#i keep thinking of that zelda meme

[portraitofalinkonfyre]

If each link was a dog breed, which ones would they be? (besides golden retriever)

Oooo yess I've seen this question before!

Time: Golden Retriever-- nope, Great Pyrenees! I almost put Bernese Mountain Dog, but honestly? I think that fits another member of our beloved chain a bit better. Anyways, the Great Pyrenees is a breed of livestock guardian dog originating from France, which fits Time's farm background well, and they're known for being very loyal and patient companions, though they can deal a lot of damage if provoked. If anyone decides to draw the LU boys as dogs, I would pay money to see Time as one of these cuties <33

Twilight: Bernese Mountain Dog. I just had to. There's a lot of reasons that I believe this dog is the best fir for our rancher, but the biggest ones are that these creatures were specifically bred in Switzerland as farm dogs (omg it's literally Twi), they're known for being very intelligent and eager to please, and they're one of the best dogs you can keep if you have children (not that you can't have other dogs around kids, but these specific dogs take it to a whole new level). I also love love love the floppy ears <333

Wild: Jack Russell Terrier. Kind of a no-brainer because, like Wild, their adventurous spirit knows 'no bounds' and they've been described as "clownish, lively, and intelligent" by several sources. Also chose this one because they're originally a British breed of dog and Zelda in BOTW has a British accent, so...

Hyrule: This sounds a bit mean, but I can't see him as anything but a Mutt. He's already a bit of a street rat, and no one really knows where he came from, so it makes sense that the type of dog he is (hypothetically) would have similar characteristics of this. Despite this, I definitely think he'd be extremely loyal, if not a bit wary, of new people, but once you're in, you're in.

Legend: Shiba Inu. These dogs are typically classified as being intelligent, loyal, and somewhat standoffish (though they do tend to form very strong bonds with their owners), plus they're just so damn cute! Someone please meme him as this 🥺

Sky: If any of the boys were golden retrievers, it would be Sky, but for the sake of the ask, I think the Saluki suits him best. The American Kennel Club describes them as "thought to be a gift from God" which fits great with Sky's background as the "First" hero + his connection to Hylia and the Master Sword. The only drawback is that Saluki's are known for their endurance, while Sky is not, but he is a sprinter, which these dogs also excel at (some breeders say they can run up to 50 miles per hour for short sprints!!!!!!!)

Warriors: Dalmation. This one was a tough-ie because I was trying to find a breed that has connections with the military (b/c Wars is in the army) AND looks absolutely fabulous while ripping your throat out, which is irrevocably the Dalmatian. Described as "reserved and dignified" by the American Kennel Club, these dogs have been used for hundreds of years to accompany and guard carriages of the wealthy, as well as firefighters, in more recent times.

Wind: Schipperke. My instinct told me to go for a Whippet Hound or something similar (have you seen these dogs?? Absolute cuties), BUT then I discovered the Schipperke, a type of dog specifically bred to accompany sailors on their journeys. They're described as very active, energetic, and overall 'busy' dogs, which fits with our Sailor. Breed colors also include a whiteish-creme color that looks SO adorable.

Four: Papillion. There's a fair amount of smaller dogs out there, but I saw the Papillion and immediately thought of the Minish, so here we are! One commenter on Reddit describes them as: "smart enough that they'll sometimes look at you, consider the command you gave, and decide "nah"", so obviously I had to choose this breed for our smithy.

(Actual answer is that Four is a munchkin cat in disguise LOL)

[cochineal-leviat]

Valentine Special 2025 ships

Heyo, it's already midnight where I am, so Valentine's Day has passed, but I still wanted to celebrate it. Valentine's Day is weird for me because I am Aro&Ace, so I never really get to appreciate it. Every year, it just comes and passes, and I feel nothing, even though I do like the aesthetic.

But this week, I had the brilliant idea that even though I can't celebrate it conventionally, I can still do something for all the pairings and ships I have come to love over the years. So, I drew eleven ships that had helped me during my most challenging moments, from when I was a child to the present. They are ordered in no particular order but rather what I got on paper in my sketchbook.

Idk. Maybe this way me my fellow Aromantics shippers can still enjoy the holiday.

Which ship do you like best? I would love to know~ (even if it is simply from the technical perspective)

From the first panel to the last, we have:

Page 1

Kirfluff (is extra special to me as a fic I wrote for the pairing, including many other franchise characters, which led me to keep writing for fun and posting it online. Without I would not have the boost of confidence that I do now about my writing)

Metadede (Who doesn't love a good ship with a warrior's bond? They're hilarious)

Isafrin (my most recent ship. They make me soft and cry at the same time. Like this pairing adds a lot ISAT's story and manages to also be very entertaining and heartfelt)

Sonadow (I got into the ship before I was even into Sonic. There was even a long-ass fic I found back when I still read on Fanfiction.net that I reread every year because I found it so funny. I definitely enjoy the modern Sonadow writing more than a decade ago)

Snufmin (perfect balance between yearning and the needing space and the freedom to adventure. I want to read more of this ship)

Page 2

Ravioli(nk) (The name alone already makes it worth it. I also have an unholy amount of fics saved from this ship. They are the literal roommates meme)

Vidow (a classic. I enjoyed this one even before I got into Zelda. Like I was reading Four Swords without having any clue what the lore was or what the fuck was going on.)

Reguri (This was named Namelessshipping and Orginalshipping back in the day. Too tired to do research rn. But I think the difference lies in the manga and game versions. I prefer the game versions, personally)

Purpleshipping {Kieran x mc) (A little backstory: this is just the mc from Scarlet and Violet that I made an NB version for, which became their own person after writing a fic. Here, they are exchanging an Applin with Kieran. For those who know the custom, you know, you know. A friend of mine named this ship)

Shadowpeach (the most divorced couple I have ever come across. I remember back when this was considered a crack ship. Ah, good times. The character depictions were very different back then, too. I depicted them in their friend's era, but still. Btw Macaque is laughing at Sun Wukong's antics but I think it accidentally looks like he is laughing at Sun Wukong rather than with him. Oh well, it wouldn't be too out of character for seasons 1-3 Mac)

Marink (not a ship I read about a lot, but it hurt me so much when I played Link's Awakening for the first time. Everytime I think of Marin I feel sad)

[azuresage]

It gets talked about a lot but I still can't stop nerding out about Link's characterization in TotK. It's done through his many creative dialogue choices and his expressions of course, but it's also done so subtly through what he *doesn't* say. Notably, he doesn't talk about himself. And this is why nobody recognizes him unless they've already met him. Because he doesn't tell them when they've got the wrong impression of him.

