Gemini Laser, Roll began dropping Search Snakes as she passed over her enemies, forcing them on the defensive. Both were fast enough to avoid the attacks, but it seemed Roll was successfully staying out of their range. She equipped Needle Cannon and waited until just after Flash Man moved--the spike made a direct hit, knocking Flash Man into a group of Search Snakes, and Roll grinned.

“Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

She turned to see Quick Man leaping at the wall, bouncing off of it with all his might to launch himself towards Roll. Knowing she wouldn’t have time to shoot him down, Roll switched to Top Spin instead, smacking Quick Man away the second he reached her and into the path of the Gemini Laser as he plummeted. Roll turned to find Flash Man, but realized she had lost track of him. Rush whimpered suddenly, veering towards the wall; below, Roll finally noticed Flash Man, weapon pointed directly up. Gently as she could, Roll pulled Rush out of his crash course and into a freefall.

“We have to get the jump on him,” she said. “Ready, boy?”

With a bark, Rush stuck his legs out and braced himself. Flash Man aimed for where he would land and waited. Unbeknownst to him, Rush’s parts began to shift, and when he hit the ground, the part of his back that Roll stood on sprang up, launching her high into the air. Roll saw a quick change in Flash Man’s demeanor and a scorch mark on the wall. She then threw a series of Shadow Blades, splitting open Flash Man’s dome and causing him to drop to the floor.

“B...Blast it!” Flash Man said. “I won’t…”

Sparks burst from his head as he tried to use his weapon again. He returned to the floor, and this time did not get up. Roll copied his weapon and went to Rush’s side, making sure the dog was okay, before being struck in the shoulder by one of Quick Man’s boomerangs. She whirled on him, but stopped when she saw the state he was in: his breathing was labored, his eyes were flickering, and he seemed barely able to stay on his feet.

“What’s wrong?” Roll asked. “You can’t have taken that much damage.”

“Shut up!” Quick Man said. “I’m still in great shape!”

He rushed straight at her. Roll surprised him with a Spark Shock, bringing him to an abrupt halt, and said, “Just stop it! If we keep fighting, you’re just going to get yourself hurt!”

Quick Man just sneered at her. He prepared to charge again, and with a sigh, Roll fired a Hard Knuckle, stopping him for good. Copying his data, she ran across the room and into the narrow hallway beyond. Ascending a staircase, she found herself in a chamber with several generators connected by a web of cables, and instantly the door on the other end opened on its own. In stepped a Robot Master with thick orange armor, arms ending in drills rather than hands.

“Wow, you managed to get this far already?” he said. “I’m impressed! But your little raid ends here!”

He fired a projectile with a blinking orb on one end as he charged. Roll evaded, saying, “I don’t want to fight! Just tell me where Rock is and--”

The projectile exploded behind her. Now upon her, the robot began to swing wildly, Roll just barely able to avoid his strikes. Rush headbutted him in the side, disrupting his balance, and Roll repelled him with Top Spin, running past him for the exit. Before she could reach it, however, a wall of fire sprang into being, blocking the path. Out from behind a generator emerged a robot whose body was encased in a box-like shell of yellow armor, eyeing Roll warily.

“So that’s where you ran off to, Heat Man!” said the Robot Master that had attacked her first. “Could’ve said something sooner!”

“Like you gave me a chance, Crash Man! You just rushed in headlong like always.”

“Aw, whatever. Let’s just do our job, huh?”

They both advanced. Roll decided to try out the Time Stopper, but it had no effect on her foes. Dodging flames and bombs, Roll and Rush moved from the flame wall to the side of the room to have more space, though their opponents remained right on their heels. Using Rush’s spring, Roll launched herself back at the other robots, knocking them both flat with a single Top Spin. The flames died down slightly, so Roll took aim at Heat Man again. Crash Man suddenly tackled her, knocking her aside and planting one of his bombs on her arm. Roll tried futilely to remove it, and Crash Man just laughed.

“Let’s see how durable you are!” he said.

Thinking fast, Roll pointed her fist and activated Hard Knuckle. Her limb detached, carrying the bomb with it; Crash Man was able to doge, but Heat Man, taken by surprise, was only able to close the lid of his armor as the bomb exploded in his face. The blast knocked her arm off its return course, so Roll ran forward to grab it but was intercepted by a kick from Crash Man.

“Well...not bad. But I doubt you can keep it up for long!”

Roll forced him back with a Gemini Laser. Rush scooped up her arm and brought it to her, allowing her to reattach it as she examined the flame wall again, now little more than embers around the doorframe. Back on his feet, Heat Man said, “Why you…! That does it!”

Flames enveloped his whole body. With a sudden burst of speed, Heat Man rocketed forward, colliding with Roll and launching her straight through the door. Crash Man nullified the Gemini Laser with one of his bombs, and then said, “Heh, I’m the one who charges in headlong?”

“W-Well...she made me mad!”

Crash Man laughed. After waiting a moment, he said, “Hey...is she...coming back?”

Heat Man blinked. The two of them ran forward, chasing Roll through the next hallway to an open area with a catwalk suspended over a churning pool of water. Just as she was reaching for a ladder, one of Crash Man’s bombs burrowed into her arm.

“Not so fast!”

Roll spun and equipped Hard Knuckle again. When she attempted to fire, however, she realized that the weapon had run out of energy. Her eyes widened as the bomb went off. The blast knocked her off the catwalk and into the water below, though thankfully it wasn’t as deep as it had initially appeared.

How did I use up Hard Knuckle so quickly? I should have plenty more uses left…

Another bomb shot through the water. Roll got as far away from it as she could. She looked for a way to climb out, but then she noticed a form swimming straight at her. Just able to throw herself clear, Roll got a good look at the robot that passed her: his armor was green, with fins on his feet and an apparatus like a diving mask covering his face. He turned around quickly, firing a buster shot at Roll as she tried to balance herself in the water. She retaliated, missing, and then the robot launched a large bubble at her, forcing her to kick off the ground and push herself out of the way. Unable to redirect herself, she braced for her foe’s next attack. At that moment, Rush came shooting through the water in his rocket form, knocking back the enemy robot before circling back to bring Roll to the surface.

“Thanks boy,” she said. “I’ve gotta be more careful.”

“See?” Crash Man said, gesturing towards her. “I knew Bubble Man wouldn’t be able to take her out.”

The aquatic robot poked his head out of the water, saying, “Hey, I’m not done yet! And it’s not like you’re doing any better!”

As they argued, Roll quickly checked how much energy her weapons had remaining, not wanting to run out by surprise again. Glancing over the list, she thought, They’re all lower than usual. Is something wrong with the Variable Weapons System? I guess it’s never been used on this many weapons before...maybe past a certain limit, it has less space to devote to each individual energy store?

Heat Man, apparently the only one still paying attention, lobbed a fireball at Roll. Flying out of the way, she fired her buster as she observed her foes, deciding to save her special weapons until an opening presented itself. The crossfire went on too long for Crash Man’s taste: charging suddenly, he leapt off the catwalk straight at Roll. She dodged the bombs he fired, equipped Top Spin, and kicked him into the water, narrowly missing Bubble Man in the process. Landing on the platform, she took aim at Heat Man.

“Ah, great,” Heat Man grumbled. “Well, don’t think I’ll make it easy for you!”

Flames surrounded him again as he charged forward. Roll flipped overhead and threw a Shadow Blade as Heat Man’s dash ended, then another as she landed to stun him out of making another attack. However, she ran out of energy for the weapon, and the time it took to switch gave the angered Robot Master time to barrel forward in a bright blaze. Roll slid out of the way, and Heat Man collided with the railing of the catwalk, tearing through it and ending up in open air.

“Uh-oh…!”

Roll ran towards the edge, but by the time she got there Heat Man had already hit the water. A small explosion of steam went up as his body disappeared. Seconds later, a Crash Bomb shot up out of the water, Roll just barely able to stumble back in time. She picked herself up and ran for the exit, but Bubble Man shot out of the water to intercept her, using one of his bubbles to knock her into the water as well.

“There you are!” Crash Man said, swinging around to face Roll as she floated towards the bottom. “Enough playing around!”

Rush tried to rescue Roll again, but this time Bubble Man was able to hold him off. Roll twisted around Crash Man’s attack as best she could, and then rammed her buster into the side of his head, unleashing a charge shot on contact and sending him spinning away. As she shot Bubble Man back, she noticed the deactivated body of Heat Man nearby; figuring getting a new weapon was the best way to refill her ammunition at the moment, she copied his data and then turned to keep an eye on Crash Man. More bombs came her way, which she easily wove between to return fire with Quick Boomerangs. Bubble Man tried launching a surprise attack, but Rush alerted Roll, and she stopped him short with a Spark Shock. With a shout, Crash Man lunged forward as fast as he could. Seeing an easy opening, Roll ducked, thrust her buster out, and delivered a burst of Atomic Fire directly into Crash Man’s chest to finish him off.

“Urgh...this ain’t looking good…” Bubble Man said, keeping his distance as Roll copied the Crash Bomb.

“Then just let me through,” Roll said. “I don’t have any interest in fighting you! This--”

She cried out as a circular saw blade cut through the water, slicing across her shoulder. Firing two Magnet Missiles out of the water, she leapt onto Rush and made for the surface, keeping a close eye on Bubble Man as she went. Waiting above was a Robot Master with red and yellow armor, accented by a splash of blue and saw-like spikes on his shoulders and helmet.

“Let me pass!”

Drawing another saw, the other robot said, “Don’t think so.”

Roll waited until the last second to dart to the side. At the same time, Bubble Man again leapt from the water in an attempt to surprise her, ultimately crashing to the catwalk as the saw cut straight through him. Wincing, Roll stopped briefly to copy his weapon before returning her attention to the newcomer. She used a Crash Bomb to drive him back into the hall and give herself some cover, and then fired her last Gemini Laser into the confined space to further restrict her foe’s movements. Crouching low, Roll then commanded Rush to charge, and they rammed right into the robot and carried him down the length of the hallway into the next chamber. The walls here were an eerie purple, and conveyor belts and pulleys ran across the room in every direction. Waiting in its center were two Robot Masters: one that appeared to be made of wood, and one with a large blue body with a giant fan rotor built into his chest. The latter unleashed a gust of wind the moment he saw Roll, blowing her off-course before she could get too close.

“Hmhm, well done, Metal Man,” he said. “I knew you’d let us down.”

The robot Roll had carried in with her sat up and rubbed his head, saying, “Keep quiet for once, Air Man. Wood Man, can I get some backup?”

The wooden contraption beat his chest. “Of course! We’ll give it our all to stop her here!”

A dozen or so leaves suddenly materialized in the room, slowly going from ceiling to floor, while Metal Man leapt onto a conveyor belt and resumed flinging his blades. Roll took evasive action as she tried to spot a path through them. However, Air Man began to spin his propeller, and the leaves were all pushed directly towards Roll, leaving tiny cuts all over her armor. As she struggled to recover, one of Metal Man’s saws clipped her leg, making her falter long enough for Air Man to summon a small whirlwind that hurled her into the wall. She slid to the floor, dazed until another saw cut her shoulder.

Alright...I don’t have any choice but to fight. I’ve got to focus, or they’ll destroy me.

She slid to the side to avoid another leaf-filled gust. Unleashing all her remaining Search Snakes and Quick Boomerangs, Roll leapt onto Rush and flew into battle. Air Man focused on sweeping away the snakes while Metal Man leapt from one belt to another to dodge boomerangs, so she focused buster fire on Wood Man. Leaves circled around him, blocking her shots. She tried to hit Air Man with a Spark Shock while he was distracted, but Wood Man leapt in the way, the electricity doing nothing against his wooden shell. Banking hard to avoid Air Man’s retaliation, Roll aimed for Metal Man and fired her final Magnet Missile just as he attacked her. Metal Man was carried into the projectile by the conveyor belt he stood on, meanwhile Roll was able to avoid the blade and turned back to Wood Man. He summoned his shield again when he saw her taking aim, but the Needle Cannon pierced straight through his guard, burying itself deep in his armor. Air Man was quick to counter, knocking Roll off of Rush and back towards Metal Man.

“Have to admit, you’re a handful,” Metal Man said. “But I’ll cut you down just the same!”

Roll slid as fast as she could to dodge the blades being thrown at her, not sure how much more damage she could sustain. Gradually, she closed the distance between her and her enemy, almost getting hit numerous times by Wood Man and Air Man’s support attacks and ordering Rush to keep his distance for now. When she got too close, Metal Man jumped--and Roll stuck a Crash Bomb to the floor right where he would land, the explosion ripping his body apart. After taking the Metal Blade for her own, Roll rejoined with Rush and circled towards the remaining two opponents.

“Darn...this is bad,” Wood Man said quietly.

Air Man rolled his eyes. “You can always quit if you’re too afraid.”

“I didn’t say anything about quitting!”

Roll equipped Bubble Lead as she dodged incoming fire, sending the projectiles across the floor ahead of her. Both her foes were easily able to pop the bubbles before they reached them, but it did distract them just long enough for Roll to empty her remaining Needle Cannon shots into Wood Man. Air Man did his best to force her back, but the Metal Blade was able to slice through the gale he summoned, causing him to recoil. Leaves filled the chamber; Roll burned her way through them with the Atomic Fire, then used Bubble Lead again to make Wood Man use his shield. She dug a Metal Blade into the ground to keep from being blown away by Air Man, and before Wood Man got another chance to act, she unleashed a torrent of flame upon him, near-instantly incinerating the robot until only his scant few metallic components remained.

“Well...this is unexpected,” Air Man said as Roll grabbed onto Wood Man’s remains. “Seems it truly is all down to me.”

“You can walk away,” Roll said. “Please, I’ve had enough of fighting…”

“Hmhm, yes, I’m sure you have. I’d rather defeat you at your best, but I will defeat you just the same.”

Roll activated the Leaf Shield, the barrier somehow able to repel Air Man’s next gust. She quickly switched to Metal Blade, but despite being so bulky, Air Man was able to avoid the saws and send Roll flying with a whirlwind.

Stay focused, Roll thought, rolling as she hit the ground and coming up in a crouch. I have one Spark Shock left. Metal Blade seems pretty efficient so I can probably still get a few uses out of that. Time Stopper probably won’t work on him either, and Leaf Shield...too soon to tell. I really hope he’s the last one…

Roll fired her buster as she advanced. Air Man deflected her shots with whirlwinds before trying to make a counterattack. Roll slid clear, only letting up as long as she had to. As Air Man once again moved to attack, Rush leapt at him from behind, holding in his teeth one of the Metal Blades Roll had thrown earlier and using it to slash at Air Man’s back. The Robot Master spun on him, and Roll seized the opportunity: she used Spark Shock to electrocute Air Man, and managed to land one more Metal Blade before Air Man knocked Rush away.

