#It’s not story based so its like ough

[fading-clan]

sorry for not updating for a bit! Bonefrog’s 9 lives is annoying me

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

SO refreshing 2 talk abt weird interests <3

[ganondoodle]

so, this blew up on twitter (currently at 15k+ notes and still going ..) which completely blindsided me and now i cant draw again as if i was burnt out right away AGAIN and its rly annoying :I

also on twitter one person called me the r slur on it though and i just blocked them without understanding why they said that .. until i got another one earlier today that said "fuck off with your pronouns and just go make political art" and i realized oh ... people getting mad at pronouns are real after all, its such a non problem to me i didnt see how there was anything offensives about this until that second one spelled it out xD

Empress and her Bodyguard.

(OCs, grey haired lady Zaphira she/her, demon Shargon he/they)

(also some details up close)

and this guy bc i find him funny

[felassan]

im always refreshing the veilguard imdb cast page to see if ramon tikaram gets added like 🥺

hello! ◕‿◕ ough.. 🥺 I would so love to see Dorian again in the next game and it would make lots of sense given its location, his appearance and role in TN, his story arc and goals, the Tevinter-based plotbeats we're getting hints of etc. if I were a betting person.. I think we have a good chance of Dorian appearing in DA:TV 👁️

[DA:TV IMDB link]

[apollos-boyfriend]

what's a festa junina if you don't mind my asking?

i don't mind at all!!!! i love sharing stuff about brazil <3

okay SO. festa junina directly translates to "june party", and are sometimes also referred to as "festas de são juão" (saint john's parties) because we're in brazil and everything has to be related back to religion somehow LMAO. they are festivities that take place in, obv, the entire month of june, although some can last up until like, late august because by god do brazilians love a good party. traditionally, they're held to celebrate the harvest season, rain, and marriage (*cough* which is why it'd be great to celebrate it now with the spiderbit wedding on the horizon *cough*). it's brazil's second-biggest festival, second only to carnival ofc, and has very rural roots in its celebration style due to largely being a harvest/farming based celebration!

so!! festa juninas are typically held in wide open areas and absolutely COVERED in colorful decorations. largely banners, as shown above, but there are also different tents/stalls full of food, games, and other stuff for people to enjoy!! festa junina is kind of heralded as the best time for food/snacks bc it's FULL of sweets and other treats that aren't that common to find en-masse during other times of the year. as shown above, it's also super common for HUGE campfires to be lit (fogueiras) for ppl to dance around and stuff :]

due to being so heavily inspired by/created in rural areas, the standard dress code is very much of a stereotypical rural farmer (called caipira in portuguese!). the standard is for men to adorn straw hats, flannels, and working boots/pants, while women wear their hair in ribboned braids, dot freckles on their faces, and wear rustic dresses on top of it all! the dresses can be EXTREMELY over the top sometimes to the point of camp and i fucking love them so much. genuinely some of my favorite memories are shopping for dresses for festa junina.

as i said, games are a BIG part of it too! a lot of festa juninas are hosted by schools so they need stuff to entertain the kids, but honestly, as a grown adult i still will go to them in a heartbeat. they're largely the typical festival games of ring toss, three-legged races, etc, but i cannot put into words the certain Charm of them. like. by the time festa junina starts it's at least sundown, if not fully night, so all the stands are lit up by the yellow-orange glows of shitty lanterns/fairy lights and. ough. that is my heaven. (fun fact, me and my cousin once won like, a dozen goldfish from one of these. good times.)

and last, but certainly not least, i GOTTA talk about the dancing!!! we call it quadrilha, and it's kind of like square dancing, i guess? it's a very silly and over-the-top dance that's The biggest even of the night. the dance follows the story of a wedding ceremony (rehearsal? i can't recall) which again would be PERFECT for the current events on the smp.

and yeah!! there's a lot of other stuff and they can vary from region to region (i'd love for other brazilians to share things i may have missed :Oc) but overall they're just a HUGE event in brazil and for brazilian communities that really just unite everyone in one huge night (or nights) of partying!!

[spotaus]

HEY!

It is me!

I had a thought concerning New Age AU :D

I spend some time thinking about waht you said.

That the castle Nightmare (and dream and their family) lived in. The royal castle.

Is the tree of emotions.

So. So hear me out.

I wonder that. if the castle is the tree. does that mean it may be a bit sentient.

You said that nightmare can easily change it because he is conencted to it (the apple ritual) but i wonder if the castle itself is kinda sentient.