The meme about Link having Tony Hawk syndrome is so real. People will look at him and straight up say, "Wow, you look exactly like Link!" without a hint of irony. Lookout Landing has a detailed picture of his face in their watchtower and the search party still doesn't recognize him. Penn works with Link for a long time and thinks he's unlucky that the Yiga keep "mistaking" him for the Hero (granted, Traysi asked him to deliberately keep quiet, but Penn still didn't put two and two together himself). I think the reason for this, aside from it being really, really funny, is that Link just doesn't talk about himself. He doesn't feel the need to.

Characterization isn't just about what we see a character doing, it's also about how other characters respond to them. Link is so unassuming and humble that he doesn't match people's expectations of what "Link" should be like. The three Gerudo ladies hanging out around Outskirt Stable are one of many perfect examples. Link stands in front of them carrying the Master Sword, but they expect the Hero to be taller than they are, with a giant glowing sword, so they don’t believe it's him. Obviously that's not the reality, but they don't know that. Link doesn't correct them, either. Again, he doesn't feel the need to.

This is also why many NPCs from BotW don't recognize or remember Link. To them, he was just a passerby that did them a good turn once 6+ years ago. Nobody's going to remember a person like that for so long after. They had no way of knowing he was the Hero, unless it came up for story quest reasons. When they hear stories about the Princess's Appointed Knight who woke up from his 100 year nap, defeated the Calamity, and rescued Zelda, they imagine someone larger than life. Then when they see what Link actually is like, they can't put two and two together.

This is true even during the Hyrule Restoration efforts. Link always follows behind Zelda as her shadow, which she notes in her diary, but the people in the stable investigation quests and in Hateno don't recognize him either, even though he went everywhere she did. Link is just that unassuming. He resigns himself to being a shadow, allowing Zelda to take the lead and do as she pleases but always staying nearby to support and protect her. He doesn't need to be recognizable to do his job. And we know from both BotW and now TotK that he's wholly devoted to her. He's content with this. Many people more eloquent than I have spent many paragraphs elaborating on this. I just wanted to focus on what it says about his character.

Link is humble and unassuming, so much so that nobody believes that he's the Hero unless they already know him. He's devoted to Zelda, so much so that he's willing to do anything to chase even a glimpse of her. He doesn't talk about himself or correct people who have the wrong impression of him. He doesn't need to do that to chase his Zelda. He is a person of great humility in spite of his station. I think that's so interesting and neat how the comedy of him being unrecognizable also tells us all this about him. It's also cool how this is only one aspect of him; all the dialogue choices and expressions he makes during cutscenes and actions out in the world show a whole other, lighter side to him that meshes with this. It's all so good. I am in love with it. It always kills me inside when people dismiss his characterization as being nonexistant or flat just because it's not spoonfed to them or when they say Link being unrecognizable is lazy writing instead of a deliberate choice. I am biting and gnawing and gnashing over him and his relationship to Zelda. I love them so much.

[damallarky]

What I Liked About Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I keep seeing extremely negetive comments about Veilguard, even nearly two months after the game has been released, and that is insane to me.

Now, I'll admit that I had my own gripes about the game. But I have decided that I am not going to focus soley on the negatives. That makes me and everyone around me angry and miserable and that is not why I am on Tumblr.com. I am here for the memes and to talk about Dragon Age man.

So, I have decided to be the change I want to see in the world and make a non-exhaustive list of all of the things that I LIKED about Veilguard.

The Companions: I loved them. I loved their story arcs. I think they were well-written and very Dragon Age-y. They reminded me of the DA:O crew in a good way. I also can see what Bioware meant when they talked about the found family vibes.

The Art Style: This art style is my favorite out of all of the Dragon Age games. I've always prefered a more styalized look, because it's fun but mostly because it ages SO MUCH BETTER than a more realistic style in video games. Games like Zelda, Fable, etc still look pretty good today because they all have a more styalized look. At least in my opinion.

The Animation: This could go along with the art style, but I wanted to make it a seperate category. The animation in Veilguard was fantastic. The facial expressions on the characters were so well done. Ghila'nain moved like a Little Nightmares character which was great. Characters actually held onto their mugs!

The Voice Acting: Every Bioware game I've ever played has fantastic voice acting though. *shrugs*

The Seige of Weisshaupt: Was an absolutley fantastic moment in the game. Having a terrifying face hover over you while you desperately try to fight your way through the hordes of Darkspawn? Being led to safety by some random, badass kid? Davrin killing a Darkspawn's cousin last week? Lucanis not being able to stab a cloud? Perfection.

Being Able to Pet All the Cats and Dogs (and Assan): This speaks for itself tbh.

The Ossuary: Dude, walking into that funky underwater prison and seeing a massive aquatic creature swim by you was such a neat moment. I really enjoyed that area. That's also where we get to meet Lucanis and Spite, so yay!

The Fade Fish Tank: For similar reasons to above. I just think fish are cool ok? I also spent a little more time than I probably should have watching the fish swim back and forth.

Photo Mode: I love when games have a photo mode and I LOVED Veilguard's photo mode. I also love all of the photos that the community have been taking.

The Combat: The combat was really fun. I don't remember having as much fun with combat in a Dragon Age game as I had with Veilguard. You can tell the team put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows.

The Fact That We Got a Game At All: Look. After ten years of development hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if the game got scrapped. Yet somehow, despite the odds, the team at Bioware managed to deliver a finished game despite the odds stacked against them. Is it perfect? No. But it's here and it's real and out there for us to either love it or hate it despite the many times Bioware could have thrown in the towel.

Feel free to add to this list or talk about the things you liked about the game in the replies section! I know Veilguard has it's issues. Don't let the bad get in the way of the good.

[mag1cant]

the Mother series ended my five year long relationship.

So to give a little background info, I love the mother series, I always play them. On average, I spend about 8 hours daily playing earthbound beginnings, it's my guilty pleasure. No one knows about this, as I keep it a good secret. One day, when I was meant to be on campus, I was playing some earthbound. My mum came in and was shocked. So she didn't see what I was doing, I hid my phone under my pillow and told her to leave because I was wanted to play legend of zelda in peace. I got away with it, but the same day, I was around my GF's house, and we were watching a movie. I was playing mother 3 on the emulator the whole time, and I was so sneaky, she didn't notice. She was trying to make advances on me and she put her hand on my thigh. I didn't think much of it and kept playing. She then noticed that I was watching mother 3 animation memes on youtube and suddenly my phone's volume went up to the maximum out of nowhere . She immediately took her hand off of my thigh and screamed ''ARE YOU WATCHING FUCKING MOTHER 3 ANIMATION MEMES?!'', I'm currently sitting on her porch, bawling my fucking eyes out. I'm not sure if I'll ever recover from this, but atleast I have the mother series.

