#hollowed kingdoms project

[hollowedkingdoms]

Good morning everyone!

Today we have finished our first round of major edits to the Hollowed Kingdoms Classes, starting with the Soulcaster. Our lead game designer, @darksnowman13, has completely reworked the class, but don't worry we have saved the original version in the Hollowed Kingdoms Archives.

If you want to see the updated class you can find it here: Link

[obbydrawsstuff]

A commission for @hollowedkingdoms​, featuring artwork used in the Menderbug Artificer Subclass of the Hollow Knight D&D project! (It’s a very cool project- feel free to check it out!)

-_-_-

🐛 Hollowed Kingdoms Project || ⭐ Commission Info || ⭐ My Ko-fi || ⭐ More Commissions From Me

[astrelle]

SHOP IS OPEN!!!!

sorry for the radio silence :") but my shop is finally fully open for the first time in a year! everything (except the plushie) is in stock and ready to ship! thank you to everyone who's been interested in purchasing! I'm still going to work on more cookie run charms, but i hope you find your faves here~

mothcharm.com

[hollowedkingdoms]

Check out what our first new beast for Hollowed Kingdoms can do in this latest playtest! 

Vengefly Queen! Commission for @hollowedkingdoms

Check out their latest playtest!

If you'd like to support me, you can leave me a tip or commission me at my Kofi page!

[scarapanna]

[WIP] Starting out an army of paper puppets y'all/silly

Been really quiet this last month, figured I should deliver

My totally normal and not hyperfixating self decided to do something different for my next animatic [It technically counts as a PMV but the rough draft is an animatic lmao]. I've never been this meticulous with making doodles so it's gonna be a looong ride/silly

Genuinely don't know where to put them all once I'm done but it's gonna be a fun thing to have around.

At least 20 pure vanillas are gonna be snuch in my house all curled up in a pile of assets and backgrounds, speaking of...those are made traditionally too!! Here are the ones I've finished

These are made with watercolours and colored pencils, only seven of these are gonna be made in this way for my sake. The rest are all digital (since they're just not as detailed)

[thecolourfulkingdom]

More Welcome Home wild speculations

vexwyo vexyow voxwye voxyew exwvyo owxvye oxwvye wexvyo

I've put all this into a decipher and got several results, one of which especially got my eye:

Vow and yew. Vox is a latin for "voice".

Now the yew tree is a frequent symbol in the Christian poetry of T.S. Eliot. Among his works there is a curious one: The Hollow Men. Here are some interesting parts of it:

  We are the hollow men     We are the stuffed men     Leaning together     Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!     Our dried voices, when     We whisper together     Are quiet and meaningless...

Shape without form, Shade without colour,     Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

  Eyes I dare not meet in dreams     In death's dream kingdom     These do not appear:     There, the eyes are     Sunlight on a broken column     There, is a tree swinging     And voices are     In the wind's singing     More distant and more solemn     Than a fading star.

    The eyes are not here     There are no eyes here         Sightless, unless     The eyes reappear     As the perpetual star     Multifoliate rose     Of death's twilight kingdom     The hope only     Of empty men.

    Here we go round the prickly pear     At five o'clock in the morning.         Between the idea     And the reality     Between the motion     And the act   Between the potency     And the existence     Falls the Shadow

Are we talking about spiritually dead or are we talking about puppets without a puppeteer?

Oh and eyes, so many eyes!

[samthecookielord]

(Original post)

[fandom]

Video Games

Free-to-play doesn't actually mean free-to-play...right?