And VERY mad about how its powers got used.

Maybe the story of the twins. OG story. is connected to the prophecy. But it was a warning.

It was a warning to remain united. To trust your family and to listen to them when they ask for help. To believe them when they notice things about people youdon't notice.

To warn away from going out on your own. warnign away from searching for power that you shouldnt take. (the apples were never suposed to be eaten after all.)

And of those twins the one who ate the apple actually succeed in killing their twin. that the grieve of that moment intensified the emotions based power source into overdrive which caused the one who ate the apple to even gain godlike abilities.

the whole prophecy was a warning.

The royal family that settled in this place. found the story. found the tree (having recovered after the twin who ate the apple died) and instead of seeing a warnign. saw a to do list.

The lessons they took:

power makes you undefeatable

the power makes you stay in control

the best way to gain this power? eat an apple and kill someone important to you.

attachment is a weakness waiting to be used to grow more powerful.

sadly after they grabbed and misused one apple? they got paranoid. if they can use the tree to gain power others can too! so they cut the tree down. and to make sure it could never grow back. build the castle on top of it.

Meaning there is only ONE apple. the one consumed by the one true ruler. and the ruler neeeds to willingly summon their apple/soul to give to eat to the new ruler. to pass on the forbidden knowedge and power through lessons and traditions.

over time the trees influence took over the castle. but because the ruler ate the apple and has a direct connection they can still control the castle.

the tree/castle watches as nightmare broke the cycle. as nightmare refused to hurt ccino (adn so his brother) nightmare, even through fear chose love and trust.

the castle willingly helps and protects nightmare.

and when nightmare lost the apple's power? officially breaking that godforsaken cycle? the castle is just more protective. thorn now protect the castle and the trees around it hide it.

this is of course. lost knowledge. the royal family made sure to destroy the knowledge in fear of someone standing against them.

but nightmare managed to break it still.

and maybe... just maybe... now somewhere deep in the castle. deep underground as a forgotten meadow deep underground. in a beautiful little cave. a new tree starts to grow to truly help heal the land.

haha sorry this got long again lmao.

but yeah! If you have the tree/castle kinda sentient you can have that the very land was trying to sabotage the old rulers but couldn't do a lot because of the one apple's power and so having to listen.

it would be the source of all that powerful magic.

Ough. It SO is slightly sentient.

Ancha once again you have obliterated me w/ ur storytelling istg-

Okay. I love that this info has been lost completely to time. Like. The only one that's aware is the tree/castle itself.

I think the interpretation I like here is that, the stump is somewhere within the grounds, maybe even in the treasury or armory, but the *roots* make up the building kinda cypress tree style, so as they cut down the tree, the once vibrant life in the old roots turned to stone and was left almost completely powerless. (I am, unfortunately, a sucker for the idea that there was a time that *someone* treated the tree with respect 😔) (Also hense the new young tree sprout growing out of the ground deep in a hidden cavern, because the roots relocated the power to a safer location.)

The castle, desperately grasping for that power back, so no one might mis-use it ever again. And then seeing Nightmare resist its twisted urges (like u said) in the name of love and care? It rips that power away the moment it loses its hold on Nightmare, and takes the seeds of magic away from harm's reach. But... Nightmare isn't upset by the loss. He doesn't go digging to get the power back. He... doesn't dig for *any* power.

Less blood is shed in vain on its land, more plants and ecosystems are allowed to thrive.

And gods, just the idea that the castle grows up plants and trees to better defend itself abd the people inside? This reaction is spontanious and Night assumes it connects to the state of the magic leaving him, but it doesn't harm anyone so ehhh. But the tree is trying to encourage and protect those who helped it without knowing...

And dude the whole story of the og story and both twins dying and then a family misconstrued that entire story into one of power and consumption and betrayal??? Waughhh it's beautiful....

