#I dont think a play-by-play of their lives is needed but with their contrasting personalities I was expecting a bit more banter

[tumatawa]

I got carried away with something

[blackknight-kai]

We need an S/O who’s just an enabler for Wukong; like someone who’s totally ride or die.

Oh we’re going to heckle the locals yaoguai? They’re down.

Beat up whoever we please? Yessir.

Be the celestials’ biggest pain in the ass? Hell yea.

[But there’s also that sweet potential angst there, your husband/best friend reincarnates to this totally different guy and you have no clue what to do with yourself.]

Yes, I love this! I’d be that person LOL. Like “oh you wanna go beat the shit out of some people? Cool get after it dude! Fuck ‘em up!”

But for real, I think Wukong having that would be amazing, not for everyone else of course but for him? Great. He’d be living his best life and his ego would be HUUUUUUUGE. This chaotic asshole would love having a partner in crime/someone to support him in his mischievous endeavors.

He’d be so happy too. Coming home after doing whatever it is and excitedly telling you all about it. He’d strut around preening like a peacock. At no point would he ever feel like he was without or that he was lacking in his relationship. If people try to bring him down? Yeah not gonna work because you had his back and he trusts you.

Seeing him so happy and confident would be the highlight of your day. He’s just so LOUD. You could never ignore him. You love your monkey way too much!

So when you see his reincarnation be the total opposite of everything he normally is really screws with your head. Sure he looks like Wukong, fights like him, and is goal oriented like him.

But hes quiet. Genuinely doesnt speak which is a huge contrast to the mouthy Great Sage you knew. Reserved. Hyper Focused. And honestly very closed off.

A bit cold too. You’d been so used to Wukongs warm loving self that this is just…difficult.

Destined One is hard to read. You dont see anything of the Wukong you knew in him for the longest time. It hurts. At first you wonder if you should just….part from him. Go your separate way and let him go on his path. It doesnt sit right with you though to do that. As painful as it is to be near someone who reminds you of the lover you’d lost so long ago. But you are determined to help him and determined to be there for him. Ride or die for life right?

One thing you realize though after spending time with him is that yeah, hes different but also, not that different. He’s still cheeky in his own way and mischievous. Just a bit more subtle about it. Clever. As you get to know him and he learns to trust you he starts showing his true colors. Cracks grins and smirks, the first time you caught his lip twitching you thought you were hallucinating. His tail swishes and flicks with his amusement and you can gauge his mood by how deep the frown on his face or how tense his shoulders and tail are. He plays familiar pranks, sometimes with new twists on them. Being a prankster definitely is in his genetics.

Instead of talking he uses grunts and sounds, you learn what each means over time. His eyes also speak volumes now that you’ve grown to know him. They always reveal his true feelings and damn do they always look at you with that familiar warmth you’d come to associate with Wukong. As he gains more power he also gains confidence. His walk had always shown confidence but now he moves with a surety that starts to match Wukongs. He’s coming into himself and you find yourself becoming just as enamored with him the more you learn about him. The day he gives you a handsome smile is a day you will remember because your heart skipped several beats.

You grow closer with him and realize just how similar he and Wukong are, the difference is that Wukong had many years on this monkey to build himself up. It’s only a matter of time for the Destined One to do the same. He even enjoys being close to you and often finds reasons to be near you/touching you. His tail is wrapped around you sometimes in that familiar way Wukong used to do, it makes your heart full and also ache. Sometimes he just does things, acts certain ways that are so reminiscent of Wukong. While other times he does something completely different and new. It keeps you guessing.

When he speaks for the first time it about knocks you over. His voice is the same……your chest pinches hard both with happiness and sadness because damn did you miss his voice. But also, you’re falling in love with the way HE now talks.

You dont push for more from him, unsure for the first time in your life. Because should you? What if he really IS someone totally different but has similar traits? What if he just needs to grow into ‘Wukong’ more? What if hes the same but doesnt feel the same for you?

So many questions run through your head.

But one thing is certain, be it Wukong or Destined One you will support the ever living shit out of whatever he wants to do. Regardless of where your ‘relationship’ stands because you love ‘them’ equally.

And when he finally regains Wukongs memories?

Well…..I’ll leave that brain nugget up to you reader 😊

[barbatusart]

bit of thinking outloud but for my current tactician run im doing a special wyll origins playthrough im calling the Evil Wyll Run & it’s given me a lot of food for thought about his character (or at least the freedom of psychological movement + exploration afforded to an origin run!)

wyll spoilers abound we’re entering the wyllenium here

wyll always felt a bit underwritten to me - i know that’s partially because there was that big kerfuffle in the 11th hour with changing his whole story and personality on top of having to recast his VA, and frankly hats off to both original VA lanre malaolu & new VA theo solomon for their hard work - both brought tremendous performances, & i sincerely hope mr malaolu was paid well for his work & time even if his voice wasn’t used in the final cut (i would also say warlock as a class itself felt a bit underdeveloped but im 100% OK with chalking that up to me the player not understanding how to play warlock effectively yet lol im more of a fighter barbarian Hit Stuff guy)

but honestly this feeling of being “underwritten” combined with a character with a long history of heroism in his pocket made wyll really interesting to me even in my tav playthrough. for all his accomplishments he still feels like a blank everyman, or like he’s someone who fully believes he’s the main character who doesn’t “need” to do any extra work on himself - and honestly he feels Very much like he could be The Main Character. once his backstory of the son of the duke was revealed too i immediately got the sense of like, rich boy trying to prove his worth beyond his wealth and status by striking out & becoming that hero, or that Prince Charming. basically that perfect happily ever after somebody. and im of the opinion that you don’t get mixed up with a cambion in the first place unless you’re either the kind of naïve “everything will just work out” immature that tends to comes with his status as the son of a noble, or you’re hungering for power. depending on playstyle he’s very easily both of these things

on the naïve front (ie a good wyll playthrough) if anything he feels very believably immature, & from that perspective the events of the game feel as though they’re the prequel to the actual start of wyll's story where he finally finds himself & learns what kind of man he really is. we just dont get to see it alas, but i really enjoyed the thought exercise of somebody still grappling with overcoming his own immaturity. he feels like someone who can still grow and that his tale is just beginning

