[40K] The Flag Expands!

The Mexi-Marines, not satisfied with conquering just a corner of my table, have expanded their empire.

I'm in the home stretch now- I have an easily counted number of figures left to get the basic colors onto.

Also, a better shot of that metal Dread, just because.He needs a lot of detail work, but he's BA all on his own.

I've spoken with my client and have detail colors for backpacks, jet packs, bolters, chest eagles, and washing laid out. I dug through my paints and found a special treasure- an OLD bottle of Citadel Red Wash- the color, even in the bottle, is STUNNING. I'm really excited to use it.

Now that it's getting colder, I'll be painting much more- I expect to have these guys ready for the next League.

[WOD] Austin By Night- Session 8 as Eile

I’m gonna run away, and never say goodbye 
-Linkin Park, Runaway 

It burned like a fire
This burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil- U2, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

"Fashion over health. That's my girl." - Clay, Sons of Anarchy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dramatis Personae for this recap:
Eile- Changeling (myself)
Raaf -Werewolf (B)
Cowboy/Memento-Mage (J)
TK- Geist (E)Duncan- Changeling (NPC)
Bruce- Hunter (my son)
Avere- Changeling (K)
David- Werewolf (G)
Coyote Joe-Mage (T)
Giovanni- Mage (P)
Dog- Spirit Familiar (NPC)
Walker Lee -Mage (absent PC being played by ST  at player's direction)
Ghosts- Werewolves/Cops (NPCs)

Eile is tending bar and waiting tables at the Hedge Row. A phone call comes in from Officer Raaf, indicating that he'll be by shortly. Eile doesn't recognize the voice or the name at the time of the phone call. Raaf then arrives at the bar, and Eile remembers him as one of the members of David's family that was getting "medical attention" in TK's room a few weeks ago. Raaf shows Eile some pictures and wants to know if she recognizes any of the symbols on them. She vaguely points at symbols similar to those in the picture on surrounding architecture, which Raaf doesn't seem to find interesting. He then wants to talk to TK. Eile knows he is asleep upstairs, and offers to go get him. Raaf follows, and TK hears Eile's voice, so assumes it's her knocking on the door. He answers, less than fully dressed, and sees Raaf. He quickly gets dressed and comes out to talk.  He and Raaf discuss things and Raaf leaves. [Apparently he had dispensation to be in the bar from higher ups on the Uratha food chain than his own Alpha, David.]

Eile heads back downstairs to find another customer, "Cowboy", looking for TK. She goes back upstairs to get him, and TK heads down to the bar. Eile learns this fellow's name is "Memento", and that he has a VERY big dog. Eile asks to meet the dog, as she has an affinity for animals and wants to learn the dog tongue soon.  She recognizes that this "dog" is more than just a plain Bull Mastiff; it's something supernatural that sees her as not human. Eile quickly excuses herself back to the bar, but after witnessing Memento tell the dog that TK AND Frank are friends. Eile is now more confused about Frank than ever, but chalks the occurence up to a singular case of insanity.

TK and Memento come back to the bar a little later, and have a quiet discussion. Eile catches snatches of words and meanings she doesn't understand, and TK's responses and behavior have her attention. When the two men head upstairs to work on something, she quietly follows.

They head into the workroom, which has been locked for some time now. Despite careful preparations on TK and Memento's parts, Eile slips in behind them, avoiding notice. Just as they are about to investigate or discuss whatever they came for, Memento says something about his dog, and heads back downstairs in a hurry. Eile sneaks out right behind him, again avoiding notice. Avere and Giovanni were upstairs in another part of the Hedge Row, looking for TK.They bump into him as he is locking up, and they follow him downstairs.

Memento heads down to the dining area of the Hedge Row. Once inside the great room, am unusual occurrence is onviously afoot. In the middle of the room, there's a strange sparking and sputtering, emitting puffs of smoke and tendrils of fire. Duncan calls to Bruce to get the fire extringuisher, and he starts ushering patrons out of the establishment. Eile, as an employee of the bar; and attempting to look "normal", does the same.

