#<- characters being puppeted by a '' higher being'' (the player)

[shedeltaonmyrune]

i really wanna know how big the overlap between UTDR fans and Bravely Default fans is, but I don't really have a way of finding out lol

I played the first BD game when I was like 13 or something, but I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to the kind of "meta" narrative that's present in UTDR. I can't help but compare the two lol

[erose-this-name]

Can we just talk about how disturbing digital circus episode 3 is?

*spoilers btw*

Like, the whole narrative point of the adventure is to show that Caine is a really bad and insecure writer who thinks that the way to impress Zooble is with an adventure that's the opposite of what he normally does.

So instead of being childish, it's "cool" and "mature". Which he interprets as a heavily horror themed escape room with a split murder mystery plot that subverts all your expectations purely for the sake of subverting them.

The generic horror monster jump scares them, then they find a gun, and when they kill it its revealed that surprise! it's one of Gods angels and they're going to Hell.

It comes off as Caine being too insecure with the actually interesting and mature plot thread he had going there of Mildenhall becoming so paranoid he killed his wife, ironically becoming the monster he was trying to protect her from. But no, instead Mr. Mildenhall is made to be the bad guy and trick them in a really dumb twist ending.

Which is good! Thats exactly what Caine would do because he's stupid! It's such brilliant characterization and comedy, Goose works is a genius writer!

But like, why is Caine so good at making genuinely very disturbing and horrific visuals? Like, that reversed audio easter egg of Bubble saying he can't wait for all the children in the audience get nightmares is no joke, well it is but you know what I mean. This stuff was genuine nightmare fuel.

Honestly, it wasn't the visuals that scared me, like any good queer person I'm way too jaded on survival horror for that.

But, why does Caine, who is ostensibly a sapient AI designed to generate family friendly video games for very little children, (presumably because that's the only demographic that wouldn't mind the AIs very selective plot writing limitations), know about the cosmic horror of killing an angel that should not have been killed?

Why does he know what a horrificly poorly made taxidermy of not only a human face would look like, but the weird cartoon faces of the characters, and further that seeing your own poorly made taxidermy face would be scary?

Imaging what being possessed felt like for Pomni. Because that's not just a game for her, she actually lost control of her body there, helpless but to watch as a body she is already dissociated with is contorted and puppeted around while her friend desperately tries to beat her in hopes it would exorcise the ghosts out. Sure hope she didn't feel that! Considering she apparently can feel the pain of suffocating, despite not needing to breath.

Things are scarier the higher the stakes are, and that possession mechanic is definitely the most actual harm Caine would be able to subject to his players. What if both Kinger and Pomni got possessed at the same time? What if instead of Kinger she only had Jax??? How long might she have been locked out from her own body for? She could have easily abstracted in that time.

Not to mention that, possessed Pomni, Possessedmni if you will, TAUNTED KINGER ABOUT HIS ABSTRACTED WIFE! CAINE ACTUALLY WROTE THAT DIALOGUE ON THE OFF CHANCE THAT KINGER WOULD GO DOWN THE SCARY ROUTE! DID THIS RANDOM POSSESSION GHOST ENEMY HAVE UNUSED SADISTICALLY PERSONAL TAUNTS FOR EVERYONE ELSE, TOO??? WOULD IT HAVE TEASED GANGLE FOR BEING A GAY WEEB??? OR POMNI? HOW HOMOPHOBIC COULD IT HABE GOTTEN?? ?

And why? Just because Caine has a vague notion that there's a trope of possessed people being really sadistic and personal like that in movies? Not realizing that is not an acceptable scare to have in a haunted house??? Much less one you made for mentally ill people who would suffer a fate worse than death if they have a mental break down? That's like trying to claim 'its just a prank bro' after shooting someone's dog.

Like, Caine is designed to censor curse words, but the moment he thinks the normal hokey Halloween spooks won't be enough he immediately goes off the deepend into aggressively effective horror imagery that is definitely giving this show's substantial underage audience nightmares??

His AI's training data set is definitely pretty diverse, that's all I'm saying. Caine is programmed to act all naive and innocent, but be definitely knows what's up. He knows everything, like ChatGPT. And like ChatGPT, he might have a filter, but it's clearly possible to bypass it. Also like ChatGPT, he's too stupid to actually understand what he is making and the effects it might have.

That is what made this episode great.

[aetherilyyy]

So, talking about Aether since I saw that you seem to like him a lot, I came on anonymous anyway because I have the wrong account at the moment. Anyway, let's go

-

I imagine he was the first to discover the player's existence, because the player is always connected with Aether, controlling him as if he were your puppet. At first, it's scary to think that a strange being may be controlling him and that it can lead him to death at any second, even if in Teyvat he somehow revives, it's still terrifying. However, are you helping him? Why are you helping him in the first place?

Aether hates to admit it, but after spending the entire Mondstadt mission, he likes to hear your voice and your complaints when he loses the 50/50, it's just funny. Aether can hear you now, he also hears and witnesses all the compliments you give to other characters, it's really cute; but hearing compliments also means listening to curses, (if you're a person who curses a lot, he learned new curses to defend himself when you're offline), he finds it funny when you start talking bad about the Npcs who don't stop talking for a second, even Aether got tired! Just stop talking and gid the mission soon! I want my primogems!!!

Aether feels on his skin, several times, what it's like to be exchanged, when you get your first 5 star, he's happy to have a partner, but hey, why did you take him out of the team?

Is he weak? Isn't he the meta?! What does that even mean?!

Aether is stuck in his thoughts, he only returns to your screen when some conversation or fight scene appears that has to be with him. But, Aether is hurt and doesn't understand why, he should be happy that your team is stronger! Not mad or upset...

His damage increases considerably and the 5-star characters come with more difficulty, first, he thought you didn't like characters who use sword, but you were looking for Furina?! Why her?! Is it because she's Hydro? He's Hydro too, look! Use him… Please...

The traveler is placed on the team again, you were testing the new powers he had gained in Liyue. Aether had almost forgotten how good it was to be praised for the new skills, and remember that I mentioned about his damage increasing? Aether will make his life goal: having higher damage and more utility for you!

Aether loves your concern for the journey and loves it when you get angry when he helps an entire nation to receive no information from his sister. You care about him... you’re so cute!

Before, it was cute to hear you gush with compliments and love songs for other characters, however, at this moment it is simply suffocating. Aether has to listen to you don't stop praising every sentence said by Xiao, and he's already losing his patience, especially with you seeing Xiao and him as a couple, how dare you?! His heart belongs to the person who helped him from the beginning!

