#...actually i've never actually looked to see what the modding scene is like for this game

[thecodeveronica]

If I knew anything about modding and 3D character model stuff, not gonna lie, I'd try to work on a mod to make Albus in CV Judgment and just give him Simon's voice files since they had the same voice actor

Hell, actually I'd just model swap entirely with Simon I guess and let my man use a whip, canon and lore be damned :)

[eff-plays]

A personal rant about BG3, Larian, and writing fanfic

So let me preface this by saying that I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on?

I am not really a fanfiction writer, which is ironic considering some of my first writing was fanfiction. Since then, it's been nothing but original fiction. The Wayhaven Chronicles was the game I started writing actual fanfic for, and that was only a couple of years ago (nobody look at me I haven't updated in forty years). I'm very new to the genre, basically. I barely even read fanfic, as for most of my life I've just been like "Well it's not canon anyway so what's the point of it?" and it's only recently that I've gotten more into it and understood the "point".

That is all to say that when I started writing my BG3 Tavstarion (I know, so new and never seen before) fic, I wanted it to be based as closely on the game as possible. To the point where I would boot up the game to get the smallest details right; which boxes were where and had what in them, the inflection of a character's voice, the movements, the animations. I could look it up on Youtube, but it felt like cheating -- I had to be there, as my OC, and filter it all first-hand through their thoughts. That way, my fic would have a solid foundation of canon on which I would build their story.

I admit, that's the main reason I've kept the game installed despite burning out of actually playing it months ago. Because of my stupid OC that I love. Here's what I even made the Steam banner look like.

It might be silly -- I would never hold a fic I read to these dumbfuck standards, anyway -- but it felt right. I'm writing a canon-compliant fic, so of course I need canon to support it. Maybe not to the extent I was doing it, but the fundamental idea made sense to me. I wanted my deviations from canon to be minimal and well-informed. Because I loved the canon and that's what made me love the game, and in turn my OC. It was all connected, you see?

Which brings me to the patches. The updates. The scene changes. All of it. I wanted to stay true to the game, so I hung onto it for dear life, letting it clog up my PC's storage just in case I needed it for fic purposes. But now ... what's the point? Larian won't leave well enough alone, so to which version am I staying true? Why should I respect canon when Larian can change it at any moment if a vocal minority has issues with something I personally enjoy and want to include in a fic? At this point, my personal experience doesn't matter -- my Tav's version of the game doesn't exist anymore. So looking up stuff on Youtube feels right. In fact, it might be my only choice, if I want to see the version of the game where they first and best existed.

And you might think "Wow Eff, that's a long-winded and melodramatic way of saying you're uninstalling the game!" Well, yeah. This is my personal gaming blog, so of course I will put my big gamer feels on here. That's just what I do. But this is the first time this has happened to me, where I feel like there's just no point in respecting canon at all, and I want to document that feeling. I was trying desperately to stay true to Larian's vision, playing the game when it brought me no joy just so I could then write fic which does bring me joy. But why do that? Larian does not respect me, and more importantly, they don't respect their own stories. So why should I?

Anyway, yeah. I'm uh. Uninstalling the game, finally. I will keep writing my fic, as that still brings me joy, and apologies for getting shit wrong, but at this point the game I remember doesn't exist anyway, so what's the point in getting the current game right?

The only thing I'll miss is being able to take screenshots of my Tav, and making gifs of them. I modded in a unique face for them (and long-time followers will know how much I struggled with that) and now that won't be as easily accessible anymore. I don't think it's a waste, though, not with how much joy it brought me, and I'll still have the files. Maybe I'll come back in a few months and gaze upon them again.

Goodbye for now, my blorbo. You will always be loved. The game you're from? Not so much.

[elvenbeard]

WIP Wednesday (actually on Wednesday!)

I was tagged by @therealnightcity @chevvy-yates a while ago and @pinkyjulien indirectly >:D

So I'm gonna do a small dump of all the (too many) things I'm doing at the moment!

Modding: I've started NPVince, finally!! That screenshot is from two weeks ago but I didnt make much progress yet cause being ill and cosplay things got in the way xD But on a basic level he is done and I'm really looking forward to start customizing him (not so much cleaning up the files and custompathing xD but I'll get there!)

Cosplay Stuff: ngl, this vest might be one of the nicest pieces of clothing I've ever done so far uwu I'm really proud but also already know several things I'd like to redo about it when I make a 2.0 version xD I also want to redo some details on this, technically still gotta add sleeves, and also so many badges and the samurai patch and bullets and aaahhhh! But I love it a lot already uwu other than that what's missing of my 2023!Kerry outfits still are the pants, and I've never done pants as complex before, but I'm really looking forward to tackling that :D

Art: Next up are some commissions first, but inbetween I'm working on several smaller illustrations all at once. One I cant post on tumblr in full xD this one is hopefully gonna be the start of a series of my favourite in-game scenes visualised like movie still-frames :3

Writing: I'm also slowly working away on my longfic, chapter 16 is almost done! But I also have brainworms atm about an alternative ending ficlet with max 5-8 chapters for the PL ending 👀 we shall see when and if I get to that xD

I'm not tagging anyone in particular, but if you see this, consider yourself tagged and pls tag me so I can peek at the cool things you're all working on!!

[localsharkcryptid]

I never watched THOD (my bad), how easy is it to match with a dragon and how do riders deal with them ? Are they "glorified pets" (can't communicate verbally with humans, of course emotionnally connected and can "understand" humans just not talk), friends (can talk to their riders), dangerous and murderous "friend" that consider riders like their own pets (dragons have their own intelligence and see humans as entertaining creatures)... ?

How does DRAU's dragon and humans relations operate ? To be clearer I loved Eragon and was wondering if it was close to that or if it was totally different kind of deal

Alrighty finally getting around to answering this!

Ironically enough despite being obsessed with dragons for most of my life I actually never got around to reading Eragon so I have a very vague idea on how it's dragons function - and don't feel bad for not watching HOTD! I understand fully that it is not for everyone, I just happened to get really invested thus it became my primary inspiration - alongside the Ice & Fire Minecraft mod which is also based on GoT at least somewhat! (I would always recommend looking up the dragon scenes from HOTD though, mainly just for the amazing CGI work and neat designs both of the dragons and their sounds!)

Anyways to answer the actual questions here!

-

How easy is it to match with a dragon and how do riders deal with them?

Alright so! Admittedly the matching system is, vague, though this is a personal writing choice in all honesty - seeing as in universe no one is entirely sure how it works, dragons are creatures with little concrete information known about them.

What is known is that it is the dragon that makes the final decision, the dragon chooses its rider (hatching an egg is the exception and it's more so, an "if the egg hatches" in that case) and additionally that the bond is sealed in blood.

If a dragon rejects a rider it will kill or at the very least maim the unfortunate individual unless they manage to get away first (dragons generally won't pursue anything once it's out of their roost)- this is a very well known fact and is half the reason why Dream doesn't have a dragon yet when the plot begins, as XD doesn't want to lose his only remaining family to something as trivial as trying to claim a dragon. Which admittedly, XD got off easy in life cause his dragon found him so there's some notable disconnect between him and Dream on this matter. Anyways.

Those who successfully claim a dragon don't get out unscathed either, there is some weird blood magic going on when it comes to dragon bonds - so to establish the bond properly a rider will always gain some sort of injury that draws blood when they claim a dragon. For instance with hatchlings, they will simply just bite whoever hatched the egg - for larger dragons it can be anything from a bite to some other injury, regardless it won't be lethal and their breath will not be involved. Additionally there won't be any pain either, it's a bizarre supernatural phenomenon but it's something all dragon riders experience as it is the establishing link for the sort-of-psychic connection that occurs between dragons and their riders.

All riders have some sort of defining scar as a consequence to this injury as well! There's also a thought that the deeper the scar, the stronger the bond between a dragon and their rider - which does have some truth behind it.

