#especially with the variance in the design ^-^

[jumble-jee]

triple threat for an appointment with m. bition! 🧠 an attack for @bubblyernie !!

[draconicace]

scarvi being so underbaked and full of glitches and downright baffling design decisions makes me so sad because like. the games are still fun to play. the story's pretty alright. the characters are great! imo these games have the most queer subtext of any mainline game so far! the amount of character design variance (especially in npcs) is super nice! trying to do a mass outbreak in paldea near a rock wall makes me want to bite my switch

[hoodreader]

BE WHO YOU ARE IN YOUR PRIDE — charts of lgbtq+ people.

i’ll be including outer planets for this (so rare of me) solely b/c uranus is a great indicator of queerness in the natal chart.

gayness. overall is indicated by venus aspecting saturn (depending on saturn’s expression) or jupiter. for modern, uranus or neptune. 5H having jovial, neptunian, uranusian, &/or saturnian influences. edit: also 11H and 12H can be very gay, imo.

lesbian, wlw, nblw, & sapphics. sappho asteroid. lilith can also be the rejection of patriarchy thus gender variance or sexuality variance; women who decenter men.

gay, mlm, nblm. found in the eros asteroid, adonis asteroid.

asexuality. saturnian influence over venus & the 5H. even i’d say plutonic influence could determine that. venus or 5H lord in one of the invisible houses (6H, 8H, or 12H)

trans. my theory is that the planets associated with ur assigned gender at birth making an aspect to uranus/neptune can show being genderqueer in general. venus/moon is associated with women, mars/saturn is associated with men.

i think saturn also can be read for being in the closet, not being u are in ur pride (lmao). b/c pride is ruled by the sun. saturn rules shame or exile.

edit: house indicators for being in the closet would be the 12H. the house of where saturn rejoices. but it’s also the derivative 8H (the house of taboo) to the 5H (house of romance). it’s also the 5H (the house of romance) to the 8H (the house of taboo). so it works literally both ways. look to the 12H for indications of ‘being in the closet’, esp in the venus persona chart.

i also believe saturn can be read for comphet, but u gotta look at how it’s interacting in the chart b/c saturn can also be read for someone being the straightest most traditional patriarchy dick-riding mfka ever.

a lilith person (and it depends on the lilith, lilith is broken into three different asteroids. they all designate something in lilith journey) might deal with comphet as well. especially in the charts of lesbian people/wlw/nblw.

[sexhaver]

What makes Jeweled Bird so bad?

first, some context: wayyyyy back in the stone ages when dinosaurs walked the earth and MTG first released, it was envisioned as less of a serious competitive card game people would explicitly try to minmax and more of a fun little diversion for your D&D group to play while you wait for Jared to get off his shift so you can actually start your campaign. this explains a lot of design choices that seem backasswards 30 years later. for instance, yes, Richard Garfield knew Black Lotus was unbelievably busted, but figured it was fine to print since it's not like people would do anything crazy like buy up hundreds of packs/hunt down singles on a secondary marketplace and play the game competitively for cash prizes.

one of the wackiest outcomes of this design philosophy was the concept of "playing for ante", an optional game mode/modifier where each player would begin the game by putting the top card of their library directly into "the ante", a pile of cards off to the side. whoever won the game won permanent, real-life ownership of all cards in the ante. basically "playing for keeps" but in a TCG instead of with Pogs or those weird tiny cardboard Beyblade tops that came in chip bags.

as you might guess from just reading that description, it was pretty wildly unpopular with most of the playerbase at the time and only got less popular as time went on. people didn't want to risk losing their cards, especially once the game became established and some of those cards were worth, like, actual amounts of money. and then there was the variance - it was entirely possible for you to ante up your only copy of an expensive card (meaning you were even less likely to win because now you can't draw it) while your opponent anted a basic land.

partially due to this, but mostly due to WOTC lawyers learning about the concept of "gambling laws" and WOTC PR learning about the optics of getting children into gambling, ante was officially removed from all sanctioned MTG tournaments very early into the game's lifespan (in fact i think this might have been enshrined into law before the actual first official tournament) and mostly memoryholed from the comprehensive rules, outside of section 407, which leads with this literal legal disclaimer:

there were 9 cards printed before this that explicitly reference "the ante" and do something unique to the cards in it. all of these cards have been errata'd to include the rules text "remove this card from your deck before playing if you're not playing for ante" and banned from LITERALLY ALL SANCTIONED FORMATS, including Vintage, the format whose entire appeal is "we never ban anything" (laughs in Lurrus).

okay so with the context out of the way we can start getting into why Jeweled Bird specifically is A Bad Card

first, the obvious: it's an ante card, which means you can't play it unless you're playing for ante, and if you ask anyone at your LGS to play for ante they will try to surreptitiously call the nearest retirement home to report an escapee from their memory care unit. so right off the bat it's quite literally unplayable as an MTG card (ante doesn't even work right in cube drafts, usually the last solace of jank-ass mechanics), which is not a great start.

now that we've established that ante cards are bad because they're effectively banned everywhere, let's assume we're living in some bizarro land where you've managed to convince a handful of friends to play in your personal MTG tournament bracket that allows ante. even then, all but one (don't worry we'll get to that one in a second) of the banned "ante cards" are just. unplayably bad. like absolute dogshit.

ok actually you know what i hadn't looked over all the ante cards in a while before typing up this post and now that i have i think Jeweled Bird is arguably the third or fourth best one out of the lot, and it's STILL unplayably bad in a modern context. it's effectively 1 colorless mana to draw a card, which is theoretically decent in some colors nowadays if you squint but would have actually been notably good back in its heyday. it actually gets pretty close to what WOTC was trying to go for with most of these ante card designs: you get a powerful effect (card draw for 1 colorless mana in an era when even blue had to jump through hoops for a rate that good outside of Ancestral Recall), but at the cost of adding something to the ante, but since the effect is so powerful, you should ideally be able to win the game off of it and completely negate the downside of adding your stuff to the ante.