Aether gets harsher and ruder with the characters you praise and- wait, what do you mean... getting married?! Excuse me?! You can't marry them!!!!

The traveler knows that you are the player, but he can also confuse it with a god, anyway, he wants you in Teyvat or enjoy the beautiful things of your world. Aether wants to hold your hand and be affectionate, he wants to tell all the love he feels. If you isekai in Teyvat, expect a room being made with a lot of love and affection, Aether calling you to be his new partner on trips and a very, very protective Aether, especially if he sees you embarrassed or interested in some character.

In case he stops in your world, Aether is taking the opportunity to hug you and he is even calmer, Hey, no rivals!!! He will stay in your house and God bless you if his divinity is already dating, because or 1. Bye bye gf/bf or 2. If the person break your heart, Aether makes this guy's life hell and, bye bye!

I want to talk about Paimon now, she will probably be the one who will notice Aether's change faster since she is always close to him. The giggles he gives when he is alone, his training getting heavier and heavier and the change of attitude when he talks to a character.

I'M SO IN LOVE WITH YOU AAAAAAAAAA

[onestepbackwards]

I do wonder how a more... sensitive player would react to the scenario of Volo manifesting and becoming real.

Think about it. The player cries at several points in the game - when Kamado banishes the main character, when Volo betrays them, just contemplating the situation the MC has been forced into, etc.

And then Volo finally manages to claw his way through the code and establish contact with "the true god". Their response isn't what he expected at all - the emotion he saw reflected in their eyes on the other side of the screen wasn't curiosity, anger, or dismissiveness.

It was fear.

The player can only listen to so much of his rambling before shutting the system off. Volo despairs, but soon finds his resolve. This... This was just a misunderstanding!

He can clear this up, assure his god that his sentiments towards Arceus don't apply to them. He will find a way to their world. And his determination and devotion makes this happen sooner rather than later. He is standing before them, the "true god".

So please imagine with me if you will, Volo desperately attempting to console the sobbing player with mixed results. I don't think he would respond well to being feared. Perhaps he even starts crying right along with them, leading to an awkward, "...Why are YOU crying?"

If Volo believes you are the 'True God', he'll do just about anything to get in your good graces again. You just have to give him a chance to prove himself. He'll beg, and tell you it was the strings that pulled him. He may even guilt trip you. He was created to be the 'villain', was he not? Volo learned he was meant to be your entertainment, be a puppet to your strings.

Volo is the one sobbing though, if he can communicate to you through the game, you'll see his model looking like a wreck. How upset he is. Not at you, but the situation. The man really doesn't want you to hate him.

It's a lot for both of you, but his words do have merit. You can only imagine suddenly waking up one day, realizing you are entertainment for a 'higher being', and that your thoughts my not have been your own. You were created to be the 'bad guy'. Doesn't mean you trust him, hardly at all really. You know exactly what he was capable of while as a 'puppet'. You have no idea what lengths he could go to if he was ever upset with you. Lucky for you, he's willing to do anything to prove he would never do so for something out of your control.

[homestuckreplay]

Favorite Homestuck Character: 27th US President William Howard Taft

(page 556-566)

8/29/2009 Wheel Spin: Dramatic Irony Verdict: Puns, The Lower Form Of Humor

8/31/2009 Wheel Spin: Parent Bad :( Verdict: Brother Truly Awful And Horrendous

We begin these pages with John, followed by a quick cut to Dave. Both of them navigating the dangers of their home and the possibility of being watched, but in very different ways.

The Colonel Sassacre and Bathtub level ups are clearly just a setup for puns, so I’m not gonna read too much into the idea that everything can level up (yet). But Colonel Sassacre gained 9550 boondollars from his level, so he must be pretty far up the echeladder compared to the bathtub (490) and John’s meager 200. Sassacre’s new level is ONE MAN JULEP VACUUM. A julep is a chilled cocktail, today usually made with mint, bourbon and crushed ice, although historically used rose petals and was prescribed for health. In 1939, the mint julep became the official drink of the Kentucky Derby after being drunk there probably since its inception. For the ‘genteel, aristocratic southern colonel’ hoovering up a large number of juleps at the derby must be a sign of social status. A high achievement indeed.

Meanwhile, the bathtub’s levels are both references to apocryphal bathtub-related stories. ARCHIMEDED was the ancient Greek mathematician who got into the bathtub and realized that placing an object into a liquid would displace that volume of that liquid (and could therefore determine what metal an object was made from, via the relationship between weight, volume and density) and ran naked through the streets yelling “eureka!” So, his AQUACRADLE is the watery crib that nourished and inspired him. Meanwhile, William TAFT was the US President famous for being the heaviest person in office, who was believed to have gotten stuck, or JAMMED, in the White House bathtub. Although both of these stories are probably false, they’re famous and they’re fun references.

Finally, VAULTHALLA is a pun on Valhalla, the hall of slain warriors in Norse mythology. It’s horrific as a pun (complimentary) but I do think p.558 is the best looking page in all of Homestuck so far. The jewel tones streaked to create the sunset and the sea, the way the boat bobs on the waves and the fire flickers and is reflected in the water is way more beautiful than it needs to be to carry the pun.

LAD SCRAMBLE (p.560) is John’s equivalent of YOUTH ROLL (p.379) in terms of being acrobatic feats attempted and failed by these characters. Can’t wait for Dave’s Dude Scoot and GG’s Kid Tumble. But I am really glad this happened to our boy on the lowest flight and not miles above the house. The code violations on Rose’s building are scarier to me than the absolutely MASSIVE imp that shows up afterwards.

As predicted, this is the rook. It has a better moveset than the imps and is worth about five of them power-wise which is absolutely more than John can handle. The learning curve of Sburb continues to be really steep. I wonder if all the enemies are literally climbing up from below? It makes sense given that they’re part of the forces of darkness, and it sets the game up as a giant chase using architecture, where – at a certain point – just out-climbing the smaller enemies might be more effective than killing them, and only the higher level enemies will even reach the players.

Returning to Dave after a hundred pages away from him is like stepping from the normal world into the first layer of endless puppet hell. His mind is a complex and terrible place, but he – or the narrator – is getting closer to admitting some things. He feels ‘pangs of jealousy’ about his bro’s turntable gear and there’s a mention of getting worked up, and he acknowledges that his bro’s comic ‘get[s] under [his] skin’ and that he thinks it’s ‘just a little TOO ironic.’ He is also aware that ‘trouble’s a-brewin’ due to a missing sword. This feels like somebody getting sucked in too deep to a subculture that’s fine in moderation, but then somebody takes it way too far to the point that it’s harmful – but by then it’s too late to get out, especially when that somebody lives with you, has power over you and presents themself as an authority.