[buttahpie]

while I'm enjoying reading your McLennon fics (please, never stop writing them) what other McLennon fics are you writing and or planning to write?

after VVA i’m going to write a Single Dad!John and Ballet!Instructor Paul AU (i know this is like a CLASSIC fan fic trope but i don’t think it’s been done for mclennon yet?). This fic is actually gonna be freaky like i’ve been wanting to write something driven by smut because i actually haven’t yet and i need to scratch that itch of my freaked-up brain. but im really excited for this one! i’m wanting to keep it relatively short like 30-50k words

i’ve also started writing a slice of life AU where the beatles never happened, but no crazy time travel or finding God stuff. i just want to write domestic mclennon living together. but this one is on the back burner now

i’ve always wanted to write a regency era AU ala bridgerton so that’s rattling around in my brain

and then my next BIG BIG project (idek when i’ll start this) is an apocalypse AU. I want fallout vibes, I want the last of us vibes. I haven’t thought much about this one yet but it is HEAVILY inspired by the historical context of “bone records”

“Bone music, also known as 'ribs' or 'music on ribs,' was a phenomenon born in the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s. It refers to bootleg records etched onto discarded X-ray films, a creative solution to the strict censorship of Western music during that era." (https://www.angelshorn.com/a/p/blogs/news/bone-music-the-secret-soviet-x-ray-vinyl-records-that-rocked-the-cold-war)

so this one will be really cool.

and then lastly, i’ve wanted to write a series of short stories and oneshots of “i’ll find you in every universe”. pretty self explanatory.

……so can you see why i need to get VVA done??

i have a strict “one project at a time” rule. i can write one shots and kink meme prompts with my big works but i can only handle one big work at once or else i will get overwhelmed and stop writing EVERYTHING. just look at my original blog for star wars/legend of zelda…..

anyways…. mclennon makes me crazy and they are my writing muse

[wyked-ao3]

Wyked's intro

Hey, I'm wyked (wicked) been on Tumblr a while now and finally got around to my intro

About me:↪ Wyked, she/her/psycho

↪ writer questionnaire here and here and another one here

↪ I'm 23 and would prefer not to interact with minors.

About my blog:↪ This is the blog for interactions and reblogging and tag games.

↪ Reader, writer, nerd,

↪Alpha/Beta reader, idea bouncer. (Send a pm if your looking for an extra set of eyes, just tell me what your looking for. I can be brutally honest if that's what you're looking for but I'm still listing my favorite parts regardless.)

↪Taurus born

↪I write mostly fanfiction multi fandom and have a blog for it here @wyked-fanfiction

↪ I'm currently writing my first original work the TPCG series and all lore and a majority of writing shares and ask will be shared on this blog @wyked-original-writing

All fandom related stuff will be contained to @wyked-fandom

↪My current game fandom's

Zelda (it's more link than Zelda but whatever lol) I have played (wind waker , orca of time, twilight princess, and a little of skyward sword)

Elder scrolls (Skyrim is my favorite)

Devil may cry 2-3

Red steel

Assassin's creed (can't wait for the new one…although I'm still not sure about upgrading from the PS3 lol)

↪My movie/series fandoms

Merlin, Twilight, Supernatural, Lucifer, Grimm,Once upon a time, Stargate (all), Primeval, Criminal minds, NCIS, Star trek, Harry Potter, Hannibal, Marvel, Harley Quinn, Shadow hunters, Arrow, How to train your dragons (all), Troll hunters (they ripped my heart out) Avatar the last Airbender, Avatar (blue), Jurassic world, Jurassic park, Dragon prince, The last of us?(Not the biggest fan of it but I do read the fic's and wrote for ot occasionally, Lost, Charmed (original), Originals (didn't finish it….I'm a softie okay), and to be honest I'm forgetting some… may edit as I remember or hit a phase where they are my favorite show again….

↪Anime fandom's…..some I'm only in due to my sister but it still counts…..

Black Butler

Heavens official blessing

Skum villain D

emon king academy

Welcome to demon school iruma (I love this)

Fairytail

↪My Never seen but I could probably convince you otherwise do to my sister's rambling list that will update as I remember names

Inuyasha

↪My interest and writing memes will be posted on @wyked-rebellion

Herbs,plants,trees, mushrooms, nature (I can keep going) animals,fish,corals and aquatic plants, invertebrates, mythology, pirates, knights, druids,shamans, hanfu, feudal era, history involving any of the above.. writing, gardening, wood carving and burning, sketching although I think you get more detail with wood burning……I can keep listing but most of that will not be covered here so I will stop now but feel free to drop in my inbox to chat

I will add more eventually here

↪My mutuals original story recommendation list

My favorite western, time loop horror romance by @tragedycoded I can not recommend this enough it got me hooked on a western.

If you like gay pirates, kidnapping, drama and found family that will keep you on your toes then check out @the-golden-comet 's story (read the warning)

↪My mutuals fanfiction recommendation list (it will change as I think of some I added the recommendations last minute so oops)

If you are into sarcastic lovable OC's and mandalorians from star wars check out @lillybaaaka 's work

she also has a fem Harry Potter/startrek crossover that I'm in love with lol highly recommend it, it's more startrek then Harry Potter

if you are into the bat family you should check out @gods-graveyard 's work

if you like bananafish fanfiction then check out @gioiaalbanoart she has several amazing ones but my favorite so far is this one

if you are a Zelda fan who ships Ganon and Link then I highly recommend you check out @the-golden-comet just make sure to read the warnings

[smalltimes]

Games I played in Winter 2024-2025

Tunic - The best game I've played in a long, long time. If you like zelda games, do not read reviews or look up a synopsis. Buy this and play it. Fear the eyes of the far shore.

Animal Well - THIS is how you make a metroid-vania. I'm still reeling at how goddamn good this is. Just the densest concentration of puzzles and exploration, sick art style, perfect and thicc like a pound cake.

Book of Hours - buuhhh, what to even say. I don't even know if I like this game. It's like a mosquito bite that I just want to keep scratching. It has taught me a new definition of insanity. Playing this makes me feel the same way I felt when I first started playing Civ 5.

