#This is called Kingmaking

[amaiguri]

Amai's Fantasy Noble Houses

^^ The Courthouse of Nouveau Thuille

So yesterday, I went on a big info dump about Nouveau Thuille itself, but its most important aspect is its people -- the Noble Houses of Nouveau Thuille. Factions are one of my FAVORITE PARTS of worldbuilding, so please indulge me as I gush about how COOL all my Houses are <3 <3 ,3

**House d'Magnia**

^^ The Manor d'Magnia

House d'Magnia is Arlasaire's House, my protagonist! Well, kinda. See, House d'Magnia sigil is a winged serpent and its words are "Eshew Axiom for Ascendancy" which basically means "We break the law to win." They are known for being the most brutal and underhanded in their tactics -- Giluniques, the heir, had his eye cut out as a baby with the hopes that he would become a mage. (He did.) And one of the House's favorite things to do is take in society's undesirables and turned them into hitmen. Arlasaire was one such person -- she was effectively Gil's human pet, growing up. He got to teach her to read and write and murder people and stuff. His father probably did this because Gil's mom died in childbirth with his stillborn sister and Arlasaire was a burned orphan child whose village was destroyed in a Dragonstorm. Who was going to say "No"? It wasn't a great environment for her, despite her pride in her upbringing. It really messed with her head. House d'Magnia is known for its Ysse engineering -- though Arlasaire never took to the House's art

**House d'Aramitz**

Ah, the good ole House d'Aramitz! This grand old House has controlled the military since House d'Solais ruled a united North. Their sigil (or maybe they're coats-of-arms?) is a gold sword with two shields on each side. They also are in charge of military production and were probably some of the earliest adopters of the assembly line. They value tradition and typically, their members most staunchly believe in the notion that they are keeping order and fulfilling the will of the long dead Emperor.

As of the start of my World Letters, House d'Aramitz is led by Silvestre and he has two or three sons (idk, doesn't matter) -- the eldest of whom is a sweet gay guy named Cleiv who really wishes his dad would stop trying to make him get married.

Oh, and I think their art isssssssss Martial Arts? Or maybe textilesssss? Idk, I'll roll with it now lol

**House d'Fealtoire**

House d'Fealtoire is currently being run by a young woman and her sisters are all women, but gender isn't the reason it's sometimes called "The House of Wh*res" -- that's because the House's ongoing political strategy is just to suck up to whoever is in power and keep them there. They're considered to be charming but duplicitous -- but hey! It's working! They're extremely rich and they typically end up funding the plots of the other Houses and their many, numerous smaller houses. Their sigil is a bowl of blooming Tobacco violets with vines dripping out on either side.

Lucienne d'Fealtoire is currently running the House, with her two younger sisters, Celia and Derecina. Luce has a sorted history with House d'Magnia -- she was engaged to Gil as a child and they grew up quite fond of each other. But then, her dad tried to poison every other noble at Court. Arlasaire dropped a chandelier on him to stop him. Lucienne and Gil's engagement was technically cut off at that point... except when his dad died of a heart attack a few years later, they promptly picked up where they left off. And you can imagine the kind of relationship two ambitious, horny teens have...

Anyway, House d'Fealtoire is full of musicians and dancers. Performance arts. Unfortunately, over the 5 years since I started Yssaia, I didn't always remember this and I did this whole portrait of Lucienne painting Arlasaire (below). Not that there's anything WRONG with her being multitalented, but she should definitely be an excellent actress and dancer. It just WORKS with her characterization.

**House d'Romanach**

House d'Romanach is a fan favorite because they're the House of the People. They're only three generations old, run by Lady Isaurala d'Romanach, and they're basically a factory and farmer's union that became a noble house. Isaurala's #1 priority is the well-being of the people -- but this puts her diametrically opposed to many of the Houses in the war, who are interested in fighting for independence and sovereignty, where she would rather just surrender to the seemingly less-corrupt South. Of course, she also knows when elections come, she'll keep her power and privilege, even when the others don't, so like... you know... Their sigil is a hammer and anvil, and their artform is painting.

