#and that blessing that restores skill points

[pashatalks]

i just realized like

my almost-all-time fixed team for now is seele, tingyun, march and stelle

and honestly, if i ever got bronya, i bet i'd build and use her instead of tingyun. this would leave me with a literal damn lesbian team which works.

[genshin-impact-updates]

"The Rainbow Destined to Burn" Version 5.1 Update Details

Dear Traveler,

Below are the details of the Version 5.1 update "The Rainbow Destined to Burn" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 5.1.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2024/10/12 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2024/10/09 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Character

5-Star Character "Ardent Flames Forge the Soul" Xilonen (Geo)

◇ Vision: Geo

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A Name Engraver of the Nanatzcayan, she is especially skilled at finding a good balance between the heavy responsibilities of her job and living well.

◆ Elemental Skill: Yohual's Scratch

◇ Source Samples: Xilonen has 3 Geo Samplers with her that can generate different Soundscapes based on her other party members' Elemental Types (Pyro/Hydro/Cryo/Electro). Different Soundscapes can result in Elemental Skills and Bursts to produce various effects, and decrease nearby opponents' corresponding Elemental RES while active.

◇ After unleashing her Elemental Skill, Xilonen will enter the Nightsoul's Blessing state and switch to the Blade Roller mode. While in this mode, Xilonen's Normal Attacks will allow her to perform consecutive kicks using her roller blades. She can also engage in swift movement and climbing, and activate her Geo Samplers. After unlocking the Talent "Netotiliztli's Echoes," different Soundscapes will enhance Xilonen's Normal and Plunging Attacks: either by gaining Nightsoul points upon hitting enemies or by increasing the DMG dealt by Normal and Plunging Attacks. When Nightsoul points reach the maximum, all Samplers will be activated.

◆ Elemental Burst: Ocelotlicue Point!

◇ Deals AoE Geo DMG to opponents and based on different Soundscapes: Restores HP for nearby active characters or deals additional AoE Geo DMG.

II. New Equipment

1. New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

Peak Patrol Song (5-Star Sword)

Gain "Ode to Flowers" after Normal or Plunging Attacks hit an opponent: DEF increases by 8% and gain a 10% All Elemental DMG Bonus for 6s. Max 2 stacks. Can trigger once per 0.1s. When this effect reaches 2 stacks or the 2nd stack's duration is refreshed, increase all nearby party members' All Elemental DMG Bonus by 8% for every 1,000 DEF the equipping character has, up to a maximum of 25.6%, for 15s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon Peak Patrol Song (Sword) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Sturdy Bone (4-Star Sword)

Sprint or Alternate Sprint Stamina Consumption decreased by 15%. Additionally, after using Sprint or Alternate Sprint, Normal Attack DMG is increased by 16% of ATK. This effect expires after triggering 18 times or 7s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Sturdy Bone (Sword) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Mountain-Bracing Bolt (4-Star Polearm)

Decreases Climbing Stamina Consumption by 15% and increases Elemental Skill DMG by 12%. Also, after other nearby party members use Elemental Skills, the equipping character's Elemental Skill DMG will also increase by 12% for 8s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Mountain-Bracing Bolt (Polearm) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Fruitful Hook (4-Star Claymore)

Increase Plunging Attack CRIT Rate by 16%; After a Plunging Attack hits an opponent, Normal, Charged, and Plunging Attack DMG increased by 16% for 10s.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 4-star weapon Fruitful Hook (Claymore) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

III. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quests

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act III "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors"

Permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act II "Black Stone Under a White Stone"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

Archon Quest Chapter V: Act IV "The Rainbow Destined to Burn"

Permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act III "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors"

• The "Focused Experience Mode" function is available for this quest.

2. New Tribal Chronicle Quest

A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks

Act III of "A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks" will be permanently available after the Version 5.1 update

◆ Act III Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Adventure Rank 28 or above

• Complete "A Fuel Named 'Fate'" in the Archon Quest "The Rainbow Destined to Burn"

• Complete Act I and Act II of the Tribal Chronicles Quest "A Prayer for Blessings, Told to Crested Peaks"

You can use the "Quick Start" function to accept and progress through Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" while maintaining your current progress in the existing Archon Quests. After using the "Quick Start" function to complete Archon Quest Chapter V: Act I, you can continue to accept and complete the subsequent Acts of Chapter V until you unlock the latest Archon Quest or Tribal Chronicles introduced in the current version update.

IV. New Enemies

Secret Source Automaton: Configuration Device

◇ A machine with terrifying destructive capabilities.

When characters enter and maintain the Nightsoul's Blessing state, the Secret Source Automaton: Configuration Device will start progressing through its Adaptive Countermeasures. Once those are complete, the Configuration Device will start preparing its Boltsphere Cannon. During this time, the Configuration Device will start up its Accretion Mechanism to dig into Solid Phlogiston and collect phlogiston. The Accretion Mechanism will generate an energy field. If you wish to destroy the Mechanism and interrupt the charging of the Boltsphere Cannon, you must first climb the Solid Phlogiston and enter the energy field.

Located at Toyac Springs.

Tenebrous Mimiflora

◇ An Abyssal monster that has descended to this world from the deep, dark depths of a twisted and alien world, the Tenebrous Mimiflora can mimic various phenomena.

The Tenebrous Mimiflora can deploy a Void Ward in combat. Some of its attacks can cause stackable Attrition that, after a time, will cause your active character to lose HP. Use a specific number of Elemental attacks to destroy this creature's Ward. Nightsoul-aligned Elemental attacks can break through its defenses more effectively.

V. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Cipac (Natlan NPC): BBQ Beef Heart Skewers

○ Natlan's Zakan's Street Bites: Xocoatl

New Character Specialty Dish:

○ Xilonen's specialty: Fruit-Flavored Milk Candies

Adds new Achievements to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds Set 35 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

New Namecards:

"Xilonen: Cue Point": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Xilonen

"Travel Notes: Sabzeruz": Reward obtained via the BP system

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Card: Chiori and her corresponding Talent card. Corresponding invitation duel and guest challenges have been added to the Player List.

New Character Cards: Eremite Floral Ring-Dancer, Abyss Lector: Violet Lightning, and their corresponding Talent cards. Their Tavern Challenges have also been added.

New Action Cards: "Portable Power Saw," "Conductor's Top Hat," "Tepetlisaurus," "Stage Tepetl," "Eremite Teatime," and "Saurus Crackers" can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

The Forge Realm's Temper is once again available. The theme of this edition is "The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Stratagems":

1. During The Forge Realm's Temper: Clever Stratagems, you can select the parameters for each stage. Parameters that may be set include: stage difficulty, enemy health, and the round limit for the match.

2. After completing the challenge, points will be obtained based on the difficulty completed for each parameter. The best score obtained for each stage will be recorded, and will allow you to claim rewards that correspond to certain scores.

Imaginarium Theater

After the Version 5.1 update, the new season of "Imaginarium Theater" will be available on November 1.

Required Elemental Types: Pyro, Electro, and Dendro

Opening Characters: Klee, Xinyan, Yae Miko, Dori, Tighnari, and Kirara

When Imaginarium Theater is open, the corresponding Opening Characters will obtain Fantastical Blessings.

Special Guest Stars: Xilonen, Chiori, Xingqiu, and Layla

After the first season of Imaginarium Theater begins, the characters Kaedehara Kazuha, Eula, Gorou, and Candace will each gain a new "Thespian Trick" that can be exchanged from the NPC Wolfy.

Envisaged Echoes Gameplay Update:

After the version update, new challenge stages and Echo cosmetics for Zhongli and Keqing will be added.

Spiral Abyss

○ The content for the first phase (updated on October 16) is as follows:

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members gain a 75% Geo DMG Bonus.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Rugged Moon

After a character uses an Elemental Skill, said character's DEF increases by 60% for 9s.

○ The content for the second phase (updated on November 16) is as follows:

◆ Floor 11 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• All party members gain a 60% Geo DMG Bonus.

• All party members gain a 60% Pyro DMG Bonus.

◆ Updated the monster lineup on Floors 11 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

◆ Blessing of the Abyssal Moon:

Vigorous Moon

After the current active character's Charged Attack hits an opponent, said character's ATK increases by 20% for 8s. Max 4 stacks, each stack has an independent duration.

Due to recording arrangements, some content in Version 5.1 does not have English voice-overs. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Enemies

Adjusts the damage judgment timing of the skill "Rock Swings" unleashed by the enemy "Eroding Avatar of Lava" to better match its animation.

Adjusts the position of the related special effects when the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" triggers a Burning reaction.

● Settings

Other than the "Settings/Others" interface, you can now also set whether to "Allow Auto Adding of 5-Star Artifacts as Enhancement Materials" in the "Input Settings" on the Artifact enhancement interface.

Other than the "Settings/Others" interface, you can now also set whether to "Auto-Lock 4-Star Weapons" in the "Inventory > Weapons" interface.

● Spiral Abyss

When opening the "Spiral Abyss" interface, if you have completed the "Abyss Corridor" (i.e., Floors 1–8 of the Spiral Abyss) with full stars, the "Abyssal Moon Spire" interface will open directly (i.e., Floors 9–12).

Adds the Spiral Abyss skip function. After the Spiral Abyss update on October 16:

a. If you have completed Floor 11 in the previous Cycle of the Spiral Abyss at full stars, then after the Spiral Abyss update, you can claim the full star rewards for Floor 9 of the current Spiral Abyss.

b. After completing Floor 12 of the Spiral Abyss with full stars, you can claim the full star rewards for Floor 9 and Floor 10 of the current Spiral Abyss.

*You can claim all Chamber Bounties for the skipped floors directly via the review pop-up. However, the Primogem rewards from Star's Bounty will still need to be claimed manually.

● Enhancement and Forging-related

The "Source" for character ascension materials, character and weapon enhancement materials, character talent materials, and weapon ascension materials will now display the quantity that can be crafted.

The "Crafting" interface now allows you to filter the required materials based on the character. After selecting a character, you can further filter by their skills, ascension level, and the weapons they are equipped with.

When clicking on Stardust Exchange for the "Source" of high-rarity character and weapon enhancement materials, if the currently available materials of the same rarity have been completely exchanged, it will automatically switch to similar materials of a lower rarity.

Optimizes the interactive experience in the Crafting, Forge, and Creation/Furnishings interfaces:

a. After performing the relevant crafting operation, the icon position of the selected crafted item will no longer change.

b. After performing the relevant crafting operation, the refresh effect for the item list will no longer play.

● Other Systems

Optimizes the layout and user experience of the pop-up interface for Character Talent Materials and Weapon Ascension Materials in the relevant bundles for "Battle Pass" and "Bundles."

Adjusts the design of the "Character > Level Up Talent" pop-up, and increases the animation speed to optimize the experience when upgrading talents.

Adjusts the order of "Adventurer Handbook > Domain > Trounce Domain": the "Trounce Domain" tab will now be arranged based on "new to old" and "unlocked and locked" status.

Adjusts the default page of the "Adventurer Handbook": if you have completed the content on the "Experience" tab, while the "Commissions" or "Guide" tab still has incomplete content, the first time you log in and open the "Adventurer Handbook," it will open the "Commissions" or "Guide" page.

"Character > Artifact" Interface Function Optimizations:

a. Records the Artifact set filters and affixes sorting that you set for a specific character, and when entering the interface again, the Artifacts will be displayed based on the previous filter and sorting settings.

b. Adds a new button at the bottom of the Artifacts list in this interface to switch between set filtering and non-set filtering states.

c. The selected Artifact affix sorting option will now be displayed directly at the bottom of the interface.

● Audio

Removes audio resources from earlier versions. After the Version 5.1 update, the audio files will occupy less space compared to Version 5.0.

Optimizes the interactive sound effects of certain system interfaces and fixes issues with missing sound effects for some open world objects.

Adjusts the volume of music in certain areas in Natlan.

Optimizes the sound attenuation effect when the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" is in flight.

● Other

Adds support for opening multiple "Domain Reliquaries" simultaneously in batches.

Updates the blocking strategy for certain spam and advertising behaviors.

Adjusts the appearance and position of special effects when triggering "Brilliant Blessings" in "Imaginarium Theater" battles.

Adjusts the effect descriptions of some "Brilliant Blessings" in "Imaginarium Theater" (the actual effect remains the same).

When selecting events in "Imaginarium Theater," you can now switch to other events by clicking on either side of the screen or using the controller buttons.

Updates the tutorial for "Saurian Indwelling" to include explanations regarding how to disengage from the "indwelling" state.

Adjusts certain dialogue text in the Commission Quest "Tending to a Tepetlisaurus."

Due to the unclear completion status of Monetoo-related graffiti in the Sulfurous Veins area of Natlan, the special effects of this graffiti will be optimized after the version update to: the related graffiti will be removed after completing the gameplay.

Improves the issue whereby Mualani's attacks would miss during the preparation for the Sharky's Surging Bite due to changes in enemy positioning. The developers will continue to monitor this character's performance in battle and we welcome feedback from Travelers.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that the character would become stuck and unable to be controlled when leaving the quest area while completing the objective "Collect Contending Sparks" of the Archon Quest "Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby defeating the relevant enemies during the World Quest "Blackcliff Woes" for the objective "Patrol the Chasm's perimeter" would prevent subsequent objectives from being completed.

