#hope this one posts I've been having technical difficulties

[2readiscworld]

[mischiefmanifold]

I have ASPD and I suspect I have ASP too, but I’m not sure because they share a lot of traits. From my understanding, people with ASPD can't feel their emotions because of emotional repression due to trauma, while ASP people can’t feel their emotions because they struggle to understand how emotions work in general? (they feel their emotions more physically than mentally)

I'm not sure what ASP means—my first thought was autism, which would relate to the conversations I've been having lately. If it means something else, please let me know! For now, I'll respond as if you're referring to autism :)

ASPD and autism don't share nearly as many traits as many people think (despite their histories being intertwined with the past diagnosis of "autistic psychopathy"), but due to similar outward presentations they can get mixed up and even misdiagnosed (especially in late-diagnosed adult autistic men).

For example, while physically violent acts committed by autistic people and antisocial people are often quite similar, their root causes are different. In autism, violence is often a result of overstimulation and meltdowns. In ASPD, violence is often caused by a desire for stimulation (to "feel something," usually a thrill or control) or as a way to "punish" people (for what is often individualized, but has to do with our unorthodox morality systems and ideals).

When we're talking about emotions, it's important to acknowledge that "lacking emotions/emotionality" is not technically accurate. It is my understanding that most people with ASPD (specifically trauma-based ASPD) are taught to suppress their emotions in their early childhoods, which can look like a lack of emotion from the outside. Additionally, alexithymia (difficulty or inability to identify one's emotions) has been shown to be linked to personality disorders as well as autism, which may contribute to this idea. With autism, I believe alexithymia is a big part of the reason many autistic people struggle with emotions; I do also think that autistic people often feel/experience emotions differently than non-autistic people like you said (maybe not necessarily physically but in a different way).

I hope this was helpful and I apologize for rambling a bit (haha)

Please keep in mind that I cannot speak for everyone who has autism or ASPD, and that my posts are based in my own experiences as well as my understanding of the research available for these disorders. Relating with my experiences does not necessarily mean that you have the same disorders I do!

[inside-ominous]

Devlog #1

Hey!

It's time for the weekly devlog!

Honestly, this past week I've been swamped with school work, but I have been brainstorming game ideas and thinking about the blog a lot. I really want to focus on building a great community here on Tumblr, which I know I'll have to be a bit more consistent (& active!). For the Patreon, I want to post different content than from the Tumblr blog so there's...well.. a valuable difference. I'm thinking later in the development process, I'll post gameplay snippets on the Patreon and other "behind the scenes" content. For now, we'll just be hanging out on Tumblr. I won't always post long posts, I'll usually save those for the devlogs, so I'll do some shorter post at least once a day. I actually working on building a game for my game programming class, and I've been procrastinating due to other assignments. I'm glad I'm taking the class because I can apply what I learn to the games I personally make. Now, I can't link the games I make for my class, because it's technically owned by the school + I like my privacy. I'll most likely not talk about them on here to avoid confusion, but yea.

Okay, so now to the game ideas! I plan on releasing 2-3 games this year, definitely 2, but hopefully 3. These will be small games, just so I can test my progress and get things on the ball. My current goal is to release a game in early June, then to release the second game in October. If a 3rd game is released this year, then I'll probably either release it in December or push the October release up to August, but we'll see. The first game follows a medieval theme and is inspired by Disenchantment (one of my favorite cartoons on Netflix). I'd like for it to have 8-10 levels, collectables, enemies, and a great soundtrack. Most importantly, I want it to be fun with a good level of difficulty that gradually increases each level. The second game has a burger theme, and it's inspired by Bob's Burgers [My all-time fav, I LOVE Bob's Burgers], that one episode where Bob played Burger Boss. It'll be loosely based off the game displayed in the show and will also have enemies, collectables, etc. Now, the big debate is on which game to start working on now, while I think the medieval theme is more fitting for the October release, I also wouldn't mind releasing it in June. I have considered making part 2's for each game, but that's thinking a bit too far ahead. I'll host a poll and see what you think, I want you all to feel to included in the development progress. The games will be available on itch.io, and eventually I'll release them on steam, as the process is much more extensive on steam. Don't worry the price won't be insanely high, once we're closer to release we'll discuss those details.

Oh yea, these will be 2D games so think about something like Super Mario.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great day and that you enjoy your weekend! What game are you looking forward to playing this year? What game are you currently playing? Do you have any exciting plans? I plan on visiting Barnes & Noble this upcoming week, so I'm pretty excited! Feel free to suggest books!

Follow for more updates and comment, I'd love to hear from you!

Good news, everyone! I’m done writing this, so you can stop reading now.

[0creativity0]

Since the year is coming to an end and I'm not posting anything until January, I thought it'd be fun to do a little recap of the fics I've written and go through whatever I've managed to do this year. So, let's go!

Here's my 2024 on AO3:

This year, I've published 94,779 words. This number does not include any drafts or anything, but I know I wrote a lot of words in unpublished works too, because I've been working on some long projects. In my notes I have literal dozens of nearly finished one shots, and the plans for a work that's proving to be much harder and longer to write than Rot, which is my second longest published work right now and will be my longest published work as soon as 2025 comes, since it's less than 3k words shorter than Umbrella as of right now (wow). In my AO3 drafts alone I have a four parts work that's 24,856 words long and not yet finished, so that gives an idea.

To recap my interactions, I've gotten 31 subscription, 28 of which are on my user and not works (which is weird), 350 kudos, 109 bookmarks and 6,042 hits. And way too many comment threads because I respond to everybody because it's the best part of actually sharing what you write in my opinion. I'm pretty cool with those numbers. They're great!

Anyway, now for the 2024 podium:

My most kudo-ed work this year is:

This one might actually not be true anymore in a few hours. It has just two kudos more than my second most kudo-ed work, so this could change at any moment. I really hope this one stays first though, because I actually really like it. It's not revolutionary but it's fun, and I liked writing it a lot too. I like knowing it was appreciated, and I like knowing it's technically the most renowned thing I wrote this year.

My most read work this year is:

Makes sense that it'd be this one that garnered the most hits, since it's sort of long and finished. I don't mind it too, I liked writing The Sixth Stage. All the way through I was like "wow I'm actually kind of nailing this". It felt nice, principally after finishing Umbrella which I felt like shit about, and what feels even better is I still like it. The pacing is great, I think! Which is insane because I usually, notoriously suck at pacing. I definitely was on something though, killing off so many characters. Fun fact on this one, actually. I recently got a commenter on Wattpad (kindly) cursing me out for murdering them all, just being like "no fucking way", and that was very fun.

My favorite work I've written this year is:

I had so much fun with this character study-ish one shot, even though it sort of flopped lmao. I don't care, it was great. I really love writing Killua, he's so fun. It's a challenge but one I'm willing to take, simply because the answers come to me with difficulty, but they come naturally. Which maybe explains why they're such weird takes. Anyhow, I'd been cooking this up for so long before I shared it, and there are some cheesy things and mess ups I'd rewrite to fix, but I like keeping things as my past self had intended for them to be, so that I can admire my evolution in the future. It's gonna suck anyway, I know nothing about what I'm doing.

And, last but not least, the longest work I've written this year (and I have yet to finish it) is:

I don't know how to feel about Rot. 35,304 published words, dozens of deleted chapters, pages and pages of my school notebooks engraved with fanfiction and 49 samsung notes with thousands of words each. Pure devotion. Some chapters I love, some chapters I hate. Chapter ten is amazing and I'm so excited to share it yet chapter nine makes me want to fall asleep and never wake up. Sometimes it's the easiest thing to write, sometimes it's a genuine nightmare. Again, chapters nine and ten. I will finish it, there's no doubting that, but my plans keep changing and it's messing up my sleep schedule.

Overall, statistics always make me feel like shit. They make me feel like I haven't done enough. Take last year, for example. I made nearly 1.3K kudos last year, even though I started posting last year, which means I hadn't built an "audience" at all yet.

What taking a look back through my biggest successes of the year made me realize is that, even though I sort of suck, I'm still prouf of myself. Most of what I've mentioned here, I like. I tend to forget that and focus on the part of me that regrets numbers, and that's why this little post feels so necessary for me to make.

Of course these numbers (hit numbers and stuff) will change slightly before the end of the year, but I feel this is close enough.