“Rush!”

“Worry about yourself!”

Roll put up a Leaf Shield as Air Man unleashed all the wind he could muster. Even with its protection, she could feel herself being pushed back, so she put her arms forward out of instinct. As she did, the leaves encircling her broke formation and dashed forward, cutting their way through the wind and into Air Man’s propeller. Air Man’s eyes widened as his blades ground to a halt.

“Ngh...curses…”

Roll didn’t waste her chance. She used up Metal Blade to wear Air Man down, and when he finally managed a counterattack, she blocked with Leaf Shield before sending it slicing through him again. Air Man tried desperately to get his propeller moving, but eventually his mechanisms couldn’t take the stress, and the fan blades burst from him in a cloud of smoke. Roll held firm until Air Man stopped moving completely, and then dropped onto all fours and sighed heavily. She stared at the floor, shaking, unable for the longest time to say even a single word.

“...It’s...too much…”

Rush gently nudged her. She looked up, the dog licking her face; he then opened the compartment on his back to reveal two tanks--one labeled with an “E”, the other with a “W”.

“...Right. I have to keep going.” She scratched Rush’s ear, smiling just a little. “Thanks, boy. It helps that I don’t have to do this alone.”

She got to her feet and drank both tanks. Then, she copied Air Man’s weapon, faced the corridor ahead, and ran forward.

Rock...Blues...I’m almost there.

#Mega Man #Roll #fanfiction #Super Fighting Roll #Roll Reversal

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jaxl-road · 4 years ago

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The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.3