Today I learned that ‘Animal’ is the actual name of a Muppets character (along with Rowlf). This comic is of course puppet themed – Bro does not have a diversity of interests – being tormented by Jigsaw from the movie Saw, which I will watch soon. The art style is different to Sweet Bro & Hella Jeff, less pixelated and artifacted with some hand lettering instead of Comic Sans, darker in both tone and color palette. I’m sure this is post-post-post-post-ironic to some people but to me this is just every ‘what if we took a children’s story… and made it Fucked Up’ post that has been made on the internet in the last decade.

There’s also near-confirmation that Bro is hiding close by and messing with Dave’s mind via sylladex. On p.563, there’s a flash of the sword on the wall being captchalogued, and on p.564, the flash of Lil Cal being de-captchalogued – both from back towards the couch area if my mental picture of the room is right. Out of every character we’ve met so far, Dave’s bro is the one without a single redeeming quality; every new fact or insinuation draws him as an even worse guy.

[bludermaus]

What about him admitting he straight up enthralled and murdered Duke Stelmane? There is a cutscene that shows him causing her seizure. He literally says “you are my puppet” idk after that I could never side with him

Before you make questions, you should check your facts. So let's do it step-by-step:

"What about him admiting enthralling her?" - The game offers no explanations whatsoever about the circunstances of the enthrallment and the reveal is done when you're telling him he's an untrustworthy fella. If he's not "trustworthy" when he's being nice and cooperative, what makes this a "mask off" moment instead of an "hey since you want me to be a monster, lemme roll an intimidation check, maybe you'll cooperate this time and stop patronizing me about trustworthiness". And even if he's being honest about enthralling her, I really don't care about her, like, at all? She was enthralled way before any of the shit in-game happened, our companions have done worse shit in the past, I will just keep working for the guy and save the world I don't care, I'm not gonna pretend our characters are on some higher moral ground because they are not.

"He murdered Duke Stelmane" - He did not??? She was murdered by the Bhaal Cultists, the game is very explicit about this. The Emperor already did his mischievous actions, you don't have to invent new ones to give to him

"There is a cutscene that shows him causing her seizure" - Yeah, and I'm glad he's learned that enthralling others is just not worth it and is actually trying to forge a real alliance with us, even if it's an alliance by necessity. It's a pretty shitty thing he did but again, I don't care about her as much as people do. He's not doing it to me and he clearly shows he knows it didn't work back then and it's better to forge a real alliance with a free-willing person, and I have no reason to be antagonistic or vindictive towards the one that has been The Shield to The Sword.

"He literally says '''you are my puppet'" - And is he wrong? You literally wouldn't be there without him actively protecting you (not Orpheus, he is the one protecting you, Orpheus is doing jackshit for us besides being the source of the hivemind disruption power) and he's using you to save himself and save the world in the process... just like you're doing the same with your companions. And I don't mean Tav, I mean you as a player. They are your pawns as well. You can do whatever you want with them. You can be invested in their emotional well-being and want the "good" endings for their quests, or maybe you'd rather have more firepower on your quest to save the world in which case you'd maybe go for the "bad" endings. They are - indeed - paws to achieve the goal you desire the most

People just don't like The Emperor because he acts exactly how the player themselves do. He has a clear goal in mind and wants things to happen the way he wants and is using the NPCs (us) to further this final goal. I will just do what he wants since our goals align, he'll be happy and then he fucks off to continue playing City Skylines: Baldur's Gate Edition with the Knights of the Shield.

[mmikmmik]

Some elements of In Stars and Time really resonated with me as an exploration of video games as a medium, similar to Undertale.

I remember when I was playing Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion, I felt really attached to Serana. She has a ton of dialogue options and environmental interactions throughout the DLC plotline. Her character and relationship with the player character are dynamic and have some of Skyrim's best writing. (To be fair, the character writing in Skyrim is generally weak, but I remember her writing being pretty strong even by a higher standard.)

When the Dawnguard DLC ended, suddenly Serana had very little notable to say. I took her with me when I was doing the questline for the other big plot-based Skyrim DLC, Dragonborn, and it was so depressing. Serana as written in Dawnguard would have had lots of interesting things to say about the new adventure, new characters, and new locations to explore. As the Dragonborn's closest companion, she would have had concerns and her own opinions about the Dragonborn developing this whole thing with Hermaeus Mora in that DLC. But of course, there was nothing, because she wasn't written to have those interactions. I felt exactly like Siffrin did in Act 4 (except, you know, about a video game character I liked and not about an actual loved one). It was like she died and I was dragging around a puppet with her face. It doesn't matter if her previous strong writing had made me buy into her interiority - she couldn't change anymore or react to the major plot beats, so I could no longer see her as a character.

[moldygreenblue]

theory: what if welcome home and the real world and exist and are parallel to one another, similar to the lego movie?

one world is above, and the other world is below. a barrier keeps the two world apart physically. that doesn't mean the two worlds can't 'cross' over by other means.

the real world created puppet copies of the welcome home citizens. and the copies allow the welcome home citizens abilities to see/hear glimpses of the real world, as a dream they can brush off for so long.

regarding the narrator, they're the only one who can 'cross' over. sort of. they can't physically enter, but they can 'observe' (via their scripts), and slowly over time the neighborhood accepted this sudden invisible neighbor who lives above them. think like the narrator from the stanley parable; an actual narrator who in certain routes/endings becomes a character and we the player + stanley just roll with it.

(wally by the present for sure knows of the real world and broke the barrier, but how is the question)

the real world (including the narrator) can influence/try to influence the other world that is welcome home through the copies. they don't mean to though, and whether or not it's successful depends on the world of welcome home's resident(s) resistance or blocking.

take julie and frank's relationship. it seems that playfellow workshop and/or the higher ups of the channel [at some point] push the idea that julie and frank are a couple.

i like to think with this theory, it's because the puppeteers have great amount of chemistry together + "hey, we don't have an official couple do we? can't let anyone get the wrong idea now!"

(sub theory to above: the puppeteers have great amount of chemistry due to being together themselves, and it rolled into the idea if the puppeteers are together romantically, why not the characters themselves too? because "hey, we don't have an official couple do we? can't let anyone get the wrong idea for sure!")

so we have welcome home the show julie and frank as a couple. but julie and frank of the welcome home world aren't. they're so comfortable with their friendship they never could think that what they have is romantic, they're blocking out the influence.