Baldur's Gate 3 +1

Five Nights at Freddy’s +2

Genshin Impact -2

Undertale +3

Twisted Wonderland +1

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 +7

Cult of the Lamb +55

Honkai: Star Rail +10

Ace Attorney -1

Splatoon 3 -5

Stardew Valley +21

The Sims 4

Team Fortress 2 +2

Deltarune

Disco Elysium -4

Minecraft +4

Hades II

ULTRAKILL +16

Rain World +4

Final Fantasy XIV -3

Elden Ring +9

In Stars and Time

Obey Me! Shall We Date? -13

Project SEKAI: Colorful Stage! +5

Persona 5 -4

Danganronpa

Hollow Knight -3

Mouthwashing

Love and Deepspace

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Guilty Gear +5

Red Dead Redemption 2 +11

Poppy Playtime

Touhou -3

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild -16

Arknights -9

Fallout: New Vegas +26

Mortal Kombat +11

Sonic x Shadow Generations

Persona 3 +39

Flight Rising -1

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Dragon Age: Inquisition +17

Cookie Run +12

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -13

Regretevator

Fear & Hunger +12

Final Fantasy VII +32

Slay the Princess

Omori -12

Undertale Yellow

Pressure

Portal -16

Cyberpunk 2077 -8

Overwatch -19

Pokémon Violet and Scarlet -48

Bloodborne -6

Lethal Company

League of Legends -2

Metal Gear Solid +22

Silent Hill -7

Fallout 4 +14

Mass Effect

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Half-Life -2

Yakuza -13

Resident Evil Village -3

Resident Evil 4 -28

Limbus Company -22

Animal Crossing: New Horizons -43

Pathologic -6

Dragon Age 2 -2

Pizza Tower -52

Monster Hunter +22

Fire Emblem: Three Houses -30

Zenless Zone Zero

Warframe

Destiny 2 -28

Hogwarts Legacy -64

Pikmin 4 -46

Dragon Age Origins

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream

What in Hell is Bad?

Professor Layton -15

Devil May Cry -12

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess -20

Ensemble Stars! -32

The Sims 2 -13

Persona 4

Dandy's World

Detroit: Become Human +3

That's Not My Neighbor

Fields of Mistria

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

Fortnite

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -29

KinitoPET

The Stanley Parable -54

The Sims 3 -11

The number in italics indicates how many spots a title moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded titles weren’t on the list last year.

Psst. Love video games? There are Communities for that.

[akolnoix]

Chain of Pronouns

A Partial Re-Translation Patch for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (GBA)

Kingdom Hearts is a tricky series, where the details really matter. As such, it’s a shame that some interesting elements of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories did not make it into the official English release (and, from what I know, none of the other language versions). So here we are!

So What’s Changed?

The most important changes in this patch are, as you might’ve guessed from the title, pronoun related.

There is a section of the game, from the beginning of Twilight Town to a certain point in Destiny Islands, where Sora (and the NPCs in Destiny Islands) inexplicably change what pronouns are used to refer to Naminé. The official English release does not convey this element at all despite how much emphasis the game puts on this aspect, and thus loses any potentially significant implications of it.

As there’s no perfect English equivalent for あいつ aitsu, (a very informal/rough pronoun that is technically gender-neutral but leans toward masculine connotations, and is a strange way for Sora to refer to Naminé or Kairi), there are two versions of the patch.

“they” version. This is the one I recommend , as I believe it best conveys the intended experience; where there is a noticeably strange shift in language, but in such as way as to be fairly easy to write off as unimportant to the casual player.

“he” version. This one tosses all subtlety and ambiguity out the window and feels less natural, but conveys the masculine possibilities of the original that the other version can’t. Pick it if you’re feeling very daring.

Then, in the final stretch of the game, jp Naminé uses gender neutral terms in a way that seems potentially relevant, due to the pronouns situation stated in the previous section, and she is talking about two distinct people in her final conversation w/Sora, not just one. Both elements were lost in the official release.

Other Changes

Tweaked some word choice/phrasing for dialogue to more clearly convey repeated motifs (if you’re familiar with the jp terms used, 大切な / に taisetsuna/ni is generally denoted with “precious,” and 大切な人 taisetsuna hito with “dear”) as well as references to other parts of the game (primarily between Hollow Bastion and the floor 6+7 interludes)

They don’t call Sora the Keyblade master anymore, as this was sort of an impossible to predict localization misstep with the original release. (How were they supposed to know that jp script would start using the English phrase "Keyblade Master" as a distinct concept like 10 years later?) I did this just for fun.