you know what, fuck it, let's just go through the other ante cards from worst to best:

this card looks absolutely batshit until you get to the last sentence and realize it's effectively 6 mana to force your opponent to ante a card. if you spend 6 mana doing effectively nothing, you are not winning the game or that ante

this one is this low because in 99% of circumstances it's 10 mana over two turns to burn your opponent for 10. however, it takes the edge over Amulet of Quoz because 1. it just bypasses the ante zone entirely to literally steal the card directly, outcome of the game be damned 2. if your opponent has 9 or less life, they have to either let you steal their card or concede on the spot (which means they lose their ante) and 3. if i'm reading this ruling correctly you can set up the 9-or-less-life scenario with a TOKEN COPY of Bronze Tablet and give them a literal bar napkin with a doodle on it in exchange for their judge promo foil Elesh Norn:

so for 6 mana, you can heal yourself back to full at the cost of anteing an additional card. if that was all this card did, it would still be pretty bad, but the icing on this shitcake is that your opponent can just. also do that. but without spending their entire turn to cast a 6 mana spell. so now you're both on equal footing lifewise, but they have their entire turn to gain tempo advantage after you spent your turn healing them. and you gave them another one of your cards once you inevitably lose because of this. i guess theoretically you could run it in a super heavy control deck that aims to win via mill as a safety valve against aggro? idk man

this card effectively does nothing, but doing nothing for 3 mana is still an improvement over "doing nothing for 6 mana", "doing 10 damage for 10 mana over two turns", and "helping your opponent for 6 mana". i guess if you're really confident that your deck can win anyways (perhaps because of another card on this list) you could use this to force your opponent to ante another card for you to win? mostly this one is this high up here because "if the opponent doesn't concede the game immediately" is the funniest possible opening to a MTG card's rules text. like that's always true. you could add that to quite literally every card ever printed and it would change nothing other than making the game way funnier

okay so this is a three mana 1/1 with an ability that costs three MORE mana to activate that effectively just makes your opponent ante a card. i know it looks like it destroys and then literally steals an artifact, which would actually be a pretty good effect since it impacts the board (something none, but the entire thing is countered by anteing a card so that's what's gonna happen every time. at least this one can chump block

okay now we're starting to get into cards that at least make you think a little bit before deciding they suck (Jeweled Bird would go around here)

this scores higher than Timmerian Fiends for several reasons. obviously, a 4 mana 3/3 is a much better rate than a 3 mana 1/1, and the sac ability being free (other than a tap) makes it a lot more usable. the effect is even debateably good in red specifically: either it "draws" (literally legally steals irl) you a card, or it does 10 burn to the opponent's face. however, it does lose points due to the part where you, uh, have to give it away after using it once, win or lose. basically this is like Bronze Tablet but 6 mana cheaper and on a body that can actually theoretically do something. also lol at the "or conceding game" clause like Demonic Attorney, i really want to start seeing that wording on every card ever printed

now this might seem similar to Demonic Attorney at first glance, but the Oracle text makes it make more sense: "You own target card in the ante. Exchange that card with the top card of your library." notably, like Efreet and Tablet, this swap in ownership happens regardless of the outcome of the game, and unlike those two cards, you don't have to trade Darkpact itself for the card you're stealing. stealing your opponent's card out of the ante does mean that now both of the cards in there belong to you, meaning you have twice as much to lose, but hey, you just stole (and got to draw and cast, lol) your opponent's shit. "do what you must, i have already won" type beat

as powerful as Darkpact is, it's still only the second best ante card, and it is not even in the same zip code as the first best. ever heard of a little card named Ancestral Recall? draws 3 cards for one mana? and that's such a busted effect you're only allowed to legally run one copy in the one format it isn't explicitly banned in?

hahahahahahahahahaha holy shit sorry every time i remember this card i cackle at it a bit. what do you MEAN "discard your hand and draw 7 for 1 mana"?? discarding is an UPSIDE these days! people have unironically run One With Nothing, which is this card except for all the words after "discard your current hand". that "add the first drawn to the ante" bit might as well be flavor text because if you manage to lose after casting this then your deck was never even theoretically capable of winning in the first place. jesus christ.

[cutiechaser]

FAQ Friday— today’s topic: prostates and g-spots and how to find them.

prostate:

on partner: start by getting your partner aroused as it grows larger with arousal. make sure to use lubricant. it’s located a couple of inches inside the anus. if your partner is on their back, you’re feeling upwards in the direction of the navel. use the “come hither” motion but do not scratch with your nail. tap with the pad of your finger(s). the partner being stimulated will feel an urgency like they need to pee but won’t actually be peeing when you find it so ask them to tell you when they feel that. it will feel like that until they adjust to the feeling. if your partner is on all fours or bent at the waist, flip the motion of your fingers so you’re pointing down, still in the direction of the navel. what you’re looking for is a soft almost rubbery lump about the size of a walnut. it is deeper in some men than others. it’s a matter of learning your partner. massaging the perineum, which is the area below the balls to the anus, will allow you to massage the prostate externally and can be paired with internal stimulation or stroking, etc.

on yourself: similar to on a partner, you want to push up against your front wall once inside your anus. it is easier to use a specifically designed prostate massager/toy to find it, especially if you’re worried your own fingers won’t get deep enough. again, you’re looking for that “need to pee” sensation.

g-spot:

on partner: unlike the prostate, the g-spot is not a single anatomical structure but rather an erogenous zone. ten years ago we thought it was the intersection of three structures. a couple years ago we learned it’s the intersection of at least five erotogenic regions. similar to the prostate, this zone is most likely to be a couple inches inside the vaginal canal. again, start with foreplay. anecdotally, I have found that having my partner on their back holding their knees to their chest is the easiest way to locate the g-zone. in this position you are again doing the “come hither” motion with your palm facing upwards. you’re looking for a spongy bean shapes mass of tissue that tends to be slightly more textured than surrounding tissue. because this zone is not an anatomical structure, it has more location variance. not only might it be deeper, it may also be off to either side slightly. learn your partner. once again because this is an intersection zone, providing stimulation to any of the affiliated structures, such as the clitoris, will boost sensation. another thing you can do is press on the belly slightly just above the end of the person’s pubic hair. once you do find it, experiment with pressure and rhythm.