Hollow Knight - Danny DeVito "I get it" meme, I see why people are so tied up in knots about Silksong. if I were 14 again and couldn't afford to buy games, I'd want this the most out of everything on this list, just for the depth and challenge.

Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye - It finally felt like it had been long enough since Tohru died for me to revisit this game, but I still thought about him the entire time. Nothing has really come close to how good the base game is, and this DLC captures 95% of that magic. The only flaw is how it's meant to slot into the main game rather than stand alone, so for someone like me who was just revisiting it to play the DLC, the ending didn't entirely work for me. Still, I get what they did and how they did it, and they made the right choice. I dreamt a happy dream about this game the night after I started playing it, and beat it the next morning.

Chants of Sennaar - This game was made for me, specifically. I wish the last couple levels were much longer, but partly because I just wanted to be in this world more. I really hope the creators of this do more with this style, and damn I wish there were more linguistics-based games out there. Banger soundtrack too.

Crypt Custodian - I had middling hopes for this one. The art style is cutesy, the movement is floaty, and the story seems silly right off the bat. I could not have been more wrong about everything. The combat is so crisp and reactive. It's a wonderful balance between forgiving enough that I never felt like I was being cheated, but difficult enough that I never one-shot a boss or even beat one without taking a hit. The world is vaster than I imagined it could be for a game of this scale, but fast travel is easy to come by. Even in my initial playthrough I never felt like I was being railroaded or having to backtrack and comb through areas again and again to figure out what my next step would be. Instead of a New Game+ or something there's a built in randomizer. Why is this the first game I've ever played that thought of this! Lastly, the story isn't really a story like a linear game would have. Each zone is an illustration of each of the characters, and they all fit together to paint a picture of what the afterlife is for our pets and other wild animals. An absolute masterpiece.

Yoku's Island Express - What if a metroid-vania was a tropical-themed pinball table? So cute and innovative, a delightful little 10-hour adventure that never felt like a slog or back-track city. One of the funniest sequel-bait endings ever; I hope they make one!

Talos Principle 2 DLCs - Another game specifically made for me. DLC 1 felt like a great little happy ending tying up the loose ends from the main story. DLC 2 was such a fun chill island vacation, felt like a victory lap. DLC 3 has some of the hardest individual puzzles I've ever experienced in a video game, but I'm proud to say I beat every last one without any outside help. If you think you can get down with Portal but with the humor swapped out with philosophy, this is that game.

Case of the Golden Idol - Absolutely blew me away, such a cool way of telling a story. Like, what if Where's Waldo committed a murder and you had to figure out not only how and why he did it, but also the occupation and favorite food of the victim's niece. Very Obra-Dinn: dark, funny, and precise. It's a little weird though, I played a bit of the demo of the sequel and it felt like diminishing returns, but I'm optimistic I'll enjoy it once I get around to buying the full version.

Balatro - Honestly the soundtrack is the biggest selling point, which is weird to say but what they do with it is kind of incredible. I get why it was the year's hottest new thang, and I totally got sucked into it for a good long while. At the end of the day it doesn't replace STS for me, though. Too mathy at higher levels, not vibes-based enough to jump in and have a fun run. I wish I had bought this for my phone instead of on Steam.

Celeste - Best, snappiest, and most precise platformer since super meat boy. An 8-way controller is a must though, I got so mad at my x-bone controller so many times that I stopped playing halfway through the B-sides, but that's not really the game's fault.

Transistor - Still my favorite Supergiant story after all these years. A tragedy for the ages. No other game does what this does with combat and encouraging you to switch up your gameplay. I spent hours in the Sandbox just trying out different combos and options. I think some reviews at the time disliked gating story elements behind your gameplay choices but in my opinion that's the point. The game isn't that hard and you don't need to play in a style you dislike for very long. Oh, and get the Sea Monster at Junction Jan's.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Not as good as the first one, but damn near close. A little more combat-focused, a little less platformy and movement-based. Much fewer escape-sequences, which is a huge relief, and I loved the new central hub. Felt like they had a really good thing going on with the first one that just needed some cleaning up and polishing, but they wanted it to be more like hollow knight or something and went too far in their tuning.

The Forgotten City - Kinda like if the Talos Principle and Outer Wilds had a lil baby. A little short but nailing the true ending is pretty satisfying. The less said about it the better, to keep its secrets, but it's essentially one big time-loop puzzle that's solved through talking to people and exploring this little Roman town. Absolutely loved the implementation of Galerius giving you the option of not having to redo things you've already unlocked or allowing you to go back and do things a different way. Like, for instance, one of the people is poisoned and dying, and you have the antidote. At the beginning of each loop you can give Galerius the antidote to give to her, run over and give it to her yourself, or let her die. The best part is, each of these three choices has a real impact on what happens that day, and what dialogue and information is unlocked.

Chicory - Lovely little adventure, good puzzles, top notch exploration, sick-ass boss encounters. I can't imagine how annoying it would be if you were only playing on controller without a mouse, though. Cute furry world where everyone is named after food. I was named pierogies.

Death's Door - Absolutely killer worldbuiilding and soundtrack, the vibes are almost completely perfect, and for the most part I loved the unique boss encounters. There are many weird or untuned things that bugged me, though, like getting completely stun-locked in corners and the weapons and upgrades being largely unnoticeable. The Gemsbok just did a video on this game, and it made me realize my biggest problem with the game. Past the first time you see each zone there is no sense of adventure. You walk (or mash the roll button) through a zone, clear out all the enemies, and find there's nothing to discover other than collectibles only accessible via a power you'll get later on. Literally only 1 of these 24 collectibles have a puzzle attached to it (and that being the only real puzzle in the game), so it felt like half my playthrough was spent roaming around The Overgrown Ruins looking for one more secret to check off my to-do list.

Myst - A classic for a reason, there was a ton in here that I forgot about. Very rough around the edges but that's like its whole thing y'know.

Hyper Light Drifter - One of those games that introduced the whole genre of Metroidvanias to me. So glad I revisited it and finally beat the last boss after 8 years. It's funny how much smaller it is than I remember, but the qol is on the money and the combat is as tight as it ever was. Just a fantastic game that I'd rate way higher if I wasn't already familiar with it.

Night in the Woods * So, this isn't really a game I guess, more of an interactive novel. If I didn't relate to the main character so much I think I'd be more gung-ho to dive further into it but it just makes me depressed. lol.