Evil Wyll (meaning any time mizora shows up he drops everything to enact her instruction & hasnt once tried to find a loophole out of his contract) which ive come to be far more fascinated by is someone clearly vying for power, which is interesting because his noble status would’ve given him all the power he wants had he Played Nice. to me it speaks of someone who wants to be able to take what he wants from life without it being handed to him, which contrasts in a really fascinating way with entering into a warlock pact at all. maybe he thought it was better that it be a decision he made as opposed to nobility given to him by his family ties, maybe there’s still that pollyanna sentiment of “it’ll just work out & ill live happily ever after.” again maybe both. maybe in a sense the fiend, as he calls himself, is a good excuse to shuck off any poor decision he makes or any genuinely heinous thing he does under mizora’s instruction - an identity he uses as power fantasy (and very much in tandem/interchangeable with the blade of frontiers power fantasy) until it means taking ownership for any of his misdeeds, and then a scapegoat.

may be a bit incoherent but im only now hitting act 3 in my origin run & im Really enjoying this difficult characterization ive cooked up for myself lol

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

reason under the cut!

okay i have to get this out of the way first: - a common headcanon is that they are siblings. which. no, dont ship this if you think they are siblings, thats weird and gross. blegh. - i (submitter) do not believe this! they have a rivalry, yes, but they aren't siblings! made by the same creator, sure, but that's a constant theme throughout the game. made by god, and made by humanity. they have a more interesting dynamic as strangers! - below is a copy and pasted (and slightly edited for the sake of clarity) rant from a discord server !! when i posted about some of my art about them, a pal of mine asked what the source material was! so that is that rant.

OKAY ULTRAKILL !!!! blue guy (V1) was a machine built for A Big War before humanity fails!!! its the character you play as in the gayass bloodplay shooter game <33 hes made to destroy. the first think you know about her is her name, her objective (FIND A WEAPON) and where she is (APPROCHING HELL) and three things: - mankind is dead - blood is fuel - hell is full WHICH MEANS THAT THE ROBOT USES BLOOD AS FUEL!!!! she needs blood to live and she will use the souls of the damned to do that. anyways so she was an actual war robot in the Real Life!! V2 (red) on the otherhand was a robot made after the New Peace that humanity made before their final death. they were meant to promote peace and are awesome!!! i also love their battle mechanics... silly :) in 1-4, V1 fights V2!!! its very interesting because v2 bows before the battle, showing it is but a curtesy, or a show of power, but it;s not personal. it was never personal, before. after the battle, v1 takes v2's arm, knuckleblaster. LATER ON. 4-4. they fight again. v2 has a new arm, whiplash, and sits upon a throne, awaiting v1's arrival for once they get to their area of Greed. it's so personal now. they fight, and they kill. v2 dies fully, and v1 takes the arm again. parts of v2, engraved into their arms and beating into their code. its very interesting to meee!!! taking a part of your dont even get me STARTED on the contrast between the soundtrack and how the visuals of each level are so vastly different!!!!! dont even get me STARTEDDDD because clair de lune and claire de soleil comparisons. hakita you are a genius!!!!

plus, all the fan interpretations are also fun!! comics based around the gore of the thing. art made for the sake of understanding these two. thank you for your time. if you headcanon these two as siblings, good! vote for i dont ship it and leave me alone please! thank you :)

tag: @bright-honey

[a-thousand-attempted-words]

Writing 101: The Scene

Any given scene has three variables that need to be adressed, which are Space, Characters and Time. If you find yourself writing something that feels flat or disconnected, look at these three variables and see if you are missing anything.

Characters, Space, Time.

The three pillars of all writing (and by this I mean: The three incredibly basic, broken down, handyman pillars of writing) can be applied and found in every scene that has every been written. You knew that. But lets look at what they can do for you.

Characters: Who are we even here for?

This one is the one you'll probably find the most tips online for. In essence, every character needs to have the following things:

A goal to move towards

A motivation to make them move

An obstacle to overcome in that journey

A flaw that makes the journey spicier

Those are all pretty standard. In terms of "The Scene", here are some additional things to keep in mind:

With whom do they have relationships with?

Which kind?

How is that expressed?

Whats the problem in the relationship (everyone has them. Even if they are routinely overcome, thats still a problem)?

Characters dont exist in a vaccum so dont view them as singular entities.

Having consistent, well defined characters that stand out will help you easily conquer the hearts of your readers. And having those people have defining relationships that reveal new traits about them is super helpful.

The way people interact with one another shows a lot about the characters.

Space: Where we are, where we were, where we will be

Space is experienced by occupying it, by passing through. Space is always relative to the other spaces next to, beyond and behind.

If this makes you go "So what?", you're not alone. We dont tend to think of space much. We dont always tend to think of space as relative either. But you should always be able to answer these three questions. Ive added some additional questions to make it easier to understand and know where to start.

Where are we? What relevance does this place have? Has it changed? Will it change? Who lives here and how? What does it feel like to pass through? Will everyone view it the same? Is this an emotionally charged place? An empty place? How large is the space?

Where were we? How does it contrast with previous places? And if there is contrast, how do we show that?

Where will we be? What happens when we leave the space? Can we return?

Time: Narrative Time and the beauty of writing

This is probably the easiest to understand: All stories happen in a timespan. Some of them are slow, some fast.

There are several ways of writing narrative time:

Actual Time: The characters process the things that are happening at roughly the same speed as we do. This is like the movie equivalent of a close up. Personal. Emotions and reactions flow as they would. It feels natural and its easy to follow along.

Quick or Condensed Time: The narrative time is passing much quicker than the perceived readers time. This is used for journeys, overviews, long sections that are summarised or poetically vexed about. Condensing several years into a few pages is less personal, but it can give you a relative sense of progress and allows you to put things into perspective. Its also - as the name says - fast.

Slow or Stretched Time: The narrative time is passing much slower than the perceived readers time. Minute details are extended, emotions are rested on longer, events play out almost like in slow motion. This is great for climaxes and impactful scenes, as often times what happens in seconds has much more of an impact of the people. You cant get more personal than this. Details shine easily, its slow and sometimes painful to consume because you cant look away.

There are also timeskips, flashbacks and whatnot. You can even be in the same time but far away from one another (Oh look, its space again).

Point is, time is relative and the way you express something in said time is important. Be aware of how time moves and how you want time to move.

Transition

Alright, I hope this helped you understand some of the core basics. This isnt a vast overview, more of a collection to help you understand the rough strokes. Ask any questions you have and dont forget to drink your water. Bye!

