#also watching people play TTRPGs makes me miss playing so much

[strampunch]

I never played the Forge, but I've been watching a bunch of Dimension 20 campaigns and was inspired to revisit the DST characters as DnD archetypes and I just had to draw Maxwell in warlock shenanigans.

Excuse the poor quality of the photos, but if I don't post these now I never will. (I feel Wilson would be an Alchemist artificer or something, so his Forge skin doesn't fit too well, but I haven't designed his look yet)

[tyrantisterror]

No Small Feat Art pt. 11 - Seige of the Tower of the Tomb

By request, I’m gonna show off some of the artwork for No Small Feat, a Midgaheim story my friends and I told through the TTRPG system Fabula Ultima. I drew a lot of characters and monsters for it, and my friends - in particular, @dragonzzilla, @scatha5, and @dinosaurana - helped line and color them so we’d have cute little sprites to use on our online battlemaps, which really helped sell the whole “we’re playing an oldschool turn based RPG” vibe that Fabula Ultima’s system is going for.

This is the final part, the end of No Small Feat! Obviously we're going to look at the final boss, but first, we have to talk about her flunkies.

Given that the Fabula Ultima game system is based primarily on JRPGs like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, I felt that it was customary to make sure the heinous arch villain had at least one crew of goofy, lovable henchmen. A Sephiroth is not complete without the Turks, a Magus is not complete without Slash, Flea, and Ozzie, et cetera. So Maelys had a quartet of mercenaries in her employ, who very much were not in this for loyalty to her or her ideology, but rather because they needed the money and most people don't hire clowns in Midgaheim since they're a variety of cambion (half-demons). These ladies are The Jester's Jape, entertainers, carnies, thieves, and ne'er do wells. Their leader is Scarlette, the harlequin. their mage is Bianca, the Pierrot. Their muscle is Azurite, the Buffoon. And their wildcard is Obsidianne, the Mime. I introduced them a little later in the campaign than intended (both because I didn't have finished art of them and because it took a lot of revisions for me to be satisfied with their moveset as minibosses), but they made a lot with the screentime they were given, and hey, cambions don't have a built-in expiration date, so nothing's stopping me from using them again.

After befriending the clowns in their third and final encounter with them, our heroes mobilized to the top of the tomb tower where Maelys was waiting, having just graverobbed the last crown jewel and, with the aid of the seven princes of Hell itself, forged two false crown jewels to complete a crown of her own and become the new queen of the country.

Sadly for her, the forgeries didn't prove adequate.

As all the rivers of magic running through Engelsex convered inside her through the warped crown on her head, Maelys was overwhelmed by their power and twisted into a hideous shape that reflected her inner malice. Our heroes proceeded to beat the shit out of her, as you do when you've done all the sidequests in an RPG and got all the overpowered loot that comes with them.

But no good JRPG boss would only have ONE transformation, so of course Maelys crashed harder than a Resident Evil boos and turned into a nightmarish beast, one that was further warped to resemble two other monsters who had contact with the crown jewels - Kaboldt von Hubert's doppelganger, and the Ravening Beast. Our heroes summoned their closest allies - Leonie, George, and Jack - and also the Jester's Jape, why not, and destroyed the evil wannabe queen once and for all.

And so the day was saved, a new crown was forged, and a worthy successor was found for the throne. To know more than that, you'd have to watch the campaign, or, like, wait several years for me to transcribe it into a book if I ever get around to it. I might, honestly. I miss Leonie.

As a final treat, here are some loose sketches of character designs for the campaign, some of which never got the finished penncil treatment:

Figuring out Kaboldt's doppelganger look took a lot of experimentation.

Same goes for the Ravening Beast, who went through SO many designs before I settled on one that worked for me. One of his early designs got reused as Big Bubba Bugbear.

The jester's Jape went through a lot of concepts too.

I had loose ideas to give George, Jack, and Leonie costume changes for their cameos in the final boss fight, but didn't end up having enough time to finalize them. We get to see George in his non-dragonslayer armor, Jack looking a bit less frail, and Leonie sporting the dragon-themed armor the PCs gifted her at the end of the Menagerie arc.

Oh, and I didn't know where to put it, but at one point the PCs met, and later robbed, Leonie's dad, which meant I had to give him a character design. I tried to make sure his clothes were as tasteful as those that would be worn by a rich medieval merchant who had access to magic dyes.

There was also merchant character that was intended to be a one-off named Long Lankin that the players and I kind of fell in love with who I drew sketches of, but those got lost in my big computer hullabaloo this summer, so unfortunately I no longer have them to share. But I liked him enough that he'll probably show up in another Midgaheim story one of these days.

[miaikon]

From learning a Sci-Fi script to picking up a Con-Lang (or, a very long very nerdy Star Wars rant)

I need to rant at this to the void, and this blog is my go-to for these things. I feel free to do so since no-one comes here anyways.

A bit of background

(or, the part you can skip if you want to get to the nerdy rant now): I've been into Star Wars on and off since my teens. I'm nearly 40, so that's a few decades. I do watch the new series, and became very fond of "The Mandalorian" really fast. In-between seasons, my spouse and I also re-watched most of Clone Wars. In early 2024, we started a Star Wars 5E TTRPG campaign with a friend, where my spouse DM's, Friend plays a Jedi, and I play a Mandalorian (and she's just so much FUN to play). My character is one I came up with around... 2017? Maybe? IDK if you can find her if you scroll down far enough. Currently re-designing her, though. I originally came up with her after working my way through the Travis books and becoming fascinated with Mandalorians for some reason.

Accidential Language Acquisition

My latest obsession (and distracion from the summer heat) started with me looking up some Mandalorian phrases and curses for RPG purposes. Yes, I know, none of this is canon any more. None of us cares. We kind of make our own canon. Then I found out there's a script - and I was lost. I loved codes and obscure scripts as a child, and I did learn to read Hiragana in my 20s, so how hard could this be? I looked for a chart and found this site, which offers practice reading (and a dictionary, amongst other stuff). So, I started learning the characters in, I think, late July. I read quite well by now, my writing does lag behind. Juuust... the practice phrases are written in the Mandalorian language.

I didn't set out to learn a constructed language. I really did not. I just wanted to know WHAT I was typing. So I looked up the sentences on the cheat-sheet after I got them right. And some words started repeating, and I picked them up. Kinda automatically. I swear, I only practice reading/ writing this for like 15 to 30 minutes a day. After a while, I half-understood what some sentences said. Reading Star Wars fanfiction did not help (or help a lot, depending on your POV) there. I looked up missing words, building a bit of a vocabulary. It's erratic still, but I noticed something. In conversations, my brain sometimes supplies the Mandalorian words I know now. (I usually do catch myself, although stuff tends to slip in when I'm alone with my spouse, to his amusement.) My language center does not know this is a con-lang, after all. I also tried to write a ransom note in Mandalorian, which was a fun experience (for a private project). Through fan fiction and looking up stuff, I also learned about the Legends version of Mandalorian culture. That stuff is fascinating, although I feel like a visitor to an abandoned city. Everyone's gone (since Legends is out of print and stuff is falling into obscurity), but it's still cool to look around. It gives me a kind of bittersweet, nostalgic feeling, too. So many passionate minds, and things I'm so happy to experience, but wished I knew about sooner. Aay'han, if you will, only it's memories I never made. Nostalgia for what could have been. Not gonna lie, I'm obsessed. It's a feeling I seldom get now, although it was quite frequent when I was a teen. It feels great and enjoyable and unhealthy and I think I need to stop. I'm an adult, and I'm too old to fangirl. Or, at least, I keep telling myself this.

Analyzing a Con-Lang because my nerd brain can't stop looking for patterns

Mandalorian actually HAS different words for the people, the planet, the ruler, and the language. Let me start with Manda, which is the collective soul (or the concept of) of the Mandalorian people. The people themselves are Mando'ade (Children of the Manda/ of Mandalore. Singular Mando'ad). The language is Mando'a (no clue why, language would be joha. Maybe Mando'joha was too long and it got shortened). The planet is Manda'yaim (yaim meaning home. Simple enough). The ruler is the Mand'alor (alor meaning, well, leader. Also simple).

Before long, my brain started making connections between some things. Simple things first - "Ke" or "K' " at the start of a sentence is always the imperative form of something ("Command form"). The words for "you", "I", and the third person pronoun. Then, between words, trying to fit new words with what I already know. Like [something] ad was most likely about people. I built myself bridges that are just theories - I am not a linguist in any fashion, and I'm just trying to make sense of what's there. Like mirsh meaning brain(cell), kot meaning strenght, and mirshko is courage - so, "brain-strength"?

And no, for all of you out there that are as nerdy as me, this is not a full language. There isn't a word for "call" or "get in contact with" I could find, for example. Some authors just wanted to add flair to their writing, so an incomplete thing is what we have. Even so, I am kind of hooked in the weirdest way. I play around, trying to make my own sentences and combined words. It's fun, and private, and nobody needs to know. Except for the two people I TTRPG with.

IDK any more where I wanted to go with this. There might be a part 2, someday. If anyone read this, I appreciate you. If anyone read this and had this weird kind of obsession happen to them as well, let's talk. It might just be the universe's weirdest midlife crisis.