Toki Tori 2+ * Make no mistake, this is a full-ass adventure game, on par in terms of scale with HLD, Ori, and Yoku. The wild thing is that it presents itself as some sort of phone game or a Block Dude. Truly bizarre and devilishly challenging, but unfortunately once the world becomes open I lost track of my objective and didn't want to slog through the esoteric overworld and backtracking to hunt down a hidden path I missed 5 hours ago. Some day I'll find a guide and wrap this up.

Myst 3 - Coming off of the mind-bending difficulty that is riven, this felt like a day at a theme park. Great puzzles, totally immersive and inventive worlds, short and sweet, if a little silly at times.

Peglin - What if slay the spire was a Peggle? It can be fun and a challenge, but so, so annoying when one bad bounce that was out of your control ruins the whole run. I guess STS has that too, when your deck gets a bad shuffle and there's nothing you can do, but it feels like it happens way more often on the pegs. Also, a lot of the bosses can be totally steamrolled without too much thought, which is a little bit of a letdown since it doesn't really matter what your build looks like. As long as you keep in mind how you're going to beat a couple bosses like the painter and dragon, any other boss just doesn't matter.

Dredge - VERY fun fishing game, honestly doesn't even need the cthulu stuff. Doesn't overstay its welcome, and the ending is satisfying and earned. The most fun I had was just the first 3-5 hours rolling around, making money and upgrading my boat. There was a point where it felt more like a slog than a fun time, but I pushed through it and realized it wasn't that big of a push. Still, that's not exactly what you want.

The Sexy Brutale * It sells itself as a grand time-loop puzzle thing in the vein of Forbidden City or Outer Wilds, but it really isn't. Yes, everything takes place in one big mansion, but there's no exploration to be had here. Now, I'm a little further than halfway, solved 5/8 of the main story missions, and I can say that decisively because each of the cases is in a discreet wing of the mansion that is only unlocked once you've solved the previous one. It is intensely linear in a way I was not expecting. Don't get me wrong, it's lovingly crafted, and each puzzle feels unique, creative, and rewarding to solve. But between the checklist vibe of the progression gating, the rocky and sometimes clumsy controls, and repetitive animations, the game largely falls flat. Swing and a miss.

Little Inferno - Cute and fun, a neat little 2-hour experience. There are some surprisingly deep themes that poke in every once in a while, but ultimately it's little more than a bedtime story. A small mark against it, apparently I had already played and beaten this years ago when it came out and had no memory of it whatsoever.

Cave Story+ - Oddly enough another comparison to super meat boy in this list, it looks and feels like exactly what it is, a flash game that somehow got developed into a full-ass game. Surprisingly good though! I did not care for a lot of the humor that felt very lolrandom reference-based, but i guess that was just that era.

Vision Soft Reset * I got stuck on a difficult platforming section directly followed by a very tough fight, and gave up after maybe 30 attempts. Maybe I'll go back to it some day? The time travel aspect a very cool concept, and well implemented, but the game just feels a little too rough around the edges and flash-y. I really wanted to like this game more, but I think it's for someone else.

A Short Hike - Short is correct. A busy little furry island to chill out in for a few hours. Good dialogue and characters. Don't try to just beat the game, that's not the point. Do all the sidequests and talk to everyone, and take your time.

Dorfromantik - If they made A Quiet Year into a video game it would be this. Extremely chill, way too chill for me, but I could imagine how someone would get super into this.

Minit - If this was a free flash game it would be one of the best. I beat it in 1, maybe 2 hours, and had some fun, but I'm glad I got it off of Epic's giveaway

Played but not Beat:

Darkest Dungeon - I might dive into this for real some time, feels more punishing than XCOM but I like the combat setup and basic gameplay loop. I worry that there will be a point that the game becomes unwinnable or soft-locked, and I won't realize it and waste a ton of time.

Snakebird - Actually just a phone game, but cute and devious puzzle design a la Baba Is You. might never boot this up again unless I'm desperate.

Up Next:

Myst 4

Undertale

Enter the Gungeon

Kentucky Route Zero

(*) Asterisks indicate that I didn't finish the game.

[ofsunnydays-and-moonlitnights]

XDXDXDXDXDXDXD Ok ok I'll give you a break XD tell you what, how about a fun idea, if they played video games, what kind do you think they'd like?

I think Sun would like pokemon! And probably racing games, he needs something that can keep his attention and moves fast enough. Maybe puzzle rpgs like zelda.

Moon would like cozy games i think, story of seasons, animal crossing (he'd have the coolest Island.)

I can see them both liking Tomodatchi life oh and the Tomogatchi games (i my self am excited about the new ones so maybe im projecting)

Oh Sun would like my sims (especially my sims kingdom) but Moon would prefer The Sims.

Oh oh... Stardew!!! I...I really wanna play stardew with them now TwT Sun would be in the mines lol Moon would be fishing and I'd work on our lil farm TwT

Me: look at all those chickens!

Moon: those are ducks...

Me: I know!! Their eggs make more money i was doing a funny ò.ó

Moon: *knowing the meme all to well but was teasing* :)

Sun: *buys a pig for our farm*

Me: is that a chicken!?

Sun:... it's... it's a... piglet.... *sun not knowing the meme and thinks im an idiot XDD*

[multbasa]

So Link's Awakening starts you off with no sword and you have to navigate around enemies to get one and Wind Waker has a whole sequence where you have to navigate around enemies without a sword as well.

Echoes of Wisdom will be the first mainline Zelda title where you don't use a sword at all (specifying mainline because Link's Crossbow Training is a thing. Also yes, EoW is a mainline title)

Link's Awakening has the best song ever during the time when you don't have a sword while the stealth aspect of Forbidden Fortress in Wind Waker was very fun in my opinion, so I am very interested in Echoes of Wisdom's direction.

Oh, technically BotW and TotK have many options besides using a sword unlike past titles that generally require very specific items to attack enemies in very specific ways including the sword, but generally you can use a sword for almost every situation (even long distance attacks by just chucking a weapon at something).

I enjoyed the "meme team" in Hollow Knight using little minions, so I think the echoes in EoW are right up my alley.

Speaking of mainline titles, EoW is 100% a mainline title. Since the very first Zelda, the franchise has always been about having a variety of abilities or items to progress through the game. A sword is one of those things but the lack of a sword doesn't make it not a Zelda game. There are still puzzles and dungeons as there have always been (BotW's Divine Beasts are the dungeon aspect even if they are very different from past dungeons—for the record, I enjoyed them). The franchise has always had different gimmicks in each game to keep things fresh and I appreciate that, so this title's gimmick involves no sword which is something that has happened in small sections in a couple past games.

