#big sword (berserk style)

[vertigoartgore]

2013's Uncanny X-Men Vol.3 #4 (LGY : #568) cover by cover artist Chris Bachalo and inker Tim Townsend.

[dreaming-tonite]

Opening the discussion on what class members of the batfamily would be if they are dnd pcs because in true nerd fashion, all my current hyperfixations must have intersection points even if it means creating one myself:

Bruce — battle master fighter (ngl superiority dice confuses me sometimes but imo it is such a versatile and tactile class to play)

Dick — college of swords bard or hexblade warlock (not as focused on the charisma/performance aspect of things but still makes attacks using charisma stats over strength stats)

Barbara — I’m torn between school of divination wizard or knowledge domain cleric subclass because the former seems a bit too on the nose but it does make sense?? Tho i also think cleric honors her role as support (also clerics are so underrated, spirit guardian is literally one of my top spells)

Jason — path of the berserker barbarian OR oathbreaker paladin (im not a big fan of the black-and-white alignment styles of like “oathbreakers are innately evil” but the fact that this is the common idea makes for great plot potential)

Tim — bladesinging wizard (ngl im not sure about this one but i picked wizard for the int stats)

Cass — gloom stalker ranger (literal definition of you wont know what hit you until you are hit)

Damian — half-elven(*) assassin rogue

(*under personal preference, everyone is human unless specified because the charm of batfam to me is always that theyre not “meant to be” heroes but consciously become one. HOWEVER, elven al ghuls just seems like such a cool concept)

[altocat]

Do you know any metas on FF characters fighting styles and what it says about the character? The archery guy on TikTok said really big swords were bodyguard weapons and used for getting distance. That says something about Cloud and Sane Sephiroth’s characters and fighting philosophy.

Cloud's style I can see based on what you said. Sephiroth is harder to gauge because Masamune is (very) likely to be a supernatural weapon and the logistics are slightly more skewed.

That said, the big sword vs. long thin sword is a popular trope in anime. Especially in my personal fave, Berserk. Which was one of the pieces of media that influenced FF7.

[scary-grace]

☕️ feanorians 👀 i know you have thoughts...

I do indeed have thoughts about the Feanorians, and I will admit that some of my gripes with the Feanorians are gripes with their fans. But when I’ve read the Silmarillion, it seemed that a strong-ish argument could be made that the Feanorians are the villains of the story, not the tragic heroes. Sure, the initial sin is committed by Morgoth in murdering Finwe and stealing the Silmarils, both of which are inexcusable, but from that point on, the terrible things being done in the narrative are largely being done by the Feanorians to everybody else. And no one — absolutely no one — is compelling them to do it.

I like a good tragedy as much as the next person. To me, one of the key features of a tragedy is its inexorability— the smallest details and circumstances, all piling up on one another to force an outcome no one wanted, with no one able to stop it until it’s too late. The Feanorians as a group (and their plotlines) are missing that inexorability to me. Finwe’s ghost doesn’t appear to Feanor Hamlet’s-dad style to order him to seek vengeance. Feanor does it on his own, which means that destruction of his own family and the thousands of people who die over the course of the War for the Jewels (and subsequently the War of Wrath) are his responsibility. Nobody pushed him into it. He was warned against it by just about everyone. And yet, off he goes.

I referenced Hamlet in the above paragraph, but when I’m thinking of tragedy, I kind of revert back to the Ancient Greek tragedies — Oedipus Rex and the Oresteia. Oedipus does everything a hero is supposed to do, but events set in motion by a single decision that wasn’t even his to make create a catastrophe that he’s powerless to avert. Orestes, meanwhile, knows damn well why he shouldn’t kill his own mother. He knows what will happen to him if he does. But he’s compelled to anyway, by culture and by honor and by grief.

The cultural factor doesn’t exist for the Feanorians. There’s no precedent in Noldorin culture for what to do if your father is murdered, and there’s no commandment to drag your entire family down with you in a quest for revenge that’s doomed to fail. And the ignorance factor doesn’t exist, either. Every decision is squarely in Feanor’s (and later, his sons’) hands, and they have all the information they need to make choices that won’t result in three Kinslayings, five disastrous battles, one child-kidnapping, and an attempt at forcing marriage in a culture where consent is the entire ballgame. The Feanorians act with malice. They disregard their own people and their own allies. Morgoth doesn’t make them commit the massacre at Sirion (you know, the one that even the Feanorian fans can’t defend); that’s one hundred percent pure Feanorian initiative. That’s not the behavior of tragic heroes. Those are the actions of villains.

So my thoughts on the Feanorians are that if the Silmarillion is a tragedy, they’re the villains, not the heroes. If the Silmarillion is a fable, they’re the bad example. (Tolkien reinforces this in The Hobbit — I don’t think it’s an accident that Thorin goes berserk and tries to kill one of his closest allies over a big shiny rock.) If the Silmarillion is a history, their response to Morgoth is the architecture on which thousands of years of tragedy are built. However they got to where they are at the moment of Finwe’s death (the Valar yoinking them all from Middle-earth was a bad move), at the end of the day, they’re still the ones holding the sword.*

*(Part of my insistence on the Feanorians being the bad guys is a response to some corners of the fandom trying to exonerate them for absolutely everything by blaming their victims. I’ve seen people say the first Kinslaying was Olwe’s fault for not giving up the ships, that the second Kinslaying was Dior’s fault for not giving up the Silmaril his parents retrieved, that the third Kinslaying was Elwing’s fault for — existing, I guess. And that it was just so mean of Thingol not to immediately submit to the people who murdered his brother. Anything to get Maedhros and company off the hook.)

Thank you for the ask! Sorry if I rambled a bit — once I got into trying to actually articulate my problems, it got a little complicated.

[sleepynegress]

On Greta Danesti...