Fixes an issue in related World Quests whereby the scarf on the Saurian companion's tail was missing animation effects.

Fixes an issue in the the World Quest "Revelations from the Past" whereby scenes or special effects would be appear to be abnormal when switching to Little One's point of view (little Tepetlisaurus) or switching back to the character's point of view under certain circumstances.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode whereby the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" would appear in an abnormal position when entering combat under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue in Co-Op Mode whereby the enemy "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" would abnormally disappear under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the character could be stuck in the Plunging Attack state for a long time if the character was pushed to the barrier at the edge of the battlefield by the enemy while challenging the opponent "Goldflame Qucusaur Tyrant" (After the fix, the duration of the Plunging Attack state will be greatly reduced when the character is pushed against the barrier at the edge of the battlefield by the enemy).

Fixes an issue whereby the achievement "Love and Non-Communication" could not be completed when repeatedly challenging the enemy "Thunder Manifestation" under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby some characters' skill effects may not appear normally or disappear when the enemy "Ichcahuipilli's Aegis" exiles the character to the "Land of Decision."

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby the special effects would flicker and shake abnormally at the edge of the camera when Furina used her Elemental Burst in Natlan.

Fixes an issue whereby the low-altitude and high-altitude landing impact effects would both appear simultaneously when Navia performed a Plunging Attack and hits the ground.

Fixes an issue whereby the special movement duration of Mualani or Kachina in their Nightsoul's Blessing state would be abnormal under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that Mualani would abnormally take fall damage when performing Sharky's Bite in the Nightsoul's Blessing state under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby when Kinich had less than 1 second remaining in the Nightsoul's Blessing state and used the "Scalespiker Cannon," the cooldown time displayed for the Elemental Skill button would become abnormal after the Nightsoul's Blessing state ended.

Fixes an issue whereby the relevant weather animation effect will end earlier before the skill ends when holding Kinich's Elemental Skill, "Scalespiker Cannon".

Fixes an issue whereby when Kinich uses his Elemental Skill to swing in mid-air and simultaneously executes a Normal Attack, it can result in an abnormal vertical jump.

The developers will continue to monitor other actions that may cause this character to perform abnormal vertical jumps. If there are any subsequent plans for adjustments and corrections, we will notify Travelers via announcements.

● System

Fixes an issue whereby completing Act 8 in "Imaginarium Theater" in Visionary Mode and finishing the finalization did not allow the corresponding Battle Pass mission to be completed.

Fixes an issue whereby in the "Forge" interface, the daily crafting quantity would still be deducted even if forging weapon enhancement materials failed due to insufficient required materials under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby the challenge interface would not record the "Best Score" even if you had completed the "Rock Hopping" challenge in the Natlan region.

Fixes an issue whereby the game would not pause when tracking enemies from the "Adventurer Handbook > Enemies" tab or jumping to the "Map" from material sources in Single-Player Mode.

Fixes an issue resulting in the food "Strength Tonic" not being displayed in "Archive > Materials/Food and Potions."

Fixes an issue whereby the filter applied to the "Food" tab in the "Inventory" interface also took effect for the "Food" tab of the "Parametric Transformer."

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby the volume of certain movement sound effects for characters was abnormal after the Version 5.0 update.

Fixes text and voice-over errors in Chinese and Korean regarding the "Long-Necked Rhino" in the Archon Quest "Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn" (the Japanese and English voice-over will be fixed in subsequent versions).

Fixes an issue whereby there were errors with the Chinese voice-overs during some quests.

Fixes an issue whereby the relevant voice lines would not trigger correctly when obtaining Gaming for the first time through a wish.

Fixes an issue whereby the English voice-over of Kinich and Ajaw's interaction does not synchronize with the idle animation.

● Other

Fixes an issue with the visual effects of the Wildlife "Pyro Crystalfly" and "Coral Butterfly" appearing abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby certain wildlife like the "Flying Squirrel" could not be captured.

Fixes an issue on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5 whereby the pre-discount price of some currency for "Gnostic Chorus" was displayed incorrectly (the post-discount actual price and the amount deducted were not affected).

Adjusts the names of some "shield" effects to "Ward" in the "Tutorial" menu and other interfaces in languages other than Simplified Chinese (this issue was fixed for Simplified Chinese in Version 5.0).

Fixes an issue whereby after indwelling a Koholasaur, it would not consume Phlogiston when performing a Aquadash under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby after collecting "Flamegranates" while indwelling and controlling a Yumkasaur, the Yumkasaur could continuously leap upward in the air under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the effect "Surprise: Explosive Excitement" from "Mystery Caches" in "Imaginarium Theater" did not activate correctly under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby the game would experience an abnormal black screen and become unresponsive after the character teleported to the Obsidian Totem Pole: "Children of Echoes" when playing on certain PC devices.

Fixes an issue whereby the character's shadow effects would display abnormally in Natlan when playing on certain Android devices.

Fixes an issue on certain Android devices whereby when controlling and indwelling Saurians in Natlan, there is a chance that the Saurian's model would display abnormally when the camera zoomed in on it.

Fixes an issue whereby the treasure chest would not appear correctly after picking up the "Apple" and investigating the related location near a Teleport Waypoint in Natlan under certain circumstances.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

◆ Optimizes inconsistencies between certain voice-overs and the corresponding lines.

◆ Optimizes certain English translations.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Redesigns the Character Card "Eremite Scorching Loremaster" (Travelers can visit the official notice "Version 5.1 Genius Invokation TCG Update Details" or log into the game after the version update to see the changes).

Adjusts the effects of the Character Card "Guardian of Apep's Oasis"'s Passive Skill: The number of Awaken, My Kindred generated at the start of the match has been reduced from 6 to 5; the shield generated after summoning 4 Proliferated Organisms has been reduced from 2 points to 1 point.

Adjusts the effect of the Character Card "Lisa"'s Normal Attacks: Normal Attacks now apply Conductive to the enemy's active character (no longer requires a Charged Attack).

Adjusts the effect of the Character Card "Lisa"'s "Conductive" status: Now, "when the character attached with Conductive takes DMG from Violet Arc or Lightning Rose," it will trigger "Remove this status and DMG +1 for each stack of Conductive" (previously, this effect could only be triggered by Violet Arc damage).

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Okay so I gotta ask after reading the reply to your marriage hcs - what are the trials you envision Apollo having to go on to restore Hyacinthus to life? :0c

Funny enough, the Hyapollo resurrection trials is a major plotline in my two-years-into-the-making Hyapollo fic series :D So if I'm gonna talk about the envision/headcanons, I'll have to spill part of my WIP.

But for you, Ginger, I'll reveal just a wee bit of what I'm working on - but not too much!

In my fic series, Hyacinthus and Polyboea are the ones going through the trials to prove themselves worthy of resurrection. But Apollo will try his best aiding his lover while Artemis, plus Athena and Aphrodite, aids her huntress.

(But the resurrection trial arc is later down the line. The Spartan siblings will first have to stay in the Underworld for a couple of years and suffer for character development because Hades and Persephone need time to consider the big decision)

Anyways, Persephone - who has ulterior motive for helping them that will be explored in the series - will be the one giving Hyacinthus and Polyboea the challenges and overseeing their process.

Here are the general frame of how the trials look like:

First trial: Test of skill

Hyacinthus and Polyboea are in different sections of the Underworld (Hya in Elysium and Poly in Asphodel), so they'll have to do the first trial alone. Hyacinthus' task is covering all of his personal Blessed Isle in hyacinth flowers, while Polyboea's is to capture the souls of all the animals that she had hunted before.

While these trials look simple, Hyacinthus and Polyboea will have to do them with their BARE HANDS and zero equipment. Not only that, they will also have callbacks of their fears and mistakes in life, all will come back to bite them and crumble them in their daily breakdowns ( ˘▽˘)っ

Second trial: Lost and found

After completing their respective first tasks and gain some character development points, Hyacinthus and Polyboea will be allowed to leave Elysium/Asphodel to search for each other in the Underworld. Barefoot. On their own. With zero guidance.

And like the first trial, they're gonna have even more trauma! This time they will be reminded of the good times they once had in life and how they had lost everything when they were so close to achieving their dreams. Fun!

Third trial: Escape the Underworld

When Hyacinthus and Polyboea have found each other, they will have to find the deck where Charon's boat stops by to catch a ride leaving the Underworld. Of course, it's not gonna be an easy end for them.

Just know that somethings happened and Hyacinthus is trapped again, but he then follows the playing of Apollo's lyre to a way out of the Underworld.

[the-whatcherof-89]

Sir CyberKnife Herald of order.

CR 22 LG Medium Humanoid (Orc, Humanoid)

XP 614,400 (if used as npc for encounter)Advanced Half orc Bard(Negotiator)12 Paladin(Scion of peace)8

Lawful Good Medium humanoid (half orc)

Init +7; Senses Perception +39

AC 36, touch 25, flat-footed 29, (+7Natural, +5Deflect, +6Armor, +5Shield, +7Dexterity, +1Intuition) Hp 225 (12d8+8D10+148)

Fort +33, Ref +33, Will +36

Speed 30 ft. Melee Diplomat3+28/23/18/13 1D6+4, Spells. Ranged Bow of Artaphernes+32/27/22/17 1D8+8, Spells.

Racial Speed 30ft, Darkvision 60ft, Human-raised, sacred tattoo, Orc blood.

Traits Noble Savage.

Class features Hard bargain, Bardic performance(Counter-argument, Fast talk, binding contract, Distraction, Fascinate, Inspire competence, Suggestion, Dirge of doom, Soothing performance), Master of rhetoric 2/day, Well-versed, Jack of all trades, Rogue talents(Finesse rogue, Charmer, Ranged disarm, Slippery mind), Scion’s faith, Egalitarian, Aura of good, Detect evil, Smite evil3/day, Bonded eagle, Lay on hands, Aura of courage, Divine health, Channel positive energy, Mercy(Deceived, Riled), Consensus.

Spellcasting CL12(Bard) Daily 8/8/7/6 CL5th(Paladin) Daily 4/4 DC22.

Known(Bard): 0-Read magic, Mage hand, Prestidigitation, Detect magic, Repair, Message. I-Charm person, Hideous laughter, Grease, Cure light wounds, Animate ropes, Alarm. II-Cure moderate wounds, Calm emotions, Mirror image, Enthrall, Hold person. III-Haste, Good hope, Dispel magic, Charm monster. IV-Hold monster, Summon monster IV-Freedom of movement, Illusory terrain.

Prepared(Paladin): I-Bless, Lesser restoration, Build trust, Detect undead. II-Resist energy, Bull’s strength, Shield other, Zone of truth.

Str 12, Dex 24, Con 24, Int 24, Wis 22, Cha 34

Base Atk +17/12/7/2; CMB +13; CMD +20

Feats Scribe scroll, Combat expertise, Precise shot, Improved disarm, Deadly aim, Adept champion, Outflank, Leadership, Point-blank shot, Spell focus(Enchantment), Greater spell focus(Enchantment).

Skills Acrobatics+30, Appraise+11, Bluff+22, Climb+9, Craft(Calligraphy)+30, Diplomacy+46, Disguise+16, Escape artist+30, Fly+11, Handle animal+16, Heal+12, Intimidate+22, Knowledge (Arcana+29, Dungeon+15, Engineering+15, Geography+15, History+15, Local+21, Nature+15, Nobility+15, The planes+15, Religion+15), Linguistics+4, Perception+29, Perform(Oratory)+35, Profession(Ambassador)+15, Ride+11, Sense motive+45, Sleight of hand+15, Spellcraft+28, Stealth+15, Survival+10, Swim+5, Use magic device+33.

Leadership score (40)Cohort lv17th Followers I-135 II-13 III-7 IV-4 V-2  VI-2 (Special modifications due to the Kingstone)

Languages Common, Orcish, Giant, Abyssal, Draconic, Ignan, Aquan, Necril, Alko, Sylvan, Tongues(via the Kingstone).

Combat gear Diplomat3(Disarming blade+Diplomat’s traveling stick+ Defending rapier+4), Bow of Artaphernes(Adaptive Cunning Allying dispelling Longbow+5), 50+3 Arrows, Clod iron longsword, Uniform of Apollonius(Heavy fortification Iadran dress uniform+3), Ring of protection+5, Ring of tactical precision(Outflank), Amulet of natural armor+5, Quick-block buckler, Staff of bolstering, Headband of mental superiority+6(Escape artist), Belt of physical might+6(Dex, Con), Cloak of Diogenes(Cloak of the diplomat+Cloak of resistance+3), Inquisitor’s monocle, Bracers of steadiness, Bag of holding(Type I), Tome of leadership and influence+3(Used), Ioun stones(Lavender and green ellipsoid, Dusty rose prism), Potions of gaseous form(4), Scrolls: Haste(1), Heroism(1), (Summon monster IV(3), Bard’s kit, 373GP, The Kingstone(Artifact).