This project was primarily built upon the contents of the essay “‘That Person’ How a Pronoun Revealed the Heart of a Story”, and would not exist without it. Read it after you finish the game (or before, if you want), it’s fantastic work.

Special thanks to this gba khcom quote generator and this transcript (both of which saved me SO much time and effort) as well as all my friends, whose excitement and input were invaluable.

Don’t want to actually play the game? Once I’ve settled on a final version, I’ll be putting up a cutscene compilation (for both versions) on youtube.

[smystermy]

𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭

tags: geto suguru x you; canon-compliant; set some time after his defection; tooth-rotting domestic fluff; you both co-parent nana-mimi; you and he are somewhere between not being a couple and being one; this might be a bit too tender, methinks... but then again, geto deserves all the tenderness in the world.

warnings: none.

word count: 2325.

oneshot, loosely related to 'peel your heart like a pomegranate'.

The day clings to Geto Suguru like a shadow—long, heavy, and unrelenting.

By the time he steps through the door of the apartment, the sky outside is awash in hues of muted gold and burnt orange, streaked with threads of dusky lavender. The light spills through the hallway window in fractured rays, catching the fine dust motes in its path and painting everything in a soft glow.

He exhales slowly, the breath leaving him like the last note of a song played too many times. His shoulders slump, weighed down by exhaustion that seems to have seeped into his very bones. The scrape of his shoes against the threshold feels louder than it should in the quiet. He toes them off with a resigned sigh, the action mechanical, almost thoughtless.

The familiar creak of the floorboards greets him as his feet touch the wood, their uneven groan a sound he’s known for years. Yet, instead of comfort, it brings an odd pang of unease.

The silence that follows feels wrong, dissonant, like a chord struck out of tune.

He glances toward the living room, where the walls hold shadows that stretch and shift with the fading sunlight.

Normally, this hour carries its own quiet rhythm, a symphony of small sounds that speak of life and home. Nanako would be sprawled on the couch, her legs draped over the armrest as she flipped through channels with exaggerated commentary, her voice rising and falling like the tide. Mimiko would be close by on the floor, surrounded by her carefully arranged kingdom of stuffed animals, her soft, halting words as she read aloud filling the spaces between her sister's louder ones.

And you—his anchor, his constant in a sea of chaos—you’d be by the window.

The silhouette of your figure would merge with the light as you held a teacup delicately in one hand, the other hovering over the keyboard of your laptop. He could picture it so clearly, the faint furrow of concentration on your brow as you searched for online courses or worked on some quietly ambitious project. Your determination, quiet but steadfast, was a beacon to him, a reminder of the grounding he needed.

But tonight, the room feels hollow. The empty couch and scattered pillows are just that—empty. The table by the window stands bare, the chair pushed back slightly as if you’d only just left but taken the warmth of your presence with you.

The stillness presses against him, thick and suffocating, his pulse beginning to quicken. The unease coils tightly in his chest, the absence of sound more deafening than any noise could be. It stretches on, this silence, until—finally—a faint, rhythmic sound reaches his ears.

Soft snores drift down the hall, breaking through the oppressive quiet like a lifeline, and relief surges in a warm wave through his chest. The invisible bind around his ribs loosens, letting him take a breath that feels fuller, easier.

A quiet exhale escapes his lips as he moves toward the source of the sound, his steps deliberate and measured. Even as relief blooms, he remains careful not to disturb the fragile peace ahead.

The door to the twins’ room is slightly ajar, the warm hues of the setting sun spilling through the gap, casting amber streaks across the hallway floor. He nudges the door open, the soft creak of the hinges barely registering—but the sight inside halts him mid-step.

The room is a perfect tableau of chaos and comfort, a scene so achingly tender it roots him to the spot. The golden light filters in, catching on scattered Lego blocks that litter the floor, their bright, jagged edges glinting like tiny, sharp stars in the otherwise serene space. A few forgotten toys lie toppled over, silent witnesses to whatever grand adventure had played out here earlier.