I'm just taking this time to correct a certain anti-Black, (and anti-Romani) sadly typical fandom troll's misogynoir fuckery in the tag and establishing who Greta Danesti is in canon Castlevania animation lore. This is Greta Danesti's official character sheet:

She's the village headwoman of Danesti a few miles away from Alucard's castle. This is what her voice actress, Marsha Thompson looks like:

It's pretty obvious her character design took cues from the actress, who is Afro-British. In show canon, however, her family escaped from the Roman city of Carthage, which today, is located in the African country Tunisia. Alucard correctly speculated where her people are from while conversing with her, here (s4 e5):

Greta then confirms that her people did escape the Romans, but she now fully embraces her "family" in her village who are "from all over" and the responsibility of taking care of them.

This same troll used the g-slur to insist that she is Romani.

She is not. This troll used an early character design here, to make her case.:

And though it does have similarities to Romani clothing... It also looks like it takes cues from Tunisian clothing and likely local and non-local European clothing of the era with "fantasy" elements sprinkled in, as well, which would match the fact of her village's people coming from all over:

There definitely should be more Romani rep in media as it is so often whitewashed, but Greta is not Romani.

FYI, these women actors actually *are* of Romani descent: Fairuza Balk of The Craft, Oona Chaplin who played Robb Stark's wife in GOT (she's also Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter[!]), and Noomi Rapace from the Swedish movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo says her father may have been of Romani descent, as well.

And because I can predict it, as people like to find ways of discounting blackness in every way...

Yes, there are plenty of non-Black indigenous POC in North Africa, including within Tunisia. Another fun fact... Africa has more indigenous human genetic variation among its peoples than every other people on the planet has with everyone else on the planet[!]. All this to say non-white POC AND Black people are indigenous to Tunisia.

I feel I have to say that because there is a lot of anti-Black anthropological fetishization of North Africa. Egypt is a major example of that (see: Rami Malek, an indigenous Coptic Egyptian who self-identifies as African man of color and has likely had to clarify that *often* because people keep wanting to mislabel him as an Arab, but I digress...) And sadly, there is a decidedly anti-black movement to totally disconnect certain North African countries' identities from a continental African one, and to largely see it as mainly a part of the MENA world (it is both kiddies, BOTH). Here is an informative article (linked in the image) about that struggle:

So, this got heavy...but between the post insisting that Greta is NOT Black and the one saying she's not bisexual because that same troll is purposefully and maliciously being obtuse about how words go together... I figured clearing some things up and educating folks might be helpful. BTW, the fact of those issues in the article makes her blackness all the more resonant as rep in pop culture. And hey, poly folks have disagreements, just like the het folks do... -Still bi. I'm gonna end here with two images from the linked article of anti-racist Tunisian protesters (MENA and Black):

P.S. I also side-eye those keen to make her muscular... I mean yeah she wields a big-ass hammer and shortsword/dagger, but the tendency to masculinize black woman characters deserves a hardy eye-squint. Especially, given that the show has *no problem* making muscular women look like that and they DIDN'T for Miss Greta.

See: Zamfir and the Berserk-style sword-carrying Vampire warrior, Striga. Both of whom had that flex going on.

[marth-garhengi]

Things I Want From DA: Veilguard That I Know We Won't Get:

These are almost all things DAI did poorly. Though I cannot stress enough that I love ALL the DA games, nothing is perfect...

- Kill Moves

Kill moves in DAO were amazing and there were only like 10. Worst decision by DA2's dev team was not to add them. Who the hell doesn't want to see their characters doing a sweet finishing move to round out a tough fight, in ANY game?? Ragdoll in RPGs sucks and always has, Killmove Supremacy forever (for all classes, not just melee!)

- Companion Tactics

It sucks that Bioware keep deciding to take great RPG elements out of their games and this one is so sorely missed. DAI dropped the ball big time by dumbing down companion tactics. It's a Party based game! I want MORE passive control over my companions, not less!!

- OG Tactical Gameplay

I can understand the thought process behind giving players the option to play tactically OR casually in DAI, but in practice both options are worse than the alternative. Having to switch Tactical on/off in the middle of combat just makes the gameplay more jarring, as opposed to the more accessible Pause Wheel style of the previous titles. It wasn't broken, it didn't need fixing.

- Unlimited Abilities

Another DAI fumble, tying into the previous point. Don't give us 300 ability points and then force us to pick only 8 that we can actively use. RPGs are great BECAUSE of the wide variety of playstyles and abilities you can choose for your characters. Slowly turning them into Gods is part of the fun! It's a reward for all the grinding and the early game slog. Much of the joy of obtaining a new skill or power is lost if you're forced to sacrifice another ability to use it, AND means you're wasting points when levelling. TL;DR for this and previous point: Combat wheel good.

- Manual Attributes

Another gripe I had with DAI that boils down to; Stop taking RPG elements out of your RPG. If the player wants to make a mage with insanely high Constitution, LET THEM. Making attribute points exclusively obtainable via passive abilites was taking a neat idea too far. Sub-point: All armor should be accessible to all classes. Attribute thresholds work.

- Less Collectathon-y

It's Dragon Age, not Banjo Kazooie. Nobody liked trekking through the hissing wastes for all those stupid shards. People realised that video games don't need a bazillion things to collect DECADES ago. Comparitively, the Astrariums were fun and engaging! A few little logic puzzles that unlock a loot cache? Good and fun. Spending hours running around grabbing little rocks in every map to unlock a loot cache? Boring and lazy addition to gameplay. Less of that forever.

- Horse Riding that doesn't Suck (Or No Horse Riding, period!)

We all played Inquisition. Enough Said.

- Arcane Warrior

Please Bioware I'm begging you to let me be a Mage with a sword again it was so fucking cool please it's all I want forever.

- Oghren

Bring back my Alcoholic Berserker Homie, he was so much fun and I love him and miss him.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[silverserpent]

Silly Game Time: Who are some of your favorite fighter characters? And what do you like about them?