Anyway. Happy new year to everyone. It's coming quick quick quick, and I need to get back to studying if I actually want a job in the future!

I might do a 2023 resume some day, just to take me back in time.

[whoopsyeahokay]

Final Housekeeping

October Sun

this a collection of all the silly notes i left before and after each installment of October Sun (Wally Clark x fem!reader). since the story is complete, i decided to tidy the posts up by removing the now irrelevant notes.

this post is entirely self-indulgent. a place for me to return and admire the experiences i had throughout writing this story 😊

1

end note: i'll just leave this here for now :-)

2

end note: PART THREE will be up this weekend; a glimpse at Wally's POV as he confronts you about being able to see him👻

3

intro note: love youuu 🙃

end note: next up is Field Day, things happen, oopsies are made, and the plot not only thickens, it gets juicy. i had intended this part to incorporate all of that, but Doordash delivered caffeinated coffee when i'd explicitly ordered decaf 😭 i have ADHD, so real-people coffee slows me dooooown and makes my brain mashed potatoes 🥺 sorry, guys!

4

intro note: ✨ alright, beauties, this part ended up with a wordcount almost 3x longer the others, so tumblr forced me to split 'er up. 😅 PART FIVE and PART SIX will be posted in tandem with this one, so y'all don't have to wait to read both 😊

5

intro note: i had some serious technical issues with these parts, so my fingers are crossed that everything worked!

end note: next part is all Wally being about as subtle as a neon sign 💀 he's too cute, i need to give the babe hugs and snugs and dry smacky kisses all over his lil' face 💕 but that's a PART SEVEN problem 😏

6

intro note: as promised, here's PART SIX, no wait necessary! 🫶😅

end note: i'm gonna do my best to get the next part up in a timely manner, but please bear with! thank you again, my dudes, for sticking with what is becoming a behemoth of a story 💀 i probably should've mentioned that it's a very involved, very dense plot, huh? 🙃

7

end note: guys. GUUUYYS. THANK YOU!! your response to this story has been incredible and i am deeply grateful for your engagement 😭 like, i cannot even BEGIN to express how much it means to me that y'all are interested in what i've got to share 😭 i intend to have the next part up soon, but i've just started back at school so🤞

8

end note: they're so good at talking, eh? 😏 anyway, to let y'all in on my little headcanon: Hana is "helpful student" from episode 2, the girl who alerts Mr. Anderson to the deputy at the door when the class is watching Frankenstein (1931).

9

intro note: at last, the bbys have words! which means this is a long one 🕊️

end note: dun dun dun...i really hope you guys are still with me 😅 the next update might take me a little longer. between schoolwork and work-work and Life Things, i'm kinda swamped, but i'll do my absolute best to getter done!

sidenote: please let me know if the taglist ISN'T working for you. i'm fiddling with it in the hopes that something will work, so i need some feedback 🫥 merci my loves!

10

intro note: sorry for the delay, beauties! i was so behind on so many things and am still nursing a rather gruesome cold 🪦 made this one longer to make up for it 🫶

end note: i am so sorry to those of you who the taglist isn't working for! i stg, i am trying everything i can think of to fix the links, but nothing has worked so far 💔 thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sticking with this story despite all the technical difficulties!

if you'd like to be kept up-to-date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS as the taglist isn't currently working ☠️

11

end note: thank you so much for reading, lovelies! i'm currently working on the next update (which is Reader/Wally-focused) and am hopeful that it'll be ready by the end of this week! so keep an eye out 👀 (@banana-lol no accidents pls 😉)

if you'd like to be kept up to date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS, since the taglist has malfunctioned 🙈 i'm still adding ppl to it, but i can't guarantee that it'll notify you when i update 💀

12

intro note: 🚨 THIS IS WHEN our plot diverges significantly from the source material. i felt i should alert you since i've stuck pretty close to the canon timeline until the last installment, and you may have come to expect things to follow that rhythm 😅

that being said, this one's shorter as the next one's gonna be a journey.

end note:

fun fact: my Wally Clark headcanon includes him waking up most mornings in his football uniform, cleats and helmet on, a stain of drool on the padded shoulder of his field jersey, just game-ready and nowhere to go 🏈

note: the next part should be out Sunday or Monday 😌 i wanna get into Homecoming Week sooner rather than later as things pick up and move along pretty quickly thereafter. although i know i've mentioned the rather involved plot this beast hatched, i really wanna finish this before June 🙏

(edit 2024-06-09:

🧠: 😏

Me: 😑

we still have so much to cover omg.)

reblog note:

NEW MATERIAL HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS PART

an additional 1300 words have been tacked on after Wally's POV. a thousand apologies to those of you who've already read it 🙏 nothing else has been touched.

i was going to post the mini-chapter separately, but it didn't feel right as a standalone. it's supposed to be in PART TWELVE. i don't make the rules 😬

PART THIRTEEN will hopefully still be out either Sunday or Monday 👀 god willing 🪬

13

intro note: sorry for the delay, gorgeous ghouls; school bit me in the booty. like, just took a whole chunk of my 🍑 in its teeth and tore 🦈 but that's done now 🫠 onwards and upwards!

end note: friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears! i'll be traveling about 4 time zones back tomorrow and might not have the opportunity to write again until Monday 😔 i'll get the next part up as soon as i can, though, i promise. definitely before the end of next week 🫶

14

end note: i'm so sorry for any confusion, my darling dears 🥺 i'm so grateful that y'all are on this journey with me (and what a journey it is), and i wanna make sure i give you good quality content. i needed to weed out the issues and feel that what's now written is a better reflection of what's to come. bless you all, you delicious specimens 😘

15

intro note: blessings, blessings, everyone. i come bearing new(ish) content! 🫶

end note: hey my beauties!! thank you so so so so so MUCH for bearing with me as i ironed out the kinks in the plot's fabric. i feel a lot more confident about how to move forward. things just make more sense. i hope everyone is cool with the changes made and that you're still willing to ride this through til the end with meee 🫶

16

intro note: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ if you haven't read the updated versions of THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN & FIFTEEN, please do so, otherwise this part won't make sense 😅

end note: this was a lot trickier than i thought it would be, but i gotter done 💪 thank you again for your patience and support, fam <3 i'm so lucky to have you guys 😭

if you'd like to be kept up to date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS, since the taglist has malfunctioned 🙈 i'm still adding ppl to it, but i can't guarantee that i'll ever use it since attempting to fix the problem is starting to destroy my sanity 💀

17

end note:

fun fact: Mathilda Grace would be played by actress Cree Cicchino, for anyone who prefers having a visual reference 🖼️✨

note: alright, 16-17-18 are the thorns in my side; irksome and nit-picky and ruthless in their desire to include more of e4 than necessary. i'm finally happy with this one, though it took the week to smooth out the creases, and am already working on the next part to have out posthaste.

thank you so much for your patience, my doves 🫶

18

intro note: this one may be difficult to follow as i use omniscient POV in some instances rather than third-person. i hope i managed to make the head-hopping clear 🫶

end note: this chapter was written to Amber Run's I Found (TXME Remix). i have a whole soundtrack for this series that i'd like to present once October Sun is complete, but i couldn't keep this one to myself. it's so intense and perfectly captures the fracturing of Reader's mind as she sits in that classroom with her friend's possible abuser.

19 (original)

end note:

fun fact: my high school art teacher (who was also my favorite teacher and probably the best human ever) often had wine in her coffee mug during class. I imagine the Split River High art teacher does the same 😎

Ms. Gendron, if you're out there, salut 🍷

note: we had company throughout the process of writing this part. a little rascal-beans who made it very hard to type 🐈 because hands are playthings and cuddles are of the utmost importance, human, what are you thinking doing other things? (WhoopsBro left his kitty with us for a few days to fumigate his apartment and the wee beast is full of shenanigans 🐾💨)

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.

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if you'd like to be kept up to date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS, since the taglist has malfunctioned 🙈 i am no longer adding people to is as i can't guarantee it'll ever be used again. attempting to fix the problem destroyed my sanity 💀

19 (new)

end note: firstly, i actually really like Claire. i don't think she's a pick me, but i do think she's hella misguided and very entitled. clever, vicious, and kind of terrifying. many things but not a pick me. but Wally doesn't know anything about her except that she and Xavier had a whole sexuationship behind Maddie's back and our babe is loyal.

anyway, isn't this much better? or maybe you don't think so, i dunno, but i'm a lot happier with this part 😅 i truly love writing the dynamic between our 3 main ghosts and the 3 seat-fillers (Ajay, Bernie and Katelynn), but, sadly, those scenes don't always serve a purpose. i'm considering writing brief Asides. in-universe drabbles of our favorite haunt's day-to-day. legit, i have fanfic for my fanfic at this point...