And then his gaze moves upward, a surge of something soft and protective stirring within him when it lands on the bed where the three of you are tangled together in a mess of limbs and warmth that speaks of trust, of belonging.

Nanako lies sprawled across the middle of the mattress, one arm thrown dramatically over her head, her small form taking up far more space than it should. Her expression in sleep is unguarded, her mouth slightly ajar as she breathes in the slow, even rhythm of deep rest. Beside her, Mimiko is curled in a tight, protective ball, her tiny fingers clutching her favorite doll with a fierceness that defies her size. The doll's lopsided smile mirrors the one Geto often sees on her face, and the sight tugs at something tender in his chest.

And then there’s you, perched precariously at the very edge of the bed, as if even in sleep you’re making room for the girls. One arm is draped loosely over both of them, the curve of your wrist resting lightly on Nanako's shoulder—a quiet promise of protection and care. A strand of hair clings to your cheek, its dark line contrasting against the soft, flushed warmth of your skin. Your blanket lies forgotten on the floor, half-trampled by the earlier commotion, a testament to your restless slumber.

Geto exhales a soft, fond sigh, the familiar sight of the blanket on the floor more exasperating than anything else, yet it tugs at his heart all the same. Stepping into the room, he moves carefully, his feet avoiding the Lego blocks with the kind of ease born from countless similar nights. Bending down, he picks up the discarded blanket, shaking it out gently, his hands moving with instinctive precision.

As he straightens, though, you stir, a barely audible sound escaping your lips. Your lashes flutter against your cheeks, the faintest flicker of movement before your eyes open, hazy and unfocused, meeting his gaze—

“Geto-senpai?”

Your voice is barely above a whisper, thick with the weight of sleep, each syllable soft enough to make something deep in his chest ache. The way you murmur his name, fragile and unguarded, pulls at him in a way he can’t quite put into words.

“Shh.” His voice is low, quiet enough not to disturb the peaceful rhythm of the room. He leans down, the blanket gathered in his hands as he gently drapes it over your body. His movements are careful, deliberate, as though afraid the smallest shift might shatter the delicate stillness around you. “Go back to sleep.”

Your lashes flutter again, the hazy warmth of sleep still clouding your gaze as you blink up at him. There’s a moment of disoriented hesitation, your brow furrowing faintly as if trying to place yourself in the moment. Then, stubborn as always, you make a sluggish attempt to sit up, your hand bracing weakly against the bed.

“Dinner,” you mumble, the word half-formed, your voice slurring under the insistent pull of sleep. “I need to—”

“Sleep.” His hand finds your shoulder, broad and warm, the faint weight of it grounding. He presses down gently, his touch firm but comforting, urging you to sink back into the bed. “I’ll take care of it.” There’s a steadiness in his tone, laced with a quiet resolve that leaves no room for argument.

“You will?”

For a fleeting moment, relief flickers across your face, soft and sweet, like a flower unfurling its petals in the morning light. But as your eyes blink open wider, clarity begins to seep in, and your expression shifts.

Your gaze sharpens just enough to take him in fully—his slouched shoulders, the faint hollows under his eyes, the weariness that clings to him like a second skin. Despite the drowsy slowness of your words, your brow furrows in concern. “No, you won’t,” you murmur, the frown on your face at odds with your sleepy tone. “What you’ll do is take a nap… You look like you’re about to fall over.”

A quiet chuckle escapes him, low and rumbling, slipping out before he can stop it. The weight of his exhaustion momentarily lifts, forgotten in the face of your unwavering care. There’s something about your stubbornness, even in this half-asleep state, that warms him, easing the tightness in his chest.

“You’re the one who’s been wrangling these two all day,” he says, his voice soft with affection as he gestures toward the twins. Nanako shifts slightly in her sleep, her arm flopping over Mimiko’s side, and he can’t help the faint smile that tugs at his lips. “And stressing over school,” he adds, his gaze flicking back to you. “You should be the one resting.”