[themissakat]

ALOY ON THEMISSAKAT’S BLOG, THIS IS NOT A DRILL

i fuckin love horizon. seeing aloy in your style is something i didnt expect to see but it’s amazing

did you pick up zero dawn recently and then forbidden west right after? or have you played zero dawn a while ago and then played forbidden west recently?

please share any and all thoughts you want to share abt the games cause it’d be cool to hear what you think abt the games.

horizon cool games

I had zero dawn sitting in my steam library for maaaybe the better part of 2 years?? (i got it on sale ages ago) some friends were playing hfw and it inspired me to finally pick up hzd. I beat hzd a few months ago, mayyybe 2 or 3 months before forbidden west dropped on Steam?

I can't say any other series has gut punched me so many times and so well. I think overall I liked the first game better, just for the impact of the reveals (the data point talking about the Faro machines and the dolphins haunts me) but the addition of new characters in the second game plus expansion of the world and just MORE of aloy and her friends is so good.

gonna do a read more for hfw spoilers through the end of the game and maybe some burning shores?(hi kami dont look)

I can no longer live without Beta she is wonderful and my beloved and I want to replay hzd but the fact that Beta wont be there makes me SAD. The compare/contrast between Aloy and Beta is such an interesting concept and expands upon their relationship to Elizabet (in particular the pressure of her legacy) in such a fun way. I love taking a nature/nurture look at how they are as people and how they were raised, so similarly isolated and yet SO DIFFERENT because of their environment and the few people that were present.

I've been contemplating writing a character study drabble/ficlet from Beta-pov about Aloy throughout the game. I was screaming SISTERS at them during every interaction and then the ending with the PAYOFf just AHH.

I wish burning shores had a "chat with beta" option, I can only headcanon that Aloy and Beta chat or watch Beta's media in the evening when Aloy's resting.

The character development of Aloy learning how to interact with and trust other people is good soup. I could wax poetic about my head canons for her particular flavor of queer (given the time to organize my thoughts). I'm incredibly curious to see how they handle Seyka/Aloy going forward into the second game, in part because Aloy is such a goal-driven person, I can see her struggling to reconcile her own "selfish" motivations with the looming threat of the end of the world. (because like. girl if the world is ending you need to cherish every second you have with the people who matter to you. but also yall need time to figure out if you can beat nemesis. do be a tough dilemma there.)

I want to roll around in the brainrot more but its a struggle bc i'm a very au-centric fanartist/writer and the world of horizon is so good on its own i cant even put myself in the au mindset. for now i have to be happy with drawing aloy's amazing hair. its so beautiful i love it so much

but yeah. overall. horizon cool games.

[loversj0y]

am i the only one who has a boiling hatred for fanon ghostbur?

Like--- I'm neutral about canon ghostbur.

But i really really hate how so many people went as far as saying that Ghostbur was all the good parts of Wilbur.

That is just so wrong---- ghostbur has the good memories, but not all the good parts. it just drives me nuts.

ghostbur wasn't good for c!tommy or anyone coping with wilbur's death

it wasn't his fault, but people need to stop depicting him as they do

ohohoho i specifically waited to get to this until i had my laptop because i love me some character analysis! so. lets talk ghostbur!

disclaimer: these are opinions, i didnt write the character, this is just how id analyze ghostbur and audience portrayal of him

so something i think people dont note about ghostbur a lot is the fact that he is not wilbur in a much more real sense than people realize. something that revivebur kind of touches on but people dont really note (in my opinion) is the way the memories and your actions during memories actually shape you as a person. ghostbur could never be all the good parts of wilbur because without the negative memories, he could never have knowledge of how he can be good in negative scenarios, like being good towards tommy in darker times. this is one of the biggest things that makes ghostbur not healthy for the characters around him, and why wilbur being revived is so important to wilbur's overall character arc

ghostbur is the image of wilbur if he never dealt with significant problems, never caused problems or engaged in them, because he only has good memories, he's never seen himself in a negative situation (think to how ghostbur reacts to philza telling him fundy wants to be "adopted" by someone else (i cant remember who at the moment))

when people tell him of his own negative consequences, he literally cannot react in a way of genuine remorse. he feels guilt because he learns that the living version of himself did those things, but he cant actually give any apology that would be beneficial to anyone involved. ghostbur cant apologize for something he cant remember doing because he doesn't know why he acted in those ways.

we can contrast this with when revivebur tries to later apologize (im thinking particularly to fundy) and how when fundy asks why he did those things, he tells him about how he wasn't well mentally. even though fundy doesn't accept the apology (in a very. drastic way), revivebur can actually acknowledge his own motivations, which allows him to actually have a chance as being forgiven.

ghostbur doesnt know any of those motivations, which is why his character is unhealthy. he is literally a ghost of the man he once was, so even though people want genuine answers, before knowing he was going to be revived, they had to realize that ghostbur is basically a punching bag for them to push their issues with c!wilbur onto because ghostbur cant actually respond in any meaningful way in terms of remorse and forgiveness.

also, as for the audience portrayal, i think people got very caught up on the "sweet ghost boy" image rather than what he actually is and how he actually affects the characters. he literally haunts them and reminds them of all the trauma c!wilbur gave them, while knowing that he can't actually answer for any of it because he doesn't remember hurting them

its a very famous philosophical argument (i believe by kant) about the concept of "if someone has no memory of committing a crime, can they actually serve time for it?" because if you have no memory of doing something, can you actually learn from and grow from your experiences?

because ghostbur cant. and thats what hurts the people around him so much. people like c!tommy and c!philza who geniunely care about c!wilbur and want him to be okay know that ghostbur is not that answer because he can't grow from memories he doesnt remember playing a part in, so it hurts to see someone you love be constantly stuck in place of never being able to grow and never being able to answer for all the things you want to ask.

ghostbur is so important to c!wilburs arc because he reminds people not to seek justice on those who can't answer for it. some people actually recognize this, some don't, and some just avoid him like a plague because it hurts.