I'm losing my mind here at the storybook level magical healing and forgiveness and learning lessons, I love it so so dearly <3

[hollysoda]

I meant to post this here but forgor 💀 so um updated Zelda tier list based on what I’ve played so far

Notes below:

Tears of the Kingdom hype is wearing off so I’m slowly starting to see its flaws. I still love the game and have an immense amount of brainrot for the dragons and Zonai but I am ready to accept it’s not THE Zelda game of all time

Skyward Sword is the true favourite. I fucking love this game and I can’t really put it into words lmao

I literally finished Spirit Tracks last week and although the touch controls got annoying towards the end I love LOVE the story, characters and soundtrack. Spirit Tracks Link and Zelda might be my favourite iterations of the characters tbh

Breath of the Wild was the game that started it all and I have so much respect for it. I still prefer totk, but I ough the story. THE STORY. It’s still so so strong even after all these years

Minish Cap is very fun but BRUTAL. Idk if it’s just me but the lack of recovery hearts makes every dungeon a fucking struggle and a half. I do however like the story and setting. Also Ezlo is such a silly companion

I still need to finish Ocarina of Time 3D I’ve had it for nearly a year now but come on. It’s Ocarina of Time. It’s iconic even if I struggle with the controls and puzzles, but imo other Zelda games hold up better for me so it doesn’t rank that high

When I made this list I hadn’t played much Majora’s Mask on Nintendo Online but yesterday I caved in and bought the 3ds port. I think it’s probably more in the bottom category rn because it’s so overwhelming and confusing for my tiny brain but hopefully I’ll get used to it eventually

Oh Phantom Hourglass. I love you so much but also I want to pull my hair out of my skull. There is literally nothing worse than having to return to the same dungeon with the same boring ass theme like eight times in one playthrough. Linebeck is my babygirl, I love Ciela, Bellum is a really scary villain and the exploration is so fun. I just wish it wasn’t so repetitive :(

If I included games that I haven’t played but still love; Wind Waker would be right at the top, Twilight Princess below botw, Links Awakening above Minish Cap and the rest would be in a ??? category because I don’t really know enough about them to rank them

[kheprriverse]

Yes, please. We all desire to hear more! More yappy equals more happy c: I crave more knowledge.

In an older comic you have, you noted eclipses did stuff as well (I think it was a Lunar?). Do those still apply?

I thought it was pretty cool kdnrkskjf

Fhekdbdkdnens tyyyyy I’m very glad! I love yapping so much but force myself to shut up because I can just Go and Go. My friend and partner can both attest to this, they’re usually my ground zero for my brain vomit.

Below the cut will be the answer! I will do my best to organize since this’ll be a two-part answer. One being the continued yapping from the last ask, and the other will be the eclipse stuff.

-> In an older comic you have, you noted eclipses did stuff as well (I think it was a Lunar?). Do those still apply?

Here's the comic in question, which referenced an oldish idea I had where Ko'jin's hair would change based on the phases of the moon, this one being during a lunar eclipse. It was when his hair used to be darker and greyer, so the changes would be a little more drastic. But I'd love to keep the idea anyways. (also a cool little fact, Moon's tears does the same thing, so you'll see his and Ballad's earrings change based on whatever his hair is doing.)

The glow in his hair is more rainbowy now and the color shifts involuntarily, which was originally for a super moon I just ended up liking the vibe so much that I made it his default.

So I'm gonna use this ask as an excuse to mess with the idea more and do some sketches! Mostly because I'm not sure if I ever shared the og sheet when I first made it before that comic was posted.

(These aren't really accurate ko'jin-length hair but that's okay)

Originally, in some of his older art (including his ref that i STILL use), his hair is darker by default because the brightness would reflect the moon itself. So new moons his hair was a much darker grey and full moons it was a near-white to blue. But I like the default white and rainbow he has now :>

Also the lunar eclipse one almost looks like his hair when he was younger which is my favorite thing, but it ALMOST resembles this idea I was playing with where he's attuned to a different element, just... orange-er. I'll figure smth out, I have a lot of cool ideas regarding moon phases and element attunement and... ough. He makes my brain spin (in a good way).

The only way moon phases would have an actual affect on him would maybe be when he's stronger during full moons and super moons and weaker during waning and new moons. I can see weather maybe getting in the way as well and maybe the colorful glow goes away during those sorta moments.

Anyways I need to shut up about this so I'm going to go on about the other topic from my previous ask, since y'all wanna hear me yap like an insane person.

-> The Garden.

In the previous ask, I talked about Ko'jin's role as a deity falling closer into "protection and guiding of spirits". I explained there that many people seek his protection in the afterlife. Or kind of explained it. But I also mentioned that its not actually seen what happens and that I wanna go further into what the serpent does and how it ties into the au overall.

Ko'jin has access to a realm known as "The Garden", or that's what he calls it. It's not his realm, nor is it his domain (his domain is the moon), but it's a realm introduced to him by Hylia who did have much easier access to it and often used it to see the future, past, and present at all times.