But even as he speaks, you stir faintly, your eyelids twitching as though resisting the pull of sleep. Sleep weighs heavily on you, yet your resolve doesn’t waver. Your lips part, forming words weighed down by exhaustion but no less sincere.

“You… you need rest too…” you murmur, your voice barely audible, soft as the whisper of a breeze through the room. Despite the haze of fatigue in your expression, your concern for him cuts through, clear and steadfast.

He exhales, the sound half sigh, half quiet surrender, his resistance unraveling thread by thread under the weight of your care.

“Fine,” he concedes at last, his voice gentling, a small, fond smile curving his lips. His dark eyes soften as he watches you, his heart giving a faint, familiar ache at how stubbornly you always put others before yourself. “I’ll join you after I shower. Deal?” he says, his tone light, coaxing, like a soft nudge to soothe your tired mind.

You hum softly in response, a sound of sleepy approval, your head sinking back against the pillow as if his words have finally given you permission to rest.

“Okay,” you whisper, your voice barely more than a breath, and just like that, you’re gone again—drifting back into sleep with the same quiet trust that always leaves him marveling. He stands there for a moment longer, the faint glow of the setting sun casting a golden light across your face, as though the universe itself is cradling you. It’s in moments like these, small and fleeting, that he feels the quiet pull of gratitude—for you, for the twins, for the fragile but steadfast thread that holds his world together.

By the time he returns from his shower, the golden warmth of the sunset has faded, leaving the apartment bathed in the tranquil quiet of twilight.

The room is awash in muted silver and gray, the moonlight spilling through the window in soft streaks that trace the edges of scattered toys and faintly catch on the glossy covers of picture books. The soft, rhythmic sounds of breathing fill the space, a melody of comfort and stillness that eases the lingering tension in his chest.

As his gaze drifts to the bed, he notices the subtle shifts that have taken place in his absence. The girls have moved in their sleep, their closeness evident in the way their bodies naturally tangle together. Nanako now lies on her side, one hand loosely cradling Mimiko’s doll—an unexpected but endearing theft. Her small face is slack with sleep, making her appear younger, softer, free from the mischief she wears during waking hours.

Mimiko has burrowed further into your side, her head tucked against the curve of your shoulder. Her small fingers are curled tightly against your sleeve, clutching you with a quiet intensity, as though your presence is the anchor that holds her dreams in place.

And you, as if anticipating his return even in unconsciousness, have left just enough space for him on the edge of the bed near the window. The faint moonlight brushes your features, catching on the loose strands of hair that have slipped from behind your ear, and he feels a quiet, tender warmth spread through him—a gentle pull of affection that makes the world outside feel far away.

He steps quietly into the room, his movements deliberate and soundless, and slips into the space you’ve unknowingly saved for him. The mattress dips beneath his weight, letting out the faintest creak, and for a moment, he pauses.

His gaze lingers on the way you’ve curled around the girls, your arm draped protectively over Mimiko’s back, the rise and fall of your chest steady and soothing. Slowly, he drapes an arm loosely around you, his touch tentative at first, as if afraid to disturb the delicate serenity of the moment.

But as his arm settles, you shift instinctively, pressing back into him without waking, your body fitting against his as though it’s second nature. He exhales softly, his breath evening out, and allows himself to melt into the closeness of you, the twins, and the serene rhythm of the night.

And then, your eyes flutter open, the motion slow and hesitant, as though you’re fighting to remain in the pull of sleep. They meet his in the dim light, your gaze soft and unfocused, and for a moment, you simply blink at him before offering a sweet, sleepy smile.

“Oh,” you murmur, your voice thick and slurred with exhaustion, yet soothing in its warmth. “Forgot to say… welcome home, Geto-senpai.”

The words are so simple, so unadorned, yet they strike him with the kind of weight that lingers, softening the raw edges of his heart.

A faint, almost rueful smile curves his lips as he tightens his arm around you, his other hand reaching out to brush against Mimiko’s hair. His fingers graze the strands lightly before shifting to adjust the doll in Nanako’s grip, a quiet, affectionate gesture that leaves everything as it should be.

