#yuni rambles

[wistsandmagic]

Just got back from seeing Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy. SECOND standing ovation play this year, I am so incredibly pleased. Tumblr, this is your Dracula. If you can get hold of the script or watch a bootleg version of the play on youtube, barring being able to actually go SEE it, I do highly recommend.

TUMBLR. THIS IS YOUR DRACULA.

[wistsandmagic]

More personal Eterna AU notes! Partially for my writing reference, partially for my DRAWING reference, if I ever manage to get the layer drawing done and not just thought out.

Empurata Shockwave's Layered Armour, or: Being Made Into A Living Weapon By Flatline On Megatron's Orders

Layer 0: Skin and 'feathering' (moth wing feathering, located on wings and the sides of his neck, protecting sensitive areas). Technically not armour, but relevant. Covered in open, infected pressure sores, friction burns, and bruises that never quite manage to heal. Shockwave is unable to actually get to his skin to provide medical attention or to clean himself, so infection is rampant, as well as cracking, painful skin from the inability to clean. Open sores have led to the next few layers of armour becoming embedded in his skin. Left arm is wasted and atrophied, bent at an odd angle and clearly unusable from the elbow down. Neck is severely scarred, both front and back. Chest and abdominal scaling is weak and brittle, with broken edges digging into skin. Side of chest is extremely scarred and infected due to a hastily and inexpertly repaired blaster wound. It has not healed fully and has not for quite some time, by all appearances. Chest ports are inflamed and dirty, a data cable welded into one of said ports to act as a bridge, as all ports will be unavailable otherwise due to increasing armour layers. Dual secondary feeding ports in side of neck and stomach are consistently inflamed, with the stomach one being the worse off and unusable.

Layer 1: Clothing. Or rather, remnants of clothing. Synthetic fiberweave tank top and shorts, originally used as a protective under layer for his former armour, to prevent it from rubbing. With Shockwave unable to remove his outer layers of armour, however, the clothing has decayed, with bits of filthy, sweat and rust-crusted fibers becoming enmeshed in open pressure sores and digging its way into Shockwave's flesh. Remnants of clothing -- neckline and waistline, specifically -- have constricted with time and movement, resulting in 'rope burn'-like injuries to waist and shoulder girdle (Trapezius). What few bits remain of said clothing will crumble into dust when touched.

Layer 2: First actual armour layer. Thin sheets of metal welded into the rough shapes of proper armour, then forcibly welded to Shockwave's skin itself. Most of this layer has rusted through, and actually consists more of rust and holes than any actual usable metal at this point. Much of this rust, or the sharpened leftover bits of rusty metal itself, has become embedded in the pressure sores in the skin underneath it. This armour is literally held on by its welds into Shockwave's skin, and he cannot access them to rip it off. This layer causes constant pain when moving. another male-to-male data cable is spliced into the first one, creating a chain for cable access.

Layer 3: 'Repair' layer for the first layer. Welded alternately to the welds against skin or to the remnants of the second itself. Most of the welds to the rusted layer have failed, leaving the armour hanging on, once again, to skin. This layer is slightly more formed, though still rough and clunky. A few millimeters thicker as well, so rust is not quite as pervasive. Holes still litter the metal, though, and individual pieces are worn through at joints, creating sharp edges. Another short male-to-male cable is spliced in, continuing to provide access to the data port in Shockwave's chest.

Layer 4: First layer of actual plate armour. Micro-scale plate. Energy-weapon deflection, looks like roughly-beaten dragon scaling armour. More maneuverable than the layer underneath, almost serving as a chain-mail that covers Shockwave from head to toe, including wrapping around his arms and legs loosely, catching on the layer beneath in some places. This is the first layer to completely cover the abdomen and neck, leaving only the neck feeding port available for use. Increases Shockwave's bulk significantly. Male-to-male cable of the previous layer is threaded in between scales to hang loose, also preventing the chestplate scales from moving entirely freely.

Layer 5: Second layer of plate. Segmented, overlapping plates of thickened metal that tapers to a thin edge on the 'bottom' of each plate, acting as some kind of blast-protection while still allowing for movement. Each plate is welded to the one behind/next to it, with the larger base plates physically riveted to Layer 3, through Layer 4. This is the first layer to cover the backs of the fingers, and extend the length of the legs via lengthening boots that are heavily segmented, increasing Shockwave's height by 3 feet. Another male-to-male cable is welded in place, continuing the fire-hazard data cable. This one, however, is actually welded into a chestplate segment instead of hanging loose, providing some stability. This is the layer the incredibly heavy blaster that covers his wasted, useless left arm is welded to, preventing its removal entirely.