The Garden is a vast, seemingly endless realm dotted with gigantic trees that also just seem to endlessly grow above the clouds. His knowledge on its purpose originally came from stories other deities gave him. Like Demise's reminders to him that all of history is stored in these massive trees, that everything dies and is recorded and reused -- a constant cycle fueled by the earth's energy.

Hylia never really shared much with him vocally but was the one who gifted him access to experience it himself and he learned very quickly that it felt similar to the woods he grew up in and for good reason. Much like the garden itself being connected to the earth, so is the enormous tree near where he grew up, using it to access glimpses of the past in the region.

So he decides to bring his findings to Demise (his mentor-like figure at the time) and compare notes. He comes up with: -> There are more giant trees and its likely they all connect to the same network, like a brain. -> All energy, magic, and events of the world in the reach of these trees are stored and moved into The Garden. -> The Garden archives everything as "memories" and returns filtered energy back to the giant trees. -> The giant trees return the filtered energy back through the earth.

This includes spirits! Ko'jin acts as a ferrymen to lost spirits unable to pass through and into the garden where their memories can be stored and then their energy ultimately reused.

Anyways I spoke enough I think. So here's a couple screenshots of a test sketch regarding a crossover scenario that featured both the moon serpent and my monhun Link, Nayim, that also showed off The Garden. (some of these will be edited or cropped funny since their out of context)

I kept asking myself how Nayim or the main group would react to either world, so I had a whole 15-page comic sketch of a "nayim finding himself in loz hyrule"

Also happens to have sketches showing a good size comparison for how big the serpent is supposed to be so have these for fun.

[milekael]

TEEHEE tagged by @rizaposting to do this >:3c

are you named after anyone?

I named myself 😎 The name Miles came from Miles Edgeworth LOL Me and an (ex)friend really liked Ace Attorney and the joke is that I was Miles and they were Franziska, and because at that point I was looking for a name it worked nicely!

However with time I really didn't want my name super directly attached to anyone, thats when I figured Mikael out as like "A longer version of Miles" and to be my name name SDFGHJ

I still use Miles a lot and like Ace Attorney btw! if anything, lately I been using Miles online more than my name for the sake of not putting my full name on the interwebs lol

when was the last time you cried?

Help 0 idea. I used to cry a lot as a kid and now for some reason is really hard for me to do it dfghj not even as some kind of psychological hang-up or anything I just can't really do it.

do you have kids?

Noup

do you use sarcasm a lot?

Kinda? Normally just with people I am close to because if its with anyone else I worry it might be misunderstood.

what sports do you play?

I don't play sports but I do really like doing physical work! I used to do a lot of construction work like building frames when I was at college.

what’s the first thing you notice about people?

A weird way to say it but I like to see people's "character design" LOL as in... I do perceive people very based on "If they were a character, what does their design tell me about their personality" kind of deal dfghj

what’s your eye color?

Grey-ish blue. Dark blue?

scary movies or happy endings?

help I am very VERY selective with the kinds of horrors I vibe with so really happy endings pretty much 97% of the time (Fear & Hunger is the 3% lol)

any special talents?

Huuh I know how to take machines apart! And how to build many many things out of trash. Also by taking machines apart sometimes you learn how to fix them, but I wouldn't trust myself to fix anything super important lol

where were you born?

Caracas, Venezuela! And I moved to the U.S (Sadly) in 2017.

what are your hobbies?

Help what do you do when your hobby is your job. I do a lot of the "ough I been drawing this thing for too long, I better take a break and draw this other thing" LOL but huuuh when I feel like doing something else I play videogames. Also I have gotten into online roleplaying again and I been starting to write fics, different from the things I usually have to write for work reasons so I count them.

do you have any pets?

The creachure The Beast Maki Roll. She is a cat.

how tall are you?

UUUH 5'3" or 5'4" I can't remember lol

favorite subject in school?

Saying art feels like a cope-out uuuh In Venezuelan highschool I really liked Literature and Biology was fun! And if we talk about college I didn't expect Sculpture to be my favorite but it was! And ofc I really liked Oil Painting (My concentration lol) and Illustration!

dream job?

OUGH I really want to work as an art curator in a museum :') or in general in a museum, put me to make an archive of historical stuff and I'll have a blast.