Drawing the twins closer, he holds all of you in the protective circle of his arms, the comfort of togetherness weaving a cocoon around him. Then, leaning down, he presses a kiss to your forehead, his lips brushing your skin with all the tenderness he can muster.

"I’m home," he whispers, his voice soft and heartfelt—

And in this quiet, profound moment, he feels it—truly, deeply, undeniably: He’s home.

general masterlist || geto suguru masterlist

[reddesires]

Rain. [Noa x Human!Reader]

Pairing: Noa x Human!Reader

Summary: While working on a personal project, Noa is intrigued by your handiwork. He finds himself captivated by more than just what you were working on.

Rating: (fluff,Fluff,FLUFF!!)

Fandom: (Kingdom Of The) Planet Of The Apes

A/N: hehe, I always look forward to writing bonding moments with our sweet Noa ♡ if anyone has a request I wouldn't mind if you sent in any, I'm open to any of your ideas. I have a few in mind coming in soon.

The breeze blows through the trees in a rthymic beat, your hair at the mercy of the gentle wind. Your hands tinkering with the wood, your chisel craving the timber.

You stop as you admire your work, turning the hollow lumber. Peering into it, seeing the light seeping through the other side, more than satisfied with your efforts.

"Echo?" You hear his husky voice before you feel a tap on top of your forehead, a slight smile gracing your lips. Echo was an odd name to you, and you didn't know what to make of it the first time it was said, but you hadn't questioned it until now, that is.

"You and the clan call me echo, Is there meaning?" Your head tilts in curiosity as Noa settles next to you. He shrugs, but a contemplating look crosses his face. "It's what we've learned.. What the Elders told us.." he awkwardly hoots, and his gaze shifts to your current task of work.

"What are you up to?" He gestures to the wood in your hands. You hold it up within his line of sight with a sense of pride. You tilt it, so he had a view at its hollowness. Thinner pieces of timber were hammered throughout the wood. From top to bottom, the inside of the wooden tube was filled.

"I'm making a rainstick." You sign with enthusiasm. He couldn't help but smile in return to your energy. "Rain..stick?" He inquired curiously, looking more closely, inspecting every detail your piece of work had but still coming out with no answers of his own.

You had grabbed the a mini section of pelt, cut in a desired shape to cover one end of the tube as you did while your other hand grabbed the twine in your lap, you began securing it around the top end of wood making sure it was tight.

"My clan had endless arrangements of rainsticks..they're instruments of sound, it mimics the sound of rain." You describe, grasping a small bowl of tiny stones and tilting it into the tube. The clattering sound down reminiscent of trickling water in his ears, it piqued his interest even more than before.

"My people believed these instruments enticed the skies to bring along rain, we had ceremonies dedicated to using rainsticks" You hum reminded of the celebrations that molded your very view and values in this world. Noa understood how these ceremonies were held very dear to your heart, for him being bonded to your eagle egg was a major milestone in your life and it was celebrated as it deserved to be.

You repeated your prior movements, finishing with tying the twine around the other end of the rainstick. You scan your piece with a close eye, finally deeming it perfect before turning to Noa, and you extend the stick out to him.

"Try it out!" You beam, a clear vigor in your movements excited that he'll be the first to test out your hard work. He grasps the rainstick with a delicate hand, afraid that if he grips in his hand that it'll snap in half despite the very sturdy feeling it gave off.

Noa looks to you with an unsure glance, but you help guide his hands by tilting the rain stick upside down, the pebbles descending down the hallow wood. The sound that was produced was an exact replica of the rain that plunged from the heavens 'shhhaaaa' the sound shimmering in his ears, his mouth fell open in amazement, an excited sound escaping his muzzle.

A laugh bubbled up from you. His reaction was an exact replica of yours when you were first introduced to the instrument. "Stunning, isn't it?"

As he turns his head to you, he isn't sure whether the rainstick was the stunning thing to him when it was you that stood before him. You were stunning in all ways that were unknown to him. You were an entryway to another world that's beyond his own.