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

~~~~~

It was a Wednesday. The longest fucking day of the week. Everyone had a rare day where they were all off, or worked in the morning and was off that afternoon. Kelly gave them the address and they all piled in cars to head over there to check it out. They pulled up to the large metal gate, where Kelly was standing outside, smoking a cigarette while a couple of older residents eyed him like he was a god.

“It’s gated?” Izzy asked as they approached the gate. Kelly tossed down his cigarette.

“You see the way Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are eyeing me over there,” He nodded at the couple that looked like they were heading to the country club. “Okay, I’m warning you, it needs a lot of work. It hasn’t been regularly lived in since the war.”

“Which war?” Baz asked. Kelly just smirked, opening the gate to lead the group down a long driveway, a large overgrown house spotted in the distance.

At first, they passed several dying trees and bushes, weeds and grass sprouting between cracks in the concrete, but before long Vince was rushing out in front of them, laughing like a madman, As he sprinted up the driveway, the plants came to life behind him.

Yellowing plants suddenly turned a bright, healthy green, flowers blooming from some of them, and the patches of brown grass revived itself. Ahead of them, Vince shouted out victoriously, “I fucking knew it!”

Once they caught up, the rockers found the blonde singer standing proudly in front of a rapidly growing marijuana plant. He turned to grin at Kelly, “I knew I would find some on your property!”

“Ooooo Kelly smokes pot. Whoever would’ve guessed that one?” Axl rolled his eyes. Mick gave Vince a look to stop him from growing vines and tying Axl up, not that anyone else would complain. Stevie was oddly quiet, staring at the house.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Kelly asked. Stevie immediately hugged him with tears in her eyes.

“It’s perfect!” She told him. “We could paint, and new floors, and…”

“We kinda need money to do that kid,” Mick laughed. “Anyone got money?” Stevie sighed.

“Can we look inside now?” She turned to look at the house.

“Sure thing, sunshine,” Kelly smiled. He turned to Vince, “And if you could maybe make some of the plants around here do… the opposite of that,” he gestured to the still subtly growing weed, “it would certainly make the tour easier.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Vince grumbled. But he kept his word, and as they walked into the mansion, the weeds, grass, and vines covering the house began to recede.

“It’s huge!” Duff gasped. “Holy shit dude.”

“You’ve been holding out on us,” Nikki teased. Kelly shook his head.

“I told you, I just forgot,” Kelly shrugged. “I can’t even remember if there was a…”

“POOL!” Stevie yelled, running to the large windows in the living room. “There’s a fucking pool!”

“Are you sure that’s a pool?” Tommy asked. “Looks like moss city.”

“Looks like an awesome skate park,” Izzy smirked, eyes glinting excitedly.

“Alright, stop fantasizing about the pool you two,” Slash draped his arms around Stevie and Izzy, guiding them away from the window, “we’ve got the whole rest of the house to see.”

Despite Kelly’s insistence, the house wasn’t in as bad of shape as they were expecting, especially once Vince took care of the weeds springing up through the floorboards. It certainly wasn’t pristine, and Tommy swore up and down that he saw a raccoon scurry by, but it wasn’t any worse than any of the garbage apartments they were currently spending all their money to live in. At least the mansion would be free and have extra space.

They were still on the first floor, looking into the various rooms, Kelly absently making comments.

“This room was sold to me as a library,” he said about the room covered in empty bookshelves, “but like, I don’t exactly own a library’s worth of books.” He opened the door to another room, it was large and spacious, with soundproofing panels haphazardly attached to the walls, “This is technically a bedroom, and for like, a weekend I thought I might turn it into a personal studio, but then I kind of forgot about it-”

“DIBS!”

Kelly was cut off as Axl shoved his way past him, dragging a gleeful Sebastian behind him as they darted into the room, “Fuck yes, we can be as fucking noisy as we want and no one will bust our ass about it!” The redhead spun around excitedly.

“Babe!! There’s even a bathroom attached and everything!” Baz announced.

They both cheered as Kelly looked on in dismay, “You can’t- you can’t call dibs, this is just a fucking tour!”

“There’s a sunroom?!” Stevie’s voice rang out from down the hallway.

Following the delighted giggling, the group found Stevie jumping up and down in a room that consisted of three walls of floor to ceiling windows. The room seemed dim at first, much of the glass covered in ivy, but after some pestering Vince drew the plants away, allowing the room to be filled with bright, warm sunlight.

“This one is mine!” Stevie declared, “I will fight anyone who tries to take this from me, it is MINE!” she announced aggressively, the boys throwing their hands up in surrender, none of them planning on taking her sunshine away, especially since they knew how much she depended on it due to her mutation.

"Uh, you guys, it's just a tour," Kelly pointed out, "You can't live here?"

"And why not?" Stevie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, the commute and…" he was cut off by Tommy running over and grabbing him.

"Don't take this from us!" He growled, "You might be able to live forever, but Nikki can torture you!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Izzy put a hand on Tommy's shoulder, "If he doesn't want us to live here, then we don't have to share our booze or Vince's good shit with him anymore."

"Wait, what?" Kelly pouted. "That's not fair…" Finally, he sighed and threw his arms in the air in defeat, "Fine."

There was a chorus of cheers before the group quickly scattered, everyone rushing and shoving each other to explore the rest of the house and claim a room for themselves. Shaking his head in fond exasperation, Kelly pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up, meandering back down the hall. A soft thwip, thwip, noise came from Axl and Sebastian’s room, and when he poked his head in he found the teleporter already popping in and out with armfuls of stuff and even a few pieces of furniture into the room. Further down the hallway, Duff had pulled out a pocket knife and was carving his name into the library door. Footsteps and chattering voices sounded above his head as the group explored the upper levels of the house.

Tommy and Nikki decided to check out the attic and make that a suite for them, despite Kelly's protests. Upon opening the door, they found old furniture, trunks, and a bathroom. A large balcony overlooked the backyard. But Tommy didn't care about that. Instead, he went for one of the trunks.

"What are you doing?" Nikki asked.

"Being nosy," Tommy told him. "Wanna help?"

"Fuck yeah," Nikki opened another trunk.

"Hey! Quit snooping!" Kelly yelled.

"It’s our room. And it's in here, so…" Nikki smirked. Kelly groaned as Nikki found pictures and such of Kelly over the years, making fun of his fashion sense. Tommy was digging around in old clothes when he suddenly froze, inhaled, and yelled.

“STEVIE!” He yelled out. Stevie made her way into the attic.

“Is there a spider?” She asked, looking at Kelly, who was confused. Tommy walked over to her with his hands behind his back.

“So, you know how I could only afford a bottle of Smirnoff for your birthday?” Tommy asked. Stevie nodded. “Happy real birthday.” He handed her a large envelope. Looking inside, there was a ton of money. She looked up at him, eyes wide.

“What?” She asked.

“Hey! That’s mine!” Kelly said. “That’s where I put it!”

“It’s in mine and T’s room, and I say that Stevie gets to start fixing up and decorating the house with it,” Nikki smirked at the other bassist.

“Dude!” Sebastian’s voice called from a floor below, “Slash found a nest with like, a dozen snakes in it!”

“DON’T LET HIM KEEP THEM!” Stevie screamed, running from the room to try to put a stop to Slash’s reptile hoarding. Tommy grinned widely, throwing his arms around Nikki and Kelly.

“I fucking love this house.”

Kelly groaned, “I was afraid you were going to say that,” He rubbed his head. “I’m going to go see if anyone took my bedroom and kick them out. Then maybe we can see if Stevie will get her hands off some money and we can get takeout from the Rainbow?”

“Awesome!” Tommy smiled. “Nikki, can I start getting our stuff?”

“Knock yourself out T,” Nikki laughed and, just like that, Tommy took off.

Between the speedster and the teleporter, the house was piled with stuff in no time. Vince coaxed the foliage around the house into something manageable (although the marijuana plant only seemed to be growing more, not that any of them were complaining). Footsteps thundered through the whole house, rockers exploring and laying claim to rooms and artifacts, rifling through Kelly’s boxes (which he complained about loudly and was thoroughly ignored), and Stevie rambling about her plans for various decorations and repairs.

When the food arrived, the chaos died down just a bit, everyone pausing in their energetic tasks to stuff their faces and exchange plans with the others.

It was easy for Kelly to slip away. Stepping outside, he saw that night had fallen, making the already unrecognizable yard even more unfamiliar. Lighting up a cigarette, he tried to remember the last time this house was this lively. He tried to remember when any of his homes were this lively. But he was coming up blank.

“Are you really okay with us being here?”

The bassist nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to find himself face to face with a curious looking Izzy. It was easy for him to sneak up on people, gliding through walls silently rather than giving away his presence by opening a door.

Walking over to stand beside him, Izzy took out his own cigarettes, letting his question hang in the air for a few minutes as they smoked quietly.

“...Yeah,” Kelly finally answered, a wry smile on his face, “You guys are fine,” he grinned at the guitarist teasingly, “I’ve just been trying to avoid becoming friends with you fuckers, and this seriously throws a wrench in my plans.” He said it sarcastically, but there was a bit of truth in his words. Making friends wasn’t always fun for the immortal.

“You’ve been friends with us for a while, you unfortunate motherfucker,” Izzy smirked.

Kelly wanted to deny his words, but before he got a chance, Stevie suddenly burst out onto the porch, “IZZY!” she was glowing with excitement, “We found a locked door! Maybe there’s treasure inside!!”

“Goddamn it, stop stealing all my shit!” Kelly pouted.

"We're not stealing, we're admiring," Stevie told him.

"Hey Baz, I think this will look great in our room!" Axl called out to his boyfriend as he walked by. Stevie just gave Kelly a sheepish smile.

"If I could die, you guys would be the death of me," Kelly shook his head. "Let's see if we can find the key before Nikki decides to melt it." Stevie cheered and kissed Kelly's cheek before heading to the door.

"You sure you're okay?" Izzy asked Kelly before they headed back in.

"Yeah," Kelly sighed. "I just wish I could remember what else I hid here…" he trailed off. Izzy felt bad for the guy. No one knew how old Kelly really was or everything he had seen, and they could tell that it weighted on him from time to time.

Wandering back inside, Stevie led them to the door in question. It was off the side of the kitchen, and looked slightly nicer than the other doors in the house. Kelly squinted at it and hummed.

“Hmm… where does this go?” he mumbled to himself.

“That’s what we have to find out!” Stevie answered, “Okay, think real hard Kelly- where would you hide a key to your secret treasure?”

Kelly gave her a deadpan expression, “I don’t remember what I had for breakfast, this might be a bit of a challenge.”

“Hey, there’s stairs in here!”

Spinning around, Kelly and Stevie found half of Izzy’s body leaning through the door to look behind it, “It’s dark as fuck in here, but I think it maybe leads to cellar?”

"Why don't we have anyone in our group with super strength?" Stevie sighed. Nikki made his way over and put his hand on the lock, heating it until the working components melted and it fell apart.

"Babe, what if that lock was the only thing keeping a vampire from our necks?" Tommy asked.

"You're too skinny and anemic. He won't want your blood." Nikki smiled.

"Why can't it be a hot vampire girl?" Stevie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, why don't you lead us down there so we can find out, Flashlight?" Nikki motioned to the door. By this point the others had joined them.

"Fine." Stevie huffed, heading down the stairs. "But have Mick on standby in case I fall and break my arm."

Taking a moment to focus, she let herself glow brighter than usual, illuminating a foot or two in front of her as she and the rest of the group began their descent. The stairway didn’t go too deep though, and before they knew it, they were turning into an open room. It wasn’t huge, but it had a few tables and chairs shoved up against the wall, and what looked like a bar in the back corner. What really caught their attention was the numerous shelves lined with bottles and jars, and a few large barrels sitting beneath them.

“Oh shiiiit,” Kelly’s eyes widened in comprehension, “It’s the Prohibition Room!”

“The what now?” Tommy asked.

Meanwhile, Duff was already darting forward, snatching one of the jars down and struggling to unscrew the lid.

“Yeah,” Kelly answered absently, “I totally forgot about this, but I had like, an unofficial speakeasy down here during prohibition,” he explained.

Finally getting the jar open, Duff unceremoniously took a large swig from it. His face scrunched up a bit as he swallowed before breaking into a wide grin, “Fuck yeah, moonshine!!”

“Jesus Christ, Duff, what if that had been poison or something?” Axl looked on in horror, “Does moonshine expire? What if it turned into bleach or something!”

“I don’t think that’s how alcohol works, dude,” Slash chimed in.

“It’s alcohol made by Kelly,” Axl pointed accusingly, “standard assumptions don’t apply here!”

“This is the best day of my life,” Duff giggled, ignoring the argument and already halfway through the jar.

“Okay, alright, slow down there Weather Witch,” Kelly snagged the jar out of his hand, ignoring his whining, “At least pace yourself, this shit is strong.” Stevie walked around, checking out the dusty room.

“Holy shit guys!” Slash called out. “Look at this chick!”

Hanging on the wall was an art deco style poster of a woman in a green dress, holding a bottle of alcohol. She had long blond hair, and it almost looked like green wings. There were words about Absinthe and little green fairies around her.

“She looks like Stevie!” Vince laughed. “Holy shit!”

“She looks nothing like me,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “You guys are blind.”

“Eh, she kinda does,” Kelly agreed. “I wonder if there’s any absinthe still around here.” He started rifling through various bottles that were on the bar. Upon picking one up, a whole section of the bar pulled away, showing an access to the entire underside of the bar. Under the bar were cases of alcohol, money, and some old guns.

For a moment, all they could do was stare down at the revealed stash. Eventually, Sebastian broke the silence with a whispered but emphatic, “Holy shit, dude.”

“...So that’s where I put those.”

“Sweet, more alcohol!” Duff chimed in.

“Sweet, more money!” Nikki added.

“Guns,” Izzy stated with far too much glee.

“And all I get is a poster of a girl advertising hallucinogenic alcohol,” Stevie sighed. Kelly shook his head.

“You know, I think there are more hidden things all over the estate,” Kelly pointed out, “Maybe you’ll find a diamond or something.”

“Yeah, because the house is the only one that will give her a diamond,” Axl teased, making Stevie glare at him.

“Okay, okay, let’s get this all out of here and take it upstairs,” Kelly told them, “I’m having some flashbacks and I’d rather count it on the main floor,” He looked at Stevie, “And tomorrow, we’ll go buy new furniture.”

Stevie smiled, “Really?” She asked.

“Yeah,” He shrugged. Stevie’s excitement lit up the room, literally.

“My eyes!” Vince covered his eyes. “Mick, I need you to heal them!”

“You were either going to go blind from Stevie or from touching yourself and I’m not healing either,” Mick grumbled.

Bringing up the money, weapons, and enough alcohol to satisfy them for the night, they returned upstairs and sprawled out in the living room. They found the guns to all be unloaded, much to Izzy’s disappointment and everyone else’s relief. The money they had found, combined with the envelope Tommy had given Stevie, added up to a more than impressive amount.

“Holy shit,” Stevie stared in wide-eyed glee after they finished adding up the total, “With this much cash, we can fix this place up and eat more than once a day!”

“Oh thank God,” Tommy sighed in relief.

“Yeah, we’ll have you vampire-worthy in no time,” Nikki teased.

“Dude, don’t even joke about that!” Tommy whined, “I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight!”

“I can work with that,” Nikki winked.

“Oh God, I’m glad you guys are sequestered in the attic,” Vince shuddered, “Sleeping with earplugs was getting old.”

“Oh, challenge accepted,” Nikki grinned mischievously, tugging Tommy to stand and head towards their room, the drummer laughing.

“Night, roomies!”

“Ugh, I regret this already,” Kelly moaned exaggeratedly.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed too,” Izzy stood nonchalantly, “I'm pretty beat.”

“Good idea,” Stevie piped up, “We’ve had a busy day and tomorrow we’ve got even more to do!” She rubbed her hands together in excitement.

As they began to clear out, Duff suddenly stumbled, a loud yelp sounding from around his feet.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” The bassist shrieked as Slash became visible from his place laying on the floor, glaring furiously.

“We’re in a goddamn mansion, how do you still manage to step on me?!”

“You’re laying in the middle of the fucking floor, how is this my fault??”

Shaking her head, Stevie quickly retreated to her new room, the bickering getting softer as she skipped down the hallway. A mattress was haphazardly shoved in the corner of the sunroom, and piles of clothes and posters were spread about the floor. As she shut the door behind her, she was relieved to find that she couldn’t hear her two bandmates’ arguing anymore. Falling onto her bed, she sighed in contentment. They could fight all they wanted now and she wouldn't be disturbed. It was a dream come true.

This place was perfect.

37 notes · View notes

concretepavermolds · 4 years ago

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Patio Walk Maker Stepping Stone Concrete Paver Molds

The estimated mildew life is 2000 castings with proper storage and use. Always use a release agent (We suggest G-1 Release) and retailer on a flat, surface in a cool, dry location out of direct sunlight. While utilizing the molds outside, throw a tarp over them or maintain them out of direct daylight. The analysis presents the performance of every participant active within the global Pultrusion market. It also provides a abstract and highlights the present advancements of every participant available in the market. This piece of data is a superb source of research materials for the traders and stakeholders involved out there https://columbiamachine.com/concrete-molds/.

All you have to do is borrow expertise developed hundreds of years in the past by mariners.

But keep in mind that the concrete paver molds for every paver must be equivalent, else you might face a problem whereas laying them.

Note, as nicely, that you can make many other concrete materials with this method.

The producers say that you do not actually must lubricate the mildew prior to pouring in cement, in contradiction to other reviewers who've ceaselessly suggested that that is the case. As properly, should you only wish to use one sq. part of the mildew, you can add the concrete just to that utilizing a small carton like a coffee can. This concrete path kind offered by Kenley is well-made, durable, useful and suitable for making straight edges, curves, and angles. Users love the price and the patterns, but some do observe that it’s small. It's best to ease the shape out of the ground, somewhat than simply lifting it up vertically- it helps prevent sticking cement. You can even create partial, or single, cobbles by selectively pouring the concrete using a halved gallon jug.

Kerbstone Mould

This possibility features hydraulic proportional management to vary the width of the mildew while paving, to provide a tapered slab. Lateral travel and vertical plow control can be operated manually or set on automated. Three proximity switches present horizontal directional control of the spreader-plow. A single change is set at every finish of the specified plow travel.

and therapy from a doctor expert in working with mould sufferers. I also convey hard-earned knowledge from my years of experience coping with and remediating my house and physique for mildew efficiently. My relations and I are now symptom free, and our home has tested mycotoxin-free of mould. As with any new merchandise or well being protocols, I advise you to hunt out your individual experts and medical doctors and to not solely base your recovery on ANY suggestion or methodology I write about in this blog.

As a development materials, concrete could be forged in virtually any form desired, and as soon as hardened, can turn out to be a structural element. Concrete can be used within the development of structural elements like panels, beams, and avenue furnishings, or could also be cast-in situ for superstructures like roads and dams. These could also be supplied with concrete combined on website, or could also be provided with 'ready-combined' concrete made at everlasting mixing websites. Portland cement can also be utilized in mortars , for plasters and screeds, and in grouts (cement/water mixes squeezed into gaps to consolidate foundations, street-beds, and so on.). The lower the amount of water in a traditional concrete mix, the lower its droop. Low droop values in traditional mixes typically mean greater high quality concrete.

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The reason for the 4-5 inch thickness is because of cracking. Would it not be affordable to suppose that the energy lies with the individual items being so small? Sure, I may even see some cracking within the mortar joints, however that might be easily patched.

Rubber Paver Mildew In Mali

So to avoid having any surprises with color, I strongly suggest that you simply make two take a look at pieces before beginning this stepping stones project. It’s protected to calculate 1 bag per massive 3’ x 2’ diy concrete stepping stone. The are decorative stepping stones and could be made by including mosaic glass or other embeddable supplies. Making my very own concrete stepping stones required much less prep work with the ground as a result of the concrete is self-leveling. So I decided I’d make stepping stones that might appear to be real fieldstone, using concrete after all.

If you have an space with a big concentration of mildew or algae, use the laundry additive undiluted together with your scrub brush. This will kill what is there and can prevent additional development. Now, I obviously realize that Tim is giving the best and soundest recommendation he is aware of, and I additionally understand that I am NOT an expert builder.

A reviewer shares that you simply want eighty lb of cement to make 4 steps and that the mould is easy to use. He highly recommends it to every DIY fan as the best stroll maker. Another reviewer shares that 60 lb of concrete are sufficient to fill the form, and he advises that you spray the stroll maker with Pam every time to attain clean edges.

Since I'm in no rush and have loads of time I would like to hear from someone who has actually tried this technique before. I even have 225sqft I'm going to be putting in pavers on so roughly $500 or so for normal formed pavers. My spouse is wanting completely different designs so if this method is cheaper it might be a great route. Of course, there is a distinction between common concrete paver molds and the poisonous black mildew that we hear about on the information. If you think you could have toxic black mold rising in your paving stones, concrete or bricks, it is best to bring in mould remediation consultants who can safely take away this potential well being hazard. It is, at greatest, an unpleasant nuisance and, at worst, a health hazard.

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With the mold sides in place and the entrance latched, seal the corners with paraffin. Determine how a lot concrete to combine by the amount of the mold. After taking up each mildew, you will want to spray the fresh concrete with water whereas it is curing.

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Technically, the stones will reach their full cure in three-4 weeks- which means their full power. Now you'll use the plastic bag to realize two issues, one is to mix the colors more and the opposite is to create the stone-like texture. Blend these colors into the stone and into each other the best way you might with a watercolor portray. If your pigment is a powder, then mix some water in with it.

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Concrete Walkway Path Maker

Test the bleach on a small area earlier than continuing with a full-blown assault on the mould. Don't use muriatic acid; this liquid is just too sturdy and could damage the pavers, Carvalho warns. Wear old clothes and ensure to guard your eyes and face. Vollert is the leading expert associate for concrete works, building firms and property developers when it comes to trendy precast concrete manufacturing. They have ardour to produce intelligently designed plant and machinery ideas that are optimally tailor-made for you. Vollert know-how ensures economic processes mixed with an optimal level of automation. High-tech machines ensure efficient work processes from CAD/CAM-managed shuttering robots, to totally automated concrete spreader to innovative vacuum turning gear for double wall production.

Plowing and snow blowing are a catastrophe, not to mention the overall look of it. I've at all times been a big fan of stone / cement due to the low upkeep and longevity. Pressure handled lumber just isn't what it use to be anymore. Lay things out on paper, make the cuts you want , stack your blocks where you possibly can reach them, and get to work.

Continue this course of to make as many pavers as you’d like. If you want smaller pavers for sure components of your project, rigorously cut them with a specialty brick saw.

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wildlyminiaturesandwich · 5 years ago

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G’day everyone!

Thanks to the EA Game Changers Program, last Sunday SimGurus Jill, Morgan and Geoff hosted a super secret private live stream for those of us in the program who weren’t able to attend EA Play and I am so excited to finally be able to share all the information I learned about Island Living and the upcoming free patch with you guys!

I don’t have any new screenshots or gameplay to show you but I did take pages and pages of notes so I’ve spent the better part of today trying to condense those down and put them in order so that you guys can have a look over them and read about some of the amazing new stuff that’s coming in this pack.

Just be aware that because we weren’t able to take screenshots or record the stream, all I had to refer to while putting this all in a post is my own notes and while I did my best to simultaneously listen carefully, write everything down, fend off my cats, and stop myself falling asleep... I could have easily missed something or some information could be wrong because it was 4am in the morning and my cats get bitey when I don’t pay attention to them lol You should definitely check out some of the other Game Changers posts and videos to see if they have any information I missed too!

SO! All that being said, I’m going to put this all under a cut because it’s long and also because spoilers!

If you have any questions about Island Living, I can’t promise that I’ll know or be allowed to tell you the answer, but my inbox is always open and it never hurts to ask anyway 😊

ENJOY!

New World - Sulani

🌴 The beautiful tropical Sulani contains 14 lots spread out over 3 island neighbourhoods: - Ohan’Ali is a town/commercial area containing 6 lots. Festivals/Events take place every day in town, keep an eye out for balloons to find out where - Lani St. Taz is an upscale residential area containing 5 lots - Mua Pel’Am is a Natural Island containing 3 lots. There is also a beautiful (and useful) waterfall and possibly a hidden cave but shhh, it’s a secret!

🌴 All lots are fully editable and can be changed to any lot type you want 🌴 There’s a new Beach venue type 🌴 The weather in Sulani is generally pretty mild, but if you have Seasons installed you may get the occasional tropical storm

Traits + Aspirations

LOT TRAITS

🌴 Volcanic activity - Can be used on any lot - Causes lava bombs to fall on the lot - Lava bombs can catch your sim on fire if they touch them too much while they’re still hot - Once cooled lava bombs can be broken open and looted or turned into decorative objects

🌴 Off the Grid - Free base game trait to be added in an upcoming patch - Your sims bills will be lower BUT most electronics will not work on lots with this trait and you will have limited internet access - Objects in the buy catalogue will display “Off the Grid Functionality” if they can be used on this lot. Eg there is a new sink in Island Living that looks like a sort of natural spring water pump, it’s perfect for off the grid lots

🌴 Clothing optional - Free base game trait to be added in an upcoming patch - Sims will react differently depending on traits. Eg. Self-assured sims will be more willing to strip off than sims with other traits like Childish

ASPIRATION

🌴 Beach Life - This sim wants to take it slow and enjoy the beach life

SIM TRAITS

🌴 Child of the Ocean - Answer the call of the ocean! Sims with this trait will prefer water related activities and feel closer to their denizens of the sea. 🌴 Child of the Island - These sims experience a spiritual connection to the islands of Sulani. Honor the islands by partaking in their culture, summon powerful elementals and reap the rewards of their blessings — or the consequences of their disfavour. 🌴 Sim trait randomization will also be added to the game in a free upcoming patch!

Careers

🌴 Fishing/Diving Career - Fishing will also be getting a big update (I think in the upcoming free patch). There will be new fish to collect, a fish trap, a high skill cast, re-tuning and new fishing spots in lots of worlds

🌴 Lifeguard

🌴 In an upcoming patch, all teen part-time careers will be made available for all ages

Gameplay + Activities

MERMAIDS!!!

🌴 Sims can become mermaids via gameplay or you can make one in CAS (they are under the occult life states menu) 🌴 There are a ton of new customization options for mermaids in CAS, including eyes, tail shapes and textures, teeth, tops that match the tails. 🌴 Instead of a hygiene bar, mermaids have a hydration bar that will slowly drop the longer they are out of water 🌴 Mermaids who spend too long out of water might get a cramp, or a sudden chill, or get very tired if their hydration becomes too low 🌴 You can raise their hydration by having them drink a glass of water, take a shower, go out in the rain, splash about under a waterfall, or have a bath 🌴 If your mermaid decides to have a bath (even a bubble bath) their tail will reappear and hang over the side of the tub! 🌴 There was no mention of whether or not mermaids tails reappear when they’re in a pool but I would assume so? 🌴 Mermaids can give birth to Merbabies! 🌴 While Merbabies can be born, Merchildren won’t manifest into their tales and power until they’re teens 🌴 Mermaids have some pretty cool powers - Siren Lullaby - Sing one of the four different siren songs to a human sim to provide them with a moodlet… for good or bad is up to you - Summon Ocean Threat - Will drag a sim underwater and drain the needs of a human sim to a dangerously low level. If done on a sim with already low needs, this may lead to death - If you have Seasons installed, your mermaid can summon a thunderstorm - There are more but they didn’t have time to show us them all