[dragontamerno3]

DS9 S1 E20 - In The Hands Of The Prophets

Soooooooooooo.... I finished S1. And I officially hate Space Karen.

I want to get this out of the way so I hopefully never have to say it again because praising this character hurts me deep in my religiously traumatized soul (lol), but she is *really* good. I mean, of course she was going to be well played given the actress who plays her (RIP Louise Fletcher), but she's so fucking good at how evil she actually is. We're meant to hate her, I get that. But the writing and acting is phenomenal when it comes to this level of religious bigotry and scheming.

I have seen actual people IRL that were just a couple steps down the ladder from being pure fanatics to this dangerous level and the shit they've said in some cases were almost word for word how she spun in.

We started out the episode though with a fun note on Keiko joking with Miles and clearly hinting at something that is probably just supposed to be her playing at being jealous but definitely reads as swinger language to me. Which, from what I've gathered DS9 is one big polyam fam so I may be picking up on those vibes.

Which, I'm kinda sad Neela was the traitor here. I called it when the tool was discovered missing though "it" hadn't been revealed to be secret traitor levels yet and I just assumed she used the tool for some reason. I still knew it was her and when the episode went on and murder turned into potential terrorism I was just... bummed. She seemed to truly be getting alone with Miles and the scene in the shuttle def added to my polyam/swinger thoughts, but she really seemed to actually care for him. This didn't take away from my... enjoyment, can one really call it that when one is also seething? Anyway, it didn't take anything away from the episode from me, if fact it kinda made it feel a bit more realistic cause I have absolutely lost people I cared about because of religion. It just sucked.

Then Winn shows up at the school to talk religious nonsense and the "real" trouble starts. Oh I hate that woman.

And then Kira backing Winn? I know she's also got her own spiritual beliefs and journey but that felt... a bit much? Not aligned with who she had been up to this point? Not the teaching the kids part but the "lets separate everyone" idea. It definitely threw me out of the scene for a bit. I accept it, though, based on the very end of the episode where she explained that she hoped her beliefs were as strong as Winn's, but this was the one bit of writing that I disagreed with. If something has to wait to the end to be explained like this, it could use some fixing.

Quark and Odo meeting in secret to talk about a case seems to me like the writers were trying make up an excuse to get them alone together....

Watching Winn turn all the parents and kids against Keiko was frustrating. The Bajorian food seller not selling to them because of this wasn't so much upsetting as it just made me roll my eyes, but I adore Miles for wanting to jump the counter for his wifes honor lol

When the school blew and Miles ran towards it? And then Odo had to hold him back so he didn't jump into the fire? My heart. It was such a good scene.

I think my favorite part of this episode was Siskos speech. The "You've just made your first mistake" speech. I'm being a bit egotistical for this bit, though. I love it cause these are the same exact speeches I like to make in my ttrpgs. The "You think you've won but really you've severally underestimated us and we're going to ruin you now" speeches are my fucking favorite and I live for them. Sisko wins the gold star for this one.

8.75/10 cause I couldn't decide if I wanted to rate this one a 9 or an 8.5 so split the difference lmao

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Talen's Top Fours Of 2024

Watch this video on YouTube

Script and Thumbnail below the fold!

This year was pretty cool for me, at least if we’re talking about getting to play games. I played more videogames, I looked at more TTRPGs, I ran more games, and I got to get more board games to the table. 2024 has been a great year for me for games. I even got a game of my own through prototyping! I didn’t do a lot of new game acquiring, either, which means in the great contest between ‘playing what I have’ and ‘getting new shiny things,’ I’ve been largely on the side of that I’d rather be.

Still, with lots of games come lots of feelings about games, and that means you get more of me talking about them. Last year I did my three top threes of 2023 and since it’s 2024 we’re going to do four fours!

And then, some mores!

First of all, some games that I want to mention because I’ve played them but they haven’t been part of any articles or videos this year. Games that I haven’t written articles about but did play this year and that left me with feelings.

Not necessarily good feelings.

Nine hours, Nine persons, Nine doors. I’m still struggling my way through this one. It’s a game with a lot of branching narratives, but it is frustrating to play, because once you’ve finished one pathway, repeating the game up to that point is a chore. You can fast-forward through it, but then you run the risk of missing something that should hypothetically matter. Puzzles are great, but it otherwise is like the worst combination of a 90s visual novel and a 90s pixel hunt point-and-clicker.

The Messenger. I loved every part of this game up until the eighth boss. It’s a great puzzle platformer where a sense of flow and immediate use of momentum and speed work to create these lovely fluid, flowing experiences, and then there’s a boss monster that sat on me for a few days of trying. After failing to beat that boss, I just stopped playing, which is a little frustrating because I know there’s more of the game I like on the other side of him but I’m not willing to become good enough to beat him, and so that’s where that game ends for me.

Monster Sanctuary. Charming, fun. It’s a little bit Pokémon, but also a bit more of a typical JRPG. It is missing one thing I do really like from Pokémon which is a feeling of evolution and development in the actual monsters but the design of the monsters and the talent trees is very good for making my brain fizz and I like it a lot.

Void Stranger. This wins my personal Undertale award for a shockingly mid game with one clever idea that gets talked about like it’s the second coming. If Void Stranger is a game that impressed you, that’s great, just, I can’t wait until you’ve played a third game.

Alright, that’s the stuff other people made, but what about the stuff I made? Like my own videos? Well, since some of my videos are remakes of other articles on my blog (press dot invincible dot ink go there for daily writing on games and media), I split this into two categories. Videos that are new material and videos that are video-forms of older articles to present them to a new audience.

Hinedere Beat And Saying What You Mean was an opportunity to talk about word choice and the challenges in using some words appropriately and well. The words for this were Horny, Surreal, and Flow. Wonderful to have an opportunity to make fun of Flow, I don’t like that book much. I do like the game, though, which is about dreaming up a sister to have gay kisses with.

Hugo’s House Of Horrors And Lessons From Bad Games, which was a chance to talk about a game from the classic era of parser games in terms of things about it that weren’t good, rather than the retro-glowing praise or the excessive effusive complaining of a James Rolfe. There’s a puzzle in these games that’s so bad there’s no way to appreciate how bad it is without just straight up watching the game interface solving the puzzle.

Kentucky Route Zero and the Three Games About America, which was an opportunity to both talk about something extremely important (cultural imperialism) and also provide a definitional cite for when I want to invoke ‘The Three Games About America.’ This article also let me exorcise the feeling I have of having a serious beef with people who will never understand it.

And speaking of exorcisms, I Wish We Were Worse — Faith and the Satanic Panic is a similar beef of an article. Faith is a game that uses its fundamental building blocks as a position of immense cultural christianity, created by someone who thinks that pointing that out is boring, and tells a story about how the real problem of the Satanic Panic is that we weren’t more willing to hurt children and keep it hidden.

That’s the ‘new’ material videos, though?

A bunch of my videos on this channel this year are remakes of articles I wrote in previous years. This was to reduce the burden on me to make it easy to put out a video every time but also to make these articles that I think are really good available to more people in more ways.

I made a video on Planetfall, which hahah, surprise, was a chance to revisit Bioshock Infinite bringing to bear other writing on it I’d already done. I feel like Bioshock Infinite is a game of special weakness, a sort of iconic artwork that shows the failings of the culture that venerates it, and it relies on you to forget your own history, and your own context to appreciate it.

I made a video on Gene Wars, and about the idea of the myth of a maker. It’s a video about how Peter Molyneux kinda sucks and his reputation is built on the work of a lot of other people who don’t get to be treated with the special consideration he is.

I’ve a longstanding article I kept resharing whenever Jonathon Blow said something silly in public, which served as the script of my video Negotiating Gender and Capitalism in Braid. Braid is a lot like Bioshock Infinite in that during a time where videogames struggled for legitimising in a critical framework and artistic landscape in a way that showed who wasn’t ready for that kind of consideration and criticism.

Speaking of things about legitimising games as an artform, though, I also made a video out of my Beneath a Steel Sky retrospective article. This game was not legitimised by being associated with something, with invoking something, but is its own artwork, its own narrative, based on the work of the experts who made it to express their idea in their own framework.

Since I keep mentioning articles though, what about those articles? Well, I write about a game every week, but this year, I made sure some of those articles were about Tabletop RPGs. Tabletop RPGs are a wonderfully dynamic space for creative game developers and the indie-est of indie makers, and looking at them this year – taking them seriously – was a delightful experience for long form, considered readings of game texts made from different perspectives.

The four of those I recommend you check out are my articles on:

Gensou Narratograph which is the Touhou TTRPG not because I liked the game but because the article was very engaging to put together. The structure of how that game works and the tools I have to examine a TTRPG really worked together to make this engaging, tight, painful barb of a game. It really helped to underscore to me like there’s an alienation in Touhou that I don’t think Touhou fans ever understand in other people because to them their love of it is just so overwhelming and obvious.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians, speaking of things that should be overwhelming and obvious, a queer game that made me feel excluded because I guess I’m just not the right kind of queer. This article was really significant in my mind because it gave a lot of people an opportunity to speak to me and say ‘hey, you’re right, I never got this,’ even though they ostensibly were people it was meant to speak for.