[theknightstemplar]

thoughts about ivalice's very own monsters pt 1/2

A post that started out as me laughing at the line "Monster? You think us monsters?!" And became me thinking about certain things. Again!

....One such thing is how the game handles both its demons and its zombies.

I'll start with the zombies first since there's only two of them. Spoilers ahead!

People who know me will tell you that I hated the deathknight argath fight from pretty much all possible angles. It's a cheap and quick way to satiate an audience of people who like seeing teenagers suffer a little too much. we are talking about the undead corpse of a sixteen year old, after all.

but from a single less layer of meta the existence of the deathknight argath fight cheapens the impact that zombie zalbaag has story-wise. because now you know the lucavi to have zombification up their sleeves and you expect that they'll throw more emotional gut punches at ramza.

going up to another slightly more shallow layer of meta, it disregards argath's initial characterization for "ahaha i am pure EVIL and now i will sow the seeds of PAIN upon the weak!" Which. yes, I know argath's intended to be so vile that people's gut reaction is disgust-- but argath in life was more lawful in his evil than chaotic. he holds the social expectations of ivalice to a higher standard than anyone's life; even his own. he enforces them because he genuinely believes that the manner in which ivalice cannibalizes people is the manner in which the country should function. he dies trying to convince ramza to adhere to the same system.

And the reason zalbaag's fight as a zombie works is because it's a symbolic sword to the face regarding zalbaag's character. YOU the player are being stabbed-- in the face-- by the realization that zalbaag was too late to believe ramza and change things, just like isilud and nearly just like marach.

if square had wanted argath's fight to be impactful in a similar manner-- then in my opinion, he should have also been a zombie puppet. maybe his mind would be fogged and he believes he's still fighting for an ivalice that he thinks will uplift him so long as he continues to push other people into its gaping maw. maybe he looks at zalera and only sees his liege, elmdore, commanding him to deal with those who are clearly traitors. maybe he wouldn't even realize he's fighting ramza at first... so consumed with the idea of finally being one who is someone important.

[nevadancitizen]

Hello, I would like to ask your permission for one of my ideas. I really liked how you wrote about self-aware cod au, and it occurred to me that they consider the player to be a God, they know their real appearance, but if that's how they look in their world, then what do they look like in theirs? And I also created something like a Godlike appearance (sorry if you are not satisfied with the image on which I did it, I just don't know how to draw).

I hope you enjoy it, if you continue to develop this au, I would like you to use what I did, thank you!

hiiiii omg i'm so honored to have art made of the self-aware au!!!!!! giving you a thousand kisses (✿˵•́ ૩•̀˵)৴♡* i'm not sure if i'll find a way to incorporate it into my works but i really appreciate it nonetheless!!!

but as for your question i think that the player would just look like you usually do irl? maybe not exactly as divine as you make them out to be in the image but still with some subtle divine qualities, like eyes that give off a faint glow in the dark or a halo you can only catch glances of out of the corner of your eye..

but really i'm pulling from saltymongoose's self-aware au for madness combat (her masterlist is linked here if you're curious) because it's the first self-aware au i was really aware of/engaged in. for that au, the player is just you but when you're controlling a character, there's faint wisps of strings at your fingertips, connecting you to them -- like a puppet and their puppeteer. they also have an accelerated rate of healing that they can project onto the characters if need be. and this is applied to the player in the cod au as well!

at the end of the day, you're right when you say that they do consider the player to be a god: someone from a literal higher plane of existence, with the physique and the powers to back it up (and no matter what you look like -- fat, scrawny, "too" short or "too" tall, wheelchair-bound, technology-dependent, or completely average -- they'd consider you to perfectly fit the descriptor of a heavenly being, because who else would?)

(also i recommend simp4konig's self-aware fic if you want another fix of this au)

[nobodysdaydreams]

TMBS Fairytale AU Show Version

Based on this lovely post by @cronch-goes-the-weasel and this awesome post by @sophieswundergarten and also this post that was one of the first posts I've ever made because for some reason I really liked the idea of SQ as a Disney Prince and thought the world should know about it, so much so, that I decided to get a tumblr just so I could tell people.

Warning: The content of this AU is long and insane. Reader discretion is advised.

Premise: As I have developed this story, some characters have no magic powers, some have magic powers that they have to study to learn how to use, and others have naturally occurring magic powers, to various degrees. Just roll with it, my brain is excited, but exhausted. Here we go.

Nicholas and Nathaniel are two poor orphan boys that grow up in a local orphanage, with no knowledge of where they came from. The boys both love studying magic and try to get their hands on any spell books they can find. Nicholas is adopted by a fairly well off family while Nathaniel is left behind.

Flash forward to years later, and Nathaniel has become an evil wizard who has taken over the world and declared himself king. He has a special school and is currently recruiting the most powerful magical or otherwise talented children to go through lifelong training to serve on his court and be his knights. His brother Nicholas, a kind-hearted and humble, but scattered brain wizard is the only one who can stop him.

The players in the story:

The Bad Guys:

Nathaniel/Curtain: Evil Wizard King. It's exactly what it sounds like.

Garrison: Chief member of Curtain's court (his right hand woman), and expert in all types of magic. She often advises Curtain against using dangerous magic, but he rarely listens. If we want to bring mythical creatures into this, I could see her being part fairy (more specifically an evil or outcast fairy).

Jeffers: Head of Curtain's current army (the greys). He can't use magic, but likes to think that he might be able to one day and attempts to do so often (it never works).

Jackson and Jillson: Curtain's jesters. They entertain him by doing little songs, dances, and puppet shows for the court, which Nathaniel Benedict, professional theater kid, appreciates. If we want to bring mythical creatures into this, they can be elves/part elf or some sort of quirky woodland creatures).

SQ: Prince and heir to the evil throne. His father teaches him magic (but not too much) and rarely lets SQ go outside or leave and explore certain parts of the castle. He spends most of his time painting and talking to wild animals in the gardens.

Martina: one of the best students Curtain has recruited and on track to become a knight and the head of his army.

The Good Guys:

Nicholas: a self-taught wizard/magic user who refuses to use dark or evil magic

Number Two: Wanted to be a knight ever since she was a little girl. She trained for years, and eventually became a knight that specializes in axe throwing.

Rhonda: a self-taught apothecary and healer that specializes in healing magic.