on yourself: pretty identical to on a partner except the angle will be slightly adjusted. if you push your tongue up against the roof of your mouth, you’re looking for a slightly spongier and more textured version of that against your vaginal wall. also try pressing down below your belly button to see if you can locate it that way.

it is more likely for someone with a g-zone to be unable to find pleasure from stimulating it than for someone with a prostate to find prostate stimulation unpleasant. this is because the prostate is an anatomical structure with a role in arousal and ejaculation.

play with yourself/your partner to see what works for you. bodies and pleasure look different and that’s okay.

also a disclaimer: last week some of you were quite upset that my faq post wasn’t erotic and didn’t vibe with my blog. this is intentional. these faq posts are written to be simple to understand and accessible.

stay safe, sane, and consensual

if you have questions, feel free to inbox or dm me.

[snapscube]

hey penny!! i hope you're doing good :] not sure if you're looking for any feedback right now for midnight snap so if this message is unwarranted then no hard feelings at all <3 maybe it's just me and tbh it's hard for me to tell bc it's probably subjective, but as someone who's particularly sensitive to sound it sometimes feels like your voice gets lost in certain game music in your videos. i've listened both on mobile and on desktop and i think it's worse on desktop, more comfortable on mobile (for some reason). like, i find myself straining to hear you and pretty often i need to pause to take breaks because i get easily overstimulated. it's definitely not sfx that get me, just background music you know??? i especially noticed it in your freddi fish video around the start of the second game, but it's in other videos too like when you played animal crossing. it isn't too bad though tbh, still overall a super cozy series and i'm grateful you're still doing it!! if everything stays the same, i'll still watch it. i'd really love to know what you think and if you can confirm if anyone else has said something like this, i wonder if there's any merit to what i'm saying cause i just wanna help ^^;

i appreciate the feedback! i'll admit i'm still definitely trying to nail down the sound mixing of Midnight Snap. there's a LOT that goes into it between recording environment, VST setups for my live microphone effects, post-processing effects when it makes it to the actual edit timeline, etc. also admittedly this is a genre of content i'm still relatively new to making (never dabbled in asmr or anything) and though it's easy to put out a super long video normally and have people say its good for sleeping as a fun side effect, actually trying to make something FROM THE GROUND UP for relaxation comes with a lot of consideration i'm still not quite specialized in yet haha, especially with how long the breaks have been up to now. none of this is meant to handwave ur issues btw im taking everything into account here, just wanted to explain why its somewhat in flux right now!

my approach for the last few episodes of the show has been to heavily compress the dynamics of the audio, which might contribute to what ur dealing with here. although at the end of the day there's not much i can do to anticipate literally every individual user's listening conditions cause there's gonna be sooo much variance there. i can definitely try to put more focus on maybe separating the heaviest frequences of the voice track vs the game track though. as it stands i tend to cut back on the high frequencies a lot in both cases cause i personally just find higher frequencies a lot more distracting and harsh and to me what ends up sounding soothing is a very smooth and rumbly kind of profile. but of course audio mixing is all about balance so i'll see how i can maybe dial that in a little more distinctly! hopefully as i continue to standardize what editing software i use for the show as well as how it's recorded i can do more to brush out any remaining issues in the sound design :) thanks again!

[batfambrainrotbeloved]

okay I've got Zeek on the brain today, but I swear you mentioned in the story that his size rivals JASON'S.

The cafe staff are all Tims age, correct?

That is a big kid. a very large kid. Don't get me wrong its pretty common, especially where I live, but it still just baffles me how large he is.

YUP- Zeek is a big fucking guy, he's not Fridge (Since DSB!Jason is a lot smaller than canon) he's just a stocky guy.

Obi is about 23 ish Zeek just recently turned 21 Gwen is 20 "Alan" is the oldest at 26 (not fucking SEVENTEEN)

So all within the same range, but with some variance-

And yup Zeek is actually based on a guy I actually knew, but of course some character design liberties at play.

[markrosewater]

Hi Mark. A lot of my friends argue that in the last couple years, the magic design team has put more effort, time and ressource into designing UB sets than non-UB sets. Thry especially points to sets like MKM as proof. I was wondering if you had anything thoughts on that line of argument.

We spent no less time on in-multiverse sets than we ever have. There always is some variance in how sets get received.

[kittleskittle]

On my hands and knees BEGGING people to read the Focus on the Heart FAQ.

But let me spell it out, once again: your fave is not in the game because this is a post-Burning Shores DLC, 100% volunteer project. If enough people didn't step up and volunteer for a route, it was cut/not considered. We don't have a budget, and we don't have unlimited time.

For some perspective, we literally JUST finished with the scripts. When you account for variances based on choices, they are enormous. They took months of writing, editing, and formatting. Sprites include dozens of assets each that also took months to create, and there are 4+ CGs - full illustrations - per route. Each route has thousands of lines of code that I have been writing, BY MYSELF so far - and this doesn't even account for the additional coding that goes into the UI and game design. Wanna know what else I'm doing by myself? Over 25 hand painted backgrounds that were requested by each route. Wanna know what our audio lead has been doing, also entirely solo? Over 40 music tracks, most of which were also by request.

Putting together a single route for this game is a monumental effort that requires the hard work of multiple people, especially at the standards we've established. It isn't easy, it's not something we can just throw together at the slightest hint of interest.

Please, keep in mind the labor, time, and energy people are expending to make this game a reality. Even if it's a simple 2D visual novel, it's still a full fledged game, and making any game is a monumental undertaking.

Oh, and for the record? Currently, my estimation is that FOTH will take over 20 hours to complete 100%. Yeah.

You are getting a 20+ hour game, FOR FREE.