[lostwillowtree]

the thing i love about jd is that his whole belief isnt just ‘god is dead’ or ‘society is inherently evil’, he seems to have this belief that god exists within people, that divine power is wielded by those that know how to, and his goal is to wield it

this first becomes obvious in ‘our love is god’. i dont really need to spell it out, it’s in the title; jd and veronica’s love (or, more specifically, jd’s love for veronica) is strong enough to wield that power of god (“you are the only thing that’s right about this broken world”). this is his perception of their relationship - we will love each other so much that we can destroy the fucked up world and make a new, better one (“we’ll burn it down and then we’ll build the world again”)

the contrast between this and what veronica wants between them (seventeen) is the key underlying conflict in their story. veronica wants them to be normal and be happy with that, even if they could be more (“we’re not special, we’re not different, we don’t choose who lives or dies”).

nonetheless. in our love is god, jd writes a fake suicide note from ram and kurt (“ram and i died because we had to hide our gay forbidden love from a misapproving world”), which turns out to become reality in “my dead gay son”. if you missed that line(which i did first time i watched), you’d have no idea that kurt and ram being gay was made up; its never mentioned again. jd makes it reality because of his obsession with veronica.

ticking back, the same thing happens in “the me inside of me”, but jd’s stance isnt obvious yet because heather’s death comes off as a freak accident.

in “yo girl”, jd tells veronica’s parents about her depression (which, as far as im aware, isnt real), now skewing veronica’s reality, which she seems to play into by faking her suicide. this isnt enormous - it was just him lying to her parents, but it still kind of comes off as such.

and finally, in “meant to be yours”, he concocts the plan to convince the entire world that the students of westernburg high all decided to destroy the school with themselves in it. he tells veronica in “dead girl walking (reprise)” that “people are gonna see the ashes… and think, there a school that self destructed, not because society didnt care, but because that school was society.” jd quite literallt intends to ‘destroy society’ to prove a point; he doesnt believe the world can improve, but rather that it should be destroyed and reconstructed, as he plans in our love is god

and, naturally, in “i am damaged”, we come full circle. “wish you’d kiss me, than you’d know i worship you” proves that jd hasn’t really changed his motive at any point; from the start to now, he has being fully devoted to veronica. even now, he still believes that, even without him, its her who should be leading the world to improving (“stick around here, make things better”)

which is to say, that in our love is god, after shooting the two guys who sexually assaulted his girlfriend in front of her, he devotes himself to her as a goddess, the same words he says right before he dies (“i worship you, id trade my life for yours, we’ll make them disappear, we’ll plant our garden here / and once i disappear, clean up the mess down here”)

and back to ‘divine power is wielded by those that know how to’, jd clearly thinks this of the heathers; three girls who are percieved adjacent to gods in their school, he is partially responsible for killing heathers chandler and framing it as suicide, and attempts to convince veronica to do the same to one of the other heathers (i forgot which one).

jd does not believe that reality is shaped by gods, but by people who are willing to do so. the power of divinity is within every person and a human can become a god and manipulate reality to their will if they are willing to dehumanise themself so. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[wszczebrzyszynie]

3, 9, and 26 for the ask game :D

9. What are your file name conventions

ouhh i name them whatever. song lyrics im currently listening to, character names, actual illustration titles, random messages to myself. nothing funny enough to show im afraid just a bunch of polish and polonisations (apparently i refuse to title scar drawings with anything but skar)

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended

i dont think i have such piece. its much more common for people not to know the extent of themes/metaphors used in the drawing; not a bad thing by any means, whenever i try to have some more hidden meaning in my art its with oc drawings, and theres often just no way people could guess that not knowing about my ocs as much as i do. Oh and also people love to take my anniversary 3rd life art and interpret it in ways i wouldnt even dream of but theyre all so correct its sad to say i didnt plan that. Like the fact that the border breaks around Grian but allows Scar to leave without tearing is... im so dissapointed i didnt plan that i just drew whatever fitted the vibe. aah

(this one will be long and also probably weird to read soo im putting it under the read more thing. sorry bout that its about one of my favourite oc drawings)

Matka is one of the drawings of mine that come to mind when i think of a drawing that no one but me can possibly get fully and its only because i just dont share everything i have in my brain. Probably because there was a person who actually tried to analise this one as a challenge they had for themselves, and while they werent incorrect, there was a lot they were lacking.

The patterns on the side are meant to resemble both belarusian embroidery (important culturally for both characters, since the story takes place durning the 19th century belarusian cultural revival and they are belarusian, even if to some degree polonised, because 19th century western Belarus) and candle holders (item i associate with Mikita, its the tool that lets him navigate the manor after all, and plays into the ghost idea people have of him); the black and white contrast of a nightgown (Mikitas signature look durning the first part of the story (i like to call it the ghost part, since it mostly deals with Mikita (and also Przemek but this isnt about him) relearning how to be a person after everything that happened to him) It symbolises his need to live in the past, his inability to esentially become human again, he plays into the idea of a ghost as much as he can, even if unnkowingly) and a mourning dress (both in a cultural sense - it was used as a protest against russian occupation durning the january uprising, as well as the general sense - Apolonia is dead and this is the dress she would have worn if she could get a proper funeral. This is an idea of her that Mikita as her son can only imagine). The pose is self explainatory and reveals a lot about their relationship already. The text zwróć że do nas jasne swe matczyne dłonie / okaż swoim dzieciom swą bezdenną litość (turn your pale motherly hands towards us / show your children your neverending mercy ) is actually a lyric from the song Marzanna, which is stylised like a prayer to the slavic goddess of winter of the same name; a comparison way more fitting for Apolonia than Mother Mary. And in the background theres a willow tree, literally called the mourning/crying willow in polish, a very simple symbol of death and mourning.

[johannestevans]

Whats your perspective on names?

Do you have any specific thoughts about them? how did you find yours? did it take long to? how many have you had? also your characters! obligatory "I Love Your Work!" (and i enjoy riffling though new and also rereading old), So from amaethon to cecil to danny to the King family and the Laithes family, their names are one aspect that have always stuck out to me because they all integrate into their stories while still feeling unique in contrast to each other! i dont miss that a lot of it is influenced by your interest in fae lore and your welsh heritage either. where does the name come in during your writing process, is it the first or last thing you think of? do you have a mish-mash of where you find them? any pettier more low stakes opinions on names?

(all this started bc i'm struggling to find a name, and want the perspective of another trans person :) !)

I changed my name when I was about 15 - it comes from a similar biblical root as my deadname, so basically I shortened my deadname and then looked for other names that it could be a nickname for.

For me, it really wasn't a long or involved process - it happened quite smoothly and easily, and I've never felt like I needed to try other things or find something that fit me better.