As the ushering is going on, Coyote Joe is waiting outside for a meeting with Bruce. Bruce is otherwise occupied and misses the meeting.

The entity in the center of the room no longer behaves as an "electrical short", but shows its true nature. A portal, roughly car-sized, begins to open up. The portal is being pried open by a set of claws, and just the tip of a snout of some kind can be seen peeking out of the portal.

Eile hears the beast inhaling, and while she can't see the portal or the snout, she knows what is coming. She faced this creature during her introduction adventure at the Goblin Market, and Avere was there as well. Eile is a hunter at heart, and knows she is about to be prey. Just as she is about to make a move, long tendril-like vines whip out and grab at Duncan. Eile makes a grab for Duncan- he's her boss, he's a Changeling, and he doesn't hate her. She doesn't have any interest in seeing him taken “back” by this mighty hunter.



Avere calls David for help on a cell phone, and ducks to the back corner of the room. Eile is quickly wrapped in a vine, and another lashes out at Avere, who is WELL behind Eile, and just barely visible by most other PCs. It's about this time that Coyote Joe makes his presence known. He and Memento both make efforts to get Avere and Duncan loose from the vines- taking successive paradox penalties due to Bruce being present. Their spells go off without causing themselves damage, and Bruce joins the fray to get Duncan loose.



Eile is struggling on her own, and defiantly shouts that she won't go back. Coyote Joe now invokes an oath causing spell trying to deter the vines from grabbing anyone further. Giovanni provides himself with some sort of protection, and the battle rages on, with most efforts focusing on Avere and Duncan. Avere uses her “emergency calling card” to summon her protector mage, Walker Lee. [He arrives later.]



Duncan is finally loose from the vines, and he crawls in a corner, screaming like a little girl. Eile continues to resist being dragged towards the fiery mouth of hell, keeping herself firmly in place at the Hedge Row. Her mind, however, has been ravaged by the evidence of Arcadia she's been dutifully ignoring for so long, and she's close to cracking and losing clarity.



TK directs Frank to attack the vines- encouraging him to inflict his rage and violence upon these otherworldly manacles imprisoning his lady. This completely vocal discussion is effusive in swearing and directions, and all in the room hear it even if they don't register it as anything other than craziness.



Memento's dog has been dutifully getting shotguns and fire extinguishers for the mage. Memento uses the extinguisher like a clay target and shoots it directly in the open mouth of the beast, which is now very obviously recognizable as a dragon or other great lizard. Memento switches over to the shotgun rather than magic, and he and Bruce make separate efforts to shoot into the dragon's mouth, to varied or no effect.



All the while, Avere is trying to get loose. She remembers she has a unicorn's horn in her bag, and she proceeds to try to stab away at the vine with it.

About this time, Walker Lee arrives on the scene, crashing through a window, doing a ninja roll, and coming up with his “gun” hand bracing on a knee, pointing the “Dude Gun” at the dragon. He uses the mysterious Dude Gun powers, and it does something. [I don't remember or know what at the moment.] As this happens (or shortly after), Avere succeeds in stabbing the vine, which shatters the vine away and Avere is now free.

The dragon's mouth snaps shut, and the nostrils become the target. Bruce and Memento attack the nostrils with just as much effort as they did the mouth, and about as much effect (not a lot). One of the vines holding Eile has been severed by Frank's actions, with a bit of assistance from Memento and Bruce thrown in. As this happens, a roughly person shaped being emerges from the portal, and grabs Eile, who is still defiantly struggling to retain her freedom. She begins kicking at her captor, digging at him with her high heels.

While all this is going on, David has made a call to the Ghosts, who now own the block that holds the Hedge Row. David has been firmly told not to cross into this territory, and given the beating he took recently for infringing on another pack's territory, he will not do so again. David explains the problem in a decidedly hilarious way, but the subject is serious and this approach seems to annoy the Ghosts.

