#and I wish I could say this was a singular instance

[bumbleboa]

of all the good reasons to have an ace headcanon for him, why would you land on this

[galedekarios]

i was thinking a bit more about the drow twins scene again in relation as to why gale might go along with it if so 'persuaded' by tav.

i've talked about the scene itself already (more than once), and i have seen other people discuss the topic very well, too.

i think i have come around as to why larian has the option there, and why gale might agree to go along with it, despite not only his initial refusal and not wishing to talk or think about it afterwards if tav tries to talk to him about it, but also rejecting every other to open the relationship up outside of this scene.

i have seen people say quite often that gale is toxic, but i honestly think that it leans more the other way around: gale is willing to accept toxicity from his partner to some extent, if it means he'll also be "loved".

one could already extrapolate that from what little we know from mystra's relationship with him, but also from the things he's willing to accept from a player character, including a tav, who, in this scene, can potentially coerce him with a dc 25 persuasion check into a foursome/fivesome without prior discussion.

i think this scene shows where gale is at this point in time, relationship-wise and love-wise. by staying even though he refuses initially, and i think it was intentional (in hindsight) on larian's part.

he endures imo because at least in this scenario with the drow twins, he was included here. asked to participate. he's not strong enough to break up with his partner, if they still extend at least this much to him.

whereas he does break up if tav cheats on him without including him, or he feels the relationship may be subsumed by someone else (i.e. the player engaging romantically with someone other than him, see his reaction to also romantically engaging with any of the other companions).

i do believe he's enduring tav's toxicity here with the mindset of pleasing them. he'll accept this, hopes that they have sated their curiosity now that they are done with their "rutting" as he puts it - and hopefully afterwards the entire affair then can be "confined to the footnotes" of their romance:

Gale: Ahem. I hope you’re not here to ask about our recent, erm, activities. I’d rather those were consigned to the footnotes of our romance, if it’s all the same with you.

i'm sorry if this is incoherent. i'm still trying to order my thoughts about this, but yeah, i just think this is where i land on it.

that even with how badly tav treats him here by springing this onto him, by not giving him time to think and even actively encouraging him not to think about it, he's still acknowledged as their partner. singular. and it's clear this is 'just' a sex thing.

the instances where he breaks up with tav is when tav sleeps with mizora, where he was not included nor acknowledged as their partner, or consulted prior (even as briefly as with the drow twins), or if tav tries to bring someone else into their romance, were he believes he would be lost in the equation of adding another person to what he shares with his partner now.

so here, in this moment, he just does it bc well, his partner told him not to overthink, right.

and he loves them. and he wants to please them. and he might come to enjoy it, just like they said. and it'll keep them happy.

he hopes it won't come up again.

(i should clarify that this is a personal interpretation and one that i’m not comfortable arguing over.)

[misscammiedawn]

I wanted to say thanks for that write up on the depiction of DID and Mr. Robot! You said everything that's been burning in my head for years now after watching. Hearing another system's thoughts on it was something we've been looking for.

Part of our inner world is also part of the NHM in London lol.

Truly and sincerely thank you.

First off, I am delighted to know that we're not alone in having the Natural History Museum as host to a segment of inner world. Would love to know which exhibit/area you see when you visit, though no obligation to respond. We know that these things can be deeply personal.

The show may not strike with every system but no two plural folx are going to have the same connections and attachments and comforts and that's 100% okay. For those who share our affection for Mr. Robot I am glad you get to enjoy the show and our ramblings on it.

Wishing you and your system well and thank you again for the ask. You've no idea how much feedback comforts and encourages.

Asks are always open.

-

Post the asker is referring to in the question, btw:

Also... have some random rambles about Mr. Robot in a readmore, because I feel like typing a bunch.

-

Also, because it gives us an opening to talk about it. Have some random Robot thoughts:

Mr. Robot is and remains my favorite show. I had started typing "our" favorite and got a sharp rejection so shall use singular pronouns. It has its issues, the use of the term "real" for instance, but with good faith a lot of it can vanish. Not all. But most.

I've been thinking about things a lot more since writing the essay and there are things I wish I had spent longer discussing. For instance during the portion where I wrote about how Coney Island represents a safety in nostalgia, a fortress for the Alderson siblings to hide in their treasured childhood memories; I didn't mention that both Trenton and Mobley use their own nostalgia as their hacker aliases with Trenton being where she lived when young and DJ Mobley clearly being someone Mobley found joy in at a younger age.

Similarly Hot Carla's name is selected because of a hair dresser who validated her gender identity and sheltered her when her parents were abusive. Whiterose's hacker alias is the last moment her life could have been the "good future" that she envisioned and worked so hard to force into reality.

I do like that pretty much every character who has an alias picks their alias as an identity forged in positive memories. Elliot clearly did with Mr. Robot being the store where he and his dad were friends and his other alias (The Gentleman) is a reference to The Careful Massacre of the Bourgeoisie, a movie he and Darlene watched every year that became the entire iconography for the fsociety movement.

If I were to ever do another Mr. Robot essay I think it would be on the way each character insists on living in the past in order to escape their present and how that relates to the way trauma invades the present. Not going to promise that, though. We're already snowed under with our Loop and Beatrice essays.

I think that can be one of the big failings of the show, actually, especially for those watching it as it aired. The show is deeply ingrained in the perspectives of characters who have critically distorted beliefs on reality and the show doesn't really start laying down objective reality until late season 3 after the cyber bombings.

Someone watching the show for the first time can watch Elliot's edgelord rants about "Fuck Society" and think that the show believes these things rather than its main character and we do not get the show delivering the message that it's small minded and childish (which, given that Elliot is stuck in trauma time and perpetually reliving a horrifically abusive childhood he cannot fully understand because he won't allow himself to remember clearly, is exactly what he is) until Irving and Price each spell it out to Mr. Robot in S3E7/9 or Whiterose outright calls Elliot on it in their final confrontation.

I adore the show for its patience and how it tells such an emotional and complicated story over its 45 hour runtime but I do understand people watching the first hour, getting the wrong idea about where the journey is going and opting out.

Hell I understand a system going in for DID representation and not having the patience to stick around the show's Fight Club pastiche era before starting to get to the meat of things.

But hey. I gave the show a shot and can't go back now. I love it too darned much.

Also because I don't want to start another thread on it, I do want to say that the show is truly frustrating in how it depicts economic collapse for society and yet none of the characters are ever impacted by it.

Darlene is homeless throughout the show, spare her stint living in an FBI safe house and she has no job through the show's run. She is never hurting for money, even when the banking system of the world collapses. She likely is stealing but it's frustrating that we only hear about the financial ruin in the periphery. We learn of the eviction of Elliot's neighbors spare for the kind older man who takes care of Flipper but Elliot himself can buy entire new computers on a whim and go months between jobs or spend a season in prison and not be impacted.

Like the show depicts the world going into a major decline during the economic crisis and it's clear by Season 4 that the show is venting frustration that when the banking system failed in 2008 the ones responsible were not harmed at all and it was the public who suffered and things just went back to how it was in time; it's just... every character is living comfortably in New York and Darlene is the closest we have to a "poor" character.

But that's a rant we have on every show. Poverty doesn't really exist in television. You watch a show like Ted Lasso and everyone is a millionaire. Even the Kit Manager (Nate, not Will) has parents who own a home, sent him to higher education and gave him private violin lessons. Kit Manager salary is about £25-50 per year, even for a Premier League Team.

...but my discomfort with how poverty is never represented on TV is just a random rant and I'm going way off topic.

I'll stop rambling now.

[vickyvicarious]

Franz, meanwhile, was thinking about the extraordinary shudder that had passed through the whole of the Count of Monte Cristo's body at the moment when he was more or less obliged to give Albert his hand.

I can definitely see the leftovers of Dumas' initial plan to begin with Franz's narration and do a more outside POV slow reveal. It works better the way it is, but there's all these moments that we readers would otherwise be puzzling over right along with him. Having him be so observant and suspicious of the Count also helps to draw attention to little moments that might otherwise slip by some readers. I really enjoy Franz's perspective, and kind of wish he had a stronger presence later on, or got to figure out a more complete picture.