They can weild any weapon (swords, spears, axes, clubs, knives, bare hands, etc.); they can be of any class or variety of combatant (ones who rely on strength like brawlers or berserkers, ones who use finesse like martial artists or technique masters, ones who balance defensive and offensive equipment like knghts or samurai, etc.); they can be of any race or species (from fantasy or sci-fi); they can even have access to special powers to improve their combat skills (magical, psychic, technological, superpowers, etc.).

What matters is that one of their primary skills, roles in the story, and traits as a character is physical fighting.

I KNOW this is an odd choice, but hear me out: Alan Becker's stickmen.

First off, their choreography is something AMAZING. Very fast paced, and always doing AMAZING cool stuff. Here's a poorly cropped clip of one of their calmer fights.

And here is what they can REALLY do.

And also... they are children.

Look at them. they are playing with action figures. Look. Red just crashed the party by involving the piggie.

And they made the ULTIMATE TREE CHOPPING CONTRAPTION with no foresight whatsoever.

THEY ARE PLAYING TETRIS AND CHEERING EACH OTHER ON. While Green just dances because there is music.

And they all have very established personalities and fighting styles, even though there are no words uttered! Orange is mostly the guy who comes up with very smart tactics; Green jumps around a lot and is very flashy; Red gets up-close and personal, hotheadedly rushes into the stupidest losing battles, and will love every animal they find; Blue is an incredibly powerful support guy when he has access to potion, fights ranged, likes to cook and deal with plants; Yellow is a big big engineer who has little foresight on whether or not the thing they make is a good idea, and the most likely to hang back, and provide support. Yellow is my big favorite, because of course. Their first move when they find a cool item is to take it apart.

And they are good natured and kind and friendly! They goof off and cheer each other on and prank, and they will help without hesitation, and there is also a big dramatic story and they are SO FUN.

One of my WIPs I need to return to was inspired by them, because I wanted to captivate the feeling they gave me.

this got away from me a tad, but hey :"D

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Credit: pixiv.net/artworks/70581957

Motherfucker.

Hajime is Dr. Romani. This is going to connect with Izuru later. But still, of course Hajime is one of the dealy beloved human characters of Fgo.

Chiaki is Frankenstein's Monster (call her Fran). She looks great and all but besides the love of electricity and childlike mannerisms, not sure Chiaki fits Fran's animal like berserkness and tragic need for love.

Mahiru is Boudica. I can say for certainty this is solely due to Red hair and mother like qualities. Pretty sure we shouldn't compare Mahiru to someone whose entire purpose in Fgo is being that meme person who really hates the Roman Empire (ironically the founder of Rome is her best partner in battle), has big boobs, has a terrible skillset in battle, and is defined by her backstory of losing the war against the Roman Empire and had to watch her daughters be relentlessly raped by them before most likely being forced to join them which lead to her falling into despair and killing herself.

Ibuki is Nobunaga. This is solely cuz of the amount of fourth wall breaking chibi style comedic relief and crazy hijinks. (Nobu Nobu Nobu? Nobu Nobu Nobu Nobu Nobu! Nobu? Nobu Nobu! Nobu...)

Mikan is Skadi. I have no idea why. What does shy and clumsy as fuck Mikan have in common with a wise nordic giantess with insecurities about being single and unmarried?

Hiyoko is BB. BB and Hiyoko might both be detestable trollish pieces of shit who keep fucking people over and getting away with it, but comparing Hiyoko to essentially AI Junko Enoshima on crack is a bit too far.

Kazuichi is Nikola Tesla. Electricity. Master Inventor. Eccentric mofo. I approve.

Sonia is Marie Antoinette. Princess/Queen like character. I can see that. (Tho we should also try to look out for Marie Alter cuz that bitch is crazy as fuck and wants everyone to experience how it felt when the guillotine beheaded her). Tho Sonia wishes she was as much a cinnamon roll as Marie.

Gundham is Ozymandias/Rameses II. Boisterous mofos collide. I approve. (Sidenote: Ozy is voiced by Dio. KONO OZY DA!!!)

Izuru is of course Dr. Roman's true identity as King Solomon, King and Progenitor of All Magic. All magic apparently stems from him, motherfuckers. All hail the character we will never get and wish he would come back.

Nagito is Edmund Dantes. Only cuz of Memes based on similar looks. Nagito has nothing on Dantes's year long pursuit for revenge. Tho I guess they both were "saved" by the woman they loved most in the world.

Twogami is Julius Caesar. Only cuz they are chubby charismatic likeable people.

Peko is Tomoe. FUCK YEAH I APPROVE. Peko would totally be Tomoe. Why do you think I made Tomoe her Persona in my headcanon. It fits her SO MUCH TO A T.

Fuyuhiko is Rama. Why? What does Fuyu have in common with a guy who kills demon kings with an army of monkeys cuz they stole his wife yet was also cursed to die whenever him and his wife would ever meet? (Poor Rama in fgo, all he wants is to be with his wife again but destiny keeps screwing him over by killing him seconds before his wife reaches where he is).

Nekomaru is Iskandar/Alexander the Great. Solely due to being super muscular likeable badass motivators of living a great life. Nekomaru clearly doesn't want to conquer lands and rule the world.

Akane is Francis Drake. Only cuz of giant cleavage window alone. Akane ain't no pirate queen with literal flying sea ships with giant laser cannons.

And Teruteru is Fergus. Only because both of them are a super perverts with mindsets primarily filled only about banging women and having sex. Teru is no ripped Chad with a drill sword that shoots rainbow lasers from the ground. (Sidenote: Fergus's drill sword, Caladbolg, translates to "Hard Blade". Yes it's a dick joke.")

//I mean they look good?

-Mod

[swallowerofdharma]

Speaking of berserk's evocative art, that one whole page of Guts, Casca, and Griffith in chapter 130 (page 17?) is like one of my favourite illustrations ever!