Eile is gutting it out with the guy holding her, but he manages to do a lethal damage to her. She's on the verge of frenzied now, and lays into him with a vengeance.

[Some other stuff happens here and I don't remember all of it. I think it was more trying to get the dragon gone and vine stabbing/shooting.]

The portal closes.

Everyone in the bar tries to get a sense of what's happening and many let down their guard. Then the lights go out.

An announcement is made that the police are on the scene, and they can see the entourage in the dark. The group is advised to put their weapons down, and to stand still.

The mages and Bruce all comply with the directions given. TK quietly puts his hands up and waits for further instructions. Avere uses her affinity for the dark to her advantage and slips out the window that Walker Lee broke coming in. Eile, in the grasp of a captor she can't see, continues to defend herself and struggle.

One by one, the various members of the group inside the Hedge Row find themselves with a person behind them, either cuffing them or frisking them. Eile's captor is forcibly removed from holding her, and Eile is left bleeding while she is handcuffed and asked to stay put.

Coyote Joe pulls out a badge of some sort and is quietly taken to another room for questions and a quick debrief. The Ghosts ask for his opinion on who to question, and Coyote Joe singles out Bruce, TK, Eile and the figure that came out of the portal (now revealed to be a new PC).

Still dark, these four are taken to the paddy wagon. Once inside, TK asks if Eile is ok, and proceeds to tell her that Frank saved her (but the damage he did to the vines was invisible, so Eile didn't see it).

We cut for the night.

[IHoP] bangin'!

My honorable mention haiku(s)

It's a great world here
Brent and Lauby swear for us
we owe fealty

weekly top x great
shout outs and webby findings
could be yours awesome

it's a man's world here
girls game with hearts thunder
check World of Wonder

[HS6E] Hawaii Action (Session 4)

/Like a fool, I fell in love with you,
Turned my whole world upside down./ - Eric Clapton, Layla
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[I'm trying to get all the write ups from past sessions out - we play tonight and I don't want to be behind when I do the next write up.]

In this session, Jumpshot earns his motormouth reputation in spades. He starts things off by talking to Agent Williams of H.U.R.T. and discovers that the man is just a little lost. Hawaii was supposed to be a cushy gig, and now there are Ultras, but he doesn't have any resources to do anything about it. Jumpshot, being the generous fellow that he is, decides to see "what he can do" about the problem.

Jumpshot's former NBA status allows him fairly good recognition outside of the Ultra getup,and most people know him as Ja'Kel Foster. As previously mentioned, he's also wealthy, if not rich, so he has many resources available to him.

He talks to Steel Warrior first- SW is living in Jumpshot's guest house, so it's not difficult. He proposes that maybe the Utras need to be a team and Steel Warrior agrees. This transaction took much longer, as Jumpshot elaborated on a number of points and had much else to say.

"Will you stop talking?" - Steel Warriror [Quote of the night.]

Jumpshot then calls Diamond. Diamond doesn't have a secret ID, nor a public one. She's not hiding who she is, but it would not be hard to figure out- there's only one 6'1" blonde surfer babe that weigh 10 tons around.  Diamond is currently relaxing as Lisa (her real name) with the lovely 'Nani when Jumpshot calls. Lisa excuses her self, the two talk, and Jumpshot makes pretty much the same case as before. Lisa tentatively agrees to being on a team, based on Jumpshot asking for help on behalf of someone who is unable to help themselves. Jumpshot leaves and goes on to the next Ultra.

Jumpshot talks to Freestyle, who agrees as well, and then Jumpshot tries to find a shortwave radio to contact Jerry Riggs. Freestyle does some quick adaptations of a chap burner cell phone and presto, Jerry is in contact. Jumpshot now decides getting everyone all together seems like a splendid idea, and arranges for Steel Warrior to be picked up from the guest house by cab, and the group heads over to the local supremely upscale eating establishment.

Lisa and 'Nani are dining at this same restaurant when the Jumpshot entourage arrives. All of the group except Freestyle completely misses seeing Lisa, but Lisa sees them. She continues eating and enjoying her evening while the boys talk about being a team etc.