20

end note: all i kept picturing is this teeny-tiny madwoman glaring ferociously at the squad car as she drives after it to keep an eye on Simon. a crazy, over-protective witch just yelling profanities out of her window at the cops the whole way to the station. Mathilda is a delight.

21

end note: not edited, we die like students at Split River High.

anyway, thank you so much for keeping up with this journey, my beloveds! the next part might be out sooner than i thought since i have a few days off this coming week. no promises, just hopeful thinking 😭 expect a comical stage as Ajay tries to keep Wally from giving everything away 👻 we have fun here...

ABOUT THE TAGLIST: i'm afraid i am no longer updating or using the taglist. moving forward, if you'd like to keep up to date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. that thing took me to Hell and back, and we're no longer on speaking terms...😒

22

intro note: this one's gonna be long. well, long-er than i'm used to posting in one shot lol

end note: dun dun dun...next part will be out sometime in the end of the week, God willing 🤞

all i imagined during the whole rooftop scene is Ajay just standing there, head in his hands, muttering, "this is why we can't have nice things." that poor, gentle boy needs a raise.

23

intro note: i lied...it's 5308 words omg

end note: expect the second part to undergo some editing. it unfolded exactly how it was supposed to but i ran outta steam today. we got ourselves a little potato to dogsit for the next three weeks and she's been a handful 🥔🐶

24 (original)

end note: *appears from a cloud of smoke, cloaked and shadowy, Final Countdown blaring* let the games begin!

25 (original)

intro note: sorry for the delay, loves, work was overwhelming (it's busy season) and i'm sick and it was a lot 😩⚰️ ilyg 🫶

end note: Waiting for Godot is so stripped down that I disliked it immensely. also, please remember that time moves differently between the worlds of the living and the dead. so the 2 seconds it takes Xavier to lose his shit is, like, enough minutes in the metaphysical world for our ghost friends to find the forged receipt. like Narnia...it's been a thousand years O.o (iykyk)

26 (original)

end note: fun fact: i'd toyed with the "ppl can see Wally when Reader touches him" reveal for some time, initially thinking i'd do it at the Homecoming Dance. but. plot happened so...yeah no, it didn't work anymore 🤷‍♀️ also, i would've had to account for Nicole, Claire, Mathilda, Hana, Eli...everyone. possibly teachers. all the ghosts. i love writing ensemble scenes, but that is too many moving pieces.

24 (final version)

intro note: 🚨💀⚠️thank you for bearing with me, guys. this is entirely new material. PART 24/25/26 have been combined here to create a massive fluffing installment (6509 words 😮‍💨). i'd suggest rereading at least the latter half of PART 23 beforehand if you need a refresh of the point in time we're returning to. please pretend that the old parts never happened. erase them from your memories 🕰️👁️‍🗨️💤🌀

end note: i am of the belief that Mr. South is spooky in his own right and doesn't need Reader to expose him to the supernatural. agree with me or not, his ominous words to Simon at the beginning of the season set me on a path that i can't ignore 🤭

i really hope you guys are okay with how i'm reworking this. i know i gave away a pretty major spoiler, and i regret that so much because i dearly want you all to enjoy this, but it had to be done. otherwise i was more than likely going to throw in the towel. rest assured, there is SO MUCH more to unfold.

ABOUT THE TAGLIST: y'all know, it ain't a thing around here anymore due to the overuse of ritual magic, some demon-summoning, and an unfortunate sacrifice that resulted in more technical issues than tumblr could handle 🔮🗡️ if you'd like to be kept up-to-date, please FOLLOW ME and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. we have fun here (•¯ ∀ ¯•)

25

intro note: 📜🪶🧡 guess who's baaAAAAaaack~ 👁️👅👁️ thank you everyone for being patient. it was your support that motivated me to write through brain fog and fatigue and the various other symptoms i'm experiencing rn. big ups, bbs 😘 this is the slipperiest of slopes as we close October Sun and step into October Moon. i hope it's everything you've been waiting for (*serenely dodges tomatoes and accusations of clickbaiting smut*). tysm my dearest loves 💘

26

intro note: ⏰we continue...🐾 we clocked in at 6818 words. for anyone triggered by violence or murder, especially involving children, the plot will still make sense if you choose to SKIP that scene. it begins in Act 3 when we return to Wally's POV. i have indicated that act with "‗‗‗‗🚩‗‗‗‗" to avoid confusion. if you wish to back-arrow out but would like a summary of events, please DM me and i'll happily catch you up in a gentler way 🧡

end note: unedited. written at midnight. you know the drill: i will most likely come back to tinker at the bits i think need fixing 😅

this chapter was written to Daylight (Cinematic) by David Kushner (Act 3). parts of Act 3 had also been inspired by Devil Devil by Milck, specifically the violence that unfolds when Christopher Nears attacks Living Man. the last act was written to Outta My Head by The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers. if anyone is interested in an October Sun playlist, it will be released upon completion of the story (i.e.: after PART 27)🥲🥀

27

end note: i will definitely be tinkering away here tomorrow 💀

Act 1 was written to The Night We Met (Slowed & Thunder Storm) by Lord Huron. Act 5 was written to You're Somebody Else by Flora Cash. finally, Act 6 was written to Willow Tree March by The Paper Kites.

i can't believe it, guys. we made it. (ignoring that i now have less that 3 weeks to accomplish Series 2 before the second season airs...) thank you everyone who's still clinging for their lives on the sides of this chaos canoe. you're all legends and i love each and every one of you to the moon and beyond 😭

[duckduckhjonk]

Getting dramatic about the Colossus enemies because they've invaded my head.

Do you think that any of them signed up for the experimentation? Even those that did, do you think they knew the true extent of what they were getting into?

What about Baron Seal? Has he had enough attention? Does he think about the quiet seaside he once lived in? Does he long to return? Is he tired of all the fear around him? He was technically the first true Colossus, is he reliably stable? Does Baron Seal experience some difficulties or genetic instabilities? Would he get sick easily?

Le'Grim too, what about him? Is his rampage mindless? Would he ever settle down? Does he ever get time to go back and watch those movies? Is his only emotion rage?

And what of Mega-Mooth? Has he had enough of rebelling against nature? Does it yearn for the warm embrace of its cocoon again? Is the gem ever too heavy for it when flying?

Think about Super Hyppoh, someone who already hated her appearance. Someone who already had the trauma of an alien abduction, forced to be further genetically modified. Could she ever stand anyone seeing her like this?

I know I've said this before, but did they let Archangel Exiel back into heaven? Or was he banished to walk the earth due to the cursed stone on his chest? Do you think he spends his time near the Aku in an attempt to redeem them, hoping that could give him another shot at returning to heaven?

Do you think Big Peng Z ever thinks about his old movies? Does he yearn for that life as a movie star again? Is his rotting flesh still capable of using that self-taught kung-fu? Would he still dream of hollywood?

When J. J. Jackrabbit ran from the lab, did the others get a clue? It went from a successful store-runner to bankrupt, having to rely on the crystal to tell fortunes. Has it financially recovered? Would his status as incomplete render him worse off?

Does Chibinel regret it? Being one of maybe two who willingly took part in this. Would he also be banished from heaven? Is he still on good terms with his father?

Do The Omens still get along? So tied together, would it become painful to separate? The stones cover their faces, can they see? Eat? Talk? Smell? Or has that all been taken from them? Do you think they yearn for being low level red enemies again?

Mega Baa Baa is an interesting case though. It also seemingly wanted the change to itself, although its unsatisfied now. Did it see what was happening to the others and thought it could become "cooler"? Does it experience any negative side effects to all of this? Of course, besides the yearning for further looks.

Not as interesting as Gigahaniwan, I find. A protector that was laid to rest for an unknown amount of time, only to be dug up and recreated as a destroyer. Does it feel that guilt? Does it know that it's used to ruin those it sworn to protect? Are its sluggish movements an attempt to restrain itself?

uhh thanks for reading... I like these guys if you couldn't tell. Might post more about them if I feel so inclined so stay tuned for that :3

[kanerallels]

GASP!! IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY OH MY DEAR GOODNESS HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!!!