But also, this particular line, closing out 'The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian', is particularly interesting to me because at other points Dantes does touch Albert without reacting so dramatically. The very next chapter, in fact, he offers his hand to both men when saying goodbye to them. It's obvious his initial reaction is related to Albert being the child of Mercedes and Fernand, and there are multiple other instances where he does a relatively poor job of keeping his cool the first time he meets someone from his past, and only gets away with it because they don't recognize him and thus don't understand the relevance of his behavior. But this isn't his first time meeting Albert; in fact, he's been deliberately cultivating his acquaintance this whole time. It's even possible that he deliberately set the situation up for Albert to get kidnapped so that he could step in and help with the ransom, though I'm not certain about that (regardless I don't think he intended Franz to overhear him and know about his connection with the bandits).

Albert initiates the handshake that makes Dantes shudder. In fact, he does so while expressing his great gratitude. Is that why this reaction happens? Dantes usually doesn't seem to have any qualms about involving the innocent next generation in his revenge, but this is the first instance, and it's face-to-face, and it's Mercedes' son who may bear enough of a resemblance to her that it causes him some pain/distress the first time he really sees the contrast between Albert's gratitude and his own plans. If so, then he does get over it pretty quickly (the very next chapter he's calling him "dear Monsieur de Morcerf" with a "singular" smile, so he seems to be a bit sarcastic and maybe even enjoying being so).

It might also be related to Albert offering the handshake when Dantes didn't necessarily expect it. Other times, he's more controlled because he knows what's coming, but perhaps he didn't plan on it in that moment. He was forced to shake Albert's hand by propriety and the relationship he'd been cultivating, however little he wanted to do so. If he didn't deliberately set up the kidnapping/didn't want to do more than put up the rest of the ransom, then that could also contribute - while salvageable and in the end even more beneficial, the unexpected variable may be making him feel a bit out of control and tense. He's spent a long time trying to make sure everything is lined up just right after all. While he can definitely adapt as needed he might not like to, particularly in this first closer interaction on the path of his revenge really getting underway.

[dragon-communion]

Compiling St. Trina iconography here for my own reasons:

Sword of St. Trina: visually based on a real world sword, El Cid's Tizona. The inscription on the blade is likely related to the inscription on Tizona, though the in-game script is frustratingly untranslatable. Omnipresent lily imagery. I wish I could get a better look at the crossguard, but the forte has a cute little flower on it. The grip is a depiction of St. Trina on her side, possibly asleep. Might be made of ivory? The pommel looks like a bud of some sort.

St. Trina's Crystal Ball: the two prominent images are her lily and another image of Trina herself. The commitment to full-body imagery here is interesting, especially since it's so vague in both instances. Potentially ivory again. The bottom of the frame has what might be the same bud, but more open, and directly opposite Trina is another depiction of the cute flower from the sword's forte. What is it? It doesn't look like a lily, more like a daisy at best. The crystal ball is dark and cloudy, possibly some sort of mineral other than glass. While colored glass does exist in the Lands Between, I haven't seen a great quantity of purple. I have seen purple gems though. The crystal ball doesn't seem designed to sit on a surface the way most are, nor is it apparently built to fit into a frame. I'd theorize it's meant to be hung from the stem of the lily at the top, possibly from a belt for easy transport.

St. Trina's Arrows: Considering the extreme intricacy of their design, I'm surprised they don't have a matching bow the way the Serpent Arrows do. The "fletching" is two entwined lilies, which are debatably functional as fletching, but I'm more interested in the fact that they are entwined. Most depictions of the lilies are a single curled-over stem- even the crystal ball, with a pair of them engraved beneath the handle, has two separate lilies. I'll have to do more research into arrowheads to draw any conclusions about the shape of these, but the engraving on them seems to match engravings on the sword. The little daisy pattern from the forte of the sword is present at the base of the arrowheads.

Fevor's Cookbook(s): Obviously research notes as compared to other papers in the Lands Between, examining the properties and anatomy of the lily, although the script itself is illegible. The paper itself interests me more. Paper is expensive, and the paper in these cookbooks is outright elaborate, tied with a ribbon that matches the borders. There's some sort of triple-circle motif in the background beneath the text that is defying my best efforts at identification, but something about it reminds me of the circular embroidery on the clothes of the Oracle Envoys.

St. Trina's Torch: I think I finally have confirmation that the Spirit Calling Bell and Rebirth Monuments could have something to do directly with St. Trina. It bears further investigation, but the heartlike symbol on the pommel of the torch is surprisingly useful. The helix on the handle less so, but there are enough similar motifs in-game that I'm getting excited about the possibilities. I am fairly certain I've seen that heart either in the Divine Towers or somewhere around the Giantsforge. Other people have said plenty about the potential butterfly motif and the singular eye, but I'm more interested in the floral design directly above her head. Could it be that daisy design I saw earlier? Could it be a stylistic floral design of the giants' meteor sigil? Hard to say. I wish I could get a better angle on the torch to see if it's burning anything notable, the way the Ghostflame torch is. Given the way it seems carved from stone, and the handle is wrapped with rope at the bottom rather than carved for comfort, I'm almost inclined to think the torch was meant to be installed in some sort of physical sconce rather than carried. There's something distinctly architectural about it that doesn't match the other torches. I wonder if it was inspired by something.

[lifebloodblue]

So in Star Trek: Discovery, the episode “If Memory Serves” implies that what damaged Michael and Spock’s sibling relationship is her insulting him to try to get him to stay away from her (which she believed was for his own good because of the logic extremists) when they were kids.

And then it just kind of implies that they quite possibly never got along again after that until the events of season 2 like 20 years after that??

I don’t think that’s really what happened. The Talosians wanted the memory of what started their conflict, the very first instance of it (aside from Spock not being welcoming to her when she was first introduced to him) rather than any one singular thing that completely drove a long-lasting rift between them.

I mean, while they were still children/teenagers and living in their parents’ home, Sarek and Amanda would encourage them to get along with one another, whether or not they knew what Michael said to Spock.

Here’s what I think got them to the point that by the beginning of season 2 they hadn’t spoken in years, the same reason Spock also hadn’t spoken to Sarek in that long: Spock choosing to join Starfleet over attending the Vulcan Science Academy. The fact that Michael attended instead of him just reminded him that he didn’t live up to his father’s expectations of him. Sarek was more understanding of Michael’s humanity than of his. He never expected Michael to be completely Vulcan since she was fully human, but he only ever wanted Spock to be Vulcan even though he was half human.

Perhaps Michael blamed herself because there was some kind of confrontation between the two of them about the matter. Maybe she insisted that Sarek knew what was best for both of them and that going against his wishes was disrespectful to everything he had done for them, and Spock just wouldn’t hear it. He joined Starfleet in part to escape the feeling that he didn’t belong, and maybe she could sense that about him and told him that he was just running away from his problems rather than facing them.

What I’m trying to say is, based on the way the 2 talk about each other and the bond between them, I don’t think the only time they ever got along was when they were kids prior to her insulting him and then when they found each other during season 2 before Michael went to the future. We really don’t have the full story.

[azure7539arts]

Do you ever think about how Li Susu was always supposed to be Tantai Jin's Hou Yi, the one to shoot him down? That everything was already set up all the way from their lives as Sang Jiu and Ming Ye?

Like, I'm pretty sure a lot of people have heard of the story of Hou Yi shooting down nine suns, leaving behind the singular remaining one in the sky. But there's a slightly different iteration to that tale.

According to Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经), off in the Eastern Sea, there was a divine tree Fu Sang where ten three-legged crows perched. These crows were children of the Eastern Sky God, Di Jun, and every day, each one of them would take turn flying over the sky, and the light that shone from them represented the sun. One day, disobeying their father, all ten crows flew out to play, and their combined light scorched through the earth, leaving a catastrophe in their wake. In an attempt to punish them, Di Jun bestowed upon Hou Yi, known for his skills in archery, a red bow and white arrows so Hou Yi could go and teach his children a lesson. However, these crows refused to listen and dismissed Hou Yi's words, and in a fit of anger, Hou Yi drew his bow and shot down nine crows, sparing just the one that is the Sun everyone sees today.

So yeah.