Johannes is a Dutch and German name - it's an older form of John and is like Ioannes / Yiannis in Greek, and it comes from Hebrew for God is gracious. It can be shortened to Johann, but generally my actual loved ones either call me John or Johnny, or they call me Hannes.

"Johannes" in German is kind of a stereotypical old man's name? A German friend was laughing a lot about it because she said that to me and I was like "Yeah?" and she was like, oh, yeah, that fits, lmao.

I do play around a lot with names, and I'd say that I take them from a lot of different sources and get creative with them. Multiple times I've called a character "Henry Sutton" without realising I've done it multiple times, which is why I've got a few Henry Suttons knocking about.

For more established characters with deeper backstories, I play around a lot with the naming process - I normally have a particular mouthfeel or aural impact I'm going for, such as a certain number of syllables or a particular "flavour", like a name that has a feel of a particular class or country or profession.

With that said, I think most of my names I pick quite quickly and feel out early on in the process - it's rare that a character of mine is more fleshed out and lacks a name, because I find a name is such a useful part of someone's identity and informs a lot of how they move in the world and are perceived and treated. Something like their appearance is far less important, funnily enough.

I like to employ some literal stuff - Valorous King, for example, is very aptly named in a way that can sometimes feel like a curse to him; Amaethon is actually one of the children of Dôn, but people don't really know old Welsh gods and goddesses very well, so it just feels like a random elf name; Ganymede Cavendish is named for a beautiful young lover of Zeus, and he is just as beautiful and victimised in the same way as his namesake.

Other times, I go with more irony or play with juxtapositions - name a character for joy or ease when they're generally miserable or tortured; name them something small when they're very big or vice versa; name them for darkness when they're very light, etc.

I'll often take forenames or surnames from things I'm watching or playing or listening to - when I want to pluck a name out of the air at random and am worried I'm using too many of the same names, but want like, "real" names that real people use and live with, it's fucking great to pick names out of the credit sequences of TV or movies and mash them up.

Sometimes I scroll through census records and stuff, but the problem with the number of characters I have is that I can't always do that - as much as it's realistic for many characters to be called Jones or Evans or Williams, I'd need to make a thing of it in fiction. Census records are great for older characters, especially from the 1700s-1900s.

The ones that are actually hardest for me is Latin names - Greek ones I'm a lot more comfortable handling, but my Latin grammar is fucking dogshit, and I often worry about mishandling a name or reusing one that's too commonly written already. Medieval Latin is alright to play with, but when I'm writing old Roman characters I just feel like I'm kicking my own ass the entire time.

I will say that some shit in that regard is just fucking lazy. I abhor the lazy tendency in fiction to introduce a Black character and call him Mr White or Mr Chalk or something similar, especially when it's contrasted with an evil white character and/or that character's best friend who's named Black or Ebony. It's not in itself that awful, it's just the fact that it's so overdone and clichéed, and comes from a really basic humour and sense of irony that doesn't really build on or create anything, just lazily says "haha, this guy's Black and this other guy's white, isn't that a thing?"

I don't actually have a problem with reusing some names a lot - John, Henry, Daniel, etc - and I will often just search "common names [country]" and play with similar names that jump between and change from different languages or change throughout history. It can be worth looking up legends or stories from a certain region or like, old wives' tales and stuff, because like...

Sometimes, the benefit of a common or uncommon name is in its cultural impact - a name like mine, a name like John, is ubiquitous, but that means you can draw loads of parallels to it; on the other hand, if you grab a word that's very much not a name, but is a place, an object, a common noun, an animal, a turn of phrase, etc, you create a tension around that character with the other characters around them, even if people aren't commenting on it directly and even if you don't tell the reader immediately that their name is unusual or noteworthy.

When you're playing with a name that has a lot of cultural impact within a culture you're writing, as a name or otherwise, it can be fun to have a name that will have a lot of resonance for the characters you're writing, but doesn't inherently have that same impact on the reader (or only has that impact if the reader is already familiar with them culturally, or is familiar with the niche historical/religious subject you're working with).

An obvious one in mine is Esben's pets, for example, are called Kottr the dog and Hundr the cat - Kottr in Old Norse means cat, and Hundr, dog. A lot of English speakers will notice the cognates there if they think about it, but I've had people who speak Nordic languages comment on it a lot because it's just a fun little thing.

Gellert Osgodby has named himself after Gelert the dog - but in Welsh, we don't use two Ls to make an "l" sound. In Welsh, his name would be pronounced more like Geshert (the ll sound isn't easy to transcribe in English). He's fucked that up, and that's part of how you can tell he isn't Welsh himself, and isn't a Welsh speaker.

I definitely am influenced most by Welsh and Irish mythologies and stories, and I do tend to play with some Jewish cultural elements a lot as well, if not directly with Jewish mythologies.

Part of that, I regularly say, is because of the way that Welsh and Irish stuff tends to be treated by US American creators who identify as Welsh/Irish/Scottish/ "Celtic" or whatever and just go for random butchery of everything in sight - it's not their fault they don't have any sense of cultural respect, because that's not the culture they were raised in, but it does irritate me, and like...

Because I get so snippy about Welsh stuff, I try to be a lot more careful handling other cultures, particularly in various ways oppressed or minoritised ones, especially who are often misrepresented in media in similarly clumsy, lazy, or just entitled ways.

For names in cultures I'm less familiar with and coherent with, what I actually do is regularly search the full name I'm using, but also like, search Wikipedia entries for famous celebrities that use that language, come from that country or culture, and are of the same caste, religion, or ethnicity as the character(s) I'm working on and basically just read a bunch and contrast and compare.

Sometimes I very explicitly go against a lot of cultural stuff depending on which cultures I'm drawing from - Velma Kuroda, for example, has picked a name very much at odds with the more traditionally Japanese name her brother has picked, and that has to do with family beef that I'll get into later in Little Devils.

In Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant, people have three names - their regular name, their magical name, and then their true name written on their soul, by which they can be commanded and coerced; in T.S. Eliot's The Naming of Cats, cats have three different names - the name by which their human family call them, the name by which they're known to other cats, and then their secret, most innate name, known only to themselves.

Many of us have multiple names and go by different names in different circles - many Jewish people have a Hebrew name, and gerim might pick one when they convert; in Ireland, a lot of people have their names as Béarla different to their names as Gaeilge.