(Admittedly this got a littleeee off topic but I've really wanted to talk about dragon bonds so I hope you don't mind! ^^)

As for how riders deal with them, for the most part a dragon can be left to its own devices and be fine, they'll hunt and care for themselves unless given other options. Think of them as this weird combination of falconry birds, horses and cats. They thrive best with human care but are fine if left alone for the most part with minimal interactions.

In the case of Orboros's dragon riders, they have the dragon keep - which is an extensive cave network/building dedicated to housing their dragons, the dragons themselves are tended to there and the riders themselves spend plenty of free time with them! The only notable exception being 'The Warden' (Sam's dragon) who has a roost on an offshore island due to her sheer size.

Dragons are 'trained' in a way to respond to often quick and simple commands (I really want to have these commands in another language but I'm still not entirely sure how to execute that idea) just to make things easier since there are dragon keepers who look after the beasts a fair amount of the time. Once bonded most dragons tend to be more tolerant to humans, especially if said humans are the ones who bring them food. They are after all very intelligent.

Are the dragons 'Glorified Pets, Friends or A Dangerous/Murderous Friend that considers the humans their pets?

Okay so by this criteria they fall into the 'glorified pets' category due to the inability to speak! Again my inspirations do take from a series that goes the very intelligent magical animal route so, yeah, unfortunately no talking dragons.

How do dragon and human relationships operate?

I think I inadvertently answered some of this in my rambles above but regardless!

Wild Dragons - Generally indifferent to people, smallfolk don't care for them for obvious reasons since killing a dragon is no easy task let alone driving one from it's roost if it's set up shop just a few miles away from your village. They're just very dangerous and often problematic wild animals.

Claimed Dragons - A dragon's relationship with its rider varies between individuals, some bonds are closer than others. They become more tolerant of people yet tend to often reflect their rider's opinions (conscious or subconscious) towards certain individuals (ie becoming bristly and aggressive towards an enemy/rival, more tolerant and maybe even affectionate towards a love interest) as well as following their own instincts and intuition about new individuals. The best example I have for that last bit is a very particular scene I have in mind, namely with Nightmare being particularly protective and reactive thanks to the arrival of Schlatt & Quackity for some event being held in Orboros's main city/the castle.

All in all they're very animalistic so the relations with people often reflect that in their operation, this includes a bunch of misconceptions as well, since who can truly know the heart of a dragon?

---

Also sorry about the wait! I had some stuff come up this past week and in general wanted to make sure the questions were answered as thoroughly as possible!

[ponett]

here's another slarpg Q&A roundup from my retrospring! this contains light spoilers for the game

in the past you've gone over how tall each of the main party are, so lemme ask you this instead: How tall are Beverly and Faith?

faith is 6'6". she is very tall. beverly's sprite is probably larger, but that's more a matter of NPC sprites generally being big rather than an indication of her actual height. i'd say she's only supposed to be around 6', give or take

What cartoons does pepper like

bartholomew only lets her watch ones that will be a bad influence on her like invader zim

We know Claire drinks, what about the rest of the Novas?

jodie and allison will drink some at social gatherings. melody tends not to, though, so if they're out together allison will usually limit herself so melody doesn't feel out of place

How do you feel about fanworks of slarpg? Specifically, which mediums would you be okay with fanworks existing in, and how do you feel about people using assets from the game?

fanworks of basically all kinds are encouraged! there's already a (very small) fangame about melody's cat in the works and i think that rules. considering my own roots as a fanartist and fangame creator i think it would be lame of me to discourage that

that being said, a few simple stipulations:

1) i ask people hold off on any sort of mass-produced merch like t-shirts or pins. custom items, commissioning someone to draw the cast, a small run of prints sold at a con table, etc. are fine by me, but i may end up making merch myself and bee and i need to make a living off of this game. when we're an operation this small, putting up a bunch of slarpg designs on redbubble could be a problem for me

2) please do not use visual assets from slarpg (including edits of my sprites) in a commercial product. using them in a mod or a freeware fangame is fine, though

3) if you do make a fangame or mod or whatever, please make sure it's clearly stated that it's unofficial, and also please don't just publicly distribute the entire game for free (modded or otherwise)

Between the 3 types of paladin Melody can become what one is the one that you pick for her?

i do a different one every playthrough >:)

From a story perspective, not a mechanical one: was polyamory ever a consideration for the party members in SLARPG? Can you see any polyamorous relationships working well between main-cast members, even if only for a little while?

i would be lying if i said this was a thing i had never considered, at least a little. it was never a serious plan for the game, but as the story and the character dynamics beyond the main couples evolved there were definitely scenes where i looked at what i'd written and went "oh people are gonna ship this, huh." i definitely see it in my own writing, believe me

the main thing is just that i don't entirely know how i would go about writing poly relationships in a satisfying way. for one i've never been part of a poly relationship, so i can't write from my own experiences there. but also i feel my strongest writing tends to focus on pairs of characters (hence all the one-on-one scenes in slarpg), so it becomes trickier when, for example, a character has two partners. i'd worry about making one more important than the other in terms of narrative focus just because of how i write. i could easily see a version of events where certain characters start dating certain other characters on top of their canon partners, though. i just don't know if it's something that i'd ever really explore myself

but i guess that's what fanfic is for

what's your favorite joke in SLARPG that got left on the cutting room floor?

i really wanted to find a way to make "irony poisoning" a status ailment but could never figure out a good way to do so

how long has claire been on hrt?

i actually couldn't say if claire is on hormones. if she is it hasn't been for as long as melody (who's been on hrt for several years by the start of the game)

I noticed your game seems very deliberate on exactly how it approaches the topic of sex and suggestive content. Obviously it wanted to avoid being "horny furry bait game." But, it also avoided being aggressively chaste as well. It struck a careful balance, where it gives the impression that it's something characters do and think about, but isn't the focus of the story so it stays incidental. Was there ever much consideration on the exact tone in this regard? Or did you just do what felt like a good fit?

this was absolutely something i thought about a LOT. perhaps more than people realize!

i mean for one, yes, the problem of people assuming the game was just furry porn based on the title was always an issue. (not that there's anything wrong with furry porn games, this just isn't one.) the game's origins as a successor to an old fangame also presented an issue, because i was worried that people who knew about the old project but hadn't actually played it might, like, assume that it was extremely horny if i pushed things in slarpg too far? which could, in turn, color peoples' perception of slarpg. they're very distinct projects to me, but i'll never escape the reductive perception of them being Literally The Same Game

at the same time, i started work on the game at age 21 and finished it almost age 29, and in that period my feelings about what i wanted to make and also the attitudes in the wider queer community shifted a lot. there's been pushback against the idea that queer media always needs to be "wholesome" and "pure," with conflicting attitudes about the "wholesome games" marketing label in the indie scene mixing with very valid fears about puritanism growing in the queer community online - stuff like the perpetual "kink at pride" fearmongering. and i didn't want to be seen as being part of some push to erase the sex from sexuality or whatever. even beyond that, i've always kind of rankled at the "cute aesthetic = wholesome" thing. i worried about the idea that the game was "wholesome" and all fluff leading to people getting upset at the more intense parts of the story. and also, just, you know. the characters are all in their 20s. i think it would be weird if they didn't know what sex or alcohol or swear words or whatever were. i think they'd become less relatable and real if it was too sanitized

but of course the flipside is that it's a 16-bit jrpg throwback game and i was absolutely overthinking how much people expected adult themes to be touched upon, queer subject matter or no. i think i struck a good balance in the end where it's lightly acknowledged without disrupting the expected tone of the genre. i'm glad it's speaking to people

(why yes i struggle with RSD how can you tell)

How seriously does Allison take caring for her sword(s)? As an unabashed ADHD sword lesbian myself I gotta say it's a not insignificant amount of (very fulfilling) work.

i think her natural inclination would be to be a little careless with them, but countless lectures from jodie have instilled a sense of responsibility in her when it comes to taking proper care of her weapons

I ask this with no weird intentions - characters like Melody and Jodie have no paw pads on their hands, but do they have them on their feet?

you know what? sure. why not

how did faith get such a big job at 24? did she know someone... is there nepotism in this world. I demand accountability.