The three-legged crow being Jing Kingdom's royal totem; Tantai Jin prominently using crows more so than anything else in the show; nine white soul-slaying arrows spikes anyone? :,)

Also, guess who had a red bow, and who else came from the East (Eastern Sea) and also used a bow as a gift?

Miscellaneous:

That last three-legged crow, in some instances, was later known as the Vermilion Bird (朱雀). According to some sources, in Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Vermilion Bird was also referred to as the Mysterious Bird/Black Bird (玄鸟), which is the name to one of the main theme songs of the show.

In the aftermath of that tale, upset by Hou Yi's action, Di Jun exiled both Hou Yi and his wife Heng'e (or Chang'e) from the Heavenly Realm to live as humans in the Mortal Realm. Heng'e is the Goddess of the Moon, and Tantai Jin is also associated with the moon. (Once again, I would like to repeat that Tantai Jin is literally Li Susu's wife.)

The name of divine tree Fu Sang (扶桑) shares the same 'Sang' as the one in Sang Jiu's name: 桑酒. Fu Sang is said to be a tree of life that grows somewhere in the Eastern Sea where the sun rises (flashbacks to Tantai Jin's developing love thread always being depicted as a tree growing out from under a seabed.)

Personal rambling:

It is said that, sometimes, the Phoenix and the Vermilion Bird are mistaken for one another because they both have red feathers and are engulfed in flames. There are also debates about which one of these mythical birds is the superior one, but going off on depictions in the show alone, the Phoenix once belonged in the original line up of the twelve Gods in Shangqing Realm, so the hierarchy is already set there. And idk, it's just another factor that ultimately serves the angle of "she's my better half" from Tantai Jin, because I don't doubt that this will always be his thought process when it comes to Li Susu.

Another thing about people sometimes mixing up the Phoenix and the Vermilion Bird is that it makes me think about the saying of how people in an intimate relationship will eventually start to resemble one another. And also how Tantai Jin did his best to mold the image of Cang Jiumin into what he thought would best fit what Susu must've had in mind for him when she'd switched his Evil Bone for her Immortal Marrow. Because while, yes, it was his own wish to become a better person for her, it was a decision that was deeply rooted in her own wish for him as well.

To that end, Tantai Jin is the mirror that reflects what Li Susu thinks about him. In her life as Ye Xiwu, Li Susu was never able to put down her prejudices against him and the trauma that she had had to go through because of him as the Devil God, so her thoughts about him tended to always go for the worst first and foremost whenever she thought he'd done something bad, and Tantai Jin reflected this. When they spent their time later on as Li Susu and Cang Jiumin together, no matter how short-lived this was, she finally was able to put genuine trust in him and his capacity for goodness, and so he reflected this as well. Like how moonlight is actually the Moon reflecting back the light it's receiving from the Sun, Tantai Jin was also able to burn so brightly toward the end because of Susu, you know? :,)

[almondcup]

Identity and Truth in Alias Grace

Although I haven't finished reading this book yet, I felt I needed to put some notes down unless I forget and before I procrastinate.

All the same, Murderess is a strong word to have attached to you. It has a smell to it, that word - musky and oppressive, like dead flowers in a vase. Sometimes at night I whisper it over to myself: Murderess, Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt across the floor. Murderer is merely brutal. It’s like a hammer, or a lump of metal. I would rather be a murderess than a murderer, if those are the only choices.

In one of the most elegant, violent, poetic quotes in the novel, we find Grace trying to adopt a word for herself. Murderess is how she has been described, at the time of judgement, and throughout history. Here she tries to identify with it, and make it her own. It demonstrates her attempt at maintaining some limited control over her identity, and her perception of herself, when society has already assigned her one.

And I wonder, how can I be all of these different things at once?

The quote refers to Grace’s musings regarding the various descriptions of her transcribed in the papers. From conflicting descriptions of "inhuman demon" or "innocent victim", to even basic misconception of physical attributes such as green eyes or blue eyes. She struggles to keep pace with an image of herself which is beyond her, and which she does not see in herself.

You should ask the lawyers and the judges, and the newspaper men, they seem to know my story better than I do myself.

A lot of this difficulty in maintaining control over her own story is as a result of how her case was sensationalised in the newspapers. Grace’s story is one that everyone believes they know themselves, thoroughly, as if they were present. We see this even in modern cases today, and perhaps it is even exacerbated as a result of social media, where even those completely detached from the situation claim to know the ultimate truth from the comfort of their homes.

When others are vehemently confident that their opinion of you (and your case) is correct, you begin to question what you know of yourself.

And that’s what it was like at the trial, I was there in the box of the dock but I might as well have been made of cloth, and stuffed, with a china head; and I was shut up inside that doll of myself, and my true voice could not get out.

However it was not merely the media who sculpted Grace’s persona for the sake of judgement. The lawyers too told Grace what to say, and how to behave. In this case, the lawyers also sculpted Grace’s identity, either to paint her as a manipulator or as a mislead fool - both being extremes in order to convince others of her supreme darkness, or else light. Identity in the eyes of the court was a picture to paint, more than a given truth.

Now, many years in the future, we follow Grace recounting her story before Simon. In this instance, Grace has full control over her own portrayal, and as a reader we are reminded of this multiple times. She continuously shapes her own identity in his mind based on what she chooses to show or say.

But I don’t say this. I look at him stupidly. I have a good stupid look which I have practised.

Because he was so thoughtful to tell my story, and to make it as interesting as I can, and rich in incident, as a sort of return gift to him

But in Grace’s power, we also must understand that her portrayal may also be biased, according to how she wishes to portray herself. We must accept there is no singular known truth in retelling.

Today when I woke up there was a beautiful pink sunrise, with the mist lying over the fields like a white soft cloud of muslin, and the sun shining through the layers of it all blurred and rosy like a peach gently on fire. In fact I have no idea of what kind of a sunrise there was.

I wouldn't describe identity as inherently fragile, but it is certainly elastic. It can be moulded, sculpted, and stretched. It can transform into unrecognisable shapes when travelling from mind to mind, story to story. It is an adaptive thing, and an uncontrollable thing. It is not always possible to choose how we are presented to others, and even when we present ourselves we do not often do it honestly. The theme of identity is in the name of the book: Alias Grace. Identity can be an alias we assume. There are many of them, and we can choose which to adopt, but be frustrated by the ones that are given to us.

[roserysttrpggarden]

Homebrew Class design For Dummies: Part 1: The Foundation

Hey you~! Have you ever wanted to make a homebrew class for Dungeons and Dragons fifth-edition? Perhaps you wanted to recreate a character from a book or movie you like that can't be represented by any existing class or multi class options, maybe you want to recreate a class from older editions? Or maybe you just have a really strong concept in mind but struggle to put words to document, well have you come to the right place. This blog is meant to serve as a guide for those wishing to make their own class, starting from a simple concept to a finalized product.

This first part of the series will go over the conception of a homebrew class, talking about the concept, role and other relating topics. Over the course of this series you'll also see the live development of a homebrew class "The Avatar" inspired by Hercules and Maui, the avatars are warriors that wield the powers of god, empowered by the legends that surround them.

When making a homebrew class, the first thing you should have in mind is a concept. Maybe you want to play a certain fantasy archetype you want to play that isn't possible with existing content, maybe you have a mechanic in mind that wouldn't fit as a subclass feature, or you want to expand on more forgotten aspects of D&D like tattoo magic. Whatever your starting point may be, make sure to jot down other themes and ideas you want to present. Given the themes of the avatar I can already jot down some ideas

Martial Class

Customizable blessings from their legends

Likely charisma focused

Buffs via dealing damage

I will preface that, when making the concept for your class, keep these things in mind

1: Can you make the same type of character with existing options (Not including reflavoring/reskinning.) Admittedly the avatar class concept could leans into themes touched-on divine soul and oath of glory, however I feel that the herculean folk hero archetype is flexible enough to warrant its own class, given how vast the subjct is.

2: Is my concept flexible enough to make subclasses? For instance, say you want to make a caster that steals its opponents powers, cool...But what do you do for subclasses? In this case the avatars sub classes-their divine exemplar can come from which god empowers them, one subclass for example could be the exemplar of light, the exemplar of war, exemplar of death, etc.