The Kingstone(Artifact) Aura(Strong enchantment) CL18th Description: 

This artifact looks like a finely-carved marble sphere with runes of gold inscribed in various languages reciting poems of kings and rulers which changes every day. The stone can be carried by anyone but only those who are worthy can use its powers. Those deemed unworthy will have the stone turned into a cursed artifact known as a Loadstone. However, should one work to find a suitable user, the stone will guide the holder toward the “Ideal King” via prophetic dreams and other means granting the power to use Divine Favor upon itself once per day. Once the stone finds the “Ideal King” it will bestow its powers upon him which includes the following: 1)The user is constantly under the effect of of the following spells: Divine Favor, Tongues and Heroism. 2)All effect of auras, inspiration and Charisma-based skills, abilities and spells double the area which they cover normally, their other effects remain unchanged. 3)Finally, if the user manages to become a ruling figure of a kingdom or to be accepted as a king, the stone allows to the user to project an illusory image of the kingdoms and it will automatically know if there are enemies in the land(such as an invading army). This effect functions as the spell Sand Table. 4)All the authority bonuses increases by +3, furthermore, the user can summon an extra Monstrous Cohort of the appropriate level that serves him once per day for 1 hour which can be divided in 1 minute increments at his request(In this case it’s a Young Silver Dragon). If the cohort is killed, it disappears and can be summoned again after 24h. The more the user becomes famous, the more it becomes closer to turn into the “Ideal King” the ruler of all nations and kingdoms whom will unite all the world under a single banner. It is unknown if this is true or just a myth, but if the holder of the stone wishes to pass the torch of rulership it must find a replacement before giving it away. Common people will come flocking under the holder of the Kingstone seeing him as the true king (Regardless, such situation must be discussed by the DM). Destruction: To destroy the Kingstone it must be buried in the ground of the material plane in a land where no kingdom/nation has been established for at least 100 years and it must stay there for 1000 years untouched. When said time has passed, the stone turns into dust. However, the gods will not stay idle and a new Kingstone is sure to reappear somewhere, somehow to find a new candidate “Ideal King”.

Challenge rating modifiers +1 advanced template, Improved stats, PC equipment.

Background: Very little is known about the one known as Cyberknife(if that is his real name). From what  little snippets of knowledge some attained, he was born in the Nether as all Piglins(Orcs) does. However, as it happens very rarely, the pig inhabitants of the red wastes will give birth to a hybrid: a Hal-feh(half-orc). Even more rarely, these hybrids becomes just better than the more run-of-the-mill gold-obsessed creatures. Of course, the leaders of the various clans will see these as “impure” and/or a danger for their leadership and will most likely try to systematically eliminate the threat before it becomes a real one. Cyberknife was one such case, but as he was about to be sacrificed in a ritual for their god, he succeeded at escaping by causing a Hoglin stampede across the bastion and escaping from an obsidian portal. Although, he did heard that if one of their kin does escape the dimension is turned into a zombie, he knew he was born DIFFERENT. As he left, he felt something change but he was fine; He found a vibrant world completely different from the lava-scarred caves he used to live. He walked the land, and although he had a rocky start(not being accepted by the inhabitants of this land) eventually things took a turn when he was accepted in a traveling circus where he discovered his talent for the bardic arts. He then enrolled into a bardic academy where he was the only one of his kind, not a good thing but he did not care for he had bigger plans in mind: He wanted to change the view the world had on the Nether and reestablish a peaceful relationships with the two dimensions. This was not an easy task but he was DETERMINED. After more years, he left the academy to look for fortune as an adventurer; and one day after a long expedition in an ancient tomb he found that stone: the Kingstone. After that day, it took him little to enroll as an advisor in a battlefield and even less to rise in the ranks and become a commander. With the glory of victory he entered the kingdom a champion, then, with the money that he attained, he founded a political campaign to promote the betterment of the kingdom. The opposition attempted to destroy him, but he was always able to thwart their efforts and won in a landslide. Cyberknife became the ruler of a nation at the young age of 22 and had no intention of stopping. After 10 years of turmoil he succeeded to quell the conflict between 3 more kingdoms and unite them under his banner. Now, from his massive palace he plans for the future… but what future?

First image - made with Heroforge.

Second image - Art by the fantastic Goatfella: https://www.tumblr.com/goatfellaa/693602368642809856/cyberknife-design?source=share

[lilacartsmadsion]

In your opinion, who is the weakest ancient?

Hollyberry in terms of feats…I think?

Look, I’m not calling this in Game terms, in game terms the worst is Dark Cacao (Aka Devsis should REALLY improve Cacao as a charge cookie)

But in Lore terms, technically all the Ancients are equal in power to each other. Seeing the scene with Hollyberry and Dark Cacao fighting in ‘The Council of Heroes’ Pure Vanilla and DE’s fight during the opening cutscene and Golden Cheese’s sheer will of building a whole digital city using the souls of everyone in her city, I’d say that most of them are equal in terms of power…

So in terms of feats, Hollyberry or Pure Vanilla would be the weakest I believe.

In terms of all the characters’ origin stories,

Pure Vanilla received his Soul Jam some time during a Pilgrimage or before a Pilgrimage and lead cookies down the Sugar-Free Road/Path, and once the journey concluded, started building a kingdom using his Soul Jam alone. (I think, since that’s what Clotted Cream implied the Soul Jam could do)

However prior to Pure Vanilla even taking the Pilgrimage, he first had to graduate in Blueberry Yogurt Academy, which is implied to have been a school that was for people gifted in magic. (Like Parfaedia but has forbidden magic and shit) Pure Vanilla and White Lily Cookie were both gifted in their own ways, to the point where Pure Vanilla would purposefully get himself a lower score so that White Lily could be the top student. Overall, both Pure Vanilla and White Lily were skilled in Dark Moon Magic. Where Pure Vanilla was implied to have used Dark Moon Magic during the Final Battle with DE.

Along with learning Dark Moon Magic, he is also skilled in Light Magic/White Magic, which gives him properties like Restoration and Healing magic. In addition to that, it is likely that this magic also grants protection magic, amplifies physical skills and is useful against Black Magic. (As Pure Vanilla told Financier Cookie that he too was ‘blessed by the Light’)

The only flaw he has is that he only uses his magic to benefit other cookies and does not seek to use it for harm, only in rare occasions such as fighting Dark Enchantress Cookie, is when he steps in and uses his magic… (Makes sense since he’s basically based off JESUS-)

Next to White Lily Cookie who’s skills might even surpass Pure Vanilla Cookie. She was academically smart and could even learn Dragonsworn (How the hell do you spell this) She was always a curious soul, with us barely knowing a thing about her other than her power as Dark Enchantress Cookie.

Even then, DE is POWERFUL, being able to summon 3 monsters that would’ve turned the Creme Republic into ruins if the Ancient Heroes hadn’t arrived, note to mention she notably BEAT them the first time, forcing PV to destroy the Soul Jams in an effort to win the war. (Yes they WERE destroyed and little bits and pieces scattered across Earthbread, as confirmed by Clotted Cream and Hollyberry)

If my theory is correct, that if cookies that are directly made by Earthbread’s ‘godly beings’ (Witches and Wizards) They are much stronger than the cookies in Earthbread because the original inhabitants were just the crumbs of Earthbread. Which means that if DE was rebaked from the Witches, she must’ve had a MASSIVE power boost…so much so that it took GINGERBRAVE to stop her because as he was baked by a Witch directly, he was just as strong as DE.

Next would be Dark Cacao and WOAH BOY THIS MAN-

Dark Cacao defeated not one, but TWO dragons in his youth alone, so much so that the people described it as Dark Cacao ‘SHATTERING NIGHT AND DAY’ Which in most Asian countries that could allude to Dark Cacao being a god of some sort. (Or an over exaggerated version of lightning)

He was able to build a kingdom despite its poor conditions and funding (As Dark Cacao’s Kingdom is actually very poor, relying on Hollyberry and Pure Vanilla’s Kingdom’s to fund for supplies since even food was scarce in his Kingdom)

All the rules in his Kingdom seem to stem from survival alone, it’s hard combat styled military originally being from a state of survival.

Dark Cacao fought his son, three times and twice did he avoid death, Dark Choco sliced him off before getting banished and fell off the HIGHEST wall and fucking survived WITHOUT his Soul Jam. After that, when on to fight his son, AND the Licorice Sea like he didn’t fall off a fucking Wall moments prior, like I’d expect the guy to have AT LEAST memory loss, but no, this guy walked up to his sword and started fighting without question, my guy was even implied to have been POISONED by Affogato and he was still going on like a champ.

Other than that, Berserk Cacao is implied to have been the power of his Soul Jam, using the sheer might of his will to escape Pomegranate’s spell alone, Berserk Cacao is implied to be a defense mechanism or at least a strong defense desire to be released from the spell that gave his son SO MUCH TRAUMA.

As seen with Golden Cheese, the Soul Jam can give a cookie they’re deepest desires, if the cookie chooses to, that said since Dark Cacao DEEPLY desired to defend himself from the magic and the forces that dare seek to harm him, he turned into Berserk Cacao.

Then, we have Golden Cheese, and honestly? Even in game she’s so FRUSTRATING to fight, my girl got worshiped as a goddess to the point even her origins are god-like. She created a whole digital world with her Soul Jam alone, BY HERSELF, and hid it from everyone else.

Though she is greedy, she is still powerful, as much as the Digital Realm might have fulfilled any desire she wished, it makes me wonder if it could actually achieve such feats in the real world. I’m not finished with her chapter yet. (Mostly because 18-20 is KICKING MY ASS) It’s clear that SHE IS POWERFUL.

As for Hollyberry, her feats include fighting dragons…a lot of dragons…she was implied to have been a dragon hunter some time either before or after she became queen. Earning the alias ‘Pinkyberry Cookie’ even then ‘Pinkyberry Cookie’ was a famous dragon hunter next to Tarte Tatin Cookie. Hollyberry was also able to walk through Beast Yeast, implying that she met Tea Knight Cookie there or something (I don’t remember if she met him in Beast Yeast or outside Beast Yeast) but compared to the rest?

Hollyberry’s only known notable combat is using her shield and fighting dragons…compared to the feats others have done.

Both Pure Vanilla and Hollyberry could be the weakest in terms of feats.

But in terms of power? All of them are at least equal, since they all have the same amount of power in their Soul Jams. I think when it comes to how each individual character wields their Soul Jam, it could make them the weakest?

In the end, I’m not really sure…

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 74: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Here we are, welcome back everyone!! End of the month, time for another chapter leading us into this exciting finale for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card!! I want to start this post with a little foreword before diving into the chapter itself and the eventual translation differences ✨ I just wanted to say that I write this post with a sense of pride but also with even more sense of responsability compared to the previous months. You've probably stumbled upon my recent report of the latest CLAMP Space, where the authors have talked about CCS Clear Card, and their support/blessing to "people addressing the translation differences in their monthly posts on their blog, because they felt uncomfortable about them". Although they never straight up gave names, I certainly feel like they were talking about blogs like mine. And so I'm humbled (and even a little nervous) to be able to keep doing this, since I've wondered multiple times if it was even proper for me to write these posts every month, as if I was leading a crusade against the official English translation. In fact, I'm not. And I hope that's clear enough. When the ENG translation respects the vibe and original intention coming out from sensei's words in the manga panels, like this time around, I always make sure to say positive things about it. But try to understand me, the irritation runs deep because these are years of translation differences accumulating and at times even changing the perception of the story. And then, you stumble upon English speaking fans on the internet who got the gist of the story wrong or disrespecting/failing to appreciate it because of such translation mistakes (we go from Sakura calling Syaoran "Li-kun" in one of the earliest volumes, to Kaito saying that he wanted to give magic to Akiho, wtf??). And I think it's such a pity. It's not fair. The fandom deserves to know what the script is trying to say with a meaning as closer as possible to the original one. I hope I'll be able to help in that regard, for what's in my possibility and with my limited skills, till Clear Card will be over. ✨

OKAY, now let's cut the chatter and see what happened in this chapter!! I'm happy to say that this time around, translation-wise, we don't have anything impairing the correct understanding of the plot, just nuances! As usual, before starting, we can't skip the gif of the month!!