[tiredassmage]

I always find it so FASCINATING how you play through the same story (IA of course) with multiple characters and see how each new dynamic plays out, because I just don’t work that way xD I put one lil guy into one situation and then nobody else gets to be there, it’s been claimed. So it’s very neat to see a more varied approach and watch each new take and how they add to your relationship with the story!

THAMK you!!!! I also find it really fascinating, which I guess is my fuel for doing it. xD It's admittedly one of the several things I have done in playing SWTOR that I never would have guessed I'd do when I started playing - and, to be fair, there are certain stories that I'm sorta that way about! And perhaps if everyone will indulge me, I'm gonna take this as an excuse to ramble about what I enjoy both about this particular class, and SWTOR as a whole, really.

but first I'll take an excuse to post my main 3 (so far) agent boys :3

from left to right then: tyr, alucren, and nikihlus!

Part of the agent storyline being so attractive to me personally is I'm sure, for better or worse, that I'm admittedly a sucker for a spy action flick, and since it's kind of my exact cup of tea, there feels to be a level of variance in how it plays out and how a character can interpret their experiences within it that's delightful for me to dive into and tear apart like a dog with new stuffed toy, lol.

I've played all eight class stories I think at least twice now, and several of them, clearly, far more than that, so I think one of the overall continuously endearing things about the game is that any of those eight can be someone's Thing. Everyone's got their favorites and I really, truly, after several spins through them all, don't think there's really a single bad class story. Finding the right character to pick apart what really makes a story tick for you, personally, I think is where... some of the challenge can occur.

I, for example, enjoy, conceptually, Consular, Inquisitor, and Trooper, but the first two of those I outright don't have a canon character "filling" that role, and Trooper I only have halfsies because my favorite run of that is actually Tyr's AU where I dropped him in the Trooper story for kicks and it changed my entire outlook on what I'd previously considered one of the more lacking class stories to the point where I think I might owe Aric Jorgan a personal apology letter and I'd even consider advocating for the story now. All of these stories I still think are good, fun, and interesting, but I haven't found a character whom I enjoy seeing in the role they play, if that makes sense.

What I at least enjoy about any of the characters I keep bringing back up here that I've played is that their viewpoints and experiences are pretty distinct to me. Even within my agents - and maybe especially with them, they all come at the role of Cipher with very different backgrounds and perspectives. Pretty much all three of them I've learned a lot more about since creating them, as you do when characters change over the course of a story and you point them at things that challenge their thinking, but their... fundamental, pre-Intelligence backgrounds greatly inform how they handle the rest of... everything. And only one of them is my canonical Cipher Nine; that honor remains with Tyr; Alucren's designation is Cipher Eleven, and Nikihlus's is Cipher Seven, respectively, but they've also... both kinda run away from me and since I have such a feel for who they are, it's also incredibly interesting to tackle the story as if they do belong there, in that particular role - because it tells me something about them that's not just applicable there.

And also, it's just... really fun for me to compare them like yardsticks against each other, lol. And it's a fun little exercise in appreciating the why of how different their playthroughs and experiences are. The short of them is that Tyr's the most idealistic of the three, the agent of change - a double agent for the SIS because he believes in something bigger and greater and ideals are enough to motivate him. Alucren's a loyalist - to the Empire, and to the Sith beyond that. Born and raised Imperial just like Tyr, but where Tyr came from some of the cracks in that society as an orphan (according to official records, at least) raised in a not-quite-family resulting from a marital alignment between a Sith and a naval officer, Alucren is relatively silver spoon-born - from a fairly prominent and historically loyal family. Those two have very different ideas of what Imperial Intelligence is, even, to great effect on how they respond to the pressures of the story and what's done to them in the titular role. Nikihlus is an outsider; in much the way that Kaliyo is using Intelligence as the next opportunity, so too, to an extent, is Nikihlus. He's there not exactly of his own will - it was cooperate or die, so his loyalty to Intelligence is only as far as they'll pay him, and that the Empire remains a more sound employer. Sith politics and even the larger conflict of Republic vs. Empire interest him no further than how to stay alive as someone who is painfully aware (sometimes, or perhaps even often, to a degree of paranoia) that neither side is interested in having a place for an "ex-"underworld assassin and enforcer like himself. His main motivator, at the end of the day, is always to stay alive.

Sometimes the three of them have overlap in their choices made along the story. Sometimes they're polar opposites. Sometimes, they do the same things for vastly different reasons. And that is almost more fun than seeing the outcomes themselves. At the very least, it's definitely at least equally as fun as seeing the outcomes!

But there are also those stories that I've done a certain way and I don't think, at the moment, at least, I'll do them as well again. Savosta and Rhyst, for example, are sort of... the definitive version of my Wrath and Jedi Knight. The Sith Warrior is one of my other favorite stories on some of that variance aspect that's so appealing in Imperial Agent for me, but I just... haven't done it like I did it with Savosta before or since because I'm so satisfied with how he came together. And it's a similar thing with Rhyst and Jedi Knight, although Knight is also... one of the ones that took me the longest to figure out the kind of character I wanted in that role - the kind of character that made me feel really engaged with the story.

And Rhyst is probably also the character I've changed the most about, over the course of his existence - from physical appearance to actually getting a grasp on his motivations and what's stuck with him about his experiences.

And especially since I've worked a lot mentally on how those two develop a relationship with each other, I feel like I'd be missing something that's become a huge part of how I enjoy the full picture between the Knight & Warrior without having a pair of them.

Anyway... Part of this response is maybe for a takeaway of this game is so fucking good when it gets you, and I think part of it's 'goodness,' if you will is how individual the different stories can become when you lean into the 'roleplay' part of it for the characters made, at least in my experience, and... yeah, I'll take the platform to be excited about the many different experiences of all of these characters I have, lol! Part of what I've loved so dearly about this game as a community around it and enjoying the characters I've created for it is how passionate people are with their characters; I think I've used... something of the phrase for trying to discuss Tyr's experiences that... something something, all of that is true, for him, in his eyes, how he sees the world [for whichever character you'd like to apply this to]. His views and actions are justifiable, if you will, from his perspective, just as Alucren's are from his, even though those two I created to be nearly complete opposites to see paths of the Agent campaign I never would just replaying Tyr over and over (though I still do that, clearly), lol.