The DS games are mainline titles, the Oracle games are mainline titles, even Triforce Heroes is acknowledged as a mainline title by Nintendo, so there's no legitimate reason to claim that Echoes of Wisdom is not a mainline title just because there's no sword and the protagonist is Princess Zelda herself.

I do hope that this game opens up opportunities to innovate in the future. Wind Waker and the DS games included controlling other characters even if temporarily in the case of Makar, Medli, that goron kid from Phantom Hourglass and Phantom Zelda, so I definitely think playing other characters in the Zelda franchise is not outlandish.

I think this is an exciting new step for the franchise and I can't wait to get my hands on Echoes of Wisdom.

[rosescore245]

the tags you added to the gay rights red memes on my art blog made me cackle, your takes on him are so right and you should say it

Aaa thank you!!! Red has lowkey been a kin of mine since I first read the manga when I was like. 6. And now that I am almost 12 years older than I was then, I Have Thoughts.

I am using this ask as an excuse to blabber about Red btw, because I always have Opinions and I Think I Am Right because that's how most opinions work

(I'm so so sorry in advance it keeps getting longer. and more retrospective and a little symbolic. whoops. got too silly)

(Like 3 or 4 sentences out of this entire thing allude to Red being Attracted To Blue and tbh Green and Vio too, and there are like 2 mentions of Vio and Shadow being Gay As Hell. this did not become crazy shippy. But what is a ship but the way that characters are intertwined by their actions and being, when one's every action is to keep another happy and safe, is there any need for the words I Love You? I think not. So I guess with that logic this entire thing is one big makeout session, the fourth gayest thing, below "situationship where you're beaten with hammers", "toxic doomed yaoi", and "literal gay sex" lmao)

Red genuinely intrigues me so much and I love to look at him, study him like a bug.

The Link at the beginning of the manga showed so many traits, but I wouldn't quite say any Fully Aligned with who Red presented as. We saw Green's determination and drive, Blue's frustration and quickness to believe others are doubting his abilities, and arguably Vio's foresight in the way Link brought a flower from the Outer Kingdom to bring to Zelda, knowing it would lift her spirits. That's something that kinda holds hands with Red's behavior, but absolutely nowhere before pulling the sword does Link show that naivete and whimsy that made Red, well, Red!

Then Link splits, and they're all different. Green and Blue are the Most like Link, Green a little more so, and Vio hadn't been incredibly off with his smugness and high opinion of himself. Red, however, from the beginning, seemed just a little Out of Place. Green brings up working in a team out of Necessity, not because he likes it that much, and while Blue and Vio openly disliked the idea, Red simply states, well, a fact; "I've never been on a team before!"

He doesn't say Quite how he feels about it, which I think is Telling. He's feeling out the situation, even if just a little, and he's trying to adjust accordingly. He's Adaptable (and gay /silly) and notices during that first little battle that they are NOT working together. So he knows they Need to Work Together, and he knows that they Are Not Doing That.

He gives them someone to protect. I think like 90% of what he does is exactly how he feels, just cranked up a good bit, but he realizes that they need a center. It's not perfect, but it works Okay, at least for a while, and he's happy with it. I don't think he wanted to team up, either, because literally none of the other three Really did. If 3/4 of a guy start gagging at the idea of Working With People, the chances of that last part doing the same is pretty high.

He definitely latched onto the others, Vio and Blue more than Green, and I frankly think he admired Blue the most. It became less necessity and more "I want us to stay together."

It's not perfect, it never would be on such short notice. Blue's temper is insane, Green seems to doubt himself, Vio literally wants to be anywhere else all the time, and Red's trying to give them a shared goal of Not Letting Him Die.

Red's lesson from being split up kind of...doesn't make sense to me, personally. The lesson he said ("I learned I can't rely on others to protect me all the time!") seems flimsy. The situation he was put in, Kakariko and the Fire and the Thief, doesn't FIT that lesson. Not quite. Sure, he was alone there, but that was the case for ALL OF THEM (except Vio and Shadow making out in the trees), he wasn't special for that. I honestly, wholeheartedly believed Red learned a different lesson, and he felt like he couldn't Say It.

He learned he doesn't always know what's right. He saw a kid in trouble, and his morality told him to protect the child, as the son of the captain of the royal guard. He did so because it is in his moral compass, and he paid for it. He chose to try and trust the kid again because of his kind nature and soft spot for children, and, again, it BIT HIM. He tried to do what HE THOUGHT was RIGHT, and things kept getting WORSE for him. He learned that trying to hold the group together the way he was, the "right way" in his mind, wasn't going to make things better.

So he eases out of that role little by little, not too quick upon reuniting with Blue and eventually Green. By the time they're in the Tower of Winds with Vio on their side again, Red is still like chest deep in the role he made for himself.

Their father appears, and he's terrified because he's caught between moralities, I think. He must protect the ones he cares about the most, but when both blades are held by hands he knows so well, it's tearing him apart.

He genuinely cares about the other three. When he was grasped and in danger and Blue saved him before he could even think about it, I think it was one of the most Real versions of him that compelled him to act SO GAY. "My blue hero!" GIRL PLEASE.

Shadow sacrifices himself, and Red looks almost Blank about it. He doesn't understand, not fully. It's not sinking in, the sacrifice made. He is meant to protect and care for and hold Link together, to be a foundation of good deeds. Red is Link's Morality, and Link's Morals are very ideal.

In the Ideal Situation, Shadow wouldn't need to die. Because he's atoned and chosen light, then Hylia should have let him live in that light. But as the glittering shards of the shade float away, that's not what happened. It wasn't RIGHT, it wasn't how it should have gone. Like Blue, who kept lashing out, though much more self-aware, Red hadn't done a 180 upon learning his lesson. What was right, even if it didn't always Fix Things, was RIGHT, and the goddesses were meant to be RIGHT.

And the end wasn't right, either. They grew and changed so, so much, shouldn't they have a happy ending? But he understands a little better, now, and knows that what he thinks is right might not be what is right to the goddesses, so he's resigned, if not emotional.

He may have gotten a chance to show he cared, but as Blue wiped his tears and told him they were all just going to be closer than ever, he never got to SAY how much he cared.

Shaken, changed, and unresolved, they plunge the sword into the pedestal, and Red's story ends.

I have no idea how much of this made sense, but these are my biggest thoughts whenever I read through the manga. If Blue and Vio are the two plates, and Green is the main part of the scale, then Red is the thing binding Blue to Green to Vio, allowing their differences to weigh and be judged. Red is what connects them, it's what he'd been trying to do from the beginning.