I hope the day has been going splendidly & that you’ve been able to eat your favorite food :] (and if you haven’t, I hope you get to eat it very very soon!)

Thank you for being your wonderful, fun, unique, talented, passionate self; there’s a certain brightness/happiness to your personality that I don’t often see in people, and it’s absolutely lovely <3 You experience such genuine excitement over the things that interest you, and it makes me feel happy as well, even if I don’t know much about what you’re interested in + posting about! You’re seriously Spectacular and I’m so so glad that we know each other & that I get to do tumblr with you :) You’re such a joy to be around 💛

I hope this next year of your life is an amazing one—and I’m super looking forward to being able to read your book, I saw you made a post about it recently and AAAAAAA it’s so exciting!! Have a happy day, Hazel :) <333

GRACE YOU'RE SO SWEET THANK YOU!!!! This was such a joy to get, thank you so much!!

My day was excellent and I got some of my favorite foods, thank you!!

AHHHH YOU'RE SO SO SWEET FRIEND I'm so glad we get to be friends, too. I'm lucky you're in my life!!!

Thank you!! I'm super excited for it too, feel free to pray that it gets released soon lol! I've run into a couple technical difficulties

[alltheotherblogs]

D&DB:Z Update: PROGRESS!!!

It's about time you guys get a little update on what I've actually done with D&DB:Z.

Races

We have a whole class and two subclasses completed. Three races, the Namekians, Saiyans, and Earthlings, Earthlings by far having the most diversity with six variants, saiyan's having three, and Namekian's having four.

Core Rules

Ki

I have Ki, a system that allows you to use the energy inside us all to do powerful and sometimes miraculous things, fully worked out. It works a lot like HP, and even has a mechanic called "Charge" Where you expend your Ki Point Dice to recharge the rolled number. It's based on Constitution, just like Health. And I'm working out what skills are going to do what, and if we'll need anymore. Ki sensing is definitely going to have to be a thing, since in DBZ, not everyone has it and can do it, I'll be working that out, but until then, Ki is technically completed.

Techniques

The inspiration for this came from someone else's homebrew, but I have no way to credit them. Regardless, it's far more transformative. The way it currently works, you get awarded Technique points by the DM, and when you level up. You can spend these technique points to learn a technique from a master or create your own. That's right. Make Your Own.

As they are now techniques feature a character creation mechanic based on a template I designed before making any other techniques, balanced out by yours truly, who has the official P.O.B. Award for having good homebrew. This system may surpass this homebrew rule set if people end up seeing it. I have a hunch it's going to be very well liked.

Disclaimers

I have a hunch this would be obvious, but it's pretty clear to me at least that Dragon Ball as a whole is a lot crazier and more powerful than D&D. "ohh we fought a dragon and ran around" V.s. "FRIEZA I'M GONNA BLOW YOU UP WITH SIXTEEN THOUSAND MEGATON YIELD EXPLOSIVES."

Yeah it's not exactly comparable. The difficulty spike when looking at D&DB:Z and stock D&D5e is drastic. 5e classes won't be compatible with this ruleset. That said, you can totally just do it anyways and I'm not gonna try to prevent that. Since the players will obviously be stronger, I'm going to calculate that when balancing things. There will still be difficulty and a REAL chance of death, and I mean REALLY real. Most of the creatures I'm going to design will be able to take on most high CR creatures in stock D&D5e.

Like I said before in other posts, I'll be making stat blocks for Zarbons and Dodorias, I'll be making tons of stat blocks. I've made lots of stat blocks before as I'm sure any good DM has. So be prepared for that. However, I think I'd personally want to run this in a normal setting. Imagine Saiyans rampaging through the worlds of 5e? That'd be a nightmare. Exposing these OP ass dudes to premade campaign settings. "I blast through the wall of the dungeon and into the final chamber, take the treasure, and fly out in six seconds."

Yeah this is gonna be fun. Not exactly 5e, but still fun.

Also I'd like to say, even just assigning classes Ki Hit Dice might make them strong enough to compare to some of the classes in this homebrew ruleset. so, you never know.

Final Thoughts

My primary focus is finishing the classes and races. That is the bulk of what makes this Dragon Ball. Being able to do the moves, and play as the creatures. And since Xenoverse came out, I've dreamed of being able to do this. I hope it's one of your dreams too. To my knowledge, nothing like this exists yet, and if it does, it's less fleshed out than what I've made. I'm excited beyond words to show you the final product, and to even just reveal specific aspects.

Don't touch that dial

I'll be back soon with more news! Remember to follow, and check out my YouTube where I've been live streaming the homebrew creation process.

That's over at;

[miradanii]

MTMTE/LOST LIGHT First Time Read

Short time text text because it's 4am. I had to finish it...The Lost Light was short and I had 4 chapters left. Had heat exhaustion twice in one week, lack of sleep for days but I couldn't help but finish just so I can go back and reread parts I didn't understand/have an excuse to finally look up this comic without massive spoilers.

I had never read a lot of long ass comics. But wow have I just had a wild ride. I think it took maybe two and half months to read this? Maybe more. One of the few things I had difficulty with reading but pushed through because how captivated I was with the story and its insane cast of characters. I have tons of new favorites I will now create powerpoint slides to present to my friends now on how much I've enjoyed my time with them.

I am so thankful for the internet due to these comics being out of print. And my past self just happening to own volume 1 of Dark Cybertron and never donating it despite not fully understanding what it was until this year. I hope these comics get reprinted one day but I guess for now I'll hunt down copies because I think I want to do these comics a service by having physical copies...

Anyways I 100% recommend this series as a first time reader for reading any Transformers comics. It was pretty difficult at first but I got the hang of it for a while. Not sure it helped that I was already familiar with a lot of the characters already like Rodimus, Megatron, ect. ect. ect.

Here's a link to a reddit post about the order for reading MTMTE/Lost Light. Though, when you come to Dark Cybertron it comes it two volumes so you don't have to switch between MTMTE and RID issues. Like I said I have the physical copy for Volume 1 of Dark Cybertron but mistakenly went back to reading MTMTE and had not realized the issues were alternating.

The reddit post mentions it but I was dumb and didn't fully read it. I just kinda kept going to the next page with a jarring lack of information thinking a lot of stuff was happening off screen.

Immediate ending spoiler nonsense thoughts down below:

Yeah the ending note made me tear up. I am in the mist of consuming a lot of Transformers Media before Transformers One comes out...I had decided to read MTMTE because I think I wanted something that I felt when I watched Transformers Prime. More detail in the characters. I think I flipped when I found out Ratchet who I've seen 3 iterations of on tv has a love interest. Megatron and Optimus have like....just...yeah it's gay. Unhinge divorced but never married gay interactions, then there's more gay, then idk I just started learning more and more about it all from just doing research all for a powerpoint party I hosted and because it was my birthday I was able to go up to 45 minutes due to birthday privileges.

Like I can go from liking Megop to MiniMegs? Is that the ship name? Idk it's almost 5am. But it's not even about pairings at this point, I'm going on an insane fucking adventure. I'm reading this shit in a King's Hawaiian parking lot now being part of my core memory. Actually that part does have a pairing. I'm seeing this:

I went through emotional toil in a restaurant parking lot with my friends to see and not understand the shock I'm having after I get out of the car.

I understand the flowers. That's a fuck ton.

I technically got spoiled about who Rung actually was but it had been so long I actually was STILL shocked when I found out at around 3am. Though...I didn't know he fucking died. Guys he fucking died. I think he came back or its one of his children idk man he fucking died and there's a character with a very similar color palette to him in Cyberverse.

On a random note I guess they weren't that close but Im surprised there wasn't a conversation between Nautica and Chromedome about forgetting Skids in a sense of grief. And it just kinda happened to her...Though I am glad she was still prioritizing Velocity.

Okay so Terminus just dies off screen and Megatron never finds out that he gave him the wrong location?? Damn. But I guess it was no hard feelings when he reunited with the Lost Light so that's all fine and dandy.

This is the one of the few stories where I am proud bullshit with no further explanation reunites tragic lovers. This series lets me live. I mean there was a very simple explanation why Tailgate didn't fade away from Cyclonus' arms but when that moment happened I was like yeah fuck it let them be happy. Of course Kaput was gonna go Kaput but rip can't believe it had to get Tailgate involved.