And... I also meant to touch on and didn't earlier, but... I also distinctly recall saying when I was closer to starting to play this game that I wasn't sure I'd ever quite get why to play the same character in different stories, and now I've got a version of Tyr for each of the tech class stories that were all really fun to explore, and some of them are even... pretty distinct 'versions' of him from the others, if you will. Which does always make me think about that post that goes something about... not "he wouldn't fucking say that" but... what would it take for this character to act or feel this certain way? What aspects of environment and circumstance and who they met, etc etc, form who they are, what their opinions are? What would it take for a Jedi Knight to "fall" to the Sith I think is a bit of a fairly obvious one in Star Wars media, and I, admittedly, sort of avoided that one for a while because I wasn't sure I'd get anything out of the pondering that I'd enjoy with Rhyst, but I've played with it a bit here and there since and it's actually revealed some very interesting insights - things like some of his insecurities that better inform me about the kind of presentations he makes as a Jedi, and better inform his later-in-life complicated feelings with the Order and the Republic in general, even better insight into what he'd like to do maybe after he hangs up his lightsaber, or what kind of life he might've led if he hadn't grown up with the Jedi Order.

I dunno. Honestly, maybe at the end of the day, I love getting this and getting to share this because creating fictional little characters is just fucking cool and fascinating by itself and it's an experience or hobby even, if you will, that's been so much fun for me throughout life that I really hope everyone gets to experience something that engages them this much. They're a really cool vehicle for exploration - and that can mean as much or as little as you want it to. And that's so fucking cool that they can do that.

Anyway pt 2, lol, I love, again as I said, comparing my agents like yardsticks, love yapping about how their differences play out in the story, I am almost always down to talk about Imperial Agents. And Rhyst, stars I need to talk about him more. Which I always say and then I don't without prompting, but genuinely they have almost a whole story together in my head and I'm just not a longfic person so it'll probably never come out that way, but I think about it. Trust that I think about it, lol. And honestly, it's really cool what I learn about them when I talk about them and talk with others. Rhyst is a good example for that; a lot of what I've learned and developed with him and Knight in particular is from yapping with friends and mutuals and hearing some of what others have done; the beauty of having a buddy is that they'll ask about or talk about aspects of the story or characters you might never have considered on your own. Some of my favorite little character facts or insights have honestly come from discussion with friends.

OCs are so fucking cool. Thanks for coming to my TED talk about it, I guess? xD

[lazytitans-world]

My research findings on the production of Wish

Never have I seen a fan community do so much with so little than I have with Wish. And to start off, I want to say that you should watch the movie first before going into this and the Starboy fandom as I believe it to be important on forming your own opinion before moving on as I find most of the fandom to have a negative view of the movie, one I do not really share. I found Wish to be fine. I did not hate it, but I did not love it like I do other Disney animated films. But the many rewrites, drawings and animatics featuring character designs that did not make it far in production have become icons in this community inspired me to do a deep dive to see if I could find where in production these concepts died and why.

To save you a read, this production was a victim of simplicity. I feel that many concepts and story ideas were tossed away due to complicating the story, which was always going to focus on Asha trying to save the wishes of her fellow kingdom citizens with the help of a wishing star. I have read many articles and watched a few deleted scenes from the home release and here are my findings.

Starboy never got far in development as the book states that the team went down "a few blind alleys" that lead them to star having a human design for a period. This is probably the period in time where all the Starboy concept art came from and where a potential romantic subplot with Asha was kicked around. It was.

What did Starboy in was the team's choice to make them a shapeshifter as the team thought the character was way overpowered and thus the story lost a lot of dramatic tension (a choice I kind of agree with). It was here where the design team decided that Star needed an overhaul and brought the Story Development artists in and this is where Starboy died and plush Star was finalized.

There are no official storyboards that feature the Starboy designs.

At the start of Wish's production, Frozen 2 was entering it's final stage of production (this would be either late 2018 or early 2019) and was obviously the main focus for Disney animation not to mention projects like Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World and Encanto were entering their mid development stages before the shutdown.

The effects of the global shutdown were not mentioned in the book, but I would not be shocked if production was affected by it.

Ariana DeBose has said that Wish did not need a love story as she said that,

“I think we live in a time where things are cyclical, right? And so, it’s good for variance and perspective. Not every female Disney character needs to have a go and ambition of simply finding a man to love her. There are more stories to tell.

"And especially in the world we live in today I think something like Wish, that has a broader outlook that talks about community, is just as important as talking about love. And there are so many different ways to love."

"You do see familiar love, love of friendship" in the movie, including the relationship between Asha and Star. Star and Asha have this beautiful connection with each other and so I think it’s good reminding people that not only we can tell different stories, we can also talk about love in different ways.”(source: Exclusive: Wish’s Ariana DeBose defends lack of romance in recent Disney movies (yahoo.com)) whether Ariana had any say on story or character development is unknown.

7. From what I read from the Art of Wish book, the story was always meant to be about Asha defying Magnifico to fight for the people of Rosas and their wishes.

8. As it pertains to "At All Costs", a song that many are saying was meant to be a love song between Asha and Star, in an article by Variety(Julia Michaels Wrote 'Wish' Theme Before the Script Even Existed (variety.com), it states that a love song was not in the film at the time of production and songwriter Julia Michaels "wanted to write a song that as a standalone sounded like a love song that could be played at weddings."

Michaels would go on to say, "How cool would it be if we wrote a song that if you listened to on its own, it sounds like a love song, it could be something you could play at your wedding, or be a lullaby to your kids, just something really beautiful, but when you watch the film, it’s the heroine and it’s the villain.” She continues, “You realize they’re coming about this both from various points, one from a very selfless standpoint and one from a selfish standpoint.”