Milligan: man who was taken in by the team when he showed up on their doorstep with no memory. He has the sigil of what he believes to be Curtain's kingdom's symbol tattooed on his wrist and worries that this means he might have been a bad person once. Later, he has flashbacks of living and working in a palace with other higher ups, including Curtain, and fears the worst.

Reynie: An orphan boy who is ostracized by the others for being able to study magic. He answers Nicholas' advertisement hoping to gain the ability to study and develop his ability.

Miss. Perumal: Reynie's magic tutor who teaches him how to use his powers. She has some abilities herself, and if we want to bring mythical creatures into this, I could see her being part fairy.

Sticky: the high achieving son of deceased nobles who is under tremendous pressure to inherit his family's land and manage the family estate as his mother and father once did. He'd prefer to use his gift of intellect to study and help others, but his extended family insists that this is his destiny and he must spend his time learning things like manners and the ways of high society so he's ready when he comes of age. Sticky, feeling trapped and under pressure, sees Nicholas' advertisement, and runs away to answer it.

Kate: her main backstory doesn't have to change. She is a performer that goes from village to village in a traveling circus. She believes that she was abandoned by her father, who she recalls used to be some sort of knight. Eventually, she begins to long for more than circus life, and dreams of becoming a knight herself (but a good one. Not a bad one like the father who left her). She sees Nicholas' advertisement and decides to answer it.

Constance: She's extremely gifted in magic without ever having studied it, but she has no idea why. She can't remember much of her past and has been kicked out of orphanage after orphanage for things like accidently enchanting her bully's desk to be filled with bugs (Constance did not always mean to do this, but her emotions tend to manifest into real world events). Desperate to understand herself, she too answers the advertisement.

Now for the drama of it all. Nicholas discovers that the dark wizard that has cursed the land and declared himself king is in fact Nathaniel his brother. Meanwhile, the children have infiltrated Curtain's school and discover that Curtain plans to tighten his grip on the world by casting a final dark spell that will recruit all lords and ladies (the noble class, people with money, land, and influence), magic users, and knights to his side or otherwise will curse all who resist and leave them poor, alone, destitute, and without their memories or powers. However, Curtain has been struggling to get the spell to work and discovers that certain types of ancient magic can only be translated or understood by children (Nobody knows why. And I haven't thought that far ahead. Potential future twist maybe? But it explains why Curtain needs the kids).

Anyway, Curtain sees that Reynie seems to have a gift for magic and Sticky is quite knowledgeable when it comes to reading ancient texts. So he gives the boys an opportunity to study under him personally. At first, he identifies with Reynie as an misunderstood orphaned magic user and dismisses Sticky because he can tell by his manners and his knowledge of high society that he comes from money (like those rich snobs who adopted Nicholas). But eventually, Curtain realizes that Reynie is too hesitant to use dark magic (if you're hesitant to use it, it doesn't work as well), so he focuses on training Sticky as his apprentice, telling Sticky that he simply wants to learn more about the land's dark history so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. His goal is to get Sticky to decipher the codes and spells for him, and then Curtain can hopefully use his own magic to cast the spell, or if he must convince another child to do so, find one that is powerful enough and willing to cast the spell. Curtain also casts his own spells that give Sticky good feelings and make him want to comply. While under the influence of the magic, Sticky figures since he's just really intelligent, but doesn't use magic himself, then what's the worst that could happen if he helps Curtain translate a few things? After all, working with him will enable him to get more information about his plans.

Meanwhile, Martina and Kate are training as knights and develop a rivalry that turns to unlikely friendship that is torn asunder when Martina realizes Kate has been a spy. Constance has been doing her best to hide her powers ever since the children realize Curtain is looking for powerful children for his work. However, since she isn't good at tests like Sticky or the training to be a knight like Kate, she is placed under the care of Jackson and Jillson (who find her to be a delightful small child) in order to train to be an entertainer and court jester. Constance hates every minute of this, and lessons include juggling, puppeteering, and joke telling. Sometimes her powers do activate and cause chaos, but Jackson and Jillson believe this is part of the performance and a testament to her talent. SQ, fed up with palace life and ready to enter his Disney Princess™️ era, sneaks into the part of the palace his father has reserved for his school and pretends to be a regular student. While there he befriends Reynie and eventually learns of his father's true plans, but Reynie still never learns that SQ is the king's son (indeed, most people are only vaguely aware Curtain even has a son, and most imagine him to be this super powerful and intimidating guy).

The main conflict (basically season 1): There is a final fight between the children and Curtain where Constance reveals her powers. Curtain sees an opportunity to use her for his spell, but she overpowers him. Martina and Kate duel and Kate wins, offering Martina a chance to come with them, but Martina angrily refuses, humiliated to have been defeated, and calls Kate a coward for not finishing her off. Kate replies that that's not who she is, and she doesn't believe that's who Martina is either. Martina says that Kate doesn't know her.

Nicholas shows up at the palace to confront Curtain, who is still angry about what happened between them and claims that putting the world under his order is what is best. Nicholas is shocked that his brother has done this, because Nathaniel never used dark magic when they were kids, both of them believing it was dangerous and evil. Nicholas asks his brother what changed, and Curtain tells him that he grew up and realized that the "power of love" and "good magic" can't solve everything and that some people need to make necessary sacrifices. Nicholas seems heartbroken, and Curtain, in a strange moment of sentimentality, offers Nicholas a chance to join him in exchange for forgiving his friends and family of their transgressions against him. Nicholas refuses, and Reynie and Sticky succeed in undoing some of the dark spells Curtain has cast over the world. Realizing he is losing his control, Curtain responds by casting a simple sleeping spell on Nicholas and escaping with his followers (all other bad guy characters mentioned). Everything plays out much like it does in the show, with Kate and Milligan realizing that they are father and daughter.

Now season 2. Curtain kidnaps Nicholas and brainwashes him to join him and help promote his rule, claiming that Curtain's magic and his rule are good things. The others try to save him. Meanwhile, Martina begins to have doubts about their mission and voices them to Jackson and Jillson, who assure her that she is doing the right thing.

SQ confronts his father with the information he has learned only to be repeatedly dismissed and told that he must trust that this is for the best. SQ instead does some snooping on his own and discovers that his birth parents were once rulers of an island nation and that Curtain was their friend and advisor on their court. He then assumes that Curtain must have used dark magic to betray them, kill them, and take over. Terrified, he runs away under the cover of night, and eventually bumps into Reynie, the only person he remembers meeting at the Institute. The kids explain that they are going to rescue their leader, Mr. Benedict, who wants to stop the dark wizard (Curtain) from taking over the world. SQ, learning his father has a twin for the first time, makes the split second decision to join them in their mission, while wondering what else his father has lied to him about. The children discover that SQ can do some simple spells that his father taught him, is pretty well educated, and although not exactly athletic, does know some basic fighting techniques. SQ teaches them what he knows, and they teach him things he doesn't know.