Ironsworn, a totally free to play TTRPG built on the Powered by the Apocalypse engine which I wouldn’t recommend it for like a Christmas bash like ‘hey we’re all gonna play a TTRPG this weekend’ but still like a really good well-made thorough system for kind of long-term epic quest sprawling material. It mentions it can be used as a journaling or solo game and I think it would make a really good example of that.

Pine Shallows, the TTRPG that I looked at this year that I have just like the most unequivocal praise for. Pine Shallows is a Gravity Falls style TTRPG where the structure of the rules and setting are explicitly from the eye level of a child who is precocious enough to know that there is more that they don’t know. It’s well laid out, it’s pretty much perfect at its size and I think that it deserves more attention. Grab a copy, prepare to play it around Halloween or when the nights get dark and spooky. It’s a real good time.

What about new (to me) games I played that I did make into videos and articles this year?

The first one has a bit of an asterisk, because it’s Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, about which I already wrote an article some years ago, suggesting to me that I surely finished it last time. Playing it with Fox this year on this channel this year, though, I think I might have missed an episode or maybe even two at the end. It’s a really funny game, it has beautifully designed puzzles, it’s built with replayability and end-game extra activities so you’re rewarded for poking around for all the jokes, and the whole thing is built on a sense of humour that speaks to me personally.

Loom! It’s a classic game I’ve never really properly played through until this year. Indeed, it was the first game on the list Fox suggested we play together, and getting it to work led to a whole host of other breakthroughs in making our videos together easier and better. It’s beautiful, using the EGA graphics to their utmost, and its interface being about magical spells that you can reverse through casting them back to front is a brilliant way to solve the bulging pockets problems of many contemporary games. Also, the plot is ambitious and fantastic in a way that media since aimed in a similar space so rarely executes well.

Risk of Rain 2, which is a sequel to the game Risk of Rain, perhaps obviously? I played the snot out of Risk of Rain and Risk of Rain 2 takes everything the first game was and translates it to a new 3d space. I can’t speak for the end game or all the extra material in Risk of Rain 2 – because it, as a game, is primarily one of my faves this year because it’s just a game that I can play with one of my best friends, whenever our schedules line up. The actual game is about running and shooting and gathering random items in a roguelike experience and see what kind of optimal play experience you can generate out of learning all those pieces and their interactions.

Still, easily the best game I played all year is Cobalt Core. It’s a deck-building time looping ship-to-ship combat space adventure game with a cast of characters that inform the deck you’re building, and also have a range of comical interactions that help to inform the way you can build the deck going forwards. It is such a good game. I went through the whole arc with this game from ‘is this good?’ to ‘oh this is good’ to ‘everyone should play this’ to ‘I have a top five speedrun for this game, now.’ Cobalt Core is absolutely coming to the channel in some other way, do not worry about that.

And finally, board games I played this year that I think deserve mention! Just the top four board games I played this year and this was actually a much harder list to cull because this year I got a lot more games to the table than I was expecting I would. The problem is that when you get a really good game to the table you want to play it again so it actually eats a chance for another game. It’s very funny. This year I had to scrap Sheriff of Nottingham and Cockroach Poker off this list, and that’s a sign of how good the rest of the games were.

First of all, the Initiative and the thing is the Initiative is like the least amazing amazing game I played this year. What makes it the least amazing isn’t anything to do with it, it’s just infrastructurally I want to play this game with a very specific group that’s hard to get together. They are all delightful and they jam with the game on its wavelength. It is a campaign puzzle game where you’re doing missions to try and solve components of a big interlocking puzzle and the actual play experience is kind of negotiated and kind of cautious but also it’s just at that right level where the difficulty involved in advancing can be oh no you made a mistake but I can fix your mistake or oh no I made a mistake can anyone help me here and it’s a really excellent game in that particular design space. I really love the Initiative.

Next up on the much smaller, much faster, The Crew Mission Deep Sea. This game I’ve played with multiple sets of parents and multiple kids. It’s a full cooperative game with variable difficulty that doesn’t break if someone isn’t good at avoiding information leakage and where everyone gets better at it and better at maintaining the cooperative status. It’s an incredibly good quick game, and it’s broken up into hands that are each maybe five minutes or less.

Letter Jam which, you know what, just wait until it comes up on the Game Pile articles on the blog. Letter Jam was a whim purchase at some random sale based on a discount to like, twenty five dollars, and the resulting game was something Fox and I ran through maybe ten times in the ensuing months?

And finally, my favorite thing I played this year is Startups, a game from Japanese microtitan Oink Games. It’s tiny but not quick, it’s thoughtful but not grinding, it’s social but not deceitful. It stores all its pieces very efficiently and it’s a game that serves to me as an icon of the fact that the game that’s being sold, the thing in the product in the box that is like worth most of the money is the actual game itself. Not cards, not tokens. Everything in here I can price but Startups, what makes that box worth its price, is Startups.

2024 has not been the best year for anyone, I don’t imagine. There will be ways to do the same things better and for more people. But while we are going forwards, games are going to be important, ways to relax, ways to unstress, ways to recover, they are going to matter to you.

A lesson I learned a long time ago: You need spoons to make shivs.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[rennybu]

Hiii Andy! I've adore your art for years and your characters. Their designs are so lovely!! And expressive!! I was wondering if you had any tips for a cohesive character design? Or even advice on adding little asymmetrical details or features? And help is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Wishing you all the best!

HELLOO!!! AAAH Thank you so much for such a thoughtful question, this makes me so happy to hear! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to you, it turns out I have way too many things to say about this topic AKLSDHFKLSDG

(pls take this readmore<3)

For the starting point in a design, I try to stick to whatever rules apply for the setting the character is in, and their role in that setting.

Basic colour theory is always at the back of my mind, as well. I tend to use analogous and complementary colours when I design my characters and their closets. Analogous colours keep a palette contained and feeling similar to itself without being monotone. And then using colours that are complementary to that elsewhere in the design adds contrast while still maintaining that feeling of cohesion :D

The intended use of the character also heavily affects what can make a design cohesive or not - it's very dependent on art style and medium. (A design for use in animation would be extremely different from semi-realistic TTRPG concept art. The rest of what I've written skews more towards the second option!)

I consider the colours, shapes and materials that make sense for what I want to convey about the world, and how the character would want to be presented in it. The Dogwood characters are my current exercise; Mel's clothes fit him perfectly since he works a labor intensive job on the farm, and his identity is wrapped up in it so he never strays far from heavy cotton, straight cut. Ryan and Park both wear ill-fitting clothes in completely different ways (Ryan, butchly. Park, autistic and transly) - and they each have work uniforms. Ryan's work uniform suits her gnc appearance (welding coveralls/safety gear), while Park's uniform completely transforms him into "Just Some Guy" and that changes how others read him, too (cashier). And they all shop at Local Thrift Store / Farmer's Surplus / The Walmart 1hr Outside of Town. Their styles give them each a distinct silhouette, and their levels of social comfort as well as public expression contribute to body language, colour choices, and shapes that make them stand apart from each other despite living in the same small bubble. COHESION!

Asymmetrical details and features are my FAAAAV THEY ARE SO FUN, I find inspiration for these in people-watching, nature documentaries, architecture, my reflection, my friends.. <333 This part is also fun to tie in to the character's setting! Springboard questions like. Are they prone to injuries? Magical injuries? Do they have like, modern dental procedures available? Do they give a shit about crooked or crowded teeth? Are they missing a tooth, or did they chip one? Do they smile a lot and have crow's feet/other wrinkles? Do they get a lot of sun, and do they have/use sunscreen? (Even finer wrinkles.) Did they have acne as a teen? Do they still? Are they in a combat-heavy setting, with the scars to show it? Even more uniform features like freckles aren't symmetrical.

Clothing is really good to use to play with asymmetry - maybe the character rolls their cuffs but one is coming undone a little. Jewelry of all types is also great for asymmetry since it can go anywhere on the body!! Facial and other physical deformities or injuries are also incredible to see, and should be researched to find out if they impact other parts of a person's overall health and mobility outright. The different skin texture of a birthmark, for example! I noticed in certain photographs, the subject's red birthmark changed the texture of the skin, so I started drawing Orson with one drooping eyelid on the side affected by his birthmark. The more you look, the more you find!

Before I get too carried away. I try to use asymmetrical details and features as a way to boost that "world setting" cohesion, and to bring attention to parts of the character I am personally endeared by or want other people to notice. Mahon's snaggletooth is an eternal fav, which made me draw him smiling more, which made me more prone to drawing lines around his eyes. And since the anchor is in his left hand, and he tries to hide it subconsciously, I put thumb-holes in his left sleeves, which he plucks through as a nervous fidget, and as a result, his clothes pull a little across his entire body :D ITS VERY FUN to find the right jumping-off point that lets specific details click into place. For Mahon especially, since so many of those details are derived from the setting and his role in it!