9. In the same Variety article, it was revealed that for some time in 2020, no script existed for the movie, but Julia Michaels was asked to be the songwriter for the movie and that is where she pitched "This Wish" which would go on to be one of the first songs revealed for the movie.

10. the Variety article also had Jennifer Lee, head of Disney Animation and one of the writers on Wish, say that she wanted a song that showed "it felt like to hold someone’s wish in your hand. How do we viscerally understand that when you’re with them, you feel like you’re holding someone’s raison d’être?” that song would end it being "At All Costs"

11. September 9, 2022, D23 Expo in Anaheim California. This is where certain members of the public got a glimpse of the production of Wish. Jennifer Lee, writer and director Chris Buck, and co-director Fawn Veerasunthorn spoke about the movie and showed the first look of the finalized design of Star which ended up being the mute plush model that ended up in the movie. This means there was a 3-year gap where Starboy and the romance side plot were discussed then shelved.

It was also during this show where the public would learn that Ariana DeBuse would voice Asha and that Alan Tudyk, a staple of past Disney animated films, would have a featured role in the movie as Asha's pet goat Valentino, who would be able to talk thanks to Star's magic. It was also at that show where DuBose came out to sing "This Wish" but at the time the song was called "More for Us".

Magnifico was not revealed at the event but was teased as "one of the most formidable foes in Disney history" which is debatable to say the least.

12. 5 deleted scenes in total appear on the Wish digital and disc copies each introduced by head of story Mark Kennedy where he would describe why the scene got cut. One scene shows Amaya assisting Magnifico in his plan, tying into an early concept where she was a villain alongside him.

Another scene had Asha, Star (who in this scene could shape shift and talk) and Valentino try to sneak into Rosas before being spotted and chased by Amaya, once again acting antagonistic to Asha.

A scene had Magnifco gather the people of Rosas to demand Star be given to him, as he had never seen Star in this version, and Asha her friends try to distract him by having Valentino, who in this version had a more Steve Carell like voice, pretend to be Star while the real Star, who was voiced in this version and was designed as ball of light with eyes and mouth, was trying to free the captured wishes. This scene was changed because they wanted Magnifco to be more threatening and instead of asking the people for Star, he would capture Star. Kennedy would go on to say that they wanted Asha and Magnifico to be smart and that Asha would not do a plan that silly, and they wanted the climax to be Magnifico and Asha alone, so they set it on a platform high above Rosas.

The next scene featured an ally of Asha's named Flazino that was cut out in order to shrink her friend group and tied the group back to the seven dwarfs from Snow White.

Finally, there was a scene where Asha and her grandfather scaled a wishing tree with her grandfather Sabino that showcased their bond but also Sabino's insistence that Asha take down Magnifico.

Each of these scenes felt completely different to the movie that ended up being released.

13. It should be noted that Wish released only a short while after the 2023 Writers and Actors strikes, which meant that for most of the summer and fall of that year, the actors could not do any press for the movie and all marketing was done through ads, trailers and merchandise.

14. As revealed in an article for Disney twenty-three, a magazine for gold members of the Disney D23 Fanclub, in the early visual development stage, there was a test scene that Asha was briefly transported to the village from Pinocchio. This was done to see how the 3D character designs would match with the hand drawn, watercolor backgrounds of classic Disney movies.

15. In that same article, Chris Buck said that in regard to Magnifico's character development that they wanted the audience "to see the evolution of a villain, so he's not a monster from frame one". From what becomes of Magnifico I get what they tried to do, they wanted to show how a character falls into villainy even if they're intentions are good. It also stands with the modern writing style of Disney animation films trying to update classics, this time by having audiences start off by kind of liking the villain through their personality alone.

18. The article also briefly mentions that Star "went through many iterations" another hint of Starboy being considered as a final design.

19. In the Art of Wish book, there is a page that shows the script where Asha meets Star and Star is described as a "cuddly, 3D, five-pointed star." This would indicate that the Starboy concept never got to the scripting stages.

20. In Art of Wish, the reason why Star does not speak is because the film makers wanted to stick to a tenet of film making, show don't tell.

21. Star's face was inspired by the mask like face of early Mickey Mouse cartoons.

22. From all readings, it is safe to say that Asha was NEVER considered to be a princess in any of the iterations of the story as some writers felt it to be too safe of a choice and liked the idea of an ordinary citizen going against the established power of the king.

23. During production, the Disney CEO position changed twice as Bob Iger left the company in early 2020 and named Bob Chapek as his replacement before returning to the company in mid 2023. It is unknown if these changes had any effects of Wish's production as it was it stated development as Iger's first tenure was ending but took place during a majority of Chapek's time.

24. When Angelique Cabal, who voiced Amaya in Wish, first auditioned for the role the character in 2022 Amaya was written as a villain while Magnifico was supposed to be the good king. It was when she returned for the callback that Amaya was changed to what she ended up being in the movie. Source https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/how-one-character-disney-wish-completely-changed-during-production

In closing, for fans of the Starboy concept, it saddens me to say that it looks the idea only made it as far as concept art as at the time of writing this, no animated sequences, scripts or storyboards have been released that had Star in a human design or discussed a romantic relationship with Asha. I believe the writing team found a romantic relationship between Star and Asha too complicated for the story and decided to simplify the relationship and design of Star to better suit the plot of Asha going against Magnifico. I am disappointed Wish did not go with the more interesting concepts but maybe down the line we'll get that cosmic Disney romance and a villain couple, it just has to work with the story.

I want to say thank you for those that made it to the end, this movie has been on my mind for quite a while and seeing all the re-writes, drawings and animations people have done for Starboy and Asha has been amazing to see. These works have inspired me to rewatch Wish at some point to see if Starboy could have worked in the movie with the story as is, and even share how I would have changed a few things in the story to fit the character and a romantic subplot with Asha plus an idea on how to bring in Starboy while still staying true to the established cannon.