faith was always an overachiever and was basically training throughout her teens and early 20s to become guardian. when she put herself out there as a candidate she was already generally popular with the community for her skill with magic and her work ethic, so it wasn't hard for her to win the election in a small town like greenridge

Were there any plans during development for Allison or the other two to meet or confront Harmony in the Astral Plane? Or was she always just meant to be exclusive to Melody's character arc?

the entirety of what was planned for harmony is there in the game

is the city shown in the intro supposed to be brightport?

not necessarily! the identity of the city in the intro is unspecified, although brightport definitely looks something like that

Jodie’s theme from when she was gonna be a dog (apparently?) has a very different feel to it. Was her puppysona a very different character than the danger kitten? Or was her intro in the story simply different?

i was still just figuring out jodie as a character at the time - both her design AND her personality - so bee didn't have the most complete information to work off of when trying to write the fourth character theme

i think initially she was going to perhaps be somewhat more brash, being the one Actually Qualified Adventurer on the team who's surprised that her friends made it so far without her, and she would've been exasperated with claire's shenanigans instead of enabling them. she was also intended to be more of a foil to melody, seeming to be (from melody's perspective) the person everyone compares her to. which might be why i thought to make her a canid? this juxtaposition between the two is still an element in the game, but it's more subtle and i rarely draw direct attention to it. and she was intended to be much more bullheaded, with her arc revolving around her running off and picking a fight that really didn't need to be picked off-screen to set up a side quest that was completely cut

obviously a lot of this doesn't sound very much like jodie at all! she was the character i struggled to nail down the most. if she was too brash and critical of claire's decisions then she'd have way too much overlap with allison, so instead she became claire's best friend who's supportive and trusting to a fault, and who's also the most earnest and straightforward member of the team

[thatcatbasil]

Hi basil!!!! ( ᵔ▽ᵔ)/ I was wondering... if you were in charge of a new rain world dlc and could do anything you wanted with it, what do you think you'd do? Feel free to get as detailed or vague as you'd like! Conversely, would you want to rewrite/remake anything of the current base game/already released dlcs?

GOOD QUESTION yeah for starters when it comes to changing established stuff in the base game or dlc the immediate first thing i'd do is blast hunter longlegs out of existence... i never was into the "hunter has rot" interpretation, and i think rot's far more interesting when it's left as an iterator exclusive phenomenon. it's the main thing that really grounds pebbles and humanizes him despite his existence as what's essentially an incomprehensible computer god made of metal and flesh, and being like "actually! other animals can get the rot too" kinda takes away that whole appeal to me tbh

since i'm not sure if i ever really went into detail on here: my interpretation is that hunter's dying from something akin to blood coagulation--nsh injected his own genetic material in the form of iterator blood (or whatever iterators have that's their equivalent of blood) as some kind of attempt to self-ascend after moon's disappearance from the local group. he's killing two birds with one stone--the primary goal's to try and save moon, of course, but it's worth it seeing if he can attempt to ascend himself as well, especially when everyone's systems are gonna eventually break down and die out. this could very easily turn into an infodump about my interpretations of hunter and nsh but i'm gonna try not to go on too much of a tangent here!

(by the way... if you look really closely at this scene from hunter's ending, you can see she's got some faint greenish veins on her body.)

speaking of nsh, as much as i'd want to say that i want more nsh in canon, the more i think about it, i think i like the idea of him being left as a huge mystery and his exact intentions being left unclear and all that. in original canon all we have is that chatlog where he's messing around during that serious discussion and his pearl message to moon where he expresses that bit of concern but still has a bit of a playful face on. i liked what downpour did with his private broadcasts to moon where he's completely mask off and being emotionally vulnerable with her. but i think that knowing more and more about the iterators kinda takes away from the whole "you're a creature in a world you can never fully understand" appeal that rain world has. as much as i really adored downpour from a gameplay perspective (plus it was great to get more official rain world content) i think that the majority of the campaigns being so focused around the iterators is the primary issue i have with it lore/story wise. it does makes sense why they went that route though, especially considering its origins as a fanmade mod, since the iterators were always one of the things that everyone had the most questions about.

but a new rain world dlc... i'd just want to see more and more of the ecosystem and the creatures that live there more than anything! specifically i'd want to see more marine life besides the jetfish and leviathans. i've always been really curious about what an actual ocean in rain world would be like (since shoreline's technically just moon's flooded grounds.... what if it's like a massive tide pool near an actual ocean and pebbles's rain was what made the water level rise enough for the jetfish and leviathans to swim in? then the tide fell and they were isolated in there... you can't help but wonder what other sea critters might be out there haha)

[reserved-system]

February Stars [HSBB]

Picture this, you're on a losing streak in life. Maybe you're having car troubles, just got dumped, or you bombed that test you thought you studied well enough for. Some time passes someone new is introduced into your friend group and at first you don't click, maybe you have a few interests in common, sure but it's like you only manage to see them at parties. You stop partying for a bit to get yourself back together and a close friend reaches out and invites you to their party, and you decide fuck it and go. During the party, you notice that friend from the group you don't know very well and decide to take a chance.

Now you may be left asking, what happens next? I guess you'll just have to read the wonderful fic this piece is based on!

[Link here!]

Hope did a wonderful job and tugged at my heart strings a little bit (/pos) and above all else had us cracking up the entire time we worked with them and the rest of our team! Let's go show them some love, shall we? Yet another massive shout out to the mods and admins for putting this event together! Check out the #hsbb 2023 tag for more works and fics like this!

Extras under cut - Wips, rambles, the whole nine yards, you know the drill!

GOSH. I don't know where to begin! How about with some stats?

This piece seems like it didn't take us as long as the first piece did because we actually scrapped our original piece and opened a new canvas. So over the roughly 2 month span, this is how we're looking!

Then we get to move on the the original sketch <3 So what I was going for was the ending scene when they're laying in the grass holding hands and Jimmy is talking to Tango. So this piece is a top down view which I've never attempted before so it was interesting trying to figure that out!!

ALSO. You can see us here playing around with our new art style ;^]

My one regret with the piece is I wish we kept the canvas zoomed in to the point all throughout the piece. You can tell where we zoomed in a lil too close by the thinner line weight in some areas but other than that I still like it. I loved working with the thicker lines.

So we once again failed to get any in progress shots of the background, just some shots in between the shading and the back lighting.

Colors colors colors! You can actually see Tango has a different facial expression in these. We played around with in for a few days until we found something we liked. You can also see us play around with other colors too.

And one last shot to appreciate the shading. <3

And now, bloopers!

Just a small collection of concept sketches from our first, scraped piece! It would've shown the rest of the backyard, porch, and Ren partying in the background.

Anyways, thank you for reading our rambles! Whether you're here from a reblog, from the fic itself, or were already following us. I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the rest of our pieces for the event.

From the Reserved System, Happy HSBB everyone!! <3 <3 <3

[stormyoceans]

i feel like in bl world it's somehow a no go to talk about why you dislike a show, because people always think it means you hate everyone involved, so it's nice to see that i'm not alone with my feelings about 4m. i was thoroughly disappointed by it and it's even worse considering it's sammon who wrote it. they (ceo and sammon) always went on about how they are working hard on the script and that's why it took 2 years and like... this is what they came up with? i like triage and love mod, but this one doesn't compare at all. the characters were flat and i did not care about them or the relationships at all (i will say, i liked the second couple much more than great and tyme), the mystery was okay i guess, but still lacking anything meaningful and even the chemistry between the actors, not just the pairings, but everyone interacting was so wooden and missing any depth to me. they tried and we know the actors can act, but none of that came across to me. and i 100% agree with you, the ending is so lame, they should have made this a tragedy and not whatever they tried to achieve with the ending they gave us, because that was just laughably bad imo. maybe my expectations were too high because of sammon, but i was just disappointed with this show :(

i honestly understand getting defensive over something you love or even just enjoy, i think that's pretty normal, but i also fully believe it's extremely important to be critical of the media we consume, and unfortunately i feel like over time 'being critical' has started to be equated with 'being hateful' by fandom in general, which couldn't be furthest from the truth: you can love a piece of media AND still be aware of its shortcomings, the two things aren't mutually exclusive. analyzing media and talking about different aspects of it is actually what makes fandom fun to me, so as long as everyone is being respectful im always going to encourage this kind of discussion