Asymmetry and symmetry are just tools at ur disposal. Asymmetry tends to be more comfortable and natural. Symmetry gives a sense of stability and can be pushed for a sense of power, a sense of being uncanny, rigid, etc. Asymmetry can also be pushed into uncaniness depending on what it's applied to!! (But as a matter of personal taste, I find asymmetrical details to feel more natural and inviting than perfectly symmetrical ones. Which. Again. Depending on the character's purpose, could equally contribute to a cohesive design!!!)

OMG ok my final thought. Asymmetry can also be used as a balancing tool which yet again lends to a sense of cohesion. Adding a detail on the left while leaving it out on the right, repeated throughout with different details where applicable. Loam's colour spots, archery gear, scars and jewelry are all areas I've played with this idea.

[chronicas]

Anyways I know none of you care about Game Awards. Here’s the real runner up.

Kellington’s Games Played 2024

So unfortunately this year I didn’t play at least 10 video games I’d never played this year. Yes throw tomatoes at me. I was too busy playing some of the most exciting ones. Regardless, I still look forward to this every year SO!!!

#8 Kingdom Hearts 3: I want to say I had fun with this one but honestly I really didn’t :/… It does NOT live up to KH2, while a lot of the gameplay was pretty good, it mostly felt just super repetitive in a bad way. There’s a lot of cute moments though. The Monsters Inc level was definitely the most fun and most creative imo. I always love seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy though. My sillies :). Still had some fun, just wasn’t it for me. 5/10..

#7 Baldur’s Gate 3: Ugh I spent almost 300hrs on this game. It has so many glaring issues, but I wouldn’t have played it so much if I wasn’t having fun. I’ve been playing 5e since I was a teen, it’s far from my favorite TTRPG, but still holds a place in my heart. There was a lot of fondness at getting to see all my favorite monsters in such a large scale game. However, this game sucks in so many ways. Sooo many glitches, such a weak story, and god so much more that’s so much worse. However I still came out the other end with some love for it. Wyll’s by far my favorite character in this game, he’s funny and witty and I just liked going through his story and being his bestie. The main appeal of this game for me was definitely using D&D combat in a few new and interesting ways. Also multiclassing has never been more fun. I can’t confidently recommend this game, it’s got some really REALLY big issues, most that other people have discussed much better than I have. Do not put this game on a pedestal, it doesn’t deserve it. 5/10.

#6 Kingdom Hearts 2: SAURRRR fun! Definitely my favorite KH game! This one really really endeared me to KH as a franchise and especially Sora as a protagonist! Also Cloud and Yuffie are there. Still no Barret so I have to dock points off. As fun as this game is, I can’t speak toooo highly of the story because Christ is this franchise confusing. I AM playing all the games btw.. or well.. watching some of the less fun ones :P. So I’m not missing anything, this series is still just over complicated as hell. Nonetheless I love visiting silly Disney worlds with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. These games are sillyyyyyy and that makes it all worth it :) 7/10

#5 Sonic x Shadow Generations: RAHHHHHGGGGGGHHGGHH SHADOWWWWW! Well firstly let me say I’d never played Generations before now, it’s such a good one, I love love love the levels, really good. But we already know Sonic Gens is good. SHADOW GENS FUCKING KILLS!!! God can Ian Flynn ever miss? Shadow’s story has always been deeply important to me, y’all KNOW how much I love Maria. This game was full of lots of wonderful moments with Team Dark and Shadow’s family, adore adore adore!!! And of course I’m over the moon to see Black Doom again. The real only reason this isn’t a #4 is because it was short but sweet. I would’ve loved to have seen this game closer to the actual size and scope of Sonic Gens. But it’s just got a couple less levels. Also no Westopolis so points off for that. However all the levels we DID get were WONDERFUL!!! Overall this game was LOVELY!! I highly recommend it if you haven’t played it yet!!! 8/10

#4 Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth: Debated a lot how high up this game would go. Story kinda pissed me off, but it was so fucking fun, so insanely beautiful, that I just can’t help but putting it any lower on this list. The team attacks are what sold me on this one, they’re so fucking cute and insanely fun, they did a lot to put a new spin on a classic gameplay wise. UNFORTUNATELY.. Story kinda sucked ass. Get Zack outta here. However, POINTS BACK FOR FUN AND SILLY BARRET AND YUFFIE MOMENTS AND AERTI MOMENTS!!! Also the dates were super cute and fun, Barret date my beloved. And most importantly… BUGENHAGEN!! WE GOT MY FUCKING SILLY OLD GUY!!!! ALL IS WELL AND RIGHT WITH THE WORLD WE GOD BUGENHAGEN WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Anyways. Overall, can never live up to the classic.. but still a 8/10.

#3 Hi-Fi Rush: RAHHHHH THIS GAME OWNS!! God the characters are so fucking fun, the music fucks insanely hard, and the level design is SO FUCKING FUN!! Not to mention I’m a sucker for fully 2D animated cutscenes, that shit fucking owns. Chai is such a fun protagonist, love this silly guy. Peppermint and Korsica are some of the characters of all time. And I LOVE this game’s exploration of disabled characters and corruption in the medical industry. All with music and levels that completely kick ass. So glad this game got on PlayStation finallyyy. 10/10 Kellington would recommend!!!

#2 Hades 2 [Early Access]: FUCK HOLY SHIT THIS GAME IS SO FUCKING FUN RAHHHHH!!! If TFS hadn’t come out this year this would’ve been an EASY GotY. I fucking adore the leveling system, character design, combat, and level progression. Points off for Arachne not looking like a spider though. Insanely badass to have a really cool lesbian protag so points back for that. Leaving my thoughts on Hades 2 at a 10/10!!!

#1 Destiny 2: The Final Shape: Well well well, look what ongoing video game won “Cloud’s GotY” once again, surprise surprise. Anyways JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Talk about knocking the ball out of the fucking park. THIS WAS SO GOOD!! It’s definitely the best of D2 if not the best of the entire franchise. Insanely beautiful level design, invoking storytelling, and FUCK YES PRISMATIC SO FUCKING FUN. To wield Light and Dark abilities at the same time just fucking owns. I haven’t stopped using Prismatic even once since it came out (RIP Chaos Reach). A beautiful beautiful ending to my favorite game of all time. Perfect, I only wish Lance had been here for it. 100/10

[echotunes]

okay dumping some final thoughts. calamidade was a REALLY GOOD season.

there were so many episodes that I liked so so much but special shoutout to 6 and 8. those ones were my favourites. and 9 was also really good

I loved the new characters (or new-ish in Rubens's case)! Of course characters are always a huge part of what makes a season what it is, and I really liked the cast in this one. good team!!

I really really liked what little of Joui and Arthur we got. made me miss Kaiser of course but I loved what they had going on. those arguments in episode 8 live in my brain. spinning them so fast in my mind

also generally spinning Arthur in my mind god he's such a character I adored him this season. the way we saw how the events of Desconjuração, but also the entire year's timeskip that followed, changed him, was really good. I loved how he grew into the leadership role after how unsure he was at the start. and I'm thinking about him + his relationship with loss + the way he reacts to it by the end of Calamidade so so much...

somewhat related to Arthur & Joui: the irl aspect added so so much to this season. especially how physical Luba and Guaxi were with each other really added a lot to those scenes. the documents being printed out irl for the players to look at was really good - especially the reveal with the UV torchlight showing hidden messages!! very very cool thing. and the other items too! the book! the box! the

speaking of the book: that was just a really cool part of the final battle I loved how effevtively Bagi used it. very fun mechanic

I like how much influence the previous seasons had on this one (OSNF!!! so much OSNF) and how dead, or at least not-on-screen, characters were still so very relevant. shoutout to Kaiser and Johnny...

I didn't like the villain POV episodes as much just because I never really got into any of the characters, but I did like them for what they were, in the sense that we got to see a little of what the other side had going on. Luis's acting as Damir in episode 7 was fun though

Ordo Calamitas was so fucking cool. I LOVE the concept and the execution was really well done too. the players having fun with the new characters was very fun to watch too - I maintain I would've liked to see more of Bagi playing Gaius but what can you do; and especially Rakin as Remus and Luba as Celestine were very fun. and the games themselves were so cool it's such a good idea for something to have your players do in a TTRPG I like it so much

I LOVED CARINA!!! especially when Bagi was acting out her furious screaming that was always fun. she's good at it <3 but the way she took to heart what Liz told her during her initial 50% paranormal exposure transcending ritual, and the fact that she internalised that so much to the point of applying it to Damir, of all people, was just really really good. what a great way to use how meta that mechanic is. I just love what Bagi did with her she's such a good character

speaking of Bagi: I loved how much she was always paying attention to the in-universe mechanics with the entities!! I'm very glad she applied her knowledge of that in-rp as much as she did. very rewarding when you as a viewer were also paying attention to that

I did also really enjoy the way Rubens and Balu's relationship developed. they're a fun dynamic and I really like how it ended up!

of course shoutout to the OST. I love the Ordem OST a lot and this season was no exception to that. O Anfitrião remains SUCH a cool fucking track

speaking of O Anfitrião: great villain!!! loved him. I loved seeing more of him and generally Energy after the taste we got in Desconjuração ep 7. I love his music, I LOVED the battle and how creative it was mechanically, loved the reveal at the end of episode 6... just a really good arc I liked it a LOT