She looks incredible tonight- that new sarong is stunning on her.
 
At some point, a comment is made about wanting to get in touch with Diamond, and it's discovered that cell phones aren't working. Freestyle knows he has a way to get in contact with her(mental abilities), but he also knows from a previous encounter that Diamond won't respond well to it. Freestyle very cautiously contacts Lisa, and they have a brief conversation where it's decided that Lisa is not immediately needed.


Whatever it is that Ja'Kel wants can wait- she's far more interesting to me.
 
[The cell phone outage is just the tip of the iceberg. It's a small symptom of a much larger event that is global in scale, but the Honolulu Ultras aren't bothered by the issue, nor are they aware of this happening that transcends the shared universe.]


The boys finish their conversation and disperse from the restaurant. They are gathered outside making idle chit chat when they see two shapes hurtling across the skyline at incredible speeds. Just a moment later, another shape rockets down the road at a breakneck pace, headed in the same direction as the other two. It is quickly decided that the group should investigate, if for no other reason than to find out what these things might be. Jumpshot wants to alert Diamond, and Freestyle very reluctantly reveals that she's inside the restaurant.



Jumpshot makes his way to the ladies' table, and introductions are made. Jumpshot apologizes for interrupting their dinner by paying, and gently lets Diamond know that there is a situation that might need her attention- but he's not sure yet. They agree that if help is needed, Freestyle can and will contact her. Jumpshot leaves to go check out the fast moving things.


Lisa and 'Nani are left to their dinner. 'Nani is a headstrong, modern woman, and has learned to use her feminine wiles to her advantage over Lisa; especially after Lisa's physical changes became more evident. Lisa is well aware that 'Nani is completely in control, and has adapted to the power shift fairly well. She does occasionally act or speak in ways that 'Nani uses to reinforce her position of power, and one such event occurs during their dinner. Lisa is left at the table in the restaurant, with the new sarong on the floor, while 'Nani walks away; nude. Lisa picks up the fabric, and follows 'Nani outside, all apologies.

Oh, damn.
 
The remainders of the Ultras are in hot pursuit of the rocketing shapes, and wind up past the city, up the mountain. They find themselves facing three beings in power suits. These 'battle suits' make it plain that the Ultras are not welcome, and it appears a battle is about to break out.

We end the session at this point, as it's pretty late (The Dude talked until 9!) and combat in Hero is NOT fast by any means.

[HS6E] Hawaii Action (Session 3)

So, you can try to tear me down,
Beat me to the ground,
I will see you screaming.- Mushroomhead, Thoughtless
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The day starts out with Jumpshot at home, channel surfing while he checks his investments. Aside from being a former basketball player turned Ultra, he has a business degree in finance in order to control and grow his earnings and endorsement income. As he is flipping through stations, he sees a news report about a very strange happening in downtown Honolulu.

The news station has resorted to using a helicopter to get shots of the events, because the downtown area is demolished. Several buildings over a good area have very serious structural damage, and no obvious explanation. It looks like someone very large took a massive hand and tore away the corners of various buildings like a kid would tear into a cake. In addition to the destroyed buildings, there is an exceptionally large mound of trash dumped in the street, with little trash tornadoes whirling around the base of the buildings in the downtown plaza area.

Jumpshot knows this is something he should check out, so he gets in contact with Steel Warrior, Diamond and Freestyle. Steel Warrior contacts Jerry Riggs, but no one has a tried and true method to contact Syphon. [She's mute, and for all realistic purposes, she's a street person.] The Ultras make their way towards the downtown area in their various modes of transport ; all arriving at different intervals and angles.Syphon apparently saw the report on a TV in a display and heads over to the scene as well.

Jumpshot arrives on the scene first, with Steel Warrior in tow. Steel Warrior has a chi power that allows him to sense life, and he apparently picks up on a life form in the trash pile. He heads over to investigate, while Jumpshot avoids a tornado. As Steel Warrior closes in on the trash heap, the various trash pieces scoot in and up to form a large trash golem in the center of the street.

