Latest Posts by killfalcon - Page 3

Last pantheon I made up for a game, I just said "screw it" and made said Gremlin one of the Creator Gods. "This is [Space], who gives things a place to happen, [Time], who permits things to change, and this is [Chaos] who makes sure it isn't boring." Dozens of lesser divinities of course, but the Three are a statuesque angel with clock for a halo, a star-filled void with a nebula for a heart, and a giggling rodent who treats the world as her personal AO3.

I think what I love most about mythology is that the “Trickster God/Spirit” is an archetypical character found in almost every body of folklore. It’s like “Oh, here’s our God of the Sun, our God of the Sea, our God of Fertility, and our God of Being A Wretched Little Gremlin Who Causes Problems On Purpose”

I'm particularly fond of Microsoft's implementation for Windows. It feels like the conversation went "It's super easy to unlock a phone, people are happy with that level of security, we should offer it" "Great idea. We'll let people have 4-digit pins" home market: "yay, this is so much easier than remembering a whole word" corporate market: "WHAT THE FUCK NO THAT'S ILLEGAL MAKE IT LONG AGAIN" And now I have a 17-digit 'pin' with special characters and mixed cases.

weirdest cybersecurity trend of the decade has to be the idea that a "PIN" is meaningfully distinct from a "password"

No, I am not 'hoarding craft supplies.' I am sourcing materials for a very big project that will be revealed to me at a later date- perhaps in a dream.

I've always loved how she gets a boss theme [Alert Sign, IIRC] when she does her transformation sequence. Just needs a giant health bar and "Kuroyukihime, Queen of Blades" on the screen to complete the thing.

public service announcement: kuroyukihime is incredibly cool

that is all

honestly it could go either way

(might be posting that fic soon btw 👀)

something mysterious has appeared

As promised here the additions for the first part of Sandra Branderson's Way of Kings (Part 1 ... yes, why only make one if you can split them, does the full hardcover copy of Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings fit into this jacket, yes... it only shows how PROLIFIC Sandra is. All that slow burn takes up space.)  As with the other covers, the amazing text (and that first ID) is written and put into layout by the wonderful @priscellie

💙💜 on the back of the cover 💜💙 

“I’d decided I couldn’t do it, but you convinced me that truth was not as simple as I thought it. You’ve opened a box full of storms in me. I made a mistake. I’ll make more. I need you.” Jasnah took a deep breath. “Sit down.” Shallan sat.

In the cavernous halls of the Kharbranth Palaneum, where ancient secrets lie hidden among the dusty tomes, young and fiery Shallan Davar seeks more than just knowledge. Drawn by desperation to protect her crumbling house, Shallan sets her sights on the enigmatic Jasnah Kholin, sister to the king, renowned for her scholarship and infamous for her heresy and icy demeanor.

Amid sharp debates and lessons in philosophy, sparks fly in the most unexpected of ways. As the two women navigate the shadows of trust and betrayal, secrets of both heart and history are uncovered.

(Also, a bunch of sweaty, desperate, shirtless men learn how to use their spears, if you know what I mean.).

“Smart, seductive, and utterly spellbinding. Sandra Branderson’s novels are the stuff of legend!” Jordanne Roberts 

💙💜 Praise for Sandra 💜💙

“Nobody writes romance like Sandra!” Dana G. Abbledon

“In Elantris, Branderson has crafted a lush tapestry of passion, power, and romance that burns brighter than any aon.” Booklist

“Isn’t Warbreaker already a romance novel?” Some Dude on Reddit

“I have already bought 631 copies of this book based on the cover alone.” Argent

“Sandra Branderson writes all the steamy romances that Brandon can only allude to.” - io9

“ANOTHER one? Already?” Martina George

“Sandra Branderson must be stopped.” Patricia Rothfaux

“It’s possible to take a joke too far.” Neither of these collaborators at any stage of this project.

idk i dont mean this with as much derision as might bleed out but it is exceedingly clear that some of you were never considered retard-faggots as a child and therefore never subject to the subsequent torments Pure Children would subject Retard-Faggot Children to.