It’s definitely a loaded yet beautiful image. I know this is not a question and maybe you just wanted to show your appreciation for the art style, but I talked about chapter 130 and that panel too in a previous analysis here.

In Guts’s internal monologue, “the campfire from those days”, from visually being represented as “the campfire of dreams” of the band of the Hawk, that warmed him for a bit, becomes an image the simple burning desire he felt around both Griffith and Casca and that he shared with her: it depicts the sexual connection between him and Casca and on one side Griffith’s back - as Guts’s burning desire was also the sting of ambition and competition he felt around him - and on the other Casca, two focal points - two “love interests” - that have now become opposed, because now following Griffith means fueling the black flame of hatred, revenge and malice, whereas choosing Casca is strengthening “this last feeble flame left to me”.

I think chapter 130, A feeble flame, is deeply connected to chapter 48, Sparks from a sword tip, which contained the first meeting between Guts and the blacksmith Godo, the first lesson he learned from him, if you want: “It’s not a clear, concrete destination like what Griffith said… it’s not some lofty, glittering thing”. In both chapters Casca is there as well, but hopefully in the story she is more than a substitute, but someone who Guts can learn from a thing or two, too. The image that you like to me can be considered in opposition to this:

And we like to joke about Guts’s big sword in the fandom as we absolutely should, I think the exaggeration is very much intended. But then you think about how Guts is sleeping with a sword as a substitute for something else that isn’t there (someone who cared for him) and to ward off his fears since he was a child and the only time he isn’t clutching his sword at night he is with Casca or thinking about her in this case: “There’s no way I can sleep in the dark without a sword”. I think that Guts’s sword is bigger the more his fear grows and that yes he uses the sword to protect himself and then gradually to protect others, but he takes so much pleasure from unleashing his emotions that way that ultimately it’s a cold and blunt weapon that prevents him from touching people and connecting fully: “No… actually, compared to what my hand’s touched… my sword touched a thousand times more”. (chapter 48).

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #308: Mysterious Idol X (Alter)

today on Fate and Phantasms we’re putting together the hottest idol act this side of the apocalypse, Mysterious Idol X (Alter)! let’s see, she’s got to be good enough with an instrument to wow a crowd, have supereffective attacks against robots, and pull a giant glowing sword out of nowhere to end fights. yeah, that’s a Glamour Bard alright. but just to spice things up, we’ll still give her some Psi Warrior Fighter levels to keep things star-warsy.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

next up: who’s a good girl? who’s a good girl? who’s a good beast of calamity? it’s you! yes, it’s you! aboojiboojiboo!

Race and Background

it’s been a while since MHX Alter, and I’m pretty sure we went with custom lineage for servantverse servants once or twice, but it’s easier to just stick with Variant Human and call it a day. that gives you +1 Dexterity and Charisma, proficiency in Acrobatics for more involved dance routines, and the Mobile feat for ten feet of movement each turn plus the ability to ignore triggering reaction attacks after you attack someone first. long before any idol goes on stage, you have to put in time for your footwork.

you’re still a Far Traveler though, so you get Insight and Perception proficiency.

Ability Scores

now that you’re hopped up on idolium, your Charisma is through the roof! you’re still from a science fiction-based universe, so your Intelligence is still a lot higher than most people’s. your Dexterity too, since you need to be acrobatic for some of your dance routines. all this does mean your Constitution has taken a serious hit since last time, though you’re still with a positive modifier. the same can’t be said for your Strength though, since this time you mostly deal damage through rocking out. and of course, we’re dumping Wisdom. you were a berserker, and you’re now a foreigner. neither of those classes are great when it comes to sanity.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: yes, most of your levels are in bard, but we need to get some physical training in before we start performing, which is why your Fighting Style is the Superior Technique, Evasive Footwork. with this, you can add a d6 to your AC once per short rest when you start to move, ending when you stop. dance fucker dance, they never had a chance. to hit you.

you also learn how to catch a Second Wind as a bonus action for some quick self-healing.

finally, you’re proficient in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Athletics and Intimidation checks. have you seen how nervous those nerds get at meet n greets? this is why.

2. Fighter 2: sometimes you need to play an encore, and for those times you need an Action Surge to keep your turn going for an extra action. you can do this once per short rest as well.

3. Bard 1: okay, that’s enough training, it’s time for the big leagues! just being a bard gives you proficiency with Performance, because… duh. you can also use Bardic Inspiration Charisma Modifier times per short rest, giving an ally a d6 they can use on any attack roll, save, or ability check in the next minute.

on top of that, you can cast spells! using your charisma! and your spell slots! spells like, dancing lights to dance with lights, and friends to enrapture the crowd for a couple seconds. you can also disguise self for some quick costume changes, faerie fire to light up the stage and make other attacks more accurate, and of course thunderwave to blast enemies with the power… of MUSIC!

4. bard 2: second level bards are jacks of all trades, giving you at least half proficiency on all ability checks. you can also sing a song of rest as part of your short rest, adding another d6 to your party’s healing if they use hit dice! and we finally don’t have to reflavor this one.

you also get Magical Inspiration, so your bandmates can add your inspiration dice to their magical damage or healing as well! now that’s some king singing!

speaking of healing, we might as well have some for ourselves, right? grab Healing Word so we can heal and still leave our action open.