Some people go by their middle names or are called a completely different name to the one they were named at birth - Hell, some people don't even realise until they're adults that the name everyone's always called them isn't their official documents name.

And that's not even considering queer people and how many names we might cycle through, feeling out the ones that fit or don't, using different names in different circles or for different personas, using different names online or offline.

There's a lot of power in a name and in a naming, but there's also a lot of leeway and flexibility, and one name isn't the same to all the people who might use it - I try to reflect that living quality in lots of the characters I write and play with.

With a name, I would say it's important to think about how it feels in your mouth and in your hands - how it feels to say your name, how it feels to write it, how it might feel to write your signature, what spelling you choose or what characters it's made up of, what your initials might be, etc. What nicknames you might or mightn't like.

How does or would the name strike people, depending on who they are or where they're from or how old they are? Are you named for someone - someone people would or wouldn't recognise? A figure from myth, from TV, from books, a historical figure, a religious or cultural figure, someone you love, a relative, an ancestor? Is your name usually a name at all?

I know so many people with so many beautiful names, many of them unexpected, either because their parents or family chose them, or because they chose them themselves, and I know there's a lot of choice out there, but good luck with the hunt! I hope you find something that fits, and feels like it sings to you!

[beekeeperspicnic]

Same anon. I also just wanna start off by saying that i know nothing about game design, i also am very very new to this blog/game and i dont want to sound overly critical or make you think that these are huge problems that need fixing, its mostly just small things i noticed that felt a little odd but otherwise didnt take away from the experience too much. You also definitely don't have to "fix" anything if these are intentional design choices. Im not familiar with these types of games at all so i might just experience mild culture shock about it. You also don't have to respond to this and you can feel free to delete this ask if you wish to for whatever reason <333

So, I think you've mentioned this already but it felt a bit odd that it was silent when there was dialogue. (I think) you mentioned you didn't want or couldn't have actual voice acting but i think any sound that indicates speech could work! Like little beepings or tappings? Perhaps that can be turned on or off in potential settings? Otherwise, i really liked the sound designs in the game!

Im 99% sure it is an intentional design choice because its a retro/retro inspired game but sometimes it felt like foregrounds and backgrounds melted together because there are only colour blocks and never/rarely any clear lines. Might also be because im colourblind but it made it a bit hard for me to distinguish where everything was, especially the fossil in the cottage living room. Definitely not a big problem, i did get there in the end, after all, but perhaps something to at least be aware of? :3

Lastly, the options menu in the dialogue looks a little out of place to me. I think it might be the black background? This might also be an intentional design choice, it just looked a little clunky to me (again, as someone not used to retro games! So it might just be a me thing!). Perhaps different/more fitting colours or outlined text with no background could potentially work?

Again, very sorry for the huge ask and if anything of this sounds.... /Bad/. I definitely don't mean for it to sound that way and i totally understand if all of this is something you dont want or cant change. After all, while i enjoyed the demo im def not your core audience as someone who hasn't grown up with/played games like these <3333

Thanks for the feedback!

Alas I can't afford to have this game speech acted (I would like to but the costs would be phenomenal), and personally I just don't "get" having beeping or clicking noises or wah wah sounds when characters are talking, especially since the rest of the sound design is naturalistic. I just find that a really weird idea? You're not the first person to mention it though, so.... idk. Perhaps I'll try it sometime just to see if I can warm up to it.

There's not a great deal I can do about the art style at this stage - I've already spent the last year completing most of the artwork. If it helps the trilobite isn't in the main game! It's just a demo thing. If there is a particular colour combo that didn't work for you I'd be interested to know.

I can change the black background at least! I was just going for something high contrast, but I could try deep green or something.

Idk if I want my core audience to be people who play retro games - in fact I am pretty worried that point and click adventure gamers won't really be into it! So I appreciate the perspective.

[colourful-void]

not a whole proper analysis post cause im too tired for it rn but quick thoughts on nemona's house as analyzed by me.

(disclaimer: we're running with the idea that this set up is meant to mean something, because we are actually allowed to go in her house unlike most other buildings despite it being easy to shut it off. suspend ur disbelief and say that everything in nemona's house is set that way for a reason)

Nemona's house is fairly symmetrical, save for the aysemtrical stained glass window design and the way the balcony flowers fall. Aesthetically symmentrical, not obsessive exact symetry.

Nemona's house features 4 house staff, two butlers and two maids. None of them have any dialouge referencing Nemona herself.

One talks about how they dust a lot and dont get how more keeps appearing, one talks about how the master and mistress are away at the moment, and the other two have simple bubble dialouge that just references cleaning

There are 6 pokemon in nemona's house, none of which are paldean introductions

3 pachirisu, gible, goomy, and chansey

I cannot find any reason for there to be a pachirsu in this house let alone 3. please help.

the gible and goomy both are pseudo legends and may mean to imply more about how nemona's family is powerful and rich. nemona also personally has a goomy she trains to fight you, but these are seperate pokemon. goomy is also notable as the weakest dragon pokemon (so says dex entry i think its rad)

chansey is heavily assosicated with medicine, curing illness and injury. it's also known for having good tasting eggs, but the paldea pokedex entires focus on the medical and speed aspects so I'll lean into the med thing.

where the pachrisu are at the table and the dragons together to the side, chansey is placed on the right hand side in the living room. On my inital playthrough i thought it was sigficant from a gameplay perspective (like a healing chansey or something) but no such thing. it is promenantly placed though, so i like to think it's relavent

(personal theory running that nemona's poor stamina / whatevers up with her arm is enough of a thing for there to be a live in chansey to help her out. even if not that bad, enough that her parents decided it was important, maybe for image reasons? rich family and all...)

there are 3 art pieces, an abstract greninja player doesn't recognize as a greninja, some fish player finds pretty, and two eevee playing entitled sibling love. the eevee depicted are male and female, and could potentiallyyyyyyy be really vague forshadowing about nemona's older sister. likely also just,,, rich people have fancy art.

there are doors on either end of the hall, unopenable. window blinds are drawn.

a long couch and two chairs in the centeral area on a large rug, coffee table in the middle. the entire house is rather white (the colour) though with some black cabinets

clicking on said cabniets nets you dialouge about how organized they are

connecting the above to nemona's really clean dorm room suggests that nemona's orderliness is something she gets from her family

there's a bookshelf? low shelf, books you can't interact with. not much else to say.

i need to review some of her early dialouge but nemona does not seem to have any strong opinions on her house, with the only notable thing being that she doesn't think it's notable enough to have the final rival battle there. i know its like,, the game wants u to fight in mezagosa, but also.... they did not have to offer that as a dialouge option, nor make nemona respond the way she did. you can take her statement that that beach isn;t all to interesting in her opinion at face value or not (a implication she'd like to avoid her house??? probably not??), either way.

exterior wise still fancy very pretty, the garden's got a circle thing going on, noticeably more pristine than players house. again contrasting player, the entire thing is much more organized but also... lacking customization and personality.

it does have a battle court in the back <3 and a beach. rich girlie.

that's my nemona house notes if anyone has anything to add please do.