The Color Page

Oh my gosh! Sakura! You look amazing here!!! Such a fierce stare!! She looks just like a powerful and respected magician and OMG THEY GAVE HER A BLACK OUTFIT!! JUST LIKE I'VE BEEN ASKING EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING! I don't know, maybe the veteran followers of this blog can remember, but I've always wished to see Sakura in a black costume/dress in Clear Card 😊 She looks stunning...and what's more, she's once again with the gears and clocks decorations, just like in the period of the Clockland play. But, heheh, this time the clock looks different. The big clocks that were featured during the Clockland chapters (with Sakura + Syaoran, Akiho and lastly Kaito) were often "strange". They all had the same design, the one with SyaoSaku was "regular", but the ones next to Akiho and Kaito had their numbers either in messed up order, or straight up wrong (what kind of clock got '0' as the only number?). I had already assumed by then that they had a significance we had to decode along the development of the finale. This one in this color page, however, really looks like the most classical clock with roman numerals. The order of the numbers and their position seems correct. So could this be a sign that Sakura is about to restore order into this mess that Kaito's desperate wish created? The text on the JP version is the classic incantation to release the Dream staff from the key (we haven't heard it in a looooong time because she manifests her staff immediately, by now!) I also want to point out that we *still* don't have any announcement of "Clear Card ending in next chapter" or "Clear Card ends in 2 chapters!" like it's custom in these serializations, so I can say with confidence that Sakura won't surely be over in chapter 75 (at the beginning of July) but probably not even in chapter 76 (at the beginning of August). Are they aiming at chapter 77 (beginning of September)? Double 7, it's a lucky number for CLAMP ✨ For those worried about "3 chapters aren't enough to finish this!!", please consider that it's not so much about the number of chapters, but the amount of pages. This chapter for example is already longer than usual, 35 pages. That's what really matters, and we could get even an epilogue or some additional pages in the volume version! And now onto to the actual chapter!

An Important Discussion

Yukito, Nakuru and Touya are leisurely spending time at Yukito's home, with a funny scene of Yukito feeding some mikan to Nakuru (and she seems delighted by the cozyness of Japanese kotatsu!). Suddenly, Touya announces that Sakura is coming over. Yukito worries about how it's getting dark and that maybe it'd be better to go pick her up along the way, but a grumpy Touya says there's no need for that: along with Sakura are also coming Syaoran, Akiho and even Tomoyo. Yukito and Nakuru can't help but being surprised, and Nakuru wonders "The all-stars are coming? What's going on?" 😂 I found so hilarious the use of the term "all-stars", which in Japanese usually indicates a whole cast of a performance composed of famous actors, and sometimes it's applied to sports team too. But the room temperature drops immediately when Yukito looks at Touya, with a very pensive face, and it's immediately clear that something serious happened and Sakura is coming to discuss that. Touya might not know exactly what, but as we can see, he's already got a feeling.

Sakura and the kids arrive, apologizing for coming so suddenly, and they sit down, all with very serious faces (save for Tomoyo. Tomoyo never loses her calm composure 😆). Sakura starts dropping the bomb immediately: "I want to talk to you about something very weird" and "I want everyone who knows about the Cards and magic to hear this". Sakura is dead serious, and she informs Syaoran (sitting at her left side) that she's just told everything to Akiho shortly ago. She also tells Kero and Suppy to come out of her purse, for the second time (since the first was halted by the rewriting of the forbidden magic) putting an end to the farce of Kero constantly needing to act like a plushie in front of Touya!! Remember when the fandom used to point out that it was weird that Kero kept hiding from Touya, despite saying himself at the end of the Sakura Card Arc (after Touya gave his powers to Yue/Yukito) that he was perfectly aware that Touya knew everything about them? That really felt like a "plot hole" (maybe at this point the only REAL plot hole) for the longest time, and I am honest when I say that I had already given up hoping to see an explanation for it, wanting to treat it like a "glitch" in the narrative and using suspension of disbelief to overcome it! Well well well, CLAMP surprised me again! Cause in this chapter they actually tried to give an explanation to that "discrepancy"! And of course, being this about Kero, the explanation is rather silly (confession - I didn't understand Kero's reasoning very well, but I'll give my interpretation of what he said): Kero saw that even after that event, Touya didn't try to interact with him and thought that maybe he didn't consider him a cute and gorgeous magical creature, but rather something else....(was he butt-hurt?) Suppy of course is spitting fire cause why the heck did we need to keep pretending to be plushies?? and Kero's reply is "Because I thought it'd be fun pretending to be plushies together when you came over!". Now, if you remember how difficult and taxing it was for Suppy to force himself to stay still, you can understand why he's so mad! 😂 Touya says, quite annoyed, that he simply didn't try to interact with him because he thought that Kero was getting a kick out of acting like a plushie! I feel like sensei have quite reached and almost broke the 4th wall with this scene, because Sakura here says something that I'm pretty sure many of us have thought in regard to this "discrepancy": "I did wonder at some point why you kept that up despite I was telling you multiple times that I had the feeling my brother was onto you". And it's true, we've seen that in volume 4! Well, to me it felt like a stretch, but eventually we got an explanation for that situation so I guess it's better to leave it behind us! 😂

Cause we have more important matters at hand. Sakura places her phone on the table, showing Eriol & Kaho in videocall!! NOW all the "stars" of this show are present! 😂 So Sakura starts her recount of the most recent events, saying "It's really weird...but I swear it happened". After everyone listened to Sakura, of course they're all surprised. Nakuru wonders if there's any magician who can really have the power to "rewrite" a world...Eriol says that as far as he's heard, there isn't any magician among the living ones who has that degree of power. However, if said magician had access to a "medium" able to use the "forbidden magic", then it's another story. And that's the Book Sakura told them about. Sakura confirms that the one who told her all of this is the Guardian of the book herself. And then, to Akiho: "The plushie shaped like a bunny that you cherished so much was the temporary form of that Guardian. You named her 'Momo' ". Here I have to point out that the way the ENG translated it infers that Akiho remembers about Momo ("You know that stuffed bunny you loved so much?"), but actually in the JP version it's mostly Sakura informing Akiho that she used to cherish a bunny-shaped plushie, cause Akiho has no recollection of it. In fact, right after, she answers "But that's the title of a book I really love so much!". THERE IT IS! I've mentioned this many times in my social media accounts, and even lately in my "literary references" post here on Tumblr, but it turns out this simple answer by Akiho kinda confirms that she might really have named Momo after that book. And it's not only a beloved book because of its story, but also the one she was reading when she met Kaito for the first time. I've always thought that having her most beloved plushie named that way, and having precisely that book when they met for the first time couldn't have been unrelated. So I'm really happy for this scene here and I hope it'll get eventually confirmed better later.

Sakura takes Akiho's hands (she'll do that a lot this chapter and I simply love it) and reassures her about something that I was SURE she was going to say:

JP: "The fact that we became twins is an effect of the rewritten (world), but the fact that you are an important person to me didn't change at all, Akiho-chan"

I've preferred putting the JP version here because once again we have the usual stuff that I complain about lately: Sakura in JP used 大切なひと (important person) to describe her relationship with Akiho, and this is absolutely coherent with all the previous times. In ENG they used "you're special to me", but the adjective "special" in Japanese (特別な) in relation to a person has been consistently used in the latest chapters to describe the person Sakura is in love with (and not only Sakura). So they shouldn't have used that adjective in particular. They should stick to the literal translation. Especially cause that "special person" will come up in a few pages. I know I sound pedantic with this separation between "important person" and "special person", but I mean, CLAMP sensei are consistently keeping that distinction so I'm convinced the translation should do its best to keep it, because it's a guide to lead the readers among the relationships of CCS. Which sometimes can be quite complex.

Touya teases Sakura again with the sis-con joke, and Yukito teases him back by saying "Are you talking about yourself now?" (I love how Yukito always teases the big and grumpy Touya 😂they're really made for eachother). Tomoyo comments that it's been "a sight for sore eyes" (the term used in JP is 眼福, ganpu, and it's used when you see something precious) to see Sakura in the role of the big sister and Akiho in the one of the little sister. Akiho is moved by the fact that, despite everyone knowing the truth now, nobody shunned her or rejected her presence, and exactly like I imagined, I'm 100% sure Sakura will keep thinking about her as a sister (not a blood-related sister maybe, but surely with the same importance of one) even after everything will be solved later. Cause the bond between her and Akiho was never a fabricated thing, but always been genuine from day 1. Even if they got close in such a short period of time, it's just what happens normally in real life too. Sometimes you bond very tightly with people over a short period of time, cause you feel you're so compatible.

So Sakura continues. She says that for this reason, she wants to bring (someone) back. She's convinced that what the Record Card showed to her is not everything. She feels like there is someone who is missing from both what the Record Card had shown to her and from this rewritten world as well. Syaoran is confused, "they're missing, and yet you're sure they're there?". Sakura understands that confusion and says "It's weird, right? I can't really explain how I know it, but I just do." And then, towards Akiho: "That person....is your special person, Akiho-chan". There it is, the infamous "special person" again. It's clear what Sakura is meaning here. "This is the person you're in love with, Akiho-chan". Of course Akiho's face cannot be any other than a dismayed one at hearing that. And then the pain comes, all at once, piercing her heart and leaving her speechless. Sakura says that the Record Card wasn't showing anyone with Akiho in one of the scenes, and yet she saw her extremely happy. That was enough for Sakura to know that someone was indeed there with Akiho.

I'm Always Searching For Someone

We're shown one of the most important scenes for anyone liking Akiho and Kaito (and their bond), the night that Akiho was so brave to confess her feelings to him through a covert (and very local) way, claiming that "the moon is really beautiful". And in the same occasion he accepted to spend some time strolling and talking to her. It was clear from the moment that scene happened that it would've become important later. And the readers who know what happened and what we lost are feeling probably the same pain Akiho is feeling right now, only that she's unaware of what is causing it. Akiho says "I'm really happy to live with you, Sakura, and everyone in the Kinomoto household, but...I've been in pain. Because I'm always looking for someone who's not there...". So Akiho did feel the effects of that void. The void that only your most important person can leave when they're gone. It's just that, we've seen her being so happy with her "new" family, and yet exactly like most of the fandom imagined, that didn't really work to fill the void Kaito left. It's impossible to fill that void because that person is just irreplaceable. This scene of course stabbed my heart but I had imagined that we would've seen it sooner or later. Sakura gets more confident with the confession of what Akiho's been feeling, and tells her that she thinks the one she didn't want to lose and the one who rewrote their world are the same person. "So I'm going to bring them back". Sakura announces with a smile, but Kero just wonders in dismay how she's going to do that. Sakura believes that the pocket watch in Akiho's possession will show her how. As if on cue, Akiho takes it out of her purse and places it on the table in front of Sakura's phone, where Eriol and Kaho can see it. They recognize it's a magical artifact specialized in time magic, but they also recognize that in order for a magician to be able to use it, they would need to have a tremendous amount of magical powers. Akiho suddenly panics. It dawns on her. I think the mental connection she's made is "if Sakura wants to use this to bring my special person back, she would need to achieve an amount of magical powers that could put her in harm's way". Aside, of course, from all the other dangers that a "mission" like that could pose to our heroine. And of course she'd never be okay with that. But Sakura reassures her. "You aren't making me. I want to." Sakura explains that both when she was dealing with the Clow Cards (and we see a scene of the Final Judgement, the one where Kaho gives her the Moon Bell) and when she was transforming them into her own Cards (they show us a scene from the last battle with Eriol), she was able to overcome her troubles thanks to all of the people who loved her and cared about her.

Sakura, JP: "Therefore I want to do what I can for my important person, too"

Again the use of 大切なひと (important person) in relation to Akiho. I think this panel in particular is pretty important (and the big font indeed suggests so). I feel like it's the core, the heart of Clear Card Arc. Sakura, whom until now was accustomed to be cherished and pampered in a protected environment by her loved ones, is starting to take the first steps towards self-assertiveness and maturity. Sometimes those loved ones would overdo it with the loving, and ended up depriving her of her own agency. Sakura is finding herself, she's starting to trust her instincts and capabilities more and more, and that leads inevitably to a question: "what do I want to do with these gifts life gave me and blessed me with? What can I do to give back to the Universe all this love I'm receiving?" Searching for her self-identity will inevitably make her step out of her comfort zone. She'll take risks. Even on herself. She'll need to assess situations, make decisions. And here she decided that she wants to use her natural gift (her magical powers) to help someone in need. Someone important to her. Someone dear who lost someone irreplaceable and lacks the means to bring him back. Sakura decides to step in, help her "sister", doing exactly what she herself told her during last chapter: if I happen to be good at something that you can't do, I'll help you out. That's the beauty of being all unique and different.

I've seen people often wondering what's the purpose of Clear Card Arc, if we really needed to this arc and such. Well, to me the answer was made manifest in this chapter. 🙂

But back to our story, Tomoyo understands that moment has finally come, so she says that maybe she can't use magic, but she felt it was best to bring along with her a certain big bag (that we all know what contains, right??). She also says that she had the feeling she had made an asymmetrical costume before, but when she went to check, she realized she hadn't made it yet...

Listen to me well, because this is the solution to the mystery of the cryptical thing Ohkawa sensei said in relation to one of Sakura's costumes, during the latest CLAMP Space! Basically, she hinted that there was a reason why we hadn't seen Sakura wearing officially (for a Card battle) this costume yet, and that we would find out why soon. I know the ENG translation here talks about "complementary outfits" (referring probably to how Tomoyo will later reveal complementary outfits for both Sakura and Syaoran), but that only shows that they misunderstood the word アシンメトリー (lit. Asymmetry). Tomoyo here was literally talking about asymmetry because the "costume she thought she had made, but didn't find in the end" was precisely the one Ohkawa was hinting at during the latest Space, the one Sakura was trying on in chapter 36 and 37! Tomoyo had a sense of deja vu, about having made an asymmetrical outfit before, but actually couldn't find it because...well, the forbidden magic had removed any reference to the Clear Cards! (including, apparently, the costumes!) So that goes to show that Tomoyo, despite not having a crumble of magic, was also subjected to the deja vu and weird feelings of "discrepancy" that such rewriting of the world would cause. But hold on tight, cause another reference is on the way!