Okay so, got all of that concept stuff down? Good, now is time to get some gameplay details down, nothing concrete just yet, but rather basic ideas of how and where your class is fighting. Now would be the time to bust out a writing program, such as google docs, notes, or anything alike.

Class Role

Your classes role is what they do in combat, do they want to deal damage? Heal? Defend? While this might simplify each type of role I listed some examples bellow:

Striker: Strikers want to get up close and personal, dealing high single target damage. Most martial classes fall under this archetype, along with Hexblade Warlocks or College of Swords Bards.

Blaster: Blasters are similar to brawers in that they focus on dealing damage, unlike brawlers they focus their efforts to large groups-rather than a singular target, examples include Evocation Wizard and Light domain Cleric.

Buffers: Buffers focus on provided positive effects to enhance their teams performance, such as better dice rolls or increased damage.. Buffers include most Bards, Clerics and Druids.

Controller: Controllers focus on impeding their enemies, limiting their options or event preventing them from acting at all. Controllers include Druids, Monks (Via stunning strike) and Undead Warlocks.

Debuffer: Similar to controllers, the debuffer focuses on weakening their opponents, making them less effective.. Debuffers include College of Eloquence Bards and Divination Wizards.

Healer: Healers do exactly what their name implies, keeping their party at well healed and removing negative effects. Healers include Life domain Clerics, Celestial Warlocks and Way of Mercy Monks.

Skirmisher: Skirmishers focus on darting in and out of the frontlines, remaning mobile all the way: Skirmishers include Rogues, Monks and any character with the Mobile feat.

Tank: Tanks focus on drawing enemy fire away from their allies and towards themselves. Tanks include Armorer (Guardian) Artificers, Barbarian and Oath of Redemption Paladins.

Keep in mind that some classes can fill multiple of these rolls through subclasses, feats, etc. Cleric immediately comes to mind thanks to their varied spell list and all of the divine domains present to them. For our avatar class I think a mix of striker and buffer could be interesting, where your goal is to deal damage, but also help your allies deal more damage and stay in battle.

Area

Also referred to as a characters "zone" a characters preferred area is where they'll be hanging out in combat, this information is usually indicated by things such as hit die, proficiency, etc. The obvious example is barbarian, who with their d12 hit die and martial weapon proficiency are designed to be up in the thick of things, meanwhile a wizard with their measly d6 hit die and no armor proficiency are best set for the backline, sure there may be ways to alter your zone, but having a concrete "My character is best at this area" can help defining their role in combat.

For the avatar, I will settle on it having a d10 hit die, both cause I imagine a demigod archetype would be rather tanky, but also since I imagine the class largely staying in front lines of combat, with them potentially being able to do range combat similarly to a fighter.

Out of Combat Role

While D&D combat is fun (depending on who you ask) it is equally as important your class to think about your classes role out of combat, will they attempt to persuade the king to aid the party? Will they be lurking in the shadows, setting a deadly ambush? A classes out of combat roll is supported by particular ability scores, proficiency and even class abilities. Going back to barbarian, due to their strength focus and proficiency in athletics are going to be the teams brawn, rogues thanks to expertise and natural affinity for thieves tools are likely to scout out ahead, disarming traps. To give some more concrete examples of roles, the list includes:

Brawn: Brawns use their strength to break doors, push away obstacles and grapple. They use strength and prefer athletics, acrobatics and sometimes intimidation.

Brain: Brains are the thinking men, they use their mind to solve problems and decipher mysteries. Brains use intelligence and wisdom, preferring arcana, investigation, history, nature and religion.

Face: Probably the most infamous DnD archetype, the face uses honeyed words to help their team. Faces use charisma and wisdom and prefer deception, persuasion, performance, intimidation and insight.

Heart: The heart is like the party glue, their job is to keep everyone healed up and ready for the day ahead. Hearts prefer wisdom and charisma, preferring animal handing and medicine.

Scout: Scouts gather information and disarmed traps, laying the path for their team to follow and take advantage on. Scouts use dexterity and either wisdom or intelligence, preferring stealth, sleight of hand, investigation, perception and nature.

Keep in mind that a class can have multiple of these rolls present at once, just cause you're a paladin doesn't mean you always have to do the convincing. In our case the avatar will serve primarily as a brawn and face, it feels like a natural given the concept.

Summary

To summarize all of the points made within this write-up. When you start designing a homebrew class you should:

Start with a strong concept.

Jot down your initial ideas.

Think about your classes role in and out of combat, as well as their area of play.

Get to work.

Final Note

Before closing out this first part, I want to go over some terminology you might hear floating around that I want to clarify before moving on as they'll be referenced going foward.

A martial class refers to a class that doesn't have spellcasting as a core feature, while D&D's official martials are mostly nonmagical-warrior types. A martial class can still be magical in nature, so go nuts with it! They're really fun to make.

Full casters are classes that focus on casing spells (duh) full casters possess a certain number of spell slots to cast increasingly powerful spells. Warlock is the one outlier since they work on their own system (Being pact magic)

Half-Casters are a mix between the two, while they can only cast up to 5th-level spells, they make up for it with martial ability built into their base kit (fighting styles and extra attack) they're great fun I'll tell ya!

I'll also recommend two resources for class design, the first is Indestructoboys homebrew design masterclass series, where I get many of my concepts from, alongside the guide to balancing classes on the Unearthed Arcana subreddit, which provides a good framework for future entries into this. Otherwise if you've made it this far, thank you for reading, and I wish you good luck in your homebrew creation. Tune in next week where we begin to put mechanics to document, but until then, see you around.

D&D Homebrew Class Design Masterclass | Before 1st-Level

Guide to Balancing Classes

[liskantope]

Half a year ago, I got myself involved in a thread which compared trans rights to gay rights and tried to make a case that, in terms of arguments for each, the issues are not as directly comparable as a lot of people seem to think. A lot of my perspective comes from a sort of an empathy I feel with the non- religiously conservative, non- radical feminist motivations for doubting some of what this social movement is pushing for, particularly with regard to its disconnect with how more traditional people view identity categories.

This portion of a recent interview on the YouTube channel Nonzero (see until 47:43) is a stunningly crystal-clear illustration of the attitude and motivation I was trying to describe at the time, so much so that I think it's instructive and kind of fascinating to watch, even if it's almost so extreme and ridiculous as to come across as parody. (Warning: a certain kind of non-conservative, non-TERFy transphobia, which I'll quote bits of below.)

The interviewee, Norman Finkelstein, feels violently averse to using "they/them" pronouns purely because it would be implicitly affirming what in his mind is an untruth. (Presumably he would not want to refer to a male-presenting student as "she" or a female-presenting student as "he", for a similar reason, but this doesn't directly come up.) He appears to have no other motive, but the motive of not liking to "play along" with someone else's factual untruth is plenty for him. There is no particular social conservatism evident in him; he states plainly that he's fine with androgyny, of people dressing/presenting any way they wish, and that stuff doesn't bother him in the slightest, because that doesn't involve saying things that are untrue. Politically and philosophically he is obviously left-leaning, pro-science, and non/anti-religious in most areas: he repeatedly likens affirming someone's gender identity to affirming that the world is flat or that climate change isn't real or "all the craziness you attribute to the Trump base". Not pronouncing things that imply a factual untruth or deny objective reality is sacred to him as a professor and an intellectual, is what he is saying.

Also, this:

I'm not insulting anyone. If I'm calling you a "he", it's not like I'm calling you the N word or I'm calling you a c*** or something. It's just a relatively stable identifier.

Notice how completely uncomprehending Finkelstein is of the notion that not affirming someone's claimed identity (on the basis of what he believes to be objective reality or established definitions of words) could possibly be an insult or convey lack of respect or qualify as dehumanizing treatment of someone else. That a refusal to affirm someone's claimed identity (on the basis that it denies objective reality) is somehow a form of dehumanization is a completely unfathomable concept to many.