Ah Anode and Lug were cute! I think it took me a bit to warm up to them but I think I start to like characters when they start having fun dynamics with the rest of the cast. Anode and Swerve pranking each other on the shrinking ship with all hell breaking loose with the rest of the Rod Squad is just...yeah that whole chapter was paced so well.

Okay Whirl didn't just win me over, he snatched my heart and made a clock out of it with his lil pincers. I love this fella. He's such a homie. Top 10 in my list of characters with best character growth.

Okay okay...so the ending right...I knew Ratchet died in the end. Or a portion of the end. But it still caught me off guard. Not to mention I thought Tailgate had died in the end too. I mean it was technically true. But still...ouch. I saw the panel with the Rodimus Star and thought it was so dumb. Had no idea that it was so much more impactful than I thought. Legit before knowing the context I thought Rodimus didn't want to give his most inner energon and gave a Rodimus Star instead. Oops.

I've seen panels of Minimus and Megatron interact and had no idea that it was from the final issue.

5:31am

This series has given me a small portion of joy I couldn't feel for the past few months without it. A boost in creativity and expanding a range of wow that's a lot of fucking insane shit that can happen and still be fun huh?

[ultraviolet-psyche]

I think one of the most fascinating things about being a creative is how the passage of time, and the advancement of your technical and creative abilities, can shape the way you perceive your older works.

Screams and Sighs, a Kuzusouda slow-burn longfic I wrote back in 2017-2018, has always been my most well-known fanfiction. Back when I wrote it, I thought it was amazing. Nowadays, when I go back and read it, I can't help but cringe. It feels like no matter which passage I read, there's always something that jumps out at me as an inherent flaw of my writing style or my interpretations of the characters. It sucks, and sometimes I wish I could've written SAS during a time where my writing ability was better, but I recognise that writing that fic has helped me get to where I am today.

Nowadays, there's one question that I often ask myself: if I were to start rewriting SAS right now, what specific things would I do to improve its quality? What would my writing style for the fic look like? How would I change how I wrote Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, and all the other characters featured in the fic? What would be a better way to incorporate and utilise the fic's central themes, those being the true meanings of strength and weakness, and the difficulties of being a gay couple in a killing game?

As I said in another post, I don't actually plan on rewriting SAS anytime soon, as it's a massive undertaking that I'm not quite prepared for. However, what I could do instead is write new oneshots and drabbles that put a new spin on some of the themes and/or plot points of SAS. Hell, this is pretty much what I've already done with my double drabble I posted not too long ago, 'fake utopia'. It doesn't quite fit into the SAS continuity (though I guess it could if you really want it to), but it does have the same vibes, themes and setting as SAS. I hope to continue writing stuff in this vein, along with the more lighthearted, non-despair Kuzusouda fics I've been focusing on recently.

Ultimately, if you're a creative, and you can look back on your older works and identify their shortcomings, like me with SAS and my other older fanfiction, you're on the right track. You're improving as a creative, even if you might not have noticed it before. You should be proud of yourself! 💜

[fluffs-arts]

I've seen you post with art of your characters from a 1-on-1 DnD game you run for your husband. May I ask how you do it? I'd like to try it with my partner. Thank you in advance <3

Theres a few sources I read up on before we started. We technically haven't started this one yet but we've been doing the rp for lore. Rn were running through Lost Mine of Phandelver since hes brand new to dnd.

Best thing I've found is making a sidekick for him. They have special rulings and classes. Ill link the article below. For his sorcerer, I made a warrior sidekick (basically just a tank type). It helps make up where his pc is lacking like a normal party would.

Then you definitely have to scale the encounters down. You can still get really cool encounter that feel like they have an impact. For example in LMoP (spoilers ahead)

The first encounter is a goblin ambush. Originally theres 4 goblins attacking them. 2 sticking back to shoot and 2 melee. Instead I knocked it down to just two; one shooting, one melee. Then I test ran it with his pc and the sidekick. Theres a site ill also link below where you can calculate the difficulty based on amount of party members, the CR of the enemies, and the amount of enemies. Heavillllyy suggest testing it physically and/or testing it with the site. If things end up going sideways then, thats just a part of dnd in my eyes. We figure it out from there lol.

Avoiding combat entirely is also always a great option. Encourage them to think out of the box, maybe sneak around, negotiate, bribery. Having that work around can really help with the tricky combat scaling.

Im pretty scatterbrained with this lol, but another thing is, if you dont have anything planned, the pacings slowing down, or either of your attentions just arent there, you can stop at any point! Theres no obligation to run for the 2-5 hours like a fully party session. You can pick back up whenever you and your partner want!! So if yall derail and you arent planned for it, you can always take a break and pick back up whenever youre both ready. Your partner has a tough decision and needs some time to think it over? They can take a break and pick it back up when yall are ready! Its really nice for us since were both neurospicy and stuff like that happens all the time.

Anyway thats all i can think of right now :) i hope that helped!!!

Links:

Encounter calculator

These guys have a lot of good articles

Sidekick rules

Also a lot of good articles from them

Combat tips

[aspenscore]

Channel Update - June 20, 2024

Hey y'all! Just wanted to give you a quick update on what's coming up in the next month or so, and give you a bit of info about what's going on behind the scenes. TL;DR at the end.

First off, I'm really hoping to have AuDHD episode 5 out sometime tomorrow, although I can't make any guarantees for reasons I'll clarify below. For those wondering, I usually aim to post on Fridays (but that is much more of a guideline than a rule), and I definitely won't be able to always put out one video per week (although that is generally my goal).

Secondly, the reason I definitely won't be keeping up with that goal this month and likely throughout the summer is because I'm moving! This is a really exciting time for me, but unfortunately it's also a very busy time, so my ability to log onto the server and to edit videos is pretty limited right now. On top of that, my wifi situation is going to be pretty spotty for at least the next two weeks, which not only prevents me from being able to upload, but also prevents me from logging on to even record anything in the first place, so unfortunately I'm gonna be lagging a bit behind with my progress on some of the projects and events I've been working on. This does not mean I'm not going to do them, it just means that it's likely going to be a trend for the duration of the AuDHD SMP that I will be uploading content from a previous month during the current month (ie. I'll be uploading June content in July, which'll end up pushing July content into August, and so on).

The good news is: I have some miscellaneous old footage that I've been wanting to edit and upload for a long while, but I haven't had the chance to do it while keeping up with AuDHD. My plan is to try and get some of that footage edited while I'm without wifi, so I'll have some bonus content to reward you with for your patience when I finally return with a proper upload schedule!

Finally, I wanted to address Love Life. No, I haven't forgotten about it, and yes, it is my intent to continue that series if and when it ever becomes possible to do so. However, it is currently on an indefinite hiatus due to a combination of technical difficulties and scheduling issues, and I don't know when we'll be able to record the rest of our sessions. Currently, we are still planning to finish out the season, we just don't know when that will be. If it ends up being the case that we are unable to continue, I plan to at least post some kind of final video to offer closure on the series, so you won't be left hanging.

Thank you all for your continued patience and support, and I look forward to being settled in my new place so I can get back to bringing you all new videos!

TL;DR: The next month or so is going to be very busy for me, so I won't be uploading as frequently, which also means that my monthly themed content is unlikely to align with the month I end up posting it in. Love Life SMP is currently on an indefinite hiatus, but I wanted to let you know that am not abandoning it. Thank you all so much for your patience and support!

[gigakoops]

I'm seeing articles talking about Bobby Kotick talking about reviving Guitar Hero using AI, and everything about this upsets my rhythm-game-loving ass. For one I don't want to be tempted to buy another Activision game ever again. But then, if they start using AI to do stuff like note charts, it's not going to go very well and it's going to be awful to play.

So if you've seen my username anywhere else, it's likely been in the Clone Hero/Rock Band communities. I make custom note charts, and have been charting since 2011, when I worked on the Rock Band Network. So I know the in's and out's of what goes into a note chart. There's a lot of nuance that goes into these things, and when making a chart I always notice new details, even with songs I've heard hundreds of times. I don't trust an algorithm to notice such things.

I'm also left thinking about CAT, a program used at C3 (a big ol' hub for Rock Band customs that I've pretty much cut ties with at this point) to generate lower difficulties and such. And let me tell you, the results there are subpar at best. You can instantly tell how mechanical it all feels, as if there was no thought put into the note orders, or even the actual rules to how these lower difficulties work. And that's an algorithm that uses existing Expert charts as a basis!