[The GM's descriptions and sound effects for the golem were very convincing- I had visions of Iron Giant and collapsing sand castles (but of trash, and in reverse) running through my head.]

The golem takes a swipe at Steel Warrior, who manages to dodge. Steel Warrior avoids the golem a couple more times, but finally gets smooshed flat by a LOT of damage. Jumpshot has been dancing with trash devils for most of this time, but notices Steel Warrior go down. He heads over to the trash pile and the golem turns his attention on Jumpshot.

Jumpshot makes a great dodge, and recovers to a movement turn before the trash dude can swing again. Jumpshot pulls off an incredible shot with his crazy energy spheres and knocks the golem flat. The dust devils are now chasing him like mad, and Diamond arrives on the scene. Jumpshot directs Diamond to an area around a corner from where he is, and she heads in that direction. 

Ugh. Trash. At least I wore something washable.

Shortly after, Syphon arrives on the scene. Diamond quickly explains that the larger threat is still around a corner, and the two women head off in that general direction. 

Syphon and Diamond make their way into the edge of a large "pool" of trash, unsure what the trouble is. Very quickly they find out, as the golem does his reverse sand castle thing again. The form lashes out at Diamond, and both Diamond and Syphon attack at the next opportunity. Diamond uses some wrestling knowledge and uses leverage, pulling a "leg" out from under the golem. Several more attacks atre traded back and forth, with Syphon taking some brutal hits but using the damage as fuel for her abilities. Finally, the golem goes down, but Syphon goes diving into the pile of rubbish like a woman on a mission. 

I don't know what she lost- but it sure must be important to dig through garbage for it.

Diamond joins in the search- with the blonde surfer babe looking for shoes or something similar. Syphon emerges from the trash and flies off before Diamond can get a look at whatever it is that she was hunting for. 

While all of this was going on, Jumpshot was playing Follow-the-Leader with several trash devils and has finally put them out of commission. He takes a moment to catch his breath and then heads over to Steel Warriror, who is still unconcsious. Diamond heads over to help, as she actually has quite a bit of first aid knowledge. Steel Warrior wakes up from his early nap a few moments later, in a complete huff. 

Maybe his head got knocked too hard. I don't know, but this guy sure has a problem.

A very heated arguement ensues, with Steel Warrior inistent on fighting a now dispatched and non-existent opponent. It takes Diamond's strength to keep him from attacking randomly, and a great deal of discussion about appropriate responses to being attacked and in fights. This exchange is pretty intense, with Diamond losing her cool more than once (but coming short of decking Steel Warrior into the next century). Even the ever cool Jumpshot's nerves are on edge at the end of the discussion, but things are calmed down enough that the Ultras part their separate ways.


I'm going to go watch the surf roll in. Even that's less frustrating than this Steel Warrior guy.

[HS6E] Hawaii Action (Session 2)

Michael Kors Gear On And Valentino
Yves St. Laurent Platforms- Malandrino
Full length sable Way down to the carpet
Look good on the mannequin But wait until I rock it -Mary J Blige, Grown Woman

[All write-ups are from memory, which is now fuzzy. Details may be missed due to this fact.]

When all of the “Ultras” were making introductions the other day, there were some questions about our abilities. Most of those other people fly, or glow, or have weird freaky visible energy powers. I'm just strong, and tough. I don't do anything special. I made a comment to myself about feeling like a fish out of water.

I wish I hadn't.

Diamond is again at the beach. A little further down, something strange is going on. Families are leaving the beachfront quickly. Diamond decides to investigate.

As she closes in on the area, she sees several strange creatures moving up the sand. Any bystanders are now frantically trying to leave the area, so she moves in closer to get a better look. As she closes in, she sees that the creatures are vaguely fish-like, but are seriously mutated. The “fish” have forelimbs and legs that they use to propel themselves forward. They also have beak like mouths,and when they encounter something (or someone), they “stand up” and attack with their upper limbs and beaky mouth.