5. Bard 3: honestly MIX(A) is so plain vanilla bard you could probably make her without a subclass at all. but we still need one, and if you’re going to be an idol the college of Glamour is just a no-brainer. with her Mantle of Inspiration, you can spend a bonus action and one inspiration use to suit up for a show. you can pick up to Charisma Modifier creatures, giving them temporary HP and they can use their reaction to move without provoking opportunity attacks. idols have to be good at weaving through crowds, and it’s just not a show without the whole crew!

once you’re on stage, you can put on an Enthralling Performance. if you sing for a minute, you can choose Charisma Modifier creatures that have to make a wisdom save or they become charmed for 1 hour. while charmed, they idolize you, but they won’t commit violence on your behalf if they weren’t already inclined to do so. they won’t notice anything if they succeed on the save, and you can do this once per short rest.

you’ll get a lot more chances to perform when people find out about your Expertise in performance and acrobatics, doubling your proficiency bonus with those checks.

you can also Shatter robots now. we’re still like, a month and a half out from your event so I don’t know why that’s important, but boy howdy you don’t like robots, and this spell gives them disadvantage on their save against getting blown up by your speakers.

6. Bard 4: use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration. speaking of spells, Minor Illusion will add some flair to your show, and Kinetic Jaunt helps you get through larger crowds without having to worry about any grapples.

7. Bard 5: fifth level bards not only get stronger inspiration dice, but they also become a Font of Inspiration, letting them regain inspiration on short rests as well as long ones. you can also use third level spells like Mass Healing Word now for a full-party heal.

8. Fighter 3: With most of our basic stuff out of the way, it’s time for some force powers. as a Psi Warrior you have Psionic Power, represented by psionic dice. you get to use these dice 2x your proficiency bonus each day, and you can also spend a bonus action to regain a die once per short rest. If that wasn’t needlessly complicated enough, you can use them in three different ways. Your Protective Field can shield yourself or another creature as a reaction. You spend the die, roll it, and reduce the damage by the roll and your intelligence modifier. Your Psionic Strike adds extra damage to your attack once per turn, again by spending a die and rolling it. Finally, your Telekinetic Movement lets you move objects with your mind, either moving it to an unoccupied space 30’ away, or straight to your hand if it would fit. You can do this one for free once a short rest, or by spending a die.

9. Fighter 4: Because we’re working with actual weapons again, it’s a good idea to get your Dexterity higher so you can actually use them.

10. Fighter 5: Fifth level fighters can attack twice each action. Your spells are still stronger, but it’s good to have something to fall back on.

11. Bard 6: back in bard, you can spend your action to Countercharm, giving nearby allies advantage on their checks against being charmed or frightened. or you can do something better and put on your Mantle of Majesty. now for the next minute, you can use the Command spell as a bonus action, including the one you use to transform. these don’t use spell slots, and charmed creatures automatically fail their save against these spells. it’s powerful, but it only works once a day. now that’s star power!

of course your targets have to understand you to follow you, so that’s why we’re grabbing Tongues this level. all the good idols come with subtitles, right?

12. Bard 7: seventh level bards get fourth level spells, like Freedom of Movement. we’ve already gotten pretty much everything we need, now it’s just about getting bigger spell slots. and your NP, of course, but that comes later.

13. Bard 8: at level 8 you get another ASI, and this time instead of raw stats we’re grabbing some more force powers. with the Gift of the Gem Dragon, you get one more point of Charisma, and you can toss people around with your brain after they attack you. you force a strength save on them, and if they fail they take force damage and get pushed. you can do this proficiency times per day.

you can also make a Hypnotic Pattern for a sick lightshow on stage.

14. Bard 9: ninth level bards get a stronger song of rest, as well as fifth level spells like Legend Lore. If it’s important enough to count as a “legend”, you can learn more about it, getting more info the more you already know. if we’re going back to the servantverse, you’re probably going to be the one doing the exposition dumps.

15. Bard 10: tenth level bards get a d10 inspiration die, as well as Expertise with two more skills like perception and athletics. even without being a berserker, you’ve still got that madness enhancement to pahmp *clap* you ahp!

you also get some Magical Secrets, two spells you can pick without worrying about class restrictions, alongside your cantrip Thunderclap. if you want a song with more punch, Destructive Wave has just what you’re looking for, dealing damage all around you that is both thunder and either radiant or necrotic, while also knocking creatures prone if they fail a constitution save. Steel Wind Strike is more to give you actual sword skills, dealing damage to a couple creatures and teleporting behind them like the chuuni you are. don’t worry though, it’s nothing personnel.

16. Bard 11: eleventh level bards get sixth level spells like Otto’s Irresistible Dance. it’s technically in character, since your NP starts with making the enemy party dance a lil. still, what other spell could I give an idol bard?

17. Bard 12: you’re still a jedi though, so we also gotta get you a little Telekinetic. that rounds up your Charisma, and you learn the mage hand cantrip, which you can cast silently and invisibly. you can even use the hand to shove people around as a bonus action. with this, you’re now fully stocked up on charisma, giving you the most inspiration and spell power possible.

18. Bard 13: thirteenth level bards get a bigger song of rest as well as your NP, Mordenkainen’s Sword. summon a sword as an action, then you can spend up to a minute using your bonus action to swing it around. it’s not coming out of your guitar, but we allow for upgrades here.

19. Bard 14: a fourteenth level idol has some unbreakable majesty, making you prettier overall as well as giving you another minute-long transformation. with this one, the first time a creature attacks you each turn they need to make a charisma save or be forced to pick on someone else. even if they pass that one, they get disadvantage on all saves against your spells next turn. and you can even use this one every short rest, sweet!

if that’s not enough you also get two more Magical Secrets! pick up Project Image so you can give concerts throughout the galaxy and Heroes’ Feast. you’re still the same berserker we know and love under all that fame, after all.

20. Bard 15: your final level comes with a bigger inspiration die, as well as an eighth level spell. Prismatic Spray feels like a good way to end the build. it’s flashy, it’s powerful, and it’s flashy!

Pros and Cons

Pros:

with MIX’s mobility and unbreakable majesty, she’s great at avoiding combat altogether, or at least avoiding getting hit. waltz through the crowd and get out of the concert before anyone even realizes your set is over!

speaking of parties, you’ve got maxed out charisma and half proficiency on everything, so of course you’re a good party face. the costume changes aren’t mandatory, but they certainly don’t hurt, either.

let’s be honest, intelligence is usually most people’s dump stat, so the fact that you have a positive modifier and half proficiency puts you well above most characters when it comes to finding stuff out, which means your Legend Lore info dumps will be all the more useful.