I'm still not very interested in Dante as a character sorry but his powers this season were pretty cool. shoutout to the marionette what the fuck was that

speaking of weird death things: episode 10 was a fun way to integrate more of Death into the season and the sphinx monster was very cool. the battle was less interesting than some others this season but I did like the riddles mechanic

and on the topic of battles the Minotaur one in episode 7 was also a very cool idea. doesn't help with me not caring for the characters but putting them in the labyrinth was a nice move

I think the final battle was a little weaker than Desconjuração's admittedly. maybe I'm just biased because I've rewatched both "CINERÁRIA" and Gal's introduction in OPD 20 so many times, but despite all that it was this one did not feel quite as climactic to me. and Joui's death did not have the same impact on me that Kaiser's did. by no means was it a bad final battle but I do think Desconjuração wins out between the two

...and I think that's all my thoughts for now but yeah. tldr calamidade was really really good. <3

[fatmaclover]

12, the whole gang. would love to hear every head canon you have tbh!!

oh gosh thats gonna be a lot. im gonna be excluding anything that would make this blog more personal or less tame than i want it to be but you really arent missing much there

well. first and foremost UNFORTUNATELY its a hc that im a joyce kelly truther. shes so unbelievably transfem to me at this point its hard to see her as much else. genuinely forget its not canon sometimes. oops

i also must say all of @pariskim's joyceverse tag is canon in my mind and i really recommend you go through it even if you dont see joyce the same way i do, genuinely some of my favorite fan content to consume period. yes i am also sending you over there to become a joyce truther. go.

honestly if mac and dennis could be responsible pet owners (theyll never be.) i think theyd LOVE having a snake. i know theyd go for a ball python because theyre more stereotypically "snake" than some other pet trade species, but frankly i think theyd do best with a hognose. theyre pretty social (with humans. dont keep hognoses together in a tank) idiots with huge attitude and they look god damn adorable. hognoses would also be great for them because they tend to be more food motivated! its also good for snakes to just take them out and like. set them on your bed n just chill or talk with em for an hour or so. thatd be great for mac.

i personally think that mac will only hook up with you as a fellow man if you a) can pass as older than him or b) look like dennis. yeag i think he, consciously or not, goes for people that have similar traits to dennis, physically or personality wise. if dennis let himself accept that he cares a bit too much about who mac is dating, that little fact would single-handedly make macdennis canon. dennis would tell mac to just date him if he wanted to date him so badly

not entirely a headcanon but i imagine almost all of the gang besides maybe frank has methods for getting dennis to regulate his diet a bit more instead of eating like 1 meal a day. i think mac can get dennis to eat or drink just about anything by just giving it to him in conversation. he'll just let dennis talk his ear off and continually hand him chips or fruit or even drinks or nearly any drug at all. having a small bite or drink or hit during conversation is such a reinforced habit that its natural to the both of them now.

i think dee does it by purposefully playing into her status of being "below" dennis. she'll complain about being too weak to open a peanut shell or something and he'll snatch it and do it to prove hes better and out of habit maybe has a little bite. though i imagine if theyre inebriated in any way its as easy as genuinely just feeding it to him. dennis will never admit it, because he hates his sister, but he trusts her.

joyce i think can get dennis to eat just by getting alone with him. she provides a bubble of decompression and a lack of worry for him. its also insanely easy for her to just offer dennis a huff of whatever inhalant shes been having fun with that day and i imagine that makes things easier as well

i think you could pretty easily get mac into nerd shit. just have some pretty boy be a little nerdy. get him to watch star trek itd be life changing for him even if i think a good amount of it would fly over his head at times. ttrpgs and roleplaying in general i think would be big for him

also bringing back my hc of him joining the philadelphia gay mens chorus ohhhhhh my god i need him to sing more i need him to embrace his love of singing

unngh thats not all of em but i my brains starting to lag a bit here. ill happily rb this post with more and make it a sorta masterpost for hcs eventually

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

Zell - fear, hunt, mask

Anon I am blowing you kisses in a platonically camp but approachable manner. These are SO good thank you.

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

I love this one; it's a complicated answer. Fear is so intimate with Zell and is such a part of his personhood that it's very fun to dissect. Starting on the surface, Zell is a very 'show fear but make it comedy' kind of guy. He distracts from the real, personal fears by making jokes about the greater external fears like 'big demon trying to kill me' or 'several gods are personally mad at me right now' and so on. He recognizes fear and doesn't judge anyone for feeling it for any reason, in fact someone openly showing fear to him often makes him feel more compassionate, which makes demons fleeing from his murder aura in terror a… difficulty. He says 'I'm scared all the time' and passes it off as a joke but it's true.

He's terrified; it's the terror of having significant, inexplicable gaps in memory that only give blood and pain as feedback if he tries to explore them too much. Furthermore, he's afraid of what the personal details he's missing could be. Afraid of how that formless terror in his inaccessible memories might be who he actually is. Deep down, he's mostly afraid that whatever he tries to be or whatever he strives for, he is literally doomed to failure. He doesn't remember clearly who he was before waking up in Kenabras - just bits and pieces of a short but happy time in Hongli before getting snatched up by his father's people* and taken to Ustalav for his 'own good.' He's afraid of doing everything he's told and doing it well and still being punished for it, so… As you can imagine, how things unfold in game canon are pretty upsetting. It's a significant factor in his rebellious actions against authority, a mindset that if he refuses to play by their rules, he can't be punished for winning. These are the fears he hides under campy bravado.

He is also frankly afraid of disappointing Anevia, but has yet to really unpack what that means for him. It's mostly about the fear of his own power and what he is meant to or could become within it. (This is also about the fear of being transmasculine and being told that it means choosing to embody the 'inherent evil' of manhood, and how FUCKIN HARD that is to unpack when the world is falling down around you. Not that I know anything about this.) This is the fear he rarely speaks about because that also means opening up the Gender discussion and frankly the only people he wants to talk to about that are Anevia, Arueshalae, Daeran, and Regill**.

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

Strictly in the game canon, the biggest thing he has to constantly be on the watch for are Vampire Hunters looking to make a name for their selves, followed closely by Pharasmans of a certain inclination and finally by chasers, but that's a different kind of dangerous.

Constant Vigilance is something Zell is very familiar with because of this; he rarely has his guard down (and statswise his perception is off the fuckin' charts) but often goofs or gaffes to sell the myth that he's an oblivious goofball. However, it's almost impossible to actually catch him off guard in a martial sense. (Socialemotional situations are a whole different ballgame, he is constantly bewildered.)

In my own worldstate (my spin on the CRPG and TTRPG storylines mashed together like my favorite playdoh colors) - aside from the previously mentioned he is hounded by Socothbenoth. They have an extremely contentious relationship after Zell decided to reject the 'gift' of Socothbenoth's patronage (in a far less than gracious manner, might I add) and instead work with an entirely different Trickster patron and Azata allies.

Later, he catches the ire of the Shrouded One after stealing a Nidalian Grimoir of very particular secrets. That's more than enough detail about that little side quest… for now ;)

Finally, the Royal Council in Nerosyan have no kind feelings towards him as soon as he makes it clear he won't dance to the beat of their drum. Beyond this, his own secret research to assist Liotr uncovers a few things the Council's Church members would very much like to keep buried. Their assassins are the ones he's the most worried about, because they're likely the only ones who could potentially afford Greybor.

mask: Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

(Presented with the context that in my headcanon/worldstate Mendevians are FAR less cool with the undead than they have to be for the CRPG to be playable)

Both. Mechanically, for a time, Zell wore the Mask of the Rapid Bites (then I switched to cleaving everything teehee.) He did so during the initial push from Kenabras to Drezen, and for a while after, at Galfrey's insistence. In my imagination it's less of an enhancing piece of enchanted armor and more a big metal indicator that This Guy Is Dangerous Please Keep Your Distance. It's presented as being there to reassure crusaders who are less than thrilled with a Dhampir Commander, but it's really just a power move to show everyone paying attention who's still in charge. He is ALWAYS making faces at people under the mask.

Daeran absolutely despises it and insists on leaving what he calls "The Muzzle" in a drawer or in Zell's room when they're alone together - even before they became close. Initially Zell argues with him about it -he gets why people are afraid of him after all - but Daeran quickly argues him down.

His figurative mask covers the screaming anxiety and five-degree interdimensional sorcery chess game he's running to try and win this fucking war. On the surface, he effects a cool implacability that gives way to goofy huckserism that keeps people upbeat and comfortable. Something of a 'wise guy, above it all unless it's for the bit' kind of attitude. It is genuine in its way; making people laugh is drugs for him. But unlike Lann he doesn't deliberately let it slip for sympathy*** - he'd much rather people think he's simply adaptable and relatable.

Few people get to see past that mask; he doesn't like exposing his emotional vulnerabilities. He can't remember clear examples, but the sense of knowing that sharing those vulnerabilities with someone will immediately lead to exploitation is strong in him. It's part of why he chances it with Daeran: at least he already knows Daeran's tactics for striking at weak points, so he can frontload plenty of counter jokes as defense.