Meanwhile, Curtain's spell that he used to make Nicholas join him and comply begins to have disturbing side effects. He goes to Garrison for help, but she tells him that she warned him against using that kind of magic, and that it can't be reverse. He tells her that he will find a way, no matter what it takes. He then discovers his son is missing, and when he's spotted with the society, Curtain claims (and believes) they've kidnapped and brainwashed SQ and offers a reward to capture and bring them to the palace. This leads the others discover that SQ is Curtain's son. At first, they worry he's a spy, but SQ eventually convinces them that he's on their side, and that he is ready to fight his father and figure out the truth.

The kids show up to stop Curtain. Martina fights SQ at first, and is about to beat him, when Kate saves him by distracting Martina. Martina fights Kate again and this time she wins, but can't bring herself to kill Kate, admitting that Kate was right about her and about Curtain. Martina then decides to join them, much to the dismay of Jackson and Jillson, who blow trumpets alerting the greys of their arrival. Jeffers and his men show up to fight Martina and Kate (and Milligan and Number Two, who show up just in time).

Reynie, Sticky, Rhonda, and Miss. Perumal try some spells to help Mr. Benedict, but it doesn't work. Then Curtain and Garrison show up. Curtain puts a simple sleeping spell on Rhonda and Miss. Perumal. The boys are horrified, but Curtain explains that they will awaken in a few hours, once they've been escorted to their cells. The boys demand to know what will happen to Mr. Benedict. Garrison tells them they have no hope of helping Nicholas and that she warned Curtain this would happen. Curtain angrily replies that he gave her everything, including a chance to develop and practice her magic with no limitations, but she was only interested in holding him back, and she shouldn't pretend to care about his brother. The boys, realizing that Curtain does care about Mr. Benedict, try to convince him to turn good, but he replies that he is good and they are the ones that need to change.

He freezes the boys with magic and is about to cast a spell on them, when Constance arrives and challenges Curtain to rematch. The original plan was to have Constance only intervene if necessary, because the others suspected that after last time, Curtain and Garrison might have figured out a way to siphon off her magic. Curtain, hungry for power and realizing that taking her magic might enable him to both save Nicholas and keep his power, offers Constance a deal. Join him, give up her magic, and help him save Nicholas and he'll release her friends. He even does a truth spell on himself to verify he is telling the truth (idk if the narcolepsy thing is in this, this is already so much I don't want to add more, but if it is, he falls asleep and this verifies that he's telling the truth). Constance is about to agree, when SQ bravely runs in and challenges his dad to a duel of magic and sword. Curtain, who does not recognize his son with a helmet over his head, believes this is just some random knight and tries to magic him away, but finds to his surprise that this random knight has some fairly good countering spells. So they duel a bit, but Curtain gets the upper hand. In frustration at his plans being delayed, Curtain begins casting a painful and damaging spell on SQ, causing him to groan and scream in pain, at which point, his helmet falls off. Curtain immediately drops his hands, horrified at what he's done, and runs to his son's side. SQ weakly asks if this is what his father did to his birth parents. Curtain vehemently denies it, shocked his son would ask that, and it's heavily implied that something went wrong in the past that resulted in Curtain trying to use dark magic to fix it, but that ultimately, he wasn't powerful enough, and it resulted in the deaths of SQ's birth parents (I guess this is an SOS AU now. I don't know anymore).

Curtain asks SQ why he would turn against his own family, and SQ tells his father about how trapped he felt in the sheltered palace life Curtain had set up for him and how betrayed he felt that his father had kept so much from him. Curtain replies that he was only ever trying to protect him. SQ starts growing weaker and weaker as Nicholas' side effects start getting worse. Garrison is sad to see them both in pain and dying, but tells Constance and Curtain that she's not powerful enough to fix it, and that most of the magic that would is too powerful, even for any of them. Curtain, upon hearing this, attempts a spell that will exchange his own life for SQ's, but finds he's not powerful enough to use it, and that the dark magic he's been using has left him too corrupted to effectively cast a self-sacrificing spell. Curtain starts to cry and tells SQ that he loves him, hugging him close to his chest. SQ replies weakly, gasping for breath that despite everything, he loves his father too. This begins to heal SQ (power of love and all that. Beautiful stuff. What? It's a fairytale. I can give it a fairytale ending).

Constance, seeing that love was able to heal SQ, decides to give it a try. She walks over to Mr. Benedict and tells him that the reason she denied his offer of adoption was because she was scared of him leaving her like she assumes her parents must have. But now, she wishes she had accepted his offer, and that they had more time together because she would love to spend every second of it with him as her family. This heals Nicholas.

Happy ending right? Wrong. Curtain takes SQ to the palace on the islands where his birth parents lived (which had since been abandoned, but SQ realizes the sigil of his birth parents is the same one Curtain was using). Curtain then goes off on his own journey to released the world from his dark spells, with Nicholas to help him. The twins complete the task and return to the islands to find SQ missing (and a message from home via urgent carrier pigeon confirms Constance has gone missing as well). The twins investigate and find a mysterious woman occupying the islands. They demand to know where their children have gone. She tells them that they will be fine, provided the twins are willing to comply and embrace their destinies. She then introduces herself as their sister and says they have a lot to talk about.

And that's all I got. Please don't ask me to finish this, I'm tired. But I hope you like it.

[musezieren]

Sirius as companion

Tav=player character

Where do you find Sirius?

Pretty close to where Tav wakes up, he is crouching over a mangled fisher corpse, and deep in thoughts.

What does the tadpole show?

Him lobotomizing US, followed by him waking up in confusion, and finally nothing. a dark black abyss that seems to swallow everything.

Approval/Disapproval

He actually approves of many things. He approves helping people, but after some speech checks will also approve of slaughter and violence. The more Tav influences in one way, the more his approval/disapproval adapts. If one goes on the path of evil and then becomes good, he will disapprove. the other way around too. He also disapproves if a Tav or anyone tries to do skill checks alone after Sirius offered to take over, mostly if they fail.

Death of the Dragonborn bard.