ANYWAY. all that aside, i fully understand your disappointment over 4 minutes, anon. it was one of the series i was looking forward to the most this year because both triage and manner of death are two of my favorite BLs, so it's just really weird to me to feel so..underwhelmed by it. i've mentioned this before, but my main issue with the show is that, like you said, i simply do not care about these characters. i wouldn't say they were flat, personally, because there was A LOT of potential that was not used, but it feels like the writing always remained on a very surface level and did not utilize the depth these characters had, and as such it failed to create a connection between them and the viewers (which is also why i think some of the acting may have felt a bit bland)

for example, i think they could have done SO MUCH MORE with the brotherly relationship between tonkladome and korngreat, maybe even by creating some parallels between them. like it's crazy to me that we didn't get a single flashback showing what tonkla and dome's relationship was like (and no, im not counting the one where tonkla killed their dad), or just that we didn't get more of dome's character by himself. 'he was tonkla's brother' is not enough for me to care about him dying or about tonkla's revenge. and now that im typing this out im realizing we never got a confrontation between korn and great about great helping thyme THAT'S INSANE (AND NOT THE GOOD KIND OF INSANE). also not a single scene with tonkla and great other than tonkla shooting him!!!!!! all these characters could have been SO INTERESTING if only the narrative would have given them a bit more insight

and this is already so long so im gonna try to wrap it up, but i have to say this because me actually WISHING we would have gotten a sad ending is one for the history books. tbh i think there is a deeper narrative issue when it comes to great and thyme that im not gonna get into because this post will never end otherwise (to sum it up: they weren't treated as main characters), but MY personal issue is that i didn't want an happy ending for them, because at no point in the show i've been rooting for it. like take triage, for example: you start the story almost hating tol, and then time loop after time loop after time loop you see him go through one of the best character development i've ever seen and by the end of the show the viewers are BEGGING for him and tin to be happy and together. i don't wanna say great and thyme didn't deserve that happy ending, but they also didn't really earn it, which is why that perfectly wrapped up sense of peace we got falls completely flat and feels very out of place

idk sammon's concepts are always incredibly fascinating to me and 4 minutes is no exception, but while all the elements of the show had a lot potential, they just did not come together in a satisfying or coherent way, which is really a pity

at this point im looking forward to spare me your mercy even just to see if maybe these issues are more due to boc or to sammon just not being as good as a screenwriter 🤔

[flame2ashes]

Hey, can I ask how you do the mesh swapping? Super impressed and clueless over here. I'd love to do something like that, just have no idea where to begin. TIA

Sure! It might seem a little intimidating at first when you look at the files at a glance, but with a little patience and understanding of the logic behind how the files work, it becomes easier every time

So, mesh swapping. The only reason why I started doing it was because I wanted content of my Shepards interacting but I didn't feel like drawing, so I just modded my game instead. I've done this for over a year now but tbh I'm not a very advanced modder; a lot of trial and error occurred and I ended up sticking to methods that were familiar to me and worked for me.

The Legendary Explorer GitHub actually has a Wiki that contains tutorials on how to do certain things, and this includes how to replace meshes for characters! The tutorial in question shows how to mesh swap Garrus with Saren in LE2, and how mesh swapping works in LE3.

I'm writing this with the assumption that you are totally new to making mods for Mass Effect. I'm gonna be real: a lot of the stuff I'm saying here might be re-hashed information if you've read the tutorial already, tho unintentionally. Hopefully you'll still find it helpful 🙃

Stuff under the cut:

To get started, you will need:

Legendary Explorer (to actually mod the game)

ME3Tweaks Mod Manager (to help you set up DLC mods) (tho if you're already modding the game you already have this lmao)

A legitimate copy of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for PC (it sounds obvious, but I'm emphasizing that it has to be legit as a warning. If problems arise and you have a pirated game, I won't be able to help you. Neither will the ME Modding Discord.)

ALSO NOTE: If you've installed texture mods to your game already, RESTORE YOUR GAME TO ITS VANILLA STATE. The general rule is to never make mods on a texture modded game, even personal mods.

If you're using the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, make sure you follow the mod page's instructions on how to make mods with it. (If you don't have the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, I highly recommend it. A lot of mods use the framework, and generally it's a pretty good and non-invasive mod to begin with)

What you want is to get familiar with the types of files you'll be using. For mesh swapping, you'll be using meshes, materials, and textures.

In Legendary Explorer, you'll be using these programs:

Package Editor - you'll be doing most of your editing in this program. You'll get to access basically everything contained in a PCC file. You'll also be able to import/export textures through this program.

Mesh Explorer (AKA Meshplorer) - this will display all the meshes contained in a PCC file. This is where you can export and import meshes as well.

Asset Database - once you get the databases set up, you'll be able to search and access the game's files and assets more easily, including files from DLC mods.

TFC Compactor - If you've imported new textures, this will help compact and repack your TFC files. You only need to do this if you've added new textures and created a new TFC for them.

--

So for the Citadel DLC tango scene specifically, it was actually a mix of mesh swapping and Interp editing, but for our purposes here we're going to focus on the mesh swapping (though I will show the Interp edited scene to see the edit more quickly).

I'm going to focus on how I mesh swapped James with Kaidan for this part. Since we're working with in-game files, it will actually be a lot simpler than trying to use custom meshes. But it should be a good starting point for understanding some aspects of mesh swapping.

Anyway, which files do we need for the actual mesh swapping??? If you're unfamiliar with how the game calls its files, then it may be impossible to find out. Luckily, ME3Tweaks Mod Manager has an ASI mod that will help you determine which files are being accessed at your current point in the game. (The character mesh tutorial linked above will tell you more about it, but for quick reference you will find it under Mod Management > ASI Mod Manager. The mod itself is called Streaming Levels HUD.)

The HUD will look like this in-game:

The list you'll see in-game is every file called within the cutscene, but the one you actually need will be BioH_Marine_00_NC, which is the file for James' casual appearance. This will be the one you'll be modding. For Kaidan's casual appearance, you will need BioH_Kaidan_00_NC.

(For future reference: if you use the LE3 Community Patch and Framework, and a character you want to swap with has a file within the framework, use the framework file instead. For example: if you wanted to modify Miranda in any way, use the Framework's file for Miranda.)

Now that you know the files you need, you can use the Asset Database to look up the files. Once you find them (you can copy/paste the file name in the search box to quickly get to them faster), you can right click the file and choose the option to see them in File Explorer.

Now that you have the locations of the files, you can get started :)

Step 0: Make a DLC mod

Generate a new ME3 DLC mod that you can actually place the files in. To do this, go to the ME3Tweaks Mod Manager, then go to Tools > Generate new DLC Mod (Starter Kit) > Mass Effect 3 (Legendary Edition). This tutorial will pretty much tell you what you need to fill in the required fields.

tbh this can be done even after you finish modding your files, but it'll be easier for you to generate the mod first, as it will also create a folder for your mod.

Step 0.5: Copy the files you need into your mod folder

Once the mod has been generated, take the files you're going to modify (in this case, BioH_Marine_00_NC) and copy/paste them to the CookedPCConsole folder. Re-naming the file is not required; if you install a mod with incorrect PCC file names then the actual files won't get modded.

To access the mod folder, right-click your mod in the Mod Manager and select "Open mod folder".

Step 1: Open James' and Kaidan's files in Package Editor

You'll need to open two instances of Package Editor. Open James' NC file in one instance (the one in your mod folder) and Kaidan's NC file in the other. Keep them side by side and make note of which side is which.