I do hope others watch and enjoy Wish as from what I have read the team did put a lot of effort to makes this movie worthy of not only the high standards Disney animation has set, but as a piece of the 100-year story telling of the Walt Disney company. Film making is already hard enough as it is, especially in animation, but having to make a movie with an original concept and characters that still pays tribute to 100 years of storytelling is a daunting task and I understand and respect the choices they made when making the film and you should as well.

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

I must say what a curious design for a ship - and it is remarkable how Runeterra's art manages to truly sell how "different" Nilah is in her origin. Like Viego, you will not find her homeland on the Runeterran map, both Camavor and its smaller neighbor Kathkan are to the east, far beyond the Shadow isles. Culturally you got a tremendous visual variance across Runetrra. Let's just look at the boats we got so far:

Miss Fortune's Syren - small, fast, sleek, and essentially a small high-class boat repurposed for bounty-hunting. Given Sarah's rampant (and let's be real, not entirely unwarranted) paranoia its a small vessel to be crewed by a few crew she actually trusts.

The absolute contrast to that is Ganplank's Dreadway - although an explanation for the massive size might be that it was originally a Noxian ship. Gangplank just literally stole it right under Swain's nose.

What would be a massive flex was soon forgotten as the Noxian Military-Industrial Complex took serious affront to the dishonor of losing their flagship and went into overdrive, creating something even more insane:

The Leviathan, probably the largest and also first engine-powered naval vessel in Runeterra. That thing is reaching 40k-vessel territory in how it a swimming city capable of delivering an entire army and operating as a swimming military base at the same time.

Its reliance on fuel combined with a limit on manouverability does not automatically put in on top of the naval food chain however, but it's still up there, especially compared to what the rest of the world is cruising with:

What they lacked in funds those Jaul Hunters definetly did not lack in courage. Although a proper Hunting Fleet looks more like this:

Alternatively, can we interest you in half a submarine?

Given how Jack is so deeply entwined with the demonic and reality-distorting presence of Tham Kench, I am not sure if this can be called a boat or just a weird metaphor given shape.

Other regions have boats too, but have seen not many artworks yet - Sejuani's Tuskraider being an exception showcasing a Freljord raider.

They got a funky way of storing them too:

Just to make sure you don't accidentally lose them in the snow or have them freeze into the bay.

[inventors-fair]

Not-So-Mixed Signals

The loose definition of a "signpost uncommon" is a (usually) multicolored uncommon card that acts as mechanical glue for players looking to draft that two-color archetype. Gavin describes it in more detail in this video, but you can see a complete list of tagged cards here. How do you want to draft? Well, these cards give you some direction!

And a lot of them also have some mechanical funk with them, especially if they're from a new premier set that has something the set wants to show off. That said, there's some variance to them, and sometimes you want a different kind of card for a different deck. Every deck wants a variety. So how about we switch it up?

Design a signpost uncommon of your choice that MUST include a mechanic specific to the set/block you're designing for.

So let's break it down a little bit with an example of two signposts in the same set.

Both of these cards are signposts for the Quandrix track, which is pretty cool. However, Quandrix Apprentice would fit this contest because they use the Magecraft ability, and while Zimone is awesome she would NOT fit this contest because, even though she cares about Quandrix from a mechanical standpoint, we're looking for the specific ability/ability word that belongs to the set.

If you want to redesign a signpost of your choice, go ahead! In your submission, just let me know that your card would be looking to replace X card as the signpost for its set. I actually would really like to see what people come up with for some of those.

Lastly and importantly: polish matters! I want to see the thematic resonance in the card you've chosen, because each archetype comes with a feeling. I recommend reading over the "Important Tips" blurb I did a couple weeks ago to get your bearings. Flavor text only needs to be there if it can fit. If you've got AD, putting it in the art box helps a lot with visualizing. If you have a sketch, I'd love to see that too as long as you credit yourself.

That's right, baby, we're back in the mechanical saddle. Make me think and make me feel. - @abelzumi

- Pass off your designs >> HERE - Signal your feedback in the >> DISCORD

[cerastes]

Fire Emblem Engage has paradoxical depths. Schrödinger’s depth.

On one hand, the maps are very well designed, and the gameplay is very good. There’s tons of little details that add to the love for previous entries — Engage being a 30 year anniversary entry — such as how Lucina’s super has the final hit freeze motion exactly like killing blows did on bosses in Awakening, or how Leif gets a myriad of weapon types and his passive is auto-equipping the best counter to your attacker’s weapon because in Genealogy he is one of two playable (and the only one of his half of the story) Master Knights, who can just wield every weapon type (except Lopto if you consider that a type). The class system is something I enjoy as well, it’s streamlined in a way I think is good, with every class having an integrated ‘type’ like Backup, Armored, Qi Adept, etc, as well as a degree of selectable variance on promotion: Your Sword Fighter can become a Hero that uses Swords and Axes, or Swords and Lances, for example. The balance of combat roles is also very polished: Armored units are true physical juggernauts, even generic Armored enemies, and must be dealt with either specialty weapons (Hammer, Armorslayer, et al), or magic, or it’s an uphill battle. I personally like the way the Weapon Triangle works now, being predominantly a very offensive tool that allows big plays, but that also punishes you if you’re not attentive.

On the other hand, the presence of ‘Emblems’ — spirits of previous games’ characters — is otherwise merely superficial and fanservice that doesn’t really amount to much nor is it worked with to anywhere near its full potential. There’s no personality showcased in the slightest, and they all sound the same: Generically supportive, “trust in your friends”, and otherwise bog standard heroic. This is especially frustrating when you have a character as fun and vivid as Yunaka paired with Radiant Dawn’s Micaiah, who is very spicy back in her home game but is just a generic supportive cute girl in here. I understand and can excuse this (to some degree) being the way with characters like Marth or Sigurd, who didn’t have much character development or characterization back in their original games in the first place, but Celica, Micaiah, and even Roy, those from more modern games, really have no reason to just be as generic as portrayed. Supports (and Bonds, which are Supports with Emblems) are so bare bones and bland that they are not even worth talking about. The story is simple to the point of just being an engine for the gameplay (it’s like I’m really playing an old Fire Emblem!) and, while certain characters are fun, you overall have a pretty generic fantasy ensemble to work with. More than just a bit disappointing! The main character in particular is a huge nothingburger, unfortunately, following in the steps of Three Houses, and making me want to go play Echoes once more so I can feel something again from Alm, Celica, and the rest of that cast.