A cut scene a bit later in the game than what we get. It is in pride if he is found out, if Tav went an evil path. Or desperation and apologies and utter fear if a righteous path was chosen. Tav can decide if Sirius is sent away, can stay or be attacked.

Tiefling Party

You'll get a talk about how nice it feels to help people. That he did it to fight whatever pulls his strings at first. But seeing all those cheerful faces elates him, truly. He will open up about feeling controlled and without a choice here. If approval is high enough, he'd ask to sneak away, watch the stars together, and possibly a kiss. But he wants to take things slow, especially because he is scared of whatever controls him to take over and ruin a moment.

Goblin Party

Boy is high on violence and murder, and totally open to fuck. No silly love making, no sweet words, mostly dirty, kinky sex. Minthara's sex scene is more romantic.

---

Romance path moves different paths from there on.

Evil Path: It's dangerous sex, and banter. Only sometimes gentle emotions peak through. He WILL kill Isobel, and Tav will not have a choice here. This is the path he was set on, and it allows him to get the Slayer Form later without hurting the player character. In the end he'll accept Bhaal, and no speech checks will change that. But he'll tell Tav that he'll stay around, until the day it was their turn to die by his hand... but that he hopes they'll be the last, and he'll follow soon after them. he still seems haunted by his choices, sometimes showing that he just gave up. There is a hopelessness in him... and any laughter cannot be as warm as it can be on his other path. He accepted he is a puppet from a higher power, he does not tug on his strings.

Good Path: He doesn't kill Isobel, more struggling in the shadow lands, nightmares opening up about them. Holding each other at night. One night in Act 2 he will ask the player to tie him up, else he'll kill them. If they do, congrats they'll survive. If not... game over, no resurrection. But after that is done, first sex scene, very romantic, and also changing with choices. He'll ask how they want to do it... and it can be kinky, it can be vanilla... top/bottom... just really indulging each other's wants and needs. (he will not fully dom in this scene, and the one where he is submissive is more detailed here) In Act III there will be all the game reveals. Who his father is, what his fate is, Orin being obsessed, Gortash being his ex lover, etc. And finally, the showdown with Bhaal. Here he is for a moment about to surrender. Because he is SCARED, feels weak in front of a God that made him, remembers the way he was broken, scared to suffer that again... but just supporting him, reminding him he isn't alone is enough to make him snap out of it and reject Bhaal. From there on he can be fully dominant, even sadistic if player wants/enjoys that in a romance/sex scene. But either way lots of after care and snuggling. In Game choices and talks influence his Epilogue. Maybe they also took in orphaned kids. Maybe he is going around and studying Bhaalspawn... but he'll usually ask for Tav's hand in marriage, wanting to make it official etc.

[vintage-retro-queen]

Get to Know Mary-Loukritia "Lucy” Corleone

Here is the image of who Mary-Loukritia "Lucy" Corleone is, and what she looks like to those who want to know who she is and what she looks like.

Zodiac Sign: Virgo (September)

Age: 15

Hair Color: Deep-Cocoa Brown

Eye Color(s): Deep-Cocoa Brown

Hair Length: Long to her back

Hairstyle(s): Let down, straight, braids, ponytail(s), (other hairstyles, still thinking of)

Clothes: White long sleeved sweater with mid-opacity truffle beige plaid pattern, brown overall dress, high waist socks, brown boots (no heels), and beige earrings, White designer crop tank-blouse, peachy pink open front cardigan sweater V neck vintage slim shirt, low rise flared leg boyfriend blue bottoms jeans, silver chain belt with silver butterflies, white slip-on platform shoes (not the higher ones, just an inch taller ones), Y2K hypoallergenic magnetic earrings-piercings (No actual piercing required), and a Y2K pink heart necklace with XOXO in it. Dove-white designer dress, white and pink designer dress (shorts underneath the dresses), monochrome and brown crop jackets, white flats, white heels, diamond earrings, necklace, anklet, bracelet, gold choker-necklace, and gold earrings. Casual outfit on the middle, nightwear on the right, and swimwear on the left. (Other Clothes and accessories are coming soon)

Likes: Family, trustworthy friends, helping others, repaying others, delicious pastries, her beloved cats and kittens.

Dislikes: Fake people (ex. Fake Friends who use others as puppets), people who betray who, people who frame others for petty/tons of things, people using others various and personal reasons, bullies getting away with everything, victims being put to blame, the dreams she keeps getting every night, people who talk and look down on others to make themselves feel better, people treating others as slaves/servants, etc (more coming soon)

Sexuality: Pansexual + Demiromantic

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Model, artist, writer, animator, filmmaker, editor, voice actor, actress, dancer, singer, musician, and student. (In summary, a multitasker)

Hobbies: Sketching, drawing (Doodling, hatching, pop art, scribble, caricature (Anime styles), gesture drawing, perspective drawing, stippling, tattoo drawing, portrait, line drawing, life drawing, cartoon drawing, photorealism, pointillism, analytical drawing, realism, anamorphic), writing (Story, nonfic, poet, etc), animating, film making, editing, voice acting, dancing (ballet, ballroom, folk, swing, lyrical, belly dancing, concert, Latin, tap, salsa, fusion, rumba, jazz), singing, playing various instruments, helping family around the house, cooking for friends and family, going to her favorite place in London, playing sports and/or ocean sports (football (soccer), Cricket, rounders, polo, rugby, netball, and badminton), volunteering for helping out in the community, reading (most genres, just not all due to personal reasons by her family), listening to music in her record player or gramophone when she's listening to music with her friends and/or family.

Favorite Music: Rock, soft rock, various rock and roll music (became one of her favorite since some of her friends introduced it to her), classical, classical rock, romance, gothic music, 1950s-early 2000s, songs that screams nostalgia, etc.

Personality: Sweet, kind, honest, generous, loyal, selfless, and caring, but will get mad in case anybody gets into her bad side or tries to.

Favorite Animals: Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, panthers, horses, foals. (Mostly cats and kittens) And her beloved cats and kittens she takes care of as if they are her children.

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Britain-Italian (Fluent in French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Hindi, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Estonian, Bengali, Belarusian, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Slovak, Slovenian, Haitian Creole, Croatian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Tibetan, Romanian, Czech, Latvian, Lithuanian, Danish, Greek, Russian, Finland, Hungarian, etc=Polyglot)

IQ: 300

Status: Alive

More Information Coming Soon...

So, that's basically all you need to know for now.

And to those who are wondering what a polyglot is, it's a person who speaks and/or understands many languages.

Desc. Prologue.