🌴 Using powers will drain your mermaids hydration quicker 🌴 Mermaids have their own cool little plumbob, similar to aliens and vampires 🌴 If you’re sick of being a Mermaid (we can’t be friends anymore), you can find some special kelp to help you with that

OCEAN SWIMMING

🌴 Sims can now swim in the ocean! 🌴 Ocean swimming is only possible in Sulani, not other worlds BUT the Gurus did say that extending ocean swimming to the rest of the worlds is not off the table just yet and may come at a later date. They just really wanted to nail it for Island Living before even thinking about making it possible in other worlds. 🌴 Toddlers can’t swim (obviously) but there are little shallow areas of the ocean they can sit in and splash around 🌴 If you have Cats & Dogs installed your pets will also be able to swim in the ocean 🌴 Sims will receive moodlets depending on what’s happening while they swim. Eg. If they see a shark, or a beautiful sunset 🌴 Sometimes while your sims are in the ocean, they might think they see a shark… they might be right, they might not. Either way, I wouldn’t stick around to find out!

SNORKELING + SCUBA DIVING

🌴 Sims can snorkel around Sulani’s reefs and shallows 🌴 Snorkeling is fully animated 🌴 Sims can also scuba dive by clicking on a buoy and paying the fee for scuba gear 🌴 Scuba diving is a rabbit hole activity, there a no animations 🌴 Sims can take photos underwater whilst snorkeling and diving and keep them as souvenirs 🌴 There may be treasures and a secret area to be found whilst diving as well but don’t quote me on that, I was distracted by my cat jumping on my keyboard at the time lol

DOLPHINS

🌴 Your sims can now befriend a dolphin! 🌴 Dolphins can be found playing around buoys (possibly only twice a day?) 🌴 Sims can work on friendship with dolphins by feeding them fish, playing with them, and teaching them tricks. 🌴 They can even be renamed so you know exactly which dolphin is your friend

BOATS

🌴 Outrigger Canoe - Sims can fish off the edge of them, nap in them, and they are able to be dragged into your sims inventory

🌴 Aqua zip (jet ski) - Sims can do tricks on the Aqua Zip. The higher your sims fitness skill, the better tricks they can do. Aqua Zips can also be dragged into your sims inventory

LOUNGERS + BEACH TOWELS

🌴 Your sims can now relax and sunbathe on the beach (or at home) in lounge chairs and on beach towels 🌴 One lounge chair will also be available for free in an upcoming base game update 🌴 Floating loungers are also coming with Island Living. They have similar interaction to regular lounge chairs but sims can also sunbathe nude on floating loungers and can be splashed by other sims in the water. They can also be used in pools! 🌴 All loungers, floating and non, and towels are able to be dragged into your sims inventory and taken with them

TANNING + SUNBURN

🌴 Tanning and sunburns are exclusive to Island Living 🌴 You can “opt-in” to have your sim tan or sunburn using a float lounger, lounge chair or beach towel 🌴 Tans and sunburns will take into account what your sim is wearing at the time 🌴 Mischievous sims can also “sabotage” sims who fall asleep in the sun with some strategically placed lotion. These “sabotaged” sunburn patterns are completely random and there may be some funny little easter eggs in there

VOLCANOES + WATERFALLS

🌴 The natural island of Mua Pel’Am is home to an active volcano and your most adventurous sims can even live right next to it if they want 🌴 There is also a gorgeous waterfall on the natural island of Mua Pel’Am that is not only very romantic (wink wink), but also can be used as a shower by sims living off the grid

CONSERVATION

🌴 Your sims will be able to clean up the beaches of Sulani, which will impact the rest of the islands 🌴 At max level conservation the scenery of the islands change to be more beautiful, more wildlife (butterflies, turtles etc) will show up, and you might even see some bio-luminescent algae floating around in the ocean 🌴 There was mention of a special turtle hatching event but I’m not sure if it has to do with the conservation level or not

HARVESTABLES + COLLECTABLES

🌴 Coconut 🌴 Pineapple 🌴 Taro 🌴 Kava 🌴 Several new fish

DEATHS

🌴 Lava bombs are hot 🌴 Look out for sharks 🌴 Mermaids are beautiful but accidents happen

WOOHOO

🌴 I hear the waterfall over on Mua Pel’Am is a very romantic spot…

FANS

🌴 Coming soon with a free update, ceiling fans will now not only be able to be switched on and off, but they will also cool things down on hot days and dry off wet sims

Create-A-Sim

I think most of what’s in CAS was covered in the trailer and during the announcement from EA Play, and we really didn’t get much of a look at it during the private stream, but from what I did see there’s a lot of amazing stuff!

The only thing I can say for sure is that as per usual, the male options are lacking and a little lackluster compared to the female options. I also don’t think there’s much in the way of clothes and hairs for kids and toddlers either 😟

Build/Buy

There is TONS of beautiful new Polynesian and Pacific Island inspired build/buy stuff, some of which I’ve already listed above, so I can’t list them all but here’s a few that don’t really fit into any other category but were specifically mentioned by the Gurus during the stream or just plain caught my eye

🌴 A beautiful new island-themed wedding arch made with palm leaves and tropical flowers and urgh! Just trust me, it’s beautiful! 🌴 Sandcastles! 🌴 A grill pit, that gets covered with palm leaves while it’s cooking 🌴 So many new island plants (hopefully they’re in debug 🤞) 🌴 A new island speaker (for community lots I assume) with all new Island Living music 🌴 Glass floors! They’re not actual flooring like carpets and tiles though, they’re more like the Get Together dance floors where you just place them on the floor and you can see through them. 🌴 Stilted foundations! FINALLY!! They can be placed on any lot, not just ocean lots! 🌴 There was a ladder shown in the trailers that I know many people were very excited about, however it acts more like a diving board than an actual ladder you can use between house floors. If you place it on the edge of a deck, your sims will jump off the deck straight into the water. But that doesn’t stop you from pretending it’s an actual ladder 😉 🌴 This isn’t an object but I didn’t know where else to put it - Pools can’t be built on the ground floor of lots built on the ocean. I didn’t catch why but I’m assuming it would interfere too much with the ocean itself. I also assume they can be built on any floors above the ground floor though.

Animations

This is probably not that interesting to a lot of people but I’m fascinated by a lot of the animations that are created for this game and with this pack it’s really clear the team put a lot of effort into even just the smallest of animations so I wanted to point out some of my favourites that I saw in the stream

🌴 There is a new walk style/animation for when your sims are entering/exiting the ocean. Just like real life they will slow down and kind of struggle to move through the shallow water until they’re deep enough to swim or walk up onto the sand 🌴 There are different swim styles if your sim needs to get somewhere faster (similar to jogging instead of walking) that also use less energy than the standard speed 🌴 There is a bunch of cool new animations added for when sims are multitasking swimming with other things, like talking, flirting, and even kissing in the ocean! 🌴 The mermaid tail animations in general are so smooth and organic, it’s beautiful! Whether they’re swimming in the ocean, jumping in and out of water, or just lounging in a bath tub; the team really outdid themselves with the animations for the tails! 🌴 Speaking of mermaids, there’s an option whilst swimming to “Mermaid Kiss”! I don’t know if it’s available for human sims but it looks very cute and sweet when performed by two mermaids! 🌴 Not only do the floating loungers float, but they also drift! They slowly move around and drift back and forth with the waves just like a real floating lounger would!

#TS4 #The Sims 4 #The Sims 4 Island Living #EA Game Changers

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albion-93 · 5 years ago

Text

Midwinter Solstice Eve

Seasons greetings to one and all! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and celebrating the holidays as best they can with friends and family.

Just a heads up: this is a long RWBY fanfic, taking place in the same AU as my first fanfic RWBY: Family Lost and Found.

For the RWBY fans who made my time here really swell this year and also enjoyed my past writings, @littlemisssquiggles, @miki-13 , @maripr , @blackhakumen @davidellisartworkstuff , @accel-dragons @jade-rosepine and @che1sea-xiao-long this is for you. Hope you’re having a lovely holiday, and I hope you enjoy.

Act 1

Midwinter Solstice Eve had brought an unprecedented level of calm to the island province of Patch, even with the increasing threat of Grimm attacks. The coastal port towns were bathed in warm golden and crimson lights, security was at an all year-high and people went about their ways doing their best to keep merry. Airships and boats to the other kingdoms were preparing to leave. At first, the setting sun pierced the clouds and shafts of bright orange light cut across the frosty blue snow-laden fields and forests. But over time, these clouds grew thicker and snow fell faster and heavier than before, and the last of the daytime light was dying out.

In a secluded forested part of Patch, a two story log cabin stood resolute against the thickening blizzard, and cosy golden light gleamed invitingly within. The home of Taiyang Xiao-Long was a model of Midwinter Solstice preparations. In the kitchen was filled with the tantalising scent of slow-roasting game birds, and Tai went up and down the kitchen with his recipe book while his assistants, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren and Oscar Pine went about their culinary tasks.

“Alright girls and boys,” called out Tai as he removed a tray of roast potatoes from the oven, “let’s move this feast to the final phase! Nora, stop eating those potatoes and put them in the oven!”

“But they’re so tasty – oh, fine!”

“Ren, how are those vegetables coming?”

“Almost ready, Mr Xiao-Long!”

“Also maybe put a little more icing on the chocolate yule log, you know how my girls love their sweets.”

“I thought you wanted Ruby to eat less sweet stuff?” he asked incredulously, “I mean pudding, mince pies, and yule log?”

“True, true; but since it’s that time of year again we only get to go this big once. Just wait, between Ruby and Nora there’ll be hardly any desserts left!” he chuckled with a pat on the farm boy’s back and went into the lounge to check on how his daughters and their partners were doing.

It was a much more pleasant sight; the lounge was filled with soft carpets with the walls and mantelpieces decked with crimson, pine-green and gold trimmings. True to form, Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were partnered off on the decorations, while Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao-Long moved in and out of the house doing different jobs in conversation. Chairs were pulled in and a portable Atlesian fire-place where the TV used to be was just starting to burn; ‘an old present from James’ as Tai said. Taking a short break from cooking, Oscar picked up a nearby guitar and strummed it a few times before settling on a soft melody, glancing towards . In the corner stood the decorated festive pine tree, with Ruby happily humming as she placed hand-carved and painted robins on what free branches still remained, thinking fondly about her mother. Weiss levitated a wreath of red and white roses onto the pine tree’s highest branches with Myrtenaster’s Gravity Dust function, smiling as she floated the wreath up and down. Blake came in and gave an amused smile at the sight.

“No offence, but that doesn’t look like the most efficient use of your limited Dust reserves. Couldn’t you just get the ladder?” suggested Blake.

“You’re right I could, but I never get to do any of this festive stuff, so I’m taking every chance.”

“You really are Defiance aren’t you,” chuckled Blake, more to herself than Weiss, who merely stared back quizzically at her as she went out again.

“Actually, I haven’t felt this relaxed – this happy even, in a long time.”

“Oh, it’s great isn’t it? I can’t wait to see your face when you open my present!” said Ruby excitedly, bobbing side to side, making Weiss giggle.

“Well you’ll just have to be a little patient,” she said with an air of playful parental authority, and she smiled softly at distant memories, “I remember when I was little my Mom would say that to get me to wait because I always wanted Midwinter Solstice to come a day early. I used to get so excited… but that really didn’t last long. Before I left for Beacon they had become so suffocating dry, formal and by the end so cold and resentful that I almost forgot just how sweet they could be.”

Weiss looked down sadly, and Ruby lifted her chin up encouragingly.

“Dad and I have tomorrow all planned out: snowball fights, games, movies, and karaoke!”

“Wonderful!” said Weiss with a bigger smile, which faltered as she saw Nora, Ren and Oscar talking worriedly among each other. She pointed this out to Ruby just as Yang and Blake came back in, and the two teams convened.

“Something wrong, guys?” asked Yang.

“This snowstorm is looking worse by the minute,” said Nora looking worried, “and we’re just hoping that Jaune and Pyrrha’s boat made it out in time.”

“They said their ship was leaving before the storm hit, but we haven’t heard from them in a while,” said Ren holding up his scroll.

“I’ve seen blizzards like this before back on the farm, and they’re worse than hazardous to travel in,” said Oscar as he stared out the window.

“Also, this little guy’s feeling homesick,” added Nora, wrapping her arms tightly around Oscar.

“Nora! I said it’s not a big deal!” he said quickly, but too late as a light chorus of endearment broke out among RWBY, turning the lad bright red as Nora grinned and Ren sighed.

“I mean, she isn’t wrong,” admitted Oscar, “I just had a rush of memories of watching the snow from the farmhouse bedroom and keeping warm by the fireplace with my aunt and uncle. Sometimes the extended family came over! It’s my first Midwinter away from them...”

“Awww, don’t worry, Oscar, you’ll feel right at home here,” said Ruby, smiling and placing an arm around Oscar’s shoulders, causing the boy to smile nervously and attempt to hide his blushing. “Dad always makes the best Winter Solstice dinner.”

“Actually, from the looks of things we might have a little too much food on our hands,” said Yang, “Guess we know what we’re having for lunch tomorrow!”

Suddenly, Ruby’s scroll starting buzzing. She answered and put it on speaker.

“RUBY!” yelled Jaune’s voice; he sounded panicked and hoarse, “Please get down here with Bumblebee fast! It’s me and Pyrrha, we’re stranded and the ice is breaking!”

Act 2

Within minutes, the four girls strapped on their Huntress gear and wrapped up warm for the mission. Based on Jaune’s description, the river was less than ten miles away winding between two hills. Yang fixed a snowplow on Bumblebee’s front wheel and revved the bike up for heavy duty action while Ruby fixed a trailer to the back. They gathered torches and ropes and packed them in the trailer. Before RWBY could set out, they heard a shrill voice load and clear.

“That’s half our team out there! We’re coming too!” declared Nora.

There was no arguing with her on that matter; time and the elements were both against them. With Yang driving, Ruby on the scroll to keep Jaune calm and determine where he was

“Wait, I want to help!” Oscar called out, covered head to toe in warm clothing, as the bike sped down the road until it vanished behind the snow drifts.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Tai yelled, grabbing Oscar’s arm, “Those kids are tough and capable, and you’re not at their level yet, Oscar. If you run out there you’ll get lost and freeze and I’m not losing anyone on Midwinter Solstice!”

“Tai, this snow’s getting much worse, they won’t be able to see where they’re going!” said Oscar, undeterred by Tai’s warning, “We’ve got to give them their best chance to get back.”

With the headlights at full beam, Yang drove as fast as she could through the forest towards the river, bobbing and weaving without dislodging the trailer behind her. Ten miles of straight road would have been nothing to Bumblebee but the combination of weather and treacherous downhill terrain slowed their progress. Even with the warm clothing and aura, they couldn’t stay out for long. As the trees gave way, they saw the river winding through the two hills and plowed through the heavy drifts to the riverbank. Everyone disembarked from the trailer and searched the area, calling out Jaune and Pyrrha’s names.

“There they are!” called out Blake, pointing towards a faint and distant flashing light several hundred yards away on the river’s ice covered surface. She could make out two distant figures, one stretching out and waving the other collapsed

“Guys, I think Pyrrha’s down!” added Blake, her ears folded down in dread.

“Then let’s go!” yelled Nora as she began to charge, only to be stopped by Ren, pointing out the fickle character of the frozen surface.

“I can use my semblance to get to them faster!” said Ruby with determination, “Nora, can you give me a boost?”

“CAN I?!” she bellowed with renewed vigour.

“Alright, then I’ll follow behind. I can get some distance with my glyphs,” said Weiss.

“I’ll tie the ropes together, Blake can you help me?” said Ren, Blake nodded.

“I’ll keep Bee warm for when we need to get out of here,” said Yang, revving the engine.

With the intensifying blizzard obscuring their vision of Jaune’s scroll light, they put the plan into motion. Blake and Ren had finished tying the ropes together, and passed them over to Weiss.

“Hurry, I think the ice is beginning to crack,” warned Blake, Weiss nodded.

She cast her glyphs across the river and began to run with all speed across her conjured bridge. Ruby stood perched like a bird of prey atop Magnhild, and Nora sent Ruby soaring through the air with a mighty swing in mid-semblance. She careened through the frozen night air, keeping altitude with Crescent Rose, a cascade of red against the black sky and pallid snow. Ruby used her semblance one more time as she spun towards Jaune and Pyrrha and skidded across the ice, clamping down with a swing of her scythe. Weiss wasn’t far behind.

Both of them looked pale and exhausted, Pyrrha was barely conscious but Jaune managed to pull a smile as the two friends embraced with one arm still around Pyrrha. She looked further ahead and gasped at the broken ice just a few yards ahead.

“Oh am I glad to see you!” cried Jaune frantically, “She fell through the ice! I’ve been trying to keep her warm! Help me carry her!”

Ruby nodded and raised Pyrrha up; she was murmuring deliriously and barely able to stand but still managed with the last vestiges of her aura to keep going. They started making good progress towards the shore. Suddenly the ominous sound of cracking ice came beneath them.

“Grab on!” yelled Weiss, tossing them the rope and casting a glyph beneath their feet as the ice ceased to support their weight. Back on shore, the combined strength of Nora, Ren, Blake and Yang tugged them back to shore. When they touched solid ground, the two reunited teams broke into a tight and tearful group hug, Pyrrha especially with light sobs of relief and gratitude.

“Hey guys, plenty of time for this back at Dad’s house,” said Yang, starting to shiver herself.

“I can’t tell where we are! This blizzard’s getting impossible to move through!” said Blake, barely able to make out the road with the snow obscuring the way and filling Bee’s tracks.

“We just keep going uphill,” said Yang stubbornly, “there barely any roads through here. And Bee’s using up too much juice to keep warm.”

They had been gone five minutes up the road towards Tai’s lodge. Nora and Ren kept close to Jaune and Pyrrha, and Weiss had conjured a small flame to keep them going. After another five minutes of more empty woodland and a winding trail, Yang slowed down and stopped to look around, the others stared around looking for any sign of habitation, like distant lights or smoke.

“Shit… none of this looks familiar,” she said angrily, “Where the hell are we?!”

“Maybe we should double back,” suggested Blake.

“We could get even more lost,” said Weiss, now starting to get nervous.

“Wait, I’ve got Dad’s signal, he must have followed us. I’m calling him!” said Ruby, opening up her scroll and tapping Tai’s number. She didn’t have long to wait.

“Ruby, finally! I’ve been trying to reach you!” said Tai over the wire, “I followed your trail halfway down the southern road but can’t find you guys anywhere!”

“We got lost! Are you out there by yourself?”

“Yes, Oscar’s back at the house. Listen to me; look out for the red signal flare. Find that and you’ll find the road. I’m launching in three, two-”

“Look, there it is!” cried Nora, pointing towards a bright red flash, barely covered by the falling snow and thick snow-laden branches.

“Yeah, I see it too! It’s not that far!” said Ruby excitedly.

“What? Ruby, I haven’t fired mine yet! Are you sure you see a flare?” said Tai incredulously, “I’m firing mine now; keep an eye out for it!”

Seconds later, another much further and fainter red light appeared, coming from back the way they came. The group looked amongst each other, now uncertain what to make of this. Then another flare rose up from beyond the tree line, same as where the first flare came from.

“Ruby, I see it too, you’re a lot further out than I thought,” said Tai, something in his voice sounded different, “change of plan, follow that flare, it’s closer to the lodge.”

Wasting no more time, Yang revved up Bumblebee and made a break for the source of the flare. Bee started to sputter, and fear began to grip the teams at the prospect of walking blind and losing precious time. The light from the flare went out. But before long, the trees became less dense and the familiar warm lights of Tai’s house came into view. Yang laughed and whooped and punched the air as she revved towards the lodge.

They spotted a lone figure glad in green standing in the snow covered field and waving his arms, and a few of the group peered out to see as they got closer.

“OSCAR!” yelled an ecstatic Nora, and with her arm outstretched grabbed him right off his feet and into the trailer locked in a tight tackle hug. He was shivering and had snowflakes tousled in his hair, signs that he had been outside for a while.

“Guys, we all gotta get inside,” reminded Blake, pointing to Jaune and Pyrrha lying prone, everyone nodded in agreement as they convened inside Tai’s house.

Act 3

Yang had her scroll out to inform Tai that they all made it back. The Atlesian fireplace was burning low with fresh fuel, another one of Oscar’s preparations before he went outside. Weiss went back and forth from the kitchen and came back with mugs of tea and hot chocolate for everyone, and knelt before the closely huddled Jaune and Pyrrha, both of whom were too tired to talk and looked close to drifting off.

“There, there,” cooed Weiss softly to both of them, stroking their foreheads gently, “just take it easy; you both had a tough time of it. But you’re safe now.”

Ruby brought down a high pile of blankets, jumpers and sweaters for Jaune and Pyrrha to put on, one red and one yellow, while Oscar brought extra cushions and draped them both in a thick blanket and sat down beside them.

“I’m so glad you’re both safe, I was scared we were gonna lose you out there,” he said gently.

After every means to be comfortable was taken, the fatigued RWBY and JNPPR sat huddled close around the fireplace in silence for the next several minutes, taking in the welcome warmth and looking amongst one another with in subdued, harmonious relief.

“That was way too close,” said Weiss at last, hugging her knees.

“No argument from me,” stuttered Jaune, as Pyrrha held him tightly.

The door opened again, it was Tai.

“Hey kids,” said Tai discreetly, with Ruby and Yang running up to hug him followed by all the other team members. He went down to green Jaune and Pyrrha, but Oscar guiltily hung back. He turned to face everyone, “Seriously, well done everyone. I’ve seen some daring feats in heavy snow at night, but you just raised the bar. So, you want to tell me what happened out there?”

While Ruby and Yang took turns recounting what happened, Tai listened intently and nodded proudly at each of them, and team spirit was on the rise.

“It sounds like you guys were just legendary out there!” said Oscar at last, looking around excitedly and gesturing to each of them in turn, “I mean, Ruby soaring through the blizzard Weiss with her glyphs, Nora with her hammer, and the rope plan. You guys must have been legendary!”

“You should have seen Yang’s driving, she was on fire!” said Nora with a little bounce.

“Why thank you, Nora! Bumblebee’s gonna need a lot of work after that,” commented Yang, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

“Well, any vehicle is only ever as good as its driver,” said Blake with a smile, “and that placed us in excellent hands.”

Yang grinned and thanked her partner, and the two leaned in closely.

“Oh, and I switched the oven and cooker off before I went out, to not spoil the food,” said Oscar shyly to Tai, “I put them back on and reset the timers when we returned.”

“Smart move; the meal was saved just in time, despite the danger you put yourself in,” said Tai with his arms folded, he seemed to be making a concerted effort not to be cross.

“Dad, please don’t go there,” said Ruby reproachfully.

“Sir, if it weren’t for Oscar’s timely signal flare, we would probably be dead,” said Jaune with a little more strength in his voice.

“We put everyone in danger,” said Pyrrha at last, her eyes misty and cast down.

“Pyrrha, honey, please don’t-”

“It’s true… I wanted Jaune to meet my family for Midwinter Solstice. I wanted to make it this grand, almost fanciful meet-up. After the ship left without us, we argued a lot along the way, I insisted we try to get there no matter wat. We should not have tried to make the journey back to Argus with the blizzard closing in…”

“Pyr, I’m just as much to blame for this, if not more, I said we could make it to Tai’s lodge before the bad weather hit. We got turned around and stranded on that river, and then you fell in the ice!” Jaune cried out racked with guilt and anger, Pyrrha placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You wouldn’t leave me,” she said reassuringly, “I knew I had a chance with you.”

“You two wanted to spend Christmas with family, I think we all understand that,” said Ren.

“I think anyone who has a family they would brave a blizzard to be with is a special kind of lucky,” said Nora, “I know I would”

“We kind of did,” added Ren. Smiles started to bloom among the group.

“You both need to stop blaming yourselves for what nearly happened,” said Oscar earnestly, “You’re right, mistakes were made and it was way too close. But through it all, I’m just happy to have both of you here and alive with us under this roof, brought together in spite of peril and strife. In the end, Midwinter Solstice is all about that.”

“That reminds me about that song you played for me a few nights ago, could you play it again for us?” asked Ruby.

Oscar’s eyes went wide, but with a deep breath he asked if everyone else wanted to hear. With everyone giving consent, Oscar picked up the guitar and sang softly to the low fire crackling.

“When the silence wakes you, when your nights are long,

When the world forsakes you, please be strong.

Nothing hurts you forever, it will fade away,

And the sky will be blue again, one day.

No matter how cold the winter, no matter how deep the snow,

We will be warm again and the grass will grow.

No matter where life may take us, no matter how hard they try,

They will not break us, you and I.

When it’s dark inside you, when your flame is low,

I will be beside you, you will know.

Let it fall all around you, let the cold winds cry,

Let the old winds of yesterday blow by.

No matter how cold the winter, no matter how deep the snow,

We will be warm again and the grass will grow.

No matter where life may take us, no matter how hard they try,

They will not break us, you and I.”

Oscar blushed as applause broke out among the group, and some cheering from Yang and Tai.

“Well sung, little dude, well sung,” said Jaune.

“At Beacon you were all there when I needed help, especially you Pyrrha, and honestly this is just a small way of saying thank you,” said Oscar, still red in cheeks.

“Oh, Oscar, bless you,” said Pyrrha softly, eyes glistening. She held her arm out invitingly, Oscar budged closer and she pulled him into gentle, caressing hug.

“Thank you for being there when we needed you,” she murmured, gently swaying him side by side, enveloping her arms and blanket around him until he was effectively cocooned within. She held his face close and leaned and kissed his cheek causing the boy to open his eyes wide in shock.

“Are there no limits to your adorableness?” cooed Jaune as he embraced both of them within his blanket and ruffled Oscar’s hair.

“Mm-mm” shaking her head and giggled, still cuddling Oscar.

Nora and Ren piled in on either side of the three-way hug. In the middle of them, a series of small squeaks came from Pyrrha, grinning whilst tears down her cheeks. Team RWBY looked on, a mixture of awe and “aww” shared between them.

“I think I’ll skip the dessert, because that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever feasted my eyes on!” Yang whispered to Blake.

Ruby felt Weiss’s hand on her shoulder.

“Hey Ruby, despite the near-death experience out in the wilderness, I just want to say thank you for inviting me over for Midwinter Solstice; being here with everyone is so much better than being back at Atlas.”

“Don’t mention it, Weiss. It certainly crazy how close that was, but it worked out in the end! Just promise me one thing for the holiday.”

“Name it!”

“Don’t think about Atlas or anyone there who makes you unhappy and unfestive; I forbid it!”

“I don’t think ‘unfestive’ is a real word, but deal!” she said happily, drawing her in for a hug.

Tai came back in to announce that the game birds were cooked and there is definitely enough for the two new guests. Blake and Yang went in first, while JNPPR went in as one leaning in among each other. Ruby winked to Weiss and both reached out to pull Oscar in, and he gave a little yelp when both girls pulled him into their embrace. Ruby glanced up, something small and green was floating above them.

“Wait, I don’t remember ever hanging up mistletoe…” said Ruby nervously.

“Oscar, was this your doing?” said Weiss, raising her eyebrow.

“How could it be my doing?”

They paused and followed the line of string hanging the infamous little festive plant and gave out one big, shared yell; “NORA!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: I really did want to write a new poem/song for this story rather than recycle an old one, but it still felt fitting both to the story and for the season.

Thank you, everyone.

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imaginepirates · 5 years ago

Text

Beyond Childhood

A Will x reader requested by @apirateslifeforme2. Will is the reader’s childhood friend, but they haven’t seen each other in a long time. After meeting at Elizabeth’s wedding to James, their feelings for each other begin to rekindle.

~3100 words