Overall, yeah, good game, but I don’t think I can call it a good Fire Emblem.

[leggerefiore]

Do you have any age headcanons for some pokemon characters like for example the train men, N, Lysandre, ect?

Well, there's a few with canon ages.

N is confirmed to be like 20-22 and Cyrus is a beautiful baby boy at 27.

Lysandre is probably in his early 40s (maybe 42?) alongside Sycamore since they're clearly around the same age.

Ingo and Emmet are in their early 30s to me nowadays (despite my previous thoughts, I've stated), and Warden Ingo is maybe... I go between a few ages. The joke answer is he's just 37 and going through it hard, but it's probably mid 40s+ (and that, too, applies to Silver Fox Emmet, of course.)

Nanu is... something I don't want to give actual thought. Late forties to early fifties, maybe? 48-52 is the range I'd give.

Grimsley varies, too? He's clearly maybe mid to late 20s in BW... but, uh, idk about in Alola? Something either happened to him, or he had a rough time in like 2 years. Because... SM apparently is just two years after BW2. Help him.

Colress is hard in his 30s. Somewhere. Not sure. Just pick a random one in that range, and I'll probably agree. He just seems a more into his career and far out of whatever university had him. 33, I guess in BW2, so he gets to be 35 and insane in Alola.

Maxie and Archie also fluctuate for me. They are either in their late thirties or just turned 40. Actually, maybe Maxie is like 39 while Archie is 38 or something. I don't know. They just seem older but not too old? Especially their Gen 3 designs... I don't think there's that much age variance between ORAS and RSE them, though. Them again, with the Cyrus situation, they both might just be 25 lmao.

Guzma is over 20, and that much is certain. He and Kukui (and Molayne) are all around the same age, so I like to imagine he's like 23 doing all that sjajdns.

Volo is 27 to me because it would just be hilarious that being in Hisui/Sinnoh and being that age makes you want to climb that damn mountain. Though, I also do think he's in his mid-20s in general.

My controversial take is that I see Irida as 18 at the youngest. She's the head of her clan, and her close friendship with Palina makes me think they're close in age. And I see her age as close to Adaman's own, too, but maybe just a little younger to make her feel more of a need to prove herself to him. I think they would also prefer an adult to be head of the clan, too.

Elesa is maybe... 24-26? Hard to explain why. Just seems in that range.

Cynthia is probably around Cyrus's age, so 26-28. They seem maybe a little acquainted before all the stuff in DPPt, so I think they may have met a few times, maybe at a university or in school.

Larry is like 48-50. He's been confirmed to have worked for the Paldea league for 25 years, so it just seems likely he may joined up after he graduated.

[deactivated-fish]

Cast announcements for the pilot!

Yesterday (April 6th) marked the start of Podcast Jam 2024 and we are very excited to share the cast we put together!

JustJenah as Annette Culligan!

Jenah (they/them) loves stories in all forms but most especially audio dramas. When they are not actively falling in love with nearly every short lived queer tv show they can get their hands on, you can find them geeking out over their favorite podcasts, attempting to increase their deadlifts over 200lbs, flailing their hands at every jump scare as they play survival horror games, tempting friends to play Settlers of Catan, and grilling up pizzas in all weather.

Jenah’s socials: @ JustJenahHere on twitter and BlueSky @theyofmanyvoices on tumblr

Cody Heath as Eric Sanders!

Cody (they/them) is your friendly neighborhood non binary voice actor by day, Bassist of Elsewhere! and Photographer also by day!

Cody’s socials: @ codyvmwastaken on twitter @ paperchest on instagram

Louis Wolf as Finn Culligan!

Louis (he/they) is an avid bird enjoyer and disabled art student who is passionate about storytelling of all forms but has a particular love for DnD and comics. Besides ttrpgs, he’s been known to geek about Superman with encyclopedic knowledge.

Louis’ socials: @louis-dc @ ItsLouis_W on Twitter @ __louis.scott__ on instagram

Wes Marin as Fisher Culligan!

Wes (they/she/he) is a writer, poet, singer, and student living on the California coast. They’ve been a long time audio drama fan, but this is their first project that’s gotten off the ground. They are a self proclaimed mermaid expert, which is needed for this oceanic project. They dabble in music and singing as well as cosplay and other performance hobbies. They are really excited to share Working Tidal and make new friends along the way!

Wes’ socials: @aplaceinwhichtoswim @ WesMarinB on twitter

Gem Aydin as Riley Culligan

Gem Aydın (they/them) is an intersectionality lawyer and a human rights activist. As big nerd with academic hearts, they love to learn, explore, and teach in their unique way. Ever since they listened to their first audio drama, they wanted to express their art in this medium and created 400 Words A Horror with friends to learn to make an audio drama. They are not just the voice of Haven in 400WAH but also sound design and co-run the show. Quick to learn and develop, they started auditioning for voice acting. Autistic of many trades, master of ADHD, Gem keeps on looking ways to learn different things and better what they know so far.

Gem’s socials: @gemaydin https://linktr.ee/gemaydin

Tatiana Gefter as Marnie!

Tatiana (she/they) is a PNW native who can be found haunting fiction podcast and ttrpg spaces all over the internet. You may recognize her as the creator and lead voice actress of Soul Operator, a narrative fiction and actual play fusion. You also catch her as Violet Lull in The Department of Variance of Somewhere Ohio, Marigold in season two of Tales from the Fringes of Reality, Helen Hartley in Woe.Begone, and many more places. For a full list of her credits, please check out her resume via her twitter.

Tot’s socials: @totcoc0a @ tot_cocoa on twitter and @souloperatorpod everywhere