Cons:

a lot of your subclass is still heavily charm based, so higher level creatures will be a pain. at least you can keep their flunkies away.

you also don’t have great physical stats, so while you can fall back on your swordplay to save spell slots, it’s not ideal.

you’ve still got low wisdom and no boost to your wisdom saves, so ironically you could easily get charmed yourself, leading to a charm-chain that takes out half your party.

[mouse-romance]

Her name is Neretta, and she's a farmer.

Or was, after she was dragged into a war in which she doesn't belong.

Neretta grew in Dun Modr, and slowly became a local hero by scaring away bandits and saving the sheeple. By a chain of events, her name came up in an Alliance meeting, and they determined that for diplomatic benefits with the kul'tiran, they should also send regular people on top of the legendary champions... And she was on the list.

Neretta didn't even understand what the Alliance was.

She knew they were "the army", the top dogs who ruled everything. She also knew that the Horde were "the beasts that come and destroy", but she really never saw an orc, nor a tauren. She only knew the underdeveloped trolkin near her village, so she assumed they were all like that out there.

Her parents told her that legendary warriors always wield big weapons, never shields, so they pushed her to abandon her classic fightstyle to adopt a more "classical berserk" kind of stance.

She hated it.

But the new world would be unforgiving for a farmhand like her, so she adapted.

Her first official quest made her go onboard a ship that sinked due to some terrible enchantment. The sirens called beyond the waves, and before she could even realize it, her body impacted against the sea.

She struggled to stay afloat, her big weapons were dragging her to the depths. She knew that unarmed she was nothing, so she should drown before letting them go... But she then noticed all the debris around her and figured it out.

She let her claymores drown, not with herself.

She gasped for air desperately, clinging on a wooden table afloat.

She dragged herself to the shore. Grabbed a battered plank to protect herself, using a rusty dagger as her only weapon, now replacing the ornamental claymores crafted by her ancients.

The new world was indeed unforgiving... So was she with her old styled sword and shield stance. How easy it was for her to fight now with something as simple as a plank and a shiv.

She started doing what she did best, saving people. And in the midst of her struggle, she finally put an end to the cursed seas by slaying the queen of the sirens.

Even in death, she was beautiful.

She figured that it was her first time slaying a mythical beast, a monster of legends... But there wasnt time for her to waste, as she was received as a small time hero by everyone who survived the crash.

That feeling felt strange at first, but after more and more local victories, people started trusting her, probably more than what she trusted herself.

She ascended to the rank of "Guard", which is much more than what she could ever expect.

She watches now the city, knowing that tomorrow or another tomorrow she will be called back to the roads. She is ready, it's where she belongs, helping the common folk.

But for now, she is spending the night in the city.

[these-detestable-hands]

OC design post!

This is what Augustus looked like in August of 2021. I spent so long on it because of the shape language, color choice, clothing, pose and even background. 2 years later, I'm still happy with it but I have significantly changed Augustus' entire character so it is unfortunately outdated.

His outfit is fairly similar, but it's a little lighter, his build is a bulkier and the style is significantly softer.

Also elephant in the room, he's white as crap in drawing one and black in the second one! In August of 2021, his mom was not Ione. That decision came around in early 2022. I changed his skin tone and hair texture to match.

So what about them? Glad you asked! Augustus is a king, but more importantly, he is a mentor character.

See, in 2021, he was a slimey pure evil villain but I changed that in 2022 (made him really good but spring this year, I made more edits and he is a little bit morally grey) and I think the design is a fun way of showing the change.

Design 1 is shape, he hides his body (and therefore himself) with a large cape and a blouse that is too big for him, he holds a sword but conceals it with his cape because he doesn't want the general public to know he's planning a war and he's got an excellent smirk. Not explaining how, but the background is just how his long dead wife still haunts him 900 years after he killed her. He's just really slimey and I've gotten loads of praise for this drawing on how well I captured that :]

Drawing 2, he's physically stronger. He still has a sword, but shows it because he's proud that he can defend his people from the monsters of the north western waste. He still has a cape because he's a very private person, but it isn't used to make himself seem bigger or greater than he is like in the first drawing.

What's the purpose of this post? EXCELLENT QUESTION! You've been BAMBOOZLED! It was dear emperor all along!

So I've talked about how Augustus' design has changed with his character, how he was a slimey pure evil villain then became a mentor. Why am I doing this?

Obviously it's because I love infodumping.

Well, also that, but it's actually about Volker. If I were to design a pure evil villain, I'd likely just look at some disney (classic, not recent, good grief) and anime villains I like, sketch up something neat and call it a day, right?

That would be a perfectly okay process, if it weren't for Volker's genre of pure evil. He's pure evil and obviously lies and uses everyone around him, but he's also physically huge and has led soldiers on a battle field, not to mention that my main inspiration for him is Damon Gant from ace attorney, Volker is a mentor figure for Ira and aesthetically then dear emperor is heavily inspired by triangle strategy and breath of the wild.

That's so many things to take into consideration!

He has to be pure evil, so horrible he would kill his own sister, the gods that protect the world from [unnamed thing] and lies with a bright smile, but he also has to look like a dad who would swing a battle axe with glee. Do you see the problem. He needs the vibes of Griffith (berserk) (minus the rape) and Harvey (octopath 2) but I also want him to look like Landroi (triangle strategy). Not to mention that I haven't even begun to think of what rich people might wear in Odeda! I only have commoners' clothing pinned down! And Volker isn't just rich, he's the king of a country that occupies like 5 other countries! He's rich rich!!!

Conclusion? Just thinking of Volker's design gives me a headache and I'm excited to start designing him and I'll document that miserable process.