[old-stoneface]

ive been seeing people claim that different characters are astarion's foil and i dont know why some people have yet to realize that all of the main six companions in bg3 are similar in so many very meaningful ways . you can ostensibly argue (albeit with varying strength and success) that any one of the characters in that party can act as a foil to another. also, im not really sure if most people know what a character foil is......maybe we need to reintroduce the phrase "character parallel" to the online character analysis layman's vocabulary. a "foil" is a character that has traits that contrast the protagonist or simply another character in the story, but it does not stop there. they dont have to be strict opposites. sometimes its just a matter of two characters having traits that accentuate or bring attention to each other's aforementioned traits.

a really good example of this is horatio and hamlet from hamlet, where hamlet is ruled by his emotions and horatio is ruled by rational thinking, a theme repeatedly mentioned throughout the play in the sense that horatio will ask hamlet to be more calculating, and hamlet will implore horatio to be more emotional. an example of a parallel in the same play would be hamlet and laertes (ophelia's brother), where in the end, due to their combined familial losses and the tragedy that befalls them, they are both corrupted by their volatile emotions/madness turning inward and then coming under the influence of other figures in their lives. theres a lot more going on in that play obviously but these are basic good examples of the ideas of foils and parallels.

in the case of astarion and wyll, their motivations and personalities are very good foil material, seeing as right away there is a distinct difference in their opinions on heroism, something that very much defines both of them. astarion is, when glanced over as a whole, a villain, while wyll is clearly a hero, immediately creating a dichotomy tantalizing to both the audience and the characters themselves as seen in their party interactions. with astarion and gale, we see more a foil-ness of their experience with relationships and personalities. gale is not a hero, and astarion's general villainity means nothing to him. they do not clash. its more about how they act in relationship to the player that causes interest between the two of them, how astarion is clearly uninterested in genuine emotions and wants to be manipulative, whereas gale is overly sincere and begs for attention rather desperately. however, when it comes to pointing out parallels that further promote and intrigue the dynamic of foils...we have the constant theme of being under someone else's control in this game and being forced by obligation to follow these rules imposed by someone else. astarion and cazador, wyll and mizora (and his father, in some ways), gale and mystra, shadowheart and shar, lae'zel and vlakiith (and githyanki tradition as a whole), karlach and literally every authority figure that wormed their way into her life but in particular - zariel. as i play more of the game and learn more about each character, im sure ill discover even more stuff that makes various characters into parallels or foils. i know theres stuff w halsin that will be interesting to me.

thats what i mean by there are traits in every character in the main party that both compliment and clash. and this is also a reminder that foils and parallels do not have to be romantic, but they can be. so like..idk. i dont really have a conclusion here. i just wanted to talk about this lmao

[9800sblog]

How is taehyung feel toward his fs at these days?

do I have his energy permission to do and share this reading? 2 of cups

there are two contrasting energies, one is much more practical, the other is impressive. I don't usually do readings this deep but the message I got was that this information needs to "find a real way to get it out of him".

he thinks this person is incredibly sexy, they are charismatic and kind, and he likes their energy, it feels comfortable, a little underwhelming, I must say. there is a lot of ugliness here, he might think this person is uncompromising, too difficult to talk to, they don't listen to him, I think he feels misunderstood and small. he doesn't seem confident that they're gonna make it, he may think he's been led astray by his attraction and excitement. he seems to be holding tightly to his money, he may think this person will dry him out because they love shiny things. he seems to love to give money to them, because it doesn't matter as much to him as this person matters to him, but i think he is investing and saving money for his dream family. there is a lot of heartbreak in here, from what I've read about him through tarot, he seems to idealize romance a lot, and it's like no matter how much he tries, he just can't get the results he wants. so he may marry for practicality, the one that feels the closest to what he really dreams of, because he might think that he's being realistic and nice to himself. and wouldn't say he doesn't like this person, but there's something missing.

this is what he fantasizes about, this is where explores his imagination, he feels like a kid, he's just so purely happy that I cannot find the words to really describe it. I have a paper on my desk where i am right now, where I drew a bunch of ramdom flowers, I could see him hopping through those very colorful, vivid flowers with the biggest smile and the wind blowing on his face, the drawings are in black and white. he loves this energy, this is like a really good dream, where he's wearing loose clothes in a cottage and just playing around, having the best time of his life, i cannot describe how good, pure and liberating this energy feels. in practical, conscious ways, it doesn't seem possible and he gets really really sad about that, but he just kind of gives up and moves on, because he thinks there's nothing he can do about it, like he doesn't have control over this. also, he currently has a girlfriend, he might feel it's not fair if he fantasizes, instead of focusing on being good to a real partner that he already, currently has. I just remembered this one book that I read, the protagonist would have these dreams with this other person she has never met, they lived in an island and they had something they had to achieve. the dreams kept happening throughout her whole life, they saw each other grow up and mature, she felt the most fulfilled in her entire life while she had those fantasies. except, they accidentally met in real life one day, they were real people and they weren't the dream that the other had seen in their mind, they had saggy boobs and beer belly, instead of six-packs and strong arms. i dont know what happens next because i have adhd and can't remember the last time i finished a book, but that was the energy and I totally forgot about this story until now (i still have the book, it's called hugo & rose). it's like he won't know what love is until he meets this person, he might have an idea and he might love people close to him, but nothing would feel as groundbreaking as this.