Layer 6: 'Padded' immobilization shell. Think riot gear armour. Thick and heavy metal and ceramic combination plate, adding additional blast protection and massively increased body mass. Leg armour is reinforced with visible struts, and the lengthening boots are reinforced as well, including an additional layer of shock absorbers and a magnetized sole to the boots themselves, increasing Shockwave's height another 2.5 feet. Male-to-male cable is plugged into the previous layer's weld, and this one is forced into a pseudo-port and welded in place. This layer's neck-armour is reinforced, limiting the movement of Shockwave's head. This is also the layer that adds 'racks' to Shockwave's back, in between his wing-coverings, and running around to his chest itself to hold the belt of energy cartridges that feeds his blaster-arm. A cable that runs from the blaster itself is attached to a sensor that allows feeding of the cartridges, and a secondary sensor is spliced into the back of Shockwave's neck, allowing for soul-shots using his own spark's energy should he run out of physical ammunition.

Layer 7: Outer plate layer. The layer that bots typically see, that is painted and bears the insignia of a faction. Thicker than normal, but heavily segmented to allow the appearance of ease of movement. Completely covers all the other underlayers, as well as provides a backpack/front pack that is welded to him, covering the blaster belt. Access to change/reload the belt itself is through a hatch in the front of the pack, easily accessible one-handed This entire setup is streamlined with the rest of Shockwave's body, making it impossible to see what he is carrying underneath this layer. It forces his chestplate out, but biolights are built into the chestplate 'front pack' covering, connected to the real biolights that are actually located in the sides of his neck, underneath the remnants of his feathering, allowing him to control them, so it appears as though he just has massive headlights built into his chest. Data cable access port is through another hatch just under this jutting-out portion of hist chestplate, and is the only access to the under-layer of armour that Shockwave has.

Layer 8: Spot welds! Individual plates covering cracks in the previous layer. Spotty and few, but adds a slight bit more protection to the cracked areas that could not be repaired by a simple solder.

In total, Shockwave's mass is increased by nearly 1500 percent. It does a NUMBER on his skeleton.

[wistsandmagic]

Plot Bunny of little Astrotrain talking to Blitzwing, trying to convince his papa that being a system is okay. Blitzwing has issues with it, considering it was forced upon him, and has trauma associated with it. Astro is little and doesn't understand, but he knows his papa feels uncomfortable with himself, he argues with his alters too much to be comfortable...so Astro wants to help. He loves his papa, regardless of which 'face' is fronting at the moment, because he loves all of his papa, whether Hochrot, Kühl, or Komisch (Komi) is facing that day, and it's okay.

[wistsandmagic]

I can tell when I have actually had enough caffeine to make my brain temporarily function properly as it did pre-fibromyalgia (and pre-long covid, now, heh), before my brain chemicals, body-brain function, focus, fatigue, and general pain-reduction ability took a steep nosedive, aka before 5th grade.

Suddenly my emotions are all Very Much, All At Once, but they are all love-filled instead of JITTERING ANXIETY and stress like they tend to be now. There is joy in every tiny thing I do, whether typing on a keyboard or crocheting another row of the shawl I'm currently working on. There is joy in looking out the window and seeing the sunshine, and no anxiety and quiet upset at the fact that I know I need to go outside and plant my lettuce seeds, but I am too tired. I am tired and I am not upset by this. I am existing and it is enough.

There is absolute adoration coursing through me for my cats and hearing them purr, and my roommate sitting across from me typing on her keyboard.

It Is A Lot. But It Is A Good Lot.

.....and it's only taken about 450 mg. of caffeine today. Heh.

[wistsandmagic]

MORE QUESTIONS!!! pick any ocs of your choice :3

1) Does your OC have a voice claim, if so who?

11) What was your inspiration for your OC?

20) If they fight, what's their weapon of choice?

25) Are they the kind of person who can't resist a good song? Can I catch your OC singing to themselves while they do the dishes?

26) What flower do you associate your OC with?