Tomoyo continues saying that while she was sewing the sleeve of the outfit, she had the strong feeling that this costume would turn into a very special one. And what do we have here? OH YES, it's THAT sleeve, the one we've been waiting for so eagerly! The one that Sakura saw in a dream with MCF once! Sakura back then asked to MCF if they would meet outside the dream when she'd be wearing that outfit, and MCF only cryptically said that it would be "the beginning of the end". Considering now we know that MCF has been mostly a byproduct of Lilie trying to communicate with Sakura and inadvertently messing things up, I do wonder about that MCF. Was Sakura, by any chance, actually was supposed to see Kaito and she saw the robe instead, because of Lilie? Or is that an actual member of Akiho's clan? Only this finale can tell us the truth. Sakura will certainly meet someone, with that costume.

Sakura thanks Tomoyo, always so ready to show her support, and she does something very sweet, as a result of regaining all of her rewritten memories: she tells Tomoyo that she'll do her best to come back without getting the costume dirty, but if it eventually starts fraying, she knows that Tomoyo will be there to repair it.....yeah....doesn't it remind you of something?? Of course I bet any Tomoyo fan knows very well what scene Sakura is referencing with this line....

When Sakura told Tomoyo she repaired her torn costume with the Repair Card in chapter 40, Tomoyo expressed the wish to be her the one repairing those costumes, with her own hands. Because she had created them specifically for Sakura, so she would also want to be the one to repair them in case they'd get damaged. Basically telling her "I made these with all my love for you, and I'd prefer that a Card didn't take my place even when needing to repair them. I want the costumes that you wear to be made completely by my own hands". Always reminding us that making something with your own hands for your loved one is the greatest proof of love for any character in CCS (which is something I find truly wholesome and beautiful). Sakura here shows to have understood and accepted that wish fully, therefore acknowledging Tomoyo and her feelings. Tomoyo is uncharacteristically surprised for a second, and then with the happiest smile she confirms that of course she'll be there to repair it!

Sakura looks at her brother Touya, who only grumpily tells her to respect the curfew. Sakura is confused because they never had a curfew time at home, but her brother replies "Come back before dad gets worried. That's our curfew". (in ENG there's an additional part here, I guess to fill in a bubble that would be left empty) Sakura confidently replies "Got it".

Nakuru is all giddy, excitedly announcing that they decided to go to war and they need to decide the formation!! Suppy mocks her, telling her she's talking as if she were playing one of her warring states games (in JP the term used here is 戦国ゲーム - sengoku game - and I've found there's a specific game called indeed Sengoku, but it seems the same term extended to indicate all the war games set in the Sengoku era), but that doesn't deter Nakuru, who says that if she gets chosen, she will certainly participate actively (here the ENG uses game language from what I can see - not an expert - but good job!)!!

Sakura's plan is different, though. She says that tonight she'll be going only with Syaoran. She knows that if everyone could go with her, she'd feel more confident and reassured, but...

Sakura, JP: "If I want to find Akiho-chan's most important person, I have the feeling that it'd be better for me to go with my most important person"

Here we go. We temporarily leave aside the "special person" terminology to go back to the more famous and loved "my most important person" term, to indicate THE ONE person someone loves the most. 一番大切なひと (ichiban taisetsuna hito). The term we all learned because it's been so crucial to indicate the person someone was in love with during the old arcs of the story. The term Sakura eventually used for Syaoran at the end of CCS volume 12 to finally give a "definition" to the love she felt for him. Now she uses it to define Akiho's feelings for Kaito. This is "the" term that takes precedence over all the other terminology used, and also goes to show how important and solemn the moment is. Sakura's intuition tells her that in order to find Kaito, Akiho's most important person, she should go with Syaoran, her own most important person. This is probably because her magical intuition (let's remember that Sakura got the power to see the future) grasped that her bond with Syaoran will be absolutely pivotal in order to have a positive outcome for the mission they're about to embark on. They will probably have to put that bond at work....maybe to explain, show, help someone understanding something that he still doesn't seem to grasp perfectly? Or rather, a stubborn refusal to understand it, which caused them all to be in this situation they're in right now? What's for sure is that if Sakura and Syaoran manage to find Kaito, and if they'll also manage to free him from the Seal of D. + the artifact with all the magical books that Akiho had engraved in herself, their job won't certainly be over like that. Kaito needs to talk to someone. He needs to understand many, many things. Some of those things, Sakura and Syaoran can at least try to introduce them to him. Because while it's true that Sakura wants to bring him back for Akiho, she also needs to make sure that coming back is also Kaito's wish. Because they can't force him if he isn't 100% convinced himself. I'm sure this is a very important thematic for CLAMP, respecting someone's self-determination. And since his state of mind, last time we saw him, was that he was perfectly expendable and that he was absolutely not necessary in Akiho's life, they need to change that perception. And there's also the fact that, despite being so different, Kaito and Syaoran are pretty similar in several aspects too. So maybe the role Syaoran can have in "communicating" with Kaito could be very important and impactful. Maybe that's what Sakura's intuition was trying to tell her.

Here, the ENG translation decided to translate that "most important person" with "favorite person". I have definitely turned up my nose at seeing that (why not leaving the iconic term?) but in the end I decided to relax because, at the end of the day, the result is similar. It indicates a person for whom your preference and importance is above everyone else. What really *mattered* in this scene - and lo and behold, it seems ONLY the English and Portuguese versions got it right (let me know about the Chinese one, cause I can't read that one) - is that Sakura used the same term to describe what Akiho feels for Kaito, and what SHE feels for Syaoran. "I am aware that this missing person is for Akiho an existence of the same importance Syaoran-kun has for me. Therefore, I will do everything in my power to bring them back, because I fully understand that kind of bond and I understand the void they leave in your life when they're not there" She knows, to some degree, what it feels like to miss your most beloved person, due to the period she had to spend apart from Syaoran. And they could still have phone calls and writing letters. Akiho's situation can only be worse. Sakura's understanding of that bond is also what causes her intuition to suggest her to go only with Syaoran. It's all connected. So it's of utmost importance that the translations use the same term when both talking about Akiho and Sakura. Then, about this scene, we could also say that it was a beautiful demonstration of how much Sakura (but also Syaoran) has grown up, now fully confident to declare in front of everyone that Syaoran is THE most important person in her life. Without blushing and without any drama. It's just a fact. After all they've been through, I think Sakura can feel confident enough in her relatinship with Syaoran, and there's no shame nor embarrassment in stating that aloud.

The people present here can only accept and show their support, and Eriol encourages Sakura to follow her intuition (remember the whole discussion about listening to the stirring of your heart, the so-called intuition? Yeah, a great lesson from Mama Yelan which will also be applied to another character soon). Sakura tells Kero that if she needs him, she will certainly call, and the guardian beast reassures her that he'll certainly hear his master's voice, same for Yue.

Then, lastly, Sakura takes Akiho's hands and holds them tightly. They share another sweet forehead touch (seriously, I love them so much ❤️). Akiho is worried, so worried, but also very resolute. She wants this as much as Sakura does. Sakura tells her that there'll surely be a moment when she'll request Akiho to do something only she can do, and asks her to please wait here with everyone till that time comes.

I'll admit it, I was really disappointed when I've read this scene the first time around. Not only because I had imagined all kinds of scenes in my head (included Akiho wearing one of Tomoyo's costumes) and they shattered that possibility (but oh well, I am prepared to that), but also because I feel like this isn't a good choice from a character development POV. I understand it, I really understand it, this is Sakura's story. She's the one who gets to shine in the finale. And we've talked about it before, there's no doubt that Sakura in this story goes through a journey to find her identity and what she wants to do. So now it's time to let her do that. But Akiho has been slandered for the whole manga, accused of all kind of things because of prejudice, and one of those was "she's weak and passive, she does nothing". Seeing her "on the sidelines" once again, when we're talking about rescuing her most important person, feels extremely off. Letting someone else do "the job for her" doesn't even feel like Akiho.

Then, as hours passed by, I thought...

Maybe Sakura wants to take care of the first part of the mission, because it'll certainly be the one where it's most likely to encounter some magical danger (dragon-chan???). And Akiho wouldn't be able to defend herself from that, devoid of magical powers as she is. She could potentially end up risking her own life. And then all of this would've been for nothing. And then I thought, wait, maybe Akiho knows that. She knows it very well, since she's a girl with a pretty good understanding of herself and her own limits. And this is certainly a limit she does have. So what she can do is to wait safely at home, as hard and painful as it can be, for the REAL, big moment when her presence will be absolutely necessary. Sakura said it with great confidence so it's 100% sure it will come. Therefore, as an Akiho fan, I will swallow this pill and wait together with her. 🫤

But the chapter isn't over yet, as Touya and Yukito go outside in the garden while Sakura and Syaoran get dressed for their departure! Yukito teases once again Touya, telling him that his face is scary and that Sakura's earlier statement ("most important person") must have caused him "damage" (still seemingly talking in game language). Touya of course doesn't reply, so Yukito continues, giving finally confirmation to the suspicion I've been having ever since this "rewritten world" started: Touya did notice something was off. He didn't know precisely what, but he knew it had something to do with Sakura. Yukito also gives us the opportunity to see just how kind and generous Touya is: he purposely didn't go back home often because he wanted to reduce his presence around Akiho as much as possible. Not because of negative feelings, quite the contrary: he was worried she'd get even more hurt if she established a bond with him, only to end up finding out that they weren't really brother and sister. (Meanwhile, we see a very cute panel of Akiho talking to Kero, Suppy and still in videocall with Eriol and Kaho!) And then, to follow the leit-motiv of this chapter, very centered on calling back stuff that had already happened in the original world, Touya says that he won't allow anyone to hurt his close ones (they used "family" in ENG, but the word 身内 can indicate also friends and such, the common characteristic is that they're very close). Got the feeling you've already heard these words, especially with the use of the word 身内 ? Yes, of course, it's vaguely the same threat he made to Kaito back in chapter 54, during the double date! 😂 Hmmmm, I have the feeling that if they manage to bring Kaito back (of course they will!), someone will want to have a word or two with him....let's hope he'll just stick to words! 😂 Jokes aside, it's very heartwarming to see how even Touya warmed up to Akiho, and took her under his protective big brother's wing! In fact, Yukito can't just miss the new opportunity to tease him (stop flirting so shamelessly in front of us, Yuki! 😂), telling him he's so overprotective for his sisters!!

The two lovebirds have finished changing their clothes, and we're all left staring at them agape, together with Nakuru: they look stunning, in their complementary outfits!! Sakura even got heels ❤️ And yes, dear readers, as already hinted when Tomoyo was speaking, this is IT, THE costume with THAT sleeve that appeared in Sakura's dream! It is the biggest indication that it's finally time for the last confrontation. Both Sakura and Syaoran look so resolute and ready to make a mess of space and time to bring Kaito back!! 😂 As many have noticed, Sakura got her Dream Staff with her, despite the Clear Cards have disappeared: my theory is that the Key was never removed by the forbidden magic, only the Cards, or maybe that the key came out now that Sakura got her memories back.

And this is where the chapter ends, with another huge cliffhanger!! Will we see Kaito, next time? Being a chapter number ending in -5, and being in the very last volume, I expect big things from it! Chapter 75 will be published on CLAMP's Youtube channel on July 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on July 3rd (by the way, we'll have Sakura ONCE AGAIN on the cover and ANOTHER Sakura furoku!!). As usual, when I have less translation mistakes to talk about and more space for my feelings towards the chapter, I go overboard! Another freaking long post 😂😂 So I'll just leave you here, as usual I'll wait for your asks in my inbox! Bye Bye!!

[p5x-theories]

What We Know About Summer Motoha/Closer

(last updated 9/2/24!)

Summer Motoha Arai, still known by her codename Closer in the Metaverse, is the summer event variant of Closer. She is explained to stay in her swimsuit even in the Metaverse because the summer event involves a separate pocket of the Metaverse that formed around the beach, and the public's cognition is that people wear swimsuits at the beach.

This post focuses on Summer Motoha's differences from the original Closer unit. Note that while they share the same pool of weapons, they are otherwise separate units, but cannot be used on the player's active team at the same time.

Summer Motoha was added to the game alongside the first half of the summer event (Version 2.1.1), and her appearance matches her appearance within that event. In other words, this is the outfit that Motoha wears to the school's beach trip, and thus what she is wearing when they later enter the Metaverse from the beach.

The event doesn't have a strict timeline, as it seems to be unlocked from essentially the moment it goes live in-game (like other events), but its content indicates it has to take place sometime after Riko Tanemura joins the team, and likely prior to the next Palace. If this is the case, all plot information from the Closer post (up to this point in the plot) can be applied to Summer Motoha as well.