"It is.." he trailed off what he truly wanted to say dying in this throat. You nod as you push yourself up, stretching out the rigidness that settled on your back before sighing out and dusting off your clothes.

"Let's go surprise the twins with it, i know it'll make their day" You voice to him, he watches you with slight daze look in his eyes as he fully took you in and how the sunset behind you seemed to halo out around you, his fingers twitch with an alluring warmess to reach out towards you.

The only question to be asked was, could you possibly be one of his world or were you one destined to course through it..

[hollowedkingdoms]

I hope everyone's holidays have been merry. I am proud to announce new art for the project! Specifically for the new Cleric Subclass: The Domain of the Godseeker. The art was made by the wonderful @gingerdoesart

I know its been a bit since our last update, but we just been busy with our lives. We recently moved into our new house early October and then had to be thrown straight into the holiday season. Its been amazing time getting our new home together, but it has caused us for a short while to put our focus away from the project.

However! I do want to reassure everyone that now that the holiday season will soon be over, the new year will bring new content for Hollowed Kingdoms. We are currently working on a updated and revised Amor and Weapons list along with new Magical Items of all rarities for both players and dungeon masters to try out. We can't wait to show you what we have in store for 2025.

You can see the full document here: https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/9a0INM4oAH7t

[catastrophic-crisis]

We've looked back on the records of 2024, so here's a sampler of games that you can play right now for the low price of free:

Beetle Ninja (a hero-for-hire RPG set two weeks before the end of the world, built for repeated playthroughs) / Grimm's Hollow (a spooky and sweet RPG set in the afterlife where you play as a Reaper hiding your ghost sibling)

Remember Places? (locked inside, an AI is your only friend) / Liminal Dreams (a game about exploring bizarre world and meeting strange strangers)

Drown the Bride (a point n' click adventure visual novel about meeting your friend's fiancee in a historically themed fantasy world) / MAMA (a visual novel where you pass out at a yuri convention you were attending with your girlfriend, and awake to find yourself in your childhood home making certain... connections about your mother's actions in the past)

Slider (a tile-based sliding puzzle adventure to find your cat via manipulating the world around you) / The King is Watching (defend your kingdom against an army; buildings are only productive when your gaze is upon them)

Rental (a short and spooky game about renting a cabin, reminiscent of classic survival horror games) / Illusion Carnival (a lost soul wanders a 2.5D pop-up book-like amusement park, evading the attacks of the anomalies that would love to eat them up)

HavE (a visual novel set at a ski resort vacation goes awry in ways that may be supernatural) / Zodiac Paradigm (a murder mystery visual novel arises when twelve animals are called to be a part of the Emperor's council, yet thirteen arrive)

Bad Manors (a point n' click visual novel on Halloween where your friend can't make it to an escape room with you, so a helpful stranger goes in his place) / Reaper's Goodbye (five patrons of a food stall tell their tales while waiting for the midnight train)

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE (a weirdo RPG in which a flying saucer crashes into the town of "Vomit", but you have packages to deliver) / Until Biglight (technically a demo, a sample of a cancelled project of poverty, cats, mice, violence, words like "hyperreality", and planning an assassination)

C.H.A.I.N. / C.H.A.I.N.G.E.D. / The Madvent Calendar (Three anthologies from the Haunted PS1 community. A game of game development telephone, a branching path telling a tale of time travel and family, and a haunted advent calendar.)

[its-not-a-pen]

—Terracotta—

Ok so I visited xi'an during my trip back to china (3 months ago?), and this idea popped into my head during the 9h train ride back to shangdong. I am of course 100% projecting my own love of the terracotta army onto Qin Shi Huang, in reality he did not care for this pit of mud statues depicting lowly commoners. In fact, no one ever bothered to write about it and they were lost to history until 1974 when some farmers digging a well stumbled upon them. But it's exactly the reason I'm so fascinated by them. QSH's tomb has not been excavated, and although I have a running joke about cracking it open--mercury vapors be damned--none of the riches inside will ever enchant me as much as the chance to see the face of a person who lived during this time.