[doubleddenden]

Time to talk about things I'm excited about again

New Fate/Samurai Remnant trailer! it's only in Japanese for now, and it was quickly privated from the original uploader

HOWEVER, there's still a lot of cool things to look at here.

First of all, i'll be honest, I saw this originally thanks to a twitter user that archived it and looked at the various stuff you can get with it, so a lot of my "official" info that isn't visually made clear in the trailer will be regurgitated from what they've said. here's the thread and another video (just in case this one gets taken down)

Okay, so time for a deep dive under the cut:

first off

Musashi (which that IS Musashi and this is not a Scathatch=Skadi or similar situation) is apparently a Berserker

The MC is most likely Iori- there's a few reasons why this is significant, both in terms of actual history (which plays a role for Fate, obviously) and Fate lore in general

A. Historical relevancy: Iori is one of the children that IRL Miyamoto Musashi bought/adopted from his original parents, and taught them his signature sword style.

B. Lore relevancy: The Musashi we're familiar with in Fate is from another world where she's female- at least in terms of Fate/Grand Order lore. Musashi sort of gets rejected by reality/gets tossed in and out of alternate dimensions here and there, and other than official story canon, she does play a fun and significant role in Summer 4. Here she appears in the Summer Singularity of Las Vegas as a Berserker and also keeps trying (and failing) to convince the group she is actually Iori. It's a fun story but hard to argue as canon due to the nature of event singularities and especially summer ones

3. I'm very sure you can tell if you look closely, but the black haired servant with the white shirt is definitely a Saber face- I think this one actually has Artoria's VA. I posted previously after the last trailer, but they have Artoria's hairstyle and the little ahoge that's pretty much signature to Saber Faces (sans Alters). To me they seem of Chinese origin judging by dress and swords, and it also seems like they have some water ability? Which is strange but cool. If anyone's smart enough to try and figure that one out, go for it. I'd personally look through old Chinese folktales or rulers that have some association to water, or maybe was a man suspected of being a woman/vice versa (which is why Artoria is a woman instead of a man). Maybe a swordsman that traveled or migrated to Japan, too.

4. This is DEFINITELY a Holy Grail War, it's the only way someone like Jalter could show up like this- However the fact that she's even here to begin with must mean there's something wonky going on, since her existence in FGO is pretty much only because of Chaldea's interference. It could also just be a separate instance of fuckery going on, especially considering we have ANOTHER Avenger class here- Angry Mango himself (i can't remember how to spell the name). Maybe another tainted grail?

5. Speaking of Angra, he looks different- like he's not using Shiro as a base body anymore. He has face stubble- Kiritsugu, maybe? It wouldn't be the first time Kiritsugu and Shiro have had similar Servant counterparts. It could also be another of Musashi's kids imo.

6. Speaking of Shiro, or more specifically Fate/Stay Night

This place looks familiar, almost like the shrine where Saber and Assassin fought each other in FSN, aka the shrine Caster was holding out in. Now this might be a stretch, but what if this is Fuyuki from the past? If this is Iori's time, this would be around the 1600s, roughly 400 years prior to Stay Night. The fact that the new Saber Face is also here seems rather significant imo

7. The extra Servants look cool- I'm betting the big guy with the green is maybe another Hercules form or possibly Samson, which would be a first for Fate I think. He does have long hair, anyway.

8. The music used is similar to the Shimousa fighting music from FGO's Shimousa arc

Anyway, the early September release date for Japan is pretty awesome. I doubt it'll release that early for us, and in fact that may be why they retracted the video? unclear. Personally i hope it comes out later so i can actually save and buy it instead of passing it up for a wedding lol

I can't wait for it, it looks fun

[hymnofshadows-archive]

@immy-ooc @sins-of-the-sea (Yells at tumblr for not letting me tag your main blog)

'aight so, might as well do all of the Seven because I have So Many Thoughts about this.

Option A:

The Seven are Drowned. They exist solely in service to the Lord of the Whorl, Leviathan. Like any who has been claimed by primals, their loyalty to him is unwavering and knows no end. Their continued existence is only to strengthen their god and to summon him unto the world.

They work closely with the Sahagin and the Reavers - plundering supplies as they can, but naturally prioritizing capturing people to sacrifice to him and crystals with which to summon him.

Option B:

The Seven are just another pirate crew in Limsa Lominsa. On the surface, things seem perfectly legal - they have their privateering license and will gladly assure you that the wares they're trying to sell you was, in fact, stolen from a Garlean ship, thank you very much.

But any pirate crew knows how to manage their reputation, doesn't it? Keep a low profile. Stick to the code when you can so you don't draw the attention of the Rogue's Guild. You can get away with almost anything in a nation like this, can't you?

The Crew:

Captain Josep Frascona Race: Midlander Hyur Nationality: Lominsan Classes: Marauder>Warrior, Rogue>Ninja

Marauder and Rogue are both classes that start in Limsa Lominsa - both with a long history connected to piracy, making them easy choices.

Marauders have long had places on ships, their greataxes useful for both combat and felling the masts of other ships. And, as he is the Sin of Wrath... the Job upgrade into Warrior makes sense. He can have a bit of berserker rage, as a treat.

The Rogues are a covert group who serves to enforce the Pirate Code and police the city-state under cover of darkness. So Josep's canon shadowy stealth skills from his fog form can be translated into him having learned from them. I see the Ninja upgrade as something he picks up during a trip to the Far East - noticing similarities in the fighting styles and adapting it into his own.

Abena Frascona

Race: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te Nationality: Ul'dahn Classes: Musketeer (non-playable), Machinist, Alchemist

Musketeer was a planned musket-wielding class that never got added (but there's still references to it in game so it exists it just can't be you).

Machinist, added in the Heavensward expansion, however, is a gun wielding Job... and the poor guildmaster will hand out guns like candy trying to convince people they're viable weapons.