Another thing I would really like is working on set design! again I like physical work and traditional art so I would really enjoy it sdfgh Also also sdfgh my main goal is to make comics of my OCs lol but I don't... exactly want to work under an specific company (Maybe have a contract for publishing but my story wouldn't fully belong to them U know) so really my dream scenario is me working for some of the other stuff I want and also make comics on the side dfghj

SDFGH TAGGING HUUH @bolitamurcielago @seastawright @todd-machine and huuh @pixiunera sure why not!! (BTW don't feel preasured to do it I just threw you because friends beloveds <3 )

[crinkly-spinkly]

I understand that we are here for the sake of hot mengines, but may I express my appreciation to Miss Y/N aka Housekeeper? She's divine😳 I can understand why all mengines fell in love with her. She's already become kinda my comfort character, lol

OUGH that's so sweet oh my god 🥺

Funnily enough, I've given her a lot of my personal experiences as an adult. For instance, the apartment she was living in was based on my first apartment living alone in Baltimore.

It was $750 a month on the third floor (and yes I did have the occasional mouse run through the plumbing)

The kitchen was tiny as hell but I made it work.

And then there was the bathroom that had its ceiling collapse one day while I was at work

Lived here for about a year before moving out of state to live with my partner. Good fucking riddance 👉👉

Miss Y/n, or whoever you'd like to put in her place, is a person that I want to feel is realistic and relatable in some way. And sometimes sprinkling in bits and pieces of your own experiences can make a story zestier lmao

[socialprawn]

OUGH. That design for the tremere is kind of mid but tbh it just. Looks like a design from a modern game. I think part of what makes the original vtmb the way it is is because it is so much a product of its time. It was based on lore and books from revised edition vtm (1998) so it was already a bit lagging in terms of aesthetic and ideologies, and it has that intense 90s/2000s feeling to it. I also read an interview with the composer Rik Schaffer and he said that he couldn’t have made that soundtrack at any other point in his life. I’m sure whatever he’s doing for the sequel will be different but amazing, but again, it’s been 20 years, you know? It’s all different.

I just wanted to weigh in and say that it’s unrealistic for people to think a game from the 2020s is ever going to feel the same, I guess. These people who are like ugh they should just SCRAP IT are wild to me. That’s so much work and care and time put into a project that would go to waste! We don’t know what it will be like in the end. It’s set in a different place and time, and I don’t know if they’re keeping it in revised’s lore and setting overall or if this is fifth edition vtm, but either way- some people who liked vtmb are going to hate it. And that’s okay tbh! as someone who loves both vtm as a ttrpg and vtmb, I’m just hopeful that it’ll be fun.

In my head I'm mostly thinking... VTMB1 exists so I can just enjoy it over and over again. If something exists that will make other ppls happy then who am I to say anything :V

However, as a very loyal VTMB fan, I feel like I can criticize the long awaited sequel by the fact that is not living up to its counterpart. I feel like the aesthetics & roleplay elements of VTMB can be relevant to this day and the game itself is a cult classic, so VTMB2 feels like it's trying to convert into mainstream, which feels disappointing to ME. But again, I don't know the vibes of VTM outside of VTMB to really know how WoD culture is like, and I don't know much about v5, which is why I decided to step down. I got my own vamp story anyways, I'm playing barbie just fine 😂

Also I read that Rik is not doing the soundtrack anymore, I hope that's not true dawg :V I have full faith in him. Admittedly the soundtrack of the announcement was too 'imagine dragons', which surprises me. From my perspective, VTMB felt like an exploration of the underground, which still exists today, which is why everything has taken me off-guard. I suppose if I were director I would have taken VTMB elder PC on a different approach 🤓

Dese my 2 cents. I don't want VTMB2 to be cancelled there's so much hard work put in the game that it's just a shame to think like that. Some people feel they didn't get what they wanted, that's finee. Others enjoy it, super cool. If the game is good I'll be more than happy about it for real 🌞

[rontra]

persona enjoyer alert!!!! i’m so glad to hear that someone i already follow is also into it. i haven’t played p3 yet so this is my first go of it but i’m really enjoying it so far. what’s this game like from the perspective of someone who played one of the other versions?