Motoha is initially excited to be at the beach for the school event, but quickly becomes alarmed at the lack of people, and resolute to help fix the problem once they realize the Metaverse and desires are involved. She's surprised that they stayed in their swimsuits in the Metaverse for a moment, but easily accepts the theory that it's due to the public's cognition, and focuses on dealing with the shadows causing the problem.

Summer Motoha's voice lines in-game and in-combat tend to be more summer/beach/fun-related than Closer's, though her energy isn't drastically different.

Summer Motoha uses Summer Awilda in combat, whose appearance is essentially a recolor of the original Awilda. Unlike Awilda, however, Summer Awilda is categorized as a Bless type, and resists Bless while being weak to Nuke.

Summer Awilda is a Control Persona, meaning she’s good at dealing with groups of enemies, and her trait lowers the cooldown of her third bless attack skill, every time Summer Motoha is healed past a certain amount over her max health by any source, by one round (it will always have a minimum one round of cooldown).

Her first bless attack skill hits all enemies (if "Midsummer" is active, 10% of her health is consumed to do extra damage), her second bless attack skill hits one enemy and restores 20% of Summer Motoha's health (if Midsummer is active, extra damage is dealt), and her third bless attack skill activates Midsummer for one round, then consumes 15% of Summer Motoha's health and hits all enemies (Midsummer buffs Summer Motoha's critical rate and damage dealt). Her passive skills buff her damage dealt whenever Summer Motoha is healed over her maximum health value, and buff her attack whenever Summer Motoha's maximum health amount is above a certain threshold.

In combat, her melee weapon is a water yo-yo (though she can also use Closer's meteor hammers), while her ranged weapon is a toy crossbow. Her Highlight is shown from 2:56 - 3:07 in this video, and it deals bless damage to all enemies and restores 20% of Summer Motoha's health. if Summer Motoha's health was already over 50% when the Highlight is used, the Highlight's damage is increased.

Her recommended card sets are 1) 3 of Wands (Virtue) + King of Coins (Determination), 2) 2 of Wands (Dominion) + Knight of Wands (Departure).

The game recommends teaming her up with 1) Marian.

[multicolour-ink]

A Thousand Years As Dragons

A Mario x Zelda Tears of the Kingdom AU (SPOILERS FOR TOTK)

- In this AU, some beings are blessed with sacred power. In this instance, the Star Children play a predominate role in place of the Triforce, and are beings whose spirits are reborn throughout time. Bowser is an embodiment of dark hatred.

- One day, Peach, Toad, Mario, and Luigi are investigating a disturbance under the Mushroom Kingdom.

- What they discover is an incarnation of Bowser from a distant past, imprisoned in a cocoon by a Power Star with two fragments missing. The Dark Koopa King awakens and breaks free. The Dark Koopa King seems to recognise Mario and Luigi, and even recalls Peach's name (despite the latter three never meeting this version). With his power, he easily overthrows the bros, disables their firebrand and thunderhand powers, enveloping the Mushroom Kingdom castle and sending it into the sky.

- At the same time, Kamek, a servant who is resurrected by Dark King Bowser, sends Mario and Luigi back in time using a powerful time travelling spell. Peach remains behind, devastated over the loss of her friends.

- The bros end up thousands of years in the Mushroom Kingdom's distant past. Discovered by a wizard named Merlon, the bros ask him to return them to their time; but Merlon tells them that the spell requires many years of perfection, and as of his current skills, it can only work on one person at a time. He tells the bros that there may be another way to get them back to the future together.

- Meanwhile, Peach, having escaped with Toad from the now floating castle, and ending up on floating islands high above the kingdom, is investigating how to get the bros back to the present and defeat Dark Koopa Bowser. She comes across notes from a person called Merlon.

- Suddenly she notices two dragons in the sky, one red, and one green, who she does not recall ever seeing before. The notes tell her that those dragons are important, and she must follow clues to discover why.

- Back in the past, the bros and Merlon meet up with the Bowser from the past - who at this point is not the monster from the future, but still exerts a lust for power. Eventually, Bowser grows tired of waiting for control, and a battle ensues between the Koopa King, his army, Merlon, an army of allies from the Mushroom Kingdom, and the bros. Merlon uses the kingdom's Power Star to seal Bowser away - as a result of sealing Bowser, the Power Star chips off two fragments.

- With Bowser sealed, and the future still in danger, the bros are desperate to get back to save Peach. Merlon informs them that with their firebrand and thunderhand powers disabled, they would not be able to win even if they could get back.

- However, there is one way, but it is risky. Merlon explains that the firbrand and thunderhand powers are a form of ancient magic.

“A power that is wounded and was originally gifted by the Stars, will take thousands of years to return to its full potential.”

- Merlon states that the bros need this amount of time to restore their powers. And the only way to achieve this is through "Draconification" - a spell only achieved through eating Power Star fragments. However, once transformed, the person can live forever, but will forget who they are, doomed to drift aimlessly with no end...

- Mario volunteers to become a dragon, and asks Merlon to send Luigi back using the time spell. But Luigi won't hear of it. Mario tells him that he'll be safe, and it won't even be long! It will just be seconds to Luigi! But truthfully, he can't let Luigi lose himself, and the time spell can't take them both...

- Luigi knows Mario's true thoughts, and pulls him close, foreheads pressed together and says

“I can’t let you do this alone, Mario. I’m with you, no matter what. Nothing can hurt us. As long as we're together."

- And Mario doesn’t speak. Just holding Luigi closer…

- Merlon gives them the Power Star fragments, as well as some gemstones to further amplify their powers (it will ensure victory, as he ominously says) and the Bros decide to do this alone…together.

- They stand outside, far on the edge of the village, and swallow the fragments at the same time.

- Only a few seconds later, they are overcome by agonising pain. As they are surrounded by a bright light, terrified, they cling together, refusing to let each other go for a second.

- "Luigi”, Mario chokes out.

“I’m here.”

- And with that, the Bros transform into the Fire Dragon and the Thunder Dragon, their bodies coiling around each other as they rise into the sky….

A thousand years pass and the people of the land tell stories about two dragons that fly the skies together. No one knows where they came from, other than the dragons are never seen apart….

And that is the the general outline of the AU. I will be happy to add more in time!

[monstersdownthepath]

If you were to make a 2e style edicts and anathema for Lord Amberdale, what would they be?

Hmm, let's see...

Edicts: Experiment with new methods of achieving satisfaction, change the world--for better or for worse--in your pursuit of pleasure, encourage and assist others in their own pursuits.

Anathema: Deny yourself satisfaction and/or catharsis, waste or destroy what you or another could have enjoyed, hide your faith, harm or steal from an Amberdale (anyone within the bloodline, even if they don't take the name).

And as a bonus:

Minor Boon: Sometimes, it's key to enjoy the little things in life. Food begins to taste better, drink more sustaining, carnal acts more satisfying, and other small sensory delights begin blessing you. All these little blessings cause you to gain a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws, which lasts until you disappoint your patron.

Moderate Boon: The Baron's presence rolls off of you like an intoxicating mist, drawing in an adoring crowd. You gain the Leadership feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites, and retain it so long as you remain in the Baron's good graces. Causing your Leadership score to fall may be considered an anathema, depending on what circumstances caused the loss of followers and/or your cohort.

Major Boon: A door to Paradise opens for you when you need it most, granting you rest and respite to face the coming challenges and to spur you to wish for a permanent stay. A nearby doorway or other form of portal allows you--and, if the Baron is willing, your allies--entry into his demiplane of Paradise. Anyone who enters is subject to five-star treatment, their every need and desire met by the attendants of Paradise. Guests are restored to full vitality; all hit point damage, ability damage, and ability drain is cured, and all negative conditions are removed. Though guests perceive their time within Paradise as extending for days or even weeks, when they exit (returning through whatever door they entered), they will find that a scant few minutes or hours have passed.

Minor Curse: The Baron's displeasure manifests in a way that's difficult to ignore. Food becomes less fulfilling, drink must be fought to keep it down, carnal acts become embarrassing or painful, and a thousand other terrible pains befall you. You become permanently sickened by this deluge, and nothing can alleviate or ignore this condition.

Moderate Curse: Magic can cure almost any ailment and sooth many woes, but the Baron knows of vectors of attack for which there is no defense and can cause a form of pain for which there is no cure. Earning this level of wrath causes your valuables to become permanently lost to you; the amount is always enough to be painful, and the method by which they leave you is always one that is humiliating and/or infuriating to you, such as losing a valuable magical necklace by tripping face-first into a pile of dung (with it vanishing upon you losing sight of it), or losing an enormous quantity of gold in a gambling blunder, or having your prized sword shattered in the midst of battle with a foe you should have had no issue in dispatching. No force but divine intervention can restore valuables lost in this manner, but appeasing the Baron may see them returned to you.

Major Curse: It's rare to earn the Baron's outright hate, as he takes little seriously and easily forgives, but some things are impossible for him to brush off. An Amberdale does not dirty their own hands, and this trend is one that remains with the Baron even now: he outsources his hate and washes his hands of the incident. You become the target of a group of 3 to 5 powerful assassins, who may not be mortal. They are thoroughly informed of your capabilities, resources, and habits, as well as the capabilities, resources, and habits of your allies, and they are often blessed in some fashion (typically financially) by the Baron to assure their upper hand when they finally catch up with you.

[quornesha]

Australian Magpie Prophecy and Symbolism

The Following Channel is from higher powers, Divine, the ancestral plane and is prophetic through Quornesha S. Lemon|

Whether the Australian Magpie appears in dreams, visions, waking life or synchronicities, it is a sign and message that your enemies are beneath you. This could be in relation to a cantankerous boss, in law, neighbor or hateful person. Rest assured you have overcome something or someone. Everything sent or assigned to your life to destroy you, will be removed. The Australian Magpie is a prophecy that you do not have to chase down anything that is for you.

The Magpie reminds that when you put in the effort, success is sure to follow. The Australian Magpie is a reminder that the Gods of wealth are aligned with you. Whatever you need will come to you with relative ease. The Australian Magpie is a sign that anything that isn't for you at this point will end abruptly and without explanation. This is for your own protection. Something divine is about to happen. You are being protected and anything shallow will be exposed. Whatever you have lost you are being restored right now. You will see things trickle into place.

The domino affect will be applicable to these blessings. If it looks like you’ve been through hell know that divine heavenly blessings are coming. The Australian Magpie prophecies that a time is coming where commerce will be successful. That is to say, whatever business you are planning to continue, begin or otherwise will bring fortuitous blessings. It is a season of harvest and reaping. Stand confidently in what it is that you have discovered. Australian Magpie is saying get ready, you will touch a lot of money in this season, so, manage well. If ever you receive a lovely message and vision of your future know that it is also foretold that you will come through an adverse situation soon. From adversity to success, from struggling to thriving, from poverty to prosperity. A debt will be cleared and surely you will be financially free. A good time of life is surely ahead. Pay close attention to the number 8. The Power of tetragrammaton is at work. Generational wealth is being released upon you right now. It is so.

The Australian Magpie also reminds you to take heed of messages you receive soon. As information of a positive nature is being released to you. Listen to the message(s). A time of favor has surely come. The Australian Magpie symbolizes, the message and the messenger of all realms, opulence, luxury, connections, blessings, heaven and earth, providence, success, attribution, being generous and gratitude and defeat of ones’ enemies.

This message isn't, obviously resonant with all whose paths it crosses, as perhaps you may encounter someone of this vernacular, mastery or skill. Therefore, it is a sign from the universe that you're meant to work with such a person.

Need further clarity or your own queries answered? Book your own reading as my schedule is full and I do not guarantee a reply on social media regarding this post.

If this is not you, then it is time to get clear to rejoin your tribe or the rest of the world of infinite beings. It's time to bring your light to the forefront. However, if you aren't able to invoke, heal or otherwise on your own, call on the assistance of shamans, healers, intuitive people, etc. to assist you. This synchronicity can possibly have specific meanings for you, it's time to get insight.

The Gift that Quornesha Has can never be duplicated, She is a Shaman, Writer, Healer, And Teacher with incredible prophetic/healing gifts. Please do not infringe upon her rights as the author. You are not permitted to reuse, nor are you to sale as you wish. This information has been made available to you for the purpose of introduction and demonstration. All rights reserved. If you'd like to use this in a magazine, online publication, or other, please ask for permission first. Legal actions will be taken if you proceed to impose. Be blessed, bless others and be at peace on your journey. What you do is coming back on you. Make sure that it is good, and all is well within you, through you and around you. The source sees all and knows what you think it does not.

[wxndswept]

Talents

5 ★ Pyro sword user

Normal Attack: Ignition

Normal Attack: Performs up to 5 rapid sword strikes

Charged Attack: Consumes a certain amount of stamina to unleash a thrust attack

Plunging Attack: Plunges from mid-air to strike the ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE DMG upon impact

Rising Flames

Lyza brings forth a wing of the Phoenix to strike opponents in front of her, dealing Pyro DMG. Small opponents are flung into the air. On a successful hit, she will enter the Dying Will state for a certain amount of time.