*I've often joked about Hellsing Alucard being the King of Vampires in this setting but it's only funny until it isn't.

**I think Regill would bring some excellent points about presentation and selfhood to the table have you seen him. Have you seen this elder hehimsbian in action. I ask you.

***I mean this with the utmost affection but like for real though.

[worshippdsun]

Greetings from WorshippdSun!

Here's an introduction (finally) to myself and this blog!

I'm a terrible rambler, so I'm going to limit this post/introduction to information about myself for the most part. For things like commissions, rules, an FAQ, etc., I'll probably make a separate post and link it somewhere on here (if/when I get around to it).

But for now, here's some stuff about me!

What's your name?

I go by Curio, but my art accounts online will always be WorshippdSun (or some variation of that), and my other major/most common usernames are WizardCat or calamityProphet (again with some variations). You can call me Curio, but Sun, Worshippd, Wiz, Wizard, Cat, Calamity, and other variations of my username(s) are fine, too! If you come up with a nickname or something that I'm uncomfortable with, I'll let you know (and I may update a list here or on some other post/page for reference).

What pronouns do you use?

I use any and all pronouns. Literally any and all, you can use neopronouns even. I don't have a preference, you can pick a set and use it, you can mix it up, do whatever. They/them is always a safe default, but in general, I really don't care. Same with gendered language; my only real preference is "whatever's funniest in the moment." If something comes up that makes me uncomfortable, I'll try to update a list somewhere, either here or in a rules post that I may make (if I make it, here's the link.)

How old are you?

I am an adult! I'm 22, but in case I forget to update this post with my birthday, check my account bio because that will be updated in real time.

What about adult content?

I definitely make art that isn't adult or suggestive, it's the majority of what I do (at least as of writing this), but that doesn't mean I don't make any adult/suggestive/NSFW content. I will do my best to tag and filter things with various warnings as best suited, but I am flawed and may forget or miss something.

What about minors?

I don't have a strict no-minors/must have age in bio policy, but I advise minors against viewing this blog (or at least blocking various adult content tags, I'll probably make a post that lists the tags I use and link it here when I do.) If I see a minor or no-age blog interacting with my NSFW content or attempting to contact me regarding NSFW content/topics, I WILL BLOCK YOU. Full stop.

So that tagging system?

I try to tag things as best I can, both for exposure and so people can search for specific content more easily or better filter out triggers or other content they don't want to see. Here's a link to my tagging system post. No promises, I'm not perfect, but if I forget to tag something (especially if it's a trigger or sensitive content), let me know! Same goes if there's something you'd like me to trigger tag, just ask! I can't promise I'll always say yes, but it's worth asking. As a heads up, I typically trigger tag things as just the word and then a separate tag for the word and tw. For example, if there's blood in an image, it would be tagged both "blood" and "blood tw". This is subject to change, but it's how I do things for now.

How long have you been doing art?

I'm pretty new to art-- I've been around artists for a while, I've "drawn" on and off throughout my life, but I only really hunkered down and got consistently into drawing in the late summer/early fall of 2021.

What else do you do?

In the creative sphere, I play a couple instruments (piano, viola, guitar) to varying extents and I sing. I enjoy theatre, but I don't often partake in it (even if I should). I guess I consider myself a writer but I don't do much writing nor do I have any finished products or serious/long-term WIPs, so... I'm not really much of a writer. I'm also a college student, studying biology (with an art minor), so I'm something of a scientist myself.

What are your hobbies, what things do you like?

I play D&D (or TTRPGs in general) with friends, I listen to music, I watch YouTube, I play video games (I'm a casual gamer, not a Gamer, so don't get too excited). I enjoy fashion and film/cinematography, but I don't do much in the way of getting involved and studying them, making clothes, making short films, etc., I just find them interesting. I really don't do a whole lot, I'm not really a busybody.

This is tumblr, so what about media, franchises, and fandoms?

At the moment, I'd say the things I'm most into are Overwatch 2, Star Trek, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, and a few other things, but those are the big ones. I'll try to update this if/when those change since I tend to go through phases, but no promises that I'll remember! I could also make an entire separate post to just list my various fandoms and where I stand with them now (still really into, was majorly into but don't care anymore, ones I actively avoid, etc.). If I do ever make that post, link here.

Where else can I find you?

For a collection of my links, here's my carrd. I do my best to add things there when I make a new account or join a new site or whatever. As of writing this, I'm definitely NOT equally active across platforms and some aren't really set up, but I'll be trying to get things going. As of right now, the main things I can point you to are my ArtFight (not under WorshippdSun) in case you want to interact during art fight, my Instagram because that's probably where I'll be most active outside of Tumblr, and my Patreon which, as of writing this, is NOT set up, but will hopefully be set up soon. It'll be a main method of supporting me (if you so choose) as well as a venue for me to potentially do commissions and show my actually NSFW art (in all its uncensored glory).

...

I think that's it for now! This will probably be my pinned post for... the forseeable future, and if I think of anything to add to it (or I end up making some important posts like rules, FAQ, commissions, etc.), I'll edit it and add things here. This information IS subject to change, so it may end up being different or I may have added or changed rules since the last time you looked at it. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!

[mitchelldailygames]

On Dungeon23 and Doing That Thing I Wasn't Going to Do

I think only one person follows me as I type this, so it’s the perfect time to talk about something very personal to me… MY SHAME! We’re going to start with Animal Crossing.

Animal Crossing

I’m talking about the one on Switch here, but I’ve had the same thing happen with every entry in that series I’ve played.

So, my mom and I started playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons around the same time. My mom loves this game. After initially getting talked into it by me and my brother in 2020, she is still playing it to this day. I’m pretty sure she has all the flowers. She definitely has all the fish and bugs. She meticulously designs her house and island. She’s playing the expansion. She’s watching videos online about it. She’s all in. Sometimes she misses a day or several days, but she’s always eager to hop back in when she gets the chance. If ttrpg design was her hobby, I bet she’d get her dungeon23 project done (more on that later).

I started playing in the early spring of 2020, pretty soon after it came out. I played it pretty much every day. I’m a teacher and we had gone to distance learning, so Animal Crossing breaks in the day were common, and then I’d pick it up again when my work day was done. Often when I turned it on I told myself, ��I’ll just play for 15 minutes and knock out my daily to-do items.” I’d end up playing for hours, and it was easy, but it was bigger than I meant it to be. It was easy to pick up because I knew I could set it down if I needed to.

Then I missed a day. And then I missed more than one day in a row. No big deal, right? But I didn’t pick it up again. I wouldn’t pick it up again for months —it might have not been until my birthday in October— and it got to the point where I had an icky feeling when I thought about the game. And when I did pick it up again, the game had enough ways to remind me I had been gone for awhile, plus there was all the birthday stuff, that I found the game overwhelming. It wasn’t just a quick 15 minute thing. It sucked me in and held me as I cleaned up the mess I had left my island in. It would be a long time before I picked it up again.

At that time, I honestly was having a similar experience with life. I hustled at work, at staying safe in the midst of a pandemic, at staying connected in a time of disconnect, and then… burnout.

That’s all pretty dramatic for talking about a cute management sim with animals. I don’t really feel that way about the game any more. I don’t play it very often anymore, but it feels like a small thing to pick it up and mess around for a bit when I feel like it. I also know lots of people have had similar experiences with the game.

Pulling an Animal Crossing with Game Design

I started designing ttrpgs that would eventually be put out on Itchio around the time I put down Animal Crossing. That puts me just over two years designing things for people outside of my personal game groups to play. I have hustled with game design, putting out around 30 total projects, including small games, medium-sized games, adventures, and supplements, since starting. I have had projects I put together in an hour become more popular than I ever imagined and I have had projects I poured myself into for weeks flop. I make very little money off these games, but it’s not really about that right now. I am proud of all the games I’ve made. Even the flops. Especially the flops.

I flirt with general ttrpg design burnout from time to time. I over-extend myself and then end up with a dozen projects on my plate, none of which I feel like completing, none of which I have to complete. The burnout has been there, but never lasted long, cured by just jumping to a different project that excited me more. Then came dungeon23.

If you are on the bird app, you probably saw the controversy. I generally shrugged off the “sounds like a burnout machine” and “too much hustle culture” takes. See, I was going to do it totally voluntarily and be totally chill about it. And it was easy! I would finish what I had planned for the day in a matter of minutes. I was working ahead. I had so many plans. It was all bite-sized, easy-to-chew chunks. So, with hubris and an itching desire for validation in my heart, I posted about it, shared some of my early work, and generally got excited for it.

Then I missed a day. And now I’m doing an Animal Crossing. Or at least I was. Let today mark the last day of that nonsense.

I worked consistently until about the sixth day of January. I don’t really want to open the documents to check. Now it’s near the end of the 24th of January.

See, when I was playing Animal Crossing, I wasn’t playing anything else. When I first set Animal Crossing down, it took some time before I played another video game, because if I turned on my Switch I felt like I should be playing Animal Crossing. Eventually I had enough distance from my happy little island to turn on something else.