AI-generated Expert charts would be a fucking nightmare. Instead of charts that flow well with the music, and account for all the little details in actual instrument lines, you'll get some clunky thing that technically works, but doesn't feel "right" with the music. Like, imagine playing a song, and while the notes are technically on-beat, it feels like the chords are charted in a way that feels unnatural, and there's a lack of polish when it comes to little licks and such. That's how I imagine an AI chart feeling, and it'd be downright dreadful.

There's also the thought of "What if they use existing charts to train the AI," which leaves two possible outcomes, neither of which are great. The lesser-bad one would be them using old Guitar Hero charts to train the AI. The GH series in general is pretty all over the place with chart quality, leaning oftentimes towards "overcharted" due to charting power chords as three-note chords, and sometimes just charting notes that aren't there for the sake of challenge. That's also the style of the series post-Harmonix, is to be really challenging. But also, I don't see that as being a good basis to train an AI to make charts by today's standards.

Which leads to my biggest fear: using custom charts (mostly Clone Hero charts most likely) to train this AI. And let me tell you right now, I don't consent to this. No way in Hell do I think it's an ethical thing to do to train an AI using potentially hundreds of other peoples' charts. Charting itself is an artform, and I think it'd be horrendous to just steal other peoples' styles so that you can save time on your cash-in revival.

This was originally going to be just the first paragraph, but then I decided to elaborate further until it became, well, all this. Still, I really hope that if they decide to revive Guitar Hero, that they actually hire people to make charts, because the idea of an AI seeing a Skrillex overchart, then ripping off that style for an Alter Bridge song or some shit is going to keep me up at night.

[danceswithdarkspawn]

You've got me interested in Dragon Age with all the content you post or reblog, but I've been a bit curious about the actual gameplay itself. Can you tell me about some of your favorite portions from the game series?

First of all I'm flattered you decided to come to me, the backwater dumbass that lives in a ramshackle hut and yells at the sky about this godforsaken franchise. There are probably far better people to ask this question. I hope you are okay. Second, I meant to get around to answering this a few days ago, I Forgor. Third, buckle up, it's Dinosaur Post all over again but extremely long.

I'm going to split this up into the actual, technical gameplay bits and the other stuff because both of these play a role in why I like or dislike certain aspects of all three games. Also, I will be including some things I don't like or didn't work for me, but that's a small portion. I'll label each part so you can skip to whichever section.

To preface: Dragon Age: Origins was THE game (along with Skyrim) that got me away from MMOs and into single-player RPG games. DAO will always be special to me because of that and thus I have some bias towards it. Because I can't do anything in short-form, this is long as hell, and contains my thoughts on each game.

Before we begin: GIANT DISCLAIMER that these are my opinions, not fact. I love these games despite their many flaws, and if I didn't want them to be better, I would not be critical of them.

I will not be going over any of the DLCs because frankly there are a lot of them, but in my opinion, all the DLCs for all the games are excellent additions to the base games they belong to.

The Technical Gameplay Stuff

General:

All of the combat in Dragon Age plays out something like this: You have your party of up to 4 consisting of your Player Character (PC) and three other companions who you recruit at different points in the story. You can choose to fill out your party (meaning you have the max of 4) or you can go solo, bring only one companion, etc. You control one character at a time while the game controls the rest, but you can freely swap between characters, pause mid-combat, move your camera around the battle, and give direct commands to individual party members that will execute when unpaused. Combat is persistent, not turn-based, and will only end if all enemies are killed or the player gets far enough away to disengage battle.

Each game also has their own 'tactics' system that dictates what other members of your party do in certain situations when not controlled by you

Dragon Age has a condensed classical RPG class setup consisting of Warriors, Mages and Rogues. There are subclasses of these (known as Specializations, which unlock stat bonuses, new skills and passives). Each class has unique advantages that encourage you to have at least one of each in your party. This is especially true of Inquisition with obstacles which can only be cleared by certain classes.

Furthermore, Origins was a little more flexible in its class choices because a: weapons and armor were not restricted by class, but by stat investments and b: warriors have access to all weapon talents (two-handed, sword and shield, dual wield and bow) while rogues only have talents for dual wield and bow.

Following Origins, weapons and armor types are restricted by class.

Dragon Age: Origins/Awakening:

DAO's combat is fairly slow and a bit clunky and perhaps dated, but I think that's the charm of it. As far as how interactive the combat is, DAO is the least interactive of the three games. That does not mean you can let the battles play out on their own, especially if you're playing harder difficulties. You will still need to do some tactical positioning, switching characters, using items, etc. But DAO does not require you to hold down a button to perform basic attacks on your controlled character. You simply select your target and start attacking it, and activate skills as you see fit. What i mean by 'least interactive' is that, compared to the other two games, you'll be doing less actions per minute most of the time.

For me, the typical combat gameplay loop for Origins is something like this:

combat starts, pause game, move party as necessary, unpause

mage controller AOE paralyze largest cluster and/or stunlock the most dangerous enemy

warriors to largest cluster > tank AOE taunt, melee DPS AOE/Stun

ranged DPS target ranged enemies; intercept with warriors/melee characters as necessary; dual wield rogues with max stealth can also be sent to kill enemies in the back, or flank at largest cluster and AOE/stun spam

pause to adjust as necessary (heal, use items, reapply crowd control)

Your options early in the game will be limited, as AOE taunt and mass paralyze require a few levelups and stat investments to unlock. In the early game, you'll be using single-target stuns, knockbacks, etc to keep the battle under control. Luckily, each class has access to a stun early on. The Mabari hound is also great to bring along for an early-game AOE stun if you're struggling.

You'll need to carefully choose which skill trees you want to invest in, particularly for your primary tank and a controller-oriented mage (highly recommend for the utility), because there isn't an easy way to reset skills.

Also, many mage skills have Friendly Fire, particularly with AOE damaging abilities. Be cautious with these.

The tactics system in Origins/Awakening is, in my opinion, the best in the series. It's very in-depth, you can have multiple loadouts and change them as needed, iirc you can switch them on the fly through the menu, and generally make your life easier, especially if you just want to stick to controlling one or two characters.

These settings operate largely on a 'if X condition, then Y' set of logic. For example, when setting tactics for a two-handed warrior, you can have, "If surrounded by X number of enemies, use AOE ability,' or 'If Controlled Character is targeted by EnemyClass/DamageType, do X Action.' On harder difficulties, I wouldn't solely rely on tactics but it is very, very useful.

Origins also had craftable and placable traps, flasks and poisons that largely got baked into skills or potion crafting in the other two games, which is neat and fun because you could do stupid shit like this to oneshot a fucking dragon. Also Muh Roleplay.

TLDR: I like Origin's combat loop because of how simple, but effective it is. It's influenced by DnD-type strategy and is complex enough that I have to think about what I'm doing, I can't just bumrush through, but not so difficult that it feels impossible or unfun.

Dragon Age 2:

DA2's combat departs from Origins somewhat; you still don't have to hold down an attack button for basic attacks, but the combat, in my opinion, feels much faster paced, more akin to an ARPG. In comparison to DAO, I am constantly pausing the fight to move targets or use my next ability. There are also far more enemies per fight than Origins, as they come in waves instead of all at once. They typically have lower health, but their numbers combined with the amount of waves can make some fights challenging and a slog. There are, however, a plethora of AOE abilities to assist with this.

I'm not sure about the complexity of DA2's tactics as I don't use it that much and just opt for intense micromanagement during combat, but from memory it does also have some depth. DA2's difficulty scaling is, in my opinion, pretty steep compared to Origins and I prefer for play it at the normal setting. Personally I have the most fun playing as a rogue and flipping around stabbing people and kicking them in the face. Overall, fun, flashy.

Typical loop for combat is something like:

Miasmic Flask largest group > AOE the shit out of that group > Warrior Taunt > heal > repeat

Mostly though, it's a loooot of pausing and unpausing for me personally.