Dying Will State

Increases Lyza's interruption resistance

When her HP is above 30%, it will increase the attack power of Ignition and turn Rising Flames into Scarlet Cyclone. When either attack hits, it will consume a fixed amount of Lyza's HP. HP can be lost this way every 0.1s. The effect is cleared when Lyza leaves the field.

Scarlet Cyclone

Lyza spins in place, spreading her wings in a circle of fire and dealing Pyro DMG to enemies around her. Smaller enemies are knocked away and shields take increased damage on hit, regardless of their element.

Arkhe: Ousia

Periodically, when Lyza's Rising Flames or Scarlet Cyclone strike opponents, she will summon a Surging Blade at the position that deals Ousia-aligned Pyro DMG. In the Dying Will state, this extends to her charged attacks.

'Lyza was born in greed and died in hatred. She drowned in the darkness and rose toward the light, born again in a sea of flames.'

Flames of Rebirth

Spreading her wings wide, Lyza summons a pillar of flame that engulfs all enemies around her. A portion of Lyza's HP is also restored. The amount restored is dependent on Lyza's ATK. While in the Dying WIll state, Lyza will also heal the HP of nearby teammates.

'"I don't want you to be driven by darkness. I want you to be happy! Stand in the light, with peace in your heart." Lyza took these words to heart, vowing to become the light, the push that someone needs to save themselves.'

Passive Skills

Flame of Wrath

While in the Dying Will state, Lyza's normal attacks are converted to Pyro DMG. This effect cannot be overwritten.

Blessing of the Phoenix

While in the Dying Will state, Lyza's Crit Rate and DMG are increased based on her ATK. For every 100 points above 1000, she will gain 3% Rate and 5% DMG

Rivalry

Lyza's ATK is increased by 15% when Yuuki is added to the team.

[scotianostra]

St Ninian’s Manse.

I've not had decent walk around Leith for a while so I remedied that today. My first point of interest is the former church, nestled amongst a cluster of modern buildings at Quayside Street off Sandport Place, while you can see the steeple, which I shal come back to later, easily enough from further afield, you won't find the Manse in full until you are almost on top of it.

The buildings origins lie in a chapel that established in the late 15th century, was the home of North Leith Parish Church, playing a vital role in the development of the area. It's importance is evident as it stands near the head of the first bridge to North Leith over The Water of Leith.

ln 1493 Robert Bellenden, Abbot of Holyrood, founded and endowed a chantry chapel. The chapel fell into ruin after the Reformation, it was restored in 1595, and in 1606 became officially the church of a new and independent parish of North Leith. The Statistical Account of Scotland states both the church and manse are as old as the times of popery, but they have undergone a variety of repairs; including a considerable one in the year 1736, when it was in a great measure rebuilt." In the early 19th century, when a new parish church had been provided on another site, the old one was let to other congregations; and in 1825, when the last of these left, the place was converted into a granary, which in its turn has been rebuilt as a mill, pics of it as a mill in the 1950-60's can be found by clicking here

The most impressive part of The Manse, to me anyway, is the aforementioned spire. If you look at it closely you will see it is made of wood. This is Leith's and so Edinburgh's sole surviving 17th-century timber steeple.

The entrance to the stair, now covered by an extension, is dated 1675 as seen on the lintel above the door. Another interesting feature is the inscription above an archway that says;

BLESED AR THEY YAT HEIR YE VORD OF GOD AND KEIP IT/ LVK XI 1600.

It comes from the New Testament bible by Luke, and quite literally translates to;

 “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

The charity Scottish Historic Buildings Trust restored the building from 1996 to 2002 along with the adjacent Quayside Mills, creating desirable waterfront accommodation and office space. Much of the interior, from what I can see having trawled through a fair amount of pictures, retains a certain amount of it's charm, with many of the timbers visible throughout the building.

Some debate has gone on, due to the alterations over the centuries, whether this or Lambs House, a short walk away, on the south of the bridge is the oldest building in Leith.

Leith is usually thought of as the port or dock area of Edinburgh. It was not, however, part of Edinburgh until 1920. Between 1833 and 1920 Leith was an independent burgh.  Before this Edinburgh town council was able to control Leith through being the feudal superior of the land there. Many of the citizen s to this day are fiercely proud of their old status, calling themselves Leithers, rather than saying they are from Edinburgh, it is apparent on the poem below I found on the Leith Forever web page, it was written in 1919 and appeared in Andrew Grant’s collection of poems from the Leith Observer 1914 -1920.

Ye folks a’ Leith, are ye a’ sleepin’

Whilst Reekie’s cheils are busy reapin’

Braw schemes to hae ye in their keepin’ For

evermair?

Arouse yoursel’s an’ dae the sweepin’

O’ your ain stair!

If ye yoursel’s wad save some siller,

Ye’d better tak’ in hand the tiller

Auld Reekie means to “droon the miller,” An’ sink

the mill;

For loaded debts noo fairly fill her-

They’re ‘yont her skill.

The debter’s grawvit’s rooned her neck,

An’ just tae save hersel’ frae wreck,

She offer ye her hindmaist cheque,

Frae some dark source.

But in nae bank, gi’en bow or beck,

Wad e’er endorse.

Keep clear o’ yon West-eny crew

O’ their “fine airs” hae nocht ado,

A keen East windblaws thro’ and thro’

Their mim-moo’ed graces;

Jist skin it aff, an’ then ye’ view

Some cranks in places!

Tak’ heed from Glesca’s swollen size;

Hoo burghs aince pride did prize

Lie low this day, an’ a’ their sighs

Speak o’ taxation.

This lesson ye maun ne’er despise

O’ ruination!

But rouse ye, toonsmen, ane an’ a’

An’ gie your pipes a warlike blaw.

Let ilka patriot in a raw

Tak’ up his stand;

Auld Reekie’s seekin’ for oor fa’

An’ wants command.

Ye craftsmen o’ oor ancient toun,

Your he’rts I ken are unco soun’,

It’s time ilka ane o’us marched roun’

Oor ain auld border;

An’ paced oor boundaries up an’ doon

In martial order.

The “honest toun” ayont oot by,

(Whaur danger’s likewise drawin’ nigh)

Has lately bade her burghers hie

To “ride the marches”;

Let Leith wi’ her auld neebor vie,

‘Neath hame-mad arches!

Let’ a’ meet at the Giant’s Brae

An’ mak the auld Port bricht an’ gay,

Turn oot in sold, massed array,

Mak’ Reekie quiver;

On each a badge, an’ let it say-

“Auld Leith for ever!”

Restalrig - 30 August 1919,

Next up I will post pics and history of the more well known, Lambs House.

[heartsdefine]

☽ ─ ELSPETH'S DND CHARACTER BUILD (BG3 AU)

a work in progress, more to be added as i put the info together!

CLASS/LEVEL.

Level 6 Cleric (towards the end of Act 1) Proficiency Bonus: +3

ABILITY SCORES & SKILLS.

STRENGTH: 13 (+1) — Saving Throw: +1 ↪ Athletics: +1 DEXTERITY: 14 (+2) — Saving Throw: +2 ↪ Acrobatics: +2 ↪ Sleight of Hand: +2 ↪ Stealth: +2 CONSTITUTION: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +3 INTELLIGENCE: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +3 ↪ Arcana: +3 ↪ History: +6 ↪ Investigation: +3 ↪ Nature: +3 ↪ Religion: +3 WISDOM: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +6 ✓ ↪ Animal Handling: +3 ↪ Insight: +6 ↪ Medicine: +3 ↪ Perception: +3 ↪ Survival: +3 CHARISMA: 14 (+2) — Saving Throw: +5 ✓ ↪ Deception: +2 ↪ Intimidation: +2 ↪ Performance: +2 ↪ Persuasion: +2

PROFICIENCIES.

Weapons: Simple Weapons, Flails, Morningstars Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields Instruments: Piano, Flute, Lute

LANGUAGES.

Common, Elvish, Druidic

FEATURES & TRAITS.

CHANNEL DIVINITY CHARGES: 2 (replenished by a short or long rest) - PRESERVE LIFE. Evoke a healing energy that restores 3 x Character Level hit points to allied creatures. - TURN UNDEAD. As an action, present your holy symbol and cause undead creatures to flee. - DESTROY UNDEAD. When you successfully Turn an Undead creature, it also takes 4d6 Radiant damage. DISCIPLE OF LIFE. Your devotion empowers your healing Spells. When casting a healing spell, the target regains an additional 2 + Spell Level hit points. BLESSED HEALER. Regain 2 + Spell Slot Level hit points when casting a healing spell on another creature.

FEATS.

LUCKY. You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack rolls, Ability checks, or Saving throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack rolls.

SPELLCASTING.

CLASSES: Cleric of Selûne SUBCLASS: Life Domain SPELL ATTACK BONUS: +6 SPELL SAVE DC: 14 PREPARED SPELLS: 9

SPELLS KNOWN.

CANTRIPS. 1. Blade Ward 2. Guidance 3. Light 4. Resistance LEVEL ONE. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇〇 1. Bless (Life Domain) 2. Cure Wounds (Life Domain) 3. Guiding Bolt 4. Healing Word 5. Shield of Faith LEVEL TWO. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇 1. Aid (Life Domain) 2. Lesser Restoration (Life Domain) 3. Calm Emotions 4. Prayer of Healing 5. Warding Bond LEVEL THREE. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇 1. Beacon of Hope (Life Domain) 2. Revivify (Life Domain) 3. Daylight 4. Mass Healing Word 5. Spirit Guardians

ETCETERA.

[punishing-gray-raven-updates]

VERSION "A NEW DIVIDE" UPDATE NOTE

Greetings Commandants,

Thank you for supporting Punishing: Gray Raven. We plan to perform the update maintenance of the new version "Cinder Burns" on 8/22, 2023. During the maintenance, Commandants will be unable to enter the game temporarily. To prevent data loss, please exit the game before the maintenance starts, thank you for your understanding.

MAINTENANCE TIME 2023/8/22, 02:00 – 09:00 (UTC) 

MAINTENANCE COMPENSATION Black Card *500, Serum Bundle (S) *1

I. NEW MEMBER | WEAPON | COATING

=== New Character ===

Noan: Arca

Info: S-Rank, Lightning, Vanguard

- 100% rate up in [Target Uniframe] research during 8/23, 08:00 - 9/20, 07:59 (UTC)

=== New 6★ Weapon ===

Prometheus

Info: 6★, Uniframe Rev Blade, Arca Exclusive

Weapon Skill: 

ATK increases by 10%. Triggering Gear-Break Combo or Assault-Rising Combo restores 10 Signature Energy. Dodge Gauge restores 100% faster.

- 80% rate up in [Target Weapon] research since 8/23, 08:00 (UTC).

=== New & Rerun Character Coatings ===

Homecoming (Arca Exclusive) 

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/25, 07:59 (UTC)

Price: 68 RC (30% off)

- The coating Homecoming will enter the regular Coating Shop (Coating: Rainbow Card/Blueprint) in the future.

Dreamweaver (Dragontoll Exclusive) 

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/25, 07:59 (UTC)

Price: 168 RC (30% off)

- The coating Dreamweaver will NOT enter the regular Coating Shop in the future.

Street Rebellion (Laurel Exclusive) 

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/25, 07:59 (UTC)

Price: 168 RC (30% off)

- The coating Street Rebellion will NOT enter the regular Coating Shop in the future.

=== New & Rerun Weapon Coatings ===

Dragonboat (Uniframe Greatsword coating)

Duration: 8/22, 07:00 – 9/26, 01:59 (UTC)

- Purchase [Top-secret Intel] in [Tactical Assessment Manual] to unlock coating access. Achieve rating level 40 to claim the coating.

- The weapon coating Dragonboat will enter the regular Coating Shop in the future.

Red Blossom (Uniframe Dragon Axe coating)

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/25, 07:59 (UTC)

Price: 28 RC (30% off)

- The weapon coating Red Blossom will NOT enter the regular Coating Shop in the future.

Open Annulus (Amplifier coating)

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/25, 07:59 (UTC)

Price: 28 RC (30% off)

- The weapon coating Open Annulus will NOT enter the regular Coating Shop in the future.

II. NEW STORY

=== Cinder Burns ===

Event Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – 9/26, 01:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥40

- Born on the Asslam train, Noan once had a blissful life with his family being an upper-level aristocrat. However, misfortune befell of a sudden, bringing him to the lower level of the train, where it's glutted with poverty, struggle, and hysteria for mere survival.

- The lower level environment further worsened as its intake of new passengers lost control along with the immoderate issuance of "Blessing Boxes." To strive for space and resources, a revolution was emerging to overthrow the dominance from the upper level. Faced with the train of fated history, how would Noan manage to survive this rain of blood? What had he experienced to eventually become the Construct he is now?

III. NEW EVENT

=== Limit Break ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – 9/9, 06:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥52

- Limit Break is a game mode in which you can adjust the abilities of the enemies and stage environments. Make your choices wisely to push your limits, and aim for higher Stage Modification Points to obtain better rewards!

- Each stage opens as time progresses, and provides miscellaneous modification options. Modification options are categorized into 3 types: Enemy, Enemy Affix, and Environment. Buff to enemies and harsher environment will increase your Stage Modification Points.