They look roughly like this:

Diamond steps up to the challenge of protecting the few bystanders, and is quickly engaged in combat with a group of five or so.

This doesn't look good. I hope I don't get too messy.

Very close by, Steel Warrior is in much the same predicament. He engages some of the “fish” in hand to hand combat, and is quickly surrounded by a good number of them.

Just a few seconds into the fights with the “fish” , a new danger is apparent- what seems to be bi-pedal sharks arrive on the scene. These sharks have short forearms and somewhat flexible heads, which allows them to chomp on opponents with ease. Both Diamond and Steel Warrior engage these larger beasties in direct confrontation while the remainder of the Ultras begin to arrive on the scene.

While fighting, Diamond “fives” several fish, all over her brand new outfit. [“Fiving” is a newish phrase meant to indicate “knocked the crap out of” but I don't remember why we use it.]

Damn! That was a new Andy South, too.

Steel Warrior is holding his own, but definitely looks worse for wear as he's much “squishier” than Diamond. More Ultras arrive on the scene and all of the “fish”and “sharks” are dealt with. Yet again, there's a good amount of discussion on what to do and why. Many discoveries or deductions are made, mostly by Jerry Riggs. The consensus and concern seems to be that these creatures are in some way related to the biological weapon we dispatched last time around.

About this time, Agent Williams of H.U.R.T shows up. We continue the conversation, and decide to take a specimen over to the University's oceanography department for further study and investigation. There's also discussion of how to dispose of the dead critters, and the university's incinerator winds up as the best solution. Diamond loads the HURT van with the dead, mutated beings,as well as a live, but very weakened “fish”. Everyone heads over to the university, and we take a few moments to talk to the professor who was silly enough to answer our call. (Also a Williams- but call him Mike.) Some of us pass on our contact info to the professor, and then we go onto other endeavors.

I'm not sure I can pay the dry cleaner enough for this mess.

[Weekly Whimsy] On Shoes

Welcome to my newest notes- Weekly Whimsy will be part of my regular rotation, with me riffing on the realities of geeky girl gamer-dom. Expect posts on a plethora of positions, all from the ludicrous Loquacious' locus.

[Ok, I got my word-nerd fit out of the way. Phew! Onto today's topic. It's good- I've been saving up.]

Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world- Marilyn Monroe


I visit quite a few 40K blogs on a regular basis. No less than 5 of them have advertisements enabled, with several of them showing huge Christian Loubotin ads on the sidebars. Yet, when I speak to male gamer types, not a single one can reference who Loubotin is.

I'll be honest, until about 6 or so months ago, neither could I. I do know that I was pretty alone in that regard- most women I know adore shoes and shopping for them. Until I started playing Eile, I had absolutely no interest in couture shoes.

Eile, however, has a massive shoe addiction- the prettier and pricier, the better. (I love this kind of fluff- it's not a Vice or a flaw- it's just an aspect of her personality that makes her more interesting.) I don't know a darn thing about expensive shoes at the time, so I had to learn.

I have a mind for fashion (I am an admitted Project Runway addict), and I jones something serious for a good purse; so moving into shoes wasn't that big of a stretch. I did a little research, and presto, I am now coveting in a very serious way a pair or twenty of those lovely Loubotins.

What's the big deal? They are shoes- intended to protect feet. This comment was made repeatedly to me by a male friend when my daughter and I were going on about these fabulous shoes. This comment exemplifies the point of my post most clearly.

If you know any ladies, and have any interest in talking to them; it does not hurt to know something about the things that interest them. These same women learn about football (or sports in general), cars, and other strange subjects of the male clan. Show a little initiative, and return the favor.

I'll coach you through the basics to get you started.

Most often, the shoes a girl wears are strictly functional. It's when dressing up comes into play that fancy shoes matter. If the female in your life dresses up for work; her shoes matter every day.