Now I find Finkelstein's perspective flawed on at least half a dozen counts, and fallacious on a particular fundamental level in conflating different types of "objective facts" (something that Robert Wright, who takes a much more reasonable, kind, and open-minded agnostic view on all of this, gently tried to push back on him about). I do think Finkelstein had some good points later in the excerpt about not forcing jarring changes in language down everyone's throats -- this is how I feel about artificial and ugly terms like Latinx, for instance, and I would have had some issues with xie/xir and the like becoming widespread nonbinary pronouns -- but in my opinion these points can't be applied well to using singular "they" for nonbinary people. Moreover, Finkelstein comes across as hardly more than a crusty, curmudgeonly jackass throughout, one who proudly and stubbornly adheres to a disagreeable absolutist view and refuses to open his mind to where his defense of that view might be flawed.

(More minor point: in arguing that mispronouning someone isn't a form of insult, he compares it to factually saying someone's hair is white or that their muscular dystrophy will prevent them from running a 4-minute mile. But, while maybe "insult" or "dehumanization" wouldn't be the best way to describe these things, they are certainly rude in certain contexts: you probably shouldn't call attention to someone's hair being white if they are sensitive about aging, for instance. Similarly, calling a nonbinary but male-presenting person "he" is pretty unkind if they don't want to present as male and are sensitive about it. But Finkelstein clearly isn't the kind of person to prioritize others' feelings over his duty towards "objective reality" in this way.)

But I contend that this is simply an extreme and rather dickish version of how tons and tons of people think, because in terms of the history of social justice and civil rights movements, it is brand new for a movement to be so heavily based in the objective truth of internally-felt identities and accusing people of fundamental dehumanization when they refuse to affirm them. And yet, activist rhetoric sounds as if this is simply part of how identities always worked and what dehumanization always meant, rather than something that appeared on the scene just yesterday.

There is certainly still a major constituency of conservatively religious people who believe that everyone should only do with their bodies what their bodies were "created to do" or whatever, but conservative Christianity is very weakened in our culture since it lost the last major culture war, and I think a lot of people in that camp still also fall into the category of finding it incomprehensible nonsense to say that an identity category is whatever each of us says it is and that it's dehumanizing ever to imply otherwise. I believe it's simply a misconception to assume that the pushback against trans activism is comprised mainly of fundamentalists and TERFs. Norman Finkelstein is an (albeit extreme) example of someone who appears to be neither, and my perception at least in the US is that most people are neither, but that a great many Americans, if not a majority, don't really get the "identity is whatever you say it is" concept and at best are bemusedly humoring it as long as it doesn't get too much into their faces.

(On each day of this past weekend, I was in a different public place -- a bar restaurant and a coffee shop -- and overheard part of a conversation about how "the people in such-and-such social group over there all ask about and share pronouns and a bunch of them go by 'they'", and in context this wasn't being attacked in any way, but it was being treated as bemusing and only semi-comprehensible.)

As Tumblr user Bambamramfan once said, people (particularly scientific-minded, non-faith-y people) really don't like to assert things they don't actually believe (don't have time to look up the post right now; the way they phrased it was something like "Americans don't like to lie about what they believe" and it was in the context of lesser-of-two-evils voting, a topic on which I emphatically disagreed with Bambambramfan, but I consider that particular point to be wise). I wish this were more recognized in social justice activism communities in general, and both that more rhetoric were crafted and ideological assumptions were more carefully examined with it in mind.

I'll end by saying, as I've probably said before, that I'm not claiming just because certain ideological assumptions in trans right activism are fundamentally brand new, that they are wrong or shouldn't become adopted by the wider community. Lots of fundamental ideological assumptions that we are obviously better off for making the default, such as "people owning other people is a gross moral evil", were once brand new at least on a society-wide scale. What I complain about is activists completely refusing to acknowledge or even be aware of this novelty, and so refusing to critically examine it, to defend it on its own merits, or to meet others where they're at.

[twistedtangledfate]

@symphonyofmalice sent a confession.

❝  i yearn for the darkness and silence of the underworld, where i can rest.  ❞

------------------------------

Erik could not comprehend the effect of years of existence stretching before him. He had suffered enough in the nearly 40 years he had existed on earth, he would not want to wish for centuries of the torment. It was understandable that Nicolas would feel the way that he did. Erik exhaled sharply through his nose, his shoulders slumping as his fingers rested against the keys of the organ. He took a moment before he swivelled round to face the vampire in a singular, fluid motion.

"You would deprive the world of your singularly unique genius if you took that option friend." The word 'friend' felt odd for him to say and almost just as odd to hear, even in his remarkably soft, quiet voice. He didn't have friends, not really, but Nicolas had somewhat changed that. Prior to Nicolas, the closest person to a friend to him had been Antoinette but even then, there was a considerable amount of distance between them both professionally and personally. It was what he had grown accustomed to and what he accepted as a given. It was his lot in life to be removed from the rest of society. He had tried it the other way and it had worked out terribly, except in this instance.

[northwest-cryptid]

honestly, completely understandable. if i may give a basic concept of my vision. consider an MMO, let's say... warcraft, because I can use it as a decent example. we take the Eastern kingdoms there, and measure it, clocks in at about 24 kilometres across. that's about the distance from my home city to the nearest one, and personally? when I hear "virtual world" that shit is way too small.

when I imagine a virtual world, I imagine it almost like an smal country in it's own, let's say for a different example, the size of florida. now consider how much server space warcraft uses, even if we estimate only a 3rd of that is the Eastern kingdoms. then we scale thar 24 Km length to... about 720 Km and you'll probably see where the sheer scale of the servers are needed. and when you've got all those servers, heat will be an issue. either one could essentially run their system through instances and try distribute the load, or you gotta find a way to deal with all that heat.

the best way I can imagine, is by reducing the energy waste of the servers, in which case my first thought was the ideal in a superconductor. if resistance is 0, efficiency is near 100% and nearly no heat is produced. alas we don't live in a perfect world, and while it's fun to think on applications for stuff like that, it's also painful to know the best we've got (in this case fibre optics and silver) isn't even close.

I can tell our visions are different, and thank you for the well wishes, I hope you can make yours a reality because like this I certainly can't.

I respect that you took what I said without hostility so I don't mind continuing this conversation.

While I don't know things like Warcraft personally; I do know a good bit about how servers work and the like. I think you're really getting caught up in the weeds so to speak. By which I mean, you're concerned about problems you don't have, stopping yourself from taking the first step because you're being prevented by imaginary problems.

If you look up EVE Online's size for example you'll find a notable quote that states: "With a total area of 11,126,487.6 Astronomical Units² (AU) — or in other words, 249 sextillion km² — the playable universe of EVE Online earns its place in the halls of greatness when it comes to sheer size." Now EVE actually only runs 3 servers, but from what I understand has plenty on the back end working to keep everything running smoothly.

In other words, what you're looking for isn't nearly as big of a deal as you may think it is. You're speaking of superconductors, heat, and resistance as if any of that honestly matters, and it just doesn't.

Data centers house literally thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of servers. Most MMORPGs run parallel instances of their game worlds 10 times over per region without any issue.

Again I really don't want to come across as being rude or looking down on you or something. That couldn't be further from my intention and I do apologize if I come across that way; it's hard for me to know what kind of tone I give off but that's not an excuse for me to be an asshole.

That being said I don't think you have an understanding of this as much as you think you do. I believe you're getting caught up on a fictional problem created by a fictional situation that you're not even dealing with yet.

I can't just let someone give up on something before they even start just because they don't have a full understanding of the actual situation at hand.

Games like FFXIV, Mabinogi, or even games like Black Desert Online, and Elite Dangerous or No Man's Sky; they're all MASSIVE and yet they use tricks like instances to keep their games running smoothly while running on a singular server.

Even Warcraft, which I admittedly don't know a lot about as I don't play; can be easily looked up and you'll find that:

"Blizzard uses 20,000 systems and 1.3 petabytes of storage to power its gaming operations. WoW's infrastructure includes 13,250 server blades, 75,000 CPU cores, and 112.5 terabytes of blade RAM. The Blizzard network is managed by a staff of 68 people."

These aren't impossible numbers, but you're also not Blizzard. I'm not Blizzard. We're not dealing with numbers that large, we don't need to because we don't have the demand for it.