HIIIII god i'm so excited for you...imagine getting to play p3 for the first time...<333

i'm so glad you're enjoying it thus far...!!! 🥰 it's my beloved game. WELL all of my thoughts on Reload are obviously extremely skewed due to my pure attachment to this game's story and characters, so i can't give a very "objective" comment on... anything... but i'm not finishing this replay of p5 any time soon to put it that wayDBHFJKM

basically what it's like is., its everything to me. heart

i'm nowhere near done with P3R yet obviously (i keep putting it down to rest my wrists or draw stuff hahsahbd) but so far it's been such a treat for me. i'm very happy 🥺

to ME, persona 3 is (and will probably always be) The Peak... nd the remaster is running more or less the same script (i think it's based on p3p's script??? i forgor 💀) just with, yknow, new graphics and voicework and stuff. so it's hard to really complain about it when it's more or less been "persona 3 running on the persona 5 engine" 😭

like that sure is My Game! with extra Unreal Engine Motion Blur (<- LOL)

it's hitting all the beats in the order it should what more can i ask for. the music has been remixed a bit (as always huh) but it's still recognizably homey to me. like even if i keep getting thrown off by changes like "new lotus juice verse about going to bed early" (Iwatodai Dorm) i'm still just vibing along lmao. i cheered out loud when i heard Deep Breath Deep Breath

SO FAR my "complaints" have been pure, yknow, "unreasonable superfan nitpicking", so they aren't actually worthy of being called reasonable critique. it's all shit like "they rearranged the order of shots when remaking this cutscene, and the original sequence was stronger...TO ME"

STUFF THAT NO NEW PLAYER WOULD BE THINKING ABOUT...

and of course neutered Tactics is a no-no. i'm gonna be huffy about that forever but c'est la vie, it's what the franchise has settled on... but as a Certified P3 Tactics Gamer i'm basically obligated to be a lil miffed about this Post-Tactics World we live in. and like cmon man you introduced baton pass but my AI teammates can't even see it...even though the "recommended move" scan logic CAN....!!!

^^^ but this one is ALSO at its core a complaint that new players won't have comparison context for (because the Tactics in P3R is not the Tactics we once had). and . also many newbies will never even rub up against it if they prefer Direct Command to begin with (which lots of people do) so like. who cares . it doesn't ruin the game for me i just dearly miss the Epic Highs And Lows Of P3 Tactics HAHBDS

on the upside, adding more content for party members who didn't have SLinks in the original is Very Good. i'm really very much enjoying those new scenes and it's needed badly. sweet treats for diesel...❤ AND TARTARUS LOOKS SO GOOD HOUAHHH

AND that UI...so shiny.... ough... no i lovie. i really do

like at the end of the day i admittedly could never love P4, and while i did really enjoy P5 (and P5R) it was always "but it's no P3". so asking me for my thoughts on P3R is mostly incoherent nodding and pointing bc its very much My Game reincarnated. i'm glad all my friends have an easier way to play it all gussied up and shiny now so i can finally foist my old rpg upon them... 🥰

peace and love on tatsumi port island.

[mymarifae]

sorry about that :((((

https://www.tumblr.com/shiftythrifting/759635562114236416/big-metal-kiwi-though-i-think-still-smaller-than?source=share

here's a picture of a kiwi i found! also, could you give me a pitch for honkai star rail :0?

ohhh what an excellent fellow... i wish he could be in my house. weighing down my papers and such things

when you say Pitch do you mean like, a recommendation of sorts? okay!!!! so first off it's a gacha game, so it's bad-

😭 GDSJBHNKJFBNKF umm for all my criticisms of the game (which i'd be happy to go into another time, but not now, not while i'm still veryvery very very sad) i just find it... compelling! there are always moments in every update where i'm like "ok so i wouldn't have done it that way" but the overall direction and execution of the story is. it's just fun idk!!!! the penacony arc lost a bit of its momentum towards the end but i genuinely think that portion of the game especially was really well put together and it makes for a fun video game experience. even if you don't end up connecting with the story and characters as strongly as I did, the art, music, environments, boss fights, tension points, etc etc etc add up to a pretty good time. penacony's the shining star so far, but i think this sentiment applies to most parts of the game 🤔 most......

characters though!!!! that's the other thing that really got me stuck in the hsr hole. lots and lots of lovely characters. many of their designs may kill me, but i am soooooo drawn to the personalities and archetypes and development arcs and their interactions with each other and their world and THEMSELVES and and and and and . ough i love Character..