**House d'Solais** (Gone)

House d'Solais -- or actually, just House Solais because grammar worked differently 400 years ago -- died when Riavh d'Solais, the Once and Future Emperor, the Sun King, etc. etc. died in a civil war with his son. Under the justness of his rule (and very nice, Dragon-summoning sword and amazing propaganda machine and a wife who could see all the possibilities of the future to pick the best one), Riavh united the North 400 years ago. He rose to power at age 14, when he pulled a sword out of an anvil at the back of the last king's Trialhall. He married a fairy for his wife. And his champion was the strongest and most charming fighter in all the land. But the world was not ready for a man so pure and kind. And so, he was killed by his own, wicked son in a revolt. (It was definitely the son's fault. Definitely. And Riavh was definitely not a depressed, young father with incredible military advisors who could only unite a culturally diverse North for barely a generation under the threat of force.) Their sigil is a radiant sun-shaped crown. Riavh did not leave behind a Trialhall for a next Emperor -- instead, he is allegedly sleeping until such a time arises that he can rise again and bring about a world without war. And the Noble Houses hold his crown until this inevitable return.

Which House do you think you'd work for?

[yayakoishii]

just read Ch. 366

it got better. it keeps getting better. HOW does it keep getting better and better omg I love love love what's going on, I seriously can't wait to see what happens next 😭 each weekly update just makes it even better, more interesting and my anticipation is making me vibrate;;

Mephistopheles, Kingmaker, I can't wait to see the guiding light you can be when allowed to. I can't wait to see how you can make Iruma grow even more, and how you can make him king. I can't wait !!!

[skyfullofpods]

Happy audio drama Sunday, friends! It's been a while, but I'm back with my weekly blog posts where I share my thoughts about some of the fiction podcasts I've been listening over the past week!

This week brought the highly emotional finale of @heytheremrmoon, some very creative thinking in @kingmakerpod's season three finale, and a special guest in @worldgonewrongpod's latest episode!

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 12/8/2024

Happy AD Sunday! I caught up on a lot of shows this week, after falling behind last week.

NEW SHOW ALERT @goodmorningevildoers - HR broadcasts from a cartoonishly evil organization. This is a really funny show. Starting the show with a joke about LED highlights being the product of pure evil was a very strong start.

@brimstonevalleymall - I can never get over how good this show is at writing heart-to-hearts for a silly comedy. The conversation between Zaphan and Belzagor and then Zaphan talking to Nisroch during the lunch rush in the next episode were both so good. Unrelated, the terrible kissing sfx at the end of the scene where Zaphan asked Azormias for advice was so funny, comedy purely in sfx is so hard to do well.

@worldgonewrongpod- This season is written by Gabriel Urbena! I noticed the empty man reference and checked the credits. Jamie is really losing it in this episode, this has to be the most she's lost it since the apocalypse started. Are we every going to find out what Leonard is? I would guess not.

@asbestos4president - you can tell the writer for this episode was having so much fun with the terrible space opera audiobook writing. I love how everyone in this show is completely insane.

@midstpodcast - And now they descend into the fold. I wonder if they'll find something similar all the way down. Sucking out your soul is some Mothers shit for sure. Its interesting that only Dot remembers clearly, probably because of their Mother training.

Skyjacks: Couriers Call - The “doom of returning” that June experienced felt very personal for me. I totally understand the sense of impending doom about the end of something. It ties in to how the "return to the mundane" step of the Hero's Journey always feels tragic to me. Also, how is it that literally every Luminary they draw is perfect for the story.

@kingmakerpod - This was a great episode, I see why people were talking about it. Holtzmann's plan's are finally coming to pass, and that rich guy totally wants to fuck a horse.

@innbetween - Season 3 finished. I had theorized that Castor was a warlock but now they confirmed it. This show loves its "academics on the run from their dark past" huh?

@lostterminalpod - A very dramatic ending to this episode. Sealed in a room with an old battery on the verge of exploding is very bad. One more episode in the season.

Case Study: IREC-A59 - This episode was really neat, I love a good creation myth, and this is a really cool one. The act of living is to participate in a conversation between Life and Death, and you are obliged to tell Death stories of your life when you meet them, so they can remember their love.

This was a really good week for audiodramas. Tons of great new stuff, though some of it was backlog from last week. Can't wait for Stories from Ylelmore to end its hiatus soon!