Side tangent: you can actually associate .PCC files with Legendary Explorer, which will allow you to open them to Package Editor directly from the File Explorer. To do this, click on the gear icon in the main menu of the toolset, then in the window that opens, click on the Files tab, then click on the "Associate .PCC and .SFM Files" button. You can also do the same with the other options. (To ensure your settings are saved, click "Save to File".)

The Package Editor windows will look similar to this once you've opened the files (this is Kaidan's file):

On the left is the file tree for the entire PCC. The right side displays several tabs of information for the selected file, such as Properties, Metadata, Binary Interpreter, and Script Editor. (These are the common tabs; other tabs will display depending on the kind of file you're viewing.)

You'll see that I've already highlighted Kaidan's head model (ignore the fact that they spelt it as Kaiden. We know the truth. But also don't ignore it because all his files are labelled with this spelling, so keep it in mind when searching for his textures or meshes). Generally when you open a package file, all the folders will be closed. So for future reference, here's some useful terms to know:

If you see a folder or file with HMF or HMM, that's a human asset. HMF usually means Human Female, while HMM means Human Male. ASA is for Asari, TUR is for Turian, etc. etc.

Folders/files with the term HED will indicate heads.

Folders/files with the term HIR will indicate hair.

Folders/files with the term ARM will indicate bodies. CTH will indicate casual outfits. NKD will indicate naked bodies. In some cases there will also be different terms for armor parts, but generally for NPCs they will all be a whole body mesh anyway.

Kaidan's' head mesh is labeled as BIOG_HMM_HED_PROKaiden_MDL(SkeletalMesh). You'll know it's a mesh because of the M symbol next to it. (SkeletalMesh means that the mesh has an armature). Likewise, you can also see Kaidan's textures. You'll know it's a texture because of the multi-coloured square next to it (also it will end as Texture2D). Kaidan's body mesh is labeled HMM_ARM_CTHb_MDL. When you right-click on the mesh file, there will be an option to open it in Mesh Explorer. Here's what it'll look like there:

On the list on the left, you'll see two items: his body mesh, and his head mesh. If you compare it to other characters, you might notice that they usually have a separate mesh for the hair. Kaidan's, on the other hand, is part of his head mesh, for reasons only known to the developers.

On the right is the actual viewer for the mesh. This shows the mesh and any materials associated with it. It's a surefire way to find out whether you've placed the materials on the mesh incorrectly.

Lastly in the middle-bottom is the Binary Interpreter. This shows you information such as which materials the mesh is using, its rotation origin, the number of LODs it has, and how many bones the armature has (RefSkeleton). For our purposes here, the section you need to note is the Materials.

(For future reference: The Binary Interpreter and the Mesh are also available to view within the Package Editor.)

Anyway, now that we know where Kaidan's meshes are, it's now finally time!!! To import them!!! Into James' file!!!

Step 2: Import Kaidan's stuff into James' file

Back in your two Package Editors opened side by side, go to Kaidan's file, click on HMM_HED_PROKaiden_MDL, and then drag it towards James' file to drop it in. To keep things organized, I would usually drop it in the same folder as the other head mesh, so for this case, open the folders in James' file to show the James folder under BIOG_HMM_HED_PROMorph, then drag Kaidan's head mesh into it.

Once you do this, this window will pop up:

Click on "Clone All References", as this will also import all associated objects along with the mesh.

This is what you'll see:

If there are no issues, this alert will pop up as well:

Along with Kaidan's head mesh, it also imported his textures and his materials. Great! Note that when files are highlighted in yellow, it means that a change has been made (the change in this case is that they were added to the file). Repeat for Kaidan's body mesh.

We now have Kaidan's head mesh, body mesh, and associated materials and textures within James' files. Are we done? Hahahaha *Cries*

We're not done. We now have Kaidan's stuff where we want them, but the PCC is still referencing James' stuff. If we save and install this mod now, nothing will really change in game.

So here it is. The actual mesh swapping for this example. Are you ready?

(If you've gotten this far, save your file. While you're here, you can also take a moment to look at the files you've imported to get a better understanding of what they look like in the editor. If you've never seen face textures before, brace yourself.)

Step 3: Change the references so that Kaidan's stuff is being referenced instead of James' stuff

First off, we need to actually know where James' stuff is being referenced. Right-click on BIOG_HMM_HED_James and then click on "Find References". It will open a window that looks like this:

Here, you'll see where James' head is being referenced. If you double-click on the entry, it will take you directly to it. In this case, it's here:

It's a little hard to read, but the first property in the export is SkeletalMesh, and in italics, you'll see that it's the file path for James' head mesh. You will need to replace this with the file path for Kaidan's head mesh.

When you click on the property, a textbox will pop up:

Here, you will need to input the index number for Kaidan's head mesh. Currently, it has the index number for James' head mesh.

Here's Kaidan's head mesh file name again:

(I swear to god BioWare why would you name him Kaiden in the files. We're suffering already.)

The index number here is 2406. This is what you'll input the textbox. Click Set once it's inputted.

And there we go. The SkeletalMesh entry is now referencing Kaidan's head mesh's file path. If you right click on James' head mesh and click Find References, the list will now be empty.

Repeat this for the materials. These are a little trickier. Most likely, the references will be found in multiple places, but will always be under an export called MaterialInstanceConstant_XXXX (the X represents numbers). To make sure it works properly, you will have to reference the materials in the same order as they're listed on the mesh's Binary Interpreter.

For these cases, click on the MaterialInstanceConstant, then under the export properties on the right, click on Parent. In the textbox, input the index number of the material you want, then click on Set. It'll be a lot of back and forth, so I recommend noting down the index numbers (I usually just screenshot the Materials list under the mesh's Binary Interpreter).

Once you're done, you'll realize....oh yeah. James' head mesh has more materials than Kaidan's, which means there's an extra MaterialInstanceConstant on the list. In this case? Just set the extra ones to 0. Literally, just set it to 0.

Continue until all the references point to Kaidan's head and body meshes and materials.

Cool, so now that the files are pointing towards Kaidan's stuff, are we done??? Maybe??

Almost. Remember when I said that Kaidan's head mesh includes his hair, and other characters have a separate hair mesh?

Yeah.....James' head includes a separate hair mesh. If you were to save and install this file to the game now, the hair will show up over Kaidan's head.

So what's a person to do?? Well, you basically know the steps now: locate James' hair mesh file, then right-click it and click Find References. Go to said references, then under the Properties where James' hair is being referenced, change the index to 0. Repeat for the hair material as well.

And now!!!! You are done with editing. Hopefully. Save your file.

Step 4: Install your mod to your game and launch the game see the changes

(If you haven't done Step 0 and 0.5 yet, do those steps first.)

Alright! Your file is edited and placed within the appropriate mod folder. You can now select your mod in the Mod Manager, click Apply Mod, and launch your game :)))

Step 5: ????

Hold on let me check if this actually worked and I didn't just bullshit you for an entire tutorial-

Yup, it works!!! Ignore the fact that the Interp edit is still there lol. If you followed this tutorial, Kaidan will show up when James usually shows up in the scene (I.E. in the middle of the actual dance), or any time James shows up in his casual outfit.

Now, if you got to this point and there's still an issue, you'll have to go back into the file and check what's wrong, make the fix, save the file, and then Apply Mod once again. Apparently it is possible to apply your mod while the game is still running, meaning that you just need to reload your save to see the changes, but I don't usually do that. However, if you're able to do this, it's a huge time saver.

To summarize this tutorial:

Step -1: Find the files you will need for the mod.

Step 0: Generate a mod kit in ME3Tweaks Mod Manager for your mod, then place the files you will be changing into the mod's folder.

Step 1: Open the file you will be changing, and the file you will take the assets for your mod, on two different instances of Package Editor.

Step 2: Import the assets you need into the file you will be changing.

Step 3: Change all references to point to the assets you imported.

Step 4: Save file, click Apply Mod in Mod Manager, launch game to check

Step 5: ????

Step 6: Profit, unless there's an issue, then go back into the file to fix it. Repeat steps 4-6.