Everything he did was to try and keep them together, because the stories always taught the lesson that the hero with the strength of four fought to the end as one. Even if he didn't personally like it, it was how it was supposed to go.

And that's one thing he was sure he was right about as it all blended together.

[threerattsinatrenchcoat]

1, 21 and 29 for the end of year asks!

Sorry for the delay! And thank you for the ask ❤️

1 - fav fic I wrote

Really glad you asked because I can give the real answer (I Will Bury You in Diamonds, the fic I never shut up about) and a spare that I also adore:

Embers that Never Go Out - sad little grief fic about Arabella learning magic, set post game.

21 - most memorable comment review

Oh, like, all of them. I actually save comments (like have screenshots) and reread them all the time. I recently got one from Libri on I'll Write to You in Flowers that was about as long as the fic itself that I've been going over and over, and I've always enjoyed ones that quote lines or are steam of consciousness or that are from writers I also enjoy. (Tumblrs tags are freaking out with too many names so sorry but) aviatorasharak, graysparrow, unmoderated_zhent, topofthelighthouse, deepdustsea, bee, lolliputian , silverstrike and soncasong are a few names that I can think of, but I'm so grateful for this community.

Oh, and whenever anyone recommends one of my fics I have to go jogging or dancing from excitement. I know luvwich and vera have lately, so thank you.

However, the question asked for one, so I'll say, @bloobluebloo who left comments on my first fic (Shadows of the Lost)that intrigued me, convinced me to keep publishing my stuff (even though that fic was very esoteric), greatly informed my own style of leaving long-ass and detailed comments, and bloo was one of the first people I ever reached out to on Tumblr to be like, "hi". Every time I worry about writing something too silly I think about "Zelda forcing Ganondorf to attend a class with children? That is so freaking amusing I literally burst into laughter" and damnit, if that isn't too silly than nothing is

29. Shortest fic I've read

Okay I was going to say "In the Hideout" which is Shadowheart/Nocturne smut fic by Topofthelighthouse for the Tolna's Vault Smut Challenge, which clocks in at 622

But then I remembered "queens on the throne", at 599 words, where am empress dethrones her husband but keeps one of his concubines, determined to romance her.

Link to the asks if anyone wants to join

[mirensiart]

16 and/or 19, and 24?

Oooh

16. How do you motivate yourself to draw? & 19. Where do you find inspiration?

So I feel these two questions have a similar answer! But for motivation I usually try to find a time of day or space where I'm comfortable, alone (I hate drawing with people around) a long youtube video on the bg and a cup of coffee, it's only after that that I can start thinking about drawing hehe and I motivate myself by drawing something that I like and that I know at least one friend also likes, say a rarepair me and one other friend enjoy....so I just do a salute ala hunger games towards my screen and go "for my oomfie...!" And that's enough to keep me going lol

As for getting inspired, I like watching movies or listening to music and relate them to the current thing causing me brainrot

Like say, I watch LOTR and go "oh this quote would totally be one x character from x show/game would say" and I write it down to use it as inspiration later

Same thing with a meme hehe or maybe a cool pose in an anime or a movie and be like "it would fit these 2 characters so well..." and use it as inspiration for a drawing of my own

I can actually show u an example hehe I watched the movie Anastasia and there's a quote that made me go "this is totally something link from skyward sword would say about his zelda" and wrote it down in my notes for a possible future drawing

I have many notes like that in my phone lmao

24. What's a compliment about your art that has always stuck with you?

When people say it's unique 🥹💖 and that they like how natural the interactions between characters look when I draw them! That they like how I draw emotions 🥹💖 those things ..I always cherish it when people tell me that 🫂💖

[fourswords]

if i could make links from across time meet each other i would just make it the four sword links (hero of the minish, hero of the four sword, fs link, hero of light) because:

a) i want mc link to be the youngest so the other three look at him like "THIS pipsqueak is the one who made the four sword???" and yes he is still the only one of them who has the four sword because he still had it after his adventure ended. and he hits them with his energy beams about it

b) i want them to get in a fight over knights (fs link, fsa link) vs. non-knights (mc link & hero of the four sword). i know fs link isn't canonically said to be one or the other but i think that since his zelda called him to the four sword shrine the same way fsa zelda called fsa link to look at the four sword sanctuary, it would make sense to Assume he's a knight

c) out of the four of them, i think fs link would be the living personification of the charlie brown "i got a rock" meme. he is also the oldest out of all of them (i would think like 15 or so) and the best with teamwork after the hero of the four sword

d) i only ever see mc link & fsa link in links meet AUs and i want them ALL to meet each other (and it'd be funny because the hero of the four sword would be looking at mc link like "is this for real my ancestor" like hyrule historia teases)

e) i want the other three to look directly at fsa link and go "who's ganon?"

f) using the manga version of fsa link here it would be funny as hell if shadow was still stuck as his literal shadow and he was just being as un-shadow-like as possible

g) i think it'd be hilarious for mc link to find out how the four sword splits the other three. like damn y'all didn't change the sword the sword changed you? sounds like a skill issue.

h) i think the hero of the four sword would be the cockiest one there. according to the manual he as a young boy literally happened upon vaati wreaking havoc and said nothing but "i'm gonna kick this guy's ass" and then went and did exactly that. he's cocky because he's got mad skills (and the best control over totally splitting out of the three of them that can do it) and he knows it

i) no princess zelda is ever mentioned in the hero of the four sword's story and i also think it'd be funny if he was born into an era without a zelda (like an adventure of link situation where there's some prince in line for the throne instead) and the other links are like "wdym you don't have a zelda."

j) unsurprisingly considering his game & his independence within said game, i think mc link would be absolutely godawful at teamwork. fs link keeps trying to nicely give him tips to no avail, the hero of the four sword keeps eyeing him weirdly (the whole ancestor thing again), and fsa link is having flashbacks to himself sucking bad at teamwork. shadow is laughing at him from the ground

i could keep going with this but you see my point. i want to put them all in a room together and watch them go at it

[meatmuncherlol]

RANDOM HIVE HC'S

See-more's full name is Seymour Richardson (same last name as his VA)

Billy played lots of Cops & Robbers as a kid, he always chose robbers

Billy listens to Greta Van Fleet

Jinx listens to Paramore and Evanescence

Billy sucks at math and used to cheat off See-more back at the HIVE academy

See-more often communicates to Kyd using sign language

Kyd secretly feeds stray cats from alleyways

Gizmo is a 5 year old kid genius

Billy loves horror movies and often watches with See-more

See-more's fav video game is The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