Dragon Age: Inquisition:

Somewhere in the middle of DAO and DA2 with a few extra bells. You can jump now! On keyboard the jump button is spacebar, which happens to be the button that pauses the game in the previous two games. I'll let you imagine how that goes mid-fight. Anyway, the combat for DAI is fairly interactive and now requires you to hold down a button to perform your basic attacks. The game is much more open-world ala Skyrim with different contained regions you can travel to. I hate to say it, but combat outside of boss battles in Inquisition is somewhat boring. It's very pretty thanks to the Frostbite engine, but that's about it.

Additionally, you no longer heal out of combat. Your healing options are also limited. You start the game with a fixed amount of health potions that are shared across your entire party. The potion-sharing is similar to DA2, but there was no max potion cap on DA2. You are limited, always, periodt. You can expand this number through crafting upgrades, as well as healing effectiveness. There are also potions that heal over time with an upgrade that heals in an area around the user, and a grenade that heals in the target area. (idk man don't ask)

There are some skills/ultimates/weapon abilities that give some healing or shielding, but combat is made artificially harder because of this change. In longer missions, there are typically one or more supply caches where you can resupply, however (unless you turn that off in Trials). I'm not saying this is a bad thing, just trying to be thorough. This only becomes a pain in the ass for long fights like bosses or high dragons.

There is a learning curve to Inquisition's combat, which the prologue tests you on (Pride Demon my beloathed). While initially challenging, there is a point at which combat outside of boss battles/high dragons feels trivialized, even on Nightmare. The DLCs, however, bring some punch back to combat and are actually difficult, which is nice. If playing on Nightmare, it is much harder to brute-force your way through, especially if doing it for the first time without the special schematics you obtain from them. I was literally shooketh when I took my endgame Nightmare build through Trespasser the first time and got clapped. (Just to be clear, this is a good thing. I like a little difficulty in my combat, so I play on Nightmare to suffer, but you don't have to.)

Hands down the absolute worst thing about Inquisition's combat, especially if running on Nightmare like I do, is the tactics system. It is hot fucking garbage for Nightmare. It is so far condensed from Origin's tactics that it's laughable. I had to google optimal tactics settings for Nightmare because some DPS character would inevitably stand where the tank was standing and eat an entire dragon's breath and die regularly, no matter how much I micromanaged.

I do, however, very much like most of the skills/specializations in Inquisition, especially for Warriors. Compared to the previous two titles, it is FAR easier to keep everything's attention on the tank and not your squishes (even more so if you have Trespasser DLC). Also, performing cross-class combos feels much more satisfying (and is far easier right out the gate) on Inquisition comparatively. There's nothing like freezing an enemy and having your 2-hander warrior cleave into them for a chunky combo. Big number make brain go unga bunga.

Additionally, it also doesn't take much skillpoint investment to get a decent handle on fights. This is especially true if you have the Trespasser DLC, which adds new upgrades to active abilities. Two taunts can be acquired pretty early (three with Trespasser) and all are relatively low cooldown. Also! If you fucked up your build (or want to respec for something specific/try something new) you can easily reset your points to reinvest them! Keep in mind you can't change your specialization once you've unlocked it though.

The Story Gameplay Stuff

In my opinion, the thing that makes the Dragon Age franchise great is the characters and the relationships experienced with them. The games are as much about their stories as they are about the conflict that brings the characters together. This is the type of thing that makes me stick with this franchise; the characters really make it for me. The characters are well-written, feel unique, and have their own strengths and flaws that make them grounded. There are characters I don't enjoy, but I appreciate them because, again, they are well-written.

DAO and DA2 is very much the flavor of RPG where your choices matter, and this includes both what you choose in the story and with individual characters. You can befriend said characters or you can let your rapport with them get so low that their disposition toward you can change, and they might even leave your party. There are some companions whose dispositions you can change. Known as softening or hardening, this can sway a character's decisions and make them more likely to go along with certain player-made choices.

DA2's Friendship/Rivalry system, in my opinion, a nice middle-ground approval system. Your decisions/interactions will garner approval or rivalry, changing your companion's disposition toward you, but a high-rivalry companion won't abandon you simply for having high rivalry. Rather, the companion will still go along with what your decisions, but there will always be underlying tension. You're also not locked out of romance simply because of high rivalry levels. Honestly, I enjoy some rivalmances more than a high friendship romance, but either way, the system gives you more ways to freely play your character and interact with the cast of companions. Companions in DA2 may leave/become unavailable because of decisions made in the story, but not for approval, which I think is nice.

DAI is also a game about decisions, but doesn't do it as well as DAO or DA2. The first two games do a good job of "show, don't tell" with your impact on the game. Inquisition does a lot more Telling than Showing, which I think is a shame for an RPG with its premise. Regardless, DAI's approval system is back to an Origins-esque style, but your total approval with individual characters is hidden from you. Furthermore, companions will approve or disapprove of major decisions you make regardless if you bring them with you or not (which feels much more realistic to me).

While I feel that Inquisition squandered a lot of the potential it had with its main conflict, it handles its characters, their relationships with the player and other characters very well. In fact, a lot of the Show part of "show don't tell" in Inquisition is displayed through your companions, either literally by changing their tarot cards or their reactions/interactions to you and other characters. As I said before, the characters are what makes the franchise for me, and Inquisition, for all its faults, does its characters exceptionally well. Their backgrounds, motivations and personalities are diverse and complex, and is what makes Inquisition replayable for me.

Each game also features its own protagonist/player character, which is probably my favoritest thing about Origins, specifically. A lot of the replayability for Origins is playing through each origin and/or class combination. Aside from simply adding more ways to roleplay, which is always welcome in my book, each one gives different perceptions to the game's conflict with some interactions specific to your chosen origin. If playing DAO, I highly recommend working your way through each origin.

DA2 technically only has one origin, Hawke. While I personally see Hawke as a more defined character compared to the Warden and Inquisitor, Hawke is still a malleable character, and of course, headcanons are free and cool to have. Anyway, you can play Hawke as any class, and I'd recommend to play through the game at minimum as a rougue/warrior and mage. Given the subject matter of the game, this gives you a different look at the game's conflict.

Inquisition offers more race options once again, but forgoes an origin prologue like DAO. While there is some depth to Inquisition's origins, they're not as complex as DAO's. However, this does lend the player some flexibility to fill in the gaps, if they choose. Why use a canon backstory when you can make your own? That's the fun of RPGs, no? I'd still recommend playing through one or two of the origins, while not quite as impactful as the previous titles, some things change depending on which Inquisitor you choose.

But Dances, what about the other stuff you like?

Maps:

DAO and DA2 have a level/dungeon system (idk what else to call it) that are self-contained areas/sub-areas that you explore. Each area is initially concealed by Fog-of-War and some of these areas can be quite large and (especially in DAO) lead to secrets/loot/sidequests etc, which encourages thorough exploration. This is less so in DA2 because of how many assets and areas are reused, but still shows up from time to time. DAI uses open-world maps that allow you to explore huge areas in different locales across Ferelden and Orlais. Kind of like in the spirit of Skyrim, except the maps don't feel "lived in" if that makes sense. A lot of them are big and open with not enough in between for my tastes. DAI encourages the player to explore each of these maps through quests, completionist objectives, minigames and more. These areas are beautiful and I appreciate them for what they are, I just wish they were a little more robust. If doing exclusively the main story, there's a lot you can miss in DAI and that's honestly a shame.

Sound Design/OST:

Ok so this isn't technically gameplay but I didn't know where else to put it. But the music completes the atmosphere for me. I typically do not play anything with the music on; typically I'm listening to a podcast or something in the background when I play. I don't do that with Dragon Age. I want to be immersed in it and the background music etc. plays a good part in that. DAO and DA2 use what I'd describe as dark fantasy music that's more atmospheric in nature. It's very simple with few instruments/vocals, but effective for what it does. DAO's main menu music and I Am The One are good examples of this.

DAI's OST is done by Trevor Morris and is much more orchestral incorporating many different instruments. Morris' work for this game did some heavy fucking lifting because it's honestly incredible. Always a high-fantasty feel, but each track perfectly captures the tone of its setting and immerses me into it. Whether its the subtle background music drifting through Halamshiral, or eerie chords plaything through the Fade, or you just got to the end of Trespasser and time is running out for your Inquisitor, it is a crime to play without music. In my opinion. Don't come for me. Please listen to Morris' work I beg you. He gave Dragon Age the grandiose music it deserves.