[redjennies]

ok now i NEED to know your beef with sorcerers. i dont have an opinion but i do have popcorn

I'm going to be honest. It's just a general beef I have with "special characters."

like all the d&d classes have a general story attached to them. you can try to subvert the archetype but it's always present. you're still going to have to interact with it somehow. like there is, and there should be, a difference in character in between choosing to play a barbarian vs a fighter, a cleric vs a paladin, a druid vs a ranger, a wizard vs a warlock, etc outside of just what abilities/stats you want. you don't have to play into an exact archetype (not all paladins are Robo-Cop and all that), but especially with how balanced the classes are in 5e, I think it's important to ask yourself when coming up with a personality for your character: why is this character this class and not something else? how do they relate to their class? what does it add to their narrative?

and I think the sorcerer's flavor just sucks especially when it's contrasted against the other full casters. it lacks the studiousness of wizards, the devotion of clerics and druids, or the cunning of bards and warlocks. at the risk of sounding like Ludinus Da'leth, sorcerer's abilities are boring to me because they don't come from anything intrinsic to the sorcerer's character outside of a vague sense of "I'm a special boy and the rules don't apply to me. oho, where did this new power come from?"

and the proverbial you can try to work with that if you really want to prove me wrong. try to find some way to make Chosen One characters interesting to me in a way a thousand stories before it have never quite managed, but like, why would anyone want to play a lame sorcerer when you could just play a cleric or wizard or bard or paladin or any other class that, I don't know, actually works for a living unlike these sorcerer nepo-babies. /joke

[splattermouth]

Adaman for the ask meme!

ADAMAAAN ive come around to him a lot, compared to when i first played thru pla. 

(Also mind you its been a while since ive played and i took iridas route over adamans so i dont know. Every little detail about him. But i like him <3)

favorite thing about them: he’s so fucking funny, i love that hes like the straight man of hisui. Adaman is so fucking normal (genuine), and literally everyone else around him has like a secret bit they have to commit to or theyll die. And like he just has to deal w it. Like all of it. Everyone’s nonsense all the time. You can tell he’s so tired and he’s just trying to keep it together

Also obligatory, but his design is soo fucking killer. Ive only recently actually sat down to draw him n hes just so fun. So well shaped. I like irida’s design on its own a lot, but like compared to adaman? they did her so dirty.

least favorite thing about them: I WISH WE GOT MORE OF A BACKSTORY WITH HIM UGGH i hate to compare him to Irida sm here, but she got like. A very clear story of struggling to accept her new position as clan leader after being abruptly shoved into it. Of the rest of her clan either having insanely high expectations for her, or in Palina’s case, feeling like she didn’t deserve the position.

I get Adaman’s whole thing was Supposed to be that he struggled to earn respect from the rest of the Diamond Clan until Dialga outright Possessed him (which that part is fucking sick. For the record), but i wish they just made it more apparent that. That’s What was supposed to be happening lol. 

Because idk, at least to me, definitely the rest of the clan members were kinda bratty, but i never got the impression they were that way specifically Because they thought Adaman was a weak leader, you know? I didn’t even like realize that’s what was supposed to be happening until like. Reading a few other posts abt Adaman’s position in the story dhdfhgkg Good and interesting ideas w his arc just poor and kinda rushed execution imo!!

favorite line: that one fucking line @ irida towards the end of the main game that was like. ‘I don’t think our rivalry is a Diamond and Pearl Clan thing. I think it’s just a You and I thing.’

lives in my brain.

brOTP: for the love of god i need him and irida to be friends that fucking hate each other.

They are at each others throats over Everything, they will argue Everything just for the sake of arguing, if they every agree w each other on any matter they will both collapse on the spot. They are so sick of each other, but also they are best buddies and no one knows them like They know the other. It’s so fun…

OTP: AH im sorry he’s very aro to me. Both bc I don’t think there’s rly a lot of ppl he could be shipped with anyway, but also he does not strike me as someone who has a romantic interest in. like anyone.

He strikes me as a chaste bisexual man who has never felt an ounce of infatuation for another person in his life. He’s just very buddy-buddy w a lot of people, and he’s happy w that <3

nOTP: so i wouldnt say its a notp bc i dont like. vehemently Hate it, and i think there Could be potential. but im sorry, appraisalshipping makes me kinda :/ a fair amount of the time.

Some stuff is cute, yeah, but most of it is just reeks of ‘i only watch/read/play things for shipping and specifically to ship gay prettyboy twinks’ to me. Adaman and Volo have maybe had all of five lines w each other.

I think there could genuinely be something cool to explore there, like contrasting just how immediately trusting Adaman appears to be of Volo? Compared to Irida who calls Volo's bluff right off the bat for being way too friendly w the protag to be completely genuine. With Adaman just tending to be a more open and friendly person than Irida. Adaman putting his faith in someone he absolutely Should Not just because hey! Adaman’s just a nice person like that! He's not gonna be mean to this guy he just met just bc he's a little overeager! But like god knows no one has any interest exploring That dynamic lmao.

anyway if you ship like adaman/akari im legally allowed to break all of your fingers, slowly and individually

random headcanon: I think he should be like 5’5” at most. He’s short and he’s fat i know this in my heart of hearts.

Also despite always talking about utilizing the time he has to the fullest, he doesn’t strike me as someone that pushes himself or other ppl to constantly be Doing and Accomplishing things, so much as he tries to make every moment meaningful and wants others to do the same. I don’t think he’s all that headstrong as some people may describe him, and i dont think he’d necessarily be someone that thinks like. Taking a nap is a cardinal sin. I think he just wants people to put their limited time on this world to something that matters to them rather than petty bullshit (like arguing w the pearl clan sdhk).

ALSO also less an adaman specific headcanon, but i do personally like to think most of the diamond clan are family, or at least all the main members we see. I know hes canonically brother to melli and mai i think? But i think theyre all one big dysfunctional family and theyre why iscan never leaves the coastlands to visit anymore.

unpopular opinion: i dont think hes boring sorry!! Im guilty of think this at first as well tbf but MAN. going back to the what i dont like abt him thing. Knowing now thats what his whole character arc is supposed to be just makes me :(. He wants to be a good leader and he loves his friends and family a lot and takes such good care of them and they literally like. Do not care until dialga outright tells them to take its little thrall seriously for once. Man. man. 

song i associate with them: DHGJKDFH Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion on main. My Girls feels very adaman-core.

favorite picture of them: So theres like zero actual canon art of him outside of just ingame screenshots but i do like this breezy lil adaman here. annoyed…