See-more's loves baking, hates cookibg

Billy loves cooking, hates baking

Gizmo secretly sucks his thumb when he sleeps

Mammoth sleep walks

Billy loves spicy food

Jinx loves spicy food, spicy food just doesn't love her

Gizmo (break from doing crime) usually gets mistaken as a lost toddler and gets sent to a daycare

See-more loves seafood

See-more is taller than Billy and Billy won't accept it

Billy's favorite actor is Adam Sandler, fav movie Ridiculous 6

Mammoth secretly listens to Britney Spears

Jinx gossips with Mammoth

Gizmo has little kid tantrums

Kyd loves cats

See-more, Kyd, and Billy are pranking pals

Billy loves to read comics

Kyd is allergic to peanut butter

Billy loves to go fishing and boat trips

They have an event every Friday called "Movie Night"

See-more has gap teeth (quite canon, but in some scenes in TTG, its either gone or on the side)

Gizmo secretly spies on Jinx and Cyborg's dates

Jinx has a "KEEP OUT" sign on her bedroom door

Mammoth will literally eat anything

Jinx drools in her sleep and she keeps denying it

Kyd and Jinx go to Hot Topic sometimes

Billy loves fireworks (canon but I don't see ppl talking bout it)

Jinx sends cat memes to Cyborg at 2 in the morning

Gizmo will bite, literally.

Billy plays Monopoly with himself (AKA his clones) and the original ends up losing everytime

Jinx, See-more, and Mammoth watch drama shows

See-more surprisingly gives great dating advices for dudes

Billy gives a thumbs up to any positive thing, he does that a lot

See-more usually does drawings for Jinx

Kyd likes bugs, he thinks they're interesting yet creepy

Billy does the "that's what she said" jokes often, everyone finds it annoying

[sabrinahawthorne]

for the tarot ask game -

The Emperor — Do you have a process you follow with your design work? OR How important is mechanical complexity to you?

The Star — Talk about a game you’re working on and what excites you about it.

original ask meme

The Emperor

I'm kind of waffling on this one - I think it's a broad question, and I could answer it a lot of ways. Let me try to walk through the basics of writing a game for me, and we'll see how that turns out.

Generally speaking, I build games around a pretty simple pitch. "Skyrim Isekai," "Naruto Simulator," and "Classic Zelda with a Chess Board" all come to mind as examples. Either that, or I have an idea for a central mechanic, and try to build a game that justifies it. This would be Broke Wizards, or a couple of WIPs that may or may not ever see the light of day. This is my less preferred method; I tend to think vibes first, and systematize as I go.

Once I have a clear idea, I'll make a write-up document to codify those ideas into discrete items. It's usually bullet points interspersed with paragraphs about reference media or design goals. These docs are intentionally messy and incomplete - their purpose isn't to be readable, but rather to warm up the connection between brain and fingers and get me in the headspace for proper design.

From there, I build games version-by-version. I keep files organized like game updates (version 0.1, 0.2, 0.2.1, and so on), making saving a file as a new version whenever I make what I consider to be a major change or addition.

As I work on these prototypes, I'm also working on broad-scale things, like figuring out what order in which to present information, and settling on the voice of the game. Generally, I'm a pretty plain, straightforward writer, but I try to put some personality into the text of each game, especially since I have a tendency to build games from joke ideas. I refer you again to Skyrim Isekai.

I usually work on the text of the game before anything else, waiting until it's feature-complete (and usually text-complete) before I even think about layout or art. Most of the time, I have a pretty clear idea for how I want a game to look long before this point, but I save this part for last largely because it kind of scares me. I'm getting better at talking to artists and finding public domain work, but it's always daunting, and it's probably my weakest area.

Once I have all the assets I think I'll need, it's off to Canva I go. It's also at this point that, if I haven't so far, I bring in my wonderful partner to help. She has more experience with graphic design and art than I do, and she has a wonderful sense for what makes a thing look nice. Generally speaking, I always work next to her while I'm doing layout so that I can prod her with questions any time I'm not sure how to do something, or when I need another pair of eyes to make sure I haven't made something too offensive to the eye.

From there it's a matter of uploading a new itch project page, doing some blurb-writing, and noticing several typos after the game has been up for days.

The Star

I mean. It's CLASH!. You know it's CLASH!. You must, right? It's the only thing I've talked about since January.

Well lucky for you, I have more new things to say about it, because nothing I said above applies to the development of CLASH! so far.

Something that excites (and scares) me about CLASH! is that it's the biggest game I've ever worked on, and it's the first one written with the express purpose of being printed. Both of those come with an exponential increase in the overall complexity of the project, both in terms of design and production.

Design-wise, the path of CLASH! has been quite an experience. Its increased size means that, hopefully, people who play it will be playing it for longer periods, and I want it to stay fun and engaging as they do. That means that CLASH! is the first game I've ever playtested before releasing. That feels a little like an admission of guilt, honestly, but for what it's worth I think I've done a pretty good job of making games playable and fun so far anyway.

I also have a lot more things to juggle. What non-designers might not realize is that every feature added to a game is an exponential increase in complexity. As an example - I added Tech tags as a way of implementing the progression mechanic of the Specialist, which you can read about here. But in doing so, I had to make tags mean something in the broader context of the game's mechanics, so that they wouldn't just be a clutter of nonsense words that the majority of players would never find any use for. As a result, I ended up changing how the Vessel's progression works as well, and I'm considering doing something similar for the Powerhouse.

All to say - a more feature-rich game means one whose features all require a much greater depth of consideration and testing, which slows things down.

As for production, CLASH! has been a huge learning experience. This was intended from the beginning - I knew before I started that I wanted this project to be the center of a number of big steps forward in my career, and that translates into the game itself. For one, Canva isn't good enough anymore - I'm learning Affinity Publisher for it, and slowly driving myself mad in the process.

Seriously, if you have any resources for learning, like, the ABCs of graphic design software, please link me. I don't know what any of these buttons mean and I don't know how to make a text box.

I digress. I want CLASH! to end up on store shelves if I can help it. That means talking to local game stores, buying an ISBN number, and learning how printing works, which is a many-headed beast in its own right.

Alright, I think I've typed out CLASH! in all caps enough for one post. Thanks for the ask! And if you're reading this and you're so inclined, give he game a few dollars at the third hyperlink in this post, or by buying me a coffee. And go check out the work of the Artist for this game, @hakuryuu. They do good work, and they deserve your money.