also, the game has a lot of surprisingly insightful commentary and philosophies interwoven in its narrative? not to mention penacony again but actually yes to mention penacony again because this game is still a baby game and we only have so many arcs to talk about and it's the best one thus far , PENACONY had a lot to say. especially about society/capitalism and the significance/INsignificance of life (especially when you consider the inevitability of death). very thoughtful, i found. many pieces of the story made me put everything down and just Think for a while. i always like when stories make me do that :)

ummm one last thing! gameplay. personally i adore the gameplay asdgkjngndjb i live for this kind of turn-based combat where you can think your way through it. sure there's the "meta" that's "better" and "easier" but you can very much just ignore it and develop your own understanding of each character's combat style and do whatever you want. <3 also like. all my character design gripes aside, the animations are a ton of fun imo... so even if the combat can get repetitive at times it's like "look at my guys go :)"

and there's a lot of maps and a lot of space to run around in, but exploration is kind of limited due to the fact that you cannot jump or climb in this game. they make up for this by hiding all sorts of easter eggs and random hidden side quests (?) everywhere and also the game design is just very pretty so i still have a lot of fun just Looking, but if you're expecting something more like genshin you're. not getting that 👍🏾

in conclusion it's not good except for when it decides to be the best thing ever and i'm having the time of my life and now i've gone and gotten myself extremely attached to 60% of the cast so even if i wasn't having the time of my life i'd be stuck here anyway

[gooopy]

hi i love how u draw ur ocs and the way u give them personalities and interests and everything ough!! they seem so real and well developed and its wonderful!! have a beautiful day. and use this as a chance to ramble about them if you want to :)

!!!!!!!! AUAUAUUUUU THIS IS SOOOO SWEET THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I APPRECIATE THIS A LOT TY!!!!!!!! ohhhh im so glad you like them i never really thought to post about them im so so soooo glad that you enjoy their vibes and that they seem realistic!!!!!!!! AAGAGAGGA!!!!!! ouhhhhh brother im stimming its epic for meeeee!!

you made em blush!!!!!!! im so glad my characters are realistic oggg i really strive for that!!! i always make sure theyre real stupid with some stuff and real smart with other stuff, and i always give them at least one thing to be autistic about. for scully, hes good at cooking and he sucks with talking and hes autistic about knives and meat!!!! teddys good at talking to people and keeping from rocking the boat, but in the story he struggles to do more morally grey things (not because of morals, hes just got no idea how to go about kidnapping someone or torturing them for answers! he gets better at it though) and hes autistic about taking photos and also he really likes pastries theyre yummy treats for him that he cannot resist!

ohhhh i have a few other guys such as jude and sterling that are also awesome but just havny been on the noggin. judes a weird little dork mortician with medical trauma and they have a pet turtle that they love sooo much and sterlings a guy who fucking sucks hes a little office boy and hes homophobic and transphobic but it mostly just hurts him because hes absolutely a trans woman without realizing and he was in an unhappy hetero marriage where he kept hooking up with men then feeling shame for it. and hes divorced about it not only literally but in soul and spirit.

AND! while im here heres scully and teddys playlists!!! mostly based on lyrics and vibes as opposed to tune (and as a bonus heres sterlings, but jude doesnt have a well fleshed out playlist rn)

[battle-of-the-jrwi-aus]

ELDRITCHSTRINGS AU!

Creator: @burning-sol

Links:

Summary!

After Rumi being met with a reality incongruous with the one they has envisioned, Rumi makes the unprecedented choice to part ways with Thanatos, taking Peter with them. Put in the position of now being reliant on Peter's unwanted co-host; Exandroth and Rumi develop an unexpected bond, for better or for worse (but mostly for worse).

Additional Propaganda

OKAY LIKE LISTEN. LISTEN OOKAY OKAY SHHH LET ME. LET ME PULL YOU IN CLOSE. I am sorry I'm sorry for submitting themst but I'm so deranged abt them okay okayy I'm SO deranged. How do I even put into words. There's just so much about this au that I could rave on about, different moments, different themes, ough.

Well I guess, first off, I really like the conflict of the story that is just INEVITABLE based on the circumstances. By changing the structure of the group, you foresee the worst things to happen that *will* happen because it's unavoidable. You make the group rampantly dependant on two people getting along? Watch them find a way to cooperate <- but then watch the conflict play out between angel and host because they cannot exist at the same time <- watch how this reflects on the morality of the third <- see the false pretenses unravel until the inevitable confrontation with their former comrade where it has been rendered undeniable what the alignment and goal of our main cast, is regardless of if they say it aloud.

Something else is that I, generally, really like is any opportunity to drag out the uglier sides of Rumi, and here it really hits its stride. By being in the presence of something that's worse than what Rumi is, and by giving Rumi a degree of anonymity, it presents a scenario where Rumi could commit to things that Rumi would never think to do in canon. It leaves open opportunities for dialogues where Rumi can be flawed, because Exandroth will always be more flawed than Rumi. And Rumi can always feel afforded the right to blame Exandroth and call her heinous, cruel, to make Exandroth the scapegoat, because Exandroth is already sickening. Rumi can be allowed to take another step lower, because Exandroth will be there at the bottom, though Rumi refuses to address their sheer descent.