[* the use of these slurs is not reclamatory but is also not pejorative. the use of these slurs is academic, technical, and descriptive.]

Once, there was a Japanese monk who had a little personal superstition.

Every time he travelled to a new location, he’d find some wood that grew there and make it into a staff to defend himself from any bandits or ne'er-do-wells who attacked him.

He was convinced that the staff, being more in tune with his surroundings, would serve him better in a fight. One day, he explained this to a scholarly friend, who decided to do some investigating.

The scholar started swapping the monk’s staves while he was asleep. Some days, the monk would be using a staff he thought was from where he was, but wasn’t; some days he’d believe it was from elsewhere, when in fact it was the correct staff for where he was; and some days belief and truth would match.

Interestingly, the scholar discovered that it was the monk's belief that mattered - whichever staff he was using, if he thought it matched his surroundings he’d do a little better, and if he thought it didn’t he’d do a little worse.

Of course, since then there have been many more rigorous studies, but that scholar’s treatise remains one of the most important works in shaping human understanding of the place-bo effect.

Prev has the right of it - the Exorcist is such a beautiful kit. But, don't worry, if you don't want to use it for your turbo-catholic graven-image-armoured fanatics, other flavours of villain are available! I went with the classic "mad scientist playing his organ for the boss fight" variant.

Red gloved hands for no symbolism, robotic tendrils for playing unholy chords. I added some skulls and candles, but mostly the Exorcist is already This Extra. Reliquaries line the flanks. Filigree twirls in any unattended corners. Rocket launch vents sit below ancient oak-panelling. The organist's pit is ringed by a rail many of us will recognise from church altars.

I also added a little dude wired into in the back to tend the flowers and pump the bellows.

The centerpiece of the Choir of St Barbara's, christened "Gallatea."

I reckon the name's accurate: if you haven't fallen in love with this beast by halfway in, you're wasting your life. And oh, she is beautiful. The Exorcist was the highlight of the old range and this new one is a work of art.

There's so much going on here: the pipe organ, the rockets, so many icons, the keyboard, and even fresh-cut flowers on the altar. That tread with the rose and crossed swords? Only one on the whole vehicle.

I know the Brits get real touchy about Warhammer being THEIRS AND THEIRS ALONE, but the Battle Hymn of the Republic makes such a great anthem. It's an abolitionist creation, but you'll be hard pressed to find a holy war hymn that sounds better on the pipe organ. If we're driving a mobile pipe organ into battle(typically they are a part of the architecture), we're not taking half measures.

The box art is ridiculous. Why bury all those details in flat black?

I left off the cherubs and Holy Vuvuzela. I needed parts for my original Exorcist rebuild and brother, they were made to snap off in transit.

Look at this cockpit:

That keyboard! The hands in position to hit a chord! Who knows what those hatches in the deck are for?

I just want to point out another detail here: those roses below the icons. When 'Eavy Metal was putting this together for the box art, they painted over them to make them part of the bas relief. They are cowards and have undersold some details that serve the High Church/brutal war machine dichotomy that defines the Sisters.

Box art on the left, model in progress on the right.

I am dying on this hill and you can bury me with my loupes.

Happy ASAW 2024, here's something about community !

All my haters become aligators when I activate my gatorinator.

Art forgery is the best crime tbh. It requires absolutely incredible artistic talent, technical skill, and attention to detail to make convincing fakes. Does anyone get hurt from it? No! The only people who suffer for it are the extremely wealthy who want the prestige of having original paintings in their own homes. It’s full of international intrigue and mystery. Perfect.

"imagine them in their underwear" is weird sanitised advice for people who think the most debased thing someone can be is naked, but not so naked that they're morally discomforting. what you have to do, if you want stage presence, is imagine them as your soulless undead army

Welcome. Welcome to Tumblr.