Notes under the cut:

#1

the title Qin Shi Huangdi means "First Emperor of Qin" and was given to QSH by later historians. He actually called himself the Shi Huangdi, "First Emperor", and that is the title I've gone with here.

in English the other kingdoms are translated as "states" (i guess to avoid confusion?) but in chinese they are very much kingdoms.

The terracotta warriors used thousands of craftsmen, many of whom were slaves from conquered kingdoms. From a storytelling perspective I thought it would be more streamlined if there were two main artisans who reported directly to QSH.

QSH's clothes are based on the overly complicated courtly regalia. which has 12 symbols that only the emperor is allowed to wear

Notice how this hat is ROUND at the front??? Well I CERTAINLY DIDN'T. HAD TO REDRAW IT!!!!!

the stripped shirt is based on this Chu woman figurine. Clothes were fairly unisex during this time and I thought it was a nice fit.

#2

Paperwork: writing was done on books made of bamboo slips. Anecdotally, QSH had an impressive work ethic and would read 100 bills every night.

Bronze Goose lamp: ok this is actually a Han dynasty lamp pls forgive me. I saw this bad boy at the xi'an history museum and it's bewitched me body and soul. The goose neck is hollow and connects to a reservoir of water in the belly, which minimizes smoke and cools the lamp.

QSH is remembered as a brutal tyrant and brilliant statesman, but I wanted to present a more human version of him here. Bored, tired and drowning in work he refuses to delegate. His new empire is balanced as precariously as everything else on his desk.

#3

The attendants standing behind him are holding little wood tablets called hu for taking notes. Their brushes are tucked into their hats/hair, inspired by Han dynasty custom. (You'll see me using Han stuff a lot. Their cultures were very similar to Qin, since it was only a few hundred years apart).

So I had a slight breakdown trying to find the correct hats for the eunuchs, and ended up redrawing everything the night I was due to publish. Closest thing I could come up with was a reference to a round-style Han Dynasty hat which evolved into this square Jin hat. Yes, this is a cry for help .

#4

the wheeled platform is 100% made up, I tried to come up with a plausible way of getting a bunch of figurines into the palace.

#5 & #6

Painted terracotta soldier

How were the terracotta warriors made

The General: Fun fact, I got to see this guy in person!

#7

The Epic Wide Shot was inspired by some Tang Dynasty terracotta figures I saw at the xi'an museum!

#8

THIS KNEELING ARCHER. ARGGGGG. He use to be my favourite guy. I even went into the pit and drew him IN PERSON. the archers inexplicably have their hair buns on the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE HEAD. So because of him, I DREW ALL THE HAIR BUNS WRONG!!!! REDRAW!!!! PAIN AND SUFFERING!!!!

#10

Qin was famous for it's very long, thin swords. They were more useful as status symbols than actual weapons, as QSH knows from personal experience…

#11

QSH'S Tomb hasn't been excavated yet, but high levels of mercury have been detected in the soil, making the historical accounts of quite plausible.

[dooblebugss]

Alright everyone it's finally here! Jokingly called "I'll write my own Silksong", a new Hollow Knight fanfic!

Hornet is taken during her patrols by strange bugs wielding bells and magic. Spirited away to the unknown Kingdom of Pharloom, her remaining family and friends give chase.

They'll have to survive harsh new foes and dangerous lands if they want to have any hope of finding her. Hornet, meanwhile, must explore, fight, and survive on her own as she uncovers more about herself and these lands.

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: Something is very wrong in Hallownest. The Hollow Knight wakes up outside the Temple of the Black Egg. Hornet feels a shift in the kingdom from all the way in Greenpath. Together, the two of them discover the sacrifices each has made—and the grief neither one of them was allowed to feel. — Hollow survives the Hollow Knight ending, though severely wounded and close to death. Against her better judgement, Hornet takes them under her care. Along the way, Hollow begins to acknowledge their emotions, and Hornet slowly discovers she's been lied to about the true nature of Vessels.

Author: sugarbloom