--

Extra things to note:

If you make similar mods like this and only want them to work in specific scenes, you will need to disable the mod when you're done using it. Otherwise the mesh swap will happen in places you didn't want them to, like this:

(Pictured: John Shepard cooking the shittiest eggs in the world while holding the frying pan by his fingertips because I forgot to turn off my mesh swap mod. Sir I love you but pls)

Try to remember the mount numbers your personal mods have. One time I realized one of my mods wasn't working because it was the same mount number as a mod I downloaded. If it turns out your mod's mount number conflicts with another, don't worry! Use the Mount Editor tool in LEX to change your mod's mount number. (I advise changing your personal mod's mount number instead of a downloaded mod.)

Keep all your files organized for your own sanity.

Make backups of your mods!!! Honestly, making backups is always good practice.

tbh I had so much more to say, but then I hit the image limit, which snapped me out of it. Since you asked how to get started, I will save you from being overwhelmed from all the information I was about to give you. Instead, I'm going to list some other things you can do that can help you understand mesh modding a little more:

Follow this tutorial on adding a casual outfit/armor for Shepard to wear. The first mod I ever did was porting an outfit mod I liked from the original trilogy to Legendary Edition. It helped me understand the files you use for mesh swapping, and will give you a chance to actually use Blender and the UDK Editor, which you'd need for importing custom meshes.

Download the Thane Mesh Swap mod, not to play, but to analyze! The mod is literally mesh swapping Kaidan with Thane. Compare the modded files to the vanilla ones; you'll also see the extent of the files needed to make a full character mesh swap.

If you're still wondering how I got Ashley as Shepard for the tango mod, then I'll tell you: I used the Custom Head Mesh Framework. Instead of a custom Shepard, I just mesh swapped Shepard with Ashley. Tutorials by the mod author are here :)

Finally, here's the invite to the ME Modding Discord. There's useful information, useful links, and most of all, people who can answer any questions you might have. (I'm on there too; I just don't speak a lot. It's okay to ping me!)

If you have any more questions, or want more information, feel free to send me more asks. Again, I hope this was helpful to you :)

[sunbeamstress]

like i'm actually turbo-obsessed with game modding as a concept, and way more likely to play your game if i can mod it. the thing is for some reason i've always got a game whose mod scene i'm locked in on, like i played skyrim for maybe 6-7 years straight after release and then basically never touched it again, but you fuckin know i was there on nexus mods every day or so, just seeing what's new

i haven't played final fantasy XIV in a while but now it's final fantasy, i literally just finished my nightly ritual of paging through XMA looking through what i missed. yep that's new. oh neat. boring. boring. whoa those titties are a little out of control buddy. ok cool.

i don't know where i'm going with this, anyway i think i wore some kind of weird rut into my brain. genuinely does anyone else do this?

[damnfandomproblems]

https://www.tumblr.com/damnfandomproblems/755379572398276608/fandom-problem-5227-some-dumbass-called-me-a?source=share

I see both sides to this. I used to roleplay celebrities all of the time, in group roleplays and I was an admin/mod to a few celebrity groups too. I loved the community, in the sense that you could geek out about your favorite actors and singers and not get judged for liking them. People in my real life never seemed to understand me, saying they grew out of obsessing over celebs a long time ago, implying that it was childish to have favorite celebs. And I just want to get out of the way that I never roleplayed smut scenes with my favorites. Never. Not once. I just saw it as a way to geek out over someone I thought was cool in a safe environment.

That being said, I also understand why it makes some people uncomfortable. I have conflicting emotions about this subject, because of all of the fun that I used to have... But I've also heard stories of friendships being broken up over fanfiction and over obsessive fans who can't seem to understand that their ships aren't a reality. I'm looking at the Supernatural fandom here with this one...

Anywho, you guys do you, for whatever reason you may have, but take a step back and think about what you're posting online and who it may effect before doing so. And never force your ships onto the actors. Just because you think they have something secret going on, that doesn't mean that they actually do, and even if they do, it's no one's business.

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

[blucjay]

Full spoilers for shadowheart's act 3 quest that I've been thinking about for weeks

I've been wracking my brain since I first played her quest like 2 months ago of what the best choice is - to save her parents or kill them and be free from shar (on enemy of shar path ofc, I could never see shartbae go full justiciar). I know from information outside of the game that her still being bound to Shar is actually pretty shitty and probably not worth it to keep her parents, but in-game those consequences aren't shown.

FWIW, on my own playthroughs, I've never triggered everything from Shadowheart's past (I think I forgot the graves last time) so she won't save them unless I persuade her to. This game gave me an appreciation for character autonomy, so I prefer to let her choose but passed the persuasion check for this ~STUDY~ I conducted.

I have been playing around with the photo mode mod because I have an unhealthy obsession with this game...

When she kills her parents, she doesn't hesitate and honestly looks super hopeful throughout the whole thing.

But when she saved them, she hesitates and has this whole thing of looking down at her hand.

So I think I can rest a little easier now that my head canon for Shadowheart's quest is resolved. Therapy is on the to-do list, eventually...

PS props to Larian and everyone involved in making so many scenes like this hit SO FUCKING HARD - being able to zip around with my silly little camera and pause the animations gives me x1000 more appreciation for the amount of detail they put into this game.

[jaeellec]

Wandering Star Snippet

From Episode 5: Sad Eyes, Bad Guys - A lovely little lunch at the beach camp.

I've had this written for a couple of months now, and the whole thing is one of my favorite scenes from the fest arc. Been excited to share it for quite some time! Read below the cut:

Early afternoon in the camp was peaceful with gentle waves and the scent of a hearty, gourmet meal on the sea breeze. The legionnaires talked and teased each other as they waited in the long line that trailed from a comically-large cooking pot, all smiles and ready bowls in hand.

The chef was just as pleased, eager to give the girl’s men the best dish they had ever had along with their leisurely afternoon they all earned, “There you are! Enjoy!” Sanji beamed after he filled yet another bowl and the line moved. “Who’s next?”

An empty bowl was presented to the Straw Hat chef by a smiling soldier who offered kind words, “We cant thank you enough for this. The food smells amazing.”

“Happy to help! Let me know how you like it!” With the tip of his ladle, the proud chef saw another ally served.

The rest of the Straw Hats as well as the Heart Pirates were already taking nicely to Carmen’s men, comingling as they ate. At one of the picnic tables scattered about the beach camp, Nami and Tracey excitedly talked over a map as Robin contently sipped her tea across from them.  At another, Elliott, Law, Zoro, and Diero all sampled their soup in silence.

Some were too excited to eat. Rowan and a blushing, beaming Chopper sat around a small campfire, soup set aside as the two looked through Rowan’s plant journal. He unintelligibly explained medicinal properties of plants of interest with a smile while the three Heart Pirates observed over his shoulder in awe, all holding bowls and full spoons but frozen in fascination.

The same could be said for Connor, Usopp, Brook, and Luffy who were all sparkly-eyed over whatever mods Franky was showing off to Connor and a few other surrounding legionaries. Despite the fact the fellow Straw Hats had seen their friendly cyborg’s features time and time again, the magic never really faded. Of course, the Straw Hat captain would shovel spoon-fulls of soup into his mouth when it wasn’t exclaiming unintelligible praise or giggling.

In the midst of Nami and Tracey kindly carrying on, the man gave a gasp as wide eyes shot to the perimeter of the camp. Both Straw Hat women took to his alarm with caution and turned just in time to see the full force of the Kid Pirates breaking through the shimmering barrier. They stampeded forth with weapons drawn and parading their power through the camp.

The name of the game was intimidation.

The chef and his long hungry line were among the first to snap their heads to the trespassers, followed by Elliott and company, Franky and his playmates, and those cozied up with the plant journal around the little campfire. All in the camp got that little warning before the notorious pirates to began what they do best.

No order need be given.

Gig was the first. He took it upon himself to terrorize the nearest picnic table of the legionnaires, “Looks delicious!” he declared as he snatched a bowl from the table before kicking it over along with the seated soldiers and began gulping down Sanji’s hard work.

Reck, Bubblegum, and UK were more than happy to join in on flipping tables, whooping and howling with laughter at the tumbling soldiers and the wasted food.