~~~~~~~

The wedding was spectacular. The governor had gone all out for Elizabeth. She was his only daughter, after all, and he loved James like a son already.

The air was sweet with the scent of flowers and traces of perfume where women walked. The gardens were immaculate; hedges were trimmed into all different animals, and flowers were planted in staggering arrays of color and kind. Fountains sprayed water lazily into their basins, carved statues sitting atop them.

In a large, open section of grass, the ceremony was to be held. The clearing was situated on a hill, and you could see all the way down to the bay. You were far back enough from it that the shouting and ringing of bells was only a whisper on the wind. The musicians blocked out most of the sound. Their melodies echoed over the gardens sweetly.

Elizabeth had been a good friend of yours since childhood. Together, you’d climbed every tree in the garden. You reflected on those memories fondly, remembering the times you’d tramped through flowerbeds or made castles of mud. Your childhoods had been filled with such imagination and wonder.

Now, Elizabeth was getting married. Your best friend, smitten with a commodore. It was bittersweet. You loved Elizabeth, and though you hated to see her off, you were happy for her. It was more than you could say for yourself.

If your heart had belonged to anybody, it had been the smith’s boy, William. You’d been close as children, too, but you hadn’t seen him in the past year. Whatever you might have felt for him was a dim shell of what it had been. You didn’t even know him anymore.

You rounded a corner to a gaggle of girls you knew from finishing school. How young you’d been! The girls before you were much older versions of themselves from when you’d known them; they were taller, their cheeks had lost their roundness, and they sported delicate long arms and protruding collarbones.

You had changed in the past years, too. You had become more of a woman. You vaguely wondered what William would think of you now.

You were distracted by Elizabeth, who ran across the gardens to meet you. At least, she tried, but it wasn’t so easily done in such a long dress. It was pale yellow, and embroidered flowers decorated the bodice and skirts. It was expertly done. The embroidery was done in such light shades of reds, greens, and blues that you could hardly tell it wasn’t all yellow.