You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining social networking websites. I thought so much of Tumblr that I elected to establish my Administration here, in the Citadel so thoughtfully provided by Our Benefactors. I have been proud to call Tumblr my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to Tumblr. It’s safer here.

I watched the entirety of the Hurt Locker in black-and-white because my PS3 had a dodgy connection to the monitor, and I thought it was just filmed that way.

With severance season 2 around the corner it’s time for me to share the time I accidentally watched 4 minutes of an episode on mute and thought it was a brilliant way to show the sensory deprivation experienced by the innies

look, it's easy, okay? High Fantasy has An Hero whose Destiny is Sword, and Low Fantasy has Some Schmoe whose Job is Sword.

One year I mentioned I needed a new hobby knife - you know, the cheap little scalpel things you use to get your space marines off the sprue. Over the next three years my gran got me increasingly elaborate sets. At one point I counted and found I had 104 blades, plus a half dozen handles they could fit on.

so i’m curious,

Clearing some backlog, a pair of Wardogs to round out my Dark Mechanicum crusade force. Build was nothing too involved - some random bits off Etsy for the bases, plus some extra cables and pipes on the main chassis, and obviously sculpting proper PPE for the vulture. Paint is almost entirely Contrast paints with some strategic use of washes.

I think my first fandom fandom exposure was arguably livejournal, but before that I was in a university RPG society, and before that I was making a weekly pilgrimage to Games Workshop to play games and talk about games, so I think "local club" is an honest answer, also this sentence is too long and must end soon.

Reblog and talk about your experience in the tags!

finally finished this painting i sketched out months ago… please click for better quality i know tumblr is gonna kill it (reference used)

Rean is both the most realistic and most absurd of the Trails protags.

He's got two different, unrelated, protagonist secret powers. He's got unexpected ancestry! He's one of less than a dozen people who know Eight Leaves sword tech! He's a champion snowboarder, excellent fisherman, and unbeatable at Magic:the Gathering! He is the Maryest Sue at the ball.

...and he is deeply, realistically, clinically, depressed. His primary drive to help people comes from not being he can, or even should, help himself. He has a breakdown any time he spends more than a day by himself, constantly needing to be thinking about other people - as the alternative, thinking about himself, is too. damn. much.

I like Rean. I really hope he learns to like himself better.

sidequests in most trails game: you are basically a do-gooder for hire. doing these requests is how you put bread on your table and how you move up in the world

sidequests in cold steel: the cute student council president asked you very nicely if you could help her with some stuff and you are incapable of saying no to anyone

To horribly over-simplify my current tabletop game, it's set in a single city, currently being taken over by a lawful-evil Wizard who has outmanuevered the lawful-good (but distant) monarch. The Wizard is evil because he wants total control over the lives of others. His DNA isn't relevant. One of the few remaining resistance groups are 'the goblins'. They're not all goblins. They don't resist because they have green skin. The farmer's union leaders were put on charges of treason, arrested and executed. The business leaders were bought off or threatened. the doctors have been "relocated for their safety" to a fortified 'hospital' that now functions to weed out undesirables if they come looking for help. The sewer worker's guilds were already underground. And that's where half the city's goblins (and about a tenth of the dwarves, and a bunch of others besides) were employed. Most of them were refugees or veterans from deep-wars to the west, took any jobs they could get, were comfortable underground, and familiar with the needs of functional sanitation in cave systems. So when the harvest riots ended in bloody repression, the goblins went underground, and started looking for the Wizard's secrets.

Putting all tabletop players into a college level ethics class and forcing them to turn in a paper on moral philosophy before buying a new book

I'm not a great painter, but I am easily pleased when a vague smear of paint starts to look like a mountainside below birds and flying golden serpents.

The main reason I have a tumblr is second-hand joy from other people's fixations.

You know when someone goes through your blog on a mass like-spree for a fandom? I love those like, 19 notifications in a row. it’s like “Ah, I see you’re well into a fixation. God bless.”

Only day you can reblog this

lahore pigeons are some of the most visually appealing birds out there. like in terms of visual design. very minimalist, good contrast.