Lore:

LORE! I love lore. Dragon Age's lore is somewhat nebulous and has unfortunately been subject to retcons and a few questionable decisions. However, the depth of the lore is something I really, really appreciate. While somewhat frustrating, said retcons and inconsistencies, along with some areas that are more ambiguous in nature, allows speculation and gives me PLENTY to think about if I really, really wanted to. Also, because the lore is so sprawling I learn new shit all the time. It's fucking unreal. I will rarely go a playthrough without learning (or relearning) something new.

The only downside is that a lot of the fine print of the lore is hidden in codex entries, which can get easily passed up if you're the type of person to not pay attention to things like item descriptions, for example. If you're familiar with how Dark Souls tucks a lot of lore into item descriptions, it's kind of like that. Some codecies will be displayed on-screen when you acquire them which you then have to close out of, but many just get relegated to a 'Codex Acquired/Updated' notification somewhere on the side of your screen.

Additionally, for Inquisition specifically, some deeper context and nuance is lost because of two books published before Inquisition's launch. While forgoing these books doesn't make Inquisition's story incomprehensible, knowing the events in these books might change your perception of major events and give further insight to some of the characters.

Final Thoughts:

absolutely none. I just delivered an essay upon thine lap. head empty. I like this franchise a lot if you'd like something really really specific please hit me up.

Bonus:

[dreamingdarklyblog]

Here's The Deal

Fuck it. Here we go.

So as many of you know, I've had some serious long term health issues. I can never remember how specific I've been in the past, especially since it varies from place to place what I've bothered to clarify and such. The short version is that I've been dealing with cancer since I was in 8th grade. Numerous surgeries, yada yada yada.

I don't feel like a whole list of details and specifics are needed here (and you probably don't want to hear it anyway), but I'll say that it's a crazy rare form and the usual markers of staging and survival rates and such are meaningless.

So for twenty odd years I've been getting bits of me cut out, and then learning to cope with the aftermath.

Why am I explaining/re-explaining this?

Well as many of you also know, I've been having health issues since this summer. One of those things that's been unexplained was chronic hip pain and difficulty walking. After a lot of back and forth and arguing (the balancing act of pushing doctors to actually take symptoms seriously, without pushing so hard that they dismiss you as a hypochondriac is exhausting) I finally got an x-ray booked last month. The X-ray showed something weird, and my doctor agreed to schedule a CT for several months from now. I did an end run around him and showed the x-ray to an oncologist who's treated me in the past, who agreed waiting a few months was a bad idea and got me in a CT much sooner, two days ago in fact.

Yesterday I he called me and I got the results (Always a great sign when a doctor calls you 20 hours after a test with the results, right?). It's essentially confirmed that my cancer has returned and I'm going to need surgery. (Technically it's not confirmed till I get a biopsy result, but it's "confirmed" enough that they are just starting scheduling for radiation and surgery now without waiting)

The good news is that the rest of the scan is clear. It's just the one metastasis, and it's not attacking anything vital.

The bad news is that something doesn't need to be vital for it to be extremely inconvenient to lose. Best case scenario seems to be I come out of this with reconstructive surgery and a LOT of physio and rehab. Worst case is probably losing the use of a leg or two.

What does that mean for my work here?

At the moment, nothing really. I'm starting work on December, and hope to get everything caught up before Christmas =). As treatment starts, it might start to interfere. It really depends on a lot of factors that I just don't have any information about yet. So I will keep you posted when I know more.

So anyway, this is just me trying to keep you informed since I feel like I owe you some information given that you send me money ;)

*edit* Some people seem unsure if they are "allowed" to ask questions. By all means feel free, as with anything else you can ask whatever you want. I might not give an answer if it's too personal, but I promise I won't be offended. ;)

[kelmcdonald]

Indiginerds is Crowdfunding Now

Hey folks! First things first, Indiginerds is currently crowdfunding. It has made goal but we really want to get it to the 35k stretch goal as soon as possible. When we hit that, Iron Circus will be able to donate copies to indigenous libraries and schools. It will help indigenous kids see themselves in stories and it gets the indigenous artists in the book a raise. November is National Native American Heritage Month, so it's the perfect time to back something like Indiginerds.

November is pretty quiet otherwise. Alina will be a guest on Geekshow for a crowdfund end countdown on November 16th. And I'm going to do my usual streaming. 

I'm still gonna be answering readers questions in comic form so, if you have one post it here!

Watching Wolf Guy last month turned out to be a bust because of technically difficulties. The full moon movie watch parties have been tending toward horror lately. So for a change of pace, next one will be a comedy. On November 27th at 5pm PST, please join me and some other fine folks while we watch Teen Wolf the movie (not the MTV tv show). Click if you want to join.

I'll also be doing my usual streaming

As always I'll be streaming art on Twitch. My schedule is currently the following:

Tuesday 8pm-10pm PST

Wednesday 6pm-10pm PST (changed the time)

Thursday 6pm-9pm PST (during the Iron Circus Geekshow)

Stop by!

The big thing from last month is I started answering reader question. Here's a look at it. 

As long as it's not a spoiler I'll answer. So post any questions you got here

This month I'm gonna try to finish Blue Moon's script. My work load from Seven Seas is kinda light, so gonna focus on getting that out the door so Meredith can start drawing it. That and get ahead on The City Between.

After Blue Moon is done, I'm gonna write the next City Between story. It's called Glass Diamonds and will be about Rebecca and her next client. Shards of Reflection is about half way done, so I need to make sure Glass Diamonds is ready to go sooner rather than later. I've been fiddling with some concept art for it.

Once those two things are off my plate, I'll finish up the art for my werewolf videogame and get back to You are the Chosen One. 

While doing all that, I need to sit down and build a crowdfund for Murky Water. I've been putting it off because there was a paper shortage. So the cost of printing had shot up. I was hoping to wait it out and I think things have settled down. Obviously they are still higher than last time I printed a book because of inflation, but it's as cheap as it's gonna get. 

I was also waiting a bit because I wanted to see how the crowdfunding landscape shakes out. About two years ago I wrote about Kickstarter saying they would try out block chain. At the time I said I wasn't gonna use them and was looking into Indiegogo and Zoop. Since then, Crowdfundr and Backerkit got into the crowdfunding landscape and Kickstarter has walked back blockchain (sorta). 

The problem almost all the non-kickstarter crowdfunds are having is no one browses their websites to find crowdfunds. It means all your crowdfunding success depends on the fanbase you already have and spreading the word on social media. But social media is currently falling apart. Part of my duties at Iron Circus is making the schedule for all the crowdfunds. So I've seen first had as social media referrals become smaller and smaller. Which makes crowdfunding harder than ever, especially if people aren't browsing the site in general.

I was considering using Backerkit which is what Iron Circus has been using lately. But I won't recommend them to the average creator. Backerkit gets around the no browsing problem by having a robust advertising service. Which seemed promising at first, but myself and several smaller comic artists quickly learned the Backerkit will only run those ads IF you've already hit goal. So all their promo help is designed around you already being super successful. Like after the first day, Backerkit turned off ads for Indiginerds and didn't turn them back on until after it hit goal. So while they are good for Iron Circus, who's projects usually fund in a day or two, they would be pretty useless for me. My projects usually fund in the last week if not that last few days. 

Also, since I've built several backerkit pages for Iron Circus, I know that I find their back end UI obtuse. I lose a lot of time trying to find stuff when I build those pages. But if their ads had been more useful, I would have sucked it up. 

As for Kickstarter's end of things. I said the sorta walked back using the blockchain. Basically, the guy who pushed for it was forces to leave. I forget if he was outright fired or if he left on his own. But either way, after that Kickstarter said they were still open to maybe using blockchain in the future but wouldn't put any resources into it until a benefit is proven. And since their blockchain plans were mostly all buzzword gibberish before, that means they won't be using it anytime soon. I'm still annoyed they won't swear it off, but that seems the best they are gonna do. So whole crowdfund landscape in my mind is:

But with social media falling apart and none of the crowdfunding sites having a lot of browsing going on, I'm like 90% I'm gonna have to go back to Kickstarter. It's really frustrating. 

I also got to figure out what to do about international shipping which is it's own mess. The post office has been gutted so badly that international shipping has gotten wildly out of had. Like sending one of The City Between books to Europe now costs like $25. It's ridiculous. So before this crowdfund happens, I need to figure out what I'm doing on that end. 

Anyway, thanks everyone for your support as usual! Especially those who back my patreon. Shit is rough out there for indie artists right now.