"Lizzie!“ You called. "Why, you look like a fairytale. I hope you feel the part.”

"Y/N, I’ve been waiting to see you. I do feel the part, if you must know. But where’s your escort? Surely you didn’t come alone. Shouldn’t you be dangling off a man’s arm?“ She gave you a jesting smile. She knew you weren’t the type for that sort of thing.

"And shouldn’t you be hanging off the arm of your dearly beloved fiance?”

"We both know it’s bad luck for the bride and groom to meet before the wedding.“ She batted at your arm. "Though I must say, it’s making me impatient.” She glanced over to the side. “Oh dear, there’s Mrs. Whopsle. I’d better say hello. For appearances sake, you understand.” She gave you a look. Both of you had hated the woman from the time you were ten.

Elizabeth wandered off, and you were left to putter in the gardens until the wedding began. You snaked through the labyrinthine hedges. There were so many people, you thought there wouldn’t be a single unoccupied patch of grass.

You rounded a corner to find an empty space. It was a corner of the garden, and it was a small section with closed fences on three sides. Flowers swayed in the breeze, and small trees had been trimmed into little domes.

You enjoyed the quiet for a moment. As you were about to leave, someone else walked in. He seemed out of place in his nice clothes, and the sleeves of his shirt were too short. His hair had been slicked back nicely; it was clear that he’d taken some time on it. He was skinny, too, much more so than the lords who’s tables were always laden with fine foods.

Despite his clothes and tamed hair, you would’ve recognized him anywhere. It was Will. He was cleaner than normal, and his hair wasn’t the unruly mess you remembered, but he still had the same look, like he was rather lost. Perhaps he had always been a bit lost after the shipwreck. No matter where he was, he had a look on his face like he didn’t belong, and that he wasn’t supposed to be there at all.

The only place he didn’t look lost was the forge. There, he was right at home. You thought he looked a little more angry there. But the forge was his home, and where he’d always been most comfortable. Here in the gardens, he looked out of his element.

"William?“ You prompted.

"Miss L/N?” He hadn’t noticed you before. “How-how are you?”

"I’m well. And what of you?“

"As well as I can be, miss.”

It saddened you that after all the time you’d spent together as children, he still called you Miss. How many times had you snuck out to meet him as children? How many times had you played with wooden swords and hid from his master in the rafters? “Please, Will, I’m still Y/N.”

Will blushed. “It’s not my place.”

"I would have it no other way. If it’s not your place, then whose is it? We’re close friends, William.“

Your words did nothing to convince him. You weren’t surprised. What kind of close friends didn’t see each other for a year? "Even so, Miss. You’re a lady now, and I a blacksmith’s apprentice.”

"Will…" You were cut off by someone announcing the beginning of the wedding ceremony. Will took his leave, bowing slightly and leaving you to make your way to the neat rows of chairs on the lawn.

The ceremony, in your opinion, was long and drawn out. It was an important wedding, of course, but the officiator could’ve spared the crowd half his talk. You were secretly glad when it was done and you could escape the oppressive mob of people. Seeing Elizabeth smiling so brightly was worth it, though; you hadn’t seen her do so since childhood.

You boarded a coach and fled to your aunt’s house, with whom you were staying. She and your cousin would return later. You flung yourself down the moment you got to your room, thankful that you’d left a window open.

You read until you heard the footmen call up to you. Your family had returned, it seemed. You heaved a sigh and wandered down the stairs. They were nice enough people, but you couldn’t help the need to be alone.

As it turned out, it was not your family returned, but a package delivered. At the door stood William, looking sharp and having just come from the wedding. He held a thin box under one arm. It was navy blue with gold script, and could only be one thing.

Your cousin was a lieutenant in the navy, and he’d been needing a new sword. Truly; he wasn’t one to ask for things needlessly. He would be happy to see it had finally come.

You were happy that it was William who delivered it. “William.” You nodded a greeting. “It seems I’m the only one home. Do come in.” You beckoned him in with a hand.

He followed you into the hall at the front of your house. You led him to the dining room, where you had him lay the sword and case. “Tea?” You asked.

"I should be going.“

"Nonsense.” You waved him off and rang for a servant. You wanted to spend a bit of time with him. You hated the thought that might go another year without so much as a word with him.

"You have a very nice life here,“ he commented, looking around at the furnishings.

"I do,” you agreed.

The tea came, and you sipped at it in awkward silence. Neither of you were the best at making conversation. Will fiddled with a napkin while you played with your skirts. You didn’t speak until you’d finished your tea.

"Did you talk to Elizabeth today?“ You asked.

"I wasn’t given the chance. She saw me there, and I figure that’s enough.” He stared sadly into his cup.

"I don’t see much of her either. You miss her, don’t you?“

He hummed his agreement.

"I miss us. All the things we did once. Our little group was unstoppable. Now…” you trailed off. “William, I haven’t seen you in a year.” It hurt to admit.

His face softened. “It’s true.” He reached out for your hand then, but hesitated, face conflicted.

You grabbed his hand as reassurance. “Promise me we’ll see more of each other.”

"I would like that.“ A soft smile came to his lips, one you hadn’t seen in a year. It made your heart flutter.

You saw him out the door just as your aunt arrived home. She spoke with him briefly on the path up to the house. The rest of the talking she left to your cousin, who asked about hi sword. Your family headed inside, you waved to Will as he left.

Your cousin was mightily pleased with the sword. You found it a pretty blade as well. It was well balanced, that much you knew. You felt it yourself when you held it. To know it was Will’s work made your chest tight.

You visited him within the month. You couldn’t stand being apart for so long, and you’d made a promise to see him more often. You snuck into his shop, which wasn’t hard, given the drunkenness of Will’s master.

William was the one who really made all the blades. He was a wonderful smith. Most of his swords were plain, but some had beautiful patterns in the steel. He crafted other things, too, like cuffs and chains. Anything the navy needed, Will made.

"Will?” You called. There was a muffled clanking in response as he hastily set down his tools. He hadn’t been expecting you.

Sheepishly, he pulled off the giant gloves he’d been wearing. He looked a little embarrassed, but you couldn’t say why. Perhaps it was due to your status compared to his, or maybe it was because his shirt was plastered to his back by sweat, and you could see the muscles of his arms through it.

"What are you making?“ You asked. You peeked over his shoulder, but there was no way to tell what the lump of metal was to become.

"Leg-irons.” He replied. “I have to return to making them before the iron cools.”

"Of course. I hope you don’t mind if I join you.“ You walked around to his anvil where the metal sat. You stared over his shoulder as he hammered it out.

His strokes were tense at first, but he relaxed into a rhythm. You knew what it meant. He’d likely forgotten you were there. It happened when you were children, too. You and Elizabeth would watch him work as his master lie drunk. Around Elizabeth, the tenderness stayed in his shoulders. You didn’t think she had noticed. It was only when he’d been alone with you that he’d relaxed a little. His work was always better then.

It seemed like ages before he finished. When he did, it wasn’t some misshapen hunk of metal you saw. Leg-irons, perfect as could be made. You wondered how the cold iron felt on prisoners. Likely, it chafed the flesh raw.

"You’re wonderful at this, you know.” He also made a wonderful view, but you weren’t about to tell him as much.

"Thank you.“

"Now that you’re done, I need an excuse to stay,” you teased. He blushed, and you could feel heat of your own rushing to your face. “What do you say to a duel? Or are you too scared?”

Will smiled and climbed up into the rafters. “I had to keep them up here,” he explained. “The smith doesn’t know I have them.” When he returned to the ground, he held two of the wooden swords you used to fight with as children. It was a sweet reminder of how things had once been.

You accepted the sword he handed you. It was heavier than you remembered, but not too bad. You tossed it between hands, judging its feel.

When you took up your position en garde, all the old memories came back. The smell of the shop as you, Will, and Elizabeth fought. The smack of wood against wood, the heat of the stuffy building. Dust constantly getting in your eyes.

When Will lunged at you, you were more than ready. You parried, though he was stronger than he had been as a boy, and you had to take a step back.

You retaliated with an attack of your own. Body sideways, you struck out, fully meaning for the blow to be blocked. It was, and you jabbed at him a few more times. The fourth strike in, you whipped the blade down and hit Will on the knee.

William was quick to even the score. He was good with a blade, you noted. He drove you back a few steps before feigning left and striking you on your right rib. It smarted, but it wasn’t likely to bruise.

You didn’t have much hope fighting against him anymore. He hit you a number of places, always softly. You were thankful for it. Still, you continued to fight, but between your skirts and lack of practice, you did a dismal job.

After a time, you called for a halt, breathing heavily. You hadn’t had any form of exercise in a long time. Being a lady didn’t allow for such activities. You leaned on the sword. Will looked happier than you’d seen him in the past month, not that you’d seen him much.

There was a sheen of sweat on his brow, but he wiped it off. You were in much worse shape. He didn’t mention it, and he didn’t seem to mind. You sat on some chairs at the end of the room.

"Just like old times,“ you said.

"Like old times, but I’m stronger than you are now.” He smiled sheepishly. “I seem to remember getting knocked over a lot when we were younger.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. He was right; as children, you and Elizabeth had often fought on the same team against him. He hadn’t stood a chance. “And I seem to remember that this was easier. When did you get so good at this?”

"I practice every day. I don’t always have things to work on, so I spend my time using the swords I’ve made. It might come in handy someday.“

"I hope it doesn’t.” You looked into his eyes. “For your sake. I wouldn’t want to see you hurt.”

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s what the practice is for.”

You shoved him lightly on the shoulder. Just then, a loud knock on the door came followed by a slurred curse. Will looked at you, eyes dark.

"He’s back,“ Will said, referring to the man he was apprenticed to. "I suppose you have to go.”

"Yes. I’ll see you soon.“ Impulsively, you wrapped your arms around him, giving him a light hug. He was too surprised to return the gesture, but you took it as a sign of embarrassment. Hopefully he appreciated it. You would hate to think he didn’t want it.

You returned home. You spent the next week thinking of Will and trying not to. If your family noticed your distracted state, they said nothing. Your feelings for Will had been thoroughly rekindled. It didn’t help that you were of two different social classes. There was nothing worse than thinking that you couldn’t have him; no matter how you felt; so you avoided the thought entirely.

You were taking a walk through town to refresh yourself when you stumbled upon him again. It had been purely on accident; the walk was meant to get him out of your mind.

"Will! How nice to see you,” you said. “What brings you out this late?”

"The fort wanted new shackles as soon as possible. I’ve just finished them.“

You noticed the basket he carried under one arm. "Oh. Could I accompany you?”

"Of course.“ He scratched the back of his neck before offering you an arm. You walked towards the fort together, and you tried to ignore the heat of his arm under his shirt.

"How are you lately?” You tried to strike up conversation to make the walk less awkward.

"I-I’ve had a lot on my mind,“ he stuttered.

"Oh.” You furrowed your eyebrows. “What’s bothering you?”

"I shouldn’t trouble you with it.“

"It would be no trouble at all!” You hesitated before saying, “I’m not being nosey, am I?”

"No!“ He coughed. "Of course not. But it’s not that important.”

"I don’t believe you.“

He looked at you helplessly. It made your stomach jump into your throat. What couldn’t he tell you? It couldn’t be that he was thinking of you.

Could it?

"Will, you can tell me anything.” You could hear how unsteady your voice was.

"It’s not-not something to be shared.“

He turned away from you, but you kept ahold of his arm, gently pulling him back towards you. "Will…”

You were much closer to him than you had intended to be. You couldn’t help but glance at his lips. He didn’t pull away, and slowly, you leaned closer.

His eyes fell to the ground. He moved his hands to your arms, keeping you back. “Y/N.” His voice was barely a whisper. It was the first time he’d used your first name. “We can’t. I’m a blacksmith.” He looked at you apologetically.

"I’m sorry.“ You were appalled. You hadn’t meant to do anything, and now he knew how you felt. He hadn’t been thinking of you after all. You meant to pull back from him, but his hands on your arms kept you in place.

"It’s not that I don’t want it,” he breathed. “I-I’ve fancied you since we were children. But…”

His words came as a shock. “You have?”

"I thought you wouldn’t feel the same way.“

"I do.” Saying it made it feel more real, somehow.

"Yet we can’t be together.“

You cupped his cheek with a hand. "We can. It’s not like I come from an immensely wealthy family. I’m not Elizabeth. I’m an orphan, just like you, and I’ll hardly come into anything at all.”

"All the more reason for you to be with someone else. You need someone who can take care of you. Someone who can keep you comfortable.“

You laughed. "I would rather be happy than comfortable. Besides, didn’t I play in the dirt with you as a child? Did I ever balk at how you lived?” You brought your other hand up to his face. “Will, you were never any less than anyone else. You aren’t less than anyone else. Not to me.”

"Y/N…" Will leaned closer to you, closing the gap between you. Gently, he pressed his lips to yours, and you dug the fingers of one hand into his hair. The other you kept on his cheek.

He broke away, only to kiss you again a moment later. It was slow and careful, and you wouldn’t have asked for anything else. How many times had you pictured the moment in your head? And yet it was better than anything you could’ve thought up.

You stood with bodies close, eyes closed, basking in the feel of one another.

The basket of irons was duly forgotten.