When developers like CCP Games (The developers behind EVE online) made the game in the first place, they had a few thousand people playing it and managing their servers became a real problem for them; but they also had the money and staff necessary since they were a company who was selling thousands of copies of their game; that they could afford to upgrade their servers.

CCP ran into more issues with modern tech keeping up with their demand but ultimately had the money to keep up with buying the latest greatest for their servers and staff to keep their game running.

They didn't stop themselves from attempting because of the need to run a game as large as EVE before they ever made it; they expanded the servers and game world over time through understanding current limitations and figuring out how to feasibly surpass them.

I don't say this all of this to put you down, rather I say these things because it really feels like you WANT there to be a problem.

It's easier to give up and not try when you feel like the only possible solution to your idea is entirely out of your hands. If it's an impossibility from the start, why bother right?

I used to be like that too, which is why I feel like it sounds familiar. Fear of trying and failing amounts to determining that it couldn't be done to begin with; because it feels like we're justified in giving up when the task is literally not possible.

When you say "I hope you can make yours a reality because like this I certainly can't." You're telling me you feel like you're not able to achieve what you want, despite the fact that it's entirely possible without all the fancy computers and stargates and sci fi shenanigans.

I'm not trying to speak for you, we don't know each other; you're an anon I'm just some random blogger on the internet. I can't claim to understand you and all that, so please take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt, it wouldn't be wrong to necessarily say I'm projecting here; because I used to very much sound just like you.

The thing is, you're right; you can't achieve what you want. Not as you are now, not when you won't try. Because until you've created anything at all, until you have a world to put out there, you can't possibly even have to face the problem of server space or thermodynamics and shit.

So worry about what's in front of you; get out there, make mistakes, learn and grow. Open Unity, or Unreal, or whatever application you prefer and just make a small map it doesn't matter if it's good just make SOMETHING.

Take the first step.

You can call me short sighted if you want but when I think about creating a virtual world my worries are not on the problems that might happen down the line; they're on whether or not I can even get there.

A poor man worrying about what to do when he wins the lottery doesn't make any sense if he can't afford to play the lottery.

A prime example of what I mean is that, for my plan to work I need some way to link worlds to each other in VRChat while keeping the linked worlds set to private so there's only one way to access them, that way being through the hub world.

The problem here is that I'm about 90% sure if a world is set to private, it cannot have a portal linking to it in a public world; it just won't work like that.

So why am I not working on a solution to that problem? That's really simple, and it's as easy to explain as; I won't even have to deal with that problem if I can't make the worlds first!

I can't let myself get tangled up in the details of things not working exactly how I imagined they would before I even have the worlds I need to link via portals in the first place.

This is a classic example of "putting the cart before the horse"

There are a thousand different ways to go about fixing a problem, but you don't need to worry about a problem you won't ever have. That's just an excuse to not try!

I'm not saying this to point a finger at you and say you're doing something wrong, I'm saying this because I want you to consider this for yourself. I want you to take a look at yourself and really think about if those server problems and the laws of thermodynamics are stopping you.

Or is it something else?

I think you'd understand this all a lot better if you actually took the steps to try.

So here, I won't hold you to it; I won't mock you if you give up or whatever. However, whether or not you take the real first step is up to you I can't force you but it sounds like you want to, so let me try to help.

Download Unity, it's free for personal use. Let's take the first step here.

Open the Unity Hub, in the upper right you'll find a button that says "New Project" click that.

Now select whether or not you want to use 2D or 3D; I'm going with 3D because I'm going to be making a world for VRChat.

You can use whichever version of Unity you prefer.

Click Create Project in the bottom right.

My screen may look a bit different than yours because I'm using the VRChat Creator Companion which has a whole suite of plugins it adds for the sake of making a VRChat world. That being said, you should be able to follow along just fine.

(If you'd like to grab the Creator Companion and make worlds for VRChat you can get it free here: https://vcc.docs.vrchat.com/)

You should have something like this, minus the Packages/Assets that VRChat's Creator Companion adds of course

We could either create Terrain through right clicking somewhere in the hierarchy and clicking the "3D Object -> Terrain" button, or we could create a world through various assets in the asset store. No worries we'll only use free stuff. For the sake of example I'm going to be using the asset store because I find it's easier for people starting out.

To access the Asset Store we're going to click the drop down for "Window" at the top, and then select Asset Store (I have mine docked but I don't believe it will be by default).

Now in the store I'm going to search for Sci-Fi Styled Modular Pack and set the price to free. You can search for anything you'd like, but this is what I will be using.

I'm just going to click the button that says Open In Unity and add it to my project by clicking the Import button in the Package Manager that should open when clicking the Open In Unity button.

Everything should be selected by default, but if it's not; go ahead and click the All button at the top left, and then the Import button in the lower right.

Now I'm going to go into the Assets -> Sci-Fi Styled Modular Pack -> Prefabs -> Corridors and just drag the Corridor_X into my Hierarchy.

Generally speaking if you don't know how, or don't wish to edit the materials, textures, or models a Prefab or Pre-Fabricated model is the way to go.

Now I'm going to repeat this for 4 Corridor_T and 4 Corridor_L.

It should look something like this:

Obviously we don't want all our corridors to be inside each other, so let's move them into position.

We could do this using the arrows, but we could also use the Transform within the Inspector on the right.

For now, I'm going to hide the other parts by selecting them all and clicking the check mark next to their name in the Inspector to the upper right. This will just make it easier to see what I'm doing.

By clicking and dragging the blue arrow after selecting Corridor_T in the Hierarchy I'm able to see that a number around Z = 12 seems to be right for the spacing, so I will go ahead and use the Transform under the Inspector to place this part at Z = 12:

Doing this for each of the Corridors I can create a complete room this way.

Except of course by just putting the T corridor on the other side won't position it correctly for our player to walk through it, so I'll need to use the Transform or Rotation tool. In this case I'm going to use the Rotation under the Transform:

By selecting the Rotation tool I can see that the Y (or Green) axis is the one I'll want to rotate on. So I'll go ahead and set the Y rotation to -180, and the Z Position value to -12.

Once we have all our T corridors in place we can use this same system to position our L corridors in place, resulting in a small room:

Of course this is far from a completed map, hell it's far from an interesting room. So let's use some of the other parts in the prefab folder such as decorative elements and lights to make the place look nice.

We have plenty of room to work with in here but I'm just throwing something together to give an example so let's just go with some random stuff...

Okay now we're getting somewhere.

Now thanks to the VRChat Creator Companion having a lot of built in features I can go ahead and just click play to give this a go and see how it all looks in play; for base Unity you'll likely need to grab a First Person camera or controller of some kind; they're all over the Unity Asset Shop just search for First Person Controller and set the price to free:

Then just import it into your project and drop it into your hierarchy somewhere.

Now you should be able to walk around the corridor you made:

It's really that easy, and this is beginner stuff; if you are interested in this sort of thing there's a ton of tutorials on Youtube that explain how to do Terrain, textures, materials, even 3D modeling so you can make your own unique stuff instead of using stuff from the asset store.

and you know the best part? I could upload this to VRChat right now, I could just put it live and make a world. All without having to figure out the servers, or battling with the laws of thermodynamics.

You're putting up walls for yourself, stopping yourself from learning the fundamentals of the craft. Don't let yourself be held back by your imaginary fears.

Once you understand how to make a corridor you can begin to expand it into a building, once you understand how to make a building you can put that building on terrain; once you understand how to make terrain you can make entire worlds.

No server farm, or heat problem or whatever can stop you from doing that. Only YOU are stopping yourself.

You're not going to start off perfect, it might not even be good at first!

Check it out; this is the first terrain map I ever made:

Using textures from Mabinogi mind you; I didn't even make my own textures lol. The water? It's just a plane with transparency, it didn't move or anything; you couldn't swim in it.

The mountain range just gets cut off there's nothing more there, the "sand" doesn't submerge into the water smoothly at all. It's all a mess it's pretty bad, but it's SOMETHING.

So I added a skybox because I didn't know how to do that yet;

I expanded the terrain and began working on the parts I didn't like, little by little. This is the seed of a whole world I will create; it all starts here, even though this has NOTHING to do with what I eventually want to create.