The confrontation with Zuen is a confrontation with what Rumi and Exandroth were meant to be, and what they are instead, and confronting what they have done to reach where they are. In canon, this confrontation was triumphant and subversive of what the narrative had meant to be, but here there is such little hope and a straight path ahead towards a tragic ending. In this way, Zuen is bored. He got what he wanted, he got to see the bloodshed and betrayal he'd projected, but it's predictable and unexciting. Just to zoom out the frame and put things into perspective, like, what WAS this narrative about? What WAS the value of this text? Is there some tangible message we can come away with? Or do we just look back at all we have done and recoil in disgust and fear of our own attrocities.

Zuen dies but not before constructing a fight where Rumi and Exandroth have to see what they've done and know now, if not already clear by their decision to cut down Thanatos, that they are choosing to commit to something awful. They have systematically shut down the external voices that could contradict them, and whatever mocking last words Zuen has for them will be the last. Was it worth it? (No.)

Anyways, I was going to type more for this but looking back I am so tired so just believe me bro, my au is so good.

[anachronistic-falsehood]

EPISODE 9 TRIVIA:

- charlie clocked "the asset" as wavelength IMMEDIATELY. grizzly and condi thought it was tide at first :]

- charlie reading out his last like 20 rolls and none of them are above a 10 . of these, 6 of them were nat 1s . the curse is so real.

- vyncent doing the sidequest thing at the mechanics shop was intentional and supposed to feel out of place! to make him feel more like a fantasy dnd campaign character instead of a comic book character !!!

- charlie: "im getting so into character playing william now that i am consistently feeling sad and awkward. when doug did the stupid shirts and skins bit i genuinely felt that so deep in my bones"

- bizly: "the fact that you guys just assumed the principal was tide was really cool. i cant wait for you to find out who he actually is. i cant wait to give you guys tides backstory" << HE DOES THIS EVENTUALLY. THERE IS A TIDE BACKSTORY ONESHOT !!!!

- ALSO BIZLY: "i planned on blowing up the base from.the beginning because i felt like i didnt describe it very well and didnt want to retcon anything. oh well, guess its demolition time!" WHICH IS SO FUNNY TO ME

--> on a more serious story note he did actually plan for them to lose the base at some point which is why he was so lax on giving them overpowered cool tools and vehicles at the beginning. because he knew they were gonna lose them soon anyway :]

- grizzly teared up for real after they stopped recorded at the end of the session because he started thinking about "the repurcussions of dakotas actions and how he never thought it would be this bad. this kind of stuff doesnt happen to regular kids and its gonna tear him apart. growing apart from a friend doesnt lead to your home being blown up and your father figure getting hurt. im just so sad thinking about it because guilt is a huge part of my character, its one of his big complications" so yeah i love when players are just as emotional about their characters as i am!!!!!!!!! crying !!!!!

- "is dougs supervillain lair called the dugout" (<< this one got me bc im a guy who likes a good baseball joke)

- dakota doesnt spend a whole lot of time thinking about things too hard which was why he was concentrating so much during school all day. he was thinking about the fact that he tricked doug with the phonecall and what the implications of that were !! i thought that was such a good character moment

- grizzly, about ghostknife: "you guys are perfect for each other"

charlie: "no, dakota. at the end of the day, *we* were the ones that hugged under the sprinklers" << this podcast is so unserious

- bizly is kind of disappointed dakota never made that perception check in the school because there was something he wanted to reveal with that! (you will find out what this is later i promise. it has nothing to do with doug <3)

- asking if they get any post-podcast secrets:

bizly: "i will say... you guys are on new radars. thats all you get"

grizzly, REALLY SUDDENLY AGGRESSIVE FOR NO REASON: "IM GONNA KILL YOU."

6 OF HIS ROLLS WERE NAT 1S. JESUS CHRIST. CHARLIE YOUR ROLLS!!!!!!

bizly disliking the way he described something and deciding to just blow up the fucking base. when ur a gm u can just do that shit <3 slay

oughgh dakota ough i love a fucked up guy filled with guilt. oh my goodness. grizzly i love ur little guy as much as u do <3 literally the guy of all time. i love dakota i want to study him like a bug. the guy ever actually