#potc #drabble #writing #fanfic #pirates #pirate #pirates of the caribbean #william turner #will turner #request

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kalliejupiter · 6 years ago

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Some LEWKS from fashion illustration, or rather a fall capsule collection that I would wear myself if I were an intergalactic space provocateur (thus the inclusion of pants and a sensible heel). My partner and I debated the practicality of a drop-crotch pant I. The cockpit of a spacecraft—I and my instructor agree that the drop-crotch is totally fine, and fabulous. Besides, I’m not taking design advice from a guy who still dresses like he’s in junior high (JK, I ❤️ my partner). I tend to write long posts, and I like talking about and documenting ideation. So, I headlined each segment for easier navigation. Just some details on concepts, design process, and such. I will post more sketches, line drawings, fabric swatches, and maybe color comps later. The Assignment: Create a ten piece collection. Decide the season, demographic, include at least five different types of garments (trousers, dresses, at least one coat, etc. I also had to draw out the flats and include swatches and stuff. In the end I had to edit down from at least 20 initial sketches. Designing wearable sci-fi LEWKS comes easy to me, but self-editing does not. Take note toxic masculinity in geek culture, a girl can still be sexy in pants and a sensible heel and drawing something from the female gaze doesn’t mean a dude can’t appreciate it... I used my sensibilities as a starting point—although, in the end the collection skews a little younger than my demographic (I can get away with it as a woman of color because a WOC could be anywhere between the ages of 25 and 45 without a stranger being able to tell the difference. I’m still a little punk rock at my age, but if I had more time, I would create a companion collection that’s a little more stately and tailored for a more professional lady in my demographic (while maintaining the visual cohesion with the collection I eventually made). The instructor initially thought I was joking, because I actually submitted a market plan that said my target demographic was an intergalactic space nomad, political double-agent, listed the median income in space credits, and made several references to lasers and cyborgs. Spoiler alert, I got an ‘A’ on the final. I prefer fall to any other season, so too is my collection for fall. Fall, as a whole, has a wide range of potential garments, mostly because fall weather is so drastically varied (in spite of this, it is usually the BEST weather of any given place, IMHO). I also like fall color palettes best (as a suburban teen I spent my adolescence wearing all black, listening to Morresey, and writing really terrible poetry, like every other suburbanite teenager). Dark colors are slimming and hide a myriad of sins, accidents, and the bloodstains of your slain enemies. I wanted to include both a short and long coat/jacket, day wear, one formal piece, a jumpsuit of some kind, a mini and maxi silhouette, a work outfit, something to work as loungewear, something to work as activewear, and something that would look cool on a robot. I also wanted to strike a balance between bodycon silhouettes and easy to wear volume—which is probably why the collection ballooned into something as large as this one did—there were so many variations of single pieces that it was hard to choose which of them to include. The piece variations themselves were compelling on their own and also in comparison to its counterpart that it became more interesting to present looks as side-by-side options. Each look was multilayered, highly detailed, and designed to be physically adaptable/changeable anyway, so assigning a single croquis to a look seemed like a wasted opportunity. References and Ideation: I got the ideas for the collection from real life. One of the weird things I picked up from the military was from Basic, and it’s the idea that you are issued all of these pieces with utilitarian properties at first that encapsulates everything you’d ever need, apparel-wise (from underwear to formal wear, and for all weather and situations) and all of it can fit in a single seabag. It was fun trying to imagine what shenanigans one could experience as an intergalactic scene-girl, and what kind of clothes she might want. The concept of a sea bag (or “space bag,” in this case) jives with the idea of a capsule collection (stylish staple pieces that can be worn over many seasons with smaller, less expensive pieces that can be altered or replaced by trendier items as the seasons progress). All the pieces can be mix-and-matched and are adaptable in many ways—there is something gender neutral about a lot of it (I wish I designed the bodysuits with more variation in the briefs: make some with compression shorts, leggings, and such—I didn’t really consider these separate LEWKS, per se, but layering pieces, because some part of my underpants are always showing under my garments, and if you are going to have exposed bra straps, make it look like you did it on purpose). Also, the tailored structure and details of military clothing are really are really cool design elements to explore. I also used Middle Eastern references to balance out the designs—mostly because I thought it would be thematically appropriate/ironic to combine the two style sensibilities (non-Western cultures have so many more interesting silhouettes in any case—it might be appropriation, but in the neutral sense of the term). The concept of armor and utility informs every piece. Those concepts also the reason I referenced (or resurrected) less common clothing items and styles. For example, the quilted leather snood, a pleated leather bolero, spats over the boots, and a molded, hooded, cuirass (leather is a good material, it adapts to the wearer like a second skin and because of that, the material plays into the theme of personalizing a basic uniform to make it one’s own—90% of the swatches for the collection are organic or natural fibers because I would think the artificial environments and materials of space might make one long for something more “natural,” especially with something as intimate as the clothing that separates a persons skin from everything else. It’s also luxe and sometime more durable). Aesthetically, details like cording, high waisted pants, draped tops, high necklines, and asymmetrical hemlines reoccur as a design through line in the collection. Utilitarian features, like zippers and velcro closures, do double duty as both functional and aesthetic elements. A practical zipper on a detachable long sleeve becomes the decorative beam on the short sleeved version. Velcro tans on an exaggerated drop-crotch pant transform the garment from a maxi silhouette into short and leggings combo. I admit, this comes from my unironic love of those weird convertible bridesmaids dresses that people always end up lazily tying around their neck. Look Details (the Coverall): That’s why there is a “fashion coverall” in this collection—I know from experience that those are the comfiest work pajamas, ever, and even though this collection is supposed to exist a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I did want to reference some contemporary trends and needed a non-catsuit jumpsuit, and tailored coveralls seem very classic in a way that could be stylish beyond the current moment. I wanted to use design to solve actual practical problems. For example, instead of the traditional buttoned cuffs and collar, I chose to use a ribbed knit on both the neck and 3/4 sleeves. It is more comfortable and easy to wear, works just as well in a hot engineering space or in the colder climate controlled server spaces and Officer decks of a ship, and prevents the clothing from getting caught on equipment and becoming a liability on trouble calls or planet-side laser melee. The knees have built-in padding, and Velcro patch details, so our girl can switch allegiances fairly easily. The only thing is the lack of pockets. A cargo short is an amazing idea. In the abstract. I have never seen one in public that did not look like an Eldrich Abomination. If someone needs to Cary so much stuff in their pockets that their pants look like they are hiding the legs of Yogsheggoth, perhaps it’s time to consider carrying a bag. I’m looking at you, Dudes. Also, the belts and harnesses of the collection were designed with detachable pockets and specialized equipment in mind. I kind of wish I designed the piece with a jodhpur or cigarette leg silhouette instead of a boot cut. Both the jodhpurs and cigarette leg would have been more interesting, especially if I had also designed a short, romper version of the piece. Final Thoughts (for now...): I don’t expect anyone to have read all the way through this, and if you have, thanks! Feel free to contact me with any questions, requests, random musings, like, share and follow. I’ll try to be less wordy in the future. A Word of Thanks to the Fashion Illustration Class: I really enjoyed that class. Everyone of my classmates had different skills, experience, and came from a lot of different disciplines (for example, I make comics and work in advertising, some were animators, some fashion students, and one was an editorial photographer who didn’t draw well in the conventional sense of it, but drew croquis that had the character of a Mondiglioni and could convey not only the sense of the garments, but the personality of the girl who wore them). We talked about everything, asked a lot of good questions, and hyped each other up for fashion in general. I will say that out of the many years of studying various art disciplines in various classrooms and open critiques, this was the first time I experienced colleagues as open and giving as these classmates were. I’m used to a lot of pushback and blank stares during critiques (especially when I give them—I obviously talk a lot, and connect ideas to a lot of obscure references—“consider the jodhpurs,” “you seem really into minimal geometric patterning—write down ‘Ainu’ and look up their textiles and mouth tattoos,” “there is something very vaporwave about this non-binary collection, I see a lot of pastels and navy,” “I know exactly who the girl is that wears this collection—she converted an Arizona ranch into a minimal art gallery in the middle of nowhere, collects antiques from the late 1950’s and Kieth Harring prints, and makes excellent margheritas...”—and then they would use my suggestions by the next critique! WHAT!!?!), but people really listened and we all tried to understand each others point of view and encourage one another. I loved that class.

#character design #scifi #comicart #concept art #fashion design

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jeremystrele · 4 years ago

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This Brand New Home Looks Like A 100-Year-Old Greek Villa… In Northern NSW!

Homes

by Lucy Feagins, Editor

Turkish butchers table from Fossil Vintage. Handmade, glazed Moroccan tiles from Jatana Interiors. An old armoire is used as the pantry. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

‘Our clever carpenter built the recycled timber drawers with black iron The Society Inc drawer pulls, making the kitchen drawers look like another piece of antique furniture,’ says Anna. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Anna in the kitchen! Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

A cosy lounge room corner, used year-round. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Vintage print from a local Brunswick shop. Lamp from The New Collector. Matte black ceramic balloon vase made by Anna’s friend and artist Romy Bennie. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Dark, reclaimed, rough, hardwood beams line the lounge room ceiling. Deep window sills and old casement windows reflect the simple architecture of old Greek Island homes. Tigmi Trading rug. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

The old piano has been passed down through Anna’s family and is still in daily use. Paris-inspired iron and glass skylight above. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Pressed metal ceiling from Clem’s Cargo. Old pine floors and a wonderful set of French doors lead into the main bedroom. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

‘An old tub, fancy chandelier, garage sale mirror, French doors, and white painted floors make the bathroom a favourite,’ says Anna. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

French schoolhouse lamp. Artwork by Annan’s old friend – Blue Mountains artist Andrew Ireland. Old rug found by a friend in a skip outside the Turkish consulate’s office in Sydney many moons ago! Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

‘The Baltic pine floorboards creak loudly as you walk, making the bedroom feel and sound like the olden days,’ says Anna. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

An old brass milk separator from Heath’s Old Wares serves as the bedside lamp shade. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

An arch-shaped, glass-less window looks out from the main bedroom to a mirrored arch opposite, casting an arched-shaped sunlight patch on the lounge room below in the late afternoon. Vintage rose painting from Re Sould in Brunswick Heads. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

More treasures in another bedroom. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Outside roof terrace with Jatana Interiors tiles, iron and glass greenhouse-style skylight, and old weatherboard laundry. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Our shady courtyard with a French limestone fountain from Elements I Love, and old timber French doors create a lovely flow from inside to out. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Old bifold Queenslander windows open to the outdoor entertaining area. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Eucalyptus poles create dappled light and shade on the outdoor marble table by the pool for year-round alfresco dining and living. Reclaimed unfinished fascia boards make for a great rustic deck. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Limestone crazy paving around the old poinciana tree. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Andrew and Anna! ‘Our favourite green shutters found years ago in a local antique shop have featured in all our houses over the past 20 years and look perfect facing the lane and make grand statement at the front of the house,’ says Anna. Photo – Jessie Prince for The Design Files. Styling by Louella Boîtel-Gill.

Andrew and Anna Swain bought an old weatherboard Queenslander in Brunswick Heads (about 15 minutes north of Byron Bay) three years ago, with plans to build a new house in the backyard.

The couple and their children chose a spot among the site’s beautiful, old trees, and set out to fulfill a specific vision. ‘We had dreamed of building a new home which was like a 100-year-old Greek villa,’ says Anna.

It is incredibly difficult to build a new house that appears legitimately old, but Anna and Andrew have achieved the near impossible. Their secret – using almost entirely recycled materials, and cutting zero corners. It also helps that Andrew is a builder!

One of the project’s biggest wins came when finding 18 sets of matching Greek-esque windows in two different salvage yards within 15 kilometres.

Other reclaimed materials incorporated into the build were old timber ceiling beams, and reclaimed Baltic pine boards for the floors, complemented by antique tiles from Jatana Interiors, and limestone crazy paving outdoors. ‘We encouraged unevenness and unfinished timbers to add to the old soul look of the new house, much to the frustration of our usually meticulous building team!’ says Anna.

The furniture and decor have similarly been sourced from far and wide, including a rug found by a friend in a skip outside the Turkish consulate office in Sydney many moons ago!

A textured lime render was also applied to the walls, omitting a natural glow throughout the day. ‘We built double, thick block walls to create deep window sills to mimic a true European feel,’ Anna says.

The family have nicknamed the property ‘Hydra’ after their favourite Greek Island, where the property would truly look at home.

It’s only February, but we have a feeling this might be one of our favourite homes of 2021!

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fluoride-blogger · 5 years ago

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3 Reasons Your Stamped Concrete Patio Lee Nh Is Broken (And How To Fix It)

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thelonelyandwise · 5 years ago

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ajoraverse · 7 years ago

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Fragment of a thing I’m writing. Beta AU. Sort of a prequel to Implantation.

The first time Peridot Facet-1F2 Cut-2AA had been invited to Star Sapphire's quarters in the upper crust sectors of Homeworld, she had been duly impressed. Perhaps a little awed. She was, after all, a slightly off-color colonial who compensated for her flaws well enough to avoid being harvested. The best most peridots could hope for was to do maintenance in these sectors. Peridot was fortunate to be apprenticed to one of White Diamond's oldest, most well-established Kindergarteners. In turn, she tried to ignore all the little signs suggesting that Peridot Facet-2W3 Cut-4DF was drifting away: the way Peridot 4DF focused on her during her training but blanked out when she was unoccupied, how troubled Peridot 4DF looked over some new edict from the Diamonds and the warning she gave her to look between the lines of what the grandidierites reported, how the bulk of the training was less about Kindergartening and more about learning the value of other kinds of information, how much value she put in developing connections with other gems and getting them to owe her favors. Before Peridot 4DF disappeared, the apprentice was fully groomed to take her place and was introduced to all of those contacts and hidden places no proper gem should know about. Star Sapphire was one of those contacts.

Forty-six thousand years ago, Peridot was properly behaved and impressed by Star Sapphire's rank and excess. Now she was well aware that star sapphires weren't as revered as the high-clarity ones, and that this part of the upper crust sectors was not as fancy as the better sectors. Though clean and well-maintained, this sector hosted evidence of hundreds of thousands of years of wear. The walls and edges of decorative elements were worn smooth, once-bright colors faded to pale hints against the base layers of material, and nearly imperceptible cracks at the feet of buildings could be seen if one stared at a patch of off-color paint wash long enough. Walkways were polished by millennia of use, resurfaced, polished again, and so on until observant gems looking down were able to see through the layers upon layers of walking surfaces were worn and polished into thin sheets of glass that glittered when the light was just right.

Star Sapphire herself was as much a relic as her sector. At nearly eight hundred thousand years old, she was probably the oldest sapphire still sane and in touch with the real world. Perhaps the asterism in her gem kept her grounded when higher-clarity sapphires would have frozen over and gotten lost in their own worlds entirely. Perhaps she was simply too stubborn to get lost in her visions. Regardless, Star Sapphire was helpful when Peridot needed guidance on a decision. She was even pleasant company sometimes. That the number of older gems Peridot could connect with was slowly diminishing was beside the point.

Peridot arrived at last to the apartment and was let in by Star Sapphire's dark blue pearl. The pearl stood aside as she entered and didn't react to Peridot's greeting. Peridot wondered at times if ignoring everyone but their owners was just a thing pearls did, like the way quartzes suddenly straightened when one pitched their voices just right. Not that it mattered, for Peridot certainly wasn't ranked high enough to encounter pearls often.

She strode through the short entrance corridor to the visiting room, where Star Sapphire sat on a couch with her preferred vice in hand. The deceptively plain metal box's lid was closed and locked, and Peridot relaxed upon noticing it sealed tight. Peridot had no idea when Star Sapphire started with her vice; she only knew that the extensive, self-induced exposure to low levels of radiation was slowly taking its toll on the sapphire. Once the sapphire might have been of a darker, richer hue. Now she was as pale as a blue-phase celestine and seemed to fade into the care-worn fabric of her sofa. Everything in and about the apartment was faded and worn, as if she had stepped into an image stored on a decaying data crystal.

"My apologies for arriving later than you requested," Peridot began with proper deportment. "The line at the Galaxy Warp was longer than usual."

Star Sapphire gave that mysterious smile of hers, the slight hint of one around the eye that suggested that she could see right into one's gem. "No matter. Please, sit. Has there been anything exciting going on with the colonial expedition?"