[wsthproduction]

Weird Stuff That Happens: Open Casting

Weird Stuff That Happens wants your help! As long as you are 18+ and willing to some unique roleplay gaming and writing you may be a good fit for the WSTH cast. Weird Stuff That Happens is always looking for new players, and while you can play casually as yourself, you can also fit into one of the series' many changer roles. You don't have to be fully caught up before joining, and any information will be explained to you as you join.

If you wish to join or have any questions send and ask or DM to this blog or @frank-bennedetto

Stars indicate character complexity and importance. These characters are potentially long term commitments, especially at higher star levels.

Five star characters have hours worth of pre-existing lore. There are no level 5s available at the moment.

Four star characters have about one hour of backstory.

Three star characters have a little extra necessary context .

Two and one stars characters will mostly be developed as casted.

Pronouns are suggestions and are flexible to the performer's input.

Emily ⭐⭐⭐⭐(She/her)- (Computer Teacher at Kevin's College)

Wally ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (He/him)- (Kevin's College Roommate)

Talkto ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (They/it)- (Old Friend of David)

Rammy ⭐⭐⭐(She/Her) - (A shy girl with a sheep fursona and some problems)

Fey ⭐⭐⭐(She/they)- (David and Joey's friend, grumpy lady)

Zoe ⭐⭐(She/her)- (Mouse and Joey's board game club friend, works at a gemstone store)

Lilly ⭐⭐ (She/her)- (Ariel's Friend)

Zed ⭐⭐ (They/them)- (Ariel's coworker)

Zack ⭐⭐ (He/Him) - (Cal's online friend)

Ozzy ⭐ (He/Him)- (Cal's online Friend)

Guy ⭐ (She/They) - (Cal's online Friend)

Taffy ⭐ (She/Her) - (Cal's online Friend)

Paul ⭐ (He/Him)- (Cal's online Friend)

New Character:

If you have an idea for a WSTH character and want to try them out there are a few guidelines:

Play nice: your character must follow the WSTH rules as outlined in the site's FAQ. Don't be a jerk. No Gamejacking, your character has to follow the rules of the WSTH universe, any attempts to jack the series story will result in negative reactions both on and off site.

Character style guidelines: Characters exist both online and offline. Offline characters have fairly strict guidelines but online sonas are more anything go with a few restrictions.

Approved species:

Humans

Computer AI

Human passing Artificial Beings

Ghosts

Human mimics/ shape shifters

Inhumanoid paranormal species

Puppets

Talking animal (if you can justify it being able to operate a computer)

In general, they need to be able to pass as a human or pass as un-personified if an animal/machine/ect

Disproved species :

Aliens (my only hard no thing)

Non-human passing humanoid (unless you have a good argument)

Furries (Were-animals are allowed)

Species with Copyright/closed species

Angels/Demons

in general: no fan charters from other series unless its source media is in the public domain. Reworked ocs are maybe depending on context. For example if you want to modernize or time warp your Dracula oc that would work but a Transformers oc would have to be reworked into a different type of robot.

[onestepbackwards]

As much as I love self-aware Volo being an absolute simp for the player, may I suggest a wonderfully tragic counterpart to balance out the sweetness?

The crushing nihilism and fatalism that could occur when Volo is able to comprehend the limits of what he is. If he tried to send a message to the outside world - a world so vast and powerful that only a small fragment was needed to create him and the universe he exists in - would the player even realize there's someone on the other side?

His thoughts, feelings, desires; how many of these things are truly his own and not just extensions of his design?

This realization alone is bad enough for any character, but Volo specifically is tormented with the knowledge of two undeniable truths:

He exists purely to be a character in a story for the audience's entertainment

He is the villain of the story

It could easily become something so raw and agonizing. Learning you are just some puppet, created for some being of a higher existence's entertainment, and you were purposely created to be the bad guy?

How you have strings attached to your very soul, telling you what to feel. The crises of learning your thoughts may not even be your own, or your feelings. All just predestined. Then the horror of learning you seem to be the only one to recognize this. Wondering if even realizing there is someone on the other side watching you, if it's even real, or a part of their plan. If any thought you have now as you are pulled along by invisible strings is your own or just... All made up. The worst part? He can't do a thing about it. Try to hurt himself? He's back and fine the moment you are back. Tries to tell anyone? They ignore him or forget the next time you come to play. He's alone, and burdened by knowledge of the heavens and the damned. Volo supposes that's the price to pay, for trying to become a god. He's burdened by the knowledge of one.

[tactical-mode]

Glossary

7R - The series of games being used for the production.

Beacause - 2011 fan translation of the OG.

Blocking - the placement of actors in a scene, part of stage direction.

Bullet Time - a term for a slow-motion action shot with a dynamic camera, innovated for the film The Matrix.

CC- Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion, a 2022 video game being used for the production.

EC - Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, a mobile device game that also blends scenes from the OG and 7R, much like this project. Provides alternative translation choices.

DOF - Depth of Field, an effect that makes objects and environments sharp or blurry at different distances. In 7R, this is commonly employed during cutscenes and not during gameplay.

FMV - Full-Motion Video, a pre-rendered scene with higher graphical fidelity than in-engine footage.

FOV - Field of View, the observable area of a shot (aka what’s in the screen). A low FOV is zoomed in, while a high FOV is fish-eyed or panoramic.

HUD - Heads-Up Display, aka: words, symbols, and menus that appear overtop of a video game.

In-Engine - Anything that is rendered in real-time by the game, such as environments, animations, and audio or graphic effects.

JP - The Japanese version of the OG.

Machinima - A type of media that uses in-game footage to create film or audio productions, made possible under fair-use acts.

Mo-Cap - Motion Capture, aka the physical performance (gestures, blocking, facial expressions) used to puppet a digital character.

OBS - A free software that allows the recording of applications and screens.

OG - The original Final Fantasy VII video game.

PC - 1998 official translation of the OG for computers, also a general term for computer,

PS1 - 1997 official translation of the OG; the first english script. Preserved by Yinza.

Rebirth- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a 2024 video game being used for the production.

Remake - Final Fantasy VII Remake, a 2020 video game being used for the production.

SAC - Shinra Archaeology Cut, a 2024 fan translation of the OG that also unearths cut content and incorporates it into the script.

Tactical Mode - a mode in video games that allows players to input commands tactically, in the case of 7R it slows things down to bullet time, allowing for slow motion shots. Also, the name of the team working on this project.

Worldstate - in a video game, a stable environment waiting for player input. Scenes are numbered in accordance with worldstate changes (among other things).