[innbetween]

Inn Between 🤝 Where the Stars Fell 🤝 Kingmaker Histories 🤝 Absolutely No Adventures

Body Swap Shenanigans

[harlequinalis]

playing Kingmaker while i ignore my life stressing me tf out in the background. anyways I love characters who lie <3

[kingmakerpod]

For anyone who was wondering what a volcanic nightglass straight razor looks like.

[artifeast]

bisexual lighting ily

[slarxsa]

Is it just me that was so 100% certain she was going to say 'The Kingmaker'???

[secretsimpleness]

Is Kesten a kinda stick-in-the-mud who probably works way too much? Yeah. Did I like him from the very first moment he was introduced? Yeah...

The (newly!) Baroness, Kesten Garess / Pathfinder Kingmaker (c) Owlcat Games

[gae-bolg-alternative-dot-exe]

I think the next stream will be Wrath of the Righteous

[scribblesscribblings]

The newest group of adventurers trying their luck to claim the Stolen Lands!

We’ve got Minerva the elven Silence in the Snow Witch, Xioyun the human Warpriest Cleric of Cayden Cailean, Ashahera the elven Monk, and Belladonna the tiefling Mastermind Rogue!

Hopefully I’ll be able to record their shenanigans where I can!

Height ref for funsies:

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

Sessions of CoS with the Barovia Tour Group tend to oscillate wildly between Frantically Doing Stuff and Planning To Do Stuff, and while today was definitely more of the latter, it was...it was a weird as fuck planning day! (Some light spoilers for stuff in and around Vallaki)

Our artificer got petitioned to take a sample of power from some glowing entity that appeared at the foot of his bed, so that he could "know what is available to him" if they worked together. So he is walking around with this weird aura of authority that none of us can place, and a magic item that none of us know anything about.

Wyn woke up in a manic state as a way of coping with all of our recent tragedies and losses and ended up herding the whole group across the entire city of Vallaki chasing down leads, simply because there is a CHANCE that we can bring one single little girl back to life and that's what Wyn is hanging all of her mental health on.

Our wizard spent the whole day being snippy and sullen and generally in a bad mood and we couldn't figure out why until he pulled Wyn aside and told her that it was because he had tried (in the previous session) to convince Victor to come with us instead of trying to teleport out of Vallaki, and had failed. As a result, Victor had gone through with the spell, and the resultant explosion made it very clear that something had gone wrong, so we don't even know if he's alive. Naturally, our wizard feels both responsible and also a tiny bit peeved that Victor didn't trust him enough to let us take care of him, even though Victor has been treating Tobias like a god ever since they met. So he's mad at Victor and he's mad at himself and he admitted that he didn't wanna take it out on anyone else so he was trying to keep his mouth shut so he wasn't a complete dick to everyone around him, and Wyn had to take both of his hands so gently in her own and assure him that he was always free to bitch to her about this sort of thing, because it's terrible in Barovia and if we don't have each other's backs than what DO we have? And unfortunately, his stupid consideration for the rest of the stupid team got Wyn all in her stupid fucking feelings again, and now she's gonna have to deal with THAT on top of everything.

So we're going to the Vistani camp near Vallaki in what I can only think is a PERFECT state of mind! At least our fighter is on good terms with them...

[cannibalmukbang]

full body alt of Colette in the Girl from Video Violence 2 outfit because I'm gay and I believe in hairy girl supremacy

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 3/23/2025

I didn't actually listen to very many shows this week. Most of them were APs too. I haven't listened to the new Hamuel Burger yet, and I made a little progress on catching up with Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature.

Spout Lore - there’s been so much combat this season. I guess they did walk into a war, so it's to be expected.

@lostterminalpod- Yet another old-world sentient AI! I’m here for it. This one seems to be more hostile than most of them though.

Starwhal Odyssey - I love how Saach perfectly embodies “annoying streamer with a business degree”. Saach would be banned from League of Legends.

Skyjacks - The fallout from Dref's death is so interesting to see. I'm enjoying Traveller Quan as a character.

Couriers call - “Dennison is dating Kieran’s mom” is hilarious. As someone who has had to deal with the realization that my parent is dating someone multiple times, I relate to Kieran here.

Kingmaker - Ariadne Culver is fucking Alistair crowley! Loved the shrink heist plot.

[six-improbable-things]

I only started playing today... We shall see how I feel about this game. It's no WotR, but I am having fun!!!