“Those assholes!” the chef slammed down his ladle and rolled up his sleeves.

Jaguar and Oscar led the rest of the men save for the top four straight to the tents, tearing down any in their path as they aggressively made their way down the line.

“Some army she’s got!” UK heartily jested as he shoved a steadfast soldier – strong stance and arms behind him, “They won’t even fight back!”

Elliott shot up from his seat while the surrounding men glared, “We’re under strict orders you ill-bred bastards!”

“You actually follow her orders?!” Captain Kid couldn’t believe it – what a dumb little delight to kick off the spread of that menacing grin as his top three stood proudly and patiently behind him. “I’ll spare the man who points out the bitch’s tent."

[a-tale-never-told]

Honestly, this anon is personally starting to wish the character of Hiyoko Saionji had never been created in the first place. And it's not even because of anything the character actually did, I just share your frustration on how "parasitic" some fans are. I don't run any Danganronpa story blogs myself, but if I did, I would take a leaf out of your book and just "not use the character at all". Not because I hate the character or anything, but just so I wouldn't have to deal with her fans.

//Looking back in hindsight, and with the recent developments we've just faced, it probably was the most solid decision I've ever taken, when it comes to discussing anything relating to the Hiyoko situation, and that's honestly surprising when you take into consideration just how vocal I was about the entire issue, since it's inception during the Mod Freeze dilemma.

//Personally, I usually tend to avoid engaging in controversial discourse, because it's a stream of vindictive toxicity that often criticizes other's beliefs and opinions unless it involves a particular character that I'd really enjoy or a sensitive subject matter that needs to be addressed. Because once you finish talking about it, you come to the realization that it's all pointless melodrama surrounding a character that, for all intents and purposes, doesn't deserve the amount of hate she gets.

//Now, saying that Hiyoko shouldn't exist as a character in the Danganronpa franchise, mostly due to the controversy around her fanbase, is kinda excessive to me, because there's clearly a bunch of positive character traits she has, both in the main storyline, and in the Free Time Events, with her concern for her father, the only family member that she values and cares for in her life, and her sincere friendship with Mahiru and how it's generally nice to see Hiyoko actually have somebody to relate to when it comes to parental issues.

//Still, I do get why you're frustrated about this whole thing, and believe me when I say, that the majority of the Hiyoko fanbase, at least the ones with a sense of nuance and those who aren't willing to go into emotionally charged rants about why Hiyoko's a great character, instead of plling together a co, seems to be generally against these absurd claims of justifying Hiyoko's behavior towards others, at least from my perspective.

//If anything, I've made my stance on the whole situation pretty clear from the get-go, and so far, it hasn't been significantly changed throughout the number of times this issue has escalated to a breaking point, but it's a pretty massive issue, one that requires an in-depth analysis of Hiyoko's character and why she's so divisive, to begin with.

//Other than what I'd just said earlier, I don't really know what else to offer, other than it's a difficult and tough affair when it comes to writing compelling or satisfying moments in storytelling and dealing with unwarranted or toxic criticism, especially if you're writing a scene where a major character that a large portion of the fandom loathes ends up getting their comeuppance in less than satisfying ways, and it often leads to disastrous outcomes as a result.

//Yes, there's gonna be people who'll hate you because of your writing how you've treated their beloved character in their fanbase, and how you are as a person no matter how much you try to please them, but that doesn't mean that you'd have to let these types of people dissuade you from the type of story you want to convey. Is criticism an overall bad thing? Absolutely not, in many cases, it's actually been proven to be quite helpful in terms of progressing the story, but there's gotta be a barrier between providing constructive criticism and constantly punishing others when they're down and acting like petty, parasitic, idiots who've probably never heard of the actual meaning behind constructive criticism.

//It's okay to disagree with somebody's perspective on a character, but you can't actively pressure and gaslight them into accepting your viewpoint and personal opinions, because nobody's gonna feel comfortable about discussing anything about that topic around you because they'll know about how you'd react to such an obviously sensitive topic, and it'll often foster deep-seated feelings of paranoia and a general incapability of continuing on with what makes them happy, because what's the point of even continuing on anymore if everybody's mad at something you did wrong, even if it really isn't your fault?

//This sort of irrational, vitriolic, rhetoric is actively dissuading people from continuing on with what gives them enjoyment and comfort in life, and it's honestly depressing to see that it's only getting worse.

//Instead, as a piece of genuine advice cherish those who are willing to be supportive towards you and provide constructive advice to help improve your self-confidence and your positive qualities as a person, while proactively blocking out those who'll just leave a negative influence on you in life, both in terms of internet and real-life problems. I promise you

//Yes, it's a difficult process to handle, especially if that toxic influence is a personal friend of yours, or a dedicated fan who's been supporting the blog since its creation, but it's honestly for the best that you cut ties with these people because people who constantly resort to guilt-tripping you over some minor misunderstanding, making you severely doubt yourself about whether or not you're actually a good person, and basically use manipulation and violent, intimidation tactics to silence you when they dislike how you'd portrayed a certain character, and attempting to psychologically break you by spamming hate each time you update a new chapter.

//As someone who's witnessed stuff like this before, it's abundantly clear to me that it's being perpetuated by a group of sensitive bullies who don't understand the very definition of what humans are like, and that, contrary to what we'd think, humans aren't devoid of empathy or compassion for others, as everybody might assume at first glance. The human mind is a fascinating, complex, treasure trove of knowledge, and we often tend to neglect just how much potential we have to accomplish incredible things in life, not just from a historical or writing perspective, but also from a human perspective as well.

//Humanity is capable of showcasing cases of empathy, positivity, kindness, and a plethora of other beautiful things about ourselves, but we often take those promises for granted, and that doesn't change the fact that we have an inherent tendency toward being self-destructive and violent, as history has pointed out over the years. We are our worst enemies, but that doesn't mean that we're all inevitably doomed to fail as a civilization and never progress as a species in terms of showing love and compassion toward others.

//Sadly, these so-called "fans" have no storage of kindness or empathy in their hearts, only existing just to relentlessly intimidate those who are really sincere and great people, into submission, because that's how they derive their power, bullying others out of a sense of blind devotion, and sadistic desires because that's what the majority of those haters are, and it's a definite example of parasitism and bullying

//Apologies if I've ranted a bit about this situation quite longer than what I'd originally hoped it would be. It's just so exhausting having to deal with all of this, so I hoped that this post managed to bring those who were targeted by those miserable excuses for fans some semblance of comfort. I seriously don't wanna discuss this topic any further than it should've been, because aside from what I'd just stated, there's not much to it, other than the controversy and discourse surrounding Hiyoko has gotten far worse than what I expected, and from where things stand as of late, it's not going away anytime soon.

[margridarnauds]

9, 4 and 18 of the Tav's asks for your Kitrye!

Thanks!

9. If they had to be put in a "get along shirt" with a companion, who would it be?

For...I want to say about 4/5 of her run, Kitrye fucking HATED Astarion. He was, hands down, her least favorite companion, her worstie, the guy who she was forced to bring along with her on missions for lockpicking purposes and then disapproved of everything she did. It got to the point where she would make decisions DELIBERATELY to piss him off more. "Oh, you don't LIKE IT when I free the gnomes from slavery? I'll even do it WITHOUT CHARGING THEM ANYTHING." "Oh :( Astarion's dead :( Let me run around a little before I resurrect him" Etc. etc. It began sometime around him making various racist comments in the first act, then with him rejecting her at the tiefling party (on the record, she was never interested in him -- he just rejected her off the bat and then she was furious at the presumption) that then ballooned into "I should be able to kill people because I had a sad life and if you disagree, you don't know what it's like to suffer" which...Kitrye....long-standing survivor of parental abuse...currently on the run from said parent...did not take well.

He is the reason that "Sorry About Your Parents" is on her character playlist. In order to get giffing material, I did romance "Astarion" in an AU, using mods to swap Astarion's character model with Raphael's, but for the first scene, Kitrye just looked...incredibly uncomfortable. Worst thing I've ever done to her, even beyond having her break her vow. Poor thing.