While I was working on dungeon23, I didn’t work on any other ttrpg projects. I honestly didn’t do much else. When I put down dungeon23, I didn’t feel like doing anything else, because opening up my laptop to think about games meant confronting the not doing of dungeon23. Oops. I did that thing I wasn’t going to do. I let dungeon23 get to me. I felt ashamed about dropping it and not finishing another thing. I felt overwhelmed thinking about it. I felt embarrassed for having talked publicly about what I was going to do with it.

But I know that’s not the way it has to be. Who cares if I make 365 rooms of a dungeon before the end of the year? Only me. I’m working on it being nobody. Will I catch up at some point? Will I reignite the spark? Maybe. But right now I’m working on other stuff and it feels good. I’m lovingly confronting that ickiness in my gut. I’m talking myself into letting go.

Sometimes the very hobbies we do for joy start bringing pressure and shame. It’s easy to hustle at anything. It’s easy to feel proud of that hustle. It’s easy to feel bad about slowing the pace. But I didn’t get into this hobby to pat myself on the back, to make 100 games, to complete every game jam or challenge ever. I got into because I had ideas that wanted out. That's where I'm going from here.

In the spirit of this not being a hustle but a hobby, I'm not editing this. I'm going to go make dinner.

--Daily

[primamchorus]

I'd recently come from WoW with my partner back in 2019 at the very tail end of Stormblood into the expansion drop of Shadowbringers (I also came from a FFXV binge and was devastated to learn we had JUST missed the first crossover event).

I was having a lot of fun just doing things on my own with the prospect of being able to play with my friends at a later time because the Discord group I was part of was filled with my D&D and other TTRPG friends that I've known for about a decade at this point. The owner of the Discord and FC at the time gave me all the permissions needed to decorate for the house, and I spent a good portion of my game time doing that a lot of the time instead of the MSQ.

I also picked up crafting and gathering because I wanted to craft furniture instead of buy it. :^)

I chipped very slowly away at the MSQ when I was feeling up for it until I reached Sastasha. Yep, the level 15 very first baby dungeon.

I asked my friends, "can I do this with just friends, or at a higher level later and just do it on my own?" One of my friends, who I'm still not sure was pranking me or not, said that I couldn't and that I had to play with friends or at least other people.

Well, unfortunately with people waiting for the expansion to drop, a number of my friends were not playing FFXIV, and so I was more playing on my own because my partner was often at work before he was allowed to work remotely due to Covid. This was way before Duty Support, and I couldn't just do the dungeon in Squadrons because I needed to run the dungeon first anyway. Not to mention be in a Grand Company in the first place for that latter bit.

Bear in mind, I had just come from WoW -- I had been playing WoW ever since I was thirteen when it released. I know that the WoW community can be toxic a good majority of the time, and was very grateful that when my partner and I met, we could actually play together. That we could simply duo a lot of content on our own because it removed us from having to deal with a toxic community. I did not have high hopes for even wanting to throw myself into the FFXIV community because my experiences were already tarnished in the social aspect (haha, looks at how I still can't really bring myself to be social).

"Well... you could just... story skip ARR. It's long and boring anyway."

"If I do that, I can also get my mount? Because I can't find a mount vendor."

"Your first mount and being able to ride a mount at all is tied to the MSQ. You have to be about level twenty-ish."

Cue me already spending $11 at the Mog-Station. Already more than I've ever done for WoW because I never bought anything off their cash shop.

My partner also skipped it so we were on the same page as far as experience with the game went.

We did. So. Much. Palace. Of the. Dead. Just to reach level 50 so we could move on.

Honestly, this did not diminish my enjoyment of the game at the time.

Why? Because WoW doesn't have a compelling story, and I played MMOs just to experience the exploration of it, not so much the story as a result. I skipped dialogue in WoW, and even when I played ARR, I clicked through dialogue because I didn't have high expectations. Because other MMOs also didn't have compelling stories that I played.

But then I sat through HW and actually watched cut scenes past the ARR story skip (I never skipped cut scenes, even in WoW or other MMOs, don't you worry), I was like, "okay, we're fugitives cast out to the cold -- literally." But what struck me the most -- what made me willing to make several alts just to replay ARR and experience ARR was that...

Your character is important.

Your character is acknowledged.

Your character has friends and bonds.

Your character pushes the story forward with stalwart allies at their back and side.

You're not just a dispensable, throwaway fighter on the front lines fuelling the stories of plot armor ridden heroes who barely remember your name or deeds.

So yes. I started in Heavensward with my partner. I didn't have the entire context of why we were in Ishgard, just that we were. But the experience I had still made me appreciate the game and appreciate the writing. More so on going back to replay things because looking back on all of it and seeing how everything falls into place -- that a lot of different plot points actually are touched upon and expanded upon (NOW LOOKING AT YOU, HEART OF SABIK) actually mean something or are concluded.

How did everyone play during their first playthrough? Did you read every quest? Only watch cutscenes? Skip everything to get to the end quick? I keep hearing different things and I’m curious!

[keyleth-clay]

Just for funsies, and because literally nobody asked me to, I present

KC’s Top 5 CR One-Shot Wishlist

(starting with my most wanted)

Number 1. A game using an older edition of DnD – especially if it’s, like, ADnD or 2nd edition. I was honestly hoping we’d get this with Calamity, especially considering that Matt had Halas (an archmage from the Calamity) know spells from 3rd edition that don’t exist in 5th edition. Brennan stating that Vespin was a Malconvoker just added fuel to this particular fire. I’ve never actually played DnD in my life, and everything I know about it comes from watching actual play series & reading up on info in between episodes, but even I know that there’s some crazy stuff in older editions, and since most of the cast have only played 5e, I think it would be super fun to see them see where this game came from. And, because the vast majority of actual play use 5e – which makes sense, as it’s the most recent edition of the game, and the edition that actively has new books coming out for it – it would be cool to see that just because these are older editions doesn’t mean that they can’t still be played and enjoyed.

That being said, this one would probably need to be a miniseries (Exandria Unlimited or otherwise), just to give them enough time and space to be able to experience the ins and outs of said older edition(s).

Number 2. Critical Role: The Next Generation. Okay listen.

Listen.

This is actually my absolute-number-1-most-wanted one-shot, but I knocked it down a spot because I know that it’s super unlikely to ever happen. I want a one-shot of Liam’s and Sam’s kids playing DnD – and I want Liam to DM it. He’s already DM’d for his kids, and I absolutely love his DMing style and I miss seeing him running a game. And between the handful of snippets that he’s given us of his daughter’s game with her friends, and the fact that Sam’s daughter came up with Nomen L. Frenno in The Nautilus Ark, we all know they’d come up with some incredible characters. AND if it’s set in Exandria? The cherry on top.

Also, DnD actual play series tend to be… not family-friendly, what with the swearing, alcohol, sexual references, blood & guts – none of which I have a problem with, btw, but I know that there are people who do, and I know that there are people who would love to introduce Critical Role or DnD to friends or family members, but can't because of said friends/family members' opinions of such things. I think it would be a great way to combat some of the stereotypes that certain folks have about DnD and TTRPGs in general, and also show that anybody can enjoy this game.

But, as I said, I know this is super unlikely. Sam and Liam have made it a point to not post photos or videos of their kids online (Sam has only recently started doing so) – which I completely understand and fully agree with – and they don’t even refer to them by their real names in videos – which, again, is the right decision. THAT BEING SAID, if this one-shot ever happened, I would ascend to a higher plane of existence from sheer joy.

Number 3. Adventures of the Darrington Brigade 2: Electric Boogaloo. Matt ended the one-shot with the blatant implication that these dumbasses would return at some point, and I love them so goddamn much. Where’s the AotDB sequel, Mercer?

Number 4. Literally any horror one-shot run by Taliesin. The Thursday By Night two-shot wasn’t exactly my cup of tea (I’m just not a big fan of VtM), but Shadow of the Crystal Palace was SO FUCKING GOOD. I’d love another CoC one-shot, especially because the cast has previously and would continue to go ham with the cosplay and the set design and the props, but any spooky/creepy/horrifying story with Taliesin in the GM’s seat would be amazing. Bonus point for being around Halloween.

Number 5. Obligatory M9 post-campaign epilogue one-shot. I mean, VM got their 3 epilogue one-shots (Search for Grog, Search for Bob, Dalen’s Closet) to tie up the remaining couple of loose ends from the campaign – we need The Mighty Nein, one year after C2 ended, all level 20, taking to the seas once more and taking down Uk’otoa (Uk’otoa) once and for all.

Honourable mentions go to an Exandria Unlimited series set in either Blightshore or the Shattered Teeth, but since we don’t know yet where Bell’s Hells journeys will take them (bc while M9 didn’t travel far from Wildemount, VM were quite the globe- and planetrotters), I decided to leave those off the wishlist.

[untitledtheunknown]

Not saying you have no reason to feel "bleh", sometimes the brain just insists, but there is so much character in the little snippets and commentary and photos you do. Even if they are similar to other people's (which is really hard not to do), they are so unique to themselves it's absolutely worth it.