I think most of these are gonna be for Wonton, honestly. XD; 1. Yes, surprisingly! Ayaka Nishiwaki from the Japanese techno-pop band Perfume! She has the highest vocals and the 'cutest' voice, and that fits Wonton to a T. She isn't squeaky, she just has a higher-pitched voice than one would think, and when she speaks her words tend to flow more than you would expect from even a small truck.

2. .....a joke that Glyph made about how "One Ton" sounded like a TFA truck bot's name and my own opinion that the tiny kei trucks would make EXCELLENT little minicons. Add to that the fact that TFA is the continuity of Cartoon Logic and naming conventions are made up, Wonton was born. 20. The only thing Wonton's had to fight so far are the occasional tanuki and wild deer that try to get into Ojii-chan's garden. She doesn't know that Cybertron or the factions themselves even exist, she's never seen another Transformer. She was an Allspark fragment that was carried across the ocean and landed on the kei-truck that is now her altmode, and no one has been to Japan. As far as she knows she is the only one of her kind in existence. So...she's not exactly had to fight. That being said, her preferred weapon is dual-wielding a homemade broom and a garden rake. That usually scares anything that's in the garden off, and if it doesn't, she's really good at whacking things. (also you are getting a Tripwire for this one because. Reasons*

Tripwire is from Eterna AU, and he's one of the three Warborn bot kids (consisting of Bumblebee, Strongarm, and himself) that were on board the Ark when the Ark left Cybertron. He's the youngest of the three, but yes, he knows how to fight, and knows how to fight well. He had to learn, just like the others, in order to survive. His preferred weapon is actually a bow, and he's pretty bloody accurate with the thing, too. Like trick-shot levels of accurate. Really the only person who can still outshoot him is Hot Rod, and Hot Rod is the one who taught him how to shoot to begin with, starting when he was the equivalent of 5 years old, with a little baby bow he'd cobbled together with Wheeljack's help. Only reason Hot Rod ever got him to learn, though, is because he told Tripwire that Damus would be super proud of him when they got back to Cybertron for learning and not relying solely on his ability to short out electrical components with his scream. (Not that he was wrong, it was just also self-preservation since the kid did NOT have great control over the direction he shorted things out)

25. Wonton is, actually! She sings to herself quite often, and utilizes the radio in her cab to listen to music when she and Ojii-chan are working on the farm. They both enjoy it, though Ojii-chan has influenced her taste in music quite a bit. She likes traditional things and isn't really much for 'modern' Japanese music, though there are a few pop songs that she thinks are catchy. And yes, you can definitely catch her singing something to herself as she does dishes. Because she does actually help with the dishes, for one, and for two, singing makes things go by faster. (Dishes is a chore she doesn't enjoy.) 26. The Japanese lotus flower. Her original paint was designed to mimic the lotus, and she likes the colour scheme, so she's kept it. The lotus also symbolizes rebirth, which. Well. Can't really get more on the nose with that, now can you, considering her origins as an Allspark fragment bringing a truck to life. She very LITERALLY was 'reborn' as a Transformer.

[wistsandmagic]

...dear tumblr anon: This was not what I was expecting when you asked me about my wishlist. I was expecting you to find something new to read that you might like, because 99% of my wishlist consists of books, the other one percent are things I am keeping an eye on for when they get cheap, and I do not expect people to buy me things, much less things this expensive.

Regardless...thank you. Thank you so much. After the events and emotions of the past few days, and last night’s absolute hell at work, I really needed to be reminded that random people can be kind. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I don’t know who you are, but if you accept virtual hugs, you are getting one. Thank you so much.

[wistsandmagic]

Forgot to use straightening oil tonight after washing. This doesn’t look half bad for not being combed out yet, either.

[wistsandmagic]

Been sick for over 3 weeks. Feeling better now, mostly. Actually went outside and sat on the porch with my crochet and a cup of coffee for a bit, got that 4 pm sun. It was warm, nice. Glyph took Roo outside for a little while on his harness, and he meowed at the sky and got used to walking IN the harness again. Explored the entire yard and the driveway. He stayed out with us for a solid half hour and thoroughly enjoyed himself in the grass and dead leaves. I think all three of us needed the vitamin D, honestly. Too bad Roo's brothers do NOT like going outside, I think Nicky and Oni both would have enjoyed the sun on the driveway. Oh well.

Feeling better. Nice to actually feel kind of good despite the chronic stuff. My brain is calm.

Definitely needed that, heh.