Anyway, when she went to confront Cazador, things had improved slightly, but she was still prepared to kill him rather than have him go along with the ritual -- she was NOT going to let an ascended vampire walk Faerûn. (And I wasn't going to reload my save if she did, I was willing to let it be whatever it was.) Only for him to redeem himself, save the other vampire spawn, and for her to break her oath. It was very, very bittersweet for her, and it made the lack of care about her breaking her oath/focusing on Astarion from the other companions even more heartbreaking, because it was a mixture of knowing she OUGHT to be happy for him and also being kind of like "I've been here since Day One doing this, I just lost my life's purpose, and I got barely a pat on the head or anyone expressing an ounce of sympathy, while Astarion can do the bare minimum of not being a dick and gets showered with praise, where's my respect?"

And it's funny because the vast majority of my other characters actually LOVE Astarion, so this is TRULY a Kitrye Thing. (Her daughter Anathematisma is actually currently sleeping with him, as of this point in her run.) (God help both of them.)

It did make for a very satisfying epilogue though, seeing Astarion settled and the two of them comfortable with one another. (It didn't matter, because of the way the epilogue is set up, but she actually did add Sebastian's letter to her inventory, just to remind herself that it was worth it.)

4. How do they sleep with their LI?

Kitrye is the little spoon, with him usually having his face buried in her neck. If he's in his cambion form, he tends to curl his tail around her in some way, especially around the legs, in a gesture that's simultaneously protective and possessive. When they were in Menzoberranzan together, she tended to get nightmares as a little present from Lolth, and, on those occasions, he got accustomed to wrapping his wings around her, both to shield her and also to not-so-politely remind Lolth that she was already spoken for. (Always with some pragmatic excuse because, after all, He Doesn't Actually Love Her, Love Is A Weakness, etc. etc. etc.) In his human form, he's more likely to have his arms wrapped around her waist. Given that he's essentially a living furnace, he's often quite literally too hot to handle in either form, and she has definitely woken up in a sweat because he was too close to her and that, combined with Avernus being itself, makes for a ridiculously smothering warmth, but she's also very protective of every bit of genuine intimacy that they have together, especially since Raphael's very selective about how often he's willing to demonstrate it. A couple of centuries or so, post-game, it's actually a stipulation in the contract that is Not NOT A Devilish Marriage Contract Between Them (over 500 pages and counting) that The Archdevil Raphael Is Obliged To Come to Bed No Later Than 2 AM. While he will be the first to try to find loopholes as a way to stay scheming in his office for longer into the early morning, he's equally protective of that time together in his own way, it isn't a one-sided thing, and he was actually the one to stay over first, much to her shock (of all the ways she'd pegged him, in various ways, shapes, and forms, she hadn't pegged the devil as the sort to stay after sex for a cuddle), but, when they're not in the bedroom, he tends to be incredibly reserved, especially early on when he was still navigating having Squishy Feelings at ALL, so it's a very important space for the two of them besides the obvious.

Sometimes, when infernal politics are getting to be too much, they change things up, with her letting him fall asleep on her lap, often while she strokes his hair or plays the lyre to soothe him a little. This applies to all of his forms, including, when things are VERY bad, his Ascended Fiend form.

18. What modern day TV show would they binge over the weekend? Do they get their LI to watch with them?

I think that there are two distinct stages in what Kitrye would be interested in. In her early character development, shows like Succession and Game of Thrones would be a little too real for her, but as she gets more cynical and calculating, I think they'd appeal. It's funny because I'm extremely critical of a lot of his stuff (and from what I've seen of how they adapted it), but I think that she would really like Mike Flanagan's Fall of the House of Usher -- horrible people plotting (just like home) and getting exactly what they deserve, a devilish character weaving her way in and out of the narrative...for Kitrye later in her character development, it's perfect.

In her earlier years, she's going to go for shows that emphasize hope and overcoming the odds -- and since she does love animals and has some skills in animal handling, it might be shows like, say, My Cat From Hell (which her companions have absolutely memed by putting Raphael's face over the image of the cat in the ad and Kitrye's face over Jackson's.) Kitrye has a taste for the high life and culture, so it wouldn't be anything TOO trashy, unfortunately.

Given that Kitrye has proficiency in History and Religion (she multi-classes as a cleric), I'm not sure whether she would ENJOY period dramas or nitpick them. (She decides to spend one evening watching the 2011 Jane Eyre and Crimson Peak and has to take a very, very long moment to look at her life, look at her choices.) If Raphael keeps his canon age, she would absolutely bring him along just for him to poke holes in the accuracy. For what it's worth, Raphael in any verse is much more keen to drag her to a theatre production -- he has a regular box reserved at several prominent opera houses after making a deal with the various owners.

[sohnyun]

hi lissita, i hope you got a nice little screenshot out of that message. i hope you don't mind that i also use it.

rather than go back and forth with you behind the scenes, which i'm sure would have been to your preference due to it being known in the past i'd get pretty frustrated by this (which ultimately would merely prove your point as i'd lose my cool eventually). understandably i'm a big advocate of "if i don't like you, you gotta go" - which i've been criticized for relentlessly as being tyrannical and dictatorlike. among many other unpleasant insults that many people enjoying tacking on to me (anonymously of course). though i'm at a point in my life now where i'm actually a bit tired of the way people like you get away with being hypocritical. if the roles were reversed and i just - simply didn't like you - it would add on to the already abundant claims that i'm "bullying", when simply i just didn't feel like you should be in my [personal] space. i understand that staff doesn't view themselves as bullies however, despite essentially pulling a very retro cairo move.

it's extremely tiring playing by a different set of rules and expectations because i'm a well known individual in the rpc. somehow due to simply being "me", i became synonymous with tmh. which is shocking considering i'd been a member since january, granted largely inactive due to having a extremely busy life, but let's please put this into perspective: i'd been a member for much of the entire year without issue so long as i was hardly around, hardly had characters, and broke no rules. which mind you - i [still] have yet to break any rules on tmh or even in the discord. rather, i'm being punished for having the audacity to say things off anon (because i am aware others in the community have been submitting things under anon), and that somehow "reflects negatively on the community". what does trolling a week ago to hate commentary directed mostly at myself have anything to do with you whatsoever? are you romie? when did i become a representation of your site? i'm not staff. which i know is something that probably bothered you when anons continued to claim that i was somehow backseat modding the site - it's very easy to make a scapegoat and "example" out of me by doing this, isn't it? unfortunately i'm at a loss where this needless pandering is meant to land your 'community' when the people you're pandering to legitimately doesn't like your site [anyways].

i'd also like to see where i was spoken to multiple times in the past, because this is the first time i've heard about it. i never even got a warning when i called them stupid in the suggestions thread. so while i understand that is added text to make your actions in the screenshot look "justified", please do not fabricate situations to make yourself look authentic. i agree it's easy to tact that on to me and people would just run with it, but again - i've broken no site or discord rules. call it as it is: scapegoating. which would be completely fine with me if you had the gusto to be real and admit it. also, unanimously doesn't sound as believable. i at least know iris will always tell me the truth. i imagine you did the "uwu babie" tactic behind the scenes first in dms to gauge everyone's feelings on the matter - the typical gossip girl antic where "unu am i the only one? unu… unu you feel the same way right?" which i should point out is a form of manipulation when you already have a set agenda in mind.

i find it funny that you're claiming to be a drama free community yet you're "closely watching" a drama blog. you can't be both sweetie, choose a struggle. and don't worry, you and bree are the ones i already figured didn't like me and were waiting for a way to get me off the site, it's a tale as old as time. either way, my piece is said and i hope this move will be worth it in the end. i'm no longer just "quietly leaving" spaces or making myself smaller for other's comfort due to being a cis male or because of the perpetual smear campaign by miserable entities projecting their own unhappiness on others.

anyways thanks for the ban, when it happens it always motivates iris to get our skin / codes done. :) it'll be a productive weekend for sure.