Though Peridot suspected that Star Sapphire knew just about everything regarding the new colony, she settled on the other end of the couch and proceeded. While Peridot had yet to visit, she was already assigned to work with an emerald she knew from another colonizing project. The geological surveys were just coming in, and so far they looked promising. It was the densest planet in its system, with a respectable iron core, plate tectonics which provided favorable conditions for the cultivation of high-ranking gems, more than enough water for terraforming, and enough silica to produce entire armies of quartzes. The only problem, as far as she could tell, was the dominant species. They were unlikely to be a problem for long.

At some point during the telling, Star Sapphire handed her the heavy box that shielded her from the uranium within it. The small, cold hand brushed over hers in the process. It was a deliberate act; Star Sapphire needed physical contact for most of her visions. Peridot handled the box gingerly, once again thankful it was securely closed. Sharing it was a polite gesture, but Peridot knew what radiation could do to gems and valued her own too much to ever want to indulge in self-induced exposure.

"Blue Diamond has gifts for you," Star Sapphire said suddenly, and the subtle smile expanded into a toothy grin. It was disconcerting. "A pearl, and presumably somewhere to keep it."

The universe stopped. Or so it felt. The words tumbled out of Peridot's mouth before she could think to restrain them. "But I don't want a pearl."

It wasn't because she resented them. If anything, she felt sorry for them. They were only the fragments of gems made whole by biological processes, cursed to a life of service. Grotesque creatures built and polished into dolls for the elite. How much could a gem shard know or even understand, even with nacre layers filling in for their missing pieces? She still remembered that silent, unresponsive lavender pearl left to rot in Albite's warehouse. Her current fling, Iolite, talked about wanting one with that unpleasant gleam in her eyes some gems got when they were too greedy. She would have to break things off with Iolite if she was going to have a pearl. This would be a disaster.

(tbc, obviously)

#SU: Beta AU

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nightinngales · 7 years ago

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okay so i’ve actually gotten a couple of requests to do like a masterlist of the skyrim mods i use/would recommend for people new to the modding game, so that’s what this is. this is essentially going to be a list of the mods i personally use and is not meant to be like the be-all end-all of mod recs. i play a load order that prioritizes graphics improvements and immersion. if that’s not your thing this will be pretty useless to you. Note: this is for skyrim classic. some of these mods have been ported over to SE but not all of them.

[now under a cut because it’s getting long]

Requirements/Utilities:

SKSE

SkyUI

USLEEP (or the Unofficial Patches for whichever DLCs you own + the base game. USLEEP is for Legendary edition)

Tools: ModOrganizer, LOOT, TES5Edit

*these utilities are needed to basically run everything on this list. if you plan on installing any of the recommended mods, make sure to check the requirements.

Looking for a certain type of mod? Use Ctrl + F to search for the following categories:

Textures/Graphics

Character

Immersion

Armor/Weapons

Gameplay

New Lands/Quests

Note: All of the mods listed in this write-up will be compatible with every other mod on this list unless otherwise noted. Pay attention to the markups next to mod names for special requirements and/or considerations when installing.

[TEXTURES/GRAPHICS] mods within this category are mostly standalone texture mods that may or may not have an esp. take note of your system specs and what your rig can handle before installing, as installing improved textures will put a greater strain on your system.

Verdant - a Skyrim Grass Plugin: increases the amount and variance of skyrim’s grass. Pfuscher’s Parallax: adds parallax textures to the game. 2k/4k aMidianBorn Collection: will edit everything from houses to armor if you’re installing all the packages. it’s a pure texture replacement however and won’t add a plugin to your load order. Real Roads Real Ice Realistic HD Collection (there’s like 5-6 texture packages for this but its mostly miscellaneous items) Static Mesh Improvement Mod (SMIM) Ruins & Clutter Improved 2 Skysight - Simply Bigger Trees Ultimate HD Fire Effects Better embers PELTAPALOOZA Vivid Landscapes - All In One Realistic Water Two Alternative Snow Immersive Fallen Trees HD Ore and Ingots HD Teeth HQ Paper

ENB Boost & Crash fixes are highly recommended to allow your system to run higher graphics without crashing constantly from running out of available memory. note: some mods on this list will recommend you to download a memory patch--this is obsolete as it is now included within SKSE.

[CHARACTER] mods in this category make edits to characters - appearance, dialogue, companions, etc. almost all of these will include an esp. > mods marked with an asterisk (*) are mods i am not CURRENTLY using in my load order, but have used before without issues. asterisked mods may not be compatible with other mods on this list, and you will need to check compatibility within your load order to ensure it will work properly. i will make notes about compatibility if i happen to remember. > mods marked with (N) are NSFW, but can be found on the nexus. > mods marked with (N+) are NSFW and are not available on the nexus, must be downloaded elsewhere. (@ LoversLab) > mods marked with (O) may require manual adjustments to load order outside of LOOT due to editing the same values as another mod on the list, but are compatible. > mods marked with (L) are Large mods, meaning the download is going to be massive (think gbs rather than mbs.) will take a while to download and setup depending on your internet speed.

(APPEARANCE/CHARACTER CREATION)

Enhanced Character Edit(*)/RaceMenu: these are both popular options for overhauling the character creation menu. either one is fine and really is a matter of preference. adds a huge amount of options for customization. (pictured above: racemenu) CBBE(*)/UNP(N): these are nude models for female characters. both are compatible with almost every armor mod out there, though some may require patches. matter of preference. Better male nudes(N): again, just a nude character model. basically it adds dicks to the characters so that they actually have a nude model when you snatch their armor. pretty useless unless you care about naked characters not running around in dirty loincloths. has options for build like slender/muscular etc. SOS (Schlongs of Skyrim)(*/N+): pretty unnecessary but adds variation to dicks. BUT it does support transgender options for the UNP female skeleton. so i thought it was worth including for those who might be interested in that sort of thing. SG Renewal: texture replacement for female bodies. relies on a particular file from ECE. check the mod description for details on how to set this up if using with RaceMenu. (it’s very simple, don’t worry.) True Eyes: adds new eye textures. True Brows: adds new eyebrow textures, mostly female. No More Blocky Faces: self explanatory Apachi SkyHair(*): adds a bunch of hair options, mostly female. KS Hairdos(*): more hair, mostly female KS Hairdos + HDT physics: the same as KS Hairdos, except some of them will have physics attached (aka your hair will move with movement.) Female Facial Animation BVFE Serana & Family: appearance replacers for Serana, Valerica, and Harkon. also includes standalone options. Bijin Wives/NPCs/Warmaidens (or Bijin AIO): replacers for various npcs such as delphine, hulda, aela, etc. keep in mind this is NOT compatible with any mod that edits the same NPCs. Brothers(*): replacers for vilkas and farkas. i don’t currently use it but they cute tho. AelaSylvanMK(*): actually my favorite aela replacer but i switched to bijin recently. not compatible with the bijin AIO or the specific bijin module that edits aela. (i think warmaidens? i’m not 100% sure on this - check to be certain)

(ADDITIONAL NPCs/NPC BEHAVIOR)

Inigo: new companion who can be recruited from the riften jail. he’s a must have for me, has a pretty amazing voice actor, and will comment on your travels and actions. his AI can also be managed as far as how you want him to approach combat. Serana Dialogue Edit(O): restores some of serana’s dialogue that was cut from the final version of the vanilla game. Guard Dialogue Overhaul(O): makes the guards treat you realistically. they won’t automatically respect you, especially if you’re playing with an alternate start mod. Relationship Dialogue Overhaul(O): sort of the same thing as GDO, but edits other npc dialogue. npcs will treat you according to your relationship rank. 3DNPC(L) Inconsequential NPCs(L) Immersive Citizens - AI Overhaul Player Size Adjuster: unnecessary fluff, but it allows you to edit your characters height and movement speed. also allows editing height of vampire lord/werewolf forms. cool for roleplay. Height Adjusted Races (with True Giants & Mammoths): there are a couple of different modules for this, i use true giants/mammoths. edits the height of various races in the game for more variation with npcs. if you use the TG&M edition, giants and mammoths will be, well, fucking giant. Player Voicesets: adds voicelines to your character. there’s a few different options but essentially it adds npc lines to your character based on whats available that randomly trigger upon entering battle, finding treasure, or spotting a cave etc. Marriable Serana(O): lets you marry serana. obviously. fluff mod.

Honorable Mention - Vilja: this is a new companion that is very popular on the nexus, however i’ve personally never used her. fully voice acted. i can’t guarantee she will be compatible but you might want to check her out.

[IMMERSION] mods in this category are geared towards making skyrim a more immersive, “realistic” experience. some of these will introduce new gameplay mechanics that may not be for everyone. your mileage may vary. > mods marked with (S) are script heavy mods and will put extra strain on your system. take care for how many script heavy mods you install, as too many will introduce script lag. > mods marked with (D) may be dependent on another mod in order to function properly. dependencies will be clearly marked. > mods marked with (P) may require patches, either included in the installation, or found in a separate download, in order to work properly with other mods on this list.

Frostfall(S/D): honestly, frostfall deserves its own writeup post that i might actually make later on, but the gist of it is that frostfall makes the weather of skyrim matter. the cold climate of skyrim will be just as dangerous as any enemy you may encounter. exposure to the elements may result in frostbite, penalties, and even death (the death option can be toggled & replaced by npc rescue). frostfall is dependent upon Campfire. both most be installed in order for frostfall to work. (frostfall has its own website here that does a better job at explaining its core mechanics.)

Campfire: can be used as an independent mod - frostfall depends on campfire, but campfire itself can be used standalone. allows you to build campsites and campfires, put up tents, etc. probably not a mod you’d need to use without frostfall. (pictured above: campfire; you can see the frostfall atmosphere meter on the upper right--my character is a bit chilly)

Tentapalooza for Campfire: adds more tents to campfire crafting etc.

Hunterborn(S/P): adds realistic hunting options to the game ex: you’ll have to skin and quarter animal carcasses etc. may require patches to work with other mods in this list. (pictured above: the processing menu that hunterborn adds to animal corpses)

Holidays(P): adds lore holidays to the game that have attached events and decorations around the different settlements. requires a patch to work with mods that edit cities. (pictured above: rorikstead with an “active” holiday event, the town will have lanterns and such around the holidays. this is the expanded towns and cities version.)

Take Notes: provides you with an in-game journal to record your adventures. Time Flies: makes actions take a realistic amount of time. Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed Dead Body Collision Realistic Animation Project - Idles Bathing in Skyrim(S): i’ve heard of some people having occasional ctds with this, so install at your own risk. i personally use it because it adds dirt textures to your character that makes you get dirty, and haven’t had any major issues with it. Showers in Inns: only really useful for bathing in skyrim, adds a bathhouse to inns. Touring Carriages(S*): allows you to actually ride the carriages rather than just the fade to black. it can be a bit wonky physics wise sometimes. i only uninstalled it cause i needed to shave a few esps off my LO. never had any issues. Wearable Lanterns: adds equippable lanterns. almost a necessity with mods that change lighting so that nights are darker, such as climates of tamriel. Drop Lit Torches: torches that are dropped remain lit. very useful for lighting mods that change interiors - caves can be incredibly dark with some of the lighting mods. Wet & Cold: adds drip shaders and fogged breaths. works seamlessly with frostfall. i’ve heard this can be harder on lower end pcs, but even on my former pc i never had an issue running it. Animations(S/D): adds animations to normal actions such as harvesting, lockpicking, etc. if running alongside hunterborn, disable the looting animation via the MCM as hunterborn messes with the looting on animal corpses. these animations are tied to scripts, however, which execute upon activation of an enabled action. can strain your engine if you’re on a lower end pc. iHUD: allows you to disable certain elements of the hud such as the crosshair or compass. recommended alongside immersive first person. Immersive First Person View: gives you a visible body while in first person. WILL change the way aiming works in the game and makes combat harder (especially melee), so ymmv. is a dependency for one of the combat overhauls (Archery Gameplay). Go to Bed: your character actually climbs into bed instead of just the menu pop up. Footprints(S): your character and npcs and animals will leave footprints. the script is constantly running so it will put extra strain on your system. i would go without this if you’re running a lower end pc. FNIS Behavior: basically any mod that adds animations will require this as a dependency. this is more of a tool than a mod, and has an application that must be run every time you install or uninstall animations from the game. fairly easy to use. also a dependency for some gameplay overhauls that edit combat. Hearthcraft: allows you to basically build just about anything you want, building wise. you can build your own damn farmstead in the boonies if you want to. requires hearthfire dlc iirc, but check the mod page to be certain. iNeed/Realistic Needs and Diseases(P/*): both of these mods add a survivalism mechanic to the game that requires your character to eat, sleep, and drink in order to survive. RND is sort of the “legacy” edition, it’s older and more involved, but also a heavier load and requires patches. iNeed will work out of the box with just about any mod under the sun and is designed to be lightweight. i’ve used both and prefer iNeed, but its up to you. Last Seed(*): this is a needs mod by Chesko, the author of frostfall. it is still unfinished and in early alpha, with only the eating mechanic applied just yet. i’ve given it a try and loved the system, but ultimately missed managing drink/sleep so i decided to wait until the full release. Religion - Prayer and Worship: adds religion and worship into the game. you can incur favors and even curses from the gods and daedric lords depending on your actions, pray at shrines, and meditate. i thought it was cool on a roleplay level, but this is fairly new in my LO so i can’t say i have extensive experience with it yet. Simple Actions: adds a book of spells to riverwood inn that allows you to activate a power to use simple actions such as laying down or sitting in places you otherwise wouldn’t be able to. imo a must have in a survivalist run when you start out without a bedroll so that you can sleep without a tent. Skyrim Unbound/Alternate Start - Live Another Life(*): both of these are alternate start mods, allowing you to skip the intro in helgen. alternate start has more modules to work alongside other mods (such as death alternative), but i’ve personally experienced issues with it in my current load order, probably due to the mod Go to Bed. if using ASLAL, disable go to bed until after you’ve started your game. Skyrim Unbound is configurable through the MCM and just easier to navigate with more specific options imo, so i prefer SU. Immersive Patrols: adds patrols to the roads, so you’ll see dawnguard, stormcloaks, imperials etc. you’ll also see battles. can put a load on your engine due to loading in large battles sometimes so be wary. even with my system i have occasional ctds with this when i load into an area with a largescale battle going on, but i’ve honestly forgotten what skyrim looks like without this mod installed and wouldn’t go without it.

[ARMOR/WEAPONS] [WEATHER/LIGHTING] [GAMEPLAY/COMBAT] [NEW LANDS/QUESTS]

*i’ll also eventually add links to the nexus for each of these mods but i want to get it all written up first.

#screenshots are using mods from this list + the NLVA enb #skyrim mod recs #my modlist #this is gonna take a while i have like 180 mods ajkdfhkjh #long post

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