- Final Challenge Points of each stage will be recorded. Reach Accumulated Points milestones to obtain corresponding rewards including basic training and enhancing materials, CUB training materials, and Trade Vouchers. First clearance of each stage will also reward you with Event Construct R&D Tickets and character Leap materials.

=== Operation Uniframe ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – 9/23, 06:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥52

- Operation Uniframe focuses on the utilization of Uniframe skill sets and various stage buffs. Make good use of Parry and Speed Attack of your Uniframes to quickly eliminate enemies. 

- Finish event tasks to obtain various rewards including Unipower Modules, Skill Points, and Trade Vouchers. You may use Unipower Modules to redeem training and enhancing materials for Uniframes in the event shop.

=== Restless Dreams ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – 9/25, 06:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥40

- Restless Dreams has 5 sessions, each session has a different opening time and comes with 2 stages that drop event tokens [Firefly] and Memories. You may clear the stages repeatedly to obtain stage EXP that can upgrade the Authority Level (Authority Level: grants stats bonuses that only apply to Restless Dreams stages).

=== Event Shop - Warehouse G54 ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – 9/26, 01:59 (UTC)

- Use event token [Firefly] to redeem rewards at Warehouse G54.

- New 6★ Memory set: Shelley.

- Limited items: Notebook and Pen (Noan's favorite gift), Verdant Cabin decor set.

- Other materials include partial 6★ Memory sets, basic training and enhancing materials, CUB training materials, and 6★ Memory Shards.

=== Simulated Siege Optimization ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) – Permanent

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥52

- Introducing "Schools", a new mechanic providing powerful buffs to your preferred battle style in Simulated Siege. Coordinated Attack school encourages swapping in and out multiple members to maximize damage output, while Solo Enhancement school reinforces your solo experience by granting more powerful QTE supports. Each school features 1 Core Skill and 6 Standard Skills, you may equip up to 3 skills for battle.

- The new feature above will be available as the new session of Simulated Siege begins after the maintenance on 8/22.

=== A Sinner's Confession ===

Duration: 8/23, 08:00 – 9/20, 07:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Clear Normal Story 2-4

- A Sinner's Confession is the new trial stage of Noan: Arca to help familiarize yourself with the new character. Learn the basic maneuver and mechanics of Arca in the tutorial stage [Looming Night], and fight through the challenge stage [Ignite Oneself] to deepen your mastery of his skills. Clearing challenge stage will also reward you with basic training and enhancing materials, Trade Vouchers, as well as the limited collectible [Sunflower and Feather].

=== Immunopolis: Wasteland Journal ===

Duration: 8/29, 07:00 – 9/16, 06:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥40

- Immunopolis is a post-apocalyptic survival simulator game mode in which you become the leader of a shelter at stake. Your objective is to help your fellow scavengers through the harsh winter by managing resources and exploring the doomed cities.

- Finish event missions to obtain various rewards including basic training and enhancing materials, Trade Vouchers, Black Cards, limited collectible [Wanderer's Journal], as well as a limited decor set [Burning Words].

=== Inner World ===

Duration: 9/5, 07:00 – 9/23, 06:59 (UTC)

Requirement: Commandant Lv.≥52

- Inner World game mode emphasizes overall strategies' impact on your tactical execution. The mode features 5 chapters, each containing two phases: Downstream and Upstream. 

- Starting with Downstream Phase, you need to clear a series of stages, in which you need to choose one of the two groups of enemies as your opponent. The defeated enemy group will grant Mirage Features, namely powerful buffs, to the other group of enemies.

- Upon finishing the Downstream Phase, you will start the Upstream Phase, which requires you to take down the remaining groups of enemies left from the Downstream Phase. Certain combinations of enemy types and Mirage Features may result in extremely dire battle conditions, so make sure to think twice before choosing the first group of enemies.

- Finish event missions to obtain various rewards including basic training and enhancing materials, Event Construct R&D Tickets, Trade Vouchers, 6★ Memory Shards, and a limited chat stamp [Drinking Tea].

IV. CHARACTER UPGRADE

=== Leap System Unlocked - Watanabe: Astral ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) - Permanent

- Leap system is unlocked for Watanabe: Astral. You may now significantly enhance Astral's capability by unlocking and upgrading Leap skills. Reaching certain Leap skill levels will grant new skill effects and performances.

=== Uniframe Skills Added - Qu: Pavo ===

Duration: 8/22 (after maintenance) - Permanent

- Uniframe Skills are added for Qu: Pavo. You may now significantly enhance Pavo's capability by unlocking and upgrading Finishing Move and Speed Attack. Reaching certain Uniframe skill levels will grant new skill effects and performances.

V. UPDATE

1. New Features & System Optimizations

- Added Chapter 16/17/18 to Stronghold game mode.

- Added a countdown timer for merchandise refreshment of [Shop] - [Voucher Exchange].

- Optimized visual performance of [Members] - [Skill].

- Optimized visual performance of Memory Set filtering feature in [Shop] - [Recycle Shop].

- Optimized the "Claim All" feature in [Tactical Assessment Manual].

- Optimized the visual indicators for event status in [Event Weekly Schedule].

- Optimized Custom Loading Screen feature. You may now set your custom loading screens in [Character Profile] - [Codex] - [Gallery].

- Optimized co-op stages experience. You may now restore or purchase serum in the co-op lobby.

- Fixed the issue where partial [Operation Uniframe] stages cannot be entered under certain conditions.

- Fixed the issue where the Purifying Site stage of Midland Deep Hive cannot continue upon defeating the enemies in [Norman Revival Plan] - [Cover Tactic].

2. Character & Enemy Optimizations

- Optimized the attack patterns of the enemy [Construct Soldier (Female)].

- Fixed the issue where the Counter attacks triggered by Extreme Dodges may display abnormally when Nanami: Starfarer is under Core Passive status.

- Fixed the issue where 9S's Signature Move and Core Passive cannot trigger the stage buffs in certain stages.

[alexis-royce]

Goro Majima, 1, 2, 12, 23 and 26

Goro Majima, 1, 2, 12, 23 and 26

Yes yes YESSSS

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I started with Zero, then Kiwami, and I think just being exposed to Majima is enough?!

But seriously, I love grubby, unpredictable guys who live life on their own terms. He’s also super funny and he knows it; when misfortune happens to him, it’s not just okay to laugh, but he’d be insulted if you didn’t.

I’m glad they walked back a little of his cruelty from Kiwami, but I can’t say I wholly dislike his characterization. He’s a funky little guy who understands the genre of his life and absolutely bless him for it.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

The fact that his men adore him. Majima is violent and unpredictable, but he’s loving life on his own terms, and the way that unrestrained freedom has also charmed people inside the game is a delight.

Also uh. The live-action film isn’t good across the board but uh. Uhm. Majima and the informant? That scene where you think he’s torturing the guy, but then you realize that they just kind of…speak the same language?

Majima’s relationship with pain is. It’s good.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I’d say ‘dressing as Goromi awoke something in him,’ but he does add that to his regular costume rotation, so I’m not sure that it’s entirely a headcanon.

So instead I’m gonna say that sometimes Nishida and the boys just gotta go up to like Hokkaido on a whim to pick up that discontinued conditioner for the boss’ Goromi wig because Kiryu ripped it off and threw it into the gutter by accident the last time they were fighting because he forgot it wasn’t Majima’s real hair and he tried to pause the fight to apologize but Majima didn’t fucking care he was out of his MIND on FIGHT RUSH and kicked Kiryu in the jaw mid-apology but now it’s three days later and Majima has actually processed what happened to his favorite wig and he’s real cheesed about it, pissed off y’know?! Kiryu-can is footin’ the bill for this one, he’s payin’ for the deep restorative conditioning treatment, and if he don’t like it-

Well. Guess he’ll have to fight Majima over the bill.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

If you’re a Majima fan, you’re never at a loss for fanart. I think that this art of Goromi by Stephanie Kao might be my favorite though?

This screenshot is incredible in context, though:

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

The Majima everywhere feature is just about my favorite mechanic in the history of gaming. It’s so funny. I didn’t advance the story in Kiwami until I had to in order to get more Majima. Majima adores Kiryu. He looks up to him, and is absolutely ecstatic to get to fight him and be near him.

This is another example of a video game mechanic transferring emotionally to the player, and it hit hard for me: I’m not good at video games, and I played Zero on easy, fumbling through my button presses and barely beating it, gaining a little confidence.

But the whole POINT of Majima Everywhere is that he wants to see you Git Gud, he’s building up your skills and he wants to have his ass kicked! Do you know what an incentive that is? To have a cool and funny guy popping out of nowhere to go “POP QUIZ ROYCE DUKES UP NOW”

I didn’t know at the time, but it was so gender affirming to learn how to brawl in a video game, to learn combos and to react faster. Speeding up my mental reaction time was also astonishingly good for my mental health, too.

If you want to get better at video games in general, and Majima makes you smile even a little, I cannot recommend Kiwami enough.

[paperanddice]

Alseids are graceful, smaller cousins to the more common centaur. Their lower body is that of a woodland deer and their upper bodies have smaller and far more slender proportions than a centaur's. Male alseids also grow antlers, with the horns branching approximately every 10 years until they've lived for a century. Further branches are possible, but are a deeply spiritual event, one which only occurs rarely and is highly celebrated when it does. Alseids believe it is a blessing from the forest, and thus far no one has a more proven explanation. These horns are never used for combat, and any damage to one is a humiliating error or grave insult.

Currently only a few alseid populations are known, and all exist within deep forests. These populations all have a deeply spiritual connection to their forest, knowing it better than any and able to maneuver it without leaving a single track behind. Most act as defenders of their home, whether guiding lost travellers back out or slaughtering trespassers who cut down a single tree. Each herd shares a similar basis for their rules and traditions with personal variations and exceptions. Meeting one group may give an intruder some understanding of how another will act, but differing rules may result in deadly misunderstandings.

Most alseid communities respect druids and rangers deeply, and their leaders favor such traditions. Often the leader of a larger alseid community will be a prince with 11 or more points to their antlers, representing blessings from the forest to lead. At this point, no alseid with 14 or more points to their horns are known of.

Originally from the Tome of Beasts 1. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I’m working on, consider backing me there!

Pathfinder 2e

Alseid Warrior Creature 0 CN Medium Beast Perception +7; low-light vision Languages Common, Elven, Sylvan Skills Nature +7, Stealth +5, Survival +7 Str +1, Dex +3, Con +1, Int -1, Wis +3, Cha -1 Woodfriend The alseid always gains the benefits of Cover Tracks in forest surroundings, even while moving at full speed. It also always knows true north. Items leather armor, shortbow (20 arrows) spear AC 14; Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +5 HP 14 Speed 35 feet Melee spear +5, Damage 1d6+1 piercing Ranged shortbow +7 (deadly d10, range increment 60 feet, reload 0), Damage 1d6 Ranged spear +7 (thrown 20 feet), Damage 1d6+1 piercing

Alseid Grovekeeper Creature 5 CN Medium Beast Perception +15; low-light vision Languages Common, Druidic, Elven, Sylvan Skills Diplomacy +11, Nature +15, Stealth +13, Survival +15 Str +3, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +2, Wis +6, Cha +4 Woodfriend The alseid always gains the benefits of Cover Tracks in forest surroundings, even while moving at full speed. It also always knows true north. Items leather armor, staff AC 22; Fort +12, Ref +11, Will +15 HP 70 Speed 35 feet Melee staff +12 (two-handed d8), Damage 1d4+3 bludgeoning Melee shillelagh +13 (two-handed d8), Damage 2d4+3, or 3d4+3 against aberrations, extraplanar creatures, or undead Primal Prepared Spells DC 23, attack +15 ; 3rd dispel magic, lightning bolt; 2nd animal messenger, heat metal, restoration; 1st create water, pass without trace, shillelagh; cantrips (3rd) guidance, light, produce flame, tanglefoot Druid Order Spells 1 Focus Point, DC 23 , 3rd goodberry

13th Age

Alseid Warrior  1st level troop [humanoid]  Initiative: +4 Spear +6 vs. AC - 5 damage. Natural Even Hit: The alseid can pop free from the target. R: Shortbow +5 vs. AC (one nearby enemy, or one far away enemy at -2 atk) - 4 damage. Woodfriend: The DC to track or hunt the alseid in a forest increases by +5. AC 17 PD 14 MD 11 HP 28

Alseid Grovekeeper  2nd level caster [humanoid]  Initiative: +5 Shillelagh +8 vs. AC - 7 damage. Natural 16+: The target pops free from the grovekeeper. R: Call Lightning +7 vs. PD (1d2 nearby or far away enemies in a group) - 4 lightning damage. Natural 14+: The target can’t use interrupt actions or make opportunity attacks until the end of its next turn. C: Faerie Fire +7 vs. PD (1d4 nearby enemies in a group) - The target takes a -2 penalty to AC and PD (save ends). Natural 16+: The target must succeed on two saves to end the effect. Woodfriend: The DC to track or hunt the grovekeeper in a forest increases by +5. AC 17 PD 13 MD 16 HP 32