Will anyone even visit my world? Does anyone need to? Who knows!

I'm not going to get caught up on the details of server farms and shit when I don't even have a world built yet, I'm not going to hold myself back from TRYING.

now I have moving water, and more space than I know what to do with, so I gotta learn how to make some buildings and decorate the place; I'm working on a fishing system that I'm having to learn how to script in UDON for.

It's not easy, and it's daunting to look at my goals and realize how far away I am. However I'm not asking myself to do everything right this second, I'm asking myself; and I'm asking you to just take the first step towards understanding how to accomplish what you want to.

If you don't actually WANT to do it, then that's fine, it's your life. However if your only reason for not trying is because of server space and thermodynamics and shit that doesn't even matter yet; I'm going to sit here and tell you that it doesn't matter and you don't need to worry about it. Don't go making excuses for yourself, you don't need to create your ideal virtual world if you don't WANT to.

But if you DO want to, just please understand that you CAN.

I'm not saying it will be easy. I'm saying it'll be DOABLE, but only if you're actually willing to TRY, and ultimately NONE OF THIS MATTER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT.

I'm not going to look down on you if you simply don't actually care.

It's entirely possible that I'm reading too much into this, maybe you just have this idea as some kind of fantastical concept but you have no real desire to make it a reality. Then that's fine! There's no shame in that, there's no problem with that. If that's the case and I've blown this out of proportion I am truly sorry.

However I say all of this because I know all too well what it feels like to want to create something, and to dream way too big way too fast; to think it's not possible without something you don't actually need, and to not even know where or how to start.

I don't want to just sit here and let someone give up on accomplishing something they genuinely want to do; all because they're worried about problems that don't ACTUALLY matter for what they want.

Now sure I get it, you likely want to do your own server hosting, you likely want to run it all yourself. I get that; but the reality of the matter is you gotta start small and build up, no one just pops into existence with a giant project and gets millions of people playing their game or exploring their world or whatever. The average person can't just buy up the server space and memory necessary for it.

However the problems you're talking about and the solutions you're proposing to fix them feel like someone talking from a Sci-Fi RP account. They're not realistic at all. You simply don't need to worry about them, and if they're truly the things holding you back then you really shouldn't let them.

Start small, start somewhere; secure funding for your project when the users who do see your work decide it's worth funding. Move on from there, hire a team; work your way up to owning a proper game company, develop the tools to make it happen.

But none of that will happen if you don't start somewhere, you know?

There's no shame in starting small, there's nothing wrong with creating something just to create it; even if it's not your million dollar idea.

If you really have your doubts, check out Scott Cawthon. Yes, THAT Scott Cawthon. Sure you likely know about FNAF, but you may or may not be aware of his entire catalogue of other works.

The guy was making games and animations nearly 10 years before ever making the original FNAF. This list doesn't even include everything he made.

What I'm saying is, if he worried about making games like FNAF when he was making bible animations he likely wouldn't have ever made FNAF OR any of his animations or other games. He likely would have just given up because the idea of making something so big it would get movies and be something people refer to as "famous" likely would have been extremely daunting.

If you start working on stuff now, you really COULD create what you want to. You could improve over the years, get better at your craft; and find ways to make your vision into a reality.

You just have to understand where to take the first step and stop focusing on problems that don't exist for you.

Anyways I've rambled on enough that I'm probably repeating myself for the fifth time already so I'll shut up and leave it at that.

Once again, I do mean it when I say I wish you the best of luck bringing your vision to life.

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

As of lately, I've been pondering about Kyoko. This is going to be chockful of spoilers (even if Danganronpa isn't that new anymore. Mostly just the Hopes Peak Saga stuff) but I digress. Also, since I asked a few questions during this, I shall mark the questions with a bolded blue to make them more easier to find. Also, color is fun :)

Anyway, regarding Kyoko and her burn scars on her hands, how bad ARE they? I am unsure if it is established if they still hurt or if they don't hurt at all. She clearly uses her hands after all but that doesn't mean that they still can't hurt her. Like, maybe BECAUSE she uses her hands a lot for detective work, they might hurt more? Or maybe have more tolerance? After all, Kyoko could have a high pain tolerance for instance or, since she's pretty decent at hiding her emotions for people, she could just be suppressing that pain really well. But, again, I am unsure if it has ever been established if they hurt her in any way. They definitely used to hurt her since they are burn scars, but that's the only thing I can say is definitive about them. I may be wrong on some things though which is why I ask this. Also, I am unsure if this is a dumb question or not but could her burn scars be considered a kind of disability? I tried looking it up and it just gave me stuff about Veterans. Not that I'm that good at research but still. And, besides, Kyoko's not a Veteran! She's Kyoko! So, I don't know. I also tried looking up just burns in general but I didn't get stuff about burn SCARS as well. Though, maybe since they're scars, they don't count?? It's also not like I know a lot about burn scars. I wish to educate myself though which is also why I ask this too! Another thing I want to note is that just hit me that there are like, only a few actually confirmed disabled characters and that's also not really delving into if they are good representation which I don't feel is my say if they are. But anyway, for the characters, all I really got is Toko with her DID and also Nagito too. He probably qualifies too to some extent with all those illnesses he has going on. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though! I'm sort of bad with the second game anyway as THH is more of my jam in regards of all the lore. Also think Nekomaru also counts but that I am also unsure of. Also have no clue how to rank him with his robofication that didn't really last that long since the guy croaked soon after. I could also maybe say Miaya Gekkogahara from the Danganronpa 3 anime but she's like, a robot or something! She was a person too, but I do not remember if she needed some mobility device like how the robot version of her had the chair and Monomi that she used to speak. Then again, it doesn't help that I'm not the best with remembering everything from Danganronpa 3. Am worse at all the lore in Danganronpa 3 than with Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair. Sure has been a while with both but especially with Danganronpa 3 But, yeah. Pretty sure the number of canon disabled characters in Danganronpa can be counted on a singular hand or at least a hand and a half. Are there other characters with canonical disabilities that I am missing though? If I am missing those, I wish to know or something! One other thing as I dunno where to add this, but I could maaaaybe see an argument for maybe Hajime since of what happened to him with the Izuru stuff. Not really sure because I am unsure on how one would rank that since Izuru's got the whole "having every talent" thing. Though, I'm not too well versed with Hajime to begin with which is why I wanted to at least mention it. Hope I didn't get too confusing in all of this. These are just thoughts.

[addamvelaryon]

I think it speaks volumes about Addam that Mushroom never said anything bad or scandalous about him the way he did for the other characters in the story.

Mushroom always has something to say about everyone and doesn’t care about respecting their privacy. AND YET, we see here that he keeps his silence:

And Addam Velaryon, lately Addam of Hull, sought out the Sea Snake after the battle; what they spoke to each other even Mushroom does not say.

It can’t be out of respect for Corlys since he was already the subject of rumours, courtesy of Mushroom. So it must have been for Addam’s sake that Mushroom refuses to divulge anything. If Mushroom knows the truth, he’ll give a colourful account of it. Even when he has no way of knowing anything, Mushroom will still make shit up. He could have simply speculated that Addam and Corlys spoke about Addam’s true parentage. But for this one singular instance, Mushroom makes the choice to respect Addam’s privacy (something he never does for any other character).

Though part of me does wish Mushroom had said something, only so I could have a more concrete idea on what Addam and Corlys spoke about.