Hopefully you're feeling better soon, and can find joy in creating and talking about your boys again ❤

Its late so I'm gonna kinda reply to this with what has been going on on my end and where this funk is coming from. Putting it under a read more to spare everyone, but first and foremost I do appreciate all of you beyond belief for reaching out and having such kind words to say. I know its just a me thing but sometimes it all does just get to me. With that being said, feel free to ignore the whole next bit.

I 100% understand and accept its never going to be completely possible to make completely original characters, especially given the restricted format we have for CP2077. I wish we had more power to craft our characters, more like Fallout 4's character creator (which despite the game's flaws I still go back to just to make characters lol). The problem is I see Valor in game and these screenshots of him and while I do like how he looks... its not him. Not completely. His scars are wrong, he doesn't have his tattoos, hair isn't right, he's missing the ports on his body, and overall things just aren't 100% with him. But despite all that, 3rd time around I think he looks pretty good. Again though am limited to what the game allows so a part of me does get a bit offed when I see other ppls Vs that look a bit too similar. I know its just me, I don't take it to heart, its just upsetting reminder I can't make him look how he's supposed to. Same with Umbra, he looks nothing like how he looks in our TTRPG and it really hurts because I spent a long time making him with our GM and I can't show that. Its not possible in game and my art doesn't do him any justice. So it gets frustrating because I look at some of these guys and they're not my characters, just similar figures to them, but not them.

Which is really hard especially when it comes to Val because long ago he was a self insert that I used to project how I wanted to look. I Have never done well with identifying as trans, I don't like to glamorize it or be recognized for it. I'm saving up for chest surgery but I'm fucking terrified of having the scars. I just don't want to be associated and recognized with it after my transition just because it's been really rough to go through in general. I haven't enjoyed this journey at all really, and really wish I didn't have to go through it. Valor in the RPG was my way of coping and going through stuff. Instead of gender though it was his association with cyberware and having parts of his body and "humanity" removed, replaced with machine and wires. I don't project onto him as much as I once did but he still will and forever hold pieces of that history because that's how I made him.

With all that, all I really do have is my words. Part of the problem with that is there's literally years worth of lore. I've been playing the same campaign with the same group of friends since my freshman year of college. So like 6/7 years now? There's a lot. The issue is these are people I'm really good friends with. This game has become a kind of safe zone for us. We're all a bunch of artist that mainly specialized in horror content. We were part of a movie club that mainly watched horror movies. We're the bitches that watched the Saw series during our free hour in the school library, like we are chill. That also just kinda means there's a lot of dark and twisted subject matter that ends up in our games. Characters having experienced some fucked up shit, witnessed some fucked up shit, and have done some fucked up shit. Feel kinda weird posting or sharing some of the more dark things in detail. So end up watering them down and they don't always feel right.

Top of all that, I just don't have the time to do things I wanna do. I feel so goddamn pressured at home and like I should be doing more. I honestly don't know how half these people have the time to learn and do the amount of mods and edits they do. I'm not gonna lie, I'm envious of it. I get 8-10 hours of being yelled at by customers, and then I may or may not have an hour long drive to take my brother to work or pick him up some days, and then whatever my parents have going on. I want to get back into art, I want to learn 3D modeling, I want to learn how to properly mod but I'm usually so stressed out or just exhausted nothing sticks so I don't even bother really. It sucks, because I want to learn, I want to do things, but I can't. I feel like because I have so little private and personal time now if I can't get things quick enough its not worth the effort. Its frustrating but again that's all on me.

And in other news, lotta people around me are dying or have had family die do to COVID and other things. Earlier this year a close friend of mine lost her dad to COVID and she's still struggling with that. A family friend of ours died earlier this week at the age of 35 from unknown causes. I have another friend who is in the psych ward because he is once again dealing with mental stuff and wellness check did not turn up well. Round it all off, my grandpa has basically given up on his life as well, flat out saying there's nothing worth living for anymore. Given his health issues I know its only a matter of time until I'm saying my final goodbye to him as well. So its rough, and fucking sucks. Not much I can do about it, but it makes me feel fucking worse with my own depression and suicidal thoughts. I know I'd never act on the thoughts, but seeing how death effects those around me makes me feel fucking worse for even thinking about it.

The part that sucks the most about it all, and even something I've expressed to my therapist is I'm completely self aware that its all in my head. I know I can't control these situations, and that skills take time to be acquired and grow. I am so grateful for all friends and support I do have, here, on disco, irl, I see the kind words and love and it really means a lot. I feel like a horrible friend because I don't know what to do really. I know its in my head, and I know what I can and can't control. I know what I need to do, yet I don't feel any better. I feel worse, I feel like I'm distant, and dismissive. I feel like what content I am putting out is stale and boring. I just feel lost and I'm not sure what piece I'm missing to really get things going again. I love my characters, I love making stuff with them. I love the story arch I have for Val and Ker and I want to share all of that with you all. I just feel really weird.

[bronanlynch]

recent media consumption summary

it’s been a while huh. sorry this one is all text but finding images takes up way more of my brain

listening: for some unknown reason I’ve had Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne stuck in my head nonstop for the past several days. sometimes you need to listen to ‘not like other girls’ pop punk from the 00s as a treat I guess

reading: making slow progress through Harrow the Ninth, I don’t understand what’s happening but I enjoy the vibes. this series sure can fit so many terrible woman

reread Six of Crows (and part of Crooked Kingdom) because after watching Shadow & Bone I missed my terrible children. forgot that Kaz is so much more of an asshole in the book that you get to see in the show and I do love that and think it’s fun when he does terrible crimes

also working my way through Lord Seventh because sometimes what you need is a BL novel about political intrigue. also because it’s A Lot easier for me to read things that are on my computer instead of in a physical book because reading a physical book is a commitment to closing my computer and only thinking about one thing for an extended period of time which is difficult because my brain doesn’t work

watching: Word of Honor, as everyone can probably tell from, y’know, my entire blog. I would say I’m sorry but I’m not, it’s not My fault that it’s the only thing I can think about or that most of my conversations with my roommate are just us saying “oh my god they’re in love” back and forth

Nirvana in Fire, because once again, love a political intrigue/court drama. I’ve decided that the reason I love that kind of story so much is because it hits the same part of my brain as a heist movie except slower, because it’s still all about watching a plan come together, except instead of lots of fast-paced heist sequences most of the action is people sitting in rooms talking to each other, and I am a very dialogue-driven writer and consumer of media

Shadow and Bone, like almost everyone else on the internet apparently. my roommates were like “Eliot you need to watch this show it has so many things that you like” and I was like “yes I’m already watching it and I read the books so I’ve been Waiting for this for so long.” anyway it was fun and extremely pretty, and it was interesting to see them adapt various parts of the source material at the same time, even if I think they sometimes did so in ways that will weaken later character arcs (if the Six of Crows character are Already this cool and badass and able to take jobs overseas, how are they going to have any growth left during the events of the books that are presumably gonna be next season’s plot? who knows!). my main Actual Serious Critique is that some of the treatment of race was. kinda weird? there’s a lengthier discussion of that in this article but Imo it was. kind of a weird choice on the part of the showrunners to depict racism as the two light-skinned biracial leads having people be mean about their looks, meanwhile there are plenty of other characters of color for whom that just. doesn’t seem to be an issue? especially when some of the racism towards the main character comes from other people of color? and that’s just kinda not addressed

had a Godzilla movie marathon with my roommates, we watched Shin Godzilla (2016, the only one we watched that was actually good, focused the most on 1) showing me the cool monster 2) the bureaucracy and corruption in the government response and 3) the actual human cost of that kind of disaster, I’m sure there are plenty of thinkpieces on American vs. Japanese disaster movies and how national traumas and tragedies play into that), part of Godzilla (2014, bad and boring and barely shows you the monster so we skimmed it), Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019, fun for a stupid loud action movie, they showed me plenty of cool monsters, the final boss battle showed my former workplace being destroyed by a giant monster), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021, slightly less fun and made less sense but there was a Godzilla mech powered by the brain of one of the monsters from King of Monsters and I think they should’ve done more with that)

I think the SamBucky show had one more episode since last time I did this? anyway the finale was bad. Sam’s speech about how the rich politicians suck was good but it came after they killed the people who were actually trying to help so it kinda didn’t mean as much as it should’ve. anyway here are two articles talking about how much the politics suck because wow what an incoherent centrist mess. also super fucked up to have a white guy who represents American imperialism invoke BLM as a gotcha against a Black woman who’s trying to help marginalized people

playing: entirely TTRPGs this time, sorry Daud. played more Beam Saber as usual, and also Breakup on Re-Entry and Tidepools, two-person games about the dramatic irony of having a mech fight with your partner without knowing their identity and about mermaid-human romance, respectively

making: Zan made bread from scratch and I turned it into garlic bread, I didn’t take any pictures because I forgot but trust me it was tasty

writing: nothing posted but Zan and I are co-writing a vampire AU because we are nothing if not on our bullshit at all times. we finished the outline yesterday and it’s 22 pages so uh. that’s sure happening. most of my writing recently has been for zines which I’m not allowed to share yet but when I can I will be insufferable about so. you have been warned