As a rule, fancy shoes are intended to be an accessory to a well considered statement.

If a chick is wearing fancy shoes, it is almost always because she wants to feel pretty. High heels change the way she walks and make her legs and butt look great. She knows this, and is using a pretty common trick to get noticed.

If the girl in your life owns a pair of these red-soled beauties; she paid a LOT of money for them and believes she is worth something. (Nikephoros, check out the prices on these - not cheap, buddy.)  Believe it- she's worth something. Treat her that way.



Next are some pictorial examples for your further enlightenment:

MSRP-$978

 

 

 These are the "basics"- A simple pair of black heels will go a very long way in a woman's wardrobe. This pair has a classic timeless quality that transcends nearly any outfit, and adds 4 inches, which in many ladies' lives, is a big step up (literally).

MSRP-$1267

 

This pair offers the wallflower a chance to shine, the quiet woman an opportunity to speak volumes, and the ordinary girl to show off her wild side without risking going to jail. This pair is perfect with the LBD but can just as easily be work with classic dark jeans, or for the truly daring, a wedding dress.

MSRP-$675

 

This pair is out of season, thus the lowered price. However, they're not for the meek. They are aimed at a woman who intends to make a statement wherever she goes. A little hip, a little edgy, they're ideal for girl with a more urban fashion sense.

You'll never forget a lady wearing these. These are truly intended to be an exclamation point at the end of a strong and fabulous outfit. From day to evening, these shoes show a woman who is not afraid of risk.

(From left to right - Stella McCartney, Christian Louboutin, Delman's. The French designer's suede boots run $2400 at Neiman Marcus.) This look has to be carefully considered and accomplished- but if done well, this will leave an indelible mark on anyone watching the woman wearing them.

How does any of this relate to gaming? 

For the most part, fashion is an overlooked aspect and element of a game. GMs often fall on stereotypes and neglect a simple piece of flavor text that can add depth and intrigue to the session. Players, especially when playing across gender, forget the basics like what a character's personal style is like or what designer might be in season at the moment.

Using fashion crosses every genre of gaming- in old school D&D (whether the original or retro-clone),  in Paranoia, in Shadowrun, in Deadlands, in Buffy, in Dark Heresy or in Star Wars- a single element can offer a whimsical glimpse into an otherwise bland piece of flavor text; or gives the player a chance to flesh out a character that might otherwise be dull and missing that "spark".

It doesn't have to be shoes- it could be a hat, a bag, a custom designed dress from a country across the continent during a massive war-torn campaign, or even a well tailored coat; all of these items describe something more than just "traveler's cloak".

Fashionable (or sometimes, simply expensive) items offer fabulous roleplay opportunities. "You ruined my dress!" is probably a greater source of indignation than "What you said wasn't very nice".

For the 40K crowd, it's a simpler conversation, but has two elements.

1- If Monetizing your blog is beneficial to you, check out the links Google picks for you. Know what it is you're linking to-both for product knowledge and understanding whether you are gaining any revenue; because I can't for the life of me see how these ads are reaching their target market.

2- Your little plastic dollies are not cheap. If you get the metal guys, or that fancy resin stuff from Forgeworld; consider for a moment how far a pair of designer shoes might go towards a peaceful (or more fun)  homelife.

If she's not into shoes; consider a handbag, a designer dress, a new saddle, jewelry or whatever else strikes your lady's fancy. This careful application of goodies should directly relate back to one of my main points-

Take the time to know what it is that interests your female friend, and be able to at least speak a little of the "language". I promise, it will go a LONG way.

Now onto using shoes in a game:

Eile was in a very bad situation last night. She wanted to get away badly and was willing to ditch her best pair of shoes to make her escape. (For her, a TRULY desperate move.) It didn't work, and she would up having to use her fabulous heels as a weapon against a much stronger opponent. They were all she had available to her at the time.

I gave serious thought to a broken pair of Louboutins on the floor of the Hedge Row, and how that would efect Eile.


Those ads? They're working on me.