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

I'm not at all trying to be a 'haley hater' either but what she posted was not a meme, it was clearly aimed at someone she's sleeping with, and either way doesn't look good for Evan, or why would she post it? Honestly I don't see it making sense otherwise? It's not funny. I just feel like sometimes everyone here is so one sided and obsessed with them being together, and anyone who disagrees is 'delusional' and/or a 'hater' which is cruel and unfair.

okay, you got me. because.. this is why i generally do not engage with this type of ask. i'm going to try my best to not snark at you but someone arguing whether or not that was a meme is just... either you don't know what constitutes a meme, or you're just very deadset on assigning a negative connotation to what haley posted. whether it was about evan, her ex-fiancee, or ryan murphy's ass.. the fact that i have to sit here and type this out feels ridiculous. it was MISS PIGGY talking about BEING HORNY for a man who knows his trauma responses lol since so many people seem to have looked deeply into this singular little photo posted to an IG story, here goes my hot take..

sometimes i feel like at 30, i am old and out of touch, but even i am accustomed to internet culture and how my generation, and particularly the younger generation, use memes as a tool for communicating sort of abstract/otherwise taboo content in a silly or lighthearted way. specifically how we have integrated conversations about mental health into memes.

if i were to seriously sit here and break down what i believe this meme was conveying (and here i am) i would say that this is coming from a woman who has gone to therapy herself, probably dealt with a lot of immature men, and was posting this meme because it resonated with her that the creator was posting a message that is saying that she is specifically horny for an emotionally intelligent and in-touch man who understands his trauma responses and can work through them in the context of a romantic relationship. posting this does not mean she was taking shots at evan, her ex, or any man in particular: just that this is what she wants and something she finds appealing. there is no negative connotation to it unless a person assigns it. for instance, if she posted it and said ''wish my ex knew what a trauma response was'' we could easily say she was taking a shot at someone. but we don't know what haley was thinking and whether it was good, bad or neutral.

also, i don't think anyone is truly obsessed with haley and evan being together. you can be happy and root for them without that being the case. i feel the difference is that some of us just want evan to be happy with a nice girl, whether it's haley or someone else - we don't care, i highly doubt any of us are haley lu fans who knew of her before she and evan started dating... and some others may want evan to be happy, but only if it means he's single, with them, or dating a scornful woman who they can openly hate on with thinly veiled jealousy. i am not saying you fall into that category, but i don't know what it is you ''disagree'' with when it comes to evan and haley dating.

[scarletooyoroi]

"It's not much, but..." The rest of her sentence hangs in the air between them, as she carefully settles two bowls of Heartstring Noodles on the table they occupy by the open window of her lodgings in the harbour - the gentle bustling cacophony of the city tempered by the murmur of the waves nearby. Thoma is the first guest she hosts who isn't a fellow adeptal student; surely this must explain the slight nervosity (excitement) that animate her eyes a little more than usual and creates a flutter in her chest.

Yes, the excitement of novelty and new milestones in a companionship. That is exactly what it is; and her master, upon hearing listening to her talk about her and Thoma's most recent adventure (for the twelfth time), had suggested that a homemade dish would be a most appropriate way of showing her new companion her gratitude. More partial to fresh medicinal herbs herself, Shenhe doesn't cook often, but... the effort and dedication she has put into the dish is more than obvious in the delicate, delightful fragrance that rises from the piping hot bowls. Thoma has been so patient and open-minded with her, ever since they first met and she pointed her spear at him; an extra effort on her part is the very least she could do.

"My master says that a homemade dish is a widely accepted gift, when one wants to show appreciation and express hopefulness for a shared future with a companion." Shenhe recites like a model student, evidently a little proud of herself, and a little fidgety. Thoma did mention that he cooked for his master, back in Inazuma, after all - he must be a much better cook than she is, and have a much more refined palate... what if he doesn't like it? Uh-oh. Hoe embarrassing that would be (so much more so than if it were Yanfei or Ganyu - huh, why would that be, she wonders?) Shenhe lightly shakes her head, and offers a muted, quiet smile. "I hope you like it. And that my master was right and I didn't break any important social rule from Inazuma... right?" (but what if Thoma is the one receiving a gift - a little token for u while i painfully slowly get to your ask because it's going to be long and it deserves i do it justice :') )

Finding himself situated within this unknown dwelling had been the last on his list of expectations. (Double that, when you believed that she openly lived within the wild, Adeptal blessings ensured she could manage well.) The entire time during this journey, in her own Shenhe way, a sense of intent managed to be derived from her expression that normally holds as a definition of composure.

Patience. That would be the key word of his stay here, he found himself surprised in her adamant hold on this position. Truthfully, who wouldn't let their curiosity get the better of them after gaining her time and attention?

Thoma's response was welcomed and predictable, abiding by her wishes as being a guest within this newly mentioned home, allowing for a novel known as Scroll of Streaming Song. It was a new purchase from a merchant they rescued, and the contents of some Winged One easily captured his attention, yet, he found himself unable to fully focus.

For the sound of culinary work tied with the growing prominence of a delightful smell begins to roam.

Nothing could've truly prepared the ex-outlaw for what was to arrive in her presence and in her hands. Heartiness would be the best way to describe the scent, and witnessing the careful way she handled the dishes, allowing for the ornate Liyuean bowls to cover the surprise in itself until professional hands allow her presentation to be fully absorbed by the eyes. Of all the things he expected, never, within the 0.1 second instance of a singular glance..

Did he expect his heart to pound at the sight of a heart.

Was he... reading this correctly? An unspoken thought managed to emerge in ripples from his mind, that intent of a symbol normally associated with certain emotions made his unconscious take a stab at the very idea. "Shenhe.." His voice spoke with amazement however, the luxurious scent and the raw level of craftsmanship required to create art from a dish, it surely stunned him a sense of wonder. For a moment, his mind played with the picture of her creating this.

Primarily it was that same look confused as a gaze of nonchalance. In other instances she'd have a knitting of her brow in focus, in order times (primarily the chopping) did that mercilessly haze briefly cross her sights before it flipped back to the Shenhe definitely of normalcy. For the time being, he takes the moment to simply focus on her voice, to drink in the motivation of what allowed her hands to create despite many hailing her hands of being that of a destroyer.

Everything within this moment just clicks despite the very easy pitfall of misunderstanding that could be made. Even if it was difficult to not let the idea flit around, how the talk of future companionship being woven together with a good meal, of both of these bowls of savory broth and professionally made noodles holding a symbol that could make give off the idea of this being a date more than anything else.

Thoma partly wants to grab these runaway thoughts by the hair and yank.

It's the earnest nature of these thoughts that finally unfurl those wings. Initially a touch speechless, it dawns in the silliest timing while multitasking the acts of looking up towards her and admiring the efforts made on this place. ..To do this much, to hold the intention of wanting to write so much more to the story better known as them. Even the rarity of a smile that glimmers like diamonds.. for all the emotion that found itself repressed through red rope, the power of what drums within her heart was actually this happy at the thought..?

Goodness did it makes his cheeks burn.

"Not at all.. No. Actions like this, we're under no professional banner. Shenhe, we're companions, and things like this.."

"They're about as genuine as you can honestly be. Thank you for this honor. The work you must've put into this.."

That effectively fed his eagerness to take in the height of her efforts first hand. Part of him actually feels bad for having to dismantle a portion of the heart in order to secure the noodles and chicken washed over with a savory broth. Securing a fine portion within his chopsticks, they're rolled modestly before being drawn to his lips. While having no genuine clue of her cooking ability, as always, the faith he carries for her decides to just believe. Simple as that.

Thoma's belief would find itself scrumptiously rewarded. Without even meaning to did, his voice hum in delight, the fine spice supporting the seasoned meats and noodle, how the broth in itself was so agreeable to the tongue. There's hardly a beat missed as the warrior's heart found itself dancing in joy. His chest felt the pressure that conjures delight, feelings that only add to the delicious heat working wonders within his mouth. Shenhe would be able to witness that satisfied smile initially scrunched due to his chewing, only to grow much more wider as its swallowed.

Directed towards her, those jade eyes would hold a particular shine as her kindness spoke the loudest of all.

"How long have you been honing such an ability.. hahah, more than just good, Shenhe. Restaurants wouldn't hesitate in making this a staple!" Such a paradox matter on top of that. For as long as he knew her, the holy unknown of her appetite's needs (merely herbs alone until the most recent days?) never could've conceived this prediction. The possibility of her being a natural would be hard to deny if she wished to pursue it.

"This is delicious.." His voice was heavy with this contentment that blanketed it over his heart. Tempted as he was to take another portion (his utensils were already slowly gathering them), a welcoming spark settles within them.

"What you've done is really sweet.." For a flowing second, that familiar, jovial tinged ring of his laughter managed a soft echo through the walls of her home.

"Thank you. Please, let's take the moment to enjoy this together.." After all.

Wouldn't such a particular dish be brought to the zenith of its taste if enjoyed together?

@maquiscursed