Alchemist is a crafting class... that I really don't think I have to explain, let Abena make fucked up little potions to her heart's content.

Rashid al-Qadar

Race: Hellsguard Roegadyn (listen. him big i don't make the rules) Nationality: Thavnairian Classes: Gladiator>Paladin, Arcanist>Summoner

Paladin is your classic sword/shield class. And I know this is absolutely a case of me projecting here but I feel like that suits him somehow.

I choose Arcanist because, well. His ability to summon simulacra in canon I feel translates fairly well to the summoning of carbuncles and egis.

Wang Ruixiong

Race: Raen Au Ra (he's a lizard now sorry i just like the scaley guys) Nationality: Doman Classes: Pugilist>Monk, Lancer>Dragoon

"Adept at martial arts" his bio says. Say no more! I give him the power of punch real good. Open your chakras.

Okay so Lancer is a more strenuous one and I'm putting it on the list because of one glamour item you can get: the Eastern Journey Staff. Become fantasy Sun Wukong.

Guy Duchamp

Race: Woodwight Elezen Nationality: (New) Sharlayan Classes: Thaumaturge/Black Mage, Red Mage, Weaver

GG ez, give the guy with fire powers the class/Job with fire spells. Black Mage is an obvious choice.

Red Mage, as in many Final Fantasy games, is a combination of Black and White Magics... but also they fence. He's got magic. He's got a sword. He'll do a fancy french backflip and you'll like it.

It's hard to give some of these guys crafting/gathering classes but... I dunno, maybe the fashionable man knows how to keep his clothes looking good even after so long at sea.

Phoebus Duchamp

Race: Woodwight Elezen Nationality: (New) Sharlayan Classes: Arcanist>Scholar, Carpenter, Botanist

Okay so, like Rashid, it's a case of "give the guy with summons a summoning class" but Phi goes into Scholar because he's assigned healer of the crew. And tbh I feel like nothing says Sloth quite like summoning a fairy to heal your friends instead of doing it yourself. That MP is better used elsewhere he promises.

Botanist is another easy one. Phi has gardening knowledge? He can grow and harvest plants for Gio and Abi.

Carpenter... I just picked that cause it felt the closest to sculpture to me, I mean wood carving is a thing. Plus having someone who knows how to work with wood on your Pirate crew is useful so like. Bonus points.

Giovanni Vespucci

Race: Midlander Hyur Nationality: Ishgardian Classes: Archer>Bard, Pugilist>Monk, Culinarian

Gio's good with music... so let him use the music. Inspire your allies! Buff your friends! Rain arrows on your opponents!

I've kinda been avoiding duplicate classes where I can but Rui teaching Gio is a sweet enough idea that I'll allow it. He's obviously not as high leveled in it as Rui is though.

Culinarian... listen that's the "cooking" crafting class I literally do not need to justify any further. He would weaponize his frying pan like Julyan Manderville if you commit enough food crimes though.

[hugintheraven]

A big question should always be Where and How did your character learn to fight, since that informs what they'll do. And weapon choice plays into this, as well as telling you what happens if someone has the wrong weapon. Some examples of interesting info:

Modern fencing was developed in Italy by professional tutors. Who wanted to teach their noble patron's idiot sons how to survive the brawls they kept getting into in narrow back alleys. An Italian noble would be trained in other weapons, but not necessarily good with them, while someone from a different region would likely be very confused by this flimsy, thrust-focused sword that's useless against armor.

The Japanese Katana was made with inferior iron, well-worked, because Japan's iron supplies were limited. So a fighting style developed based on deflection and dodging of blows, rather than blocking, because blocking was likely to shatter your sword. So if a fighter experienced with multiple styles wants to use a baseball bat against Excalibur, he'd better be in a Japanese stance if he wants to still be holding a bat in 30 seconds. And a fighter who doesn't know this who picks up a katana will likely end up holding a shattered weapon if they're not careful.

The mention above about blood loss is very true, especially with knife fights. It's very likely in a knife fight that both people die, since blood loss will only kill after the fight has gone on long enough for both of them to look like an injury SFX demo. So knife fighters tend to either bluster and threaten(because they don't want to fight, this is stupid and not worth dying or killing over), or to stab quickly and with as much surprise as possible(because I want to make it home!). That's two very distinct moods and can shock people to see someone swap between them.

So you can use this. What weapon someone uses tells you not just about their style, but where they learned and what background they came from. Maybe Italian fencing arose in 5'x5' dungeon corridors in your world, maybe the axe-wielding berserker started out as a homeless street kid knife-fighting people for scraps and that's why he's so threatening but so unwilling to strike the first blow. Look into the history of whatever you're writing about and there's often going to be all sorts of cool details you can use to flesh things out.

Things that People Forget About When Writing Sword Fights

You don’t have to dodge by a foot. You only have to dodge by an inch.

Not all swords are made the same way. You wouldn’t fight with a katana the same way you would fight with a broadsword.

You don’t need to aim for the heart or the head. Get the vein in wrist, and you could incapacitate that hand.

Small cuts matter. If you’re cut up enough, you’re going to start suffering from blood loss, and that’ll put you at a disadvantage.

The blade isn’t the only thing that matters. There isn’t some set of rules in sword fighting where you can only stick the stabby end into the other person. Hit them in the head with the hilt, and they’ll feel it.

If there are multiple attackers, you want to incapacitate or kill each one as quickly as possible. Endurance matters, especially when you’re not only swinging/stabbing/aiming something that is 2-5 lbs (ceremonial ones were a lot heavier, but wouldn’t be generally fought with) but also taking/blocking heavy blows from at least one opponent.

[worldblight]

Watching Berserk with my mom. She agrees that Guts and Griffith are total faggots. Why are they gaying around at the speed of light? I thought this was about a guy with